Expulsion gave Liam Barrett a dangerous choice. Needing to transfer for his final year, he'd known immediately where to go. It was a distantly familiar place that'd taken everything from him; had once ruined him so absolutely and twisted his persona...
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Liam left Mia's house not too long after, sore from the story he'd dreaded to impart but had felt anti-climatic once said. He'd meant every word. He couldn't forgive Charlie for what had happened, but the fiery blame and hatred in his heart had been snuffed. It'd always been about inflicting pain, but Liam had waltzed back into Charlie's life to discover karma had already done the job for him.
ㅤBut, that wasn't all. He was now... fond. He still hated Charlie, but it was complicated. That man was nothing like how he'd used to be; he was an irritable grouch, not a class clown nor a bully.
ㅤWalking down the school corridors in the morning, pupils still scoured their gazes against him. The recognition on their excited faces no longer bothered him, knowing it wasn't from his true identity but the video spreading around.
ㅤLiam Barrett was now a part of the legendary Charlie Bradley lore.
ㅤThrough a convenient stroke of luck, he managed to snag Miranda at the lockers.
ㅤ"Oh, good morning, Liam," she greeted. "You vanished before. You good?"
ㅤLiam smiled, leaning against the wall. "Yea, I was a bit under the weather. Aaron told me what you did though, so I wanted to thank you for that."
ㅤ"Your foster brother," she acknowledged, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't even worry about it. I couldn't stop it altogether because you're sandwiched between two infamous celebrities. Like Bradley, everyone knows who Finley is, and not for good reasons. It didn't take much to convince people what'd really happened."
ㅤ"Still, you didn't have to do that for me. I owe you one."
ㅤShe lightly tapped him. "You owe me nothing. People only care because it's Finley and Charlie. Everyone's seen the video. And now, with the context, you're mister popular. It's not every day we get to see Finley so utterly humiliated, and most people haven't heard Charlie Bradley's voice until now." Her smile twisted into a smirk. "Expect some teasing."
ㅤ"I wouldn't expect less. Hey, I know why Charlie is famous around here but I can't say I know much about Finley. I'm assuming it's different..."
ㅤ"Oh, yea. Completely different. Like, on a different planet kind of different. This wasn't a crossover anyone expected. Charlie is more," she fished for the word. "Untouchable. Like, everything about him is spread by word of mouth. Other than Ben, who'll never breathe a word about him, you're the first to achieve an actual conversation with the guy. Everyone else is too pussy to." She paused, chuckling. "I actually thought Darren was going to wet himself when Charlie came over to talk to you before."
ㅤLiam smiled, following Miranda as she made her way to the common rooms. "And Finley?"
ㅤ"He's more... Hm, how do I put it? I guess you could say he's got a bit of a victim complex. You could tell he's gay by looking at him; that boy is camp. And, normally, that wouldn't have been an issue, but..."
