Chapter Text
Have you wondered what it's like to be across the pond in another country? Traveling across the world to various places..? Yeah me neither. I always wondered what England was like.. and now having met Oli... I can do that...
"CHARLOTTE! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO STOP LEAVING THE WATER RUNNING!"
Claire.. the ONE person who doesn't respect people's names and pronouns. It's okay though. Everyone does it, so it's nice. Considering we all go to a highly religious college in the middle of who knows where in Kentucky. Yet she always has to be right there knowing what everyone is doing and somehow we got paired up together for some "quality bonding time" all because her parents are rich and she takes money out of her father's ass.
Yet, on the other side of things, she's not the one working at the nearby record store doing 9-5s, 4 days a week as a part-time job to get money and be able to fend on her own and not rely on others to do it for her. Guess what happens when you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
Trying to block her and her bright pink side of the room out, I simply turn up the volume on the headphones that are snug to my head while sketching in the same sketchbook for years. The neon green leopard print haircut slowly faded back to black. A little homage to what music taste I have. Considering all the Bring Me The Horizon posters plastered on the wall.
Band tees, skinny jeans, and sort of platform shoes, and many accessories are what litter the closet. It doesn't help with the generous amount of chains and belts stored in a small box under the bed. Nobody except one person knows they're there. Lee. The best person one could ask for.
"Charlieeeeeeeee, my little spiky gecko, how are you?"
Lee laughs from the speakerphone. His nickname echoed into the shared room where thankfully, Queen Claire and her entourage left. She mentioned something about Victoria's Secret. What's Victoria's Secret anyway and what does she need to hide if she makes a clothing store?
"Lee, how many times do I have to say, it's MR. spiky gecko to you"
A small short leaves my lips. Not one for laughing really. Doesn't suit the vibe here. But he's the exception. Always how it is and how it's going to be probably until we graduate. Hell, we still have a whole 3 years left in us, and my degree is still listed as unsure.
"Well, sorry. Just tryna clear the murky water since the royal highness doesn't make it better. But I have good news"
At this point, Lee nearly screamed from excitement. Spewing about the tickets he bought for a couple of months from now. Coincidentally hinting that the both of us should go together. Personally, saying yes sounds fun. But staying in a room with a cis guy while also trying to figure out what you identify as long with sexuality? Nah, I think I'll pass on that one. Don't need it outed to the campus about being NKU's royal fraud.
After hanging up with Lee, a sigh filled the room. Laying back on the black and neon green colored sheets of my bed, an audible groan leaves my lips. One that indicates either food or drinks would be in order. Hell, going down would mean having to leave my side of the room out into the depths of the mass of hell.
Reaching down into the box that sat next to the bed, the sound of a monster can cracks open. Before my body shifts to sit up, taking a sip of the well-deserved beverage. Glancing over at the pair of boots that sit at the end of the bed, the rumble from my stomach indicates that food should be grabbed.
Slipping the big platform boots on, I reach down to grab the can and my bag, then I'm headed out the door. Earbuds in my ears, nothing but the music consumes me. Mostly everyone in this school is terrified of how I dress, but honestly, I couldn't care less. Kill the Lights radio playlist on Spotify takes over the space in the earbuds, a tiny smile appearing on my face while I'm heading down towards the lunch room.
Normally, lunch would be eaten outside for my taste, but it started snowing recently. So sadly, I can't unless I choose to freeze. Even though that does sound nice, there's space in the library. The receptionist knows me and allows me to eat there since I'm one of the quiet kids here at the college. Nobody knows what classes I do since I do online classes all day. Grabbing the pre-packaged lunch, I swipe my card before I'm off again.
Making my way to the far back of the library, that's where I always sit. No matter where I am. Always the back. Never, and I mean never sit in the front seat or the beanbags. Claire and her posse sit there. Along with Kyle. The residential asshole football player and his crew. They never last more than an hour in the library since they're usually making the biggest messes, talking the loudest or they're tossing the football around.
He always tries to fight me but fails once I direct the topic to the size of his dick cutting off the circulation in his brain. They always try to act differently towards me and put on this fake "show" to see if falling for them being nice would work to use it against me constantly. Well jokes on them, because I've dealt with that with older and younger siblings in the house. The middle kid right here. Always got shitted on, so ended up putting up a defense. Moved out at 18.
Now I'm here at college for who knows what, working part-time at the record store that's within walking distance of the college. I always like it since they're open 24/7 I can slip in at 3 am and go through the vinyls to see which ones to put on hold until the paycheck comes in. It's every week so it doesn't bother me one bit. Prefer it. One of my best friends, Mason works there. So I get some form of escape from the living hell here. They don't go to college so they work there full time all year round. However, he popped over since he had a day off.
Seeing them walk in and up to the front desk to the receptionist makes me smile a bit. Kyle and his crew take notice too while Mason heads back to where I am to sit across from me. He always has a Taser on him with other safety weapons clipped to his belt loops since he uses it for work.
"Eating in here again huh?" his accent comes through when he whispers. Yep, they're British, Parents moved to Kentucky because they wanted a different change of pace. Their accent though never left them along with their fashion sense. Always put together in the most gothic one could be.
"Yeah... I always do. Lee tried to see if I wanted to go to England with him for a concert." I roll my eyes when mentioning that to them, seeming that they do too in agreement. They never liked Lee since they heard me talk about them. Nails tapping against the wood to put their glasses on top of their head.
"Babes. It's not for quality bonding time. He's a cis male that has gotten all up into your head. He's gonna go around and say that you two snogged even if you two get separate beds. I know how those go. I was one of them back home. But things change."
God, he was so right. Mason always knows how people act since a lot of them come into the record store besides me. But I'm his favorite since we have the almost same music taste. Sometimes we'll even switch Spotify playlists to add newer songs to our playlists.
"Here comes fuck-a-tron 5000 and his gang of minions" I groan when Kyle and his gaggle of douchecanoes start making their way over to where both of us sit. He sees me, readying to say something, but stops when he sees Mason there as well.
"Luv, If your dad had worn a condom, your 'football' team wouldn't be such a cock-up that you fail every season"
Mason doesn't even turn his head to face them but acknowledges them from the corner of his eyes. Any chance he gets, he insults them since they think they're better than England, but they know they can't win.