| 29 |
❝ I may be a disappointment, but at least I'm not as bad as a Percy Jackson movie. ❞
THE LAST DAY of school had arrived, finals over, the summer just beginning.
Charlotte had found her last note tucked in her glasses case, and when she looked at Teddy accusingly, he just smiled.
Theodore's tutoring and Malcolm's intelligent insight and Shane's over-optimistic cheering all piled up until she poured it all onto the nerve-wracking paper... Which she passed.
Charlotte, Malcolm, Shane, and Teddy had made a pact that they'd celebrate their survival of the school year with a bang. When Charlie wracked her brain for places huge nerds would love to go to, what was a better idea than Comic Con?
They were staying at a hotel for two nights with a decent car ride to and back. Charlotte had only ever heard of Comic Con, the place where fans of anything, really, went as their favorite characters and purchased cool shirts and posters and got pictures taken and photos were signed. She'd never been. Skylar went like a maniac, every new event popping up, she was there. One year she got a picture taken with Karen Gillan. Spencer even tagged along to a few events.
All of the parents agreed, and Skylar nearly forced Charlie to invite both her and Spencer.
Now, the gang was increased to six. Teddy reluctantly agreed to drive them in his ratty old car, Skylar and Spencer riding in Sky's Jeep. The plan was to shove all of the crap they were bringing into Skylar's car, and everyone would pitch in some money for their stay at the Marriott Hotel that was nearby the building Comic Con was being held. It was brilliant.
•|•|•
Charlotte slept the whole ride to the hotel.
She couldn't help it; a soft, soothing oldies playlist was thrumming through Teddy's cranky car. Her head rested against Shane's muscular shoulder and she felt her eyes droop, the familiar sign of surrender. Charlie was so exhausted, and half of the time she didn't even realize it. Bags under her eyes, pimples across her forehead and down her nose, her eyes bloodshot. She had been tossing and turning for nights.
Charlotte woke up to the glorious smell of chicken nuggets and maple syrup.
Drool was oozing from her lips and her hair was a matted nightmare. She sleepily reached for the tray of McDonald's 24/7 pancakes from Malcolm, who had become the passer-outer, as Teddy fiddled with radio stations.
She patted Shane's shoulder a bit, wincing at the drool that had escaped.
A low grunt escaped her mouth as she yawned, a fork in her hands. Charlotte sloppily cut her pancakes as the compact car bumped and jolted down the road. She recalled the other night's conversation as they were in Teddy's basement, Shane wearing earbuds and Malcolm and Teddy heatedly arguing.
"No, I say we all do Harry Potter," Teddy said with a glare. "I go as Harry, Charlie as Hermione, Shane as Dumbledore, and you can be Ron."
"No, I still say superhero," Malcolm responded fiercely. "Charlotte as Black Widow, me as Spider-Man, Shane as Iron Man, and you can be the Flash, since you're so obsessed with that show right now."
"I-I'm not obsessed," mumbled Teddy, staring straight ahead on the television.
"What're you guys talking about?" Charlotte drawled, looking up from her book.
"What we're cosplaying as for Comic Con," Teddy confirmed, his smile still upturned. "We're thinking Harry Potter, superheroes, book characters in general, maybe Parks and Recreation-"
"Hmm," Charlie agreed, and Shane rolled his eyes next to her, silently mouthing "nerds".
Shane was out like a light in the car, his face relaxed and his chest expanding with each breath. His ruffled, longer hair fell into his eyes.
Teddy and Malcolm began bickering again over costume ideas (even though their costumes were already planned and bought), their voices raising so they topped the radio. "No, I am not squeezing into a pair of black skinny jeans or wearing and Edward Cullen mask..."
They arrived at the hotel twenty minutes later than Skylar and Spencer, who had already checked in, as well as brought everyone's suitcases in. They were apparently waiting for the crew at the front lobby.
The car grunted to a stop and everyone shakily stepped out. Charlotte wiggled her toes in her sandals and slowly twisted her back, her body aching from being in that cramped space.
