| 17 |

❝ Are you a beaver? Because daaaaaaaaaaaaaammm. ❞

THE LATE APRIL WEATHER was dizzying to Charlotte.

Massachusetts weather was always a little iffy, and was usually never warm, never sunny, and never satisfying.

It was slightly humid and sticky, slowly easing into the summer weather. Charlie's black band shirt was sticking to her skin as she looked out of the window in her math class. She noticed the newly vibrant trees and the enticing, baby blue sky.

A sigh whispered through her lips while she rested her head on her crossed arms on her cold desk.

Just a couple seconds of sleep couldn't hurt...

The bell rang, the shrilly sound startling her from her sluggish daydream, forcing her out of her seat.

She rubbed her eyes as she walked towards the door, before hearing, "Ms. Jackson, may I speak to you for a minute?"

Oh no, this couldn't be good.

Charlotte stifled a yawn as she leisurely strode up to Mrs. Wyatt's desk. "Yeah, what's up?"

Mrs. Wyatt's hands were clasped firmly together. "Mr. Dawes wanted me to inform you that he is unable to continue his tutoring."

Charlie's heart deflated. Her shoulders sagged and her heavy backpack slid down her sweaty, sticky arm.

Her heart was thumping with confusion and her ears were ringing with shrieks, shrieks of why did he quit?

Malcolm had been acting very strange lately, from leaving school early to only spouting out brief, small talk as opposed to long, cheery conversation.

"I'm currently looking for someone to replace Mr. Dawes and when I find a willing contribution I'll let you know right away. The tutoring has really improved your grade, Charlotte."

Charlotte weakly chuckled. So you think. I'm just doing better because instead of giving a two percent effort I'm giving ten percent.

"Um, thanks," she whispered nonetheless. "Do you - do you know why Malcolm isn't going to tutor anymore?"

Charlie's teacher tilted her head and steadily breathed in deeply, and then released. "I'm sorry, Charlotte." Her light brown eyes looked at her with pity (pity that Charlotte happened to lose her tutor, or pity for Malcolm?) for a moment before shaking her head with a frown.

"Uh, I gotta go," Charlie rushed out, motoring out of the stuffy classroom.

•|•|•

Charlotte was a little annoyed when she walked into the cafeteria and saw that Malcolm wasn't there. Theodore and Shane were and she supposed that she might as well sit with them. Even though she was a little peeved at Theodore, she could probably find out why Malcolm wasn't tutoring her anymore.

She could feel Theodore's eyes on her as she opened her lunch bag and took out her sandwich. Next to Shane she felt protected, as silly as that sounded, because she had ranted all of her emotional issues out to him (most about Theodore). He knew where she stood with the boy sitting before her, the boy wearing the black skinny jeans and the blue converse sneakers (that matched his eyes) and the red flannel that was rolled up at the sleeves despite the unusually hot weather. How was he not dying of heat?

Even his style was on point. Thank God, because if he ever wore basketball shorts, she would be gone faster than you could say 'fuckboy'.

"What's up with you?" Shane piped up, nudging Charlie in the side.

Once she swallowed her bite of ham sandwich she took a deep breath. "Where is Malcolm? He backed out on my tutoring."

Shane paused in the act of shoving a pizza through his face. He took a side-glance at Teddy. Theodore quickly looked into his lunchbox.

"And he's never at school a full day anymore. Why? Is he sick?"

"Sorry Charlie," Theodore mumbled, fiddling with the collar of his flannel.

"Seriously?" she said flatly.

"You can talk to him tonight," Shane replied, nervously darting his eyes back and forth from Charlotte and Theodore.

Charlotte was staring him down. Glaring straight through his perfect, electric, piercing blue eyes. His right eyebrow was curved as if to challenge her. His eyes were so enormous and deep, she felt like she was getting swept away... The ocean. His eyelashes were so long, too. They were curled like a spring, kind of. He cocked his head ather, all without blinking, and she almost felt nauseous. The kiss was a mistake.

She looked away.

"What do you mean, I can talk to him tonight?" she inquired, snapping out of her trance of blue.

"His play is tonight, if you wanna join us," Shane cut in, subtly punching her in the thigh. She faced him with a glare, rubbing her thigh. He gave her a questioned look before nodding towards Teddy.

Oh.

"I'd love to. But... Why does he keep getting dismissed? I don't understand."

"Theodore will pick you up at six, right Theodore?" Shane said, thoroughly ignoring Charlotte's question. Her eye twitched and she groaned. He was doing this on purpose, she knew it. "I feel like you two need to talk."

Charlotte bit down on her cheek as she felt a bright, blotchy blush spread on her cheeks.

"I ship it. Tedlie," Shane whispered in her ear so only she could hear. He began to softly chant, "OTP, OTP, OTP."

This time, Charlotte punched him in the thigh.

•|•|•

Charlotte Jackson was hella stressed.

