I give Dr. Ashe a small smile as I walk towards her.
I'm not surprised by her crisp grey pantsuit and plain black heels. But I was surprised by the fact that she wore her hair down instead of the usual neat updo.
"Hello Alana, you look well." She comments as I fall in step beside her.
"Thanks so do you, I like what you've done with your hair. Did you get low lights?"
"I did. You're very observant Alana."
I nod and walk into her office to take my usual position on the couch. Then our session starts. I tell her about my frustration with Sarah, the weird tension between me and Serena, my panic attack, and more about the times that I've hung out with Grant this week.
And Dr. Ashe just nodded and recorded it all, not offering any insight. She usually waited until the end of our sessions to do that.
"I'm glad to see that you're finally making progress." She finally says after a long dramatic pause.
"Progress? What progress? I still don't get along with Sarah. Serena and I hardly talk and I had a panic attack at school."
"Yes, those are some interesting complications but I'm more concerned with your attempts to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. The panic attack was triggered by your fear of being judged by those around you and the fact that you've pushed yourself too far too soon."
"What are you saying?" I ask.
"Alana, it's not news that you have a social anxiety. You've told me several times about how uncomfortable you feel meeting new people and being around big crowds of people. And contrary to popular belief, it's not always best to just throw yourself into a stressful situation to face your fears. You should be doing it in baby steps."
Baby steps.
"You did right to push yourself to have lunch with Grant, but maybe you should have done it in a more private or less crowded space. Does what I'm saying make sense?"
"Yes." I had to take things slower so that I didn't overwhelm myself. "Do you think I should go to that exhibit next week and Charlie's party?"
"I don't think the party is a good idea. The exhibit might be okay. You seem to be comfortable with Grant, and it's not like you would be pressured to talk to a whole bunch of strangers. Those kinds of events are usually very relaxed and tasteful, I think you should go to that."
I nod and let that sink in. "And what about tonight? Charlie wants to hang out, but I have no idea what I should do?"
"I don't know Alana. Go to a place that you would feel most comfortable. "
I felt the most comfortable at my new room at the Queen house, but I don't think Miranda or Oliver would be okay with that and I don't want Charlie to get the wrong impression either.
"Okay."
"I also think it's a really good idea for you to take up piano. It's nice that Mr. Queen is willing to teach you. I'm sure it will be a great bonding experience for the both of you." She adds.
"I'm actually looking forward to the lessons, and it's strange. I've never really been that interested in learning until I heard him play."
"That's how things are sometimes, I hope that it all works out for you. Do keep me posted on how things go with you tonight and at the exhibit next week. You do know you can email me right?"
"Yes, Dr. Ashe."
She nods and puts her keyboard back onto her desk. "Then I think that concludes our session for today."
"What about my meds?"
"You haven't really reported any unusual side effects. The medicine might be taking well, we'll talk more about it when you come back in two weeks."
"Okay." I stand and let Dr. Ashe lead me out of her office and back into the lobby where Miranda is waiting.
"I'm done." I say as I approach her. She looks up from her magazine and waves to Dr. Ashe.
"Oh good. How did it go?" She tosses the old magazine back onto the table and we head back to the car.
"It was good. She says I'm making progress but I need to be careful not to push myself too far to soon. She says I need to take baby steps."
"Yes, of course. Well I'm happy for your sweetheart. Are you hungry? We can go grab a bite to eat before I drop you off for your shift." She offers.
"No it's fine. I need to get back to the house to pick up Charlie's birthday gift. Dr. Ashe doesn't think it would be a good idea for me to go to his party, so I guess it would be best to just give him his present tonight."
"Ah yes, Charlie. Where are you two planning on going again?"
"I don't know. Somewhere nearby that won't be too crowded. It is a friday night. Any suggestions?"
"There's a miniature golf course that's not far away. That place usually doesn't have too many people there unless there's a tournament or some other special event. Oooh and there's this little theatre that shows these vintage movies, most of them are silent but still fun if you're into old classics."
