Alex's first day at her new job was...fun, to say the least. She didn't want to get ahead of herself, but she really thought she was going to have an absolute blast working at the shop. The store itself was perfect. There were three levels to it: the main floor, the basement, and the roof. The main floor and basement were pretty much the same, the basement was just a little darker and colder and had more books. The roof was where Rhea thought they could hold shows on nice nights.

When she was done showing Alex around, Rhea left, telling her that the shop's official grand opening was to be held in a week and to just take some time getting familiar with the place. Give me a real task, Alex had half-heartedly yelled as Rhea walked out. She'd stopped and looked around for a moment. Uh...make some kind of display!

And so there she was, making a mini Space Needle out of random things lying around: CD cases and tapes and bits of paper and even a record player arm. When she was done with that, she realized she needed a mini Pike Place Market. And it couldn't hurt to add a mini Edgewater Hotel.

Before long, there was an entire mini Seattle in one corner of the main room, built entirely out of things Alex had found in the shop. She'd even found some string lights in the basement and put them up over her little city. After that she went to work fixing up the window display, making sure Facelift got a good spot. "People need to hear this," she said to herself, putting Appetite For Destruction next to it in hopes that that would draw more attention to it.

As Alex hadn't been given a set time at which to leave, and since she did have the keys and was the manager after all, she decided she'd stick around for a while. Seven p.m. rolled around, and she'd yet to stop decorating. She only stopped because she saw that it was dark out. Remembering her promise to get back in time for some TV special Charlie wanted to watch wither her and Jo, she locked up the shop with her shiny new key and left for home.

After stopping to pick an apple from the tree across the street from Joey's bar, Alex reached the apartment and went right to the downstairs payphone, just to see if anyone had dropped any change around it. And it seemed it was her lucky day; three shiny quarters lay on the ground a few feet away from the phone. Enough to run back to the market and get some gum for her and her roommates to share.

✩✩✩

Alex went to work every day that week, coming home late every time. And she wasn't the only one, for Jo had finally found a job as well. It turned out that Joey was looking for a new bartender, and Alex, who'd only been stopping in for a drink and the roster of that month's performing bands, heard of the news and was quick to tell Jo about the opening. As she came highly recommended by Alex and came off very well, she was hired, and that was that. It was a pretty late-hour job though, with her shifts beginning at six p.m. and ending at eleven p.m.

That all meant that Charlie, who got home at around six-thirty every evening, had the apartment to herself for about two hours every day that week. She usually took that time to relax and watch TV or read a book. She didn't have very many books, so it was a good thing she didn't mind rereading Lord Of The Rings over and over again. Her Wednesday evening began with her grabbing her old copy of said book and curling up on the couch to read.

About half an hour after she'd started, there was a knock on the door. She looked up, a bit surprised as she was not expecting company. She got up and opened the door, breathing a tiny sigh of relief when she saw who it was. "Hey, Layne."

"Hi," he said in a high-pitched voice. He cleared his throat before he spoke again, this time in a lower tone. "Are you busy?"

"Uh, no, not at all. I'm just reading."

"Sounds like a fun evening," Layne slowly replied, one side of his mouth turning up.

"Oh, yeah. Big night ahead of me," Charlie laughed. "So what's up? Are you gonna come in or are you gonna stand out there all night?"

He grinned and stepped in, awkwardly standing next to the door as Charlie closed it behind him.

"Like that's any better. Come on, have a seat or something."

He sat on the armrest of the couch and she sat on the coffee table. "So, I came to ask...I wanted to ask if...if you're free....if you wanted to go out somewhere with me. But you're reading and I wouldn't want to interrupt--"

Charlie grabbed his hand to keep him from standing up when she noticed he was about to and asked, "really? Like, just us?"

"Yeah, just you and me."

"Now?"

Layne nodded.

"Alright, yeah, sure. Let me just go change."