She dug and dug and dug through the tangled mess of hangers and fandom shirts in her closet, trying to search for something nice.

Charlie pulled out a stripey, bright red crop-top and raced over to her pile of clothes where she knew her black skater skirt lay. A speedy check of time showed that she had ten minutes. With that, she whipped off her clothes and changed.

This was the dressiest she was ever going to get.

She brushed her thick brown hair and threw it into a bun. Glancing at her iPhone's home screen, the time read five fifty-six. Four
minutes left.

Sliding into socks and black high-top converse, she rushed over to her desk where a small supply of makeup sat (usually untouched). She licked her lips and smeared a rosy red on them.

Two minutes.

Charlie grabbed her black hoodie just in case.

She shoved her phone into a small purse, along with a twenty dollar bill and the bright lipstick, and headed out of her room. She practically skipped down the stairs to the bookstore, her heart shivering from nerves and anticipation.

She waited on a beanbag chair and read a random book she picked off of the shelves. Her mind was in overdrive and the words just looked like blurs on a page. He was late. Did he forget?

Seeing him walk into the bookstore caused her to take a shaky breath.

His midnight-black hair was tousled perfectly, bangs messily covering his forehead. He was casually dressed in the same jeans, and he was wearing his grey sweatshirt. His hands were stuffed in his hoodie pocket and his shoulders were slouched. His teeth were biting down on his bottom lip as he strolled innocently through the bookstore.

God, she was screwed.

With a small yelp, Charlotte leaped behind a bookcase, out of sight from Theodore. She peered out from behind it.

"Hi, and welcome to Tiny's Bookstore!" came her mother's usual, cheery hello.

"Hi-" man, his gruff voice made shivers fly up her spine "-um, I'm here to pick up Charlie."

Her mother blinked. "Charlotte? P-pick her up? As in, going somewhere with her?"

"Uh... Yeah. I guess."

Charlotte closed her eyes in agony when her mom squealed in joy at the fact Charlotte was getting out of the house. Getting out of the house with a boy nonetheless.

"Charlotte!" her mother screeched. "Someone's here to get youuu!"

Charlie patted down her skirt and walked out from her hiding spot.

Her mind flashed back to her conversation with her sisters earlier that day.

"Just be confident. Have him bowing at your feet. Make him change his mind about the kiss without actually telling him."

"So, like, subtly make him change his mind?" Charlie asked Skylar, cringing.

"Yeah, exactly!" Skylar said with an excessive head nod.

"Have him make the first move," Hazel added in, picking at her fingernails she had painted black. "Don't look so clingy, even though you totally are."

"Am not," Charlotte blushed.

"His contact name on your phone is literally Teddy with, like, twelve exclamation points," she said in her flat tone of voice.

"How do you know that?" Charlotte said, appalled.

"Anyways," Skylar piped up, veering the topic back to how Charlotte should act with Teddy. "Just be cool, calm, and collected. And if you need me to come pick you up for any reason, just call me."

Her mother was giving her a crazed look as she walked towards her. A cross between what's gotten into you lately to oh my God oh my God tell me everything.

"You're late."

"By five minutes!" Teddy exclaimed as Charlotte stomped out of the door. He turned around and hollered, "Thank you, Mrs. Jackson!" to Charlie's mom.

•|•|•

It was silent in his old cadillac.

She was itching to turn on the radio. She couldn't stand the silence. Charlotte glanced at him and saw his hands gripping the wheel, his jaw clenched.

"You look bea-"

"We n-"

They started talking at the same, and they both flushed and looked away.

Skylar's voice echoed in her mind. Be confident.

Charlotte took a deep breath. Nope. She would be confident later.

They sat in silence the rest of the ride.

•|•|•

Finally, after a whole ride of silence, quick glances, and pure torture, Theodore pulled into the school parking lot.

A lot of cars were here, which was no surprise; Malcolm's acting was a hit, and with Sadie Hunter [the gorgeous badass with the bronzed, sun-kissed skin and the long dark hair] starring in it with him, it wasn't a shock that everyone wanted to come see this history in the making.

They both walked quietly into the school and headed to the theater (which was packed). Charlie spotted Shane in the far corner of the theater, right next to the stage. He was leaping and waving, trying to get their attention.

Charlotte poked Theodore's shoulder. "Hey, he's motioning for us."

They scooted down the aisles and finally made it to Shane, who beamed. "You made it!"

Neither of them responded to Shane's cheery remark. Charlie noticed Shane saved them seats somehow, and they were the only open seats in the row. Teddy took a seat first, and before she knew it, Shane sat down as well, leaving the only seat open to be the seat in the middle... Next to Teddy.

Damnit, Shane.

Charlotte subtly threw a glare at him, which he replied with a wink.

She fidgeted nervously in the cushioned theater seat. She felt awkward; she always felt awkward, that was true, but with Theodore, it was even more awkward. It was the epitome of awkward. Awkwardness just oozed, radiated from her.

