| 5 |

❝ I would make a list of all the things that make you cute, but it would be too long to fit on this piece of paper. ❞

HER HEARTBEAT ACCELERATED far too fast, her pulse racing quicker than a Porsche. Her palms were sweaty as she wiped them on her patterned leggings, and her throat was dry as hell. She clumsily walked into History class with buckets of anxiety crawling and slithering through her stomach.

She was almost ninety-nine percent sure that Theodore was her note writer. And he sat right behind her in this class.

Charlotte kept her head down as she sped into class, sliding into her desk and putting down her books. Her breathing was short and choppy, and her hands were slightly trembling.

Her eyes were trained on her desk as she saw, out of the corner of her eye, the lanky outline of him.

Oh gosh, oh gosh. Holy shoot. Oh gosh.

He waltzed into his desk and she felt his feet rest on the back of her chair, as if he were slouching. He did this every class, but she had never really noticed it until now. She had never really noticed him in general until now. Her heartbeat picked up.

The teacher sauntered into the room, Mr. Hollins, and set himself up for his usual note session. Mr. Hollins was famous for his notes, something everyone dreaded.

She heard some groans and scuffles as everyone flipped to a blank page in their notebook. She gnawed on the inside of her right cheek, something she always found herself doing in times of anxiety an nervousness.

The note-taking began as Mr. Hollins started his rant on World War II. She kept her eyes glued to her notebook, terrified to talk to Theodore, because a.) she couldn't coherently form well-processed sentences when talking to people or socialize in general and b.) Mr. Hollins gave detentions faster than than her favorite fictional characters died. Which is pretty fast.

When Mr. Hollins had excused himself for a couple minutes, saying he was going to the bathroom [a frequent thing of his] and expected silence, she was ready. Ready to speak with her note creator without getting a detention. And without stumbling over her words... Hopefully.

Now or never.

Charlie turned around in her desk and stared as blankly as she could at his nose, thinking that if she looked him in the eyes she would screw up. "Could I please borrow your notes? I, uh, I'm missing some."

She mentally thwacked herself. She was missing notes? Was that really how she was approaching this?

His pencil wavered on the paper and he barely glanced up at her pleading face, his head down and arms looped around the notebook, blocking it from her sight.

She should have kept staring at his nose, because as soon as her eyes slightly lifted to lock into his baby blue eyes, she was unable to turn away.

They were hidden behind his big, bulky glasses, but nevertheless made her hitch her breath, unable to blink.

Their eyes seemed to connect like attracting magnets. She was unable to remove her laser-beam gaze, and he didn't look like he was stopping his anytime soon. He looked captured, entranced in her eyes, somehow.

He was blinking at her though, looking confused as he tapped his pencil on his desk, licking his lips. His head was cocked slightly to one side and his adam's apple bobbed up and down.

She'd never heard his voice, and when she did she held her breath.

"Uh, y-yeah, yeah," he softly croaked in a gruff manner, his voice a touch deeper than what she had expected, the sound gravelly and strangely appealing to her.

Her stomach flopped again, the feeling of being flipped like a pancake in her mind. She was pretty sure he could hear her heartbeat by now.

He unraveled his arms from around the notebook and slipped it to her, his fingertips ever so slightly brushing hers in the process, creating a shiver rolling down her spine.

He pushed his glasses up his nose more, and she felt a rush of nerves overwhelming her. How had she never noticed him before today?

She hurriedly looked away and focused on his notebook in front of her.

Doodles covered the page, beautiful, little sketches, some of hair, tumbling over a girls back like waves, others an outline of a face, and the rest just patterns. It amazed her, the talent of it. The hair, even though just in pencil, showed great detail with every stroke of the pencil, shaded perfectly, every curl of the hair on point, and every line curving in just the right way.

She held her pencil, pretending she was writing in her notebook as if to copy down his notes to her notebook that she 'missed', but really just stared at his handwriting with her jaw dropping.

He was her note writer.

Her breathing sped up faster than normal and her heart nearly bounced right out of her chest. Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man. Holy shoot. She sucked in a big gulp of air and it wasn't until a while later that she finally released it. She was completely blindsided by this. She never thought that Theodore Higgins, the silent, loner guy at school that barely anyone had even heard of, called her cute. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she put her pencil down.

Closing up the notebook, she turned around in her chair, trying not to throw up on Theodore, and dropped it back on his desk.

"Thank you, Teddy," she murmured with great difficulty, once again staring at his nose, fairly cross-eyed. Teddy. She'd called him Teddy.

He coughed into a fist before replying lightly in his gruff voice, "It's, uh, actually Theodore."

"I know that," she whispered, her eyes once again meeting his piercing blue ones. "But I just think that Teddy suits you more."

He looked down into his desk and she caught the faintest hint of a smile on his plump, soft red lips, a blush erupting on his smooth, pale cheeks.

They were oblivious to their surroundings of paper-throwing and swearing from the kids in the classroom.

