CHARLIE CLOSED the door of her house and tugged on the loose thread on her stockings as she threw her dingy penny board that Marcus had gotten her for her birthday one year onto the ground as she began to make her way down the road and towards his house.

She finally and fairly quickly approached the Baker household and knocked on the front door. It quickly opened and Marcus stood on the other side stood Marcus, looking down at the girl before him.

"I'll be up in a minute." He told her.

Charlie nodded and gently brushed past him to make her way upstairs. She kept to herself, not thinking of much as she made her way down the hall with the banged-up penny board in hand.

As she passed Max's room, she noticed the door had been left wide open, but the girl wasn't inside. Instead, sat the new girl, the Baker's next-door neighbor, Ginny Miller.

Charlie stepped inside the room, nothing new to the girl other than the pictures that Max had scattered around to hang up whenever she felt like it.

Ginny looked up from the laptop and over at Charlie, she had dark, almost jet-black hair that fell nicely over her back. Her stockings were close to ripping at the seams and tied all together by her knee-high black boots and a black two-piece outfit that she was sure she paired together on her own.

She was the exact opposite of Max. At least, style-wise. Max had shown up to school wearing a bright pink jacket that made her stand out. You had no choice but to look at the girl if she passed you in the halls.

Charlie gave Ginny a soft smile. "You must be Ginny."

"Did I make it obvious?" She asked jokingly and hoped that Charlie knew that. But she let her shoulders drop when Charlie chuckled, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Everyone seems to be... intrigued by you, new girl." Charlie said. "I live down the street. I'm Charlie."

Ginny nodded. Maxine mentioned her name in a quick conversation that she was surprised she caught with how fast Max spoke. Ginny believed that Max had mentioned that Charlie had been her friend since kindergarten or something along those lines and that she was "freakishly obsessed" with space.

"Is that a bad thing?" Ginny asked, in reference to people being "intrigued" by her.

"No," Charlie answered, leaning against the bedroom wall. "I don't think so. Just be careful. We don't get new people in Wellsbury often, but you seem cool, Ginny, from what I've heard."

"People are talking about me?"

"Nothing to freak out about, Ginny." Charlie reassured.

Then Marcus appeared, stepping inside Max's room and standing by Charlie's side.

Ginny took notice of how close Marcus would stand next to Charlie like he just had to be next to her.

"Are you stalking me, neighbor?" Marcus asked.

"What?" Ginny asked. "No. Max invited me."

Charlie rolled her eyes, looking up at Marcus. "Leave her alone." The girl pushed herself off of the wall and began to leave Max's room. "She's cool. I'm sure she'll be around more. Especially since her first friend is Max."

Charlie didn't mean it as a diss even if it came across that way. Once you were stuck with Max, you couldn't get rid of her unless you crossed her in some way. Maybe taking the lead in the school musical that Max had been practicing since the beginning of time, but Ginny didn't seem like a girl who would step foot on stage even if you paid her.

Charlie gave Ginny one last look before waving the girl goodbye and making her way out of Max's room. She had missed the moment Marcus made his way over to Ginny, kneeling on one knee in front of her as he snaked his hand behind the girl to grab the stash that he hid in Max's room.

In Ginny's eyes, it was like he was trying to make a move on her, but it was odd. With how close he and Charlie looked, she be damned if she thought they were dating.

Max's voice didn't spring the two apart, but she was loud, asking Charlie if she wanted to study with her and Ginny, but declined the offer as quickly as it came.

Max entered her room, kicked Marcus out, apologized when he was out, and explained to Ginny that Charlie and Marcus were just "disgustingly close" and not dating after Ginny asked about it.

After that, Charlie and Marcus found themselves outside. Charlie sat on her penny board, moving from side to side as Marcus squatted to clean the side of the bike.

"I can't believe your mom let you get this." Charlie chuckled.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "It's my money. She couldn't stop me from spending it."

"Which is why you have me stashing part of your weed, right?"

Marcus turned, a small smile on his face as he threw the damp washcloth towards the girl. She caught it after it hit her in the face. She playfully scoffed and threw the rag back at him before standing to her feet and sitting on his bike.

Marcus stood to his feet, placing his hand on top of hers as he revved up the engine and a smile had grown on her face as she turned to look at him.

Charlie turned her head, her phone ringing from the pocket of her cardigan. Marcus cleared his throat, backing away from the girl as she pressed the phone against her ear and got off the bike with ease.

It was her mother, nothing too serious, asking the girl what she wanted for dinner.

Charlie chuckled, giving her mother an answer before hanging up the phone and brushing past Marcus to grab her board from the ground.

