Charlie

"Rise and shine!" I heard at an ungodly hour. It was cheery and singsong probably a bad omen. I opened my eyes halfway to see Emery standing over me with a bright smile on her face.

"It is way too early for joy, Emery – wait... what are you even doing here?" I asked, now sitting up. Emery was fully dressed in high waist mom jeans, a knit pink, off the shoulder top, and her hair in a half up, half down look. She looked effortlessly beautiful. I on the other hand, was probably rocking bed-head couture, and it would take some work to correct it.

"First of all, it's not early, a school morning. Second, I'm here to make sure you look like a hottie for after school," Emery said holding up a hairbrush.

"What, I can't go like this?" I said sarcastically. Emery shot me a look and I grinned. "I don't need to look like a 'hottie' for Dallas. He's an idiot."

"But a cute idiot. Just let me do a natural look on you, please? We went shopping and everything!" Emery begged, widening her eyes and pouting her lips. The classic puppy dog look.

"Fine," I sighed, dragging out the 'i' sound.

"Yes!" she cheered before running over to my closet. She found the untouched shopping bags on the floor and grabbed the light blue skinny jeans and off-the-shoulder long sleeve black top I had bought. I wrinkled my nose. "This is the outfit. Go change and brush your teeth." I stuck my tongue out at her but did as I was told. It was way too early for an argument. I avoided the mirror in the bathroom, afraid to lose my nerve and stepped out to Emery for her approval.

"Please tell me I can at least wear my converse," I said. Emery looked up from her phone and her face lit up instantly.

"Ah! You look so pretty!" She squealed.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I shifted uncomfortably on the spot, uneasy with the compliment. I reached for a hair elastic to throw my hair up.

"No! Leave it down," Emery yelled.

"Ugh, fine. Okay," I glowered. I yawned immediately after, making me much less menacing than I hoped. Emery laughed and a tiny part of me wanted to slap the smile off her face and go back to bed. "I need coffee or at the very least sugar if I'm going to get through this day," I mumbled.

I did not sleep well last night, but it wasn't anything new. I rarely slept well. My nights were usually filled with insomnia and nightmares leading back to–

"Can I put make up on you?" Emery asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Now you're pushing it," I replied dryly. "Mascara and that's it."

"Ah, worth a shot," she grinned. I gave her a half smile, betraying myself as I reached for the mascara on my dresser. I put it on in the mirror and looked at myself for the first time. As much as I was ready to fight Emery, she was almost right. I looked... "See? Pretty!"

"If you say so," I replied shyly, turning away from the mirror.

***

A much-needed coffee and a short drive later, Emery and I arrived at school. Unfortunately, it happened to be soon after Tiffany, Kayla and Holly did too. They turned to see us and blocked our path down the hallway, the thought forming in their shared mind immediately.

"Wow! Is it just me, or does Charlie actually look like a girl today?" Tiffany asked loudly. I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. Emery let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Is it just me or does Tiffany's nose look even faker today?" she smirked.

The look on Tiffany's face was priceless, slipping from its cool and callous expression to one that looked like someone just told her that they discontinued her favourite lip gloss. She blinked it away and scowled.

"Yeah? Well, at least she doesn't need her friends to step in for her!" Holly chimed in.

The irony was delicious.

"Oh, Holly. You're pretty and smart," I smiled sarcastically.

"Thank you!" Holly grinned. She then turned to Tiffany. "I don't know why you hate her so much. She just complimented me... isn't that so nice?"

"She was being sarcastic you idiot!" Kayla chided, making Emery and I struggle to hold back our laughter.

"God, both of you shut up!" Tiffany snapped.

"We'd stay and insult you all further, but you're doing a great job of it yourselves," I said, before Emery and I left the three of them to bicker amongst themselves.

***

Before I knew it, the day was over, and I was sitting in the library waiting for Dallas. I doodled in the corner of my notebook as few moments turned to ten minutes. By ten had turned to twenty minutes I had abandoned my doodle and found myself dozing off in the calm quiet.

BANG.

I jumped in my seat hearing the loud noise. I looked up to see Dallas standing over me with an amused expression on his face. There was a textbook on the table now, and I assumed he slammed it down to get my attention.

