Playing Tour Guide

Charlie has driven by a few places already just to show Ethan where he can go if he ever gets bored and wants to do something other than picking up girls. So far, the venues have included a bowling and billiards place many students like to go to (especially on the weekends), the local shopping mall (which has three levels and is equipped with over sixty stores you can drain your wallet, a food court and a spiffy cinemas area), a popular paintball arena and, finally, the drive-in movie theatre that is extremely popular during all of the seasons except for winter.

They don't bother getting out of the truck since this is supposed to be an overview of the entire city. Therefore, they do not have the luxury of wasting time. Living in a large, urbanized town like South Burlington definitely has its perks. The locals always have something they can do; the activities are endless. If they don't feel like being surrounded by the masses, they can always take a stroll by the waterfront or through the woods as well (given that the weather is still nice, of course).

Charlie and her family have been here for as long as she can remember. Their house is in the more suburban area, which can be found on the outskirts of South Burlington. The heart of the city is usually swarmed with tourists and visitors because the famous Ben and Jerry's headquarters is settled there.

The girl tries to avoid going to the inner-city. She hates having to deal with the jam-packed traffic and thoughtless pedestrians who, for some odd reason, don't know how to use a damn crosswalk.

"If you couldn't tell, I don't get out much nowadays." Charlie eases her foot onto the brake pedal due to the red light in front of them. "I don't like driving too far. It's too much work for me. Thankfully, rush hour's over. I'd kill myself if we had to sit through traffic that moves at the pace of a slug."

"It's cool, I don't really mind. There's definitely more things to do around here than back in my old town," Ethan replies, his eyes busy absorbing the sights around them. He might act like a big hotshot but, the reality is, he's not. All of this is rather new and foreign to him. His old town isn't even half as big as South Burlington is!

The light changes to green and she resumes driving. "Oh yeah, I forgot that you were a transfer. Where'd you move from anyways?"

"Stowe, it's in Lamoille County," he informs.

Charlie registers the name because her uncle had visited the dainty town once. Coincidentally enough, his now ex-girlfriend had been from there. "That's the city in the middle of the nowhere, isn't it?"

Her blunt and disparaging statement makes him laugh. "Not in the middle of nowhere. It's in the middle of the mountains."

"Same difference," she snorts as she waves her hand. "I heard it's tiny over yonder. Rob said that if you drove through and blinked, you missed the town completely."

"Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration." The boy shakes his head in amusement. "But compared to South Burlington, Stowe is like a dot." Ethan starts to wonder who this Rob person is, but chooses not to ask her about him. It might be a tad bit intrusive.

Charlie has never gone outside the borders of South Burlington. She likes her hometown too much. She's never really had a reason to do so, either. "What did you do for fun over there?"

"I played video-games most of the time. Snowboarding was fun too, but I could only do that in the winter. There was also a small theatre everybody went on dates to, and a few local shops we went to for groceries and clothing. To be frank, it was nothing exciting. Quite unadventurous if you asked me. After seventeen years, it got repetitive. The girls made it worthwhile though," he explains, smirking coyly.

"I'm sure they did." Charlie rolls her eyes in a playful manner. It's not the first time she's heard a guy talk about girls like this. Uh hello, she does have five brothers! She's used to this kind of stuff. Yeah, Ethan sounds like a pig but he's a human being with needs. At least he's straightforward and truthful about it. It's been some time since Charlie's met someone who's just as open as she is. "You don't seem like a small-town guy," she says.

"Why? Is it 'cause I'm handsome and irresistibly charming?" Ethan coos, obviously sitting on his high horse.

"Aren't small-town folks supposed to be modest and naïve? Clearly, you're neither of those things."

His brow corks upwards. "Stereotyping now, are we?"

"What? Whenever Jill forces me to watch those chick-flicks with her, that's how all of the characters from the desolate towns are depicted. It's not my fault that's how Hollywood portrays you," rebuts Charlie wittingly.

She parks on the side of the street and shuts the engine off. Without a word, she exits the truck and he quickly mirrors her. "Where are we going?" he queries, shutting the door and jogging up after her.

"To my favorite hangout spot," she announces as she comes to a halt.

Ethan stops next to her and cranes his neck up. "A comic book shop?" He blinks before his eyes refocus on the girl.

"Yeah, it's sick," Charlie praises genuinely. There's a sparkle behind her eyes, which Ethan doesn't miss. Who knew she can be cute too? She looks so happy and it stupefies him to no extent. It makes him feel fuzzy inside knowing she brought him to a place she holds dear to her heart. It means their friendship is progressing. It means they're getting somewhere.

