Watching Charlie taunt and bother Cameron was like watching a cat play with a single piece of yarn– he looked like he hated him more than anything in the world, wanting to bite and scratch it anyway he could, while simultaneously giving him his undivided attention.
Toying with Cameron was just something seemingly built into Charlie’s DNA. Was it in Charlie’s second nature to bully and mangle Cameron any and every time he gets? Was there something about Cameron’s mundanity that was so fascinatingly irritating for Charlie? It was up for debate whether or not Charlie’s constant badgering was just him filling the sardonic need to bully someone the opposite of him or if he genuinely just enjoyed Cameron to the point of aggressively paying attention to him.
Charlie’s insults, his hyperspecificity to Cameron’s hates and insecurities were quite concerning– not in a negative sense, entirely, but to an extent of ‘why does he spend all his time and effort on oneguy?’.
If you even asked his friends, Neil especially, Charlie is further from a bully similar to how a Cat was further from frog, in a sense that he didn’t view Charlie as being hostile to Cameron. Neil did, however, view Charlie as a street cat mischievously poking around a dumpster while Cameron, a passionate Chef and restaurant owner, has to constantly yell at him to stop.
From an outsider’s perspective, this could be a case of one-sided bullying, but Neil suspects Cameron enjoyed delivering a scold or two.
Cameron was one of Neil’s most polite and book-intelligent friends, Charlie being the most opposite of that definition (Charlie was street-smart at least), so it came to a surprise when he noticed how much these two friends “got along”. Cameron could easily brush off someone like Charlie since he’s already experienced worse bullying than this before. Charlie could easily come up with better, funnier material than just make fun of Cameron all day. But as Neil realized, it was like trying to understand why two magnets of opposite poles stick to each other, it was inevitable.
Charlie’s incessant want to get a reaction out of someone prim and proper juxtaposed to Cameron’s desire to finally scold and/or clapback at someone for once was somehow a match made in heaven.
They gave each other their undivided attention, like the wave will always crash into a shore, or a complacent red piece of yarn dangling itself for a tomcat.
It was only a matter of time until Cameron would let himself be caught once again and let Charlie completely take him.
.
.
.
uhhh I’ll tag yall later hahaha I just woke up and played with my cat and I got inspired hahah
charlie keeps bullying cameron for not having “game” that he can’t get girls like he does, classic bullying.
“i don even wanna date a girl right now, asshole, I’m busy with school”
“hah- are you gay or something???”
“wtf does that even– you know what, I dont need this rn”
and this goes on, that charlie’s pissing off cam a lot, trying to boast about his own conquests with girls while cameron is seething–
One day cameron gets a date with a girl because his parents wanted him to escort his family friend to her prom. Cam doesnt tell his friends this was an arranged thing and tells them that “He had game too”
so Cameron gets called to the office because his parents are trying to set him up with that girl again because idk man, parents really want him to date a woman even if he isn’t interested in em
but Cameron agrees on another date with her because maybe it’ll stop charlie from always calling him gay or some virgin again- also because he wanted to see charlie’s reaction
Cameron comes back to his room, seeing a distraught Charlie on his bed, obviously waiting for him to come back.
Cameron didn’t feel anything during the date. Well, he did feel bored of the girl’s incessant talk of her school reputation, her grades, her friends, all that standard high school talk. It’s not like he hated the topics she word-vomited on him, but he’d rather hear anyone else complain about how cool they were. Maybe Charlie would be better to talk to-- Damn it!
Charlie was pacing around their room when Cameron comes back. What he lacked all night with the girl, he’s feeling all too well at this moment. Charlie’s slightly delighted face made his heart skip a beat, even if it was just for split second for both boys to feel excited at this moment.
“Hey.” They both told each other, Charlie managing to mask his anticipated state by yawning, pretending that he wasn’t at all waiting for Cameron all night. He sat on the edge of his bed, briskly kicking off his slippers.
“How was the study group?”
