| 19 |

❝ The past, present, and future walked into a bar. It was tense. ❞

CHARLIE AND TEDDY were slowly creeping back to a healthy friendship status after the infamous phone call. 

Friendship. That's all it was.

A couple weeks had gone by, and it was nearly June.  That meant finals, the end of school, all of that jazz.  Finals were just starting to get to Charlotte, because each study session with Teddy had just turned into videogames and action movies, making her slightly nervous.

She was currently attempting to finish her homework, but the yelling between Hazel and her parents was too loud.

"-are you kidding me? But-"

"-failed your classes, doing God-knows-what-"

"-my life, you don't control-"

Charlotte got out of her rolling desk chair and closed the door, which seemed to muffle the sound at least a little bit.  She flopped on her bed with a sigh.

Charlie pulled out her phone from her back pocket.  Pressing some buttons, she finally got to messages.

Charlotte: they're at it again

Charlotte: the yelling is distracting me from homework

In less than a minute later, her phone buzzed in her hands, making her bite her lip to stop from smiling like a maniac.

Teddy!!!!!!!!!!!!: want to come to my place?

She should really change his contact name.

Charlotte: nah, i'm fine. you'll just distract me more

As she waited for him to reply, she changed his contact name.

Teddy Orion: true

Charlie was in a sighing mood, she confirmed, as she let another deep, whispy breath leave her mouth.

Suddenly, Charlotte heard the crisp, deafening slam of a door adjacent to hers; Hazel.

She cautiously walked to her door and slipped it open a crack, looking through the tiny sliver. 

"I don't need to be here," Hazel yelled, a sleeping bag in her hand and her black leather bag slung over her shoulder.  "I was never needed or wanted.  I understand.  But I sure as hell know I don't need to be at a military school."

"Get back here young lady," Charlotte's father commanded in a hard [quite terrifying] voice as her mother gasped in a sharp breath.

Hazel swore loudly and Charlotte saw tears cloud up in her eyes, one rolling down her cheek.  With a shake of her head, she disappeared. 

Charlotte's parents were bounding down the stairs, chasing Hazel into the bookstore.

She heard that door slam as well, a piercing echo dizzying Charlie.

She was gone.

Her hands shook as she quickly and quietly shut the door and numbingly reached for her phone.  Her fingers shook as she pressed her thumbs to the keyboard.

Charlotte: she left

Charlotte: teddy, she left

Charlotte: she swore and they screamed and she walked out of the door

Charlotte: she had a backpack and her sleeping bag and she just ran out

Charlotte: she's run before, but i think she was serious this time

Her breathing was slow and she attempted to calm her breath. She left.

I didn't get to say goodbye.

Her phone vibrated loudly. Teddy Orion.

"I'm sorry, I just, she left, and I didn't say goodbye, and..." she rushed out when she accepted the call.

"Do you want to talk about it? Is there anything you can do?" he asked, his deep voice soothing.

"I'd... No, no, I just want to ignore it happened. She's probably coming back, who am I kidding? She'll be back."

"Oh-kay..." Teddy mumbled. "Then what's up? How's school, how's the friends, how's your binge-watching on Parks and Recreation, how's-"

"I've got the point, Theodore," she said, rolling her eyes. "Good, good, and spectacular, even though it's, like, my thirtieth time watching the whole show. It just gets better somehow."

"That is not an exaggeration," Teddy mused.

"Hey, do you want to come over and join my binge-watching?" she asked, twirling a piece of her thick brown hair.

"I'd love to!" he agreed, and she could picture him grinning as he spoke into the phone. "I'll buy candy, and we can completely pig out. I'll distract you. I'm very good at distractions."

"Okay..." Charlotte said, a smile creeping onto her face. "I'd love that."

•|•|•

Reece's Peanut Butter Cups were very distracting.

Usually, they would blank her mind from worries and create a devouring monster within her. At the moment, however, as she ate her fourth cup, all she could think about was how Hazel was gone.

Teddy sensed it.

His worried glances towards her as they watched episodes from the third season of Parks and Recreation were getting a little tiring.

They were laying side by side on her bed, binge-watching her favorite television show while eating loads of candy. How lucky could a person get?

She felt miserable.

"Hey, look at me," Teddy suddenly whispered, pausing the show, as if he saw the droop in her smile and the wilting of her eyes. She glanced down at his shirt, which was the Beatles. His wide eyes were softly staring her down, his glasses slightly crooked.  "What will take your mind off of Hazel?"

