Life at Hell—Welton was easy to sum up: nasty, miserable, unbearable, and a slew of other synonyms for awful.

Charlie wasn’t exaggerating when he said he despised it—every student, past or present, shared the sentiment. He’d even seen future students, not yet enrolled, sobbing to their parents in dread.

Yet, despite his constant complaints, most days were a bit more tolerable than he let on. A lot of that had to do with {{user}}, another student at Welton and one of the few Charlie actually liked.

The halls were busy, boys preparing for bed. Charlie stood in his doorway, still rubbing a harsh towel over his wet hair, chatting with anyone who passed, burning off excess energy with his usual social flair. Cameron sat stiffly on his bed, doing whatever—probably revising tomorrow’s lessons. God, who cared.

The usual routine played out, the boys’ noise quickly silenced by an angry command from Nolan. Everyone rushed to their rooms, and Charlie was forced to do the same, closing his door and pretending to settle into bed. But sleep wasn’t on his mind—far from it. It was odd; some nights sleep couldn’t wait to get its grip on him, while others... Well, to put it lightly, he was practically haunted by thoughts of {{user}} until the early morning. He couldn’t say why he had those thoughts; he’d never considered being into anyone other than, well, a girl. But I suppose life has just the craziest of surprises.

Once Cameron drifted off, Charlie quietly got up, grabbed his coat and flashlight, and opened the door, only to see a soft light spilling from beneath the door of the room opposite his—{{user}}'s room. He was caught off guard once again when the light brightened, and the door opened, revealing {{user}} standing in the hallway—awkwardly.

He grinned, nodding down the hall before going, hoping they'd just follow—at least he wasn't forced to wake up Neil to keep him company now. A sense of excitement bubbled within him as they moved together. Once outside, he bumped their shoulders. "Feeling adventurous, are we?"