Chapter Text
Smoke fills your lungs as you take a deep inhale, the tip of your cigarette letting off a glowing amber light, the only indication of your presence sat outside on the brick wall that encircles the roof of the flat below yours.
“Jesus Y/N! You scared the shit out of me!” A voice calls out behind you.
You spin around, searching for the source of the noise. As he steps forward, your flatmate Charlie’s face comes into view, appearing in the doorway like a friendly little beacon.
“Oh, hey Charlie” you smile.
“Those things will kill you ya know?” He says disapprovingly. He attempts to pull a stern expression, but his boyish face makes it hard to take seriously.
“So you keep telling me…want one?” You smirk.
“I don’t smoke Y/N, it’s bad for you” he replies flatly.
You shake your head, smiling “God you’re such a fucking Boy Scout”
He takes a seat next to you, stumbling a little in the darkness.
“Do you ever do anything you’re not supposed to?” You laugh.
“Of course I do!”
You can’t see him fully, but you can sense him blushing beside you.
“Oh yeah I’m sure” you say sarcastically, rolling your eyes. “Bet you’re out having orgies and doing lines every weekend right”
“Ah! No! I mean…not that I judge people who do, I just…”
“Don’t do anything fun, I know” you wink, despite knowing he likely can’t see it.
He sits next to you silently. It’s hard to tell whether he’s pissed off, or if he just has no comeback to your accusation.
You’ve been flatmates since your first year of university. When you first met him, you thought he was just a quiet, nerdy international student, but the more you got to know him, the more you’ve grown to appreciate his levelheadedness and sweet nature. On countless occasions he’s taken care of you after a night of drinking that’s got a bit too heavy, or cheered you up when you’ve been messed around by guys. He’s dependable. But you’re both in your final year now, and you don’t think you’ve ever actually seen him let loose.
As his flatmate, you decide in that moment it’s your responsibility to get him to live a little before you both go your separate ways at the end of the year. You take your box of cigarettes out your pocket and open them, gesturing towards him.
“Take one Char”
“Huh? Y/N, I don’t smoke” he chuckles.
“Exactly! You don’t do anything! Do you really want to go back to America having not tried anything new? I thought studying abroad was meant to give you new experiences”
He doesn’t answer. Shit, was that too harsh? You’re about to launch into an apology when you feel his fingers touch the edges of the box you’re holding.
“Do you have a lighter?”
You slip your lighter out of your pocket and hand it to him silently. If you’re being honest, you weren’t actually expecting him to take you up on the offer, but you’re here now, and you’re not complaining.
He holds the cigarette between his fingers and lights the end of it carefully. The glow of the flame illuminates his face, making shadows form around his jaw and beneath his cheekbones. He’d admit himself that he’s definitely had a bit of a glow up since moving here, and it’s times like this that really prove it.
“What do I do now?” He asks quietly.
You smile, enamoured by his innocence.
“Just breathe in. Not too much though or you’ll cough, and take a little regular air back with it too” you guide him.
You hear the end of the cigarette sizzle in his hand as he takes his first drag, which is covered up almost immediately by the sound of him coughing and wheezing.
“Euch! Ah-god! How do you do that?” he splutters, still coughing between words.
You rub his back gently, letting him compose himself. Eventually, he calms down, looking at you disheartened.
“See, this is why I don’t try to do anything cool, because I immediately make it look uncool” he mutters.
“It’s fine Charlie, pretty much everyone hacks their lungs up the first time, you just have to get used to it. Try again, but don’t take such a big drag this time” you rub the top of his arm reassuringly.
“I bet you didn’t” he says hopelessly.
”Well no, but that’s because I’m just effortlessly cool” you smirk.
He tries again, more successfully this time. You can sense him smiling to himself as he goes to take another drag. Satisfied that he’s not about to keel over, you take one out of the box for yourself. You gesture to him for your lighter, which he’d forgotten he was still holding. He hands it to you silently, your fingers grazing each others gently as it passes between you.
He watches you carefully as you light your own, staring intently at your face that’s now illuminated properly for the first time since he came out here. You sit together and catch up as you both smoke, chattering about coursework and exams, your plans after uni and your other flatmates latest exploits. Time seems to slip away as you sit and talk, the air growing colder and the city around you becoming quieter. Eventually, Charlie notices you shivering and suggests you go indoors.
“What’s next then Charlie, now you’re the ultimate bad boy? The orgy or the coke?” You laugh as you follow him inside.
“I should probably try having sex with one person before I launch into an orgy” he laughs, but then immediately falls silent, a deep crimson crawling into his cheeks.
You eye him carefully, processing his last comment.
“Charlie…are you a virgin?” You ask gently.
“Y-yes-no…I don’t-I don’t really wanna talk about this actually” he scrambles, panic evident in his voice, wobbling as he speaks.
He attempts to hurry off back to his room, cheeks still burning with embarrassment, but you grab his arm to stop him before he can put too much distance between you. It’s firmer than you expected.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about Charlie” you say comfortingly, taking on a more serious tone than he’s used to hearing from you.
