Lingering Kisses

(Charlie's P.O.V.)

The more you want to fit in, the more likely you are to stand out or worst case scenario, bullied or be ignored by the people whom you want acknowledge from.

He was like the storm that night. We never expected him AT ALL.

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"Oh my gosh! Chuck, Paul, help me out here!" Charlie's voice broke Paul and Chuck's conversation.

The two men went to Charlie and found a teenage boy lying in front of the boarding house, shivering under the cold rain. "Shit!" Chuck cursed and he immediately went and carried the boy into their living room.
The teenager was shivering intensely. Charlie went to get a fresh pair of pants, underwear, and shirt. While Paul went to get medicine and some dry towels. Chuck was the one who did the rest of the work.

Chuck stared at his pale skin that was cold due to the rain. "Charlie, Paul, can you two prepare a room for him?" he asked.
"Sure. Let's go." Charlie said.

After the two left, Chuck slowly undressed the teen to change into something dry. It was hard undressing a person who's unconscious, let alone a sick one. But he didn't mind. A few minutes later, he managed to change the teen.

"I should dry his other clothes." Charlie came. She stared at her brother's bothered stance. "I love it when I see you like this." she added. The brunette walked towards the teen and observed him. "He's 15 years old. That's my guess."

Chuck blurted out a laugh, "I almost thought that you were gonna say something serious." he added.
"By the way, did you finish what I asked you to do?"

"Yes, my dear brother. I just came back to get his other clothes and to tell you that, you should get him tucked in before he gets worse." she sneered at her brother for giving her a bossy tone.

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The next day, the boy woke up in a soft bed. He looked around the room and it was breathtaking. "Where am I?" he asked himself as he got up and started to look around the house.

He stumbled upon three individuals in the kitchen. One woman and two men. He gasped as the man with tousled spiky hair stood up.
Chuck glanced at the boy, "Charlie, give our guest some food." he spoke as he walked past him.
The boy walked towards the table where the other man was sitting. He smiled at him, "I'm Paul. You are?" he offered his hand.
"I'm Riley Smith. Nice to meet you." The teenager spoke as he shook hands with Paul.
"Nice to meet you too. That beautiful girl, cooking our breakfast is none other than our landlady, Charlie Spencer." Paul took the liberty of introducing Charlie because she was too busy cooking. She smiled at him, "Hi. Don't mind Paul, he's always the charmer. What happened to you?" she asked.

But Riley didn't answer. "I guess the question is too personal." she found herself in an awkward situation. Luckily, Chuck came back. "You fainted in front of our Boarding house. Where do you live? I'll drive you home." For some reason, Chuck was kind of scary that morning. He even frightened Riley.

"Um... I don't have a-anywhere to g-go..." Riley stuttered as Chuck kept on staring at him.
"Bro, play nice. You're scaring him." Charlie softly pushed her brother aside and sat beside Riley.

"What about your parents?" Paul asked as he ate his breakfast. "They don't want me... anymore." The boy replied.
Charlie and Paul stared in awe at his answer. Chuck raised a brow and Riley couldn't look at him straight in the eyes.

"You're welcome to stay with us. Of course, as a tenant. Paul and Chuck are also tenants here. But I'm gonna give you a special consideration." Charlie immediately spoke to break the silence.
"What?! Are you crazy? You hardly know the kid and you're gonna give him a special consideration! What are you, the good samaritan or something?" Chuck blurted out. He was furious at his little sister's idea.
"This is my house, Chuck! I can do whatever I want with it and that includes letting people, who nowhere to go, stay here. If you hate the idea, you can leave." She argued back. It was the first time for Chuck and Paul to see this charming woman get mad. She has never raised her voice in front of other people, let alone her brother.
"He's right, you know. You barely know me, Charlie." Riley finally spoke. He stared at Charlie and then smiled, "You don't have to let me stay here. I'll leave so don't argue anymore." he added.

"You said you have nowhere to go and that your parents don't want you anymore. Did you do something? Or did they found out something was off about you?" she asked. It was personal but she had to get it out. Riley could barely look at her now, he was scared. "They found out that I'm gay." he replied.
Riley could feel the situation getting intense. 'I'm sure they won't take me in...' he thought to himself.
"So? They kicked you out because you're gay? That's a bit cruel." Paul said a midst the intense atmosphere between Charlie and Chuck.

"I don't really care about your sexual orientation." Charlie said as she smiled at the boy.
"Whatever. Parents like that are better off without their kid." Chuck said. Then he sat opposite Riley and ate his breakfast.
"I guess that means you can stay, Riley." Paul said. Charlie gave him another reassuring smile and he glanced at Chuck, who was busy eating.

'They just accepted me without judging me...' The teenage thought to himself once more. "Thanks, Charlie." He stood up and gave Charlie a warm hug.

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"Paul, why do I feel like Chuck still doesn't want me here?" Riley asked as he fixed his clothes in the closet.

It's been a week since Riley began staying at the Boarding House. He was enjoying it and Charlie made it feel like home. She treated him like her little brother. Paul always helped him fix his room and Charlie tutored him during her free time.

"Give him time, Riley. He's just sulking because he lost an argument to Charlie." Paul said as he placed another landscape in Riley's room. It was one of the perks of having an artist in the house. Free decorations.
Then Charlie came into the room, "Wow! That's a nice landscape. Here are some new towels and I bought you some new clothes too." she said as she placed three paper bags full of clothes on the bed. "Thanks Charlie but you really didn't have to do this. It's too much." Riley said as he rummage through the clothes.

"Charlie, does Chuck hate me or something?" the teen asked. "He doesn't hate you. He's just being his typical self. Chuck is always grumpy. Just give him time, he'll come around. Besides, birds of the same feather, flock together." she said.
Riley couldn't find the right words after what the young landlady just said, "Wait-- what?" he asked as he got confused by the whole situation.

"Oh, Paul didn't tell you yet..." Charlie glance from Paul to Riley. "It wasn't my place to tell him, sweetheart." the artist fixed himself on the couch near the window as he spoke.

"If you're gonna talk about me, at least try to lower your voice." Their eyes went to the person who was leaning on the door frame, it was Chuck and he held two boxes of pizza, pasta, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
"Well, this is a first. Are you going to share that with us or are you just gonna stand there?" Charlie asked as she eyed her brother.

Chuck walked towards them and placed the food on the floor, "It's a peace offering. I'm sorry I was such jerk. Welcome to the Spencer Boarding House." he said. Riley couldn't help but look at Chuck's beautiful face. He looked like an angel.

"Let's not forget about drinks. Since Riley is still underage, the alcohol remains with us and we'll give you juice or iced tea." Paul said as he went to the kitchen to get the beverages.

After a few minutes, they started eating. Charlie placed her iPhone on the dock to play music. When Jessie J's Domino played, she started to sing and dance while drinking her beer.

"I'm feeling sexy and free~ Like glitter's raining on me... Dance with me, Paul!" she sang and then grabbed Paul to dance.

Riley laughed at his new friends. On the other, Chuck just sat and drank his beer. He laughed as well but he turned his gaze towards the teenager who was leaning against him, "Riley..." he called for him.

The moment Riley turned to look at Chuck, he felt a sudden warmth that made him freeze from where he sat. Chuck's lips were on his and the feeling was breathtaking.