Not Your Average

104

James wakes up to a screaming alarm and a sweat soaked bed. Great, another nightmare. He doesn't actually remember it but he can tell by the combination of goosebumps and cold sweat that it probably wasn't a nice one. He sluggishly reaches to silence his alarm, heaving himself out of bed and waddling to the bathroom. He flexes briefly in the mirror. pleased with his progress then continues getting ready. If he's honest, he doesn't put that much effort into it, combing the tangles out of his hair and pulling it into a low knot. He makes sure to brush his teeth and wash his face thoroughly before pulling on a baggy t shirt and a pair of black sweats. He grabs his bag and slips on some slides on his way out the door.

-

"You done PMSing?" the snide comment comes from Charles, who he'd been avoiding for the past few days, but when James glares at him, his features are soft and almost sympathetic, like he's concerned but not physically capable of saying nice or encouraging things. James notices this and sighs, calming himself down. "Yeah, I'm good. Just got a lot of work to do." Charles nods slowly but keeps studying his face. "Do you maybe want to do something after school? I know you said you're busy but you always seem to have time for the gym so maybe I could work out with you?" James is pleasantly surprised, all his other friends shame him for visiting the gym so frequently, so an offer of company was a rather nice change of pace. "Sure... That might be nice." He eyes Charles' physique, he looks over his slightly toned but mostly slender build, his gaze lingering on his arms. "Do you have any experience with weights or other equipment like that?" He highly doubts that he does but he doesn't want to come across as an asshole while addressing his lack of muscle. Charles simply shakes his head, "If anyone can help with that though, it's you. You've built yourself like a mountain." James chuckles a bit, smiling and looking down. "What's gotten into you? You suddenly want to go to the gym with me and you're saying nice things? Something's up." He's only half joking. It's not that he doesn't prefer this version of Charles, he just wants to make sure he's not imagining it. His friend explains that since it's the end of the semester, he wants to become closer and hopefully not be alone after graduation. "Well that realization took long enough, ceremony's in two days." James scoffs out but quickly relents. "Fine, but you can't keep being an ass."

-

"Holy f-" Charles breathes out as he watches James lift weights he never could with ease while explaining how the different muscles in his body worked and where they were. He reaches over to the rack and hands him a 35 pound dumbell. Charles accepts it hesitantly but becomes more comfortable when all its weight is in his hand. "Thanks, James but I'm pretty sure I can handle more than this-" He's interrupted by James offering him the 70 pound one in his hand, "Go on then." His tone is flat as he watches Charles stammer repeatedly about how that's way too much weight and he can't take that one but maybe a 50 pound one would be best. "Charlie, please shut up." He takes his hand offering the weight back. "I know you can't lift this one. Just trust me, I know that one you have doesn't feel like much of a strain but you aren't working with it yet, you're barely holding it." He looks down to where Charles' arm is relaxed by his side, gripping the weight. Charles blushes lightly, embarrassed and ready to leave the gym entirely. James notices how defeated and ready to give up his friend looks and sighs apologetically. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you, you just need to learn to trust me, I've been doing this for years. Okay? Can you do that? You don't want to hurt yourself." Charles smiles weakly and nods, "I trust you."