Playing the Love Guru

Jillian is driving with her boyfriend riding shotgun while Charlie and Jack are sitting in the back. The radio is belting out The Weeknd's hit song: Can't Feel My Face and the couple is jamming out to the beat in order to get themselves pumped up for a fun night. The passengers, who have been separated for roughly two years, are more interested in catching up than listening to the tone-deaf lovers.

Jackson McKiernan, also known to most as Jack, has been on active duty in South Korea for the past year. He had joined the military immediately after receiving his diploma from high school in 2013. Unlike the other kids he walked the stage with, Jack knew for sure that he wanted to represent his country and enlisted at the age of eighteen. He had to leave home to get his basic training done and his departure at the time had been heart-wrenching for everyone.

Charlie had been the most affected by it since they were best friends.

It wasn't easy trying to keep in touch, especially after Jack was stationed on the other side of the planet, but they managed to squeeze in a few calls here and there. However, over the summer Charlie didn't hear from Jack as frequently, nobody did. So of course she was relieved when he showed up at her doorsteps alive and well. She can't imagine her life without him.

That's how important he is to her.

At least fifty cars are parked on the street Matt lives on. His house is hard to miss. You'd have to be blind not to find it with all of the teenagers loitering on the front lawn. Thankfully Matt had reserved a parking spot for them ahead of time. They exit the vehicle with Ian leading the way.

The partygoers near the entrance have their jaws on the floor when Charlie walks in with Jack's arm resting around her shoulders and a luminescent smile painted on her face. Their gazes shift from the mysterious boy they are not familiar with to Jillian who is casually strolling in front of them. They are quite bewildered, but once they are gone, they go back to doing their own thing.

The music is blaring and the house trembles with the students who are dancing in the living room. Ian leaves the group to search for the host while Jack offers to get them drinks. Charlie and Jillian cram their way through the swarm of sweaty bodies and come to a halt when they reach the other side.

"On second thought, Charlie, I take it back. He's a total pig. PDA much?" Jillian shudders and Charlie rolls her eyes at the sight.

Sprawled out on one of the armchairs with a girl straddling his lap is her next door neighbor, Ethan. The duo is currently engaged in an aggressive game of tonsil hockey and the perverted boys around them hoot and holler, egging the two of them to go even further. His hand slides down to her ass and she moans out loud. Charlie doesn't spare them a second glance before she prods Jillian to keep moving. They find a less crowded hall and wait for Jack there.

Jillian isn't afraid to voice out her disgust about Ethan. Next, she proceeds to apologize to her friend for almost setting her up with him. Charlie simply laughs and dismisses the matter. It's not like she would have listened to Jillian anyways. She scans the area for something to entertain herself with and her eyes narrow once she sees what's going on in the kitchen.

Ten minutes hasn't even gone by yet since she's arrived and Charlie is already planning to get into a fight. It's a new personal record.

"I'm seriously not interested." The girl attempts to maintain her composure as the boy she does not know yanks her closer. His grip on her wrist is starting to hurt and she is positive that she'll be waking up with a small contusion tomorrow morning. She regrets believing in her friends and prays that somebody will swoop in and rescue her.

"Don't be that way," he slurs, his breath reeking of alcohol. "You look like you can use a drink. Have some of mine." He pushes the beer towards her mouth and the girl twists and turns, dodging it.

One thing Charlie hates more than those girls who constantly degrade themselves just to get a sense of worth from some douchebags (who probably gives a shit about them) would have to be the guys who manhandle girls even after they get rejected. Since no one else has stepped in to resolve the predicament the petite blonde is encountering, Charlie takes it upon herself to intervene. She marches up to the pair right as the guy is about to force a kiss upon his victim and rips him off of her.

"No means no," she fumes as her fist clashes with his jaw. The intoxicated boy yelps in pain and whirls around to confront his attacker. Charlie's eyes widen when she finds Cecilia standing there with her hands clasped over her mouth and her green eyes welled up with tears. What is she doing here? The people around stop what they're doing and direct their attention towards the commotion.

He recognizes Charlie and scowls. "You fucking dike! I should put you in your place!" He winds his arm back, ready to pounce when someone swoops in.

"What did you just say, you little fucker?" Jack snarls as he grabs the guy by the collar of his shirt and slams him against the wall. Everyone gasps and pulls out their phones to record the fight. Jillian takes this chance to bring Cecilia over in case she gets injured.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" the guy snickers. Charlie doesn't know if he's brave or just plain stupid. She is leaning towards the latter. "Lesbehonest here." He peers over to the three girls. "You have a crush on her, don't you?" Charlie's eyebrows furrow but she isn't the one who offers up a reply.

"Why the hell would she have a crush on her when she has me?" Jack spits, throwing the guy to the floor.

"Wait, what?" He blinks.

Jack towers over him and if looks could kill, that guy would have been dead a long time ago. "You heard me. Mess with her again and you'll regret the day you were born. That goes for everyone in this room who has something negative to say too."

"That's enough, Jack," Charlie exhales as she places a hand on his bicep. "Let's go."

Charlie walks Cecilia out to the driveway where they can actually hear their own thoughts. Jill and Jack are by the pool. She had told them she wanted to talk to the girl alone. "Are you okay?" she inquires.

"I'm fine." Cecilia clears her throat and stands tall. "Thanks for saving me." Her hands are quivering and it does not go unnoticed.

"Don't mention it. I would've done it for anyone," Charlie says. She would have. "What are you doing here anyways? You don't look like the party-type."

"I'm not," she admits. "I only came because my friends called me over saying one of them got alcohol poisoning. But when I got here, she was perfectly fine. They lied to me because they knew I would never come unless it was a real emergency."

"They sound like bitches," Charlie points out honestly.