"You can go in and read any comic you want for an entrance fee of ten bucks. I can spend hours in here. They close late too. They even have drinks and snacks you can order if you don't want to leave, only to come back later. It's based off of those popular manga shops in Japan and Korea. Do you like comic books?"

"I do. Should we go in and check it out?" he questions. Then his stomach decides to release an unsettling and very unattractive gurgle.

Charlie laughs boisterously and arches both of her brows. "Are you hungry?"

Ethan knows he has nothing to be embarrassed about yet his cheeks flare up. "Is that even a question?" Obviously, she already has an answer.

"I could go for some burgers and wings. How about you?" She stifles her chuckles with a fist.

"You read my mind," Ethan breathes. They climb back into the vehicle and Charlie takes off towards Martha's. They arrive at the diner in roughly twenty minutes and enter the joint. It's 8:30 and the place only has three or four tables occupied.

"Hey Patty," Charlie beams.

"Evening Charlie and..." Her gaze falls onto the young man as her voice trails off.

"Ethan. I moved here at the end of the summer."

The woman grins in recognition. "Ah, you must be Layna's grandbaby. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Ethan replies politely.

"Just the two of you tonight?"

"Yeah," confirms Charlie.

The waitress takes two menus and leads them to their seats. "Follow me this way."

This is the first time he's been to Martha's so he doesn't know which burger he should order. "What do you recommend?"

"Everything," she answers.

"I'm sorry, but my wallet can't afford everything," he grumbles, not finding her suggestion helpful.

Charlie glances over the menu. "Just pick whatever you want. You won't be disappointed."

Ethan ends up getting the Bourbon Burlington Burger with a side of seasoned fries, no thanks to a certain green-eyed brunette, while Charlie has decided on the Bacon Mac n' Cheese Burger paired with a mountain of curly fries and a basket of hot wings for them to share. Patty places their orders in and comes again with their drinks. They both ordered Coke.

Something's been gnawing incessantly at Charlie and she chooses to get it off of her chest. "Why didn't you ask someone else from school to give you a tour around town? I'm sure they would know about more places than I do. Mariana would have been more than willing to take you for a ride too."

"That was supposed to come off as a sexual innuendo, wasn't it?"

"Glad you caught on. Still doesn't answer my question. Why didn't you ask her?"

Ethan grunts in dismay. "I already spend enough time with her in calc. I don't want to suffer more than I already have to."

"I find that hard to believe. You two are always flirting with each other," Charlie voices, her nose wrenched in disgust.

"Just because I flirt with her doesn't mean that I like her," he defends. "I'm just whispering sweet-nothings to keep her tamed. I don't want her going crazy when she finds out I'm not into her like that. She's not really my type. How do I say this without sounding like a douche? She's got a nice body and everything, but her face is on the plain side. There's also nothing interesting about her. She's like a transparent wall. I can see right through her and it's boring. Oh, and I didn't want to risk contracting anything from her. Apparently, some dude from the soccer team slept with her at Matt's party and has the clap now." He shudders.

"Doesn't surprise me. Poor bastard. Guess you dodged a bullet then."

"Thanks to you," he affirms.

Charlie grins. "I'm your lifesaver, aren't I?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Whitmen," Ethan chides lightly.

"Why? You seem to do it all the time, Moron-dozo," she returns. "That's why your head is so huge, isn't it? Remember when you thought I liked you?"

"Nope, my head is large because my brain is just oozing with impeccable knowledge. And, in my defense, no girl has been able to resist my charm. I didn't think you were an exception," the boy counters.

"You must have been a hit in Dotville. That or those small-town girls had low standards." The insult is taunting indeed but he doesn't take it to heart. Fifteen minutes later, Patty places their food down in front of them. The aromatic smell of grease wafts in the air and Charlie smacks her lips together in excitement. She plucks a fry up and drops it into her mouth. Ethan reaches over and takes one for himself without her consent.

"What do you think you're doing? These are my curly fries! You have your own!" she shouts, infuriated.

"I wanted to see what the difference was," says Ethan offhandedly. "Don't be a baby. It doesn't suit you."

"Touch my food again and I will bite your fingers off," she gnarls threateningly.

Her words do not shake him. "Oh hey, your brother is here."

"What?" Instinctively, Charlie peers back to look at the door. She finds two guys conversing (neither one of them being any of her siblings). Ethan stealthily takes some more fries and shoves it into his mouth. She turns to him, and when she sees that his cheeks are puffed out, she nearly lunges over the table and strangles him. "I'm going to get you," she hisses, settling back into her seat.

