Just Acting /Jaylos

Chemistry

It happened like this:

It was the weekend Jay had found out Carlos had been lying about everything. The weekend that they avoided each other like the plague and Carlos had been sure that their friendship would never recover. Looking back on it, Carlos had been acting a little dramatic, but at the time it had seemed like the world was ending.

Carlos had been, sitting, not moping, in the library, flipping pages of a book in a manner that he hoped convinced onlookers he was thoroughly engrossed in the book. He must've not been doing very well, since he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see Aziz smiling at him. His dark hair was pushed behind his ears, and he had a brown book bag littered with pins that was swung over his shoulder, resting on his grey T-shirt. Carlos let his eyes roam a little because, hey, he was only human.

"Dude, are you okay?" Carlos huffed at the question. "Because you've just been flipping the same two pages back and forth for like the past five minutes." Aziz's eyes crinkled as he laughed lightly, emitting a spark of happiness that Carlos wished he could have.

Carlos rubbed at the back of his neck, slumping down into his chair. "Great, you caught me." Aziz smiled again, taking this as an opportunity to scoot into the chair across from Carlos'. "Yeah, I'm okay, just distracted by some things happening in my life right now."

For a moment, the only sound in the air was the screeching of Aziz's chair as he scooted up to the table, and threw his bag onto the floor. Carlos let his eyes dart down to his book, avoiding eye contact, hoping that the bout of awkwardness in the air would signal for Aziz to say his goodbyes and leave.

Once he had himself adjusted, Aziz nodded as if he understood. "Mm, gotcha. Do you wanna talk about it? I'm not always the best at giving advice, but I'd like to try, if you'd let me?" He had bit down on his lip, willing Carlos to look up at him.

The gesture was kind, Carlos thought. Surprising, since it wasn't something that generally happened on the Isle. Then again, he wasn't on the Isle anymore. He doesn't think that's something he'll ever get used to.

"No offense, but we don't really know each other. I mean, we have one class together, where we maybe have 5 minute conversations a day, and I've tutored you once for Chemistry. Not that you're a horrible person, because Aziz, you're great, really. I just don't think I'd feel comfortable unloading all of my problems on you."

Aziz nodded in understanding, pushing his hands out in front of him. "Dude, no problem, I get it. But if you do ever need someone to talk or complain to, I'm here. Really."

This was weird. Carlos wasn't used to this open generosity and it confused him, because generally on the isle this type of generosity meant the person needed something. It was always an eye for an eye.

"Yeah?" Was all Carlos could think to say.

Aziz smiled, "Yeah."

-

The days passed, and things with Carlos and Jay got better - as expected. It was still complicated; a whirlwind of emotions and still an unstable relationship, but better.

However, as the days went on and Jay and Carlos bandaged their wounds, Carlos found a friend in Aziz. He found that Aziz radiated glee wherever he went, and it was intoxicating. He could lift anyone's mood in a second flat, and Carlos slowly realized he was someone he wanted to have in his life. Carlos had finally realized that he didn't have to be constantly surrounded by his friends from the Isle. He could have his own friends and his own life separate from the rest of them. He used to feel guilty about it, but he was slowly learning that it was okay. He wasn't replacing Mal or Evie or Jay. He was simply expanding his horizons.