Skylar and Spencer met them in the lobby, as expected, surrounded by their trip's luggage. Charlotte grabbed her rolling suitcase by the handle and began to drag in down the silent halls, a grin creeping onto her face. Hotels were always so pure, so fresh, so exciting. She could picture herself in a musical, sliding down the glimmering floors, leaping from table to table, synchronize swimming in the elegant pools, jumping from bed to bed.
When they approached the room, Shane looked like he was about to wet himself.
"I love hotels," he whispered under his breath.
Everyone else was fairly eager about this as well. They had all stashed away candy for the couple nights, and Skylar brought all eight of the Harry Potter movies, as well as 17 Again
There was two beds, one that Spencer and Skylar called, and the other Shane immediately pounced on, and seeing the look of pure joy on his face, no one stopped him. Malcolm called the cramped couch.
Preparing for this outcome, Charlotte had brought sleeping bags, one for both her and the other lucky person who would end up on the floor with her.
Spencer picked up a pizza from a nearby pizzeria, and Skylar inserted 17 Again into the DVD slot. Charlotte changed in the shiny bathroom, wearing a green dinosaur onesie.
She concluded it was nice to have friends.
Charlotte had never had friends before, had not needed them or wanted them. Once Teddy cane into the picture, Teddy and Malcolm and Shane, she had never known what to think of it. Usually it was just Charlie.
Just Charlie.
But she supposed this wasn't bad, the laughing and joking and fooling around, her face tensed from smiling so much. The year had gone by so fast. For some odd reason, it felt like it had just started.
She crawled into her warm cocoon (sleeping bag) and leaned her back against Skylar's bed, Teddy resting his against Shane's. She glanced at him as the others laughed about a joke said on the television.
Their relationship was strange.
No one was the Backbone, the Bold in this . . . this . . . kiss and tell. Charlie didn't have guts and neither did Theodore, no offense to him. Between the two, they couldn't actually speak up and say something, even though Charlie was nearly eighty five percent sure that they were both on the same page.
They continued as friends, but there was the occasional too-long Deluxe Teddy hug and skim of the fingers as the duo walked side-by-side.
She felt an anchor weighing down her heart and she blinked, snapping herself out of it and turning her attention back to the screen, just as Spencer walked through the door with four boxes of pizza in his hands.
She had only taken a few bites of her pizza, being swept in the movie. Charlie found herself whispering under her breath, reciting the lines subconsciously with ease. That was the problem with Charlotte. She became too invested in things. Too attached, too involved, too, too, too.
"I'd never seen anything so perfect," she breathed out, her heart thumping as she looked at her present company. "I remember thinking that I had to have you or I'd die."
"Why don't you just watch the movie in silence and listen to the actors?" Teddy asked her in a hush.
Charlotte blinked back tears, watching Zac Efron walk out of the room once and for all. "What?"
"Why do you quote the movie instead of listening to it?" he repeated, scooting closer to her.
Charlie paused when he asked her this, his blue eyes wide and unfeigned. Why did she does that?
"Just listening to something on loop forever will sure get you to like it, yeah," Charlotte found herself whispering back, over the melodic song in the background that made a soft tear slip down her cheek. She quickly brushed that away. God, why was she crying? She's seen this movie twenty times. "But when I recite from it, maybe I feel as if I'm a part of the movie too. I'm confessing my love for the main character, or maybe I'm telling my dramatic backstory about how I'm a homeless orphan, or perhaps I've got spider senses . . . what's to like about something if you don't get into character?"
"I like how you think, Charlie Jackson," he muttered, a grin on his face. " . . . If I love you, then I should let you move on."
Her palms were sweaty and sticky, her heart malfunctioning. She shakily had another bite of pizza.
•|•|•
Comic Con.
Everyone had planned on the group costume diligently a few days after they decided Comic Con was the place to be, Skylar ordering them the tickets then as well.
