Author's Thoughts: I so hope your hearts are ready for this because for Ethan and Charlie, this is as sweet as they will ever get... for now <3

Playing with Arrows, Stars & Marshmallows

Throughout the entire car ride, there is not a single moment of silence lingering between Ethan and Charlie. With the radio set on low, acting as background noise, the two of them would talk animatedly to one another about an assortment of things. Their topics range from more embarrassing childhood memories to their best stats from Gears of Wars. Never do they run out of stuff to discuss, which shows how well they just—click. 

It's a good thing too because the first stop Charlie plans on making is approximately a half an hour drive from where they live. So, the conversations serve as distractions while also seamlessly passing the time for the two of them.

Once she spots the familiar sign up ahead, Charlie hits her turn signal and pulls up into a long dirt-driveway, which eventually leads to a concrete-paved lot. "We're here," she announces, successfully parking the truck in one attempt.

Ethan peers out the window and is greeted with the sight of a large building that looks like it's going to cave in and collapse at any given moment. Then, he notices the sign hanging above the entrance before he shifts back towards the girl. "You brought me to an archery place?" he questions, both of his brows arched in surprise. Why does he feel like she's going to hunt him down or something like in The Hunger Games.

"Yeah," Charlie affirms. "Have you ever tried it before?" She exits the vehicle and Ethan is quick to follow suit.

"No, my hand-eye coordination skills are absolute shit," he laughs, shaking his head. "I don't think I'd be any good at it," he admits candidly as they draw closer and closer to the establishment.

It's not too late.

He could still turn back. He doesn't want to humiliate himself in front of the girl he likes, especially when this is supposed to be their first official date. It might have been spontaneous and completely last minute but for Charlie to take the initiative and put today together for him is more than enough to have Ethan swooning. Besides, he's already shared some of the most terrifyingly embarrassing moments of his life with her. What difference will another one make?

"Then today's your lucky day because, and not to brag or anything since we all know that's your forte, I've been doing this for quite some time now. Tell you what, I'll even volunteer to be your personal instructor," declares the girl.

Ethan holds the door open for her and gestures for Charlie to enter first. When she passes by him, he whispers, "That's cute. You thought you had a choice." His hot breath fans against the shell of her ear but Charlie, despite the spike in temperature her body is currently experiencing, maintains her composure. However, the faint layer of blush Ethan has been getting better at catching does not surpass his keen senses and the corners of his lips curl upwards as he trails her inside. Compared to the outside, the interior of the building looks much more updated and stable.

"Charlie!" croons one of the workers as soon as he recognizes her.

"Sup, Gabe," she returns with a crooked grin, sending him a nod of acknowledgment.

The boy, sporting a nametag with his full name pinned to his bright red work shirt, jogs up to the pair and Ethan's smile is instantly wiped off of his face. Why is he feeling self-conscious all of a sudden? "Where have you been?" Gabriel interrogates, his slight accent showing.

Great! Because that's supposed to make Ethan feel a whole lot better, not. From what he's witnessed, girls typically go insane over hot guys with accents! Looking around the place now, Ethan wouldn't be shocked to find out all of the girls here came only because of their beloved Gabriel! He's not going to lie. He can see how easy it would be for girls to fawn over the dude with his chocolate brown eyes, tan complexion, black locks and, let's not forget, that cursed accent of his!

"I haven't seen you since the beginning of the summer!" Gabriel continues, as if Ethan doesn't exist at all.

"I've been busy," replies Charlie.

Gabriel quirks a brow. "Were you now?"

"I was," she says again.

"Sure, let's go with that," he snorts, rolling his eyes. "Sounds better than you admitting that you're just lazy as fuck." Finally, Gabriel notices Ethan and a mischievous glint flickers behind his orbs. "I see you've brought along a plus one," he sings tauntingly. "Who's your friend?"

This is his chance to show Gabriel he means business. "I'm Ethan," the boy cuts in. He takes a step forward so that he's now standing beside Charlie before he adds in, "And I intend to be more than just her friend."

"Wow." Gabriel nods his head, clearly impressed. After, he sends the girl a wickedly coy smile. "Looks like you've snagged yourself a keeper, Charlie." He turns to Ethan and offers him a friendly smile. "Just a heads-up though, don't mess with her when she's in the zone. If you do, the arrow in her hand will end up where the sun don't shine."

Ethan relaxes when he deems Gabriel not to be a threat and stifles a laugh. "Ouch, sounds painful. Thanks for the advice."