He nodded again and Charlie did her best to appear casual as she walked into her room. The second she was in there, she closed the door and fist-pumped the air, even jumping a little in glee. She changed into the nearest clean t-shirt (which happened to be Alex's Beatles shirt). Then she put on her nicest (i.e. least ripped) jeans and her black boots, shrugging her favorite green and black flannel back on. She looked in the old rear-view mirror on the floor and did her best to fix her hair, smoothing it down and running her fingers through it to get out any knots.

Now ready, she exited the room and found Layne carefully lifting the cover and first few pages of the book still on the couch, his brows lowered as his eyes moved across the page.

"Have you read it before?"

He jumped, letting go of the book and looking up at her with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just--"

"No, that's okay, what's mine is yours. Really, have you ever read that book?"

"No. I was supposed to at some point in high school...but I never did. It seems interesting though.'"

"Oh, it is. That book changed my life. Anyway, I'm ready now."

Layne nodded and stood up after putting the book in a respectable position on the coffee table. Charlie couldn't help a smile at that. They left, with Charlie feeling extra-lucky when she remembered that this was the flannel with a five-dollar bill stashed in one of its pockets. "So where are we going, Staley?" she asked.

"You'll see. It's nice, you'll like it. I hope."

"I trust you," Charlie said as Layne opened his car's right door for her.

The car ride into the busiest part of the city was a little longer than usual; Layne's knowledge of all the shortcuts and quieter roads leading there still wasn't a match for traffic hour.

"You can—" Layne reached over and opened the glove compartment, "—pick one of these, if you want."

Charlie's eyes widened. There were more CDs in that little compartment than Charlie had ever owned. "Damn, that's a lot."

"Yeah," he said with a small laugh and a shrug. "I got more at home, but these are my favorites."

Charlie reached out and looked through them, pulling out an unmarked case. The CD, however, was a real original issue, and it made her raise a brow. "Pantera?"

"What's wrong with Pantera?"

"Nothing, I'm just getting a sense of your taste. Let me see..."

Charlie didn't get to pick a CD because they arrived at their destination before she could. As she seemed a bit distressed by that fact, Layne assured her she could pick one on the drive back. He rushed to open her door for her as always and held out a hand to help her stand.

"Who do you think I am, Queen Elizabeth?" Charlie asked as she put her hand in his.

He grinned and shook his head, barley feeling any pressure when Charlie tightened her grip and stood up. "No. Better than. I've never met the queen, but I don't think she spends her evenings wrapped in a flannel shirt and reading Lord Of The Rings."

"Hey, my idea of a nice evening might not be as fancy as the queen's, but—"

"I meant it as a good thing," he said before she could finish. "And you...you're...aw, never mind. Come on."

Charlie really wanted to hear the end of that, but she was quickly distracted by the building she'd just been dragged into. It was probably the most beautiful restaurant she'd ever seen; it was obviously Italian, and it was so nice she almost felt she didn't deserve to be there.

"This isn't our stop," Layne said, still not letting go of Charlie's hand. He turned to the right and started up a staircase Charlie hadn't noticed.

"Where are we going?"

"Patience is a virtue, Charlie."

She squeezed his hand hard, making him laugh. They finally reached the top of the staircase and Charlie was floored for the second time in less than a minute. It turned out the restaurant also featured rooftop seating, and it exceeded Charlie's every expectation of how something like that should appear (she'd never been to that kind of restaurant). The tables were covered in dark red tablecloths and the chairs were fancy little cushioned ones that even had armrests. Each table had a tiny vase containing three flowers: a red rose, a purple tulip, and a green carnation. Lining the rooftop's perimeter were a set of metal torches burning real fire that made it feel as warm as it was indoors.

Fearing judgement from the few other people dining out there if she continued to just stand there and stare, Charlie looked at Layne and asked, "can we choose where we sit?"

"Yeah, of course. Pick a spot."

Charlie eagerly looked around for the right table, quickly picking out the one in the corner. They got an incredible view; they could see Elliott Bay and the Space Needle and everything in between and beyond. It was also a clear night, and the twinkling stars and yellowish full moon were out and shining bright. Charlie couldn't help but try to look at everything at the same time, knowing it was impossible but being surrounded by so much beauty that she didn't care. Her gaze moved to fall on Layne, who was resting his head on his palm and facing the city below. But his eyes weren't following the passing cars or the bustling people; they were on Charlie, and he was watching her with an amused little smile as she admired everything.

