Two gay guys on the mountain (Charlie X Nathan)

Chapter 3: Bus day

Charlie's P.O.V
"Attention Snoqualmie High school, later this afternoon we will have our first snow bus of the year. Please make sure you have all your gear," The overhead speaker announces.

"Charlie could you help me grab my stuff!" Nathan yells from outside the school.

"Sure, one second!" Charlie shouts back, setting down his bags in the drop room.

Charlie runs out of the school entrance and starts to lift one of Nathan's bag. Kelsey is entering the school and shoots Charlie a discussed look Charlie didn't understand.

Why was everyone giving him looks he didn't    understand!

"Why is your bag so heavy?" Charlie says, lifting Nathan's duffel bag up.

"I don't know," Nathan says, shrugging and picking up his skies and poles.

"We're gonna be late," Charlie says, struggling to get up the stairs to the school.

"Chill man, we're always late," Nathan says with a smirk.

"That's worse! I can't be tardy to the first class every day!" Charlie says exasperated, setting Nathan's bag on the floor of the drop room.

"Eh, it's not that bad" Nathan says starting to walk into the hallway.

Charlie hurries after him.

"Dude, you need to care about school more! Don't you want to get into a good college?" Charlie says, flinging his arm over the shorter boys shoulder.

"Well yes, but I also might not go to college" Nathan says with another shrug.

"Not go to college!" Charlie shouts.

"Shhh, I don't care about school as much as you remember" Nathan says holding is finger in-front of Charlie's mouth.

"But you need education to do get the jobs you want," Charlie says

"Dude, I want to be a musician not a scientist or whatever smart thing you wanna be. And I don't need math skills to play banger guitar riffs," Nathan says with a laugh.

"It's an engineer,"

"What?" Nathan says looking at Charlie.

"That's what a want to be" Charlie says with a shy smile.

Nathan would often tease Charlie and Charlie would often tease Nathan. That's how their relationship worked. Charlie didn't really care if Nathan made fun of him, sometimes it was even fun to argue.

"Oh yeah an engineer, I should've remember!" Nathan says, stopping in-front of his class.

Charlie shrugs and waves goodbye to Nathan as he enters his class.

"Charlie!" A voice calls from the end of the hallway.

Ugh, it's Kelsey. Charlie thinks, slowly turning to face the black haired girl. Nathan didn't get what the hype was about people with black hair or "raven hair" as Nicholas would say. Nicholas was Charlie's friend and was madly in-love with Kelsey, like all the other boys in Snoqualmie high. Charlie just didn't care about people's hair colors, but if he had to pick he'd pick blondes. He had no blonde in mind but is last crush had been a crush way back in 2nd grade.

"Are you done dropping off Nathan at his class" Kelsey says rolling her eyes.

"I wasn't dropping him off, I was just walking with him to his class." Charlie says.

"Same thing," Kelsey shrugs.

"Why are you and him always together anyway?" She asks stepping closer to Charlie.

"I'm getting jealous" she says playing with her hair and looking at Charlie with flirtatious eyes.

"Uh..." Charlie says awkwardly, taking a step back from Kelsey who was leaning closer to him.

"Um I need to get to class" Charlie says, quickly dashing away from Kelsey.

Nathan's P.O.V
"Save me a seat on the bus! I need to change!" Nathan yells to Charlie from the snow bus changing rooms.

"Sure!" Charlie shouts back.

Nathan turns around grabbing his bag and his skis from the bench. Suddenly he feels a hand grasp his shoulder.

"Nathan" Kelsey growls.

"Oh, hi Kelsey!" Nathan says kindly.

He had never had anything against Kelsey, sure she had bullied him but she was a popular girl that was her job. Nathan knew Charlie wouldn't approve of his thinking and how he would let Kelsey push him a round but Nathan didn't mind that much. But he could stand up for himself. Hopefully Charlie knew that. Nathan was nice but not passive.

"Back off" Kelsey says coldly.

"What?" Nathan asks confused, shaking his head.

"Back off of Charlie" Kelsey snarls.

"Back off of Charlie? What do you mean?" Nathan asks trying to inch closer the door.

"You're always all over him, I know you like him. You're gay." Kelsey says with disgust.

Nathan was shocked this was happening. Kelsey was jealous of him! Nathan wasn't even gay, I mean he thought so. Well maybe he was but that wasn't a bad thing! Nathan had never came out to anyone. His sexuality had always been known to him but to others. And he didn't think this would be a good person to come or to first, so he lied.

"I'm not gay." Nathan says flatly

"But if I was that wouldn't be bad, Kelsey" He adds on, he was lying about being gay yes, but he wasn't going to be homophobic.

"I see the way you look at him, Nathan. You're zesty as fuck" Kelsey whispers, obviously trying not to gag at the thought that gay people insist.

Nathan didn't know what to do in this situation. Stand up to Kelsey? No, She had too much social power. But he couldn't let her get away with being homophobic.

"Goodbye Kelsey" Nathan says, briskly walking past her and outside to the bus.

Nathan spot Charlie waving from the inside of the bus. He puts his skis into the storage container and enters the bus.

"Hi" he says quietly to the bus driver.

The bus driver nods at him as he passes.

"What took you so long?" Charlie asks as Nathan sits next to him.

"Oh just went to use the bathroom" Nathan says.

He decided not to tell Charlie about the interaction with Kelsey.

Charlie nods and pulls out his wired headphones from his pocket, connecting it to his phone.

"Wanna listen?" He asks, offering one of his headphones.

"Sure," Nathan says with a grin.

Charlie grins back, and Nathan's heartbeat quickens.

"The smiths, the strokes, arctic monkeys, no doubt or Radiohead?" Charlie asks, scrolling through Spotify.

"Here just use my playlist, it's got all of them," Nathan says, sharing his playlist with Charlie.