| 7 |

❝ A dyslexic man walked into a bra. ❞

CHARLOTTE DID NOT want to go to school [otherwise known as Hell to most people].

She never did, but especially after last night. She was dead-tired and terribly cranky after wandering the paved roads and cracked sidewalks aimlessly, stumbling upon a Dunkin' Donuts and the loner-of-the-year (along with her), Teddy [Theodore] Higgins.

She was too tired to put up with school and the idiots who went there, and was also too scared to face Teddy again. Last night was so awkward between them, but not, in a strange, psychological, metaphorical, god-knows-what way that scared the crap out of her. It was so easy to talk to him, the words just flowing out of her, without having to think through every single word like she usually did.

The moment she woke up, she began trying everything on her mother.

Charlotte claimed to have horrible cramps, said that she felt nauseas and barfy, and that she had a sore throat and dizzy spells, yet her mom fell for none of it.

Charlie was not in the mood.

Her eyes held dark bags, her cheeks sagged slightly, her frown on her lips was flat and emotionless. Not bothering to brush her hair or anything, she just threw it up in a messy bun and dressed herself in Hogwarts sweatpants with a Beatles t-shirt and a hoodie that she recalled to be from Theodore Freaking Higgins.

She had slept in it, and she had never been more peaceful, falling asleep quicker than she thought was possible. The intoxicating scent was enough to lull her to bed, a clean, fresh smell, a mix of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts and the crisp scent of what she assumed was laundry detergent, something that smelled like vanilla. Goodness, she was like a creepy fangirl. Next she was going to be sniffing his hair, or asking what laundry detergent he used.

Once she had finished all of her early morning jobs, she grabbed a granola bar and headed out the door, off to school.

•|•|•

It was nearly sixth period.

She had already gotten her note on her chair in biology, and was headed to her locker to get her books for the next class. Her head was down, shoulders slouched, eyelids heavy and drooping by the minute. Charlotte yawned and twisted her combination, stopping in her tracks when she noticed Teddy was to her direct left.

Her heart spasmed, remembering the last night. She needed to talk to him.

Charlotte quickly turned her head to face Teddy, a big mistake. She hadn't realized her locker was close to her...and banged her head on the metal locker.

"Oh, shoot."

A sharp thud of pain flooded her forehead, her head throbbing. She held her hand up to her pounding head and mentally swore like a truck driver.

"Holy shit, Charlie, are you okay?"

Even with her eyes closed in pain, she could tell it was Teddy. She recognized his voice, for starters, and also, no one else in the school called her Charlie.

"Define 'okay'," she grunted out, opening her eyes painfully. Theodore stood before her with a concerned look on his face, his eyes on her forehead (that probably held a lump the size of Texas) and his hands in his pockets.

She felt her voice shrink to a slow stop, her memory flashing back to the fact that she was wearing his hoodie.

"Oh," she fumbled, putting her books on the ground and struggling to take off her sweatshirt. "Oh gosh, um."

Charlie was awkwardly wiggling out of the hoodie, her head getting stuck at one point. Finally worming her way out of it, she folded it quickly and handed it to him.

"Here," she said breathlessly, her cheeks tinted pink. "This, um, this is yours. Thank you."

Teddy silently took the sweatshirt back and gave her a nod and an eyebrow flick.

She gathered her books from the ground and faced him, opening her mouth. And then she closed it at soon as it opened.

The bell rang, causing the little number of people that were left in the hallway to scatter.

Charlotte put her head down and rolled her lip in between her teeth. Turning on her heel, she headed for class, leaving Teddy in the dust.

"Hey, Charlie!" he hollered, causing her to stop in her tracks.

They were probably ten feet away, but she still felt her eyes draw to his unwillingly and subconsciously.

"Do you want to come to my house after school? Just... I mean..."

He looked so nervous and trembly. His hand shook as he fixed his glasses, his lips in a thin line.

Was this something that he could call the start of a friendship? She didn't know.

"I'd... Yeah, I'd like that," she grinned at him, watching his face drop anxieties and loosely smile back.

"Awesome, uh, I can drive you, if you want."

Charlotte was slowly walking backwards down the empty hall, twirling her chestnut hair around her finger, squeezing her books to her chest.

"Sure, sure."

