Chapter 24

My heart was twisting in my chest as I sat in my car outside of Elizabeth's house.

It was a Thursday afternoon and since we had a big game tomorrow, we had a light practice with mostly strategy review.

Elizabeth had given me a casual 'see you later' after practice, nothing more around the guys, and then she was gone.

So here I was, trying to decide if it was worth it to go inside or not.

If it was weird I could just always say I was here for some football thing...

"Fuck it." I muttered, getting out of the truck. I glanced in the mirror to fix my hair and then mentally slapped myself for being so lame.

I ran my hands through it, probably undoing anything I had just done to fix it.

I tentatively knocked on the front door, my heart in my throat as I waited for an answer.

Her brother was the one to open the door and looked sincerely shocked to see me.

"Fucking great." Tommy groaned. "Elizabeth! Your boy toy is here!" He called before turning to walk away from the door.

"Um..." I mumbled, unsure if I should walk inside again.

"Charlie! Hi." Mrs. Von Batton said with a soft smile, appearing around the corner. "Listen, right now isn't the best time..."

"Tommy shut UP!" Elizabeth yelled from upstairs.

"Guys stop the yelling!" Mr. Von Batton's distinct British accent traveled from upstairs.

"You're doing it too!" The twins yelled in unison.

"Tensions are kind of high right here and-"

"No, mom, this is a perfect time." Elizabeth said harshly, pulling on a jean jacket as she sprinted down the stairs. "Charlie let's go."

"I wasn't-"

"Yes you were." Elizabeth snapped, putting her hand on my chest to push my backwards out of the door.

"Elizabeth you can't just leave!" Tommy yelled, appearing around the corner again. "Mom make him leave! We were having a family discussion!"

"That family discussion ended ten fucking minutes ago thanks to you." Elizabeth glared at her mother before forcibly dragging me away. "Don't wait up!" She hissed, pulling me towards the truck.

I didn't hesitate or waste any time as I unlocked the door and let her get into the passenger side.

I stayed completely silent as I turned on the engine, my mind still reeling from the insanity I had just witnessed.

Elizabeth took a deep breath, resting her hands on the dashboard before turning to look at me.

"Hi. What's up?" Elizabeth asked, offering me a smile.

But I couldn't think of any words to sum up what I was feeling right now so I did the only thing my poor brain could think of, I leaned forwards and kissed her.

"Drive me somewhere that we can do a whole lot of that and I'll be a happy girl." Elizabeth said quietly, pulling back just enough so her eyes could meet mine.

I nodded, putting the car into reverse and pulling out of her driveway.

"Don't even ask me what that was about because I swear to God I don't want to talk about it..." Elizabeth shook her head, leaning back against the seat with a troubled look on her face.

I stayed silent, just reaching over to take her hand in mine.

It was totally uncharacteristic of me but something about it felt so right in the moment and Elizabeth just went along with it.

"Okay so like Tommy and I are eighteen, right? So you'd think our parents would be done having kids?" Elizabeth said suddenly.

I had a feeling that she actually did want to talk about it.

"You'd assume so..." I said carefully, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

"Well they just sat me and Tommy down today to fucking tell us that they're adopting another baby." Elizabeth said in shock. "A little baby girl from some teen mom a few towns over."

"Her name's not Katie is it?" I asked suddenly, my eyes widening.

"What?" Elizabeth frowned. "Who the hell is Katie?"

"A girl from Woodward, a few towns over. She's pregnant and-"

"Please fucking tell me you didn't get a girl pregnant."

"Not mine you idiot. Kent Jackson. Woodward's quarterback? Is her name Katie?" I repeated.

"No it's Samantha or Stephanie or something like that chill!" Elizabeth laughed, pulling her hand away from mine. "Why do you care so much if its Katie?"

"Because that girl is fucked. Everybody knows about her. There were these twin brothers from Allison who totally dominated and the quarterback had it all. He had the arm, the girl, the everything. And then one day his pure little cheerleader turns up pregnant by Kent fucking Jackson, the guy from the wrong side of the tracks and all hell breaks loose and the turf war between these two schools less than a few miles apart gets a hell of a lot messier." I explained. "Sorry, that's totally irrelevant. Keep talking."

"No seriously why are you so caught up on this girl?" Elizabeth frowned.

"I used to know her, nothing fancy." I brushed it off, not wanting to get into this conversation right now.

Elizabeth sighed. "Well anyways, I'm going to be a big sister. To a newborn."

"And is that really cause to get so upset?" I raised my eyebrows. "Aren't babies like really cute?"

"Yeah not when your parents have suddenly decided to up and start a whole new family." Elizabeth sighed. "And then Tommy got mad at me for being upset about it and then my mom got mad at me for getting mad at Tommy and it was a whole disaster."

"Sounded like it."

"Oh you caught the end of it. I'm surprised nobody lost their voice." Elizabeth sighed, running her hands through her hair.