He mutters out a few incoherent sounds, avoiding eye contact with you. If it were anyone else you’d just let them go, not wanting to make them uncomfortable, but you know Charlie, and it’s almost guaranteed that he’ll sit ruminating over this all night if you don’t deal with it now.
Charlie shifts awkwardly where he stands as your hand holds firm on his arm.
“Seriously, it’s not a big deal. Everyone’s ready at their own pace, I know I was winding you up you earlier but if you’re not ready yet that’s nothing to be ashamed of” you attempt to reassure him.
You can’t help but feel a little bit guilty. You wouldn’t have teased him about it so much when you were outside if you’d have known. But you didn’t. He’s cute, and nice, you figured it was a reasonable assumption that he had to have done it at least once.
Charlie looks like he wants to be anywhere but here, face screwing up in discomfort. He keeps going to speak, but the words get caught in his throat, so no actual sound comes out. Eventually though, he manages to string a full sentence together…barely.
“It’s not that I’m not ready, I’m ready…I just-girls don’t-I can’t…I dunno, I haven’t had the chance is all”.
He looks so downtrodden you could almost cry.
“You mean girls don’t like you? I find that hard to believe Char” you raise an eyebrow.
He shakes his head, looking down at his shoes.
“Well they’re idiots then.” You say matter of factly. “You’re great Charlie, you’re cute and kind and funny, any girl would be lucky to have you” you smile.
For the first time since his confession, Charlie meets your gaze.
“You really think so?” He asks, a small hint of a smile curling in the corners of his mouth.
“I really do” you answer confidently, rubbing the outside of his bicep with your thumb. You don’t move your hand away, still afraid he might flee, but you do loosen your grip slightly.
As if on instinct, you rise up onto your tiptoes and plant a kiss on Charlie’s cheek. You’re not even sure why you did it, it just felt right. When you lower yourself back down, Charlie is staring at you wide eyed. A beat passes, then you feel his hand slide into your hair, pulling your face towards his.
Tiny fireworks explode in your stomach as your lips connect, sending shivers down your spine. The smell of his aftershave fills your nose as his lips move rhythmically against yours, the kiss growing in intensity so rapidly that you’re finding yourself struggling to keep up. Right when you feel yourself melting into it fully, Charlie breaks away from you. He looks at you, touching his fingers to his lips, before fleeing to his bedroom in a panic.
-
“Go away” Charlie whines out through the door as you knock persistently.
“Charlie would you just talk to me? It’s fine, I’m not mad at you or anything, it’s just a kiss” you call out.
No response.
Fine. Time to change tactics.
“Although it’s not a very nice way to treat a girl, to kiss her and then refuse to talk to her” you mumble, attempting to sound hurt.
A touch manipulative maybe, to use his respectful nature against him, but desperate times as they say.
As expected, that comment does the trick. God he’s such a good guy. You hear shuffling and then the sound of the lock on his door clicking. He doesn’t open it, but you take him unlocking it as invitation enough to enter.
When you do, you find him making his way back over to sit on the end of his bed, looking down at his lap. You quietly shuffle over to him, perching precariously on the soft mattress below you. You don’t speak, letting him go first. It takes him a minute, but eventually his voice breaks the silence filling the room.
“You only said that because you knew it would make me open the door, didn’t you?” He mutters.
You smile. He knows you too well.
“A bit, yeah”
“That’s not nice” he responds.
“Neither is ignoring me” you quip, narrowing your eyes at him.
“…sorry” he mumbles, playing with the edge of his hoodie sleeve.
You need to approach this carefully. Charlie’s sensitive, and as this evening has taught you, doesn’t have much experience with women. One wrong move is at best going to leave him spiralling for a week, and at worst leave you without a flatmate.
“You really don’t have to apologise Charlie, it’s honestly fine, what’s a kiss between friends? Besides, it was nice! You’re a good kisser” you grin, nudging into him.
“Shut up” he whimpers, frowning at his shoes.
“Seriously! You’re good! Would 100% recommend to a friend”
“You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?” He mumbles.
“Scouts honour” you grin, raising your hand in a salute, eliciting a groan from Charlie.
“You’re not funny” he mutters.
“I am a bit” you smirk.
Charlie finally looks up from his shoes, not quite making eye contact, but at least facing in your general direction now.
“You won’t tell anyone will you? About what I said” he whispers, vulnerability seeping through his words.
“Of course not”
You place a hand on top of his, a gentle reminder that he can trust you. Whilst there’s nothing you love more than teasing Charlie, this is clearly important, and you’d never want to hurt him or betray his trust.
“It’s not that I’m not interested in it and stuff, I am…like a lot” Charlie mumbles.
“I know Char, we share a wall, and your headphones suck” you laugh.
Charlie blushes hard again, groaning and throwing his head in his hands.
“Hey it’s fine! Everyone does it, I’ve no doubt you’ve probably heard me at some poi-”
“No!” Charlie yells out unconvincingly, cutting you off.
Well that was way too quick to be true.
“…okay, well, anyway, I’m sure there are plenty of girls who’d be interested in you, we just need to get you out there” you chime cheerfully.
Charlie shakes his head aggressively.