"Thanks. I'll text him and ask if he's willing to do any of that." I shrug.
By the time I reached the car I got a response from Charlie.
5:27 PM: I'm down for whatever. You choose.
5:28 PM: I don't want you to be bored. Is there something else you would rather do?
5:30 PM: Alana seriously. I just want to hang out, I don't care what we do.
5:31 PM: Are you sure?
5:31 PM: Yes
I sigh and let my head fall back onto the headrest. "I guess we're going mini golfing."
"You don't sound to excited about it."
"No it's fine I'm just. He said he doesn't care what we do, but I don't want to bore him to death. I still want to have him as a friend by the end of the night."
"I'm sure everything will be fine." Miranda pats my leg and gives me that smile, the one that just made you feel like everything was okay. It was easy to see how Oliver fell in love with her, she could make anyone feel better even in the darkest or tensest situations.
That is, when she wanted to.
After Miranda takes me back to the house and lets me wrap up Charlie's gifts she drops me off at the Palace. I caught myself looking for Grant behind the baker's counter, even though by now he was probably getting ready to go to the lacrosse game.
I tried not to think about how odd it felt since Grant wasn't there. It wasn't the first time that I had to work a shift that he wasn't working too, but it was the first time that I actually missed his presence.
But as my shift nears its end I start to feel nervous. I had never been around Charlie in person for more than ten minutes or so, and texting and calling wasn't the same as in person interaction.
I just don't want to screw up my friendship with Charlie. He's been really nice to me, although that might change if he found out the truth about me.
I'm startled by a hand that tapped on my shoulder. I spin around, and Charlie's towering over me with a huge grin on his face.
"Why so jumpy Alana?" He laughs and pulls me into a hug.
"People don't usually sneak up behind me and start touching me."
"Ugh, you make me sound like a creepy perv." Charlie takes a seat at the empty booth I just cleared and leans back to rest his head against the cushion.
"Well maybe you are a creepy perv."
Charlie's smile widens. "I guess you'll find out soon enough won't you?"
I look over my shoulder so I could see the clock above the cash register. I had ten minutes left before I needed to clock out.
"I guess so. Did you want anything while you wait?" I ask.
"Mmmm can I have some water?"
"Sure, I'll have one of the waitresses bring a glass over to you." I quickly walk to one of the nearest girls that were working and asked them to send Charlie a glass of water.
Then I hurry and clear my last two tables before heading to the bathroom to change out of my uniform. I slip into my ripped jeans, black over-the shoulder top, and my new favorite baseball cap. I walk towards Oliver with my clothes in a work bag and knock on his office door.
He grants me permission to walk inside, and when I do, I he's sitting behind his desk typing away on his computer with his glasses on. When he sees me standing by the door, he stops to give me his undivided attention.
"Charlie's here. I just came to let you know that I'm about to leave."
"Where did you decide to go and when will you be back at the house?" He asks calmly, although I can detect the worry in his voice.
"We're going at the miniature golf course across town and I should be back no later than 11. Charlie has to be back at school by curfew at 11:30."
"Do you need money?"
"No, I've got it."
"Is your phone charged?"
"Yes, sir."
Oliver sighs and gestures for me to come closer. "You can leave your things over there. I'll take it home when I leave."
"Thanks."
"Be careful Alana. Call me or Miranda if you need us."
"Yes sir." I answer calmly. Maybe if I acted like I wasn't nervous he won't be so worked up.
"Alright. Have fun. I'll see you later."
I smile and give Oliver a quick hug before grabbing the big black gift bag that I had stuffed in the corner of his office for safekeeping. When I return to the booth, I see that some girl has walked up to Charlie.
I don't want to interrupt so I stand at a safe distance and wait. But it doesn't take long for Charlie to notice me.
"Wow, you look great and...is that for me?" He points to the gift bag and I shrug.
"No, it's for my dog Moonshine." I shake my head and offer him the bag. "Come on Charlie, who do you think it's for?"
He takes the bag and lifts it up and down, getting a feel for it's weight. The girl he was ignoring decides to stand there and glare at me.