“It was alright. Pretty boring without you.” Now that was a first. That’s the closest Cameron’s ever had to a compliment from Charlie.
“Oh?” Charlie could feel Cameron’s smirk burning a mark into his chest.
“B-But I bet you brought all the boring with you during your date.” Aaaand there it was. Charlie can’t go 2 seconds without insulting Cameron it seems.
Not that Cameron minded. He’d rather hear Charlie insult him than hear that girl tell him about Stacy’s dress last Sunday.
Cameron sighed as he sat on Charlie’s bed, causing Charlie to immediately straighten up and watch as Cameron lean on his shoulder. “W-what are you doing–”
“Can you tell me about your school reputation?”
“…E-excuse me???”
“Tell me about your grades, your friends, anything. Just talk to me.”
Charlie’s fluttering eyes and increasingly palpitating heart tried to process any semblance of a phrase, even a word! Anything to start speaking.
“Uhh I– Well, I was thinking about you a lot.” Damn it.
Cameron rolled his eyes, thought he didn’t at all expect Charlie to even go that direction. “You were?”
“I-… I’ve been thinking a lot about our– uhm…” Charlie shifted under Cameron, his bulky shoulders rocking Cameron’s head with it.
“Our…?”
“y'know… our… y'know…”
Cameron took this moment to lift his head and look at Charlie’s face. It was beet red.
“Our kiss?”
“y-yeah, that one.” Charlie’s usual demeanor towards Cameron was gone. All that remained was a stuttering mess.
“Did you think about it today?”
“I–”
“while I was on my date, did you think about it too?”
“… maybe– How’d that go anyway?” Charlie deflected.
“It was boring. I guess I took the boring there with me.”
“I wish you kept the boring with me– I mean-”
Cameron chuckled at Charlie’s lack of self-control. Looks like Charlie’s got a foot in his mouth this time.
“Whatdo you mean, Charlie?”
“I– that… IF you’re gonna be boring… anywhere, just choose to be boring around me.”
“I thought you hate boring.”
“Not when it’s your boring. But not everything about you is boring either.”
“Oh yeah? What’s not boring about me then?” Cameron did genuinely ask. He had lived a boring life so far. The only times it wasn’t boring was when he had to ignore Charlie’s dumb insults. A bit annoying, but never boring.
“I… Your face when it’s pissed off.”
Cameron’s face turned sour. “Yeah exactly like that!” Charlie pointed.
“You find this entertaining?”
“I mean, yeah. If ‘entertaining’ meant amusing, thrilling, heart-warming.”
“… Do you get a kick out of insulting me, Dalton?” Oh no- he used his last name!
“I– I don’t mean to insult you! I didn’t mean for it to start that way… I just… liked your reactions… that’s all.”
“So… all that shit about me being gay and stuff?”
“I–” “Reaaal mature, trying to insult me by calling me gay.”
“I didn’t mean for it to go this far–”
“What if I do happen to be gay? And my reaction changed, what then Charlie? Would my compliance no longer be satisfactory to you?”
Charlie thought about it for a moment. Long and hard in thought too. Cameron watched him become even more pensive.
“Are you gay though?”
“What does that have to do with my question to you.”
“I… If you are, then my answer will be a lot easier.”
Cameron sighed, bridge his nose bridge. “I– I dunno, Charlie.”
“Oh… okay.” Cameron wasn’t expecting Charlie to look so defeated.
“… But I know I didn’t like that girl. I’d rather be here with you.”
Like a light switch, Charlie brightened up. “You would?”
“I’m on your disgusting bed, aren’t I?”
Charlie inched closer to Cameron, happy with his answer. “Well that makes my job a lot easier.”
“What?”
“I’ll make you gay.”
“……………..what?”
“Richard Cameron. I’ve decided, you’re gonna become gay for me.”
“Charlie… I really don’t think that’s how it works at all.”
“Just you wait Cam, you’re gonna say that you’re gay for me.”
“Why do you need to do this??” Cameron kinda wanted to strangle his ignorant roommate.
