TIMEWARP: Besties with Testes (Chester.)

[Cameron Osiris]

November 2nd, 2010

Cameron wouldn’t dare bring his guitar to the lake, it was too precious to even consider doing something like that. The worst thing that could happen would, and he didn’t need to have his instrument thrown into the lake. It would seem that there were more angry people than friendly ones at Hammel. He’d been here for a couple months and didn’t have any close friends. He MSNed his dad almost every night, missing him and everything about home, especially him though. The weather wasn’t any good here either.

During those connections, Cam thought it was best not to mention the bullying that was going on. Cam had thought it was all in good fun to start, but having the bright personality that he did, it didn’t take long for him to get noticed around the school. His power was out of control at best and destructive at its worst. That wasn’t what caused the bullying though, it was just a couple of older teenagers who couldn’t accept him and his friendly nature. It didn’t help that he didn’t know what to do with his feelings towards everyone either. He knew about people liking both genders, but shit, it would’ve been nice to nix at least half the population.

But not even the water could bring him solace, it just wasn’t the same. Standing up to leave, Cam brushed off the seat of his pants and made to walk back to Hammel grounds before he was out past curfew. A familiar, unfriendly face approached.

“Hey light bulb,” came the older male’s voice. Cam smiled like what the guy had said was something affectionate. “Like I’ve never heard that one before man,” Cam said, shaking his head, disappointed at the uncreative insult. Marcus wasn’t alone though, there were two other guys with him. “Fine then, faggot.” Lately he had taken to calling Cam that and the blond didn’t like it, but he didn’t know what to do about it.

“I think you’ve earned yourself a little drown in the lake." Cam laughed again, but Marcus was serious. The blond’s face fell and he made to turn and run, but the other two guys grabbed his forearms, and he kicked helplessly at the sand. As if being small wasn’t bad enough. “Are you just jealous I don’t like you the way faggots do Marcus?” Cam asked, smirking at the older guy who only grimaced. But there wasn’t a response as Cam was dragged towards the lake, and it wasn’t just to throw him in.

[Chester Douglas]

Chester had been following the blonde boy he found whose name was Cameron for a few months now already. The redhead thought he was just fascinating. Nothing seemed to bring him down and a smile was always evident on his face. Chester thought he was beautiful.

He was also such a nice person. And to be perfectly honest, Chester liked nice people. He was friends with Callie Gallo specifically for that. Sure, they went way back due to the fancy dinner parties their parents loved to throw, but they became friends because she was just so nice.

The redhead wanted to approach Cameron. Several times already but his paranoia always got the best of him. He always thought, there was just no way someone that popular would be interested in being friends with him. Chester wasn't shy. Quite the contrary. But his paranoia did nothing to help his ever growing curiosity over Cameron.

So he had taken to stalking the blonde. It was such a stupid thing to do. Following Cameron around like a lovesick puppy. But that was essentially what he was, wasn't it? Lovesick. Everything he knew about Cameron, he adored. They were just rumors and gossip but Chester felt like whatever information he got about Cameron was just solid gold. It just made him want to be friends with Cameron even more.

Which was how he found himself witness to a bullying. He felt enraged that such a sweet guy could induce such anger from a stupid person. He didn't understand why Marcus felt the need to go around threatening and harming people. He supposed his mother abandoning him with his father who couldn't care less about him had something to do with that. Telepathy was such a good thing to have.

Chester wanted to help Cameron. He really did. But there were just too many of them. Sure, he knew how to defend himself but what if he didn't have time to distract all of them and one of them caught hold of Cameron? For a second, he tried psyching himself up, telling himself that he could get into Cameron's good graces if he just stood up for him. But the paranoid part of him went: "What if he hated you because of it?"

The redhead cowered behind a pillar as he watched Cameron being dragged towards the lake. "Oh God." Chester whispered to himself. "Maybe they're just going to throw him in and leave. Yeah. That's...that's it. Just breathe." Chester told himself.

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam felt glad at least to have such a great roommate like Callie, but he couldn’t hide behind someone. He had to learn how to stand on his own two feet, and his dad had warned him about school being tough. But he didn’t have his dad’s build, he was small and lanky, and maybe one day he would be tall and lanky but that would be it.

He wasn’t trying to be popular, but it wasn’t just Marcus who noticed Cam. Callie’s older brother did too, and lately he was interested in taking Cam under his wing and showing him the ropes of a player. The blond was all about meeting new people, but that didn’t mean he always met the right new people.