He titled his head and locked eyes with her once more, pushing his glasses further up his nose. Her neck was starting to hurt from turning to look at him for so long, but she didn't care. Her throat felt like sandpaper and her hands were once again clammy.

He smiled at her, a big, wide grin that made her heart just die, right then and their. It was a cutesy grin, like a smirk, but playful, and even more endearing. He replied to her in a much more solid, confident voice, his voice smoother but still with a hint of huskiness.

"You're welcome, Charlie."

•|•|•

The rest of the day was a blur to her.

Her mind kept repeating, over and over, Theodore Higgins, Theodore Higgins wrote the notes, Theodore Higgins said she was beautiful, Theodore Higgins called her Charlie, Theodore freaking Higgins.

The ride home from school on the bus felt much quicker than usual, her mind in another place.

With her backpack slung over her shoulder she trudged down to the little bookstore she called home with millions of questions formulating in her brain.

She opened the door with a whoosh of chilly air rushing behind her and heard the tinkling sound of the bell. The bookstore was a normally quiet place with the soft melody of the Harry Potter theme song playing in the background. She immediately headed for the blue beanbag chair she claimed as hers and threw down her backpack. Charlotte groaned, taking out her homework and binders and notebooks and spread them out. Her eyes darted to her hoodie pocket and she reached in, pulling out the note from today she received. She laid it flat on the ground, a smile gracing her lips. He called her cute again. It was strange, because reading the words repeatedly actually made her feel somewhat cute, beautiful, or gorgeous, whatever words he used.

"You okay?"

Charlie heard footsteps, her sister coming into view. Skylar, her sister, gave her a look that completely read sister bonding time before sitting down in front of her and crossing her legs. "You look a little out of it."

"Gee, thanks."

She heard her other sister, Hazel, snort and walk into the picture, jumping up and sitting on top of the wooden table in the center of the bookstore, right beside where they were all rested. "She's right."

"Is it really that obvious?" she sighed, closing her eyes and letting the back of her head fall against the bookshelf behind her.

Hazel was typing on her phone. "Let me guess," she said in her flat voice. "It's a boy."

"Well, give or take."

Hazel was strange, Charlie had to admit. She could also be intimidating, but somehow that was like a magnet for boys to come knocking on her door. Her straight, dark brown and auburn hair was dyed with streaks of rainbow. She had a nose piercing, something that took ages to convince the parents of. Hazel was terrifying at points, and her blunt actions, badass tackling/punching moments, menacing glares, and rare smiles only fed the fear of others.

Skylar was practically a prettier, more outgoing, social version of Charlotte. With blonde hair. And a talent for writing. Plus a boyfriend. She had always been the calmer one of her siblings, and was always there when they needed advice. Her blonde hair fell into perfect ringlets, bangs brushing her forehead, and freckles dusting her cheeks. She was pretty tall, much taller than Charlotte.

"Spill, young one," Skylar said, her blue eyes glinting wickedly, a smirk on her face.

"I'm only four years younger than you!"

"Whatever, just get on with the story," Hazel whined in a bland voice, swinging her feet beneath the table.

Charlotte gave her a flat look, which Hazel returned. "Anyways, you know how I've been getting notes this year, right?"

Skylar scrunched up her face. "Well... I kind of remember, but I don't really know..."

Hazel snorted. "No. What notes?"

Charlie was so glad her sisters were supportive and paid attention to her life.

"You guys are hopeless," Charlie sighed. "At the beginning of the school year, I started getting these notes from an anonymous person."

She picked up today's note and waved it around in the air. They were just small pieces of paper that looked like maybe they were ripped off of the corner of notebook paper. "And, well, um... I've been going along with them so far, but..."

"What do they say on them?" Skylar interrupted with her eyebrows furrowed.

Hazel narrowed her eyes. "If it's anything bad, you should have told me earlier. I'll find the little twerp behind this and k-"

Charlotte was blinking rapidly, horrified at the thought of Hazel versus Teddy. Theodore Higgins would have no chance.

"No no no! No, they're all sweet, really, really sweet. They actually, er, helped, a lot."

Silent fell over the sisters.

Charlie coughed. She started her explanation, lying slightly on the details. Whatever, who cares. Details, schmetails. "Um, anyways... So sometime last week, I didn't get a note for the first time all year. The next day, I got one saying I didn't receive one because they had been absent. Me, being smart and all, then thought of all the people I could who had been absent that day. A list of like eight people or something. Then I crossed off all of the people who had been absent more than just that once, because-"

"-that day was the first time you hadn't received a note. If they were absent more than once, how would you have gotten notes on those days?" Skylar finished for her. "Gotcha."

"I follow, I think," came Hazel's reply.

"Then, I looked at the people on my list's handwriting and compared it to the handwriting on the notes I receive, and one matched up."

"Man, you're good," Skylar muttered under her breath.

"This is actually slightly interesting," Hazel responded with a hint of interest.

Charlie scowled. "Wow, thanks."

