So basically Charles is this problem kid who gets shipped off to live with his aunt Emma in California after he gets caught fooling around in the boy’s bathroom at school and gets suspended for third time. (He’s also got a habit of drinking and sometimes smoking and doing other reckless things that depressed teenage boys seeking attention often do)

Emma isn’t really up for watching some bratty nephew of hers, and so she kind of shirks the responsibility onto her daughter, Raven. Charles learns to love Raven like a sister, and Raven tries her hardest to get Charles away from all of the awful things he’s been doing.

Charles is still angry, though, and he’s still depressed. Sending him away from his parents doesn’t make him forget that they don’t love him. He fools around less, smokes and drinks less, because of Raven and (sometimes) Emma’s support, he’s found other outlets, mostly people-watching. Raven, his darling, beloved younger cousin, has taught him the true art of it, of how to sit and observe and learn without ever asking any questions - how to use your imagination to conceive all these grandiose stories about who you’re observing.

Things are getting better, but they still aren’t okay - especially when Emma’s in the middle of a court case against her husband and Raven’s suddenly taken with a new boy at school.

Charles finds himself alone again, and so he starts to explore the further areas of where he lives.

He comes across a secluded beach one morning, occupied only by a small handful of surfers. Its a good place to watch, and Charles sits on the edge of the dock as one of the boarders lays on a towel and waxes his surfboard. He’s got a lovely story, Charles thinks to himself, a tall and lean body, a strong jaw and hair just the right length for grabbing.

This surfer, of course, notices Charles’ gaze and looks up. Apparently, he thinks Charles is interested in surfing, because suddenly he’s coming over to the dock in nothing but a pair of low-hanging swim trunks with sand clinging to his legs.

This is how Charles meets Erik, the 28 year old mechanic at a hole-in-the-wall autoshop who spends more time ‘with the sharks’ than doing his actual job.

[OK SO. Uhm. THIS prompt idea is my baby. My darling, my beloved. The only way I could get around to writing this would be if someone could co-author it with me, otherwise I’d be far too overwhelmed. So, I’m giving it to you guys, my prompt that I’ve been coveting since it came to mind. Please, be gentle.]

Prompt is being used for the XM Big Bang