I woke up in my bed and stretched. I had gone to Annalise and Ashton's house after lunch at Daniel's house. Father left again, and I didn't know when he'd be home. The weekend was the best. I spent the majority of it with Daniel, trying to finish the forsaken project. Finishing the project never really happened; we ended up cuddling on Daniel's floor and watching Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It was a perfect way to end the weekend.
But now it's Monday and I have to go back to reality. I slid out of bed and walked quietly into the bathroom to shower while Annalise made the three of us breakfast. I jumped as Ashton pounded on the bathroom door, and I quickly scrambled for a towel and opened the door a crack once I was covered. Ashton looked pissed, like he always does when he first wakes up.
"You're taking too damn long, Charlie. I need to pee." Ashton muttered. "And lover-boy is in the kitchen with Mom." He added. What? Daniel's here?
"God, move you Beluga whale!" I grunted as I shoulder Ashton out of my way. I heard Ashton chuckle and he probably shook his head at me. I threw on my clothes and pulled my hair into a sloppy braid before waltzing into the kitchen. Sure enough, Daniel was there, talking to Annalise as Mary was in the corner devouring her banana bread. I laughed softly as I made my way around the island and to the coffee machine and poured myself a cup.
"Enjoying it, Mary?" I asked; sipping my cup of smooth, pitch black coffee. She nodded and smiled at me, scooting closer to me.
"Yup, are we on for girl’s night tonight?" She asked, breaking off a piece of uneaten bread and shoving it in my mouth. "Your mom is a cooking god, by the way." I laughed and ate the piece. Mary was something else. Daniel ended his conversation with Annalise and walked over to us. He looked incredible, to put it modestly. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and skinny blue jeans. His hair was tousled perfectly and framed his beautiful brown eyes nicely.
"Good morning, beautiful." He said in a low, aching voice as he pinned me against the counter top. I smiled at Daniel as he placed his lips on mine for a good morning kiss.
"Danny, what are you doing here?" I whispered as I pulled back.
"I came to take my beautiful girl to school. And possibly on a dinner date as well?" He asked. I sighed and shook my head as I looked at Mary.
"No can do, Weston. We've got a date night." Mary said smugly. Daniel sighed and pressed his forehead against mine. "Besides, you and Ash have practice. Baseball practice should be out by quarter after four, so you two should have a guy’s night." My eyes widened and I smiled.
"Yeah, my two favorite boys can have a date night!" I exclaimed.
"It's not a date night; it's a guy’s night." Daniel mumbled. I grinned and pecked his lips lightly.
"Thank you, Daniel." I said softly. Daniel smiled back at me and wound his thick arms around my waist. "What is taking Ash so long? He'll be late, again."
"I'll go get him." Annalise said, grabbing a broom from the corner. Mary and I chuckled as we heard a very girly scream come from Ashton followed by a, "What the hell, Mom. I'm naked!"
"Get dressed, Ashton Richard Robertson! And it's not like I've seen my son naked before!" Annalise snapped. By now, Mary was rolling on the tiled floor, dying of laughter, and I was clinging to Daniel for support. Daniel looked at Mary and me like we were deranged hyenas. Ashton came out in his usual black skinny jeans and plaid/flannel shirt. He looked grumpier than when he first woke up. Mary stood and skipped over to him and pecked him on the lips.
"Morning Ash, you look yummy." She said. Mary was never one for whispering. Ashton smiled at Mary and wound an arm around her shoulders, leading her back over to us.
"Well, you never told me you had a boyfriend, Charlie." Ashton said, leaning down and kissing my forehead. I screwed up my nose and shook my head, leaning into Daniel more.
"Not boyfriend. We're...Complicated." Daniel said as he slowly rubbed my back.
"Then make uncomplicated and ask my sister out." Ashton said, giving me a look.
"I won't let him." I mumbled into Daniel's neck. "Come on, we'll be late."
