LORI CARPENTER decided it was best for everyone to just...get away. Get away from Wellsbury, get away from home, get away from the people... to breathe in the fresh air of the California waters.

Lori Carpenter was born and raised in Anaheim, California, and moved to Massachusetts when she began her education at Harvard University. She graduated from the University with a degree in Women, Gender, and Sexuality and worked as a Union Organizer.

Sometimes, it felt like Charlie and Billie had big shoes to fill because their mother had gone to Harvard and had a well-paying job. They wanted to work hard to not only prove to themselves that they were capable of getting into a great college but also to show that Lori Carpenter had raised her kids right and all on her own.

But for now, they would be breathing in that California air and visiting their grandparents.

As Charlie began throwing her things into her mother's car so they could head to the airport, Marcus approached her.

"Hey."

Charlie sighed and shut the truck of her mother's car as she turned to face him.

"Hey."

Marcus paused, trying to figure out what to say to her. He didn't think that she would stop and talk to him, but here they were.

"I'm sorry... I- I meant what I said to you that night." He said. "I love you and I'm sorry. I..."

"It's okay." Charlie muttered.

"I should've been honest with you and I- I talked to Ginny. We're done. I made sure to apologize and fix things. I don't want you to think that I was... using you or- or I don't know. I'm sorry."

Charlie nodded. "I know. I forgive you."

"Okay." Marcus whispered. "Good."

He hadn't expected her to forgive him so quickly, then again, neither did she.

They had been best friends for years and Charlie wasn't going to throw it all away. She would just learn to take things slow. This, all of this, was new to her and though it seemed they had been taking it slow for years now, this was something that Charlie had to get used to.

"I do love you." Marcus said. "Charlie?"

Charlie nodded. "It's fine, Marcus. We're fine. We're good." She cleared her throat. "Can we talk about this later?"

Marcus nodded. "Yeah..." He paused. "You seem kind of off. I don't want you to... hurt yourself. I can stay here if you like."

Charlie shrugged her shoulders. "I'll be fine. My mom is... taking Billie and I to the mall, so..."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Um... I'll see you later."

Charlie watched as Marcus began backing into the street and placed his skateboard on the ground and rode off.

The girl shut her eyes and sighed heavily.

Things weren't going to be fixed overnight, if they could, Charlie's life would be a lot easier.

"Come on, CJ." Billie called. "Our flight is in an hour and grandma's already freaking out because she thinks we're gonna miss the flight."

The eldest Carpenter placed Charlie's carry-on into her hands and opened the trunk once more to place her belongings inside.

With that, the Carpenter's were on their way to California. They stayed for Thanksgiving, the two girls missing a week of school because of their travels, but their teachers had already been informed of the absence of the two sisters and their class work had also been through the California air.

But they would have to return to Wellsbury eventually and that day just so happened to be the day after Thanksgiving.

Charlie had been conflicted. To her, a lot was happening, but then again, nothing was happening at the same time. She would be seeing her therapist soon and maybe she would have some answers to Charlie's swirling mind.

Charlie ran her fingers through her hair as she stepped out of her mother's car with her carry-on over her shoulder and a bag of miscellaneous items that she had found at stores in California.

She sighed as the cold November air hit her face for the second time that day and turned her head to look down the street. From her view, she was able to see that the garage door was opened at the Baker's.

Charlie licked her lips and began to make her way over and once there, Marcus stepped out to see Charlie standing near the end of the driveway.

The first thing she noticed was that his hair had been cut or at least styled differently from how she'd last seen it. She liked it, she liked how it looked pushed back, but that wouldn't be on her mind for long as the two of them met halfway.

"Hey." Marcus said softly.

Charlie softly smiled. "Hey."

"Welcome back." He greeted. "How was the mall?"

"We were there longer than I thought."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I noticed."

There was a strong silence between them. Neither of them knew what to truly say to each other. The entire time that Charlie had been gone, Marcus had been messaging her, trying to figure out where she was and if she was okay. Of course, she never responded. For one, she didn't want to talk to him. As bad as that sounded, it was probably what she needed. Second, neither of the Carpenter sisters had their phones. Lori wanted them to be free of everything while they were away.

"How've you been?" Marcus asked. "I've been texting you like-"

"I went to California." She answered. "My mom wanted us to get away for a while. She took my phone, so."

Marcus nodded. "Is that all then?"

Charlie sighed and began digging through her bag of miscellaneous items and grabbed a little astronaut figure that she'd gotten at this museum her mother had taken her to.

When Charlie was younger, whenever her mother took her and Billie to some type of store they'd never been to or some museum for example, she would always grab a souvenir. Not only for herself but for Marcus as well. And if Max hadn't pissed her off prior, she'd get one too.

She held the astronaut out for him to grab and he reached out to take it. He glanced down at the masked man and fiddled with it as Charlie began to speak. To him, it meant a lot that she'd brought him something back. All the shit he'd put her through, she still remembered to bring him something back.

"It's not just about you, Marcus." Charlie said.

"Didn't think it was."

Before either of them could continue their conversation, Abby rushed out of the Baker's house and past the duo without a second glance.

Charlie watched as the girl began down the street and she turned towards Marcus.

