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When Charlie and Leo finally had their conversation, it commenced with a fair amount of yelling. That yelling then transitioned into screaming, which then turned into sobbing, and ended with a quiet finale of gentle whispers.
Charlie thought she had a fair idea of why Leo was so harsh about her lifestyle, and realized she was completely wrong. Leo was so sure he knew exactly how to solve someone else's deep rooted problems, and found out it was not his issue to solve.
In the present, Charlie was bundled in her bed. wrapped tightly in her boyfriend's arms, her thoughts way louder than the gentle hum of a Cobra Kai episode on the television in from of them.
"I know it's not my job now, Charlie. I know that now. But we're family, and as much as we hate it, I am going to stick to you like a booger, because I love you that much."
Charle wrestled her older brother into a bear hug, neither knowing who was really squeezing harder, but both understanding that this hug meant a new step for the both of them.
"I love you more than you know, Leo. Even when we don't really get one another, you are the one person I know I have."
"You look like you're thinking very deeply right now, and I know you can't think of anymore mohawk insults, so it has to be something else." Jacob murmured as he lightly pushed a few strand of hair away from her cheek to place a small kiss.
Charlie let out a girlish giggle as she turned her body towards him, wrapping her free leg around his torso and lightly tapping her nose against his.
"Just thinking about Leo," she mumbled as Jacob gave a small nod of understanding. "I'm happy we sorted things out, you know? It's never a good feeling when you can't talk to the people you love."
"Makes sense why I can't go more than twenty minutes without calling you then." Jacob joked as his fingers tickled up and down her arms. Charlie scooted even closer to him, as if an inch was too far away from him.
"Yeah, I really fucking love it when you answer the phone in that mohawk. It makes me super horny." Charlie lilted sarcastically as Jacob flipped away from her, ignoring Charlie trying to pull her boyfriend back to her.
Jacob let out a sigh as he caved, knowing that the moment he turned back to Charlie that she would kiss his nose.
Which she did.
"It's not that I hate the mohawk," Charlie moaned. "It just, I don't know. It doesn't look like you, like my Duck. I like when I get to kiss Jacob, and not Hawk."
Jacob didn't know why, but his heart swelled at her words. Maybe it was the way she said "my", or the fact that she genuinely wanted to kiss him, but this unexplainable feeling stared in his toes and made its way all the way up to his head, almost begging him to pull her in to him.
Jacob's hand lightly cupped Charlie's chin as he tugged her lips to his. Her lips never tasted like anything specific, but it felt like fucking heroin going through his veins. Something about the thought of, 'her lips are on mine and she's kissing me and i'm kissing her and i'm thinking so much' just made him crumble like marble.
"Did you know that I love you, Charlie Pierce? Like, I love you. Especially when you watch my face on a television with me." Jacob's lips brushed past hers as he opened his eyes to see a pair of green ones already staring back at him.
"I, like, love you more than you know. So much, that I stole some hot chocolate today when Ajay wasn't looking. Marshmallows?" Charlie questioned as she pressed herself out of his arms, tying her hair into a knot atop her head.
Jacob nodded and tucked an arm behind his head as his eyes traveled over his girl's figure as she waved and moonwalked out of the room. He couldn't believe she was still with him sometimes.
Jacob's eyes moved about her room, taking in her 'organized mess'. It really was a bare reflection of her; one one side, her door and a dresser decorated with more jewelry than he had ever seen, her plant corner covered in sticky notes with their respective names. One the other side, her full length gold mirror and the shitty television she had taken from someone's front yard. Then there was her writing desk, covered in so many papers that Jacob had wanted to read, but the order never made sense.
Atop her dresser sat a small green notebook. Jacob of course knew it was her journal, she practically mothered the damn thing. She was always showing him her story and poems and sketches from it, so much so that he had a few pages of his doodles to her. He couldn't really draw, so it was mostly sentences about his day or how she was awesome or why Jacob wished he was still playing Eli.
Jacob propelled himself out of the mountain of blankets to stand up, and found himself reaching for the notebook. As he sat back down, his fingers lightly flipped through the pages of the book, tracing her sketches and letters. Reading her work always made him feel closer to her. A smile tugged at his lips when he turned the page to a film photo of him and Xolo on set, doubled over in laughter.
She really was there for all of the important moments.
Jacob's finger suddenly got stuck between two pages. "What the hell?" He whispered under his breath as he tried to tug them apart. He slowly pried what looked like a sticker off, and suddenly realized it was probably there for a reason.
But his eye had caught his name written with purple ink in her smooth script, and common sense went out the window.
His eyes scanned over the page, finally finding the last thing she had written.
"6/02/21."
"Okay! Don't drink it right away, because I swear to god I just burned up half of my tastebuds and — fuck, you found it, didn't you." Charlie's smile dropped as she saw the notebook spread across Jacob's lap.
"Bug, I am so sorry, I shouldn't have even opened it up and invaded your privacy like that, I'm so incredibly—"
"You're not weirded out?" Charlie cut him off as she lightly sat down next to him, handing a surprised Jacob a hot mug.
Jacob shook his head. "W-why would I be weirded out? I'm more worried why you haven't screamed at me yet."
Charlie gave a small shrug. "It's not like I don't trust you. Just, in my head, I thought you wouldn't want to hear those things yet. I know we've been together for a while now, but there's some things that I still get nervous to tell you. Weird, right?"
Jacob chuckled as he scooted closer to her. "Not at all. I'm a fucking actor, and I get more nervous around you than I do on set. Weird, right?" He repeated as Charlie's cheeks flushed pink.
Charlie watched as he winked and took a sip of his hot chocolate, spitting it back up as he burned his tongue.
"That was seriously not smooth, Bertrand."
Jacob rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth.
"Tell me if this is smooth then, Pierce. I would totally brush my teeth next to you. I would even consider kissing you with morning breath, which I personally think shows that I actually, really love you."
Charlie quickly pressed her lips to his, the faint taste of chocolate lingering on his warm lips. Her free hand lightly twisted around the back of his neck as his hand moved up her thigh. Before it could go further, Charlie pulled away, leaving Jacob slightly breathless.
"That might be the most romantic thing you've ever said to me."
"Always here to keep you on your toes, Bug."
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soft!jarlie as i promised😌
also someone definitely predicted that he was going to find the journal in an earlier chapter and to that reader, you win all of my love!!! smart cookie
and damn y'all are HELLA ADAMANT ABOUT KILLING ME FOR THIS STORY ENDING SOON and since i am scared i wrote some extra chapters lmao i got y'all
love you guys so much!! stay healthy and informed <3