Live Again // Bradley Simpson

Chapter 10: The date

"So why a date? We've only just met." Charlie asked. 

"Only just met? We've met a few times. I want to get to know you better. Where it's just me and you. No other people to interrupt us." Brad replied, running his hand through his curly brown hair. 

Charlie looked down at her lap. Did she really want to let someone like him into her life? He might not just be another celebrity ready to break her heart, she actually met him and talked to him, not like she was just fantasizing about him. 

"Is there food?" Charlie asked, changing topic. She still didn't know if she really wanted something with this boy. Even if it was just friendship. 

"Of course. It's a nice T-Bone steak. I thought you might like it. I asked Shania what foods you liked." He laughed, making it sound obvious that there was going to be food.

"What else did Shania tell you?" Charlie mumbled. If Bradley wanted to know her better, why didn't he just ask Shania...

"Oh, not really that much. But enough for me to be interested in you." He stated. 

"Interested? Gee, great way to put it." 

Bradley laughed, his cute little giggle laugh. "I was told you're a very negative person."

"I get told that alot." Charlie sighed. She was always told this. But that was just her. She used to be happy all the time when she was young. But as soon as she first started to experience the horrible life she used to live. She just became someone who never let people in. She pushed people away from her and never made new friends. She didn't trust anyone like she did.

"I'd like to make you happy. See you smile." Bradley responded. "Make that a promise actually. I'd like to make you genuinely smile. Like that time on stage, when you finished singing, and you a big beautiful smile on your face. You looked really happy up there."

Charlie didn't reply to what he said but just looked away. She hated people talking about her being happy, she hated people talking to her about her problems. She hated it. Then there he was, Bradley Simpson, acting like he knows all about her sad life and trying to make her smile. 

Then a waitress came. Wearing a short black dress and a silver coloured apron ontop. She was carrying to plates of meat in her hands. 

"Here you go, Mr Simpson and Mrs Gold." She announced. Placing the plates in front of the two. She then smiled and walked off.

Charlie looked down at her meal and wanted to smile. It was beautiful. She was about to pick up her fork and knife when a pop sounded. She looked up and there was Bradley holding a bottle of wine over the grass. The foam was spilling out and some had gone over him too.

Charlie couldn't help but laugh a little. 

"Find that funny aye?" He said, clearly embarrassed. 

"Yes. You completely failed at opening that."

So that's how they began the night, over a T-Bone and a wine. They talked about the music they liked and the soccer teams they supported. There was a heated argument over the strategies of the Australian Soccer Team. There was a heated argument about the lack of England in the World Cup. 

It was a great start to their night, avoiding any personal questions like Charlie had wanted. They just had talks about general things, things Charlie didn't mind talking about. She even liked to talk to Bradley, mainly because he was able to produce an opinion on what she said on not just agree. Charlie liked to argue over pointless things and complain a lot too. 

 "Why did you leave your band?" Bradley asked all of sudden. He had changed the topic from Fall Out Boy to this... Even though it was along the same lines. Charlie was disappointed, she thought he might have figured out she was avoiding this.

Charlie couldn't figure out a way she could get out of this question. "I just did." She replied, digging herself a bigger hole.

Bradley was no big fan of simple answers. "No one just leaves. Especially since you guys were starting to become a lot more noticed and you just left."

"I had other dreams, other things I wanted to do." Charlie grumbled, she really wanted to change topic. Performing with the band was a great at the time, but afterwards she remembered everything. Everything from the reason she joined to the reason why she left.

"Your band will be just as famous as ours one day." Bradley said. "If you were still in it, you'd be having your own headline tour, not following other bands around." 

"Why do you say that?" Charlie asked, rubbing her forehead. 

"Because when you went onto that stage. I saw your fans, I saw how happy they were to have you back. Your band too, played better, sang better. You just standing on that stage changed everything."

Charlie looked down at her empty plate and shook her head in disbelif. Bradley was taking it too far.

"You don't know why I left." She began. "You know nothing about me. I can't rejoin my band. It was never my dream. I could see where our band was going, I didn't want to go there. I had other dreams."

Bradley wasn't shocked by Charlie's little outburst. He just smiled. "I understand. But I love the way you sing, the way you played your bass. You looked like a natural on that stage. Like you were meant for that life. Performing."

Charlie looked up at Bradley, right in his big brown eyes. "I don't believe I am meant for performing, but I want to change the world Bradley."

Bradley smiled. "Maybe I can help you live this dream."