✔︎ 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, Charlie Conway ¹

𝟏𝟑. 𝐌𝐑. 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐘

THE cold crisp air hit eliza's skin as she stepped onto the fresh ice, her skates pressing against the fragile ground. her breath was seen when she exhaled, closing her and taking in the golden sun that hit her as it slowly rose, bringing light to the town.

putting her hands behind her head, she pulled on the ponytail, making it only tighter. she shuffled up the cotton headband, making sure it stays in nicely.

a small smile came onto her face as she finished, beginning to skate around the abandoned ice pond.

skating on the pond was one of her rituals. she'd come here every sunday morning, knowing most people would be at church, or work. she'd skate for hours, until people started to show up. she knew charlie's team skated her a lot, and she never wanted to be seen by them.

it was a good exercise, and it made her more comfortable. she'd never admit this to anyone, but she hadn't always done hockey. she used to figure skate whenever she could, and was quite decent at it. she won a few trophy's, went to a lot of competitions, and she loved it.

but, once her mother left, her father forced her to stop, and do hockey. he believed it was too much of a 'girly' sport for her, and wanted her to grow up tough.

he wanted her to act like a boy.

she couldn't disagree with him unless she wanted to get sent to a private school in a different country, and away from adam. so, she only obliged.

it killed her.

but, she got used to hockey, and started to love it. she found the happiness she had found with figure skating in hockey, but every now and then, she missed it.

her skating sped up, rounding the corner with a sharp turn. she glided to the middle, making a swift axel across the ice. she definitely wasn't the best figure skater, but she knew how to land the moves without flaws, and she could thank herself for that any day.

a bright, toothy smile came on her face. she missed the feeling so much, and wished that if her mother ever came back, she'd be able to do something like that again.

her skating slowed as she began to skate backwards, letting herself flow with the ice. turning back around, she sped up once again, doing a quick lutz over the ice, landing with no problems.

she felt as though she was on top of the world. her distractions were put to the side, the stress and drama of what has been happening her life was gone. she felt free.

the sound of clapping caused the girl to freeze on the spot, letting her skates slide against the ice with such a harsh pressure. her eyes scanned around her, whipping herself around to a see a smirking charlie conway, who was leaning against a tree.

eliza's eyes narrowed, huffing to herself.

"i'm impressed, banks. never thought i'd see the day where you're better at something that doesn't revolve a stick in your hand" he giggled, joining her on the ice.

"what are you doing here, conway?" she mumbled, picking up herself to skate again, with him by her side. "oh, you know, just taking a nice visit to my pond" he pointed to himself.

she rolled her eyes, letting her tongue poke at the inside of her cheek. her skating sped up, leaving the conway boys side.

"so, no kiss 'hello'?" he said from the other side of the pond, still grinning from ear to ear like an idiot.

"what exactly do you think we are, conway?"

"oh, so there's a we now"

she let out a groan, refraining herself 
from rolling her eyes at his ridiculous word choices. "you know what i meant"

"i mean, come on, eliza. we've kissed, we've screamed at each other, been in each other's houses, met each other's families" he shrugged, still skating on the opposite side of her. "done all the normal enemies to lovers things. we're practically elizabeth bennett and mr. darcy"

eliza's eyes had widened, stopping her skating. she turned to him with crossed arms, dropping her stern face. "i loathe you"

"you mean love, banksie?" he began to come closer, towering over her as he got near.

"you want to know the difference between me and you, to fictional characters, charlie?"

he put his hands up for an explanation, shrugging his shoulders at her. she let out a heavy sigh, looking anywhere but wasn't his face. she knew she'd crack if her eyes set onto his own, and she had to stand her ground.

"is that they're fictional. they're entire love, is fake. it isn't real. that's the difference, charlie. you just compared us to something that is fake" she let her eyes meet his, finally getting the hard part over.

he gave her a small smile, bringing his hand up to her face. "what if it was real"

she shook her head, letting his hand fall from her face. "you can't do that, charlie. this isn't okay, and you know that. we shouldn't be doing this, and i don't understand why you're pushing it so much. we're young, barely into highschool, and every stupid word that comes out of your mouth makes it sound like we've known each other for years"

"we have, eliza. you're the one pushing me away, pushing us away. the real difference between us, and freaking fictional characters is that we could have something real if you just let me show you"

eliza's hands found her face, stuffing away from this dramatic scene. she was embarrassed, and ashamed. she didn't know what to say to this boy who was completely into her. she never felt like this towards a boy before, and one certainly has never this way towards her. she didn't know how to feel, and it hurt both him and her.

"charlie, please stop"

he scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air at her actions of fearfulness. "elizabeth, for once in your life, let someone who isn't your stupid brother care about you, and show you what life is really like"

elizabeth. he used her full name.

she turned up to see him, examining his redden cheeks, and puffing chest. he looked angry, but at the same time, so calm. her bottom lip slipped into her teeth, threatening to quiver at any slight movement.

"i promise you, i will never make you regret this, if you just choose me" he mumbled. the two hadn't even realized how close they had gotten to each other once again. "please" he whimpered, putting his hands on her face.

for some reason, her heart steadied at his touch. it had always done that, but she just now realized it. was this boy really something she'd risk her fathers anger for? his rage of betrayal? or worse, adam's rage.

"i'm sorry, charlie. but no" she mumbled, turning away from him. she couldn't hate to face him. this decision made her feel like a horrible person. she was a horrible person.

a pang hit her heart as she heard charlie call after her, but she had to ignore him, and stay strong for herself. she couldn't let her guard down, as much as she already has.

her eyes rolled up, trying to not let the tears fall from her eyes.

but, failed, feeling the water caress her flushed cheeks. these were times like this where she wished her mother was still around, because she knew that she'd know exactly what to say, and eliza wouldn't have to deal with his alone.

this pain was too much for her to handle, and too much to be all over a boy.

especially, charlie conway.