It was more humid than usual around here and her hair had a substantially larger volume than usual but was still mesmerizing.

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked suddenly, looking around as she didn't recognize any of the scenery. "Isn't the barn the opposite way?"

"There's this little forest in like a mile and the scenery is pretty neat." I shrugged. "You said you wanted to be alone."

"Yeah." Elizabeth nodded, sinking low in her chair. "Literally fuck everything. I don't wanna go to the game tomorrow. I don't want to play in the game but it will kill me to just sit on the sidelines but I know I won't go in because Kurt has obviously earned it and ugh I'm so torn."

"Well speak for yourself but I'll love having you on the sidelines." I laughed, glancing over at her as I pulled off the road onto a path.

"Of course." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Typical quarterback, thinks he needs a cute girl to play well."

"Well I gotta say, since you started showing up to games I've totally been killing it." I teased, pulling up next to the stream before putting the car in park.

Elizabeth gasped, sitting up straight when she saw the water.

"Is that like good for swimming?"

"Oh hell yeah. Everyone comes out here in the summer." I laughed.

"Let's go." Elizabeth said suddenly, getting out of the truck.

"Aw come on no we don't even have suits." I laughed, turning off the engine.

Elizabeth's eyes tinkled as she took off her jacket.

"How many people come around here in October?" She asked, kicking off her shoes.

"Nobody..." I trailed off. "What are you up to?"

"Perfect." Elizabeth grinned before pulling her sundress off in one swoop. "Last one in is a rotten egg." She laughed, tossing her dress on the seat before sprinting towards the water.

I didn't waste any time before stripping down to my underwear and following her.

She was wearing a matching set of underwear and although they were a simple pale blue, the sight of her in a thong was enough to get me going.

I was just getting to the water as her head popped back up so of course I did the most obnoxious cannon ball I possibly could as I jumped in next to her.

Elizabeth let out a laugh, pushing her hair back from her face as she looked at me.

Her face was positively radiant and for what seemed like the fiftieth time today I couldn't help but kiss her.

I mean she did say this was all she wanted to do...

Within minutes, her legs were wrapped around mine and my fingers were in her hair.

"Fuck." She whispered, pushing her hips against mine. "This is exactly what I need."

"Bro me too." I managed, cupping her ass with my hands.

Elizabeth let out a laugh, leaning back from me.

"Did you just call me bro?" She asked in shock, letting her hands fall down to her sides. "What the fuck."

My eyes widened. "Yeah that just slipped out." I admitted. "I didn't... I'm sorry."

Elizabeth just laughed. "I mean I am your teammate." She teased.

"Don't make it weird... Please don't make it weird."

"Just kiss me, dammit."

~*~*~

"Well I can cross that off my bucket list." Elizabeth laughed, sitting down next to me in the back of the truck.

"What?" I laughed, laying down on my back.

Elizabeth laid down next to me, turning her head to face me.

"Hook up in like a lake or a pool."

"Or a stream."

"Exactly." Elizabeth laughed, wiping her hair off of her face.

We were both still dripping wet but it was still in the high 80s outside, shockingly warm for October.

"It's gonna get chilly when the sun goes down." Elizabeth commented, turning to look at the sun coming through the trees straight ahead of us.

"But you look so good." I whispered, reaching to run my hand across her stomach.

Elizabeth laughed, her stomach tightening under my touch.

"You make me feel like a fucking goddess." She whispered, her own hand resting on my stomach just above the waistline of my boxers.

"Because you are." I admitted honestly. "You are the sexiest woman I have ever seen."

Elizabeth's cheeks turned pink and I scanned her face, reaching up to brush across a particularly dense patch of freckles underneath her left eye.

"You have more freckles."

"Well yeah. Between football and now this I've been in the sun all day." Elizabeth shrugged, leaning forwards.

She softly kissed me and if I'd been standing I swear my knees would've gone week.

"You're pretty neat, Charlie McKinley." Elizabeth whispered, softly kissing down my jaw.

"Thanks?" I laughed, twisting my fingers in her hair.

Elizabeth winced and pulled back, shaking her head.

"If you touch it while it's drying it'll be even more of a rats nest than it already is." Elizabeth whispered. "I know hair pulling it hot and shit but just... Not in this humidity."

"Alright alright, sorry." I laughed.

"Let's go watch the sunset." Elizabeth suddenly said. "But over there, that tree is in the way."

I laughed as she suddenly jumped up from the truck and quickly followed her.

"You've got dirt all over your ass." I laughed, pulling her hips back towards me as I wiped it off. "Sorry my truck's not the cleanest."

Elizabeth laughed, glancing up at me as I wrapped my arms around her.

She leaned back against me and I leaned up against the tree, resting my head on top of hers as we watched the purple sky.

"There's something about sunsets here that are so much prettier than back home." Elizabeth whispered, resting her hands on top of mine.