The alarm clocks at the hotel awoke them bright and they collected their costumes, Charlotte heading to the bathroom first and slipping on her gear.
"Goddamn," said Teddy, stepping out of the bathroom in his patriotic suit. "That's scarily good."
Charlotte beamed at him, swishing her red cape.
Once everyone was ready, they squeezed into Teddy's car, Spencer and Skylar once again taking the jeep (why couldn't one of them have owned a minivan or something, geez). It was a short ride to the magnificent building holding Comic Con, laying the midst of skyscrapers and whizzing cars. Charlie glanced at it in awe, a line looping around several blocks, people waiting to get it.
They finally found a parking space in a parking garage, all of the other spots taken, and they marched along the musky garage, feeling surprisingly powerful in the cotton jackets and leather pants and flowing capes.
Charlotte swung her hammer around a couple times, tucking her blonde wig under her ear.
She stepped into line, behind a group dressed as Disney characters Sadness, Gogo, Rapunzel, and Tiana.
"Wow," Charlotte whispered, and she noticed Shane straighten his back.
Gogo turned around, armed in a leather jacket and chewing bubble gum. Her hair was cut choppily, black and purple colored. She eyed their cosplay. "Cool."
Rapunzel turned around, nervously braiding her long, blonde hair. "Oh my God, that's so cool."
"What is?" Tiana asked, turning around and glancing at Malcolm, Teddy, Charlotte, Shane, Spencer, and Skylar, all of them standing awkwardly and smiling at the comments.
"Oh," Sadness exclaimed, her (blue) jaw dropping a little bit.
"Hi, I'm Shane," Shane said (presumably grinning under his mask, sticking out his metallic hand to Tiana. "Er, Iron Man, I mean."
"I'm the Hulk," Malcolm grinned, his pearly whites shining, holding out his green, veiny arm to Gogo.
"Ahh," Teddy murmured, glancing at Charlie. "I'm—I'm Captain America, I guess."
"He's Hawkeye, I'm Black Widow," Skylar grinned, jabbing her thumb towards a meek Spencer. He gave a little wave.
"I'm Thor," Charlie contributed, looking down as she fiddled with the hem on her cape. "I guess that's pretty obvious. Gogo, Tiana, Sadness, and Repunzel?"
"Mhm," Sadness replied, twisting her blue hair around her finger.
This is awkward, Charlotte thought, tightening her grip on plastic Mjölnir.
"Whoa!" someone behind them exclaimed. Charlotte took a deep breath and prepared herself for the glorious monstrosity that was Comic Con.
•|•|•
"This is really itchy," she groaned to Teddy as they walked down the hall together, scratching at the wig.
"Do you think I love these tights? No," he replied. "I wonder how Chris Evans does it."
"Honestly," Charlotte laughed. So far they'd gotten a collection of posters, Charlie got knee-high cat socks, and she got a Slytherin scarf whilst Teddy got a Gryffindor one.
"This is cool," Teddy said, his eyes grazing the cosplayers amongst the convention.
"Very," she agreed.
"It'd be strange to see Thor and Captain America holding your hands, don't you think?" he said abruptly.
She blinked. "Well, I—I mean, someone probably ships them. I don't know anyone who does, maybe Skylar. She always has weird ships. I think she shipped Barry and E—"
He slipped his hand into hers, looking straight ahead. Charlotte blushed.
"I don't think it's strange at all," Charlie replied, a small smile on her face.
•|•|•
Back at the hotel, Shane wanted to check out the indoor pool. The rest agreed wholeheartedly, except for Charlotte, who made sure to grab a book from her suitcase (she always came prepared).
She sat herself on a woven beach chair beside the deep end, took a deep breath, and opened her book.
"CANNONBALL!" Shane screamed before leaping in, his knees tucked to his chest.
Charlotte screeched as the water reached her chair and shielded her book with her chest. "Are you kidding me?"
"Sorry, Charlotte," Shane said, shaking his wet hair like a dog.
