Charlie POV

       "What's his damn problem anyway?" I heard Penelope ask Roger and myself as we all took our seats in my dark colored Benz. Yeah, thank my wonderful lawyer Mother. Doesn't come without me paying for it, I just got lucky when she agreed to co-sign for me.

       "Must be on his period," she muttered from the back seat.

        I eyed her through the rearview mirror; she had crossed her arms and she was wearing a defeated frown on her tanned face.

       "Just ignore him," Roger started telling her, "That's what I do when he starts to get under my skin."

       "Easier said than done," she huffed, still not looking at either of us.

       All I had to do was follow the car in front of me, so I concentrated on Jane's little blue buggy, not really caring why Lucas had been giving Penelope attitude. Usually, she deserved a good verbal slap.

       Not to say she wasn't a good person, but she was always turning her nose up at everyone and everything. Which was strange because she was actually one of the nicest girls I knew. She was just naïve and it was easy to see how that could rub off the wrong way.

       That was surprisingly all I knew about her really, which was all just information I gathered by being an observant brother.

       I knew she had met my sister sometime in their sophomore or junior year in high school and they had become friends, but she stayed pretty much to herself when she came over.

       Lucy and her other friends would usually bother Peter, our older brother, and I to sit and hang out with us, but Lucy had told me stories about Penelope specifically asking not to. It baffled me how she and Lucy were even friends, they seemed like they'd have nothing in common.

       What do I know? I'm her brother. I thought, internally shrugging as my brain continued to churn other thoughts.

       Lucy was bubbly while Penelope was more reserved. Lucy appeared to be the social butterfly, and Penelope seemed to be more of a social outcast despite her intriguing, but not uncommon, appearance.

       Maybe I was just shallow because as they continued talking about Lucas I allowed myself to zone them out and think of Jane.

       Ugh, even her name held so much mystery and charm. It was like a pretty Christmas gift wrapped up in gold with a red satin bow.

       To say I was surprised when she stepped out of my house earlier would be an understatement. I was delighted but also saddened by the fact that she seemed to be leaving.

       She greeted me and her voice was warm and smooth like melted butter.

       I ached for her in that moment: to see her standing there on my front porch in her jean shorts, with her stretched ears looking even bigger under her chocolate colored hair thrown up in a bun, I wanted her.

       I loved how casual she looked; a white tee and a pair of bright red Chuck Taylors finished her outfit and I realized I was smiling and staring vacant-eyed at her. She didn't seem to notice and we ended our conversation with her winking at me...

       "Charlie!" Penelope's shrill scream pierced my ears from the backseat, interrupting all thoughts.

       "What the fuck?" I shouted back, glaring at her through the rearview.

       "I was only trying to get your attention," she scoffed, raising an eyebrow at me underneath the dark green beanie she wore. "Roger too," she accused, shooting daggers at him with her gleaming emerald eyes.

       Roger looked back at her, a mixture of surprise and irritation had blossomed on his face before turning his attention back to me, shrugging. "I said your name a few times," he admitted, "but you were thinking about some... thing else." He smirked at me, clearly not oblivious to my crush.

       I grinned back and his lips pulled up into a whole smile, accompanied by a small, knowing laugh.

       Penelope looked at us, annoyed, but I was pretty sure she remained in the "unknowing" realm.

       She looked more irritated that we hadn't been listening to her, which she then confirmed. "Did you guys even hear me?" She threw her nose in the air, tossing her strawberry blonde hair as she did so, awaiting a response from either of us.

       Roger shook his head no, still grinning. "Sorry Penny, I don't think we did," he said glancing back at her, still smiling.

       She defrosted instantly at Rogers' nickname and encouraging smile, and while still staring his way, mumbled a half apology to me under her breath.

       That was when I realized I really didn't know Penelope at all, and for all I knew, she despised me. That was also when I realized, I didn't fucking care if she liked me or not.

       At least I had Roger in the car with me, who she did seem to like. He seemed more than capable of keeping her at a low simmer for the weekend because she definitely didn't act like she wanted to be coming along on this expedition.

       "- I just don't care for dogs." I heard her trying to explain to Roger. "It's not her dog." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "It's all dogs," she stated firmly as if she was trying to believe it herself.

       Roger nodded in agreement. I was pretty sure he was only trying to please her, but then he surprised me by responding with, "Yeah, everyone has something they don't like."

       Yeah, but who doesn't like dogs? I realized I was the slightest bit aggravated with the both of them. I tried pushing it aside until,

       "Exactly, like, not everyone likes you pushing your stupid dog on them. Not everyone loves him as much as you think," she spat, bitter and fuming in the backseat.

       Roger and I exchanged a quick look laced with understanding, she was obviously referring to Jane.

       "I think Loki is to blame, he just takes the initiative and assumes otherwise," I told her calmly, making momentary eye contact with her. She tore her eyes away from mine before I could decipher the emotion hiding in them.

       She sighed as I heard Roger add, "Yeah, he's just a little extra loving."

       I looked up at her through the mirror just in time to see her roll her eyes and look out the window. She never brought it up again, and neither did we. The car grew silent and I began to wonder what our friends were talking about.

**********

Authors Note:

Hello, everyone! Thanks for sticking through these first chapters! I promise I have so much in store for this book, you won't be disappointed! Each of these beginning chapters is literally another step closer to the actual story/plot.

Feedback is always appreciated and I hope you guys will share with me your opinions!

Thanks again for reading! Press that lil star if you're enjoying! 🌟