Charlie scowls. "Gabe, that arrow was nowhere near you. Don't be such a little bitch about it," she sneers. "It barely grazed you."

"Glad to see I'm not the only one she calls a little bitch," Ethan remarks.

"You'll learn it's her unique way of telling you she cares," Gabriel answers.

"Yeah, yeah," Charlie grumbles. "You two keep on exchanging all of the loving nicknames I've given to you while I think of more. I'm going to go rent the equipment."

"Should I come with you?" Ethan questions.

"Nah, just wait here," she instructs. "I'll be right back."

As they watch her make her way towards the rental desk, Gabriel says, "Treat her well, would you? She's a good kid. She can be a little rough around the edges, especially with that colorful vocabulary of hers, but her heart's usually in the right place."

Ethan doesn't tear his gaze from the girl and replies, "You don't have to tell me twice. I already know."

Through his peripheral vision, Gabriel carefully observes the boy before he shifts his entire body towards him. The tender expression Ethan's wearing tells him all he needs to know. "Damn," he sighs in awe, "you're really serious about her, aren't you?"

A ghost of a smile appears on his lips. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," he states.

The corners of Gabriel's lips also curl up. "She must be serious about you too if she brought you here," he points out.

This time, Ethan turns to properly look at him. "Why?" he inquires. "Is there something special about this place?"

She must have not mentioned it to him yet. "It's not my place to say," Gabriel says. Then, he sees Charlie gathering the equipment up in her arms. "Quick question," he mutters. "Do you know the first thing about what your stance should look like?"

Ethan puffs his cheeks out. "Not a clue," he confesses.

"Good, keep it that way," Gabriel advises. "And even if you do figure it out, pretend like you haven't."

"How come?"

"You'll see." He winks. "You'll thank me later for it. See you around. I've got to get back to work."

"Wait, you're not going to threaten me?" Ethan blinks. "You know, give me the whole 'if you break her heart I'll break your face' spiel?"

Gabriel shakes his head and grins. "Nah, I don't need to. Did you forget who we're talking about here? Charlie is more than qualified to break your face if you screw her over. And she's got a dad, five brothers and two older cousins who can all get extremely protective of her. You'd have to be a complete dumbass to break that girl's heart," he chuckles. "Don't forget to mail me an invitation to your wedding in ten years because we all know Charlie is definitely not going to be the one planning that shindig. If you left her in charge, she'd have canned beers, chicken wings and pizza served to your guests."

"What about pizza?" Charlie questions as she approaches them.

"I had pizza from Pie Face for lunch and I was just recommending it to Ethan," Gabriel lies smoothly. "Anyways, you two have fun. Try not to need me."

"We won't," snickers the girl as he saunters off. "Are you ready for this?"

"No," Ethan says honestly. "But if you're my personal instructor, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"I don't know. I'm not a miracle worker. But I'll try my best. Here, put this glove on." She hands him a glove, which only has three finger-sleeves, and although he's confused, he obeys her without question. "It'll help you with holding onto the string without hurting your fingers," Charlie explains before she starts to walk away.

Ethan chases after her. They soon come to a halt at the other end of the building and Charlie holds a Recurved Bow out to him. "There are three positions you should know when you first start archery," she announces. "The first is called resting. This is where you have the bow down in front of you with your finger on the string. From this position, you can load the bow." She pulls an arrow from the quiver and sets it up.

"The second is ready,"—Charlie raises the bow up and lifts her right elbow up high so that her arms are straight—"And the last is anchor." This time, she draws the string back before she releases, the arrow flying right out of her bow and piercing the target at the dead-center. As if Ethan isn't already amazed by her. Are there any other hidden talents he should know about?

"Now show me your stance," she instructs.  Ethan recalls Gabriel's advice and decides to play dumb—well, dumber. Instead of mimicking Charlie, the boy stands so that he's looking at the target from where he is, his legs pressed together and the bow in a rather awkward position. "Your stance is horrible," Charlie comments off the bat.

"First, you should be perpendicular to the target." She grabs his shoulders and turns him to the right. "Stand shoulder width apart,"—she wedges a foot in between his legs and kicks them apart—"straighten your posture,"—she makes sure he is standing ramrod straight as her hand drops to his lower back—"but keep this part of your back flattened. Your shoulders should be straight out, forming a T." They're so close that Ethan could feel her breath drumming against the back of his neck, sending tingle after tingle shooting through his entire body. Her chest is now pressed up against his back and he could make out all of the curves on her front side.