"I think I can manage," he sings.

After chatting and getting better acquainted with each other for almost an hour and a half, Charlie realizes that Ethan is not as awful as she thought he would be. Yes, they got off on the wrong foot. First impressions aren't everything though. The two of them actually have a number of similar interests that overlap. More than she has with Jillian, in fact. They aren't exact carbon copies of one another, but it's a start. They end up splitting the check and paying the tabs separately.

On the drive home they ramble on about the various music artists they enjoy and despise. Every now and then, they would crack jokes as well. It's twenty-five past ten when Charlie accompanies him to the end of her driveway. "Thanks for tonight." Ethan halts and shifts to the left so that he can see her face.

"No problem. It wasn't as torturous as I thought it was going to be," the girl responds.

Ethan feigns hurt. He dramatically clutches onto his chest with a pained countenance plastered on his face. His antics make Charlie's smile stretch even further. "Wow, I'm heartbroken."

"I'm only messing with you, Moron-dozo," she points out, shoving his shoulder back. "Don't be a little bitch about it. It doesn't suit you."

He regains his footing and groans. "Will you stop calling me that?"

"A bitch?" She plays dumb and grins afterwards. "Nah, I like it. Fits you to a tee."

"You're hilarious," he deadpans sardonically. "I was actually talking about the Moron-dozo part. Don't you know you should never mess with a man's surname? It's just downright cruel."

"So I can keeping calling you a little bitch then?" she quips.

"No, that's not what I meant," he sighs as he rakes his fingers through his hair in defeat. "You're absolutely ridiculous, Charlie Whitmen. You know that, right?"

"What can I say? I was born this way." She winks. The teasing and frivolous action causes his heart to stutter.

Ethan swallows and realizes that tonight's the first night he hasn't thought about his problems. It's like they don't exist at all when he's with her. He was right. She is what he needs. "Hey, do you... do you think we could do this again?"

"Am I your personal chauffeur now?

"I didn't say that." He chortles. "How about I drive next time?"

"Sure, why not." She shrugs.

"See you in the morning?" he says with a soft smile and shake of his head.

"Of course," Charlie hums before they depart.

* * *

Ethan slides the chair out and takes a seat. He extends his arm forward and turns on the lamp stationed on his desk. Maxwell prances in and is showered with belly rubs, his absolute favorite. The Retriever howls in delight. The upward parabola on the boy's face only broadens. Charlie's words whirl around in his mind like a tornado. He can't help but glance out the window towards the midnight-blue house located on the other side of the street.

"Do you think I'm no good?"

"Yes and no. I mean, you're not what I'd necessarily call a saint." Ethan was slightly disheartened with her response. Then again, what was he expecting? Their first encounter at the batting cage wasn't that great. He had tried to charm her by relying on one of his lame pickup lines and she punched him in the face for it. Now that he has thought about it, he probably deserved it too.

"But I wouldn't say you're the Devil either," Charlie continued thoughtfully, which caused his body to perk up. "You're a mixture of both. You're human. If you think about it, I guess we're all the same. We have a bit of good and bad in us. Some people just have more good in them while the others, like you and me, have more bad. Nobody's completely good and nobody's completely bad. You know, that's what yin and yang actually symbolizes."

"Wow, I didn't peg you as being the philosophical type. That was pretty deep." He was in awe, needless to say.

"Was it? Means Mr Chavez is doing his job if he's got me talking like Confucius, or was it Kant? Hey, maybe if you tell him I taught you a life lesson, he'll give me extra credit. 'Cause I'm definitely going to need it after I hand in the eight pages of utter bullshit I'm not even halfway done with yet."

"I wouldn't really call this a life lesson," he replied.

Her eyes were still trained on the road in front of them. "What is it then?"

Ethan glanced out the window and held his breath. "Hope," he murmured softly.

---

Author's Thoughts: I'd like to dedicate this chapter to wingedsuccubus. Thanks for voting and commenting so much. Here are a ton of Elie moments for you! As you can see, they didn't do anything exciting. They just drove around and she took him to her comic shop and to Martha's. BUT they talked. That's what's important.

Charlie's answer is unexpected, but it shows there's more to her than what meets the eye, too. I like that ending though. Don't you? What's going on in Ethan's head?

Why do you think he moved? What are the problems he's trying to escape? I'm curious to see what you guys think!

I totally love this songgggggg and I just found it! Are any of you guys good at making trailers or know someone who is? I think I want to make a trailer for this book. Please leave comments and votes if you want!