ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴇᴠᴀᴛᴏʀ - ᴀʀᴛʜᴜʀ ᴛᴠ

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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 
           CHAPTER TEN - PAYING A VISIT

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don't look at me like that - arthur hill (go stream this song!!! or i'll personally come find you)

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'ARE YOU KIDDING me...' Charlotte had been digging in her tote bag for a good minute now. It was her favorite bag, but it was so hard to find anything in the mess that was forming itself in the main compartment. Her phone was ringing, and she was afraid that the person on the other side of the line would hang up. When she finally found it, she saw that it was Jack's mother, her favorite bookshop owner and ex-mother-in-law.

'Hi sweetheart!' She shouted through the phone, not quite understanding that if the girl held it by her ear, she could hear her just fine. 'I received the books you ordered!'

'Oh, thank you so much! You are an angel.' The girl, who was now closing her apartment door, said.

'Are you free this afternoon? Maybe you could come by and have a tea... It is not busy at all at the moment.'

'That would be lovely, mrs Richards. I'll be there at... three?'

As she hung up, a certain man on the other side of the hall was just leaving for a meeting with Chip, George and Arthur H. Chip had messaged him the day before that what they were going to discuss was confidential, but as soon as he saw the girl, he already knew that he could not keep a secret around her.

He patiently waited until she was done with her call, with her already noticing him while she was still talking to mrs Richards.

'Hi Charlie! Fancy seeing you here on a Monday morning.'

'What do you expect from me, Mr Telly? That I lie in bed all day?'

'Kinda.'

'Well, I have very important business to attend to.' She smiled at him.

'Really? Well, me too. I'm heading over to Chips for a meeting.'

That intrigued the brunette girl, with her knowing that Chip made really cool videos.

'Are you gonna film with him?'

'Yeah. But... It's kind of a big deal.' He looked around to see if anyone was listening.

That made Charlotte laugh. 'Chill, Arthur. Nobody in this building is even remotely interested in stealing you guys' video idea.'

'We're going to Sri Lanka to race across the country.'

Her jaw dropped. 'What? When?'

'In two weeks.'

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After her and Arthur got some lunch together at Arthurs favorite food stand on his way to the meeting, Charlotte headed for mrs Richards' bookshop. After her and Jack broke up, it felt weird to keep coming back here but losing a friendship with a wise older woman was not something she wanted. She could always talk to Allison and her sister Lauren, but with mrs Richards, it was different.

'Oh, my lovely Lottie!' The woman greeted her with a bear hug the way only mothers could. 'I have missed you! Jack told me you were here a while ago, but with my leg, I know I could not get out here to greet you.'

'Don't worry, mrs R, I completely understand. Are you doing better now?'

'A lot better, thank you.' She gave Charlotte a smile that gave her a warm feeling from the inside.

She handed her a stack of books, including titles like The Secret History and The Book Thief, that her comments have been begging her to read. She was admiring them while tea was already being made by the older woman.

'Chamomile or English Breakfast?'

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'So you've been making some new friends?' Mrs Richards smiles at her and blows in her tea, that is still way too hot to drink.

'Yeah, the move to London was quite intense and I was really nervous, but thankfully George and his friends have made me feel very welcome. It is also nice to be close to Allison, and to you and your bookstore.'

'You seem really happy, Lottie. I saw the video where you did... the football drinking game? Is that correct?'

Charlotte covers her face with her hands out of pure shock and shame. 'The football pub golf video?'

'Yeah, that's the one!' Mrs Richards laughed.

'So you've seen me drunk?'

'Don't worry, sweetheart. I have many nights I don't remember either from when I was your age.'

'What? You have got to tell me your best drunken stories.'  Charlotte laughed in relief.

'Some other time. I just meant that I saw some of your video's and that you seem happy.'

'Yeah, I guess I am.' The brunette smiled.

'So, have you been talking to Jack at all?'

'A bit.' Charlotte says, hesitantly. 'We've been texting, and we are going to catch up sometime.'

The older women smiled at her with sympathy. 'Lottie...' She begins. 'I love my son. In my eyes, he is the most amazing boy in the whole wide world. But I can't deny that your relationship was though. And he is still really busy with his dad's business, but...'

Charlotte waited patiently until she was finished.

'He is a good guy. He's trying to be better, if you believe me or not.'

Having said that, the older woman watched Charlottes reaction nervously.

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note: yes these dates make no sense because the first sri lanka vid was uploaded in october and freezys birthday is in november, but if anyone dares to complain, know that i will hunt you down x and yes i am casually adding in references to my favorite books what are you gonna do