"Alright, I'll see you after school, then?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "After school."

•|•|•

Charlie's mom was definitely shocked when she texted her, telling her she was going to a friend's house right after school. Replying to Charlie's message in all capitals, WHAT????

Charlotte rolled her eyes. I mean, yeah, it was a slightly... Fine, very... Okay, whatever, so maybe it was extremely. It was extremely odd for her to be going to a 'friend's house' since she had none.

She texted her mom back with something vaguely along the lines of 'tell you the details later, bye' and focused on the last couple minutes of history class.

The piercing blare of the bell shot the students out of their seats, bringing Charlotte to stand up as well.

The sound of footsteps trailed behind her and she heard Teddy sidle up beside her.

"Ready?"

"I need to get my homework and stuff, then I'll meet you at your locker," she replied, strutting away with Teddy in quick pursuit.

"Mine's 353, a couple rows near yours," he responded.

"How do you know where my locker is, you stalker?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pale. "I- I mean, I-"

"I'm joking, Teddy."

"Jerk."

Her grin was wider than usual, making her [nearly nonexistent] cheekbones more prominent. Her jaw hurt from the position it was glued in. It made her wonder how fast this happened, the smirking and the joking and the teasing. That was already friend-like. And she was going over his house. Did that mean they were friends?

What she was confused about was why she was headed to his house when they pretty much just met a couple days ago. She obviously didn't mind, it just confused her.

Now that she realized it, like 97% of her life was just confusion.

After getting her books and backpack from her locker, she went to meet Teddy at locker 353.

"Hey," she chirped, trying to hide her nervousness.

"Hey," he grinned. "Ready?"

She nodded and they headed out to his car, a clunky, dirty cadillac. She slid into the passenger seat as he ducked into the driver seat.

They were off, and she was glad he switched on the radio.

"-eye, and I got that red lip classic thing that you like, and w-"

Her eyes flickered from him to the radio station.

"So..." she murmured. "Why am I going to your house again?" she half joked.

A pink tint blossomed on his pale, freckly cheeks. "I don't know, to be honest," he mumbled, his gaze intently on the road.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she puckered her lips. Sure...

The car rattled along the bumpy roads, Style humming softly in the background. She mumbled along as she stared out the window, the atmosphere alone looking crisp and chilly, snow lightly dusting the paved roads, petite houses and large pine trees.

A couple songs later, he turned into the driveway of a baby blue house, a giant windowsill letting her peek into what looked like the dining room. Parking the car, he grabbed his backpack and headed out, gesturing for her to come with.

They walked up the snowy wooden steps and into the house, Charlie following close behind Teddy.

"Mom!" he abruptly yelled, nearly giving Charlotte a heart attack. "My friend Charlie and I are going to be in the basement!"

She never knew she could blush this much. Her face felt like it was on fire, the word 'friend' making a grin creep onto her lips. She followed him into the basement, down rickety steps to a room that smelled musky.

After flopping onto a leather couch and throwing his backpack on the floor, he patted the spot next to him. She sat down reluctantly.

"So what do you want to do?" he questioned, a lazy smirk on his lips.

"I dunno, what d'you wanna do?" she stumbled over her words, smoothing her hands on the leather couch.

"Well, we could watch a movie or something."

"I dunno," she replied dumbly.

He pushed his glasses up his nose and rolled his bottom lip in between his teeth. "I have a question."

Side glancing at him, she replied. "And I hopefully have an answer."

"What...What happened last night?" he whispered, lowering his head. "You looked a little out of it, and not just because it was two in the morning."

Was he worrying about her?

"Teddy, I'm fine. It was nothing."

"Charlotte," he started, making her gulp. He'd never used her full name before. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Nodding, she blinked back the tears and the fear, breathing heavily to control her anxiety.

She felt herself starting to rock, her breathing sped up, her heart pace raced. No no no.

"I like the Beatles too," she heard Teddy blurt out to her.

Her worries dissolved.  Her breathing calmed.  "Huh?"

"Your shirt. I like the Beatles too."

He was changing the subject for her.

Charlie smiled at the realization of what he was trying to do. That was surprisingly, strangely sweet.

"Really?" she shyly grinned at him, clasping her hands together.

"Yeah. I actually have a Beatles rock band game for Wii somewhere around here," he said, getting up and rummaging through some games and wires.