"You do realize you're late, right?" I asked with a deep frown.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just study," he said, making me roll my eyes for what felt like the thousandth time today. While I wanted badly to beat him over the head with his textbook, I decided to keep jail time out of my near future and take the high road.

Pretty soon, and hour had passed, and I shockingly managed not to kill Dallas. This was despite the fact that at every chance he got, there was an innuendo that had to be said, or a rude comment that had to be made. Just when I'd thought I had enough, it was 4:00pm and our time was up.

I packed up my things as fast as possible and tossed my bag over my shoulder as I stood up, leaving Dallas sitting at the table. I began heading for the door when I heard Dallas' obnoxious voice.

"Charlie!" he called, only to be shushed by the librarian who was walking by. I stopped midstride and turned around.

"What?"

"You're forgetting something," he said, reaching into his pocket. I sighed and walked back to him as he held out my cash.

"Thanks," I muttered, taking it from him. I started for the door once more.

"Charlie?" he called again. I suppressed a sigh and looked at him.

"Those jeans make your ass look good," he said with a smirk. I felt the heat rushing to my face, so I turned quickly and stormed towards the door, flipping him off over my shoulder on the way. I heard him laughing behind me in response as I pushed open the library door.

I strode angrily down the hallway, my mind reeling with fury.

He's such a pig! And an idiot! What kind of comment was that? I have half a mind to go back and slap him. Why did I think for a minute I could do th–

"Oof!" I was suddenly on the floor, my heavy backpack landing behind me with a thud. I looked up to see a familiar set of forest green eyes that had been pushed out my mind thanks to a rather unfortunate placeholder named Dallas Mitchell. "S-sorry," I stuttered out.

"No, it was my fault," Mason said, with an apologetic smile. It was the kind of smile that made my heart skip a beat. He held out his hand to help me up and the sleeve of his brown shirt he was wearing rolled up a little, revealing a few fading scars. I tried to keep my face neutral, to curb my surprise. As I gingerly took his hand and stood up, I felt tingles running up my hand and down my back.

"Um, thanks," I said. Our hands were still together, and my eyes wander back to his wrist. Mason caught my gaze and quickly pulled his hand away. I blushed and met his eyes. I notice two things.

His dark green eyes had flecks of gold, as if the forest trapped bits of sunlight wherever it could get it, because the second thing I noticed was that there was a sadness in there so deep it took my breath away. It almost mirrored mine. I blinked, and just like that, it was hidden behind the trees once again.

I wanted to know what caused it, but it wasn't like he'd talk to me anyways. I pulled my gaze away and mumbled another apology as I picked my backpack up off the floor.

"See you around, I guess," I said awkwardly as I began to walk past him.

"Wait, I – uh... you're Charlie, right?" he asked. I paused mid-step and gave him a curious look as he tucked his hand into his jean pocket.

"Yeah..." I said, shyly.

"Is that short for something?" he asked.

"Yes, it is." It came out much sharper than intended, and I felt my cheeks heat in response. "Sorry," I mumbled. His eyes seemed to be reading my face and he gave me an understanding nod.

"It's alright," Mason replied, a small smile on his lips, revealing his perfect teeth and adorable dimple. A smile that didn't reach his eyes. I wanted to make wipe the sadness out of them.

Don't be an idiot Charlie, a voice in my head scolded.

"Uh," I started, desperate to change the subject. "How did you–"

"Tiffany a couple days ago..."

"Right!" I exclaimed.

"And you're in my math class," he said with a small smile. "I mostly know you by the back of your head."

"Ah, yes. I never do turn around, do I?" I teased, making him let out soft laugh in response. The sound was sweet like honey and warm like a sunny day. It immediately made me want to make him laugh again. I felt my cheeks start to warm again at the thought. "I – uh – have to put some books in my locker." I sputtered, staring down at my feet.

"Of course," Mason said. I glanced up and gave him a shy smile.

"Well then, I guess the back of my head and I will see you tomorrow after lunch."

"I guess so," he replied with another laugh. "Bye Charlie."

"Bye Mason," I smiled, walking away from him.

______________

Author's Note: Happy Wednesday! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think about the mysterious Mason and what you think might happen next!

Stay safe and healthy! xo