"They're not that bad," Cecilia defends. Of course she is mad at her friends but she doesn't think they deserve to be hated on.

"Sorry to break it to you but anyone who jokes about something as serious as alcohol poisoning isn't cool. You should reevaluate your friendship with them. If I were you, I would say sayonara slags. But then again, I'm not you." It has always been Charlie's forte to speak what's on her mind without filtering or sugarcoating anything. "Do you have a ride home?"

"No, I took a taxi here," Cecilia sighs.

"Don't you have someone you can call to come get you?" She is referring to Hayden; however, the blonde doesn't pick up on the hint.

"It's okay. I can call for a cab," she assures.

Normally Charlie would leave the situation as is. She isn't the kind of girl who imposes her thoughts on others but since she can see how terrified Cecilia still is, she realizes she has to do the right thing. "Hold on." Charlie sends a text to Jillian who replies with the emoji that makes the a-okay sign.

"Are you..." Charlie looks up and Cecilia hesitates for a split second. She then decides there is no harm in asking. "Are you Hayden's Charlie?" The question sounds awkward to both of them and a thin layer of blush blankets Cecilia's cheeks.

"If you're asking me if I know Knight then yes," the taller girl replies.

With her suspicions confirmed, Cecilia continues in a sheepish manner. "You look the same. He showed me a picture of you guys when you were on the same peewee baseball team. I don't know if this is rude of me or not, but you haven't told anyone about us, have you? Hayden promised me you wouldn't but I have to hear it from you myself."

Charlie finds it strange that the guy still has photos from their peewee days yet brushes the thought to the side as she puts Cecilia's worries to rest. "I haven't. You don't need to worry. And just to clarify, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"I know. We were the careless ones," the girl says. Neither one of them utter another word for a good five minutes.

Rummaging her brain, Charlie is fumbling over how to keep Cecilia around until Hayden gets here. Finally she comes up with a topic. It's a rather intimate and personal one, but it's all she has. "It's not my place to say this but you should cut him some slack. He genuinely cares for you. Spending an hour with him every now and then wouldn't be the end of your academic career, would it?"

"Excuse me?" Cecilia doesn't sound offended, just taken aback.

It's too late for her to change her mind now.  

"Aren't relationships all about compromising or something like that?" Charlie doesn't look at her and carries on. Where is she going with this? Oh right. "Knight's having a hard time because he can't show you off to the world. Couldn't you find a way to prove to him that you're worth the effort?"

Before Cecilia can reply, the screeching of tires ripples through the air.

Hayden slams his car door and practically hurdles over to them. Anxiety is written all over his face as he examines his girlfriend from head to toe. "Cecilia, are you all right? What are you doing here? You aren't hurt, are you? What's going on? I heard it was an emergency," he pants and Cecilia's heart flutters.

She glances over to Charlie. "Did you ask him to come?"

"Technically, Jill did. I don't have his number. Besides, it's only right that your boyfriend takes you home," she remarks.

"What happened?" Hayden interrogates.

Cecilia focuses her eyes on him and reports the truth. "I came to find Mal and Izzy, only to realize that they tricked me. When I tried to leave, some drunk guy started harassing me and Charlie saved me."

"Really? You should have told me. I would have came with you," Hayden chokes before pulling Cecilia into a hug. "Thank you, Charlie. We owe you one."

"Like I told the girl, don't mention it." Her shoulders lift up and then fall back down in a nonchalant manner. "I'm going to get back to the party now. Later."

"She's not what I expected," Cecilia compliments as Hayden enters the vehicle.

"What do you mean?"

His girlfriend peers back to where the two of them had been standing prior to his arrival. "She's actually kind of nice in her own way."

"I told you, didn't I? You had nothing to worry about. Am I taking you to the library?" he assumes.

Cecilia recalls Charlie's words before the corners of her lips curl upwards and she slips her hand into Hayden's. "How about we grab some ice cream?"

The shock is apparent in the boy's expression as he gawks at her. "A-are you sure? I thought you had to work on your college essay?"

"I do, but I can take a break," she giggles because of his adorableness and rubs the pad of her thumb against his skin. "You're worth it."

"Did anything else happen tonight?" He buckles his seatbelt after making sure hers is secured as well before he peels away from the curb.

She thinks about it and remembers Jack. "Yeah, apparently Charlie has a boyfriend. I guess we were all wrong about her being into girls."

"What? Boyfriend? What do you mean?" Hayden wonders, stupefied.

"I think his name is Jack. He's tall, maybe six feet?" Cecilia states reluctantly, hazy on the details.

Hayden eases up once he hears the name. "Dark blonde hair and gray eyes? Built physique?"

"How'd you know?"

"Because that's not her boyfriend, silly," he laughs.

Cecilia blinks profusely at the news. "Then who is he?"

The car comes to a steady halt at a stop sign and he answers her.

"Jack's her older cousin."

- - -

Author's Thoughts:  how inconsiderate and rude can people be?  I don't understand how some people can be such assholes. I wish Jack had punched the guy in the face. But anyways, his identity has been revealed! The hint was P&J's Batting Cage and Baseball Galore, which means Jackson is Paul's brother. I'm not interested in adding the best friend who has feelings for the main girl into the story. Besides, being family means Charlie has a soft spot for him and he has an advantage over all of the other guys.

What did you guys think of this chapter? Hayden and Cecilia are so smitten with each other.

And ouuuu Ethan. Jill no longer approves of you! Still shipping Elie, _Ohsen? This isn't the worst part either >:D

Another thing I didn't do intentionally was to have Charlie's best friends be named Jack and Jill... HAHA. It's funny though.

Also I'd like to welcome my readers from AFF! I hope you guys liked this update!