There was a redheaded boy following him around lately, and that made Cam even more nervous. Was he one of Marcus’ friends keeping an eye on him. Cam had stopped to try and say hello but the boy just slipped away. What was wrong with him?

But none of that mattered now as Cam tried to save himself. Maybe he needed more friends to call upon. Struggling, all four boys went into the lake fully clothed, but they didn’t need to go that far to do what they wanted to do. The two who had a good hold on him dunked him into the water. Cam splashed around, glowing uncontrollably. He couldn’t breathe.

“Okay, I think that’s enough man,” one of them said as Cam ceased struggling. “No, a few more seconds.” One of the two got up to leave, he refused to help kill someone, but Marcus would take his place.

[Chester Douglas]

Seeing what the boys were doing, Chester's heart leapt out of his ribcage. No way. Are they going to kill him? He thought to himself in fear. There was no way he was going to let a bunch of thugs kill a perfectly nice boy.

The bright lights made him shield his eyes for a second before he worked up the courage to step out of the shadows.

"Hey!" He stammered a little. None of them turned around so Chester straightened himself up and took a deep breath. "Hey! Birdbrains!" He called out. One of them turned around and started to chuckle.

"Look Marcus, it's the night light's little boyfriend." The comment made the rest of the bullies turn around. Chester's cheeks turned bright before he ran out to the middle of the courtyard and tried to stare them down.

"Leave Cameron alone." For a moment, Chester felt braver than he normally did. "Leave him alone and I won't kill you."

The bullies, like they were controlled by one central nervous system, turned their sights on him. Chester looked down at Cameron who just laid there on the ground. Anger seared through him as he walked up to the bullies. One of them grabbed hold of him while another aimed a punch at his gut. It hurt, but it didn't hurt enough that Chester couldn't think properly. Another one tried to get a kick in but Chester foresaw the act and used the boy holding him as a propellor as he lifted his legs up and jammed it down the other boy's leg, hearing something crack.

He had to be quick with this because there were five others that were about to take his place. He'd done this before, Chester thought to himself. He'd sparred with more guys than this. He knew it wasn't the same but he had to have that fearlessness he had in practices right now because they had tried to drown a good guy.

Trying to loosen the tight grip he was in, he jammed his heel into the other guy's foot and ducked before another one shot a punch that landed on the guy behind him. Two down, four to go.

But Chester wasn't a dumbass. He knew he couldn't perform miracles so he pushed through the other four and grabbed Cameron and ran. He ran until his lungs felt like collapsing.

He found a closet and quickly went inside, locking the door immediately and laying Cameron on the ground. His lips had turned blue and the light he had from before was starting to fade. "Shit." Chester breathed heavily before pressing his hands down against Cameron's chest a few times, trying to resuscitate the blond. He pinched Cameron's nose and pried his mouth open before blowing into it.

He alternated between pressing on the blonde's chest and blowing into his mouth, all the time hoping to God Cameron was still alive. "Please...please still be alive. Please."

[Cameron Osiris]

Everything was sort of nice here, peaceful. Here Cam didn’t have to worry about a thing, and didn’t have to deal with those who didn’t like him. Honestly, he thought people were more accepting nowadays but maybe that was just wishful thinking. He wanted to see the best in everyone, but that was hard to do for certain people, especially when they were holding you captive under water. What if he could breathe underwater too, they didn’t know. But such wasn’t the case, and when the pressure was alleviated, Cam couldn’t move. It hurt too much to move.

So when someone was pulling at him, he felt irritated. Couldn’t they see he was busy drowning right now? And then, realizing how stupid that thinking was, he was immediately thankful. But how? How had anyone been able to stop those guys all by themselves? Cam knew he was being moved somewhere, but he didn’t care so long as it wasn’t further into the water.

Muffled voices, someone hovering nearby, the alternating touches went unnoticed as Cam could barely feel a thing as it was. And then it hit him all at once. Chester revived the inner gears and the blond was suddenly sitting, almost smacking Chester along the way. Now he was busy coughing his lungs out, and when that was over, he was shivering. “Fu...Fuckers,” Cam said, his arms around himself as he glanced up. “Who are you?”

Chester was the good guy, he was a hero.

[Chester Douglas]

The relief Chester felt when the blonde boy started to cough up water was one he would never feel again, probably and it showed in the ginger's face. He was so tempted to just kiss the other boy everywhere on his face but he fell back against the shelves behind him, breathing heavily.

