the choice • charlie conway

chapter six

If I had a dollar for every time I get mad when my alarm wakes me up in the morning, I'd be living somewhere like the Maldives.

Like usual, I press snooze. I can't deal with anything before seven in the morning unless it's important.

My snooze goes off five minutes later, interrupting the peaceful sleep I had just fallen back into. I groan and bury my head underneath my pillows, because I'm not awake enough to deal with today. After a few minutes, I hear someone yelling my name, so I take my head out from under my pillows and yell back. "WHAT?"

"Sadie turn it off already!" Morgan yells from the bathroom. "I can't listen to it anymore. It's been going for the past two minutes and it's giving me a headache."

"Sorry!" I call back to her before grabbing my phone and turning the alarm off. I sit up and stretch, before turning to see Charlie passed out on my bed.

He's laying on his stomach, with his hair messy and his lips slightly parted. He looks so peaceful, and I really don't want to wake him, even though I know I have to.

I shake him slightly, but he doesn't move. I try again, but nothing changes. If I knew he was this deep of a sleeper, I would've thought twice before letting him spend the night.

My only other choice is to use noise. I unlock my phone, search "Minnesota Wild Goal Horn", and turn my volume all the way up. I hold it to his ear and press play. He immediately shoots up with wide eyes, and I can't even begin to attempt to hide my giggles.

"Jesus Christ Sade!" he exclaims breathlessly, running a hand through his messy locks. "You actually just scared me half to death."

I shrug and try to regain my composure, but I fail miserably. "You weren't waking up. That was my last resort."

Charlie rolls his eyes in response, but I can tell he is trying to hide the smirk that's threatening to form. He knows he can't be mad at me.

We hear a rustling noise, and turn to see Ella just waking up. As usual, she doesn't look happy, rather like she wants to punch something. For some reason, that makes me laugh more.

"Good morning sunshine!" I'm somehow able to get out through my giggles. She sticks up her middle finger at me and walks over to the bathroom, but she can't get in since Morgan is still in there.

Ella turns to me, with an annoyed expression evident on her face. "If she doesn't get out in the next five minutes, I swear I'm going to kill her."

I get up from the bed and gently place a hand in her shoulder, hoping it would calm her down. "Relax El. She's just getting ready."

"I need to get ready, and so do you. And I'm not feeling the best, so if she doesn't hurry up I swear I will break the door down."

"And I think that's my cue to leave." Charlie interrupts. He walks over to us and gives me a quick kiss on my head before turning to Ella. "You'll be alright El, just relax. Do you want me to tell Adam to get you the stuff that you need or will you be okay?"

Ella's gaze softens and she actually gives Charlie a real smile. "I'll be okay. Thanks for the offer though, I really appreciate it."

Charlie returns the smile and gives me one more kiss on my head before walking out of our dorm. Right as the door shuts behind him, Morgan comes out of the bathroom, completely dressed and looking like she just walked off the latest issue of Vogue.

I do a little wolf whistle and Morgan smiles, spinning around to show off her outfit. I run over to my dresser and grab some clothes, walking into the bathroom that is now free. I put them on and unlock the door, allowing Ella to come inside to do her makeup.

Once we all are ready, we grab our bags and walk into the hall. We then meet up with some of our teammates and walk from the dorms to the locker room, which is inside the main building.

When Ella, Morgan, and I walk out of the locker room, we see Charlie, Adam, and Dean waiting for us. Charlie's arm immediately goes around my shoulder, and we start our walk down the hallway towards the main intersection.

As we are walking, I see Linda staring at me and Charlie. Her gaze makes me start to squirm, because she isn't even paying attention to what her friend is saying to her. She is completely focused on looking at me and Charlie.

Charlie notices that I keep looking behind me, so he rounds the nearest corner and gently places both hands on my shoulders. "Is everything okay Sade? You seemed so distracted just now."

"I'm fine." I respond with a shrug. "It's just that I saw Linda staring at us, or more like staring me down."

For a split second, I see anger flash across his eyes. But then it's quickly replaced with annoyance. "Don't sweat it Sade. I haven't thought about her since before we started dating. You have absolutely nothing to worry about, and I mean it."

I go to respond, but the bell rings, cutting me off before I could talk. Charlie gives me a small kiss on my forehead before leaning in and whispering in my ear. "Meet me at the library at six-thirty for some studying. Maybe after, I'll convince my mom to come pick us up so we can eat at the diner instead of here."

I nod and give him a quick kiss, before we part ways to first period. I notice some freshmen girls glaring at me with jealousy, so I smirk as I walk by them.

As I walk down the halls towards my first period class, I can't help but feel excited for the night I have ahead of me.