"I'm going back to the room to read," she announced.
"I'm going too," added Teddy, who had just awkwardly been standing with his shirt still on, a towel draped over his arm.
"Okay, we'll meet you up there," Skylar replied, diving in after Shane.
Charlie gave her a thumbs up and plodded down the hall, heading for the elevator.
"Hey, Charlie, wait up!" Teddy called out, jogging after her. She stopped and closed her eyes.
Right now, she could care less which way they went.
She loved being best friends with Teddy. He had the warmest hugs, the greatest handshake, the happiest smile, the best laugh, the most soothing voice.
She could get all of that in a boyfriend, but at the same time, she could lose it.
She walked into the elevator, a mother and father along with their two girls leaving, the one with square glasses eyeing at Charlotte and Teddy as they swapped places.
She pressed 'three' on the panel and held her book to her chest, waiting for Teddy to speak up.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She was silent as the elevator stopped on the second floor, an elderly couple walking on.
Adjectives flew through her mind. Was she okay? Exhausted. Emotionless. Careless.
They reached their room and Charlotte slid the key card into the door handle.
"Charlotte, Charlotte I'm serious," he persisted, his hand reaching her shoulder. Her breath caught in her throat, quickly opening the door and walking inside. She gathered her pajamas and speedily changed in the bathroom. Her heart was heavy and her eyelids were drooping.
She walked over to the bed, holding in a deep breath, exhausted.
"Charlotte?" he asked, following her.
"I've had this continuous metaphor about your eyes," she stated, picking at her stumpy fingernails, not able to look into the very subject of the metaphor. She was on Shane's temporary bed, pulling the covers over her head so she didn't have to look at him. Her voice was muffled. "It's... It's actually kind of stupid now that I think about it, but it stuck."
"A metaphor? About these old things?" he asked. Charlie peeked from under the covers to see him lifting his glasses so they combed his black hair back, a few pimples dotting his forehead. His forehead then wrinkled and one eyebrow curved like a square root function graph. "That's new."
She felt a blood rush. "Shut up."
He closed his eyes and calmly smiled, close-lipped, content. A deep sigh. A rolling wave.
"I just always thought: the ocean. Dark blue. Raging. Your eyes are frantic and stormy, ice cold or soothing, good days and bad. Rushing out and dragging others in, as w-well," she stuttered, the words tumbling out of her mouth. "I feel like the earth. Waves crashing against my side, crumbling, wearing m-me away, watching the mesmerizing force along the sidelines, occasionally c-colliding. Every time I look into your eyes, I feel a chill. The ocean meeting the earth."
His eyes were open, and he looked different without his glasses balanced on his nose. His cheeks looked puffier, and she could see his eyelashes nearly curling far enough to touch his eyelid. Charlotte could see his freckles much clearer, dotting his cheeks and slightly traveling up his nose. Charlie could tell that his nose was slightly crooked, and she saw the ghost of a tiny dimple on his chin. With the glasses, he looked like a childish seventeen year old. Without his glasses, he looked like a lost boy.
He had been silent, probably pondering why this strange girl that happened to entangle herself into his life was creating strange metaphors about his eyes, eyes, that were nothing but things she saw out of. Eyes, the objects that let her scrutinize every aspect of the Lost Boy, his glasses crooked as they rested like a crown on his head. Eyes, the objects that let her gawk at his eyes, ironic how that was. His eyes, so memorable that she had woken up from a dream with those eyes stuck in her mind, unable to shake off the thought.
Teddy gulped, breathing in deeply and letting everything out. "Really?"
"Every single time," she replied without hesitation. It wasn't a lie. She probably should have made up a lie, as that was a slightly creepy statement, but it had been said.
"You're good with words, Charlie," he responded slowly with.
She blinked. "You're just saying that."
"No, I'm not," he said, sitting on the edge of Skylar and Spencer's makeshift bed.
