Teenage Dream

19

     Charlie rode the bus home from work.  She’d had a test in math, Jackson was all over her between 2nd and 3rd period, a homeless guy on the bus on the way to work sat next to her and fell asleep on her shoulder, and work was uneventful, but it wasn’t a bad day. 

       The cool breeze felt good on her face as she walked the few blocks to Kayla’s house.  It’s only been a few days, she’s definitely not comfortable calling it “home” yet. She heard a low roll of thunder, a warning of the storm to come.

       She came in through the kitchen, grabbing a can of soda out of the fridge, and headed into the living room.

Logan and Ben were sitting on opposite ends of the couch.  Logan had one of his knees pulled up to his chest, the other stretched out on the coffee table, Ben’s legs were curled under him.  They were both staring intently at the horror film on the TV. 

They had the lights out, it was almost completely dark outside, and the mood was definitely set for a scary movie night.  They were both so focused on the suspense on the screen that neither heard Charlie come in, until she popped the top on her soda, causing them both to jump and let out yells of surprise. 

“SHIT CHARLIE!” Logan said, laughing a little, as he pushed his curls out of his face.  Ben was clutching his chest. 

“Sorry” She mumbled, as the movement and music of the movie caught her attention.  Without taking her eyes off the screen, she slid down on to the sofa, closest to where she was standing.  She was practically on top of Logan, but he didn’t mind, and he had no intention of moving.  She set down her drink, leaning forward, her eyes widening as the suspenseful music got louder and louder and

BOOM!

False alarm.

But that didn’t’ stop any of them from jumping. Charlie pulled her knees up to her chest, and buried her face, peering over the tops. The jewelry box playing a soft, child-like, totally creepy song stopped abruptly, and the ghost witch screamed, her deformed, horrendous face coming at the screen. Logan jumped a little in surprise, but quickly pulled himself together. Charlie gasped covering her face with her hands, and buried her head against Logan’s arm  He smiled, feeling her cuddling into him, his eyes were glued to the screen, but he moved his arm around her shoulders, his fingertips gently brushing across the soft skin on her arm, relaxing her as she snuggled into his side, making herself more comfortable.

     After the movie went off, Ben headed home, and Charlie and Logan both headed upstairs for bed.  It was a little after three, when Logan woke up to the thunder rumbling through the house and  the rain pelting the windows.  He went to the bathroom, and decided he wanted some water.  He headed downstairs, and noticed that the kitchen light was on. 

     He walked in, finding Charlie, sitting on the countertop, holding a mug of hot chocolate. She had on baby blue shorts with white polka dots, a loose fitting white tee shirt and a gray robe, not tied, her legs were crossed at the ankles, and they were swinging a little as she stared down at her mug.  Logan couldn’t remember ever seeing something so adorable.

“hey” he said gently.  She looked up, her eyes wide, a little gasp escaping her lips, but relief immediately washed over her face. 

“Hey”

“what are you doing up?” he stepped closer to her, until he was standing directly in front of her. 

‘Stupid scary movie” she mumbled.  He smiled at her, taking her hot chocolate, and he took a sip. 

“You gonna be able to go back to sleep?” he asked. 

“I think so” but she didn’t seem sure.  He smiled a little, as he reached up, gently tugging on the end of her pony tail that fell over her shoulder.  She looked down at her mug again.  He watched her for a few seconds.  Another roll of thunder shook the house, and he saw her flinch, squeezing her beautiful gray eyes shut until it was over.  It was then that he realized, she wasn’t’ afraid of the movie.  She was afraid of the storm.  It amazes him the things that he learns about her everyday, even though he’s known her for 15 of his 18 years.