Charlie's POV
The sun was setting in Paris.
The plane had just landed and the sky was cast in shades of orange, pink and violet that faded into a deep blue.
I spent the entirety of the plane ride rereading 'The Fault in Our Stars' whilst the person next to me talked in his sleep and drooled on the right shoulder of his cadet grey hoodie.
This is why I refuse to sleep when I am in the presence of other people.
Miss Saunders and Vice Principal Kirke began to do a head count as we stood awkwardly in the waiting area. Ella was attached to Tom, after having to spend the plane ride two rows apart.
"My legs are so sore." Clayton complained from beside me.
"At least one's not broken." I retorted, standing uncomfortably on my crutches.
I should have just stayed home, then again, Paris is worth being uncomfortable for.
"Okay, if any of you need to go to the bathroom before we leave, please do so. First we will drop our things off at the hotel, then we will go out for dinner and maybe see a few landmarks." Miss Saunders announced.
I couldn't wait to see all that Paris has to offer.
I glanced over at Ryan, who was laughing at something one of his friends had just said. I didn't know how I felt about him, I mean, don't get me wrong, he's totally good looking. There's just the whole 'member of the football team' thing.
Joey wasn't the only one on the team who bullied me. In fact, the only one on their team who has never bullied me was Tom Barrol.
Ryan caught me staring, so I quickly look away.
We piled onto a bus that took us to the hotel where we was going to be staying for the rest of the trip. I looked out the window, admiring the city as it passed us by whilst Clayton went on about how Olivia kept texting him, wanting to get back together.
Olivia was nice when they first started dating, then she turned into a, well, a b-word. I advised Clayton that he was better off without her before continuing to admire Paris in all of it's evening glory.
The hotel was far grander than I expected, which lead me to wonder how much my parents paid for this trip.
We all waited in the hotel's foyer for Miss Saunders to retrieve hotel keys while Vice Principal Kirke spoke about decorum. "Please treat all members of this hotel with respect, don't make too much noise, and don't destroy the rooms which you will be staying in for the next few days."
Miss Saunders returned with a bright smile on her face and a stack of keycards in her hand. "Alrighty, let's get you all into pairs."
"Can we choose our roommates?" Ella wondered, winking at Tom.
"Absolutely not." Miss Saunders gave a warning look.
"Girls, come with me. I will be putting you into pairs while Mr Kirke puts the boys in pairs."
After Miss Saunders lead the girls away, the Vice Principal began to pair us.
"Ben and Tyson, here's your key."
I hope I get paired with Clayton, I don't know what I'll do if I am paired with some nincompoop.
"Clayton.....
you will share with.....
Ryan."
Clayton groaned beside me. He seriously hates Ryan, which is totally understandable. If Clayton started liking someone who once bullied him, I would feel the exact same way.
As Vice Principal Kirke continued pairing people up, I took at the interior of the hotel's lobby. It was quite rustic, yet splashed with a touch of elegance. Vintage chandeliers hung from the ceilings, and beautiful canvases of renaissance art decorated the walls.
"Charlie and Ace."
I looked over at the Vice Principal and furrowed my eyebrows. "Huh?"
"You will be sharing a room with Mr Caldwell."
I rolled my eyes and reached for the key.
"It could've been worse. You could have been stuck in a room with the kid who snored too loud on the plane." Ace said over my shoulder.
"Alright, now go and take your luggage to your rooms." Vice Principal Kirke gestured to all the luggage that the hotel worker had just retrieved from the bus and placed on one of the hotel's fancy luggage trolley's. "We will meet back down here in ten minutes so we can go to dinner."
Crap. How the heck am I supposed to carry my things if I can't even carry myself without crutches?
I groaned in frustration.
"Uh, Vice Principal Kirke?" I tried to call as he walked around a corner with a member of the hotel staff.
"If you need help with your stuff, all you have to do is ask." Ace said from beside me, reaching for his own luggage. Of course his suitcase was also black.
"I don't need help." I lied.
"Suit yourself. Pun intended." He slightly chuckled, starting to walk away.
"Wait." I sighed, deciding to swallow my pride.
"Yeeesss?" He turned around to peer at me.
"Can you help me?" I spoke quietly.
"Huh?"
"I said, can you help me?"
"What's the magic word?"
"Never mind." I sighed.
He smirked as he reached for my luggage. "Chill out, Charlotte."
A part of me wanted to punch him in the face again.
~
After having dinner, we arrived back at the hotel at around nine o'clock in Central European Time. I sat down on the bed and continued reading TFIOS whilst Ace showered.
I was still embarrassed from dinner.
Miss Saunders thought that it would be a good idea to order our dinner in French. When I ordered my food, anyone who understood the French language laughed at me. That's when Ace translated what I had said.
I ordered pig's testicles.
Yuck.
Of course, I didn't eat it. I decided that eating breadsticks was good enough.
"Whatcha reading?" Ace wondered.
"The Fault in our Stars." I responded, looking up at him. His damp hair slumped down over his face and he was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of red and white striped boxer shorts. His skin glistened beneath the hotel room's light. My eyes scanned the tattoos that were inked into his skin, and I noticed that he had a new one on his lower left ribs. I could tell it was new due to the redness that surrounded it.
I quickly looked away.
"The what in our what?" He says down on his bed and began drying his hair with a towel.
I put my index finger on the page that I was currently reading so I didn't lose progress when I looked over at Ace in disbelief.
I get that some people choose not to read, but in my opinion, they're making a wrong choice.
"The Fault in our Stars!" I sighed.
He had no idea what I wasn't on about. "What is it about?"
"It's about two teenagers who meet at a support group for people with cancer, and then they end up falling in love." I summarised it shortly.
I could have described it to a much greater detail, but it's not like Ace was actually interested, he probably can't even read. He was clearly fishing for boring small talk because he had nothing better to do.
"Sounds majorly depressing." He responded.
"It is. Especially at the end, makes me cry every time."
"Wait, you've read it before?" He shifted, resting his annoying face in his hand as he perked up.
"Of course."
"Then why are you reading it again?"
"Because it's my favourite novel!"
"That's depressing." He sighed.
I continued to read when he threw his wet towel at me.
I pulled the towel off of me and threw it back at him. "What the heck!?" I snapped.
He laughed.
"Why did you do that?"
"Cause I'm bored." He groaned.
What is he, a child? Play a game on your phone if your so bored!
I rolled my eyes and shook my head before attempting to read again.
"So.... Ryan?"
I sighed, bookmarking the page that I was on before sitting the book on the nightstand. "What about him?"
"You got a crush on him."
"I don't know."
"I think you do know."
"Just shut up and go to sleep." I quipped, getting ready to go to sleep.
"Can you read me a bedtime story? I feel like that would put me to sleep."
I rolled my eyes, turning off the lamp on my nightstand.
"Once upon a time there was a nerd." Ace said through the darkness.
"Shut up!" I snapped, turning over to face the wall on the opposite side of him.
"But the story only started!"