Unconsciously, Ethan swallows the saliva pooling in his mouth as he tries not to think about the intimate proximity they're sharing. "Now, fix this hand and bring this elbow up more. Since we're not that far from the target, the fingers on the string should be just a little under the arrow. Pull back. Your upper finger should be at the corner of your mouth." Her voice is low and utterly seductive, luring him in like a siren's call. Ethan can't resist the urge to turn his head and look down at her.

Charlie is so concentrated on actually teaching him that she doesn't realize how crazy she's driving him and his hormones. Her eyes are still set on the target as she places a hand over his left one, which is gripping onto the bow. "Okay, this is it," she says. "Take a deep breath and release." And he does. God, why did that sound so sexy?

Too bad it's not the kind of release he's looking for.

"Dude, you totally missed!" Charlie gawks in disbelief. "How'd you miss? Were you even looking at the—" Her words get jammed up in the back of her throat when she turns to look at him only to discover Ethan's already gazing her, his eyes hooded. Well, looks like that answers her question.

"What?" he breathes dazedly. 

Finally, it hits her. Stepping away, Charlie clears her throat while her eyes shift everywhere. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. Keep practicing." As she scurries off, Ethan smiles to himself and bites onto his bottom lip. Maybe this whole archery idea isn't such a bad thing after all. If he gets to be this close to Charlie without getting a black eye for it, he'll take it.  

"Hey," a girl calls out. Ethan glances up and the smile fades. "I'm Nina," she introduces. "I was wondering if you'd like to have my number." She waves a piece of paper in front of him but the boy doesn't even bat a lash. It's not like he needs to think about his response. 

"No thanks. I'll pass," he rejects flatly.

Nina cocks her head to the side, a pout forming over her lips. "But why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ethan answers. "I'm not interested. If you didn't notice, I'm already on a date with the girl I really like right now. So, if you wouldn't mind moving along, that'd be wonderful. Your presence is ruining the mood. I don't want her to come back and see you here. She might misunderstand."

"Maybe I should intentionally make her misunderstand." She moves in towards him but Ethan is quick to retreat, holding his hands out to stop her. "I'm just kidding," Nina giggles when she sees how defensive he's getting. "Some guys nowadays would have jumped at the opportunity to cheat, but it seems like chivalry isn't dead yet. Kudos to you. She's one lucky girl. I hope you two work it."

Relieved, Ethan lowers his arms and nods. "We will," he proclaims with the utmost confidence.

Charlie returns from the ladies' room and the two of them resume practicing. The sexual tension is not as thick anymore and the two of them are able to crack jokes and banter with one another like usual. After two hours, they call it quits and she brings him to Pie Face, a pizza joint five minutes away. They grab a quick bite for dinner and Ethan believes it's the end of the date. He's a little sad to have to say goodbye to her but at least they have the rest of the car ride back together. However, instead of heading home, Charlie pulls up into another dirt driveway. It's pitch black outside with a few reflectors on both sides of the road to help keep them from going off the path.

"Where are we?" Ethan ponders, looking at the window. He could hardly make out anything but a few greenhouses and a barn. "Is this a farm?"

She nods. "Yeah, it belongs to the Callahans."

"Who the hell are the Callahans? Are you trying to get us arrested?" he balks. "Aren't we, like, trespassing private property?"

"Relax, Moron-dozo," Charlie cackles, amused by his paranoid behavior. "I know the family. We go way back."

"Doesn't explain what we're doing here in the middle of the night," he retorts. "Did you, at least, tell them we were coming over? I don't want to get shot at because homeowners do have the right to shoot anyone who's trespassing onto their land, you know."

"No one's going to shoot us," she assures as the truck comes to a stop. "If you'd shut up and get out of the fucking truck, you'd see." And without waiting for him, Charlie hops out, leaving him with no other choice but to follow.

When he steps out, he notices the sky littered with thousands, if not millions, of twinkling stars. He could make out a majority of the constellations. The scene feels so surreal that Ethan has to pinch himself to make sure he's not dreaming. It reminds him of the nights where he'd camp out in his backyard and fall asleep underneath the beautiful sight. "This is..."

"I know," Charlie says, her neck craned upwards. "Pretty sweet, right? I used to come here with my mom when I was little. During the summer, she'd take me to Bull's Eye whenever she could and teach me how to shoot, and then she'd bring me here. We'd lay down, stare up at the stars and just forget about the rest of the world. Sometimes, we'd even pretend we were in outer space too, floating amongst the stars."