At Cameron's question, Chester finally realised that this was going to be the first time he talked to the blonde. Boy, did the need to impress suddenly overcome the boy. He should have said something much better than just his name but that was the only thing that came to his mind. "Ches...ter." He said slowly before looking down at his shirt that was now pretty wet from having held the other boy close when he ran.

He was still trying hard to breathe properly as he looked over at Cameron. "Are you...okay?"

[Cameron Osiris]

“Chest? Cheshire?” Cam said, reaching to pull at his ears. They were waterlogged, along with everything else. He was definitely going to get sick after this, but better sick than dead. Cameron put his head on his knees. How long was this kind of thing going to go on? He didn’t want to always have to watch his own back, and he couldn’t protect it, he wasn’t exactly a big guy.

Looking up, Cam nodded a couple times. “Well I’m not drowned, but it’s probly gonna happen again.” It was the truth and he wasn’t sure why he was divulging Chester but it only made sense. “Th-thank you.” Cam took on a smile went back to resting his head on his knees.

Hearing a noise that sounded a lot like someone knocking on the door which might’ve been just his imagination, Cam shot up like a rocket. His life was on the line and he wasn’t going to be drowned again. There weren’t any windows in here, and there wasn’t another way out. Being soaked from head to foot was not fun, though any other day he wouldn’t mind showing off so much.

“Can you walk with me back to school?” He asked, running a hand over his hair, making it stick up in a messy fashion. He wasn’t going to get put in the lake twice in one day. Or night, whatever it was outside.

[Chester Douglas]

Chester gave out little laughs when Cameron did not say his name correct. But Chest was...almost correct.

"Why were they...how come you never...what were you doing out so late?" the redhead asked, not sure why he was struggling with his words. He was usually much more suave than this.

"You're welcome." He responded before his eyes bugged out at Cameron's startled reaction. "No, no, no...it's okay. You're safe." He reached out and grabbed Cameron's hand and squeezed it in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

Cameron's request made Chester nod without hesitation. "Of course." He smiled. "But you wait here first. I gotta see if the assholes are still outside." Chester warned before he pressed his ear against the door, broadening his telepathy a little. He couldn't hear anything outside so he quietly unlocked the door and peeked out, scanning and using his ability once more to make sure none of the bullies were around.

"Okay. It's safe. Come on." He reached his hand out to Cameron.

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam didn’t question Chester’s intentions, he was just happy to have someone on his side. Cam wasn’t sure what it was about Chester, but it was like seeing an angel. How could he know if someone was still outside just by listening to the door?

Taking Chest’s hand, Cam sort of stayed behind the redhead as they left the building, the other guys nowhere to be seen for now. “They have it in for me man,” he said, “I just w-wanted some peace fr-from all that, now I’m really glad I didn’t b-br-ring my guitar.” He laughed, letting go of Chester’s hand once he felt alright.

“I’m just glad you w-were there,” he said, nudging Chester a little bit, “I’ll have to t-take you out on a date now.” Cam hadn’t lost his nerve despite losing his body heat. “You saved my life.”

[Chester Douglas]

Chester didn't let on that he knew Cameron played the guitar. But he did point out that he heard Cameron say it. "You play?" He asked, not turning back as he continued to look around for the boys.

His head practically snapped when Cameron said what he said, unbelievably lifting his hopes up before he dashed it himself. Cameron was just joking. That was what this was.

The redhead took off his jacket and gave it to Cameron, not wanting the boy to freeze to death. He had already experienced near death, Chester did not want him to actually die.

"I didn't do anything. Just...right place right time." He explained before taking off his shirt and squeezing out the water from it. Once he was satisfied that it was drier than before, he put it back on and turned to Cameron. "Do you...I live..." he bit into his lip, not wanting to actually put moves on the blonde. He really didn't want Cameron to freeze.

"My house is just...a few blocks from here. I could call my bu...dad's friend to pick me up. He lives there." Like that would salvage the hole he had dug for himself. Nobody actually knew he came from money yet.

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam nodded, “I play a lot outside, and by the lake. But I’m sure it would be broken by-by now had I taken it.” He was starting to warm up from moving around and it felt great to be alive. “And that would be worse than drowning.” It really would be. Life without music just wasn’t life at all.

Taking the jacket, Cam put it on and pulled it around himself, but not too snuggly. He didn’t need to embarrass himself by showing how small he really was. “Sure is... damn...” damn, Cam thought to himself, catching himself staring at Chest, “damn lucky you were there.” Cam smiled, glowing a little bit. Stupid hormones.

