I need you.

"You look beautiful," Charlie's voice whispered into my ear, his hand placed on the small of my back as we walked inside. "Are you alright?"

I snapped my head to him, forcing a smile. "Yeah, sorry, I'm just nervous. My parents can be a little intense sometimes."

"Well, don't worry, parents love me."

I silently prayed his words held true tonight. As much as I loved my parents, they were two highly opinionated people. And voicing their strong opinions was something that they failed at keeping in. The fear festering inside was not only caused by my parents, although I wished it was.

I need you.

His words echoed loudly in my head, no matter how many times I tried to make them stop. After that night, I spent the following week testing my skill of avoidance. It was childish, as Abby pointed out countlessly, but it was all I could manage. There was one thing I knew was my only option to get over Hunter's words: forget them. And so I did. Well, and so I attempted to.

I need you.

My mind drifted from the panic setting in as the two of us entered the ballroom. Crystal chandeliers dangled from the vaulted ceiling, illuminating the gold detailing on the wall. Large rounded tables surrounded the perimeter of a dance floor, which had been polished so clearly it resembled a sheet of ice. The long red satin slip dress I had found in the back of my closet instantly made me feel plain compared to the women who walked past, dressed in flowing elegant gowns and dripped in diamonds. Charlie, on the other hand, looked more dapper than any other man in sight, dressed in a perfectly fitted black tux and a white dress shirt.

I need you.

"Champagne?" A waiter gestured to the tray in his arms.

"Oh yes," I muttered under my breath, taking a glass from the tray.

I lifted the glass to my lips, draining all the liquid in one gulp. My eyes fell back to the waiter, who appeared to struggle whether he was impressed or appalled by my action, as I replaced my empty glass with a full one.

"You sure you're alright?" Charlie asked as he guided me away from the waiter.

I looked up at him. "Yeah, just thirsty."

"Oh, Dylan, there you are!" The shrill sound of my mother's voice sent a chill down my spine. "I was beginning to think you would not show tonight."

"Hi, mother." Another forced smile made its way onto my lips.

"Darling, what have you done with your hair?" The sweetest in her tone barely masked what she truly meant. "You should have worn it up tonight."

I could feel her eyes glancing over my outfit, her expression unable to hide her apparent disappointment. Whenever I looked at her, however, I was reminded of my sister. Her chestnut brown hair was in a perfectly wound bun, her full lips were coloured with a shade of red, a necklace of diamonds hung around her neck. I wondered if this was how my sister would look years from now. Delilah had always been the spitting image of her.

"There's my pickle!" My father joined my mother's side, handing her a martini glass filled to the brim.

"Hi, Dad." I felt slightly relieved to see him, a genuine smile now beginning to tug at the corners of my mouth for the first time tonight. "Charlie, these are my parents, Denise and Andrew."

"Nice to meet you both." Charlie grinned, shaking my father's hand. "This quite a lovely event."

My dad nodded his head, glancing around the space. "It is pretty fancy. I mean, I would be happy watching the game tonight with a beer."

"Well, let's just hope the Cowboys crush the Giants tonight."

Dad's face gleamed with joy over hearing Charlie's comment. "I think you found a keeper, pickle!"

Wow. Charlie wasn't wrong when he said parents loved him. He went above and beyond, even went as far as to lie about his favourite football team.

"How are classes going, pickle? Keeping up with the workload so far?"

I nodded, shifting uncomfortably on the balls of my feet. "It's not too bad, so far."

The look in my mother's eyes changed to one that resembled approval as she turned her attention to Charlie. "Are you a student, Charlie?"

"Yes, I just started my final year of law school."

"Very impressive," my mother grinned, "Where do you attend?"

"UCLA."

The sip of champagne I had taken seemed to catch in my throat, hearing his words.

"Oh, a fellow Bruin!" The gleaming look on my Dad's was painful to ignore, "Is that how you two met?"

"What–"

"Yes," I quickly interjected, feeling the colour drain from my face, "Yes on campus, that is where we met." I glanced up to meet Charlie's confused look.

