Your Royal Highness

Chapter 4: the hangout

We left the library and started walking to his house "I'll walk you home if that's alright?" I asked while we walked. "You can stay for a bit if you'd like my parents don't come back till late," he suggested as we made it to his house. "Okay sure" I said as I walked in.
Do you want to play a board game?" He asked as he shut the door behind him "sure why not" I said
as he walked over to the cabinet of games. "what should we play?" He asked, I shrugged "im cool with anything" I said as I sat down on the couch.
"Uno it is" he said as he grabbed it and sat next to me "you've played right?" He asked as I looked at him then to the game.
"Nope never" I replied as he opened the game "What? You've never played?" He was shocked "your joking?" I shook my head. "No I don't play board games, mother says they interfere with studies," he rolled his eyes "crap, you've really missed out" Charlie laughed. He shuffled the deck then gave me and him 7 cards. "It's really simple you have seven cards and Ill put down one and you have to put down a card that is the same color or number" he said as he put down the first card
Red. I looked through my cards "crap" I said as I picked cards until I got one, then I placed it down. I picked up 4 cards.
"I'm really sorry for this but draw 4" Charlie laughed as he placed his card down. "Ugh I hate you"
"I thought you liked me?"
"Well I was lying" I laughed as I picked up 4 cards "what color?" I asked as I looked up at him, he
looked down at his cards and thought for a moment. "Blue" he said as I placed a card down.
After a long while of playing games it was getting dark so I decided to leave and go back to my tree. "I should get going" I said as I stood up "oh-okay I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked as he stood up also. "Yes, I'll see you in the morning," I said before I left.
I eventually made it back to my tree, I sat down as I began reading my book.
I really like hanging out with charlie. He's like my first friend who actually enjoys spending time with me. I really don't want to leave Charlie But I can't live like this forever. I need to shower and change my clothes, I need to drink water and eat regularly. I missed my bed, I really do. I put my book down as I sat there for a moment, "i'm so thirsty" I thought
out loud. I really miss my brother, I wish he didn't die, I wish my mother never killed him! He was like my only friend. I loved him so much. I remember all the nights I would sneak out of my room and go to his to play legos or blocks or something. I wonder how old my brother would be now, I wonder what his life would be like, I wonder what my life would be like.
After hours of sitting there I decided to go to sleep.
In the morning I woke up to the birds chirping and the sun beaming on me. I looked at my watch, it was almost time to get Charlie so I got up, put on my coat and left. I ran as fast as I could until I made it. I walked down the sidewalk as I made it to his house, I stopped just as Charlie opened the door. "James!" He said as he shut the door behind him then started walking towards me.
"Hi, are you ready?" I asked as he made his way to me "yup, lets go" he smiled as we began walking. "You look nice today" I said as I glanced at him "thanks-you seem-I don't know how to say this but you just seem really happy today" he said quietly. "Oh yeah, I'm just really happy to see you" I laughed nervously "aww that's cute, thanks" he said joyfully. "Anyway, we're here," I said as we walked up the stairs. "Oh okay, and please let me know if (you know Who) gives you any trouble" I nodded "who's going to give you trouble?" We both turned around to see Zack standing behind us with his arms crossed.
"Zack," Charlie said under his breath.
I glanced at Charlie before I spoke "What do you want, are you going to tell me to stay away from your 'boyfriend' again?" I put quotation marks
around the word boyfriend. He glanced at Charlie then back to me "oh shut up" his face got really red "I don't understand why you care so much if I hang out with charlie or not" I said as I glared at him. "I don't care, I just want revenge" I laughed slightly as I took a step closer "you-want revenge?" He nodded. "Please just stay away from me and maybe it would be best if you stayed away from charlie also" I glanced back at charlie to make sure that was okay.
He nodded in agreement.