“You wanted to know why I liked getting a reaction out of you, right? Well, it’s cuz I likeyou.”
Cameron’s ears turned bright red. “Y-you… what?” Charlie’s sudden confession caught him off guard.
“Think of it as a revenge for turning me gay. I’ll bring you down with me.”
“Charlie, you’re an ass. Being gay isn’t a punishment.”
“Then do me the pleasure of falling in love with me.”
Cameron rubbed his temples, in placement of hiding his embarrassed demeanor. “Just stop talking you dumbass.”
“Not until I get you to like me back.”
“I won’t.”
“You will.”
“I won’t.”
He already does.
ANyway idk if I will write a part 5 of charlie having an “i will turn cameron gay even if I used to insult him but now im in love” montage. depends on how many people want it lmaooo
Word on the street is that there’s a rogue pirate kidnapping handsome princes! So the knights assigned Neil Perry (their Golden Knight) to watch over Todd Anderson!
One night, the rogue pirate (Charlie) scaled a room on the side of the castle successfully and spots a sleeping young man on his bed. He’s immediately in love with his pale skin, sleeping face, and red copper hair. Before the sleeping man could wake up, Charlie puts a sack over his head and carries him out of the room.
“Did you here that?” Todd asks Neil, whose armor was scattered across Todd’s floor.
“Huh? No?” Neil said from Todd’s chest, still in the middle of kissing him.
“It sounded like it came from Cameron’s room. We should check.”
“Your nanny? I’m sure he’s fine, we’re not done here–”
“Neil, he’s my advisor and we’re going to check on him. There’s a pirate on the loose remember?”
Neil groans and helps them get dressed.
“Wake up, Prince.” Charlie patted Cameron’s cheek. They were in the caves beside a shore where Charlie’s row boat waded, the moonlight still shining on Cameron’s skin, making Charlie a bit flustered.
Cameron gathered himself, trying to wipe his face but his hands were tied behind his back. “Prince? Oh– You’re that pirate who kidnaps princes!!” He notices Charlie’s flowy shirt and eyepatch before he noticed the earrings and the sword on him. The man had taste.
“Okay Prince Todd, I don’t normally kidnap princes this far out but I heard you were the most beautiful in the land. I’d say they were right on that end so I’ve decided to keep you for myself.” Charlie winked.
“W-what? I’m not the–”
“Stop right there!” Neil shouted from the other side of the cave.
“You! Perry!” Charlie stood up, drawing his sword.
“We meet again, you scoundrel!” Neil laughed as he pointed his sword at Charlie.
“Oh please, just because I left knight training to be a pirate doesn’t mean I’m a scoundrel! I’m a dignified adventurer!” Charlie rebutted. Neil scoffs at his former classmate.
“Unhand our friend right now!” Todd yelled from behind Neil.
“Sorry, but the beautiful Prince Todd will be coming with me!” Charlie hoisted Cameron over his shoulder.
“Let me go! I’m not Todd!”
“Yeah!” Todd added, “I’m Todd!”
“Yeah, and Todd’s mine!” Neil piped in.
“… Huh? Then… Who–”
“I’m Richard Cameron? The advisor and right hand man to the Prince? You didn’t actually think I was the most beautiful prince in the land, right?”
Charlie puts Cameron down again. “I–” He stutters a bit.
“Y-you… You actually think I’m as beautiful as how they describe Todd? Even if you got the wrong room??”
“How could you think Cameron’s more– Ow!” Neil’s rant was cut off by Todd pinching him to keep quiet.
“I… Yeah– I thought you were really pretty and–” Charlie hid his face in his pirate sleeves. “I– I just thought–”
“… Y'know… now that we’re all out here… Do you all just wanna runaway?” Todd suggested. “We’ve got Neil to protect us, I’ve got my best advisor, I hate this kingdom and my parents, we should just go!”