"I stumble a lot and it takes me twenty minutes to actually spit out a sentence... I tend to use run-on sentences a lot and I never know when to stop and they just keep going on and on forever, a really bad habit of mine. And sometimes I'll stutter if I talk to people. Or you. And ramble. See, that made no sense," she grumbled, swallowing before she bravely continued. "I'm horrible with words."
"Maybe you're bad at speaking, yeah," he shrugged, flipping his glasses down back into his face. "I am too. I think everyone is, at some point in their life. But you sure know how to make me feel important."
"I..."
"You know, when Violet first got into the accident, I lost a lot of sleep. I couldn't, I'd just draw and draw and draw, sometimes writing and ranting and lose track of time. I looked like a raccoon, my eyes had rings around them and they'd just randomly twitch sometimes. I decided there was no way to fall asleep anymore, so I just figured I could apply for a late shift at Dunkin' Donuts, maybe make some money."
"And then I come in," Charlotte butted in.
He grinned. "That night I went home and actually slept, thinking about the girl with the golden brown eyes. When you kept coming in, I could care less about the lack of sleep I was getting. It killed me when you were nearly in tears each time I saw you. And then you called me, sobbing and just a mess."
"You are my sunshine."
"So I quit," he responded. "I had more important things to do than make a couple bucks. Sleep being one of the reasons."
"And the rest of the reasons?" she asked.
"You said you could only sleep because of me, I could only sleep because of you . . . it was obviously a sign."
"Obviously."
Her legs curled up and she rolled onto her side, her breathing slow. "Thank you, Teddy."
She saw him, blurrier than usual, his head cocked to the right. "For what?"
But she was already gone.
a/n
i am trying to publish this book. i'm going to tell you all straight out.
i'm almost finished with the query letter, i've been working on that nonstop and finishing this book and my mom has been helping and she's had friends that have helped and in all, i'm very excited and nervous. it is highly likely i won't be able to publish the book traditionally, no matter how hard i try.
on another note, how was this chapter? it was surprisingly long, after SUCH A LONG WAIT. omg my apologies. this chapter is kind of a trainwreck tbh, all over the place. plus i've never actually been to comic con, so that may no be accurate. a huge thanks to my best friend dylan for helping me out with information on comic con!!!
did you like the end bit? comic con? their cosplay? the many references?
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO NegativeWriter26 EVERYONE WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY
one chapter left
i signed one of the shirts i made on zazzle for a fan [ you know who you are (; ] and it honestly was one of the best moments of my life. along with the FANMAIL i got?????? i absolutely love it so much. i am close to tears ever time i remember it.
apathy- THANK YOU FOR THE NOTE QUOTE TODAY hehe that rhymed
(speaking of rhymed, check out a poem i wrote for ANAD? the ocean met the earth? on "sophie's one shots"? thinkin of maybe putting it at the beginning of this book ?)
for christmas coming up, maybe put merch on your list? ask for a teddy hoodie, or an a note a day collage tshirt? we can twin! i might even be able to sign it (i know i am) (i have other stuff on there too) links— just look on my profile for them! zazzle and redbubble, sophie claflin/siriusly_fandoms YO ALSO CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO MAKE—YOU WANT A MALCOLM HOODIE, I'LL DO IT! YOU WANT A SHANE PHONE CASE, I'LL DO IT! YOU WANT A WATTPAD TSHIRT... (so do i i'm making that tbh)
dedicated to BubbleCloudUniverse who has made one of the most amazing fanarts i've ever seen in my life please just admire it everyone (i love it so much shruthi i'm not joking one bit i want to frame it on my wall)
thank you all for your comments, i am utterly in disbelief each time. especially the past couple chapters, over six hundred comments. oh my good lord, that's the most unbelievable thing in the world.
thank you all so much for the 150k and 10k votes and comments, you guys push me to my best potential, and you are the reason i think i could publish a book at fourteen years old.
i love you all
GOALS:
175,000 reads in total
12,000 votes in total
700 comments
*down by doddleoddle on side, love this song and it is charlotte in a nutshell. love it*