"Well, I've got to get going. Maybe I'll see you around sometime?" She says as she grabs a napkin and scribbles down her number with a pen that she pulled from her very nice, very expensive looking purse.
"Yeah, maybe." He answers. But he doesn't look up at her or at the napkin she pushes towards him, he's too interested in what's in the bag.
"You want me to open it now?" He asks. His brown eyes look up at me, his face serious and unsure, which is just weird. He's acting like he's never gotten a birthday present before.
"It's your gift. You decide." He grins like a child on Christmas day, as he quickly pulls out the tissue paper.
"I know it's not a rolex or an ipad or anything but-"
"Alana stop, all of this looks great." He pulls out the zombie coffee mug and cereal bowl and nods appreciatively. Then he pulls out the Beacon Hills Jersey I got him.
He laughs and shakes his head, "Really? You girls and your obsession with Teen Wolf."
"Soon to be your obsession too." I add with a knowing smirk.
"What? Oh no you didn't...Yup you did." He pulls out the box sets of the first three seasons.
"You'll thank me later. Trust. Now look there's one more thing in there for you."
He reaches for the small black box that had sunk to the bottom and pries it open. "No way! A Beyonce bobblehead."
"You told me that she was your celeb girlfriend and that you collect bobbleheads so I thought you might like it."
"No I don't like it. I LOVE it! This is amazing, I'm shocked you even remembered that. Most people don't care about my collection." Charlie jumps up and pulls me into a tight hug.
"Happy Birthday Charlie." I manage, even though he was holding me so tightly I could hardly breathe.
"You're amazing. Thank you." He whispers.
The hairs on my arms stands on end, and a chill runs through me. And all I can think is how much I hope he didn't notice.
He pulls away and looks at me oddly for a moment. "Wait, this doesn't mean that you're not coming to my party tomorrow does it?"
"Charlie, I seriously can't go. It's really not a good idea."
"Alana! I came out here to convince you to come and you've already made up your mind."
"Can I explain on the way to the golf course? I still want to hang out."
Charlie's brown eyes search my face before he sighs. "Yeah, let's go."
He carefully places his gifts back into the bag and we walk out to his red sports car. A porsche.
Of course he was driving a Porsche.
"Nice car."
"Oh this? Yeah, she's the first car I ever got."
"You have more than one?"
"Yeah, I just have two. This one and my Aston Martin."
Of course.
He opens the door for me and closes the door behind me then walks around to climb into the driver's seat.
He must have picked up on my unease because he says, "Don't get all weird on me now. They're just cars."
I wasn't going to comment further on it, because I had quickly learned that talking about his family and their immense wealth was a sore topic for some reason.
"Sure. Do you need me to pull up the directions?" I ask.
"No, I know where the place is." Charlie reaches for something in the backseat then sits back in his seat.
"Here, I got this for you."
He holds out a small basket of candy. All my favorites too: KitKats, Twix bars, Sour Patch Kids, and lemon heads. My smile fades as I begin to remember yesterday's dream.
"Why?"
"I remembered you telling me that you had a sweet tooth. I thought you might to munch on something while we chill." He shrugs and quickly pulls out of the parking spot.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Now you can snack on that while you explain the real reason you don't want to come to my party." He says as he makes a sharp turn at the light.
I rub my right temple and look down at the assortment of candy. How was I supposed to explain all of this to Charlie without making him want to run away from me afterwards?
This was going to go downhill fast, I just knew it.
A/N:
Say hello to Charlie everyone! Isn't he gorgeous? I'm actually really jealous of Alana right now. It's funny and sad at the same time.
Lol, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And stay tuned for the next update which is coming tomorrow! And I really think you'll like it. I had a ton of fun writing it and there is just some cute stuff!
But until then comment and let me know what you guys think. I feel like there is about to be some major division among some of you in regards to who you like to see Alana with more. And because I'm curious I'm going to do a quick check.
Tell me whose side you're on. Team Charlie or Team Grant.