The Problem Child

He Knows

Charlie woke up the next day with the goofiest smile ever. He was so over the moon that he even fed the stray cats that came by his doorstep. If it was any other day, he would have shooed them away, saying he had no extra time to spare for those poor, helpless earthlings.

He went to school with Josh and at the hallways, met Jia.

Josh and Jia were rather confused why he was being unusually nice to them. He has always been a nice guy, yes. But right now, he was being weirdly nice. Not to mention that he was cheering a little extra.

"Why haven't Trev and Kon showed up yet?" Charlie asked when they were all done getting their stuff in and out of the lockers.

He looked around the place, turning his head to his left and right and did a quick 360 degree scan, wondering if he could find the familiar faces of his friends somewhere among the crowd of kids.

"Oh, I saw them near that foundation when I came in. Conner saw me and went running away. So I just came here" Jia shrugged.

The boys chuckled at that. Conner was for sure scared of the lady.

They all walked out to the very front of the school, in hopes to find the other two boys.

"Hey!" Charlie waved cheerfully when he saw the duo they were looking for. He walked over to Trevor to secure a spot beside him.

"Hi" Charlie smiled cheekily and greeted Trevor seperately when he reached near Trevor.

Trevor just smiled at him. He suddenly turned his head away to look at Conner when he noticed him take off his baseball cap.

Something about him didn't sit well...

Trevor squinted his eyes. "Conner, what did you do to your hair?" He asked, pointing at Conner's head.

"Yeah, something's off!" Josh said in a confused tone as he eyed the other boy's head.

A smile creeped onto Conner's face. "Oh, this? I combed my hair!"

Trevor startled visibly.

What evil motive took over his dear friend?! His dear friend who used to say combing your hair was too girlish.... What happened to him?!

"You see, Jia told me I should change the way I am" Conner cheered and looked at Jia who was standing beside him.

"That's not what I meant" Jia mumbled into her hand as she face palmed .

Conner just grinned. "I'm not the person I was yesterday. I'm a different man now" he didn't mind the chuckles that rose around him. To him, he made a change in himself. A change that mattered.

Trevor gasped loudly. "Conner, I think, I think... You spelled kid wrong"

Everyone let out a laugh as Conner scowled at him.

"You know what, Trev? I hate you and I would fearlessly say it anywhere, at any time, to anyone!"

Trevor snorted at that.

"So... Char, what are you going to do about your grades?" Josh asked, but wasn't sure if Charlie was in his right mind to answer that. To his surprise, He didn't frown like he expected him to. He looked rather relaxed.

Way more relaxed.

"I'll work harder next time!" Charlie beamed and leaned his head onto Trevor's shoulder. Trevor just looked at him sideways and averted his gaze to the other side with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Josh was taken aback by the rather confusing sight. He almost wanted to cover his eyes,
not wanting to see his dear friend's face being smashed under Trevor's fist for what he was doing.

But his surprise only intensified when he saw Charlie grinning at him even wider.

Josh cocked his head to a side in confusion. Then, as realisation struck him, his eyes went wide. For one last confirmation, he raised his eyebrows.

Charlie answered with a light giggle.

Yes, Josh, this is exactly what you think it is.

Josh gasped and nodded to himself.

Since when though?...

"Well... Jia and I have Chemistry class in about five minutes. Uh... We'll take Conner with us. Bye!" Josh said and gave Charlie a smile that the other boy returned, and walked away, dragging a confused duo behind him.

"We don't have class until the next ten minutes or so" Trevor observed, his tone filled with confusion. "Carmel seemed to be in a hurry, too. What would it be?"

Charlie chuckled. "He knows"

"Uh?"

"Ah, silly-silly. He was just sparing us a little alone-time. He knows" Charlie chuckled.

"What?!"

"What, I am not as thick skinned as you are. I told him right after the first day I kissed you" Charlie scoffed.

Trevor sucked in air through his teeth. The mention of the kiss still made him feel a little awkward. "It"s... Too embarrassing..." He mumbled and shook his head slightly.

"And here I was, thinking I was the most awkward person to ever walk this Earth" Charlie's tone was playful.

"Shut up"

Charlie burst into laughter for some odd reason as Trevor just sat there with his face red.

"You look funny when you are embarrassed" Charlie said when he found Trevor staring down at him with tired eyes. "It's kind of cute"

Trevor pursed his lips. "Would you stop it already? You are making me feel awkward"

"I know" Charlie grinned. "It's funny"

Trevor just stared at him as Charlie grinned even wider.

What evil took over me when I fell for this pot-head...