Charlie cleared his throat. "Yes," he nodded, turning to face my parents, "I just transferred from New York, quite literally ran into Dylan on my first day while I was lost."

While my mother cooed in delight, I tipped the rest of my glass back, as the sound of music began to fill the venue.

"Want to dance?" I asked Charlie, seeing my mother's mouth open to ask another question.

I put down my empty glass and took Charlie's hand in mine, pulling him towards the couples that had gathered onto the dance floor.

"You two have fun!" Dad's voice became muffled in the distance.

I could feel the uncomfortable silence that loomed between the two of us as we made our way towards the middle of the crowd. Charlie's hand rested on my lower back, his other taking mine in his. I placed my free hand on his shoulder, as the two of us swayed to the music.

"Care to fill me in?"

My teeth sunk into my bottom lip. "About what?" I stupidly replied.

Charlie spun my body around on my heels, pulling my body closer towards his. "You're not really a student, are you?" His voice whispered into my ear.

I felt my eyes become wide with fear, hearing his question. "Of course I am," my voice weakly stuttered out.

"Oh come on, Dylan." He leaned his head back. "I'm studying to be a lawyer. You have to give me a little more credit here."

It was idiotic for me to think that this lie could go on any further. "I dropped out," I whispered, my eyes shifting to the floor.

"Why would you lie about that?"

I glanced back up, looking at Charlie. There was no judgement behind his tone, only genuine curiosity. "I... I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I only dropped at the beginning of this year. The only person that knows is Abby." I closed my eyes for a second, taking in a deep breath, "A while ago I made a list of things I wanted to do," I opened my eyes, "Dropping out of school was the last thing."

#18: Drop out of University

Charlie nodded slowly. "And, I'm guessing your parents don't know?"

"No, they don't." My eyes quickly shifted to where my parents stood. "They wouldn't understand."

"Why not?"

"They don't see painting as a career. To them, it's a hobby."

"Well, are you any good?"

I smiled weakly. "I used to think I wasn't, but then someone convinced me to see that I was. They said I was wasting my talent at school instead of doing what I loved."

"Maybe I could see your work sometime. I've been told to have a good eye." Charlie dipped his head closer to mine.

"Please, don't tell anyone," I said softly.

"Your secret is safe with me," his voice gently whispered back.

The space between us closed, his lips delicately pressing against mine. It felt safe; Charlie knowing the truth. That safety net, however, would only last as long as he kept his word and didn't tell anyone, or at least, a certain someone.

I rested my head against his chest as our bodies continued to sway slowly to the music. For once, the pressure that had a permanent residence on my shoulders felt lighter. It was nice to find someone, other than Abby of course, who could do that. And the cherry on top of this already extremely complicated sundae was that Charlie seemed to have the approval of my parents.

"Do I have to worry about Hunter?" Charlie's voice broke the comfortable silence between us.

"What?" My head snapped up.

"Do I have to worry about Hunter?" he repeated, "More specifically, do I have to worry about you and Hunter?"

A large lump formed in my throat, his words repeating in my head. I swallowed hard, attempting to the best of my ability to settle the nerves that rattled inside me before speaking, "W-why, would you ask that?"

Charlie softened his stare, allowing a smile to curve onto his lips. "Like I said, I'm studying to be a lawyer."

"You really need to explain this lawyer analogy for me."

Charlie let out a soft laugh. "I notice things, even the littlest of things."

"And what have you noticed?"

"Well, first of all, in all the years I've known Hunter, he's never taken an interest in who I've dated. But with you, he asks many, many questions."

I shrugged, hoping the redness in my cheeks was not becoming apparent. "Maybe he's just curious."

"Maybe," Charlie mumbled.

"Well, I for one can assure you that there is nothing you have to worry about." I wanted the words to be true, but I couldn't help but wonder if they were a lie.

"So there's no competition with Hunter?"

I need you.

I shook my head. "No. No competition at all."

"Good." Charlie's hand released mine, moving it to the side of my face to caress my cheek, "Because I don't like to lose."

2019; a lot of you seemed to get the feels for hunter after the last chapter... so i gotta ask...

team hunter or team charlie?? 

vote/comment if you enjoyed! xox