Not Who You Thought (BxB Drama-Romance)

Making Charlie Happy

"Sorry." His cheeks are flush with embarrassment. "I'm a jumpy person."

"No worries," she says easily. "A little bronzer, some setting spray, and you'll be finished."

Without thinking, my hand reaches up to find his and our fingers twist together. The three of us remain connected in small ways while she finishes his makeup, my hand in his and her fingers angling his face. I can't remember ever feeling this close to two people this quickly before, my friendship with them running deep and forming something substantial in such a short amount of time.

It's almost as if Allison and I have the same goal: be nice to Charlie and try to keep him from getting eaten alive by the world.

For his sake, we pretend that he didn't flinch. Allison isn't an obvious or obnoxious person, she never points out things about Charlie that other people might rudely comment on. When we first arrived here today, she offered him a short-sleeved top to wear instead of his long sleeves, and didn't press the matter when he politely said "No thanks". Instead of pointing out his shyness, she coaxed him into becoming comfortable by offering him conversations about things he enjoyed.

"You boys should go to school in New York."

"Huh?" I come crashing back down to earth from my faraway thoughts.

"Well, Charlie could go to The Fashion Institute of Technology. The school is directly in the heart of the fashion district. There are tons of internship opportunities there, he could work for a fashion house." She swoops the bronzer over his cheeks. "And Lucas, what exactly did you want to go for again?"

"I want to be an art teacher." I like being able to say that out loud in the safety of her room. Neither Allison nor Charlie think my major is sissy or deemed to fail me in the future. 

"Right!" She smiles brightly. "There's amazing art schools in New York. Charlie belongs in the city."

"You think?" He asks. "I've never been to the city, the farthest I've gone away from here is Utah."

He only went to Utah to go to conversion therapy. I don't want to know what Allison would think about this fact. She would probably think his parents are barbarians, which they may well be. Things are different here than they are from where she grew up; we aren't as progressive.

"Absolutely," she says gleefully. "Let's all go to the city before school starts again! We can take the train. It'll only take four hours or so."

"We should go, Charlie." I squeeze his hand. "It's like Portland on crack."

"Okay." He smiles widely. "Sure, let's go check out some school campuses. Maybe we can pool our money and get a hotel for a night."

"Fabulous," Allison says. "You can meet some of my friends." She leans back and scrutinizes Charlie's face. "I think you're done, my dear."

"Beautiful work on a beautiful person." I rest my chin on my hand.

"You guys are too cute." She holds up a hand mirror in front of his face. "What do you think?"

"Wow." He breaks into a huge smile. "You did a great job, Allison. You're very talented."

"Please." She preens under his compliments. "It's all about having a pretty model."

The inside of Allison's room feels as comfortable as a nest. She has a million pillows on her bed, her rug is a fluffy pink knit, and there's clothing strewn across the room. I feel like I'm standing in the middle of a girlhood lived out to its fullest. Everything is unapologetically feminine, from the tubes of lipgloss sitting on her white vanity to the fashion magazines stacked before me. The cool air circulating in her room smells like vanilla, flowers, and the Doritos we've been eating.