Prologue

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Graduation.

It was a big word, wasn't it? Meaning one thing, yet messing with so many senior high school students heads. It was like a passing point, a major moment, a stepping stone into the big, wide, world.

The stress that came with the word graduation seemed so totally overrated, and all the cool kids had always fibbed about not caring whether they'd graduate or not.

They either ended up stressing the most, or working at the local fast food joint.

But what was slightly worse then not graduating? Missing the whole thing completely.

"I can't believe you." Charlie hissed out through her clenched teeth. She was fuming so much her thoughts had actually turned to ways of killing him, right here, right now, in the MacDonald's drive-through. Sure, there was a hell of a lot of witnesses around and she'd probably get as far as the children's playground before the police arrested her, but Ben was the officially the most idiotic, stupid, immature person she'd ever met.

"What? Charlie, calm down, we'll make it on time." Ben said, looking far too overly confident and sure for a guy who had managed to create a traffic jam in the middle of the drive-thru.

All for the sake of a happy meal.

"Ben, schools all the way across town! The ceremony starts in ten minutes you doorknob!"

"Ouch, that one cut deep."

"Can it, Presley. Hurry up and pay the poor guy." Charlie breathed out as she noticed the MacDonald's employee leaning out of the window with Ben's happy meal bag in his hand. Ben wound down the window and grabbed the bag, and Charlie sighed in relief. Finally-

"Whoa, hang on." Ben frowned as he looked into the bag. "I ordered a happy meal with the Incredible Hulk action figure, not Captain America." Shoving the bag back at the slightly flustered worker, Charlie nearly screamed in frustration.

"I-I'm sorry, sir, but we're out of the Incredible Hulk action figures."

"What? You ran out of them?"

"Well," the worker scratched the back of his little neck nervously, his awkward young teenage limbs banging against the window slightly as he pulled himself back inside. "They're a favourite with the kids."

"Doesn't that give you the indication that you need to have twice as many in stock?"

"I'm so sorry about him, he's fine with the Captain America figure, really. Thank you." Charlie leant over to Ben's window, sending the worker an embarrassed, apologetic look. She couldn't imagine what Ben must look like, sitting in his graduation gear, demanding another happy meal toy because he got the wrong Avenger.

The worker blushed and smiled shyly, nodding. "I-it's okay. I could get him the Thor one if he'd prefer?"

"The Thor one?" Ben asked, appalled. Charlie turned to look at his face and the disbelief on his face would have been humorous if he wasn't annoying her to the point of where she was considering murder.

"No, no, he'll take the Captain America figure." Charlie said quickly, thrusting a ten dollar bill into the workers hand and sending him a quick wave before snatching Ben's happy meal and sending him a glare that could make even the toughest men shiver.

"If you don't start driving, I will throw this happy meal out the window. Action figure included."

"I don't care, Captain America is a pantie wearing girl and I can't believe that worker gives his action figure to children." Ben mumbled, but he put his truck in first and finally, finally moved out onto the road. Charlie closed her eyes and thanked the lord that Ben liked to speed, because she still had a little bit of hope that they'd make it to the ceremony in time.

"The nerve of him." Charlie mumbled, finding the situation a little more amusing now that they were heading towards the desired destination.

"Are you mocking me, Charlie?" Ben sent her a playful glare as he drove, and Charlie laughed as she pulled his fries out of the bag and settled them beside the gear stick before reaching in to get his cheese burger too.

"Would I mock you over something so important, Benny Bear?" Charlie cooed, reaching over to pinch his cheeks when Ben slapped her hand away and glared.

"Just shut up and give me a chip."

Charlie rolled her eyes but picked a few up and stuffed them into his mouth as he turned down one of the side streets that would get them to school faster. Relaxing into her seat, Charlie took a big bite of the cheeseburger then handed it over to Ben, who wolfed it down in two more bites.

It was like a routine for them, the happy meals. Charlie couldn't stand a whole MacDonald's burger, so she always took the first bite then let Ben devour the rest. The chips were strictly Bens, Charlie had learnt when they were younger that if you even so much as thought about eating a chip, Ben would make you regret it.

In the form of tickling until you puked sort of regret.

Ben screeched into the student parking lot a few minutes later, pulling into a park the furthest away from the school. She didn't blame him because it was the only one left pretty much since half the town had obviously shown up to bid the senior class farewell.

"Let's hurry up Ben-"

"Wait!" He shouted, making Charlie jump in shock and glare at him.

"What now?" Charlie groaned, her head hitting the back of his passenger head rest. "What could it possibly be now?"

"He forgot the coke." Ben seethed, shaking his head slowly, and Charlie almost stuck Captain America up his damn nose. 

"We are this close to missing our high school graduation and your annoyed because the MacDonald's employee forgot our coke?"

"I thought I made that pretty obvious, Charles, but if you need to explain it to yourself out loud to try and make sense of it then-"

"I'm this close to hitting you." Charlie said in a low, angry voice, indicating with the pinch of her fingers how frustrated she was. "Get out of the truck, and let's go inside."