“and then do what? I literally know nothing, I’d be awful and they’d laugh at me and then I’d be small dick Charlie on campus for the rest of time” he whines, theatrically flinging himself backwards onto the bed.
“A touch overdramatic don’t you think?” You chuckle. “Besides, if your kissing skills are anything to go by I’m sure you’ll do fine” you smirk, squeezing his lower thigh playfully.
Charlie flinches at your touch, jolting upright and shuffling about in his seat awkwardly. You can’t understand why until you notice him desperately pulling the hem of his hoodie down to cover his lap.
“Charlie…did that make you?” You trail off, eyeing him with a mixture of surprise and something else you can’t quite put your finger on.
“P-please leave now” he whimpers, sounding close to tears.
You mull over your options in your head for a moment. On the one hand, the boy is clearly mortified, and probably needs some space. On the other, you’re finding this whole situation surprisingly hot. If a quick touch of his thigh has managed to do that, some of the other things you could do would turn his brain to mush.
You’ve never really thought about Charlie in this context before, but there’s no denying that he is quite cute. You wonder if he’s ever thought about you like that. You do have a tendency to walk around the flat wearing fairly skimpy clothing after all, and clearly he’s quite…frustrated. Has his sweet virgin mind ever wandered one of those times you’ve heard him touching himself through the wall, picturing you bent over in front of him? That thought decides your next move for you, even though it feels totally insane.
“You sure you don’t want a little help with that?” You ask, smiling coyly, eyes gesturing to his lap.
The look on Charlie’s face is so comical you wish you could frame it. His entire brain appears to be short circuiting, leaving him completely speechless, and as you see it, vulnerable to a little bit of pushing.
“It’s just, when you kissed me earlier it gave me goosebumps, seems only fair I return the favour” you tease, placing your hand back on his thigh, a little higher this time.
Charlie lets out a small whimper, but he doesn’t move your hand away, which you take as a green light to keep pushing. You figure piling on the compliments and reassurance is probably going to be the best way to get what you’re after, so you lean into it even more.
“I can’t believe you think no girls would be interested in you Char, I’ve always thought you were hot”.
Not strictly true, but he does definitely look hot now and you’re determined to get what you want, so here we are. You push your hand up a little higher, so it’s right on the precipice of touching his dick through his shorts. You kiss his cheek, before trailing a few kisses down his jaw and neck, making him let out a gentle moan. The sound is music to your ears, encouraging you to attach your lips to his neck again, kissing all the way from his jaw to the collar of his hoodie. His breath quickens as you slowly ghost your lips over his skin, making him squeeze his eyes shut in anticipation.
As much fun as you’re having, you decide going any further with him without properly checking in feels like taking advantage. You pull your lips away from his neck and bring them up to his ear.
“Can I touch you Charlie?” You whisper.
He nods, eyes fluttering open briefly as his trembling hand rises up to cup your cheek. You take the hint, leaning forward slightly to press your lips to his. You weren’t lying earlier when you told him he was a good kisser. His lips are soft, and he sets the pace of his movements perfectly. You feel his tongue brush across your bottom lip, and you happily open your mouth slightly, allowing it entrance.
He shifts slightly to face you better, and you take the opportunity to slide your hand up, palming him through his shorts. He gasps in response, leaning into your touch. It takes a moment, but he eventually regains his composure, allowing him to refocus on the movements his tongue is making against yours.
You fondle him through the fabric of his shorts, eliciting moans and whimpers that seem to be quickly rising in frequency. His kisses are becoming needier and more passionate, as though he’s afraid at any moment you’re going to pull away. You continue rubbing your hand over his dick, gradually increasing the intensity. It’s clearly working because you feel him start to buck his hips up into your hand, rhythmically grinding against the fabric restricting him.
You swing your leg over the top of him so you’re straddling his lap, facing him. He grinds up into you, fingers digging into your back and scalp as he grips you tightly, desperate for more of you.
You’re about to start unbuttoning his shorts when you feel him tense up against you. He freezes like a deer in the headlights, quickly pulling his lips away from yours.
“O-oh fuck I’m so sorry” he moans, eyes screwing shut.
You don’t realise what he’s apologising for until you feel a warm wetness against your skin. You look down to see a growing wet patch forming on the front of his shorts, expanding with each twitch of his dick. Spurt after spurt of cum shoots into his boxers, each one drawing out a more pathetic whimper than the last. The boy looks utterly humiliated.
“I-I…” he stutters, brain scrambling to try and put together something, anything, to protect his ego, but nothing comes.
“It’s okay Char” you whisper in his ear, swinging your leg back over to sit down next to him.
For the first time this evening, you’re completely lost for words. You sit next to him awkwardly, unsure of what to do next, of what, if anything, will make him feel better.
“I’m gonna go grab a towel, I’ll be two seconds okay?” You say gently, brushing his hair out of face.
You stand up and make your way to the bathroom. Honestly, you’re just happy to have a moment away from possibly the most awkward situation you’ve ever been in. Once there, it takes you a couple of minutes to find a clean towel (the joys of being a student), and you stop to wipe away some of the mascara that has smudged below your eyes. By the time you eventually do and make your way back to his room, Charlie is no where to be seen.