Cameron was about to scold Todd for even saying he hated this kingdom but he sighed instead. “You know what? Sure. I’m gonna get fired if I do or don’t agree with you anyway.” Both Charlie and Todd beamed in happiness.
“Wait… does this mean we have to share a boat– a room with other people tonight?” Neil groaned.
“Honey, we can continue in this cave if you want.” Cameron looked at Todd in disappointment.
“What? No!” Neil and Cameron said in unison.
“Hey man, if you guys wanna live the pirate life, you gotta be okay with sharing the space with other horny pirates.” Charlie shrugged before looking at Cameron again.
“Please don’t tell me that while I’m still tied up.”
And so, Charlie “kidnapped” Todd, Cameron, and Neil in one night. They met up with Charlie’s crew: Knox the translator, Pitts the navigator, and Meeks the weapons smith. (Yes, they were all former princes who ran away with Charlie.)
Ok so like, in this version of the hanahaki disease trope the only people who can see the petals you cough up are the people who KNOW about your crush. It’s not gonna kill you, it’s just really annoying when you’re choking on petals and spitting them up. Also in this version, it’s not just unrequited love, as long as you have a huge crush you dont wanna admit to anyone, the amount of flowers grow the more people know + the more you like the person and wont confess (the more unbearable it is to keep a secret). it will only stop when the one you like KNOWS and they end up seeing the flowers, but they don’t have to like you back, once you confess- the flowers will either rot if they dont return it or fly away if they like you back.
Charlie has this problem, he likes to say how much he doesn’t like Cameron, until one day he didn’t really mean it and a rose petal appeared on his tongue.
Neil was the first to see one of the petals because he noticed charlie was being EXTRA mean to cam one day. neil realized he was bluffing. when neil told charlie, he says “no wonder i’ve been coughing up more of these.”
The next to know is todd because, well, it was the same thing with neil except todd was also coughing up petals. when they both told each other they liked each other, the petals flew away and they became a thing. they’re trying to explain to charlie to just confess while the flowers arent a lot
Charlie doesnt listen. duh
Cameron’s being more insufferable to charlie, by that he means that cameron’s gotten unbearably more attractive. his nagging became endearing to charlie, his face and freckles became overwhelmingly beautiful. cameron’s presence made charlie falter in his insults.
knox, meeks, pitts immediately notice. for an academically upright guy as cameron, he didnt pick up on charlie’s change of demeanor AT ALL
Charlie and Cameron’s room was COVERED in petals and friends think this is getting out of hand. the whole class knows. it’s obvious. and they’re all just telling charlie to just confess. some guys were nice, making sure no one outs Charlie in front of cameron or the teachers. but it’s getting really hard to use the locker rooms and bathroom
Charlie doesnt want to confess, they wont work. Cameron wont like him because they’re so different. but that’s why he really likes cameron. he wont bullshit charlie when he’s being chaotic, he could ground him and tell him when to be better. charlie needs someone like cameron but cameron wont need or want him.
One day charlie gets into an accident, like he tripped and hit his head or something and he gets rushed to the ER.
when he wakes up cameron is there and there are still a shit ton of flowers anywhere. but when he coughed one more time, no petals came out. a few more coughs and huffs. nothing.
huh.
he must’ve gotten over cameron. he got kinda sad, but when he starts talking to cameron he’s so happy. he knows he still likes him.
little did charlie know that moments before that, cameron had been coughing up so many flowers, he’s been coughing flowers for years for charlie. he didnt want to admit it because charlie was out of his league, he was a nerd and charlie was charlie. amazing.
their room was filled with 10 times the amount of flowers than anyone else could imagine. these two have been blindly in love with each other for so long (at least cameron has)
when charlie was rushed to the ER, charlie’s room still getting petals everywhere because of coughing + unconscious charlie , neil complained that he only got into an accident because he slipped on a bunch of petals for cameron and immediately slapped his mouth shut. Cameron found out (stopping charlie from making petals). He suddenly saw all the petals covering all this friends.