We drove to school in three cars; Mary's, Ashton's and Daniel's. I was nervous about walking into school with Daniel, and I practically broke a few of his fingers as we neared the front door. Daniel stopped us and placed his hands on my shoulders. I was chewing on my lip and had managed to make myself bleed a little. Daniel raised his hand up and thumbed away the small beads of blood.
"Beautiful, why are you so nervous?" Daniel asked, pulling me closer to him. I threw my arms around his waist and pressed my face into his shoulder.
"Peyton," I mumbled. I stole her freaking boyfriend, and he was okay with waltzing into school with me on his arm. I sure as hell wasn't. Daniel sighed and tightened his grip on me, kissing my forehead.
"Beautiful, don't worry about Peyton. I'll protect you, no matter what." Daniel mumbled into my hair. "Come on, I wanna show you off." Daniel pulled away from me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we walked into school. Almost immediately, all eyes were on us and the whispering broke out. I pressed closer to Daniel and hid my face in his shoulder. I didn't like this one bit. I felt like they were judging me. Daniel leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of my head and murmured everything would be alright. I believed it because I had to. We walked to my locker and grabbed everything. I switched out my sunglasses for my real glasses and smiled when I could see Daniel better. He looked at me with those deep brown eyes of his and I instantly felt better. Daniel closed my locker door and pressed me up against it and kissed me softly, taking all my worries away.
I don't know how this wonderful, attractive, sweet and caring man can find me even remotely attractive. But he does bruises and all. And I'm so grateful for that.
Daniel moved himself between my legs and deepened the kiss by tilting his head to the side. My hands flew up and cupped his cheeks, pulling him closer to me. Wow, this was bold move for me, PDA in a school that practically hates me. But with Daniel, I was safe, and everything melted away. Daniel pulled back and smiled at me, running his hand down my hair.
"You are so beautiful." He mumbled. "And I'll tell you that every day, I promise." I smiled and pecked his lips softly.
"Come on, we'll be late for class." I giggled as I took his hand. Daniel laced our fingers together and we walked through the halls, like a couple would. We passed some of his friends, since we had about five minutes before final bell would ring, and Daniel pulled me over to meet them. They were nice, but I had a feeling that they were putting on a show for Daniel. There's one friend though, I knew he wasn't putting on a show or anything because of this; he wasn't a jock, he wasn't cocky. He was the male version of me, except, no bruises.
"Charlotte, this is Westley. West, this is Charlotte." Daniel said, giving me a reassuring smile. Westley offered me his hand and I shook it gently, smiling at the guy.
"This is little Charlie from elementary school? She's changed, Weston." Westley said, smiling at me. I cocked an eyebrow up and looked at Daniel. What was this guy talking about? I don't remember him from elementary school.
"What? We went to elementary school together?" I voiced. Westley and Daniel smiled at me, holding back chuckles.
"Yeah, I was supposed to graduate next year, with you and Mary and Ashton. I skipped a grade." Westley explained. I chewed on my lower lip as I tried to remember him. Why did he seem so familiar?
"I'm sorry, but I don't remember you, Westley." I mumbled. Daniel and Westley chuckled at me. I was so flipping confused right now. What in the hell was so funny. "Mind telling me what's so funny?"
"Will this help?" Westley asked, grabbing a pair of large, square, thick glasses and slid them onto the bridge of his nose. Oh. My. God. I remember him now.
"Westley," I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him. He was my "boyfriend" in kindergarten because everyone thought people with glasses should be together. Westley hugged me back before returning me to my overprotective Daniel. "God, you've changed since elementary school!"
"So have you, cutie. Who would have thought you'd be the one to call Mr. Track Star yours?" Westley chuckled and started to walk towards class. I bit my lip as Daniel squeezed my side.
"Danny and I are complicated." I muttered. "He's not officially mine."
"Oh." Westley said.
"So, do you have someone to call your own?" I asked, smiling at him. Westley grinned and grabbed a picture out of his back pocket. I recognized this kid! His name is Portman Johnson. He's in my Calculus class.
"Aww, West, you two are too cute to handle. I love Portman! He's a great friend of mine." I said happily, reaching over and hugging him again. Westley laughed and hugged me back.