"Zack, I saw what you did to James yesterday, that's not like you" he said as Zack glared at Charlie. "Did you see what he did to me?!" Zack's voice slowly got higher "Zack, you hurt him! he hit you i'm self defense you can't be mad at him for that" Zack went silent. Zack walked closer to me as he grabbed my shirt and pinned me to the wall behind me "I don't like you I really don't but I promise I won't hurt you too bad" he said as he looked at me with a smile. "Zack, leave him alone!" Charlie yelled but he ignored him "why don't you stay away from charlie and I won't hurt you" he threatened.
"Screw you!" I yelled as He hit me right in the face "do you want me to keep going?" I shook my head
"Stop!" I yelled but he didn't listen. He punched me again and again. I stood there for a second before Charlie walked up behind him. He grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him off of me "Zack i care about you i do, but I won't let you hurt james so please stay away from him" Charlie yelled as he stared at him with tears in his eyes.
"You care about him....more than me?" Zack looked hurt-really hurt. "Maybe, i'll see you tomorrow" Charlie turned to me as I hugged him "come on let's go" he said as we walked away "where are we going?" I asked him. He put his hand on my face.
My nose was bleeding a bit. "We're going back to my house, my parents still aren't home" he said. I really shouldn't have antagonized him like that. Things probably would have been okay if I just walked away or let Charlie handle it. I don't want to put pressure on him though, making him feel like he has to help me and take care of me. I hardly know him but I feel like I've known him forever. 
We walked into his house, I took my shoes off then I turned to him "Go up to my room, I'll meet you there in a second," he said as he walked into the kitchen. I nodded as I walked upstairs.
I walked into his room. 
I always wished I had a room like his, well decorated and neat. He was able to have any posters and decorations he wanted. He loves books and has an interest in writing, he has his own desk and even his own computer. I walked over to his desk then I drifted to his bookshelf.
He has so many cool books, I picked up a book as I read the title. I was interrupted when Charlie came In. "Okay I'm back" he said as he entered the room, I turned around as I looked at him with a smile before turning around and placing the book back on the shelf. I walked over to sit on his bed "woah he got you good" he said as he walked over to me, he tilted up my chin to look at him. "How bad is it?" I asked concerned "well you have a black eye, a bloody nose and he re-cut your lip so that's bleeding also" he said as he put the band-aids, ointment and an ice pack on the bed.
He picked up a cotton pad and the ointment and put it on my lip "this is going to burn again" he said before putting it on.
"Crap" I slightly flinched but before I could fully he grabbed my face "it's okay" he said quietly as he did it again. "I'm sorry about the fight I shouldn't have antagonized him like that it was my fault" I apologized trying to make him understand i was
never the fighting type and I'm still not. Charlie shook his head disagreeing "it's not your fault but but please just walk away next time or let me do the talking"  he said in his gentle and calm voice "I promise i will" i said with a small smile.
He moved to my nose as he whipped away the blood. "Here put this on your eye" he said as he handed me the ice pack.
"Thanks" I said as I took it, Charlie's so kind to me I wish there was a way I could repay him. "So you were looking at my books" he said as I stood up, he looked at the book that was lying on its side in front of all the other books. "Yeah you have a lot of good books" I said as I walked over to the bookshelf to put the book back in its place, I turned to see him coming towards me.
"Have you read the book you got at the library yesterday?" He asked as he looked at me, I looked at the books "yeah actually, I finished it" I said as I glanced at him. "What?! how you had it for a day?" he asked shocked, I laughed nervously "yeah well let's just say I have a lot of free time," Charlie laughed.
"Well, do you want to go somewhere since I don't have school?" He asked as we left his room "sure" I said as we walked downstairs, he walked into the
kitchen as he grabbed me and him a water bottle. "Here" he said as he handed it to me, a small smile played on my lips "thanks" I said as I started drinking it. I was so thirsty I needed water so bad but I wasn't going to ask him, I didn't want him to get suspicious or anything.
