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after simon was taken away by the police, jenna immediately felt sympathetic for the nears girl. despite rhonda's disapproval, she wanted to see how maddie was doing. taking a seat on the grass, jenna laid next to the blonde, staring out into the night sky in silence.
a few moments later, charley approached, laying down aside jenna. "heard you were out here." he muttered, "rhonda and wally told me about simon.. said i should come find you."
"let me guess, they're still too pissed to come find us themselves?" maddie remarked dryly, not bothering a second glance.
"at me, maybe. not at you guys. how are you feeling?" charley inquired, concern evident in his voice.
the blonde sighed, "my best friend just got carted off for helping me solve a murder i can't even remember. how do you think?" she questioned bitterly.
"powerless. shitty. alone.. you're not the first person here who's broken something they can't fix. we all have unfinished business." charley gently explained.
"does your unfinished business have a name?" jenna inquired, her brow furrowed skeptically under the moonlit sky.
"emilio. only, you know him as mr. figueroa." charley responded, his voice carrying the weight of memories.
"i fell fast. to me, emilio wasn't just from another hemisphere, he was— he was from another world." he began to explain, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon as he sat up, "emilio was everything i wasn't. confident, magnetic. he used to say i got all the shit for being gay and none of the joy. he thought if i just came out, you know, to everyone, it'd be different. and then.. one day my parents asked me, in front of him, why i never dated anyone.. and so, um, he told them about us." charley's voice trailed off, laden with emotion.
"he outed you.. to your parents?" maddie sat up, her disbelief echoing in the quiet night air. "holy shit." jenna's breathed out, her eyes widening at shock at his claim.
charley sighed, recounting the past with a heavy heart, "ah, he was convinced they already knew. maybe they did. all i know is that i was furious. mm. and i wrote him this mean, terrible letter. and i dropped it in his locker the next day.. and then tried to drown my feelings in a plate of french fries. the worst part was, um, watching emilio find the letter. i told him that i never loved him and i never wanted to see him again. just my luck, he became a teacher here, because um, now all i do is see him and just— and just wish i could take back those words."
"i'm sorry, charley." maddie offered sympathetically. jenna remained silent, reflecting on her own experiences. the memory of what happened to her still haunting every thought.