"Gotta help my mom with dinner." She smiled.

"Want me to take you down the street?" He asked.

Charlie laughed. "And have your mom kill the both of us?" She asked. "No, thanks."

She pressed her foot against her board, her other foot pressed firmly against the ground as she moved the board underneath her feet.

"Still on for tonight?' She asked.

Marcus nodded. "I'm picking the movie this time."

"Fine." She smiled, shouting a loud 'goodbye' as she made her way home.

Again, she missed Ginny coming outside, Marcus taunting her about a conversation they had earlier. She then got on his bike, rode it around the residential area they lived in, and kissed Marcus without anyone catching the two of them, not even Padma Atlurie, someone who wasn't too fond of Charlie and soon enough Ginny.

But, even after all of that, Marcus still found his way to Charlie.

He always would.

CHARLIE SHUT her locker and put her headphones on, shuffling her liked songs on Spotify as she began to make her way out of the school. The day had finally come to a close at Wellsbury High and Charlie was forever thankful. The day seemed to drag on and now she could just go home and relax, do something to free her mind of the appending doom she would call senior year.

The sounds of Paramore blared through her ears as she pushed open the doors that led her to her freedom.

She did, however, catch Marcus making out with Padma at a nearby pillar and didn't stop to comment on it, but she let the thought pass her mind. It wasn't too strange for Marcus to be with a girl that wasn't her, but she knew that many of them, including Padma, didn't like her because she was friends with Marcus.

She didn't believe that she was a threat, but she was wrong by a mile. She had no clue how Marcus felt about her and he wouldn't let her know because he valued their friendship and if he mentioned that he liked it and she didn't feel the same way, he would be distraught.

And, as horrid as it sounded, which, a strong word by the way, he was only with the girls, including Padma because he didn't think he had any chance with her and he took that sexual frustration out on the girls who were into him. It was worse than that, imagine thinking of someone else when you're having sex... it was so bad for Marcus and he knew that and he knew that it was a shitty thing to do, but Padma didn't need to know that. Besides, whatever was happening between him and Padma was a causal thing and a causal thing only.

Anyway, as Marcus pulled away from the kiss with Padma, he caught Charlie making her way toward the parking lot, in hopes of finding Billie and her car.

Marcus pulled away from Padma, telling her to wait a minute as he made his way over to Charlie.

He gently grabbed her shoulder, turning her around and she looked up, pushing one side of her headphones off her ear before looking up at him with a small smile.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hey." Marcus sighed. "I didn't really see you today."

"Probably because you were busy getting your tongue sucked."

Marcus chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. "Are you jealous?" He teased.

Charlie smiled, stepping forward. "Do you want me to be?"

He leaned in closer, leaning down as he whispered. "Maybe I do."

Charlie scoffed halfheartedly and pushed Marcus away from her, but he caught her hand and pulled her back into him. Marcus wrapped his arms around Charlie, pulling her in close so that their bodies were pressed tightly together.

"Still on for tonight?" He asked.

Charlie scoffed once more. a small laugh leaving her as she pushed herself off of him. "Yes." She nodded. "But I'm picking the movie."

Marcus grinned. "Deal."

Charlie nodded. "Good." She smiled. "I'll be waiting for you, Baker."

With that, Charlie turned, not bothering to glance behind her as she slid her headphones back over her ear and Marcus watched her every step, a small smile tugging on his lips.

But for the first time in months, Marcus didn't show up at Charlie's window. Not on time anyway.

She held her phone in her hands as she typed another message to Marcus asking if he was coming or if something had come up. And to be frank, he was busy. He was busy with Ginny.

He was busy at Ginny's, making out with the girl and asking her if she could "handle two fingers". His exact words, but Charlie wouldn't find that out. Not now.

Charlie sighed, tossing her phone to the side and standing up. She made her way to her desk and ripped a sticky note from its stack to write, "go home, went to sleep, maybe next time" and stuck the note on her window before locking it and shutting the lights off in her room.

She grabbed her remote and put on some random NASA livestream on YouTube and lying on her side, the shitty Dollar Tree glow-in-the-dark stars her mom had gotten her when she was younger glowing softly as Charlie felt herself dozing off.

Marcus would eventually make it to Charlie's at 3:30 A.M..

But heavily sighed when he noticed the lights off in her room through the blinds and the sticky note stuck on her window.

He shut his eyes and climbed back down to make his way home.

This wouldn't be the last time he was late.

— lucy has something to say !!

let's see how long i can keep up with the space theme titles

thank you all for the love in the first chapter and 1k read within a week yall are so cool

tbh should i trust marcus 🤨

bye :))))