❝Reality was a chore, unlike laughter.❞

It hadn't taken long for Charlie and Lester to become close after awkwardly rekindling their friendship. They had (somewhat) glazed over the almost-kiss happening in mutual silent agreement, instead choosing to continue what they had with that boundary set. It had been a few months since their meeting at Rockfer's, and the two of them hung out every chance that they got.

Lester quietly made his bed on the floor as he considered everything that had happened recently. The two people he was closest to were Charlie and Ayden, both of whom led their own very separate lives apart from his. While he spent a lot of time with them, Lester also kept his own life as an individual, picking up new hobbies and studying new things all the time. His stay in Nyore had become productive in a way that he wasn't used to. It was kind of nice. He folded the duvet over the top of his makeshift bed, looking up just in time to catch Charlie coming into the room.

They were at her house together this time. Her house was smaller than his cabin, but much cozier than his in every sense. Charlie Woulkha had turned out to be a much better person than he'd expected, and as a result he indulged in her company often.

"Done setting up?" she asked him with a teasing smile, her thin pajamas sliding up to reveal her toned legs. She'd just come back from a run and a shower, her hair tied up with a towel and her face bare of any makeup.

"Want to watch a movie?" Lester replied with a question of his own.

"Why not?"

Something he loved about Charlie as her flexibility. She was sporadic and wild, crazy when she wanted to be and carefree all the time. She was so in tune with her emotions. She was funny. Lester couldn't help but admire it all – she was unlike anyone he'd ever met before. He wanted to learn from her more than ever. Around her, Lester had felt himself become more open and adjustable to life.

Of course, it helped that he wasn't tied down to a position at the palace, but that was besides the point.

Charlie chose a childhood movie remake to put on the television in her room, and he climbed into her bed next to her to watch. The movie was good, he quickly discovered, with a lot of flair and comedic input from the characters. He always liked Charlie's taste in movies and music. At this point, he almost trusted her choice over his own.

By the time the credits were rolling, they were both slumped against the pillows leaning against her bedframe, eyes bleary. Charlie rolled over to grab the remote off her nightstand and turned the television off. "Are we going to bed now?"

"Do you want to?" Lester asked, his yawn betraying him. "I don't really."

She took his words seriously, placing her head on his shoulder and curling up next to him as they both stared at the ceiling and thought. Lester closed his eyes. He wondered if this was what life was about sometimes. Moments like this. When he was with Charlie, he felt like he was stealing them from an ordinary world. It felt nice.

"Who do you want to be when you grow up?" Charlie murmured softly, disrupting the silence. She was the talker between the two of them, curious and extroverted enough for them both.

Lester let the question hang in the air for a moment while he thought it over. "I don't want to worry too much about things anymore. I just want to enjoy the small things and love who I want to love. Someone like that. You?"

"I think that we don't really need a life's purpose. The Goddess put us in this world for a reason: to live life to the fullest. I want to travel and explore new things. Eventually, I want to get out of this town and do something fascinating. I'm restless here."

Lester could imagine her eyes gleaming as she talked had they been open. She was a passionate person. He wasn't sure he could say the same.

"Ambition is a good thing, don't you think?"

"Maybe," she confessed. "I don't know. I like change and variety, but I wonder if I like it too much sometimes. Will I ever stay put? Is there something or someone or someplace that can make me want to? I've been here for a while, and I just feel like I'm meant to do more sometimes."

"You'll leave this town at some point," he promised. "I'll make sure we get you out of here. You could come visit me at my home."

That made Charlie open her eyes, and she turned to stare at him. "That's right. Where are you from again? I keep meaning to ask, it's just that you never really talk about your life before now so I didn't want to pressure you into it."

There was something about Charlie that made him feel like he could trust her. Lester's chest rose and fell. He wouldn't avoid the question from her.

"Promise not to freak out?"

"I make no promises."

"You're so annoying."

"El, when have I ever freaked out? I don't freak out. Just tell me."

Lester turned his head to the side to look at her dead on, the steely look in her eyes finding him reassuringly. She was so near that they could feel each other's breath. His forehead furrowed slightly as she waited patiently. "Okay, so. You know the Royal Family of the Royal Territories?"

"Yeah?" Charlie's eyebrows raised skeptically. "Where is this going? You don't seem like some crown prince."

A beat passed as she took in the look on his face.

"No way, you can't be serious."

"Try former King Lester Raure of the Royal Territories," Lester whispered as she lay tense beside him, her eyes wide. "That ring a bell?"

If possible, Charlie's eyes got wider as she rolled back over to stare at the ceiling, processing the information.

"You said you wouldn't freak out," he said. Lester swore he could hear his heartbeat.

Her head whipped towards him, and she sat up. He sat up too. "How could I not freak out?" Charlie whisper-yelled as she turned towards him. Her eyes flickered warily around the room as though looking for some surveillance camera.

"What? What are you doing?"

"Where's your security detail? Are you allowed to be here?" She was rapid-firing questions now. "How long are you staying for? Wait, didn't you just ditch the throne? Why did you ditch the throne? Am I going to end up on some newspaper? Ugh, I don't want to be the face of a newspaper. I'm too gorgeous to grace that shit with my face. And your real name is Lester? What the fuck."

"You done now?" he asked, amused.

Charlie slumped, defeated. "I don't know enough about the Royal Family for this, you bitch. If this is some sick joke, I'm going to slap you."

"I'm so dead serious."

"How could I not know I was best friends with a former King?" Charlie glared at him. "I hate you."

"No you don't."

Charlie pouted. "No I don't. Ugh!"

Lester's chest started shaking as he tried to contain his laughter. "That has to be the best reaction I've ever gotten out of anyone."

The moment the words were out of his mouth, they both descended into fits of laughter.

When they quieted down, Charlie sighed and leaned back against the headboard of her bed. "So, should I go into town and pick up the latest tabloid on your family drama?"

"Please don't," Lester said, bewildered.

"It's fine. You know I can't keep up with anything to save my life," Charlie agreed, smiling as she shook her head.

Lester closed his eyes and snuggled into her shoulder. He'd never had a best friend that he didn't work with. It would be ideal if their relationship just stayed like this; stupid late-night confessionals and time together. Nothing to serious.

He didn't want anything too serious.

⋄ 

how do you like Charlie? 

any theories about what Dahlia's been up to all this time?