He handed her a guitar and a Wii remote after popping the disk in.

"Any songs to start off with?"

"Umm, what about I Wanna Hold Your Hand?"

Teddy clicked on the song and they set up, her hands looped around the neck of the plastic guitar, his fingers interlocked on the microphone.

Even though it was only on beginner, she frantically strummed as Teddy belted out the words, the least shy she'd ever seen him. He was bobbing his head and swinging his arms, screeching out the lyrics. He wasn't exactly good. To be honest, he was horrible. But he made her laugh, and that was enough for her.

Her anxieties peeled away and she accompanied him, tilting her head towards the microphone in his hands and singing along.

"I wanna hold your ha-a-a-and, I wanna hold your hand," they yelped together, Charlie still rocking guitar. He goofily grinned down at her and grasped her hand, spreading a warm feeling into her body, a liquid lava running through her veins. His hand was soft and delicate, cold and clammy. Hers was probably worse, though.

Her cheeks were starting to hurt from grinning so big.

If this was what friendship was like, she loved it so far.

•|•|•

After a whole bunch of songs of scratchy, out of tune singing, horrible dancing that consisted of many flailing arms, and guitar solos, they heard Teddy's mom scream from overhead.

"Theodore!"

"I'll be right back," he said to her, getting up. "She's probably asking if you want to stay for dinner."

When Teddy came back, Charlie learned that his mom did, in fact, invite her to dinner with them.

"I'd love to," she replied to Theodore, grinning ear to ear. "I just need to call my family and let them know."

"Yeah, yeah of course," he mumbled. "Do you-"

"I've got my cell, thanks," she smiled, pressing on her sister's contact.

"Whassup," Skylar said into her phone.

"Tell mom I won't be there for dinner."

"What? Why?" she badgered after a moment of silence.

"I'm eating over a friend's house," Charlie continued.

"But you don't have an-" Skylar's voice stopped with a gasp. "Oh my gosh, is it Theodo-"

"Yeah," Charlotte responded quickly. "Could you pick me up at seven?"

"...fine."

"Awesome. Bye."

"Tell me every single deta-"

Charlotte hung up.

She glanced at Teddy with a sheepish grin. "Where were we?"

•|•|•

Clattering of knives and forks against plastic plates. Soft buzz of the radio.

Her chewing was hurting her jaw. The meal was delicious, the fish and french fries something her mother would never cook at home. The whole thing, however, was thoroughly awkward, with Teddy's mom glancing at her every other moment, Teddy to her right.

"So, Charlie..." his mother said with a gulp of food. "How was your day?"

Blinking for a minute, she finally answered. "Good."

"That's good. Theodore?"

"Good, Ma," he muttered, blushing into his plate and taking a bite of fish.

"I heard the rocking out you two did in the basement," she smirked, chomping on a fry. "You'd make a really cute couple."

Charlie coughed on a french fry and Teddy frantically thumped her on the back, both of them with eyes wide as saucers.

Mrs. Higgins frowned. "Too soon?"

"Gee, I don't know, possibly," Teddy snapped, wiggling his nose and adjusting his glasses.

"I don't appreciate that tone, Theodore Orion Higgins."

"Orion, like the constellation?" Charlie asked, taking another bite of fish, frantically trying to steer the conversation away from arguments.

"Yeah," Teddy replied smugly. "'Cause I'm a star."

"Nice."

Mrs. Higgins was actually really sweet once you got to know her. Teddy must have gotten his eyesight from his mom, as she wore thin-rimmed glasses. Her hair was brown with a hint of red, so Teddy must take after his dad with the hair category. Kathy (Mrs. Higgins) was about to offer dessert when Charlie's phone buzzed.

Skylar: I'm here.

She let out a loose sigh, not unnoticed by Teddy, who gave her a confused look.

"This was wonderful," Charlotte started saying. "But I have to go. My sister's here to pick me up."

"Alright. Come again soon," Kathy said with a smile.

"Definitely."

"Theodore, walk her out to the car," Mrs. Higgins scolded. Teddy made a grunting sound before standing up and following Charlie outside.

They stepped into the frigid air and Charlie noticed Skylar's jeep parked on the side of the road. The minuscule hairs on her arm stood upright in the chill of the night.

