Playing the Incredible Hulk

The doorbell chimes melodically and Ethan scurries over to the entryway. It could only be one person. The heavy thuds, created by his haste footsteps, cause Maxwell to bark incessantly as he chases after his owner. The boy skids to halt in front of the mirror mounted above a small, mahogany accent table in the hallway. A woven, crystal bowl filled to the brim with butterscotch candy is perched on top.

Once he deems himself presentable, he takes in a cavernous breath and extends his hand out towards the knob. He opens the door and finds Charlie standing on the front porch. All he can see is her backside, but that view is enough to have his heart stuttering. "Hey. Did you grab the food?"

His voice captures her attention and she spins around. Charlie dangles the plastic bag in the air, shaking it in front of his face. "What does it look like?" She sticks her free palm out, demanding for her reimbursement, and Ethan glances down at it.

"What do you want? A high-five?" He slaps her hand and steps to the side. "What are you waiting for? Come on in," he instructs.

Charlie glares at him, in a light and harmless manner, as she enters the house. She removes her shoes, neatly placing them to the side. Maxwell attacks her, like he always does whenever she visits, and Charlie lets out a string of laughs as she attempts to keep her face from being slathered with dog drool. Ethan takes the food from her and orders the retriever to settle down. Because Maxwell is well-trained, he listens.

"Charlie, how are you?" Layna beams enthusiastically.

"I've been well. How about you?" She returns politely.

"Well, I'm still alive, aren't I?" The elder chortles as she slips into the comfortable clogs her grandson had surprised her with last Christmas. Her sense of humor has always managed to amuse Charlie and the girl can't help but guffaw along. In more ways than one, Layna sort of reminds her of Rebecca. It's not necessarily a bad thing either.

"You two kids have fun. The gals and I are going to grab dinner and then head to the bar. It's senior and karaoke night. Don't wait up for me, Ethan." There's a honk from outside and Layna makes her way over to the door. "Have a good night because I know I will!"

"I can't believe this," Charlie says with a stupefied countenance as she watches the woman hop into the black SUV outside.

"What?" Ethan queries, setting the food on the coffee table.

"Layna and her friends have better social lives than we do; and they're triple our age." She remarks, dumbfounded.

"Speak for yourself. I don't know about you, but I have a pretty healthy social life." He disagrees arrogantly, straightening his posture.

"I'm sure you do." She nods, her skepticism adamant. "So why'd you ask me to come over and binge-watch Marvel movies on a Saturday night? Shouldn't you be at Vienna's party, getting shitfaced and what not? Nice try, but I'm not buying the load of bull you're trying to sell." Charlie snorts as she plops down into the floral printed couch.

"Having a social life doesn't mean I'm a hardcore party-goer. It means I actually go out into the real world and interact with other human beings. You know, the thing you lack?" Ethan points out smugly.

"I interact with other people all the time." Charlie protests.

"I'm sure you do," he mocks, using her own words against her.

She proceeds to growl at him. "Just shut up and put the first movie, will you?"

"Should we start from the classics or move on to the newer ones?" Ethan asks as he occupies the space next to her. He is scrolling through his tablet, scanning the wide variety of choices that they have. Naturally, Charlie leans closer to him so that she could see the options as well. Her right thigh touches his left one, while her shoulder rubs up against his.

Somebody hasn't learned about personal space growing up.

The minimal distance between them doesn't seem to bother Charlie. Ethan, however, becomes rigid and for an unbeknownst reason, he finds himself holding his breath.

"Let's start off with The Incredible Hulk from 2008. It's one of my favorites." She pulls away, returning some space back between their bodies. Next, she reaches for the container piled with Lo mein noodles.

Ethan clears his throat and puts the tablet aside. His palms run up and down his thighs, the friction causing his hands to sweat. Why is he getting nervous? This isn't a date. It's simply two friends watching a bunch of superhero movies and munching on Chinese food together. There's no need to overthink this. He grabs a box of fried rice and begins to stuff his face.

Charlie's phone vibrates and she checks to see who it is. It's Hayden. She doesn't want to talk to him and turns off the device. Tonight, she doesn't want to think about anything except for these movies and the boy beside her.

Thirty minutes into the movie, and neither one of them is satiating their appetite anymore. They've become too engrossed with the film to do anything else. The unexplainable anxiety, which had been hassling Ethan, has dispersed. "Why is the Hulk one of your favorites?" he questions, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Because he's a badass motherfucker. He can get shot and spit the bullet out like it's nothing. Also, he smashes everything in sight! How can you not love the guy?" Charlie explains giddily.

Her answer makes him shake his head. "Swearing doesn't suit you. Has anyone ever told you that?"

She shrugs. "Sure, but it's not like I give a shit."

"You must have been a sailor in your past life," says Ethan.

"Probably not. If that was the case, I wouldn't get seasick so easily." Charlie involuntarily shudders.

"You get seasick?" He blinks. She doesn't seem like the type of girl with a weak stomach, especially because Ethan has witnessed all of the food she practically inhales.

"Yeah." She nods. "We own a small boat my dad uses for fishing. It fucking sucked. I went out with him and Cam once and puked at least three times! We were out there for less than twenty minutes, too!"

"Oh my fucking god." Ethan bursts out into a frenzy fit of hysterical laughter. "You're such a dork! You... you should have taken some medicine first!" He gasps out in between laughs.

Charlie turns to him and bares her teeth. "How was I supposed to know that was going to happen?"

