Nick and Charlie

Chapter 33

School. On a MONDAY.

What is this cruel world?

I slink out of bed, turning off my alarm and head into the bathroom. After a quick shower, I pull on a white singlet with my black, three-quarter sweatpants and a grey cardigan. I then put on my white vans and walk into the kitchen.

"Damn Charlie, back at it again with the white vans," Aug says, passing me a cup of tea. I roll my eyes.

I make myself some toast, sipping my tea and slathering the bread with butter.

I finish my toast and walk back into my room, getting my bag and packing my textbooks into it. After brushing my teeth, I get my phone off my nightstand and check the time. 8:04.

"Aug, we gotta go!" I yell out, walking into the kitchen to find dad in his suit, putting some dishes in the sink.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," he says, walking out into the kitchen. He takes off his glasses and wipes them on his shirt, then puts them back on. I roll my eyes.

We walk outside to dad's car and Aug calls shotgun, so that means dad is driving today.

We get to school at 8:15, 15 minutes before the bell goes. I decide to get my books out of my locker now so I don't have to get them later when Nicolas is probably going to be there.

I walk down the hall towards my locker, making sure to look around the corner just in case Nick is actually there.

I take my books out of my locker quickly, then make my way to the library, scanning the rows of bookshelves until the bell rings.

I head to English class, which, thankfully, Nicolas is not in. I walk into the classroom and slide into my seat next to Hannah, who is texting.

"Who could you possibly be talking to at 8:30 in the morning?" I ask. I peep at her screen to see that she is texting August; no surprise there.

I roll my eyes, watching my brother walk through the door with his head buried in his phone, then look up and see Hannah and his eyes light up immediately.

"No way, keep it one table length apart," I say to Aug, who rolls his eyes, sitting down in front of Hannah and turning around to kiss her. Have I mentioned it's gross?

"Alright class, I know it's first period Monday morning but that isn't a very good excuse for misbehavior," Dad says, walking into the classroom.

"Us? Misbehaving? Sir, I think you have the wrong class!" Patrick says, a look of mock horror spread across his face. Dad sighs, shaking his head.

"Patrick, you mean to tell me that you were not the one to start the strikes in my classroom, and it was actually another Patrick Cummins in a parallel universe?" dad says, and Des clicks his fingers.

"You can't trust those pesky parallel universe people," Des says, making dad chuckle.

"Anyway, it's time to learn about English!" dad says, and the class gives an enthusiastic groan.

I really hate Mondays.

...

"That little bitch!" May says, as I finish telling her what happened after formal.

"May, it's not the end of the world," I say, rolling my eyes and biting into my muesli bar.

"But Char, I was rooting for you!" Grace complains, exasperated.

"What about you and Brandon, huh? I didn't see you guys all night of formal," I say, and Grace rolls her eyes.

"We were there, we kissed, we danced, we had a good time, the rest is history," Grace says, turning back to me.

"This is a big thing though,"

"Grace, this is really not a big thing," I say, trying to calm down my friends.

"Has he spoken to you at all since?" Jane asks.

"He's tried, but I'm honestly so tired that I've given up and I don't want to talk to him," I say, unwrapping my sandwich.

"Yeah, you go girl, be an independent woman!" May says, high-fiving Hannah. I roll my eyes, willing myself not to face palm.

"Guys, it honestly isn't a big deal. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and change my books for my next class," I say, standing up and walking over to the bin, putting my rubbish in.

I walk through the cafeteria, keeping my head down. I just need to make it to my locker without anyone disturbing me.

No such luck.

"Hey Char, wanna walk and talk?" Will asks, falling into step beside me.

Will and I have always said that, ever since we were younger. Every time that one of us was feeling upset, the other would ask 'wanna walk and talk'. It was easier than the endless interrogation of 'are you okay?'

"Sure," I answer as we walk towards my locker.

"So how was your weekend?" Will asks, and I shake my head.

"It had nothing to do with the weekend," I say, opening my locker. Will leans against the one next to mine.

"What did it have to do with?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm just not feeling all that great towards Nicolas at the moment," I say, taking out my books for the last period of today.

"Oh. Well, he'll come around. Realize he has been an idiot, all that stuff," Will says, trying to get me to smile. I put on a fake one, just for him, but I know he can see right through it.

"Come here," he says, pulling me into a hug. I hug him back, glad to have my best friend by my side.

"Come on, let's go get a thick shake from the canteen," Will says, looping his arm through mine.

Will manages to persuade Pablo to give us free thick shakes, and then we walks me back to where my friends are sitting in the library foyer.

"Have a nice day, ladies," Will says, winking at me before walking back over to where I see Patrick is sitting with Des and a group of guys.

"Where did you get that?" May asks, pointing to my thick shake.

"From Will," I say, taking a sip.

"Lucky," Jane whines, and I try to smile, but I know it's not a true one.

...

I get excused five minutes before the end of class for a 'bathroom break'. I just wanted to get to my locker before Nicolas did. This whole avoiding thing wasn't too hard, but I don't know how many times I'll be able to have a bathroom break so close to the end of last period.

I get my stuff out of my locker, and the bell goes just as I am locking it shut. I walk out of school and towards dad's car, leaning against the hood while I wait for dad and Aug.

I get to drive home today, and once we get home I lock myself in my bedroom and go through Stars by Alessia Cara one more time, plugging in my headphones and singing along.

I finish my homework early, turning on to Netflix and pulling up Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

I laugh in all the right places, but no matter how hard I try, I still don't feel all that great.

Because in the back of my mind, I'm wondering what the boy next door is doing right now.

___________________________

Hey Everyone!

Back with another update. Hope you like it! I've attached a photo of Charlie's school outfit. 

I need to do a heap of homework for the rest of the day, but I hope i'll be able to update once i finish. 

Sorry this chapter is short, but as i said, there are going to be a lot of fillers before the climax, so no need to fret.

Thanks for all the love and support, i'm sending all of you MY love and if you have any questions, comments, or you are just up for a chat, leave it below!

DON'T BE A SILENT READER, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!

Happy reading :)