The Stars that Guide Us

1

He's so Fine...

The summer of 1968 was sweltering. Chuck's black, curly hair stuck to the nape of his neck, and his mouth opened to exhale long breaths of hot air as he pushed his feet against the pedals on his bike, and rode excitedly in front of the group; trying to outrun himself, and the emotions he doesn't dare to breach. Its safer for him, and everyone involved that way. People aren't kind to things they don't understand, and Chuck hasn't been very kind to himself lately. How could he...it-it-it was wrong. Its safer if he marks the funny flip of his stomach, and racing heart to the heat. Summer heat has its funny impact on people; maybe that was just its impact on him.

He refrains from swiveling his head back to check how far Auggie was, but his eyes yearn to check on him; his traitorous eyes will be the doom to him. He can't be too obvious. If he's too obvious...he doesn't even want to think about the consequences. It'd be bad...funny how Summer heat can impact someone. The way his eyes water momentarily at the visions of fists and slurs and darkness is all because he gazed at the sun for too long. That's all...it's the suns doing.

Chuck's insides turn to jelly at the clicking sound of a bike catching up to him, and he tries to cool the heating of his palms by balancing his bike, and then wiping them on his pants but it doesn't cease the sweating that tripled when Auggie appears in his peripheral vision. Calm down, Chuck. He utters quietly to himself, puffing small amounts of air through his mouth, and slowly inhaling through his nose, It's only Auggie. Auggie, man. Snap the hell out of it. "Are you challenging me to a race?" He queries obnoxiously, resulting in Auggie groaning low in his throat from annoyance, and shaking his head. Chuck wants to focus on the small noise, wants to live in the deep timbre of pure displeasure forever even though he's the cause, but time waits for no one, and the longer he stares, the sun burns his insides further.

"Chuck, I-"

"Last person there is a chicken, oh wait...you already are. See ya, chicken!" Chuck stands on the pedals, pumping his legs against the heat of the sun, and wipes a hand across his forehead. The following groan and strangled mutter of his name falling past Auggie's lips shouldn't make his heart thump against his ribcage, but he quickly chops it up to indigestion caused by the sun's rays. It's easier that way.

"Chuck, I swear!" Auggie calls after him, and Stella's laugh skips after them. Chuck's body shakes with excitement, pushing his legs harder against the pedals, and closing his eyes in the brightness of the sun; the heat so high that the children are either inside or at Shonda's Ice Cream Shop. Usually inside the Ice Cream shop; a mixture of both. He opens his eyes at the groaning mumbles of annoyance dancing in the air around him, and he increases speed; grinning with satisfaction.

A Saturday covered in golden and cars parked deserted on the side of the roads, leaving the road almost entirely empty besides a few cars lazily traveling to their destination and the group racing down towards the Ice Cream shop was a good enough track for Chuck's shenanigans.

Chuck hops off his bike, laying it at a slant on the side of the curb, and races inside; throwing open the door with the ding of the bell hanging above the door, and the store's costumers turning to stare at him incredulously. Chuck only grins, and states with an aura of pride, while resting his fists on his hips, "I won a challenge." Nobody cared enough to ask him to elaborate. "Well, thanks for being interested...I guess..."

When the bell dings again, and another wayward teen enters the shop, nobody looks over, and instead remains conversing to their groups resting in different parts of the shop. Auggie rests his palms on his knees, pressing them into the flesh to recover balance, and his breath. Chuck watches with worry, but cannot remove the smile of satisfaction. Perhaps he shouldn't have challenged that race, but it was worth it once Auggie recovered and glared pointedly at Chuck.

Chuck should have been expecting it, really, the fist that dived into his arm and the hands that pushed his shoulders back in annoyance. Chuck couldn't have enjoyed it more, and he hated how his skin tingled where Auggie had touched him. "I still won, chicken." He stated, tucking his fists by his armpits and making chicken noises into Auggie's face.

Auggie could only groan in annoyance, and push Chuck away like he was a child; which probably wasn't far from the truth. "Don't be jealous you lost and I won."

"Trust me, that's not what I'm concerned about." Confusion painted over Chuck like a thin top-coat, but he quickly painted over that top-coat with a more vibrant color.

"Chicken." He spoke with affection, and gazed up at Auggie with a smile, which Auggie stared blankly back at before rolling his eyes. Chuck hated how he loved the way the sun peered through the windows and shined calmly on Auggie's face; highlighting all of the best features.

He hated how he actually quite enjoyed it. And he hated how he would be casted out and beat for enjoying the suns rays on a canvas of already existing beauty. Shut the hell up, Chuck. He yelled at himself in his mind, sharply looking away from Auggie at the sound of the bell, your best damn friend! Stop it, he's not good looking, he's a derp and Auggie for God's sake!

"Hey guys," Stella wheezed from racing there, "did you get your ice cream yet?"

Chuck didn't answer, instead chewing his lip, and letting himself be consumed by his thoughts. He didn't want it to be wrong, he didn't want it to be true, and he wanted to curse the sun in the sky for being so damn hot and making his belly swarm with butterflies and his heart pound, and his palms sweat. He wanted to yell at the sun for making his eyes lock onto Auggie's face with no intention or capability to look away.

He wanted to blame the sun so damn much for shining on Auggie's face and highlighting the red in Auggie's hair, and more than anything he wanted the sun to burn the sin from his body, and to make him no longer wrong.

But he was...

And, he decided then, the sun was a cruel feature in his life.

"No." He answered at last, moving through his emotions, and tacking his façade on, "We were waiting for the last chicken to get here." Stella laughed, Auggie shook his head, and Chuck grinned falsely; looping his arm over Auggie's shoulder as Stella followed beside them.

He hated how his arm tingled from the contact.

He hated himself.