"Yeah." I whispered. "Yeah..."

Elizabeth took a deep breath, pressing back against me.

"I'm not depressed." She whispered. "I know my brother talked to you about that."

"Yeah?" I whispered. "Because if you ever need to talk about anything..."

"I've had a shitty hand dealt to me lately but I'm not depressed. I'm taking it all in stride, I'm just emotional like any other eighteen year old girl." Elizabeth said softly, squeezing my hands. "Don't think you have to worry about me. I don't want to be an emotional drain on the quarterback."

"You're not." I laughed, kissing the top of her head.

"I just want to be a fun time." Elizabeth shrugged.

"A fun time." I repeated. "That's it?"

"Yeah... No... I mean... I don't know." Elizabeth sighed, turning her head to look at me. "Can we just..."

"Yeah don't worry we're good." I gave her a wink. "I know what you mean."

"Good." Elizabeth let out a sigh before turning to look at the sky again. It was now a deeper purple, the outline of the sun almost completely disappeared behind the horizon.

We had less than a minute of silence before the sound of a truck horn burst our bubble of silence. 
Elizabeth gasped, her entire body tensing.

"Who is that?" She asked in shock, looking up at me.

I looked around the side of the tree to see Garret's truck come flying down the path, barely stopping in time before it would've smacked into mine.

"It's the guys." I groaned, pushing Elizabeth behind me.

"Holy fucking shit, Charlie. They can't see me like this!" Elizabeth hissed. "I'm barely wearing anything!"

"Calm down I'll-"

"No you don't understand! They already don't respect me this would be horrible!" Elizabeth hissed. "Get rid of them." She whispered, hiding completely behind the tree.

"Elizabeth." I groaned.

"I am in my underwear." Elizabeth glared at me. "Deal with it!"

"McKinley! What the hell are you doing out here!" Reggie called, climbing out of the truck. "We figured you'd be at the barn."

"Not tonight." I shook my head, running my hands through my hair as I stepped out from behind the tree.

"The hell are you wearing?" Kurt laughed, leaning out of the window.

"Uh... I went for a swim." I mumbled, scratching the back of my neck.

"In your boxers?"

"Listen, guys, I'm not really in the mood to do anything tonight. You mind giving me some space?"

"Who's behind the tree?" Garret asked with a scrutinizing look.

I panicked.

"Hannah James." I said suddenly, the first name coming to mind.

"No shit!" Garret exclaimed, his eyes widening. "The fuck is up with you and girls from Allison?"

"First Katie and now Hannah? Shit. Be careful you don't end up with a bun in the oven." Kurt laughed.

"Better yet, they're both Jason Charleston's leftovers." Reggie laughed. "Damn boy, Kent Jackson's gonna be pissed as hell at you tomorrow night."

"Yeah whatever, he's gonna have a kid, he's got enough shit on his plate." I managed, scratching my jaw. "Can you guys clear out now?"

"Yeah, whatever, meet us back at the barn when you're uh... Finished." Garret winked. "We're gonna meet up with the girls later too if you want to invite uh... Elizabeth."

"No, don't go back to the barn when I'm not there. That has become too much of a party place. That's just my spot." I sighed.

"Yeah yeah yeah whatever." Reggie rolled his eyes.

I waited until the truck was completely out of sight to turn back to Elizabeth.

"That was close." I laughed as she walked past me to get to the truck.

"So you slept with the girl who is pregnant?" Elizabeth asked quietly as she pulled her dress over her head.

"A year ago." I replied simply. "That's not my kid. And I did it to piss off Charleston, the old QB from Allison. It meant nothing."

"Who's Hannah James?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

I sighed, pulling my t-shirt over my head.

"You want to have this conversation right now? Of all the people I've slept with?" I asked curiously, stepping into my shorts. "Because it's a long list."

"Yeah mine's not a walk in the park either and no, I don't care who you've slept with unless you're still sleeping with them. I don't do the 'fuck around' kind of stuff. That's how you get STDs and I'm sorry but I don't want cervical cancer."

"I'm clean. One hundred percent clean." I said honestly. "That's the only way my dad stays out of my personal life, he makes me get tested every two months."

"Good." Elizabeth said, crossing her arms.

"And I'm not sleeping with anyone else right now because you are the only girl that's been occupying my mind." I said honestly. "Face it, Elizabeth, you've got me hooked."

A soft smile spread on Elizabeth's lips and she looked down at her feet.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

I laughed, getting into the truck.

"Come on, let me take you home so you can sort out your shit with your family." I sighed, turning on the engine.

Elizabeth scrunched up her nose but nodded.

"That's probably for the best..." 

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More Under the Lights references!!!! I low-key love those characters and when I was writing this I was like you know what, let's add some good old Charleston drama to this baby. 

Don't worry, this isn't the last of the Under the Lights crew ;)

-E xx