"Where should we go?" He asked as we left his house, I didn't reply. I was trying to think of places I've seen while roaming the town. "We could go to the park, we can just chill there, I saw one around the corner by the lake" I suggested "yeah let's go!" He said as we started walking down the street. We walked for a good 5 minutes before we actually arrived. "I'll race you to the swings!" I yelled as I started running "hey that's not fair you got a head start" he yelled as he ran after me. I laughed as I made it to the swing first "hah I beat you!" I said still laughing, Charlie walked up to the swing next to me and sat down. "You cheated" he accused "how dare you, I won fair and square" i said before charlie busted out laughing "your right, your right" he said as he started swinging.
"You know your a really cool person"
"I am?"
I nodded "yeah, you are very fun to be around and you always say the right things at the right time" I said, genuinely thinking out loud. "Oh-thanks, I always try to stay positive" he said as he looked off into the distance "so why does such a cool person like you, hang out with someone who's such a"-"I know, but he's not all that bad, we'll he didn't used to be" charlie said as he cut me off. "He has a lot of mental problems, he was recently diagnosed so yeah he does act out but he genuinely isn't a bad person so please cut him some slack" I slowed down as i turned to look at him, I felt bad I didn't know.
"I'm sorry I didn't know, I shouldn't have said that" I instantly apologized, I knew I was in the wrong for asking. "No it's okay you didn't know, he likes it that way he doesn't want to scare anyone" he paused for a second. "Mainly because he's scared of himself" he said quietly "i'm sorry I feel bad for him now, and I'm not scared of him no one should be that terrible" Charlie agreed.
"I know, people always say stuff about me for hanging out with him but they don't know him like I do, they don't understand" I put my hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry no one should have no go
through that" I said as my voice calmed. "Thanks" he said as I took my hand off and he looked away.
There was an awkward silence for a while. Both of us didn't know what to say after that conversation. Charlie's a good person he doesn't deserve to be made fun of. Neither does Zack, he may have problems but that doesn't define him he's so much more than that, he's a human being with feelings.
No one should be treated differently for something they can't control-no one should be treated differently in general. There are some sick people in this world and I wish I could protect the people I love but it just doesn't work that way, but I will do everything In my power to protect charlie. I looked down at my watch, Charlie would be getting out of school right now. I looked at Charlie who was staring at the sky, he was quiet and still.
"Charlie" I said quietly but no response, he didn't even look at me. "Charlie" I said a little louder, he turned to look at me "sorry I was zoned out, What is it?" He asked "I think I'm going to get going now" I said as I got off the swing. "Oh yeah okay, I'll see you tomorrow right?" I nodded as he stood up "yes of course, bye" I said as I hugged him then I turned around and walked away.
I started walking towards the school. I made my way to the entrance as I stood there for a second before Zack came out. I walked up to him as he stopped walking "James" he said quietly "Zack, can we talk?" I asked as he looked around "I don't want to talk" he replied quietly as he began walking again. I walked in front of him "please" he sighed as he stopped walking "fine, but let's go somewhere with less people" he said as we walked across the street to a bench.
We both sat down, I took a deep breath "I'm sorry" he turned to look at me confused "what?" Was all he said. "I'm sorry I talked to you that way I shouldn't have" Zack just stared at me in disbelief "you have nothing to be sorry for, I hit you" he said softly as he looked away. "I'm so sorry I hit you I feel really bad I didn't mean to hurt you-I didn't want to hurt you" he started apologizing "I shouldn't have gotten mad at you when you didn't do anything, i just don't want you to be afraid of me" I put my hand on his shoulder to try to get him to stop talking "Zack" he stopped talking as he looked at me. "I understand, Charlie told me everything I understand" his face softened, his frown faded. "I'm not afraid of you," I said, my voice soft and quiet. Zack smiled as I hugged him "I might not understand what you're going through but I know that you are a good person and Charlie really cares about you, he didn't mean what he said he was just worried about you" he smiled slightly, "you mean it?" You could tell by his voice he was trying not to cry. "I mean it" I said as he laughed and he hugged me again "thank you James I really needed this" he said as I smiled "of course Zack, i'll see you tomorrow" I said as I stood up "bye" he said as I walked away.