"Hey there," she spluttered out, her voice unnaturally high, a cough following the horrific voice malfunction. "Uhm, we... We haven't really talked in a while."

"Yeah, I-I know. I've wanted to talk to you, ever since you rushed out," Teddy mumbled, facing her and rubbing the back of his neck.

Be confident.

"Well, I've needed to tell you that I think you're wrong," she said, crossing her arms.

His forehead crinkled. "Wh-"

The lights dimmed.

"Shh," Charlotte hissed. The enormous red curtain swung open, revealing Malcolm in a dorky prince's costume; a small crown on his head, a sword stashed in a belt loop, a smug, theatrical smile.

It was pretty entertaining. A couple of comedic lines were spouted here and there, sword fights, and Sadie.

The whole audience was in an uproar.

Malcolm used a fake british accent the whole time, and she had to admit, it was pretty legit. Sadie's acting was outstanding as well. You would never know that under the many layers of badass and sarcasm that she had the knack for acting. Shane was staring at her like a starstruck fool the entire time.

Next to Charlotte, Teddy was getting antsy. She had to elbow him multiple times for almost dozing off. His foot kept tapping and he kept rubbing his eyes and God, he was driving her insane.

"Quit it," she softly growled out.

"Sorry," he whispered with a wince. "The only thing that's keeping me up is the coffee I grabbed from Dunkin' earlier, and the combination of no sleep and caffeine is killing me."

Charlie stared straight ahead to the play, her jaw locked.

"It's also kinda giving me a boost. Almost like felix felicis. Liquid luck, in muggle speak."

She slowly closed her eyes. He was getting to her. She would not let him. If he thought the kiss was a mistake, she couldn't let anything else happen. She would show him mistake. Yeah, she'd show him. She'd kiss his fucking face off if that showed him how much of a 'mistake' the kiss was, damnit.

"What do you mean?" she whispered back her reply. She couldn't help it. He made a Harry Potter reference. He was slowly luring her in like the sirens in the Greek myth. His cute quirks and beauty was drawing her in, a rope, yanking her, closer, closer, closer. The siren made her ignore the flaws and the imperfections and the hurtful words. How was it that he was always able to do this to her?

"It gives me enough courage to... To do this," he slowly mumbled back. Before she knew it, his arm was around her shoulder.

Charlotte was frozen.

Her limbs felt weak. Her brain was on fire. Heart thumping, palms sweaty, eyes leaping out of her head. She was frantically gulping, her throat feeling dry. Yet, ironically, she felt like she was drowning.

She couldn't do this. She couldn't do this.

"Since when did you get so smooth?" she croaked out.

Charlotte risked taking a side-glance at him and saw that he was intensely staring at her with those ocean eyes. She felt her own eyes widen. Charlie quietly breathed out a shaky breath. Mesmerizing. Luring. Sirens. Ocean eyes.

"Since...since I had someone I wanted to woo," came his stuttering reply.

No. Don't let him mesmerize you. Don't let him lure you. Don't be the desperate, clingy girl whose contact name for him has twelve exclamation marks. Make him beg. He thought it was a mistake. A mistake. Don't let him toss around your emotions like nothing.

Malcolm's fake british accent was just ringing in her ears. Teddy's arm felt like the world was on her shoulders.

And if you need me to come pick you up for any reason, just call me.

A scream mentally ripped through her head and she threw Theodore's arm off of her shoulder. She heard some mutters from audience members sitting around them but she ignored it and squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath.

Charlotte: please come pick me up when the play ends, should be like twenty minutes

Skylar: what???? :o

Theodore got the hint.

The rest of the play they sat in silence.

a/n

please go take a survey on this book, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vBWy5MKNWo_LSuj25cybjqYPBpBuP4ujsw9YuAGKNpw/viewform <----that link is also in my bio, so go check it out!

I would appreciate it so much if you did, because it will help me figure out what I need to work on it if i publish :-)

dedicated to kpgcatlover because she is hella cool and helped me figure out publishing details!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU. she's an incredible author and i 190375895701947356% recommend you check her out if you havent already! I LOVE YOU KAY

new cover is by akacute (thank you so much again) pls tell me your thoughts on it. yay? nay? i thought ocean like his eyes, idk. the girl is reading a book, Charlie lives in a bookstore and reads books, idk. i quite like it. my sister claims she doesn't like it. thoughts?

~gif of Zendaya as Sadie on side~

thoughts on the chapter? thoughts on teddy? is he being a loser that needs to man up and tell her the kiss mattered? thoughts on Malcolm, why's he leaving school throughout the day? thoughts on charlotte???? was what she did right? she's stressing out lol i'll tell you that much

ok so most people on the survey said that I should update faster so I'm going to try, I swear. this was actually a pretty long chapter. wow.

if you liked the chapter, vote, comment, share, whatever. I love you all, thank you so much for the 55k, seriously that's amazing.

GOALS:
58k reads in total
170 votes
240 comments