Define: BITTERSWEET (Define #1) ✓

Bittersweet: Five

"Fine," I gave in. "Don't blame me if you lose money for this."

He smirked. He would never let this go. I knew him too well. Whenever he did something for me, it would always seem like he was proud of it. That part of him didn't seem to change as well.

"But if you really insist on paying half," he began as he stood up. "I have something else in mind that you can do in exchange."

"And I thought this was for free," I sighed and went back inside of the room to get my purse. "Nevermind, I'm just going to pay for it in cash."

"No, Iris!" Charles whined. "It is for free. I just thought of doing something else too!"

"Nope," I opposed as I rummaged through my purse to get my wallet. "I'm just going to pay."

"Will you just listen to me?" he demanded. I stopped rummaging when I heard his tone of voice. This was new. That didn't sound like the Charles that I knew at all. I peeked through the door and saw him crossed his arms as he looked straight to my soul from the sofa.

I was about to laugh at his expression when I suddenly remembered about what Theo had told me last night. It was too much to ask to look after Charles, but considering his actions the previous night and how drunk he had gotten himself into, he must've been holding a lot within him. He thought of escaping. Just like he always did.

"Fine," I gave in again and stepped out of the bedroom. "What in the world do you want to do?"

Charles showed a childish grin plastered on his face. He must've had something in mind that would either be in the sane side of the spectrum or the insane side.

He stood up from where he was sitting and went in front of me. Once again, with his gaze on mine, I felt my old self wanting to escape from its cage. I never let it. Instead, I forced myself to give him a cold stare.

"You're going to like this," he stated confidently as I felt something soft against my hand. He's holding mine for the first time.

~*~

"Soarin'! Flyin'!" we screamed while running around the whole living room. The TV was playing the movie but we were noisier. It wasn't that loud enough either as I might get a complaint and get kicked out of the apartment by the other tenants.

"Can you feel it building?" Charles sang along with Troy Bolton, the male protagonist of the movie. "Like a wave the ocean just can't control."

I went pass by him and looked at him while singing Gabriella's part, "Connected by a feeling, oh, in our very soul."

"Rising 'til it lifts us up so anyone can see," we sang in unison. Afterwards, we started singing the chorus again. We kind of like copied how it happened in the movie.

Soon enough, I was the first one who got tired even if the song's not finished. I slumped down to the sofa and drank the rest of my drink. The food that we ordered was scattered at the table. It almost looked like we had a party in here but it's just the two of us.

How he got me convinced to do this was beyond me.

I giggled watching him sing both Troy and Gabriella's parts at the same time. He used his man voice for Troy and pitches it higher for Gabriella. I shook my head as I took a bite from the pizza while he tried reaching a high note by Gabriella.

Just then, he stopped in front of me while singing the last lines of the song, "You know the world can see us in a way that's different than who we are."

I was about to clap, my hands were already prepared to give out a one person applause. But I couldn't applaud him. He looked so serious when he sang that last line even if he smiled at me. His eyes expressed some kind of remorse, regret even, as they stared right into mine. It was as if he meant what he just sang.

The TV roared an applause from the movie. That was my cue to start applauding him loudly. Charles seemed to snap out of it as he began his goofiness again. He bowed and blew flying kisses to his invisible audience. I was his only tangible audience but he didn't blow any kisses in my direction.

He took a seat right next to me before grabbing a slice of pizza. He gobbled it up immediately and finished it within mere seconds. I playfully pushed him as I continued eating mine one bite at a time.

"You have to admit you enjoyed that," he teased as he took another slice. "Fun to have someone around eh?"

I rolled my eyes, "I enjoyed that and I would've enjoyed that even if I was doing this by myself."

"Come on, you're no fun, Iris!" Charles whined once again. "Admit that you had fun with me. You used to say it so blatantly!"

"I'm not saying it," I stated, hopefully making him frustrated. I didn't know teasing him like this was fun, but he's right. I did have fun with him and I did use to say it straightforwardly. I didn't know I could have fun with someone I just met personally but already knew for quite some time.

"Well," Charles began as he leaned his head at the back to look at the ceiling. "This is the most fun I've had for a long while."

I looked at him. I watched as his eyes fixed themselves to the void on the ceiling. It held a thousand of unspoken thoughts and feelings. He never shared them with me. He would always tell me that he could handle stuff by himself. I've always admired how strong he was for handling stuff on his own, but then again, I wanted to remind him of something. He never had to handle stuff on his own at the first place.

My gaze shifted towards the TV which was now showing the footage of the cast singing "We're All In This Together." It was the only sound that filled between the silence Charles and I created.

"What's on your mind?" I heard Charles ask from beside me.

"I should be the one to ask you that," I retorted, earning a slight chuckle from him. I didn't take off my gaze from the TV.

"Pretty sure this is all weird to you," Charles remarked as I felt him scooted closer to me. "Especially because I'm already a person from your past who's coming back to your present."

I remained silent. I wasn't sure how to respond. What he stated was true but I didn't want to say that. He might be just one of the people that I already left behind with my past, but at times, at most random of times, he would still come out, his memories would still bug me. I would still be reminded of him.

As if he was never a thing of the past.

"Until when do you plan on staying here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I was thinking about it," he answered. "I was thinking about staying for a month."

"A month?" I asked, shocked with the duration of time he stated. "Why? Don't you have a job to tend to?"

"I'm on a leave," he simply answered. "I promise to help you with the expenses. I won't let you handle everything."

I narrowed my eyes to him, "How am I sure that you're not going to murder me in my sleep?"

With this, Charles laughed like he was a little kid. I was dead serious in asking that question. I couldn't decipher what was going on with his life because even if I asked, I was certain he wouldn't tell me. He liked keeping things to himself. I was sure he's still the same, given the fact that he ran away from his friends and told them nothing about his exact whereabouts.

"Why would I kill you?" he asked as he stood up, picking the empty containers of food we just consumed. I was left dumbfounded thinking about what could and would happen in one month between the two of us. It was scary but exciting at the same time. It was exciting to have him back but it was scary of what brand new attachment I might have with him.

"Besides," I heard him say as he carefully placed the empty containers into the plastic bags. "I don't have the capabilities to kill the Grim Reaper."