Her thoughts were a swirl as her mind raced to find a topic to discuss.  Her face was scrunched up and she ran a hand through her hair.  "Tell me why Malcolm isn't tutoring me anymore, and why he's rarely in class."

It was the thought that had been racing in her brain since she was informed Malcolm backed out.  Charlie didn't even really realize it had come out of her mouth until it did.  She saw Theodore's Adam's apple bob up and down and saw his forehead crease, his wide blue eyes glancing away from her.  He was biting his bottom lip, running a hand through his soft, curly black hair.

"It's not my place to tell Charlotte, I-"

"Theodore Orion Higgins," she slowly breathed out, her chest rising and falling steadily.  "I am your friend, as well as Malcolm's.  I will not spill to a soul, because I'm your best friend and also because I...have no souls to spill it to.  That's besides the point though."

With a deep breath, Theodore popped an M & M in his mouth.  "You would have found out eventually anyways," he sighed.  "Just don't make a big deal about it.  Malcolm doesn't like talking about, in fact, no one wants to talk about it."

Charlotte squirmed uncomfortably, regretting opening her big mouth.

"A while ago, I got a call from Malcolm at around ten at night, and he was a mess, an absolute mess, I couldn't understand what he was saying, and it took him a while to calm down."

Her heart was thudding loudly in her chest.  So loud she was surprised Teddy hadn't noticed.  She felt the mood shift drastically, from the lazy, comfortable, candy-eating, binge-watching mood to a heart-grasping, breath-gasping tone.  She wished she could go back.   She didn't need to know.  it wasn't any of her business.

She didn't want to see Teddy like this.

He had climbed off of her bed; his chest was raised in the midst of a deep breath, his eyes squeezed shut, a little wrinkle dancing above his nose, right above the bridge of his glasses.

He looked worried. And scared.

"He called me, explaining how he was at the hospital," he murmured quietly. "In the waiting room, waiting for news on Violet."

A new name.

Ferocious blinking followed Teddy's statement. Who was Violet? Hospital?

"Who- who's Violet?" she stuttered. "And why is she in the hospital?"

"She's Malcolm's sister. M-my cousin.  S-s-she's been in a coma since then. It's been, like, five or six months. The accident was around January.  It was a car crash. A stupid drunk driver, crashing into her, nothing she could have done apparently."

His fingers were clenched, veins visibly running up his arm. His jaw clenched, a sign he was angry.

"He wants to be with her as much as possible now, since she's- she's... Y'know."

He was pacing in her quaint bedroom, his long legs taking only one stride to cross it. Step, spin, step, spin. Deep breaths. Veins pulsing. Hands clenching. Jaw popping.

"Shit, Teddy, I'm... I'm-"

"Nah, Charlie," he interrupted, pausing his pacing. "It's cool. Just don't mention it around Malcolm, he's really... Uh, he's really fragile right now."

Charlie's legs were dangling off the side of her bed, unsure if she should get up to comfort Teddy or not. Teddy had gone back to his light pacing.

"The three of us were wicked close. I called Violet my big sister up until I was ten. She was always around three years older than Malcolm and I, and she took the role as the leader of our little pack. I love her, but I just, being at that hospital and seeing her like that with all of the tubes, it just kills me and I can't bring myself to go. I know Malcolm's pissed about that because he thinks I don't care, but-"

"You do," Charlotte said softly.

Teddy turned and looked at her. He looked like a broken puppy.

His ocean eyes were widened and blinking furiously, and his bottom lip was between his teeth. He rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Come on," she said, standing up and walking over to where he stood. Slipping her small fingers into his clenched fist, she squeezed, and the tension in his hand released. She felt waves of something, nausea or anxiety or whatever, deep in the pit of her stomach. His hand was big and warm and forced her to think of sad things to keep a smile from crawling onto her face. She was supposed to be comforting and sympathetic, she couldn't smile.

But God, his big warm hand webbed and threaded through hers was making it very difficult.

Slipping flip flops on her feet, she tugged Teddy's hand slightly and walked towards the door. "Let's go to the hospital."

•|•|•

He drove them.

Theodore was incredibly nervous, Charlie observed. His hands were slightly shaking on the wheel, and his feet were tap-tap-tapping. His whole body jittering and trembling.