I walked back to the lake as I grabbed my jacket, the bottle of alcohol I still had and a book. I started walking towards the library to return my book. After I returned my book I may have gotten a bit distracted and started looking at the books, I went from fantasy then to romance  then I ended up all the way in the horror section.
After a while I looked at my watch to see it was already 4 so I put the bookshelf back and walked out.
I started walking back to the park me and Charlie were at. I climbed up the slide and sat at the top. I put my jacket down before I sat down and I put the
bottle next to me. I stared off into the distance. Then I went to sleep.
The next evening there was a football game going on across the street, I sat there for a while watching the game, this was the closest thing I had to entertainment. I started laughing when one of the kids fell in the mud, one of his teammates accidentally tripped him and he went flying. I laughed as I watched them. I realized Charlie was the one who accidentally tripped the kid. Oh my god? He plays football? As I sat there and watched all the kids and their dads I couldn't help but think back to dad. I wonder how he's doing, how he's feeling. I wonder what he told mom since he was the last person I saw. I'm happy my dad was supportive but I know not everyone is going to be as supportive as my dad. Take my mom for example. She said how she won't approve and how it's a shame because I was a good kid. How will I ever find a boyfriend if I'm too scared to even come out to anyone anymore. What if I tell Charlie and he hates me and doesn't want to be my friend anymore. I can't let that happen because I think-I think I like charlie.
I think I like Charlie in a romantic way.
But I can't because I don't even think he's gay let alone that he likes me back.
I can't let him know I like him. It will ruin our friendship, for now I just have to accept the fact that we are friends and we will always be just friends. 
As the sun started to set I felt myself getting so tired to the fact that my eyes were getting heavy so I decided to go to sleep.
In the morning I woke up bright and early so I could bring my stuff back to the tree in front of the lake before I went to go get charlie.
As I made my way to the tree I made sure I hid the bottle in my coat before placing it down. Then I started walking to Charlie's house. I made sure I stopped at the clothing store and stole some more clothes. I walked into the changing room in my clothes then walked out in new ones. It was such a big store and no one was really there so it was easy to take clothes.
Once I got to Charlie's house I knocked on his door and the door immediately opened "James, hi" he said with a small grin. "Hi, are you ready?" I asked as he looked back at his food still on the table "almost, come in and have a seat while you wait" he said as he let me in. "Oh okay take your time i'm
a bit early so no rush" I said with a small laugh "okay thanks" charlie said as he walked into the kitchen "would you like some cereal while you wait?" He asked as I walked into the kitchen. "Sure" I smiled as I sat down, he made me a bowl then handed it to me "okay I'm going to finish getting ready" he said as he ran upstairs.
I'm so glad I came. I'm so hungry I haven't eaten much since I left the palace. The only time I eat is when Charlie offers me food. I'm so grateful for charlie.
I finished eating my cereal when Charlie came downstairs "okay im ready! Are you?" He asked as he grabbed his backpack "yup" I said as I put my bowl in the sink then walked to charlie. "Okay let me just get my shoes on then we can go" I smiled as I waited patiently. "Okay ready" he said as he stood up and we walked out the door.
We started walking to school. We were a block or two away from his house when I notest Zack coming out of his house, we walked up to him "hey Zack" I said as he turned around "James, charlie, hi" he said with a small smile. "You guys are......okay?" Charlie asked confused, me and Zack both nodded
"I went and talked to him yesterday and we made up" I explained as we all began walking again.
"Oh that's great, I really hated to see you both all mad at each other" Charlie said with a sigh of relief.
Once we made it to school we all walked up the stairs "okay bye guys, i'll see you later charlie" I said as I hugged them both "bye" they both said at the same time, then walked away.
After I walked away I decided to go spend my day at the library again. I love books, I always have. I loved reading and writing-writing was always a passion of mine, I used to spend every second of everyday writing trying to finish my book. But that's all over now, now I have to focus on reading to keep me entertained.