𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐂.𝐋

𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯

3rd ツ

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that night, charles ignored the many calls coming
from his home phone, he ignored the tasks his dad assigned him, and he went straight to his car keys.

driving to harley's house was quiet, but once he had arrived - he turned his music on, and watched as she got up from her porch, holding her bag and walking down her lawn. he opened the door from her, pushing it open and she got in, shivering from the cold and turning to him.

he gave a nod, and she did the same before speaking up. "you have the keys, really?"

"really." he confirmed, and from there, the boy began driving off. they didn't speak much in the car but it wasn't bad, it was a comforting type of quiet, and once they pulled into the parking lot right beside the football field, he turned his car off, getting out and making sure that they both locked it.

walking side by side really showcased just the height difference, it wasn't crazy though it was something. charles stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket, leading harley to the locker room door and once he did, he unlocked it, softly
opening it and allowing her in first.

he closed the door behind them, turning the lights on. "where is it?" harley asked, she had set her bag down and glanced to charles who pointed to the back - walking there.

ollie's locker was right beside his, and as they neared it - he opened it for her. somehow, he remembered the combination. oliver had trouble opening his locker everyday, and that resulted in charlie opening it for him.

harley didn't think to question it, opening the locker she studied inside, seeing some cleats - a family picture taped against the side, and most importantly his notebook.

charles watched as her eyes widened, taking the notebook, and his eyes averted to the family picture that he would often find himself staring at, back before ollie passed.

harley wore a jacket representing newpoint football in the picture, her hair was much longer and she seemed very cold in the picture.

"is that all you need?" charles asked, and harley turned to him, watching him closely. he towered over her now, she had to stare up and with the book in hand that charles was now looking at.

"yeah. i found this." she nodded, charles to her now and he nodded. as they walked back to the car the silence was now discomforting, to harley at least.

she wished he'd go back to being a jerk so openly, and now she knew exactly why she never reached out. not only did being alone with charles feel wrong, it felt good. which was incredibly terrible.

they entered the car, and charles drove calmly, pulling into the parking lot of the pizza parlor just down the street from his place. "i'm hungry." he spoke, leaving the car.

they sat at a small, two person table across from one another. charles' knees brushed up against hers and they said nothing, but felt it.

they awaited their food and once the waitress brought it, smiling faintly at both of them, they thanked her before taking their plates.

charles ate without a plate, he held his pizza and stared at the radio before turning to harley.

"what's the book?" she was silent for a minute, glancing down to the book and shrugged.

"i haven't checked."

he reached for it, and reluctantly she handed it over. "i'm nervous."

"you nervous?" he glanced up to her and she tilted her head, frowning back at him until he sighed, opening it up.

lots was in there. oliver talked about his performance in school, football, his family, and most importantly his day to day doings before he passed.

he wrote about harley's stupid antics, and charles handed back the book before reading too much. he cleared his throat, harley anticipating him to say anything, and he went back to his pizza.

"chasing your brother around with a butter knife?"

"oh my god." harley groaned, now reading every page closely. as she got to the last one, she read about his day. about his favorite place to hang out at, to eat, the last movie he saw in cinemas, and his latest scores on tests.

her heart sank at the very last page, dated a day before his death. the page was a little crumpled and oliver wrote about getting into many altercations at school with lucas green.

she closed the book, and set it aside, along with her pizza.

it took a few minutes for charles to notice the discomfort, and he glanced around, his eyes stopping when they met hers. her eyes were a big glossy, and he grabbed a box from behind.

"i'll take you home, harley."

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