Re: Charlie and Gavin (after Jules and Jasper)
"Nah I don't wanna-" Gavin started since it was her drink and she should enjoy it but who the hell was he kidding? He stopped himself from speaking with a grunt and accepted the glass, careful not to throw back the whole thing. "Seeing other people, I think," he said as his mind seemed to trip over the fact Jasper had apparently had sex with Logan of all people. "They've been through a lot, it's... probably nothing." He'd hate for them to break up again, mainly because he really liked Jules and thought she was good for Jasper but go figure a Lucas boy would go fuck it all up even if his M.O. wasn't very Lucas like. He huffed softly and for something that was 'nothing' he did look upset about it even if he was trying not to be. He kept replaying Jules' words in his head, trying to put a spin on them that made it not about sex but something else but no... It had been pretty fucking clear. "Are you having a good night?" he asked as he nudged the glass back to Charlie and slipped his arm around her back, leaning in to kiss her shoulder. That was something he'd much rather focus on, she smelled good and she looked amazing in her fancy dress, like a movie star, way out of his league.
Charlie winced lightly. Relationships, especially young ones, were hard enough without adding other people in the mix. And she knew how much Gavin liked Jules. But the fact was, Jasper and Jules were both still so young and had been through a lot. Nothing was easy in this town, let alone love. "I'm having a good time. It's a beautiful wedding," she said with a small smile. "Are you? You look upset." Gavin was good at hiding his emotions, but since he had moved in, Charlie had gotten better at reading him and what he wasn't saying. She knew he was trying to keep the peace for Aaron's sake, and that had to be exhausting.
"I'm not upset," Gavin said hurriedly, defensively even because he wasn't like Joseph, damn it! Jasper being whatever he was - gay or bi or whatever new labels were out there - wasn't a big deal and every disgusting thing that went through his head when he thought about it came in Joseph's voice, not his own and it was important to try to make a distinction there. He'd had a lot of those insults hurled his way even if he had never been interested in men and it wasn't easy to just erase all that learned disgust in one go. Of course Charlie had no idea what he was really talking about and he gave her a wan smile as he shook his head again. "Okay, yeah I'm... a little upset. I'm..." He licked his lip and eyed the bar again, so far away. "I just heard a little too much, s'all."
Charlie turned in her chair to face Gavin a bit more, her hand reaching out to rest on his thigh. "Do you want to talk about it?" Charlie already knew the answer to that, or at least the instinctive answer. Gavin had gotten a lot better at opening up to her about the things weighing on his mind, but it was still a process. Charlie wasn't immune to the way Gavin glanced at the bar, but maybe she could get him a drink after they talked for a minute.
To his credit, Gavin didn't go get a drink, not yet anyway. He turned as well, resting his hand on top of Charlie's and fiddling idly with her bracelet. Anyone else and he'd keep quiet about it, it was nobody's business - not even his - but this was Charlie and she was irrevocably the love of his life. They were as alone as they could get at a big party, people were dancing and chatting and their table was fairly secluded so he leaned in closer and took hold of her hand with both of his now. "I don't know if this is a good place to talk," he started. "It's none of my business neither, Jules just said some stuff about Jasper and it's a bit of a mindfuck, if I'm being honest