Oh My God, They Were Roommates

26 | Swing, Swing

"I'm sorry you had to take off work to hang out with me. This weekend is just gonna be a bit... chaotic," Ray said, letting out a weary sigh. He smiled, faintly, but it felt numb and plastic on his face.

Charlie took a sip of his tea and, crossing his legs, said, "It's no problem. I'm not paying for school—just to live."

"Loving how that suggests paying for school is the opposite of paying to live," Ray laughed, and Charlie pointed a finger at him and said, "Now you get it."

They lapsed into silence. The numbness spread down to Ray's fingers again as he licked his lips and looked sheepishly at his hands, brow furrowed. He cleared his throat and decided not to make it awkward.

"I don't think I can keep seeing you," he said.

Fuck, that was the opposite of how I meant to do this! he screamed internally, fingers shaking. He sucked in a shaky breath and looked up at Charlie, who was now staring at him from his spot one stool down from Ray.

Charlie's jaw slowly dropped, and whether it was to speak or simply to gawk, Ray wasn't sure. Either way, he couldn't shut up.

"It's just—It's really complicated right now, and I really like hanging out with you, but my life is just—It's too chaotic for me to be dragging other people in. It's just not fair for you to have to deal with me and all my problems—"

"Is this because of Sora?" Charlie asked, simply, his expression still flatlined. His eyes searched Ray's face as Ray shook his head quickly.

Ray put his hand over the bridge of his nose and said, "No—I mean, kind of? I don't know. I wouldn't even know where to begin to explain everything."

Charlie gave him a dull look and said, "Try me, de Lucía. I've got literally all night."

Ray put his head in his hands and moaned, "Oh, I'm so sorry—you had to call off work for this..."

"No, it's fine, please, continue. By all means," Charlie said, and Ray shuddered in disgust of himself.

Ray thought about all the bullshit Sora had put him through thus far, chief among them being convincing everyone that they were dating. It was useful for the sake of keeping Xavier at a distance, but it nearly ruined his friendship with Leo, complicated his relationship with Charlie, and put Sora's sister into a tizzy. As much as he wanted to blame himself for kickstarting that whole charade...

He wanted to blame Sora for putting him in that position.

"Sora and I aren't even dating," Ray said. He slapped his hands down, gesturing sharply. "And I'm not even poly. I don't know where he came up with that! We're just—We're just roommates because we were both scammed and now both of our names are on a lease for a single bedroom apartment. There. I said it. Gosh."

Ray put his forehead on the table and remained there for the period of silence that ensued. Charlie soaked in the information, bit-by-agonizing-bit, before clearing his throat, shifting in his seat, and opening his mouth to speak.

"You two... aren't dating?" Charlie said, and Ray shook his head miserably. "Sora said he doesn't have a roommate."

Ray straightened ever so slightly and sighed, "Well, neither of us were too keen on admitting that we were scammed. Or even to have a roommate. All the... secrecy started because Sora didn't want me finding out about his... profession."

Charlie leant back in his seat, a sneer on his lips. "That bastard," he said, kicking the leg of the table. Ray jumped. "I'll ream his ass, I swear to God. With the amount of bullshit I put up with on a daily basis..."

Ray grimaced. "I'm sorry for lying to you. I really had no idea you and Sora knew each other when we first started going out."

Charlie shrugged and said, "So... what? Are you two gonna snog or whatever and start actually dating?"

Ray wrinkled up his nose. "Ew, no way. I don't like Sora—I mean, not in... that way."

"Come on. Who doesn't?"

"It's different when you room with someone."

Charlie let out a dark laugh. "Yeah, no, that doesn't change anything."

Ray tipped his head to the side, curious as to whether or not Charlie spoke from experience. He shook the visual from his head. "Never mind that. The issue is that I need to convince someone else that I'm monogamous, so that it looks like I'm unavailable. For the moment. Until I get my bearings, you know?"

Charlie pursed his lips. "I really don't. But I'm intrigued now."

Ray sighed. "You really don't mind me talking about all this?"

He thought about it for a moment, staring off into the distance. At last, he crossed his arms and shook his head. "Not really, no. I just like gossip."

Ray couldn't imagine Charlie ever meeting Xavier, so he explained the situation down to his precise reservations about diving straight into whatever it was Xavier wanted from him. "I barely know him anymore, and I don't think I'm all that gung-ho about relationship stuff anyway! Like, I'm a romantic, don't get me wrong, but Xavier's more like..."

"Roses and candle lit dinners," Charlie said.

"Precisely, yeah. That's what I've gathered, anyway," Ray said, but perhaps it was just his Parisian version of their romance playing on repeat in his head. He shrugged, popped his lips, and said, "And so... everyone things I'm dating Sora and since Xavier saw him leaving my apartment..."

"You gotta stick with him. I get it," Charlie said with a sigh. He shrugged his coat off of the back of his seat and declared that he better be off. Ray stood with him, suddenly nervous about leaving things like this. They were on good terms, as far as Ray knew, but he couldn't help but worry. "I will certainly be pestering Sora about getting scammed next time he's at Bandaids. Mark my words."

Ray tipped his head. "I thought he was working tonight, though."

"Oh, he is. Tonight's the big night," Charlie said as he slipped his arms into the sleeves of his coat. When Ray rose an eyebrow, Charlie put a finger to his lips and explained, "He's escorting tonight—don't tell the authorities."

Escorting?! Ray thought, bristling a little. It took a moment for him to recall sleeping on the living room floor with Sora and hearing about Sora's fitting for a tux. He wondered why Sora hadn't mentioned it sooner, or even during their entire session that day in the studios. "O-Oh! He told me about that. I didn't realize it was tonight."

"Wish him luck—he may be a rat bastard, but by God he'll need it tonight," he said. He put an arm out to Ray, and Ray hurried forward for the brief, but relieving hug. "I'll come bother you two sometime now that I know you're roommates."

"Yes, please do," Ray said, smiling past the way his throat tightened. Ray waved farewell to Charlie and watched as Charlie left the establishment. Ray cleared his throat of the knot and rubbed a hand over his chest.

Quietly to himself, he whispered, "Well, that went better than expected..." but he didn't have the slightest clue as to what Charlie was capable of.