He just watched Chest stumble over his words. Cam’s eyebrows jumped to his hairline. “You don’t live on campus?” Now that Cam was actually collecting himself, it sounded like Chest wasn’t from around here, not like Cam was either, but Chest really wasn’t from around here.

Cam looked straight ahead, a determined look on his face, coupled with a smile. “I will cuddle you to death.” He was poorer than poor, so monetary rewards were out of the question for Chester’s kindness.

[Chester Douglas]

"I know how you feel." Chester blurted out before giving the other boy a sideways smile, though his eyes still scanning the area. He knew how Cameron felt about something being taken away from him because he knew if anybody took Lexus away from him, he would probably die a little inside.

He didn't catch the hitch in Cameron's speech as he went about drying his shirt to his best ability. He was also too busy trying to listen to everything else besides Cameron to realise the blonde boy was checking him out.

"Uh...no." He shook his head and slipped his hands into his jeans pocket. "My father's friend owns an estate off road. And he chose to have my...uncle live with me. His friend. I call him my uncle." He didn't know why he was lying but if Cameron found out that he was the kind of rich you could exploit, it might not sit well with the ginger.

Chester looked at Cameron in confusion before chuckling in embarrassment. "That's a strange way to thank someone." He muttered before turning to Cameron properly. "So, do you want me to call my uncle?"

[Cameron Osiris]

“You play guitar?” Cam said obliviously. It was for the best that Chester didn’t notice Cam checking him out, wasn’t that what he almost drowned for today? Some people could be really cruel. Cam just hoped Chest wasn’t one of those people.

“I thought you said he was your dad’s friend,” Cam said, glancing around them to make sure no one was around. It didn’t really matter, Cam was just excited to be off campus! Even if Cam found out Chester was rich, he wouldn’t know how to exploit it, it wasn’t his business anyways.

“I don’t really know how else to thank you, I don’t even know how you know me and I don’t know you.” Cam bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet. He always threw caution to the wind. Someone could be trying to kidnap him and he wouldn’t know about it.

“OK Chest,” Cam said, since they’d be waiting for his uncle or whatever, “why’d you save me?”

[Chester Douglas]

"Huh?" Chester turned to Cameron for awhile, confused at the question before realising his mistake. "Oh no. Nah. No. Piano. And cello. But no, I wasn't talking about that. I was referring to my horse Lexus." He smiled slightly, actually surprised at how open he was being about it. Lexus was his prized posession and he rarely talked about her. Not even to his siblings, and he spent more time with them than anybody else.

"Yeah. Friend. I just...call him uncle." The redhead chuckled nervously. He was pretty much showing signs of untrustworthiness right now. He didn't blame Cameron for his confusion.

His shoulders slumped down when Cameron said he didn't know who Chester was. It wasn't the blond's fault, clearly, but it still stung. "W...we go to the same school." Chester explained in a quiet voice.

Cameron's question made Chester's eyes pop open a little. "You were about to drown." He answered. He texted Alex to come over to where they were and looked back at Cameron. He purposely didn't point out the fact that he had been stalking the blonde since he got to Hammel. "Those dicks were about to kill you. Shouldn't I have?"

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam’s smile picked up as he took new interest in this boy. Why hadn’t he noticed him before? “You have a horse?” Cam’s eyes went wide. If Chest was trying to hide the fact that he was rich, well, it didn’t take much to know that horses’ and all their chariots were expensive. Not that that mattered to Cam, he was still suck on the whole horse bit. All Cam had was a magpie and she used to be wild. He missed her and his dad...

Scratching his head, Cam just shrugged. “Alright weirdo,” he said playfully. It didn’t matter to him who was who. “What’s his name?” Laughing a bit, Cam patted Chester’s shoulder. “Aw, I knew you went to Hammel, don’t get all mopey,” he said, even though he didn’t really know he just didn’t like making people sad.

Still working on getting to know everyone, Cam didn’t have a huge rep and he didn’t know anyone else’s. Nodding a couple times, Cam smiled broadly. “Says a lot about you Chest,” he said, folding his arms in front of him. “I mean, most people would just walk away from something like that.” It wasn’t there problem, and maybe if something bad did happen later, they’d feel guilty. “You’re brave, but I would've done the same thing." Just in case Chester was wondering. Cam was starting to be chatty again, well, at least he was warming up.