Charlie

Prologue

"Charlie, please stay in line with the rest of us," Miss. Acosta shouts. Charlie, who was only six, smiles and takes her place behind her best friend. The kindergarten students were walking to the playground together for recess.

"What do you want to play today," Charlie asks. She taps her friend's shoulder and he turns around quickly. He thinks only for a moment before responding.

"Pretend, you're very good at pretend."

Charlie smiles. Andrew, her best friend, always complimented her and always put her first. Charlie enjoyed the special treatment she got from him.

They feel a car drive-by beside them and move to the side. The way to the playground involved walking along a sidewalk near a semi-busy road. Miss. Acosta had complained that it was too dangerous to have 27 six-year-olds walk that close to a road, but it always fell on deaf ears.

"I like your hat," Charlie says. She points to the hat seated on top of Andrew's head. She thought it looked nice with his dark-brown skin. He smiles and thanks her.

The pair talk quietly, only stopping when Miss. Acosta glared at them. They weren't supposed to talk while in line, but Charlie liked talking and it was too hard not to talk for her. It became even harder when Andrew was near her. She could talk to him forever and not grow bored.

A gust of wind picks up next to them and Charlie watches as Andrew's hat becomes flimsy on his head. She frowns, but does nothing about it. She hoped his hat didn't fly away. It was a nice hat. Another breeze blows through and the hat flies off his head.

Charlie jumps, immediately going to run after it. She wanted to do something nice for her friend. He was always doing nice things for her and she figured it was her turn. She runs, unknowingly, into the road and smiles as the hat falls at her feet.

She feels something hit her and she goes flying. Charlie lays on the ground the pain too intense for her to move. "Charlie," Someone shouts. It's faint, but it's still there. She tries to sit up and move, but she can't. Her head is pounding and she wants to cry.

"Honey, are you okay? Oh god, oh god, I hit a kid, oh Jesus. Sweetie wake up, please wake up." Charlie tries to tell her that she was awake, but she couldn't move. The woman's hands were shaking her gently.

She wants to cry as the pain becomes more intense, but she can't. The only thing she sees are the clouds in the sky. If she focuses, she can feel the asphalt beneath her. "Get away from her! Someone call an ambulance!"

The hat. Charlie wonders if they caught Andrew's hat. She tries to reach out and grab it, to see if it was around, but she can't feel her hands. The throbbing in her head is getting harder and she wants her dadda.

"Charlie!" The voice is familiar. Her mind is groggy and she can't place it well, but it sounds like Dadda's. She can feel the familiar hand on her arm and she softens in its grip. Her dadda was here. Dadda's won't let anything bad happen to you, she tells herself.

"There's so much blood, how do we... how do we stop it?" Blood? She had an ouchie? Dadda would kiss it better, right? Charlie lets out a whimper as her headache hurts her even more.

"The EMT's are here. Please move and let us do our job sir." It becomes harder for her to breath. She is scared. Where was Dadda? Why were so many people touching her?

"Harry, something happened. Get in your car, pray, and drive to St. Joseph's. I don't have time to explain." Charlie becomes frightened as the clouds start to blend together. The sky was supposed to be blue... not white.

"She's flat-lining!"

After a moment, her headache started to grow faint and she could almost move. Charlie was too young to know what was happening, but she welcomed the feeling of easiness. She was enveloped in a feeling of warmth... almost like a hug.

The hug was mix of two arms, one belonging to her father, but the other was less familiar. She hasn't felt the arms in a long time. She realized who it was after she her grandmother's voice says, "It's okay Darling, Grannies got you."

Charlie looks around, realizing she can move now. She's relieved and stands, her head still hurting, but not as much. Her grandmother was standing in front of her. She hadn't seen her grandma in a couple of months. She smiles as she notices the familiar shade of blue in her eyes. The color was so much like her dadda's.

Her grandmother stretches out her hand and Charlie takes it, glad she could see her. She missed her grandma more than ever. Charlie notices how intense the white is ahead of her. It hurt her eyes, but in a way, it was comforting.

"Charlie!" She stops, wanting to turn around. Grandmother moves her head so she couldn't turn. Jay saw what the scene looked like. It was too gruesome for Charlie's innocent eyes.

"This way, Darling." Charlie stops again as she hears Dadda call for her.

"Dadda's calling me. I need to go see what he wants," Charlie demands. Charlie didn't understand why the woman wasn't letting her go back. She would be in big trouble if she didn't go back to Dadda. He and Papa always got mad at her when she ignored them.

"I promise you'll love it here. Grandpa Robin is here too. Would you like to see him?" Charlie is distracted at the promise of seeing her Papa's Papa. She was told she wasn't going to be able to see him for a long time, so the idea of seeing him made her thrilled.

Charlie nods and is guided into the bright white. Unknowingly, leaving the world behind her forever. 

~_~_~

Hey guys! This is the prologue! I'm so excited for the story! It's going to alternate between Louis and Harry's POV (I'll be writing Louis' POV, while my friend writes Harry's) throughout the rest of the story. Thoughts? Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! ~B