"Can we talk later?" She asked.

Marcus nodded and let her go. He watched as her jet-black hair flew behind her as she chased after Abby.

"Abby!" Charlie called.

The redhead let out a shaky sigh as she turned.

"Uh," Charlie began digging through her bag once more and pulled out another astronaut figure that she had gotten for Max, but it was clear to her that Abby needed something or someone way more than Max. "I got this for you in California. I always bring someone something back whenever I go somewhere new."

Abby gently wiped her eyes and took the figure from Charlie's hand and held it tightly, like if she'd let it go, she would have nothing else to bring her even the smallest bit of comfort.

"Thanks." Abby sniffled. "You're not mad at me?"

Charlie furrowed her brows in confusion. "No? Why would I be?"

Abby bit her lip as she shifted on her feet. "Because I knew about Marcus and Ginny and didn't say anything."

Charlie licked her lips and brushed her hair behind her ear. The wind had picked up heavily in Wellsbury, it was colder. It almost made the girl miss how warm California was during this season.

"I don't really care, Abby." Charlie said. "I mean, it sucks, but I'm not holding that against you or anything. It's not like you knew about Marcus and I, so." Charlie shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not mad at you or anything."

Abby and Charlie weren't close, but Abby felt some weight fall off her shoulders. For months, she'd been going through a lot of shit alone, and the whole Ginny-Marcus-Charlie shit plus Max blowing her off not that long ago and Norah standing there like a fucking statue didn't help.

"Are those pizza bagels?" Charlie asked.

Abby almost forgot she'd been carrying the tray of leftovers. Everything Thanksgiving, Abby, Norah, and Max would get together for brunch and have Thanksgiving leftovers, but Max had kicked Abby out for knowing about Ginny and Marcus and not telling her.

The reason why Abby hadn't said anything to Max had made sense. Max had been going through her first breakup and she had the musical coming up. Abby was coming from a good place and Max couldn't see that.

"Yeah." Abby answered. "Want one?"

Charlie gave Abby a small smile. "Sure. We can go to my place if that's cool?"

Abby returned Charlie's soft smile and followed the girl back to her house.

Abby and Charlie hung out for a while. They ate the pizza bagels and watched Despicable Me before Abby decided that she would head home. She thanked Charlie for hanging out with her and Charlie noted that the two of them would try and hang out more often.

It grew dark outside and Charlie dragged her suitcase upstairs and began unpacking her bags.

As she began to unpack she heard her window sliding open. She was surprised. She knew they had to talk, but it surprised him that her window had been unlocked in the first place.

Maybe she wanted him there so maybe she unlocked the window earlier so he knew that it was okay to come over.

All hypothetically of course.

Charlie didn't want to throw her friendship away. She loved Marcus in more ways than one, but that didn't mean she wasn't hurt. He lied to her and it was just some petty lie that she would get over by the hour. He lied to her about seeing another girl she felt like she could become closer with. He didn't have to lie, but he chose to and that's why she was hurt.

"Hey." Charlie spoke.

"Hey."

Charlie sighed. "I like your hair. It's different."

Marcus nodded as he began to approach her. He licked his lips as he stood in front of her.

"And yours is still the same, Charles." He softly smiled.

He lifted his hand and used it to ruffle her hair and for the first time in weeks, he heard a small laugh come from her. It was like hearing his favorite song play and he would put that same sound on loop.

Charlie raised her hand to grab his wrist, removing it from her hair as her smile was left painted on her face. It was like nothing had changed between them at this moment.

Marcus felt a surge of emotion as he gazed into Charlie's eyes, seeing the same warmth and affection he had always been drawn to. Without thinking, he leaned in and pressed his lips gently against hers, savoring the softness and sweetness of her lips.

Charlie paused for a moment, not moving as she began to think. Was it a good thing for this to be happening? Did she want this after everything?

Apparently so because she wasn't frozen in place for long.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she leaned into him. She'd been holding his wrist and gently let it go as he slid his fingers done her hand and laced their fingers together, holding her hand tightly as they kissed.

"I don't know if this is a good idea." She murmured against his lips.

Marcus pulled away, not too far. If he moved, just even a smidge, his lips would be right back on hers.

He sighed as he licked his lips. He 100 percent understood where she was coming from, he'd be an asshole if he didn't.

Charlie opened her eyes and looked up at him. She gave him a soft smile as she used her free hand to gently cup his cheek, using her thumb to gently caress it.

Marcus leaned into her touch, closing his eyes, and savored the sensation of her fingers on his skin. For a few moments, they just stood there, holding hands and gazing at each other.

"I know it's risky and I know that I hurt you." Marcus said softly, breaking the silence. "But I can't imagine not being with you, Charlie. You're the only one who makes me feel alive."

Charlie sighed deeply. "Can we just... go slow?" She asked.

Marcus nodded.

Charlie smiled softly. "Wanna watch a movie?"

Marcus nodded once more, softly chuckling. "As long as pick the movie."

The movie?

2001: Space Odyssey.

— lucy has something to say !!

let's all clap for the new banner yep yep

anyway i hate the ending like don't piss me off oxangejuice