"What?" Charlie asked when she noticed, her cheeks heating to nearly match that of the torches. "Don't mind me, I'm just not used to all this beauty."

"Sorry if I directly quote Alex, but why? You don't own a mirror?"

"Aw, I don't even...I could never..."

Layne shifted to face her, lifting his head and lowering his hand. "You don't even know."

"Know what--" She was cut off by the waiter coming over.

"Are you two ready to order?"

"Yeah. What do you have for twenty bucks--"

"Charlie," Layne interrupted, "what are you doing?"

Charlie was just like Alex in the respect that both always assumed they'd be expected to pay for whatever they ordered. These days, this seemed to almost never be the case, but they were still stuck in that habit, and it didn't seem either was ever going to let it go. "Uh, that's all I got."

"What? I asked you here, I'm paying for the food. Get anything you want, okay?"

Charlie blinked and nodded slowly, her eyes nearly betraying her desire to keep her slight wonder as to why to herself.

They both ended up ordering the exact same thing: a plate of pasta and a bottle of ginger ale. And it was the best pasta Charlie had ever tasted, and though she tried to eat slowly so as to savor it, her plate was empty before ten minutes could pass.

"Good, wasn't it?" Layne asked as he finished his own food, sitting back with a satisfied little smile on his face.

"That was freaking amazing. If I could pick one food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be that pasta."

"Yeah, me too. That's what I call quality eating."

Charlie laughed and agreed. The waiter came back soon after and Layne really did pay for all the food, though Charlie left her five dollar bill under one of the plates as a tip. They stood up and both leaned over the roof's railing at the exact same time to get one last look at the city below. The wind blew their hair back and the fire of the torches combined with that of the silvery moon's glow lit up their faces. Charlie looked out over Elliott Bay with a big smile, and this time, she didn't notice the starry-eyed chap looking at her with what could only be described as a warm and loving gaze.

Charlie finally got to choose one of the CDs, and they cruised up and down the Seattle streets listening to The Beatles and feeling happy. When they got back to Charlie's apartment, Layne walked her up to the front door, hearing Lyin' Eyes playing inside and realizing that meant Alex was home. He gave Charlie a quick hug and started to step back, only to be stopped by a question.

"What is it that I don't even know?" Charlie asked.

Layne looked into her eyes for a moment. "How beautiful you really and truly are."

Charlie blushed and looked away, shaking her head instead of bothering to try to come up with a response. He reached out and took her hand, making her look back at him as he nodded as if to counter her denial. A moment passed and suddenly each was leaning closer to the other as if it had been scripted...

Alex jumped when the door to the apartment was thrown open. "Holy shit, Charlie--"

"Alex, you and your pretty Eagles music are making my life look like a damn movie," Charlie sighed as she closed the door, leaning against it for a moment. The words themselves sounded like a mildly annoyed remark, but Charlie had such a smile on her face that it seemed she'd never known a negative emotion.

"Did someone give you drugs?"

"No, dummy. It's...nothing. I'm just tired."

"Sure. Go to bed then, I'll turn it down."

And truth be said, Charlie was tired, but she wouldn't be able to fall asleep for a while. When she finally did, however, it was a wonderful few hours as she dreamt of beautiful city views, CD collections, and a certain blond singer.

✩✩✩

Charlie and Layne content for the win
this update took forever because i couldn't for my life figure out where i wanted to take this chapter, but i finally settled on this direction and i hope everyone reading this enjoyed it :')
this story is going to start picking up soon...i've been planning and i think i finally have all the details worked out. i honestly just want to write more Kurt but in the original plan he comes in a bit later, so...we'll see.

alright, it's late, so just remember to stay safe and hydrated, have fun, listen to good music, be what you wanna be, and stay sober for Layne. until next time!