"Well, this is my ride," she whispered, squeezing her freezing arms to her body, feeling small goosebumps on her skin. Her lips were drawn tightly together in a desperate attempt to hide her sadness, the fact that she was leaving such a good time. Turning around, she headed for the jeep, a full-blown grin on her lips.

The sky was the color of ink from a black pen, as if some great force had painted the ink over the clouds and covered the sun. She could see some stars, some glimmering in the dark night. Stars. Orion. Theodore.

Charlie felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder, a soft, thin-fingered hand, curling over the fabric of her Beatle's shirt. She clenched her stomach in surprise, her chest raised, holding in a giant breath.

"I just..." he stumbled, looking at the ground, dropping his hand as if he touched lava. "I just wanted to say bye."

If he could touch her shoulder, she could do this.

Charlie reached out and placed her forefinger on the bottom of his chin and tilted it just so slightly that his eyes met hers.

The ocean met the earth.

His blue eyes, however, could not come close to comparing to the ocean, as they gleamed and shone with such a magnetizing glance that made it hard for her to look away. They did not hold one trace of chill, or cold in them, as rushing waters did. His eyes were warm and soft.... His blue eyes did create violent storms, a massive storm roaring in her stomach because of his eyes on her, an uproar of whirling winds rocking in the pit of it.

The ocean did not possess the power to make her knees go weak or make her blush a pink color. The power his eyes had that could ensnare you with a magical glint, a glint she'd never seen before in the world.

Her brown eyes did not pertain to the earth. The only reason she compared them to it was because they were of the same moldy, pale brown color of moss and dirt.

Also because ocean and earth clashed. They met at a certain point, with points of land and water colliding.

The roar of ocean waters would unroot some things in the earth, tumble away rocks and drag away branches, rinse away stones and leaves.

Currently, his eyes were doing that to hers.

Staring her down, dragging the smile from within her to shine on her face, luring her to come along, to join him. Washing away her fears, coaxing her to step closer, which she did.

The ocean dragging the earth to itself.

And she felt it. She felt the collide starting, the bridge of the two worlds clashing, her eyes locked on his ocean ones, his head tilted as he stared intensely back at her earth ones.

When the car horn beeped.

Teddy stumbled back and Charlotte twitched, grabbing onto Teddy's arm to keep herself from falling.

She let go as soon as she comprehended the situation.

"I really need to go, I think," she whispered, fiddling with the end of her shirt.

He coughed, slowly walking backwards towards the house. "Yeah, yeah obviously. Um, I'll-"

"Wait, Teddy," she blurted out, the ocean swiveling to find earth again. "What you said, about u-us, being f-friends, did you really mean it?"

His smile was blinding and his cheekiness was overwhelming. "Depends. Do you think we're friends?"

Charlie opened her mouth, but no words came out. Did she?

She nodded.

"Then we shall be friends!" he declared in a very him-like way that made her grin with a newfound fuzziness in her stomach. "Now goodbye, my fair lady."

She giggled and pretended to curtsy. Charlie ran off to the jeep, opening up the passenger door and crawling in, mentally thinking to herself that she could've sworn she saw the ocean wink to her.

a/n

spur of the moment chapter, fairly quick update!  idk about this one. thoughts? also, new cover.  yes?? keep?? eh, i made it, so i don't know really

i have so many books that are unfinished, and then i just go create another one, backseat serenade.  (hazel's story, fyi.  hazel jackson. charlie and skylar's sister :DDDD) (also a certain boy that i have mentioned a lot in two of my books, healing nova's heart and TGWR, a certain movie-ticket seller that skylar beat the crap out of xD)

THE SHIP NAMES!!!!!!!! TEDLIE (teddy x charlie) MALCOLLETTE (charlie x malcolm) SHARLIE (shane x charlie).  thank you all for the suggestions xx

fav comment from last chapter, @HotHerondales

"I CAN'T EVEN DRAW A STRAIGHT LINE WITH A RULER" literally so true thank you i laughed out loud reading that

GOALS:

1k reads
70 votes
120 comments

(obviously didn't reach my goals last chapter lol cries)

(teddy on his side, hiS FREAKING EYES)

(also jax from american idol singing i wanna hold your hand i love love love)