"My pleasure," Hazel smirked.

As she glared at Hazel, Skylar asked, "Who was it?"

"Theodore, Theodore Higgins," Charlotte replied without a second of hesitation.

"Never heard of him," Hazel yawned out.

"And then what happened?" Skylar said, ignoring Hazel's obnoxiousness.

"Nothing yet. I'm just really conflicted on how I approach this, because I don't want to just straight out go up to him and say, 'you've been writing notes to me all year, right?' I mean, what if I was wrong or something, like what if he somehow isn't the note writer? Or what if he denies it? I'm not good at that kind of human interaction, Sky."

"...Not following," Hazel responded with raised eyebrows.

"Well... I'd just be completely awkward and make a fool of myself asking him if he wrote the notes to me when we've barely talked. My assumptions could be wrong."

It was quiet. She could hear the Harry Potter theme traveling through her ears. Skylar was reading the note she received today, the paper resting between the fingertips of her thumb and index finger. "Why don't you become friends with him?"

Charlotte blinked at Skylar. "F-friends? With him?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Eventually, you could get to a point in friendship where you're positive he's been writing you the notes. It'd also be easier to weasel the truth out of him if you become really close with him so you don't have to ask him yourself. And he seems pretty sweet. He's a keeper in my books." Skylar was smirking like crazy.

Charlie began spluttering and stuttering. "Wha-wh..."

"He would be good for you, Char," Hazel spoke up quietly, her legs continuing to swing. "His notes seem to make you happy, and you need this. You should keep him close."

Skylar piped up again. "It would be a plus if he was cute. Hmm?"

She began laughing at Charlotte's expression of a gaping mouth and bright red cheeks.

Hazel began smirking now, too. "He totally is."

"God, this is super cliché, just like a wattpad book. I love it."

"You're one to talk, you're the queen of cliché's!" Charlie grumbled to Skylar. "You wrote a whole book on your cheesy love."

"She's right," Hazel pointed out. "The title alone is cheesy, The Girl Who Read [And The Boy Who Kissed Her]."

"Hey, in my defense, it was mostly Spencer being the cheesy one. And I'm bad at titles, okay?"

Hazel rolled her eyes as Charlotte bit her lip.

"It is a pretty suckish title," Charlie teased.

"Whatever, oh my gosh. You guys are so annoying," Skylar blushed.

They all began to chuckle at her expression, the dreamy eyes and rosy cheeks, probably thinking about her picture-perfect boyfriend. Then Skylar mocked Charlie's expression after she had asked about Teddy's cuteness, and Hazel and her started cracking up again.

Charlotte's laughter drifted to a gradual stop with one major thought pestering her mind. She had no idea how she was going to get a confession from Teddy. She didn't even know why.

Why did she want to be completely positive that Theodore [AKA Teddy] Higgins was her note writer? She was nearly 98% sure Teddy wrote them, anyways. She didn't need to go through with another plan to make him confess to it.

Charlie could just forget about him being the one who writes them and go back to life, naïvely gaining complimentary notes every day, spending her life as a nobody [not that she ever left that life].

But on the other hand...

Fine, maybe she kind of liked the idea of becoming friends with him. He looked nice, and looked like he needed friends, as did he. They were perfect for each other.

But how on earth would she propose the idea of being friends to Teddy Higgins?

a/n

i was going to post this on my birthday but i'm in a good mood, watching mockingjay pt. 1 last night and watching the amazing spiderman and now watching the avengers.

im posting this chapter with a face mask on my face and it's weird and like tightening what the hell (update: MY FACE IS NOT A FREAKING TOMATO MY MOM IS WORRIED I'M HAVING A REACTION IT'S BURNING)

THEODORE IN THE PIC GRANT GUSTIN OH MY LORD ISN'T HE ADORABLE

i think this is the point where the book will start to turn into something acTUaLLy inTeRestiNg???!!? hahaha no probs not. i have brain block after the next couple chapters lol.

skylar and hazel. my baes. [casually references other book in current book, smh] [casually insults my book's title bc it's literally so horrible and embarrassing lol i suck at titles can you tell] [a note a day. a huge ass title. healing nova's heart...] [i need help]

so please, i want to know what you think of this story so far.  i personally really like this  chapter, but let me know.

is it cool? horrible? 'ew why am i reading this it's so bad'? 'oh my god i love this so much eeek <33333!'? 

please express thoughts? thoughts on characters, possible situations, ship names, deaths, favorite lines, etc etc.

vote if you enjoyed it! if you have never commented/voted for this book before, go for it! i usually reply back... at least i try to.

fav comment is dedicated to @smurfswift [thanks for reading bae <3]

"kinda hoping that its not theodore either and its actually a murderer luring her into a trap but eh probs not"

GOALS:

50 votes
53 comments
500 reads

be prepared for another update on my birthday (the 26th!) thanks for the 1k followers, oh my gosh. i joke to my friends that i'm 'popular' but seriously guys that's incredible. i love every single one of you :D