Cameron may have been coughing up petals for years but charlie produced as much flowers in the span of months as cameron did in years. He likes cameron THAT much. (also how many people KNEW??)
Neil apologizes but Cameron blurts out he likes charlie too and then suddenly the petals in Neil’s view TRIPLED. “damn it– but hey at least yours are pink and not bright red like charlie’s. can you just.. confess to charlie? please? so this is over with”
so when cameron stayed with charlie, he was still coughing up flowers but this time they were multiplying, his crush– his love for charlie was getting stronger.
charlie wakes up, sees cameron and before he could confess, cameron tells him he likes him.
Suddenly the room was a mix of red and pink petals. charlie was in awe but immediately returns cameron’s confession.
they watched as their petals danced together in a mini tornado in the room before they dissipated.
I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.
thinks to himself “carpe diem” every time he goes to a terror professor’s class
is part of the over 75% of welton graduates who move onto the ivy league
drinks wine when having to study core subjects he does not care about
misses classes way too much
overanalyzes for poetry classes, almost fails college-level math
just goes along with how neil wants to spend date night
he loves suits because he gets to blend into the crowd even if he is the most frightened college student that has ever existed
his parents buy him ugly suits and he pretends to like them
studies at the coffee shop until 2 AM, unless neil is studying a role because he joins neil at the diner and withstands the terrible coffee
exam season breakfast is either nothing, or something while on the subway (he tries to be as discreet as possible)
constantly forgets where he put his metro card so he keeps buying new ones because he’s almost always late for class
brings huge bouquets to neil’s performances
owns lots of shoes but only wears one pair because it’s his most trust-worthy one (feels somewhat comfortable even after hours of walking)
is comfortable around neil all the time, except for when he’s writing poetry because neil might steal it because he’s done (walt whitman chasing part 2)
speaks as confidently as possible when called on by a professor but still undergoes stuttering moments once in a while
Neil
an nyc actor
his friends invite him to chill at the Paramount Hotel a lot, he only goes because he’s too afraid to tell them he can’t afford it so he just avoids spending money while he’s there
estranged from his father, who needs a lot of time to accept his career decisions
goes to the ticket booth in times square for last-minute musical tickets on sale
still memorizes lines from a midsummer night’s dream
goes to a small unknown university in the city, just in case acting doesn’t work out
shares an apartment with todd, the love of his life (todd also pays for the apartment but it’s okay todd doesn’t mind)
absolutely loves times square in the day but todd hates it so they only go when it’s 4 am and there’s less people
when todd is stressed, he tends to blurt out musical songs to make todd laugh (”come on babe, why don’t we paint the town?”)
never learned how to drive
when the rest of the dead poets visit, they complain about how much neil makes them walk without noticing it (new york means walking ALL THE TIME - meeks hates it)
is a sucker for breakfast bagels on sunday mornings
learns roles in the local diner 6 minutes away from their apartment (“hey neil, up for an audition again?”)
is friends with the diner owner and the coffee shop barista
Knox
a pre-law student at yale
“mr. future lawyer”
he and chris are still together but chris goes to a liberal arts college far away so knox goes on road trips just to see her
writes a poem for chris every time he visits
he ADORES the snow in new haven because it reminds him of happy days in vermont
his favorite places to eat apart from the dining hall are shake shack, taco bell, and the chinese food store beside it
has a poetry notebook whenever he feels like his soul being sucked into a passionless profession (other people are passionate about it, he just isn’t)
has a lot of friends but chooses to hang out with pitts a lot because pitts also went to yale, enrolled in a different course (engineering)
he refuses to wear suits unless required because he is so tired of that welton uniform
his dad visits him more often because he decided to follow the path he was set out to take
has a secret dream of writing award-winning poetry
sits on the grass way too often that upperclassmen give him the stink eye because he tends to play loud romantic songs when he studies
would die for Insomnia cookies (his favorite cookie shop in the world)
has a lot of money but doesn’t want to spend it so he drives all the way to the nearest walmart or target to buy things