"You know, you're lucky that you're sexy, Charles." Ben yelled over the slamming of our doors, and Charlie shot him another glare before straightening her gown and placing her hat on her head. "Otherwise you'd be a lot more intolerable."

"Ben-"

"I know, I know, "get inside or I'll break your tibia"." Ben said in a mocking tone, but he scooted around the trucks bonnet and threw his arm over Charlie's shoulder, giving her the smile that had gotten him out of trouble so many times before. "You know I'm kidding. I'd be your best friend even if you were butt ugly."

"Thanks, glad to know you're not in this friendship purely because of looks." Charlie muttered sarcastically and Ben squeezed her shoulders, grinning cheekily. Charlie glanced up at him for a moment, and she knew as soon as her eyes connected with hers, she wouldn't be mad anymore.

Ben just had this quality about him that made even the angriest people forgive him. It was partly why he broke up his girlfriends so well. He could dump a girl and make her feel like they'd just won prom queen at the same time. Well, that, and the fact that most of his girlfriends knew more about hair products then basic maths, but Charlie had learnt to never judge. One of them actually knew her times tables, so from then on Charlie had convinced herself not to judge a book by it's cover.

Charlie's dad had told her it was just the Presley charm, because Ben's dad could do exactly the same thing. Not that Aunty Taylor put up with any of his bullshit over the years she'd known them.

Which was her whole life, to be exact.

Charlie had been best friends with the Presley twins since before she could remember. Belinda, Ben's twin sister, was like the poster child for being the perfect daughter.

Ben had never really liked posters.

They had all been close, both the Presley twins and Charlie's younger brother and sister, Felix and Sidney, but Charlie and Ben had always been inseperable. She didn't even understand why because the two of them argued more then it was healthy and more often then not were shouting at each other instead of playing nice.

Charlie suddenly felt an urge to cry. She tucked her chin onto her chest and tightened her grip on Ben's waist, glad he was there with her. It had just hit her, as they walked hurriedly towards the schools auditorium. She was about to graduate high school. This was a huge moment in her life, and she'd completely under-estimated the emotion she'd feel beforehand.

"Hey, hey, you're not crying are you?" Ben said, stopping short and look down at her.

"No, there's just something in my eye." Charlie muttered lamely, but she couldn't think of anything witty or sarcastic to say while she was telling her tear ducts to hold tight.

"Yeah," Ben mumbled, lifting her chin up with his hand so she was looking up at him. "Tears."

Charlie rolled her eyes and shoved him off her. "Idiot." She retorted, wiping her cheeks quickly and started walking again.

"It's going to be okay, Charlie. I'm here." Ben said as he grabbed her arm and stopped her mid stride. "We'll get through the ceremony, then go celebrate, then we're off to college. And I'll be there, too." He sent her a reassuring smile, and Charlie nodded, grinning a little too.

"But I just realised we won't be walking these hallways anymore! We won't get to spend our free periods throwing peanuts out the library window, or you won't be able to hit me in the face with my locker door anymore and we won't-"

Ben sighed, cutting her off. "Trust you to get sentimental now. Couldn't even make it to the hat throwing, could you?"

They started walking again, and just as they were about to push open the doors to the auditorium, Ben chuckled and stopped again.

"What now?" Charlie whined, just anxious to get inside.

"Out of all our high school experiences, you're going to miss me hitting you in the face with a cold, metal door?"

"It was the first thing that popped into my mind!" Charlie retorted, and Ben snorted, highly amused. Charlie shoved open the door, muttering a string of curse words in his direction, and paused mid step.

The entire audience were turned in their seats, staring at the two. Charlie glanced over to the stage to see their senior class already sitting in alphabetical order, and good old Maria Matthews was sending her daggers as the principal was half way through passing her the diploma with her name on it.

Well, shit on a stick.

They were late after all.

"Sorry, everyone. This one was getting a little emotional." Ben said in a loud voice from behind Charlie, shrugging in a what-can-you-do fashion and the audience laughed, even their parents. Charlie felt her face heat up, and she scurried up the stage steps, wishing now that she'd just killed Ben when she had the chance back at MacDonald's.

"You went to MacDonald's, didn't you?" Maggie, Charlie's closest girl friend whispered when she sat down in the seat beside her. Charlie glanced around the huge auditorium quickly, noticing the pure mass of parents and friends in the audience, and nodded.

Maggie giggled quietly, and Charlie focused back onto the ceremony, waiting patiently for her name to get called and to finally have that diploma that she'd been working so hard for in her hands.

Then she was off to college. With Ben.

She still hadn't decided if that was a good, or a bad thing.

* * * *

So I've got the prologue up! :D I hope you all enjoy it! Obviously, this stories Charlie and Ben's, but of course Nate, Taylor, Kally and Oliver will be included.

Comment/vote!

Stay tuned for the next update, chapter one! :)