Charlotte was nervous. She switched on the radio, hoping that would calm him down.

...It didn't.

When they finally parked in the hospital lot, which was very close to her house, she was afraid he was going to faint. His breathing was labored and his eyes were closed, his forehead resting on the steering wheel.

She touched his shoulder lightly. "Teddy...?"

"I'm fine!" he blurted out, accidentally slamming his hand onto the car horn.

A big honk erupted from the car, scaring the living daylights out of both Teddy and Charlotte. Charlie held a hand to her heart. "Sorry," Teddy mumbled.

"No, it's fine," Charlotte begrudgingly said. "Ready to do this?"

With a gulp, Charlotte heard Teddy's small response. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Clambering out of the car, they began walking towards the giant, looming hospital.

"Room 115," he mumbled. "115, 115, 115."

Charlotte walked up to the huge doors and yanked one open, ushering Theodore inside. Wheelchairs were on either side of them, a scatter of people sitting on the benches before the doors.

A plump woman was sitting at the front desk, typing something on a computer. Glancing at them, she raised an eyebrow. "What's the problem?"

"R-room 115, p-please," Teddy stuttered.

"Ah, alright, one moment..." The woman speedily typed something into the computer and nodded towards them. "Violet Dawes? Right down that hall, and take a left."

Teddy was frozen in that spot. Charlotte slithered her fingers back into his trembling fist and pulled. "C'mon."

Theodore turned his head to face her, his skin pale and his eyes distant. His teeth were clenched and his jaw was taut. "I can't."

She let his hand fall back to his side. "What?"

"I... I can't," he whispered, his fingers twisting the bottom of his cotton graphic t-shirt. "I'm sorry, Charlotte."

And then he was gone.

Out of the enormous hospital doors, Charlie yelling his name, the lady at the desk shushing her with a look of confusion, Charlotte darting after him, feeling a slight drizzle as she stepped out into the parking lot.

He was there, his shoulders hunched as the rain really started to fall, his Beatles shirt sticking to his skin. His mass of curly, ebony hair was flattened by the rain, his glasses fogged up and covered in rain drops and his expression a mixture of ashamed and terrified, with a hint of sadness. His lips in a thin line were struggling to stay that way, the line wobbling and trembling uncontrollably.

In the middle of the parking lot, she ran to him.

Their bodies met and his sopping wet shirt stuck to hers, his arms snaking around her thin frame.  One hand of hers was threaded through his puddle of raven-black curls, crushing his face into her shoulder. Her other arm was wrapped around his back, squeezing him as close to her as she could. 

She wasn't thinking about the rain. She wasn't thinking about the fact that they were standing in the middle of a busy parking lot. All she thought about was the nerdy boy filled with grief and sorrow, his lanky body squished against hers, his comforting Teddy Hug making her ignore everything that was happening at the moment.

The worst thing was, she couldn't tell if there were salty tears falling onto her back, or if it was only the uncomfortable dripping of raindrops.

a/n

this chapter was finished at approximately 12:43 AM.

amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing AMAZING fanart by Phoebe (NegativeWriter26). thank you so so so so much, those are literally so incredible i screamed when you sent them to me. dedicated to her obviously. (she also helped with the joke at the beginning)

i can't believe this is chapter 19. oh my word. this is definitely, by far, my largest book.

how was this chapter? it was kind of a filler chapter... but finally, we know why Malcolm's absent/stopped tutoring! and violet!!!! and teddy nooo bby it's ok! and charlie and teddy's candy binge watching marathon!!!!! their friendship is honestly goals writing this story hurts me. tell me thoughts, give me feedback!

if you have a song suggestion for the playlist i'm in the middle of making, go right ahead!

vote if you liked the chapter remember, share this story with others so i can (hopefully) have a bigger chance of publishing! ooh, and comment :-) the comments make my day, honestly.

also, remember to check out the Teddy Challenge! TheTeddyChallenge

very quickly:

1.) paper towns was amazing i cried with laughter
2.) I SAW TAYLOR SWIFT LIVE IM DEAD INSIDE IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE
3.) im going on a vacation to virginia and then maryland on thursday, and i should hopefully finish a chapter on that insanely long car ride. so keep a look out for that!

ps. this book is already at over 120 pages on microsoft word

GOALS:
65k reads in total
160 votes
300 comments

*lots of editing needed bc I was half asleep typing this*