"These places," Ethan begins quietly, "they're pretty special to you, aren't they?"

"They are," she confirms. "This is where I got to make the last happy memories with her before she died. My dad brought me after and when I learned how to drive, I'd come here by myself sometimes. It was never the same though." She's never brought another person outside of her family members here before, not even Jill. But how else was she supposed to show him how serious she is about him?

"I've got to hand it to you, Charlie Whitmen, this is the best first date I've ever had," Ethan declares, taking her hand up into his own.

"Just wait until you see what we're having for dessert," she remarks with a smile.

"Is this another trick? Because I don't know if you mean it literally or figuratively," he says hesitantly.

"I just wanted to prove how sincere I am about you," Charlie confesses. "I'm not really good with this kind of shit and I—"

He cuts her off by pressing a kiss against her lips. "This is incredible," he whispers breathlessly before stealing the breath from her a second time. "You're incredible." Once they break apart, Charlie goes to the trunk and comes back with a few logs of chopped up wood and a bottle of lighter fluid. "What are you doing?" Ethan questions.

She sets the wood down into the shallow hole and douses it with the lighter fluid. Taking a box of matches out from her pocket, she lights one up. "Starting a fire," she answers before tossing the tiny flame onto the pile. "I thought we could make some s'mores. Plus, it's fucking cold out. Some heat would be nice."

Naturally, the hormonal teenaged boy in Ethan comes out. "I have a way to conduct heat." He grins as he wriggles his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"Do you now?" Charlie smiles tightly. "We're still in a secluded area, you know."

His shoulders start bouncing up and down while his chest rumbles with laughter. "Fire it is," he concedes.

Charlie hands Ethan the marshmallow sticks and plops down beside him onto the blanket sprawled out on the ground. As they get everything set up, her curiosity gets the better of her. "I don't think I ever asked you this, but why do you like me?"

"I already told you," he hums as he gives her stick with a gigantic puff of sugar sitting on the end.

"When did you..."

"Because I realized that nothing seems to come easy to me. But when I'm with you... It feels like I have the world at my fingertips."

"You've liked me since homecoming?" she gapes, turning to look at him.

"I think I've liked you since you showed up to my house, walked into my room, made a snide remark about my you-know-what and then ate all of my food," he chuckles, shrugging his shoulders.

"Seriously?" she snorts.

"Seriously," he answers. "What about you?"

"When did I start to like you or why do you like you?"

"Both," he decides. "And no, you can't say you like everything about me either, even if it's true."

"I think..." She racks her brain for the answers and manages to find them. "I started to like you when I woke up and found you asleep next to me the night I went over to hang out," she narrates thoughtfully. "As for why I like you. It's all of the little things you do. Oh and, of course, there's Maxwell too."

"I'm glad you said that. Maxwell was the deal breaker," chimes Ethan playfully before he shifts to look at her. This is it. This is the perfect moment for him to do it. After inhaling a cavernous breath, he takes the leap. "Charlie, I can't tell you that relationships aren't hard, because they are," he starts.

"But, what I can tell you is that our relationship, it'll be real. We might fight and get mad at each other. It's inevitable. You'll probably make me cry too," he laughs and so does she as she listens to him with diligence. "However, that doesn't mean I'll give up or stop trying. I can also promise that I'll make you smile at least once a day and, together, we'll create precious memories which will last us a lifetime. If you're willing to give this—us—a chance, I want to tell you now that I'm all-in."

Isn't the answer obvious? "Call," she says, locking gazes with him.

His brows furrow in confusion. "What?"

"I'm calling your all-in," she clarifies. "Now come here, lover boy." And with the fire crackling in front of them, their marshmallows burning, and the starry night sky dangling high up above them, Charlie yanks onto the collar of Ethan's jacket, dragging him in to unite their lips, a wide smile painted over her face.

How'd she get so lucky?

- - -

Author's Thoughts: How was it? I hope I made you squeal! I really liked this chapter because instead of it being the guy wooing the girl, it's the other way around <3 I'm so happy with this pairing because they're still themselves with each other.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to turquoise13, _zest_, and katrinxj! Vote and comment and make my day please :) Also, this is a really big thing I'm asking from you guys, but I want to try to get this story Featured and the only way that'll happen is if you wonderful people help me. If you think this story deserves to be featured, please put in a request here:

https://support.wattpad.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=60074

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