"Obviously you don't prepare for the different outcomes that can occur. Did you think you were invincible like the Hulk?" He teases.

"Well, I'm pretty close to smashing your fucking face in." Charlie sniggers as she raises her fist in attempt to scare him.

Ethan knows she isn't going to punch him without a justified reason. So he places a hand over her balled up one and brings it to her lap. "Settle down, baby Hulk. There's no need to get violent. I'm only pulling your leg."

Charlie's heart promptly quickens due to the contact, and she yanks her hand from his grasp. She turns back towards the television, bewildered. "Whatever. Stop distracting me. You're making me miss the movie."

"You act like this is the first time you've seen it. You've probably watched this ten times already." Ethan predicts confidently.

"Actually, I've only watched it five times," Charlie replies.

"And I stand by my statement about you being a total dork." He grins, relaxing against the couch with his fingers locked together and placed behind the back of his head.

For the remainder of the movie, Charlie tries to focus but constantly fails. Ethan's taunting comments keep on pulling her attention away. It's hard to ignore him, and Charlie isn't sure if that's what she really wants to do either. They end up discussing more embarrassing stories from their past, thanks to Charlie's seasick story, and the house is overflowing with laughter.

Apparently, when Ethan was ten, he had a crush on this girl in his class, who was really popular with the boys. He wanted to confess his feelings to her before somebody else beat him to it. An impatient little runt he was. Just as Ethan mustered the courage to tell her that he liked her, his lunch decided to backtrack. He wounded up vomiting all over the poor girl! Wait, but that's not the best part! It gets even better! His classmate was so disgusted that she ended up throwing up on him!

It's safe to assume that ten year old Ethan wasn't as suave and confident as his older self.

The clock strikes 2 AM and they're on the fourth movie. Layna is upstairs, sound asleep. Since she had to get up early for work yesterday morning, Charlie's eyes are drooping dangerously low. She's trying to stay awake, but the task proves to be rather strenuous. Her mind isn't straight and she does something she would not normally do. Talking usually helps her remain conscious and she strikes up a conversation.

"Where are your parents?" she wonders out loud. Charlie has always been curious of his family situation.

Ethan is caught off guard, but he knows that this is a topic he can't avoid for the rest of his life, especially not with Charlie. He shifts to look at her with a solemn countenance. Compared to the girl, Ethan is in much better shape. "Who knows? We're not exactly the Brady Bunch," he mutters. Charlie doesn't pry any further and slowly bobs her head up and down.

It's his turn now. "What about your mom?"

"She passed away when I was five. Leukemia," she says.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear." Ethan feels a little guilty for bringing back painful memories, but Charlie shakes her head.

"Don't be. It's life. Everybody has to go at some point, right?"

"Do... do you miss her?" he inquires carefully.

She yawns and allows her eyelids to collapse. "Always, but I don't let her absence control my life. I've seen what grief can do to people. I'm—I'm kind of glad I was able to accept her death. Besides, I still have the rest of my family to annoy."

The boy gazes longingly at Charlie, a miniscule smile tugging on his lips. Who would have thought that a rough, sharp-edged girl like her would have this kind of sentimental side? She just keeps surprising him again and again. Suddenly, he hears light snores. His eyes widen before he chuckles quietly. Maxwell has also surrendered to sleep and is curled up into a ball of fur on the carpet near the girl's feet.

Ethan gets up to grab a blanket from his room. He comes back down and drapes it over Charlie's body. Then, he takes a seat closer to her, and gently guides her head over to his shoulder.

This is wrong.

This is so wrong.

He knows that.

But...

He doesn't care. Because at the same time, this feels so inarguably right. His heart thumps a little faster and he succumbs to the dark abyss, which welcomes him with gaping arms.

Layna comes downstairs at seven in the morning for a glass of water and is flabbergasted to discover her grandson sleeping in the living room by himself.

"Ethan, what are you doing?" She jolts him by the arm and he gradually rouses.

He sits up from his reclined position, swinging his legs off of the couch. The blanket he had gotten last night drops to the floor. His vision is fuzzy as he glances around. Charlie is nowhere to be found. The credits for the movie are rolling on the screen and he becomes alert. There's a pillow beside him and he picks the blanket up from the floor. His heart plummets into his stomach. Had it been only a dream?

After a second, Ethan spots a notification on his phone and hastily snatches it from the table. A smile spreads across his face seeing that the message had been sent at 5:07 AM.

Charlie Whitmen: Sorry, had to get home before my dad woke up. I had a fun though... Thanks.

- - -

Author's Thoughts: They're opening up to each other! Oh my god! How are you guys liking this so far? And look, this story is ranked 677 on 01152016 in teen fiction! Baby steps, everyone, baby steps haha. Thank you all sooooooooo much for the support <3 Please keep the votes and comments coming if you enjoy this story.

The part where Charlie invades his personal space and then Ethan holding her hand and then him putting her head on his shoulder. giofhgojsegoierihojehtre.

For those interested in the timeline of this story, here it is! It's been almost two months since Charlie and Ethan first met!

C1 & C2 – August 27th | C3, C4 & C5 – September 9th | C6 & C7 – September 10th | C8 – September 12th | C9 – September 16th | C10, C11 & C12 – September 18th | C13 – September 19th | C14 – September 21st | C15 – September 28th | C16 – September 28th/29th | C17 & C18 – September 29th | C19 & C20 – September 30th | C21 – October 6th | C22 – October 6th/9th | C23 – October 13th/14th | C24 & C25 – October 17th