Two Introverts ✔

21 | Love

long ass chapter again,,

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You might be wondering what the big thing Charles was working on for the past few days. It was nothing, to be honest. He was just really anxious around Sam after the night they both spent together, because that was when he admitted to being in love with him. He was so close to telling him that, too. Charles didn't know how long he'd put up an act, pretending like they were just friends and nothing more. Even though he cherished the friendship that had bloomed between the both of them, he wanted more. He was a human, after all. So, right after their exams were over, Charles started to make plans and think of ways in which he could tell Sam his feelings. He wanted to view their relationship from a third person's perspective - did it look like they were friends who had feelings for each other? Or did it look like they were friends and one only one of them was hopelessly in love with the other?

After researching, Charles found a few clues that proved to be useful. The day of the math exam. Sam had said, "I was thinking about y- what period I have next, that's... that's all." Now, pause here for a second. "I was thinking about y-"? He was pretty sure Sam had thought of something else to say but ended up saying something totally different. And that raised his suspicions. The second clue was that Sam hadn't texted him much at all. Mind you, they usually didn't text much, but when they did, for the past three days, he typed for an awfully long time but his replies would always be words like, "oh, haha," or "that's nice," or "oh I bet Simon would be proud of you." Charles knew Sam wasn't that slow of a typist, and besides, who took ages to type "haha"? And the third and last clue that proved to be useful to Charles was that since the day of the math exam, Sam didn't look anyone in the eye. He usually never did - it would be awkward for him to crane his neck upwards just to look at someone - but for the whole day, it almost seemed as if he was avoiding it on purpose. Because he knew. He knew that if someone were to look at him, really look at him, his eyes would give out everything he'd tried to hide. As cringe-y as it sounded, Sam's eyes always gave him away. That was one of the main reasons why he couldn't lie - it would be clearly seen. 

With all these thoughts roaming his mind, he thought of confirming if his guesses were right by texting Sam everything, but he knew that was too cheap and it would be way too easy. And he could bet his right leg that if this were to happen over text, the moment he and Sam see each other, they'd be as awkward as they were the first time they met each other. So, it had to happen in person. But how?

Just then, his phone rang. He saw the caller ID. June...?

"Hello?"

"Uh... Charles?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I'll get straight to the point. You like Sam, don't you?"

Charles's heart was caught in his throat. How did he know? "Uh- I don't know wh-what you m-"

"You can fool anyone, buddy, but when it comes to Sam, no one can fool me. So, do you?"

"No," he responded. I love him. 

"Why must you lie-"

"I love him," he said, releasing a breath of anxiousness. June was quiet for a while. And then, with a small laugh, he said, "Well... this is unexpected."

"Is it, though?"

"Was it supposed to be expected? I thought you just had a crush on him, I didn't know your feelings ran that deep..."