"So, you and I should hang out some time; maybe reconnect over hot chocolate with my kindergarten girlfriend." He suggested.
"Hell yes!" I exclaimed. "How about we go out tomorrow after school? Our boys can join us once they're done with their after school things."
"Sounds great, Charlie. See you later." He said, going to his AP Biology course. Daniel pulled me closer to him as we passed Peyton and her little clique. I felt their cold stares at the back of my head as we strode past them. My chest felt tight, like I was going to have a panic attack. But I had Daniel, and he was trying to anchor me to his words. I'll protect you no matter what. That's what he said. I believe him.
The first two blocks of the day passed by so quickly. We watched The Adventures of Tom Sawyer all through English and during our free period, Daniel and I went to the library and made headway on our papers. Now it was lunch time, and I had it with my favorite people in the world; Mary and Ashton and Westley. I placed myself between Westley and Mary as Ashton passed me the lunch Annalise made us. The four of us talked and laughed and caught up over food. It was wonderful. I looked across the lunch room and saw Daniel and Peyton. Daniel looked impassive towards his Ex, while Peyton on the other hand, looked like she was trying to get him back.
Peyton reached out and grabbed my Daniel's face and smashed her lips onto his. Daniel placed his hands on her hips and pushed Peyton away from him. Daniel said something to her, and almost instantly Peyton got mad. She stormed away from Daniel and over to our table. Peyton grabbed a fist-full of my hair and pulled me from my seat. I really didn't register what was happening, but shit hit the fan.
Peyton wound up and slapped me full force across the face and started cussing at me, calling me things that were similar to what my father called me. I tried moving away from her, but she kept advancing towards me. I could distantly hear Mary growling and thrashing against Ashton so she could beat the shit out of Peyton, but thankfully she was restrained. Peyton wound up again and punched me in the stomach, making me feel nauseous. She punched me again in the ribs, three times actually, before she was pulled away. The whole lunch room was silent as I sunk to the ground and watched Daniel bend down and pick me up. Ashton let Mary go and the two of them, plus Westley, stood.
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I sat on the plastic covered cot in the nurse’s office, surrounded by Daniel, the nurse and Annalise. My face was fine, but I puked up what little lunch I ate into a bucket, and I had two bruised ribs and one cracked one. Daniel sat behind me with an arm wrapped around the lower half of my abdomen to support me. The nurse saw everything my father did to me. She wanted Annalise to notify DSS and the police. She didn't have a choice this time. It was her duty as a professional. I leaned into Daniel as the nurse and Annalise moved to a corner of the room.
"I'm sorry." He whispered into my ear. "I didn't know she'd do that." I placed my hand over his and squeezed it gently.
"It's okay Danny. I'm fine. Just hurts to breathe." I mumbled, kissing his cheek.
"You know that Annalise has to call DSS now, right?" He mumbled. I nodded and closed my eyes.
"I know. I hope they don't make me leave." I whispered. Daniel pressed his lips to my forehead and tightened his arms around my lower waist. He didn't say anything, but I knew what he was thinking. He didn't want me to leave either.
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Hello lovelies!
I've updated a little out of order! But don't worry. I will work on a new update for one of the other three soon. So I have a meet today. I'll be leaving at 1:45 pm my time and probably won't be home until later. Tomorrow I have work from 9:30 until 3:05. Probably won't be home till four since I'll be with my mom and then I have to go out again and won't be home until quarter of ten my time.
So, how are you guys? Good I hope? I forgot my uniform in my sports locker, so I hope the locker room at school is unlocked, b/c if not, i'm screwed. I got so much freaking chocolate for Easter! I am a happy girl! I saw my cousins on monday and boy, the oldest of the two is aquiring an attitude. The baby has just learned how to cry, and he can cry, lemme tell you.
Who ships Chaniel? Thanks to malkakateri4ka for coming up with the ship name! Don't worry, more drama to come for Charlotte!
Lots of Love,
DoctorWho