Chapter 41
"C'mon, El, this is easy. Even little kids can do this," Charlie says, making me feel a lot more terrible than I already do. He pushes the pen towards me.
I take it, scowling at him for insulting me. "Jerk," I mutter, trying to figure out the answer.
"Sodium chloride and water," he answered for me, since I gave up. "Neutralisation is basic stuff, El. How are you gonna fair during finals if you can't even do this?"
I lay my head on the table and close my eyes. Charlie flicks my nose, like the immature prick that he is. I turn my head the other way, so I that I don't have to look at him. He sighs and I open my eyes, brows furrowed.
"Okay, what's wrong? You've been acting grumpy this whole tutoring session," he noted, poking the back of my head. "Don't get me wrong, you're not a ray of sunshine either. You know what I mean."
I stare blankly at him, not sure of his point.
"Did you screw up your, uh, date with Andrew?"
"I never told you about that!" I say, giving him the stink eye.
Charlie doesn't meet my eyes and he bites his bottom lip nervously. "Just a guess," he replies timidly, which is really unusual for him.
"Sort of," I sigh, "I accidentally hit my glass of sparkling water. It spilt all over the table."
"At least, no one got hurt."
"It also dripped straight to his pants..."
"And..?"
"It made it look like he--"
"You idiot!" he yells as his laughter echoed in the room. And, as if that's not enough, he's banging his fist on the table too. "God, Elouise! Have I taught you nothing?"
I slap his arm, glancing at the other people who are trying to teach their peer. I smile apologetically at them, mouthing, "Sorry." Then, I turn to Charlie and I frown. "We're leaving."
After quickly packing up, we left the room in haste--I least, I did. Thankfully, his cackles slowly reduced to low chuckles. I really was glad that Charlie quietened down, but that didn't mean I wasn't annoyed at him. I thought that by admitting the fact that I messed up, he was going to give me something positive to look at. Instead, what did I get? Embarassment and shame.
Thanks a lot, Charlie.
As we walked home in silence, I briefly debated on whether or not I should put on my headphones. But, I thought better of it and just didn't bother. Glancing over at Charlie, I realised he was already staring at me with a goofy smile. I rolled my eyes. "Stop it," I warned, bumping him with my hip. "You're making me feel stupid."
"That's because you are," he retorted, eyes alight with cheekiness. "But seriously, what happened after?"
"Well, I said we could have a redo date."
He smirked. "Perhaps redo dates will be your always," he said, once again bursting out into hysterics.
This time, I swapped slapping him for shoving him. He stumbled back, but he didn't lose balance like I had hoped.
"Stop it, Charlie!" I shouted, my face red with irritation.
He didn't, so I just forced myself to walk faster. When that wasn't enough, I buried my hands deep in my pockets and contemplated putting a whole road between him and I. It was my best bet at the time.
In a flash, I went to go cross. I wanted to get away from Charlie as fast as I can. He was being an ass and he knew it. As I walked, I realised I did something wrong. You know what it was?
I forgot to look both ways.
"Elouise!" Charlie suddenly yanked my whole body backwards. I went flying to his chest, as a honking car whizzed past. "You really are an idiot!" he scolded. "What if I didn't pull you in time? What happens then, huh?"
"I-I don't know."
"Don't you watch road ads? YOU LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE YOU CROSS."
His face looked so aggravated, it scared me. I went to pull away from him, but that only made him tighten his hold on me.
"Just don't do that again, alright?" he murmured softly. And then, he hugged me, like really hugged me. It was warm and comforting; it was a real hug from Charlie. "You can't just die on me."
Though, I was just standing awkwardly with my arms glued to my sides, my whole body began trembling. "Damn, we could star in an action movie now!" I remarked, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Of course, the fact that I was physically shaking in shock didn't change. I saw a hint of concern in Charlie's gold eyes.
"You don't say?" he replied, sarcasm lacing his voice. However, I noticed that he was searching my face for something, maybe scratches. I couldn't really know for sure.
As we laughed quietly, relieved smiles on our faces, I politely asked him to let me go. He retracted his arms so quickly, he almost gave me a whiplash. And then, we resumed our journey home. We fell back in step, only this time, I was more cautious and Charlie was nicer. To my surprise, he slowly held my hand in his.
I raised a brow at him, but he only shrugged.
"Just in case you decide to repeat that little stunt you pulled." I nodded, ignoring the warmth that spread on my cheeks.
Charlie had warm hands, while mine were probably icy. It wasn't even that cold. So, I just shook my head and let it be.
When I arrived home, Mom appeared at the door. She had the biggest smirk on her face, so I assumed she saw the holding hands thing. Instead of telling her to stop creeping, I just gave her a lasting hug. "I love you, Mom," I said, refusing to pull away.
Mom studied my face with concern, her dark eyes scanning my face. "I love you too, Elouise. But, what's this all about?" she asked.
I just smiled, not wanting to tell her about the me-almost-getting-hit-by-a-car incident. "I just realised I didn't say it enough," I replied.
"Oh," she said, and then, she changed the subject. "I see Penny's point now."
"What?"
"Charlie," she stated.
"What about him?"
"He's...never mind. Go on, just do your homework."
I went upstairs, as she wished, but not before sending her a questioning look. Sitting on my mattress, I pulled out my books and set about with doing my homework. I lasted about two hours before giving up. Instead, I just paid my good friend, Netflix, a visit.
~
"Stop it, you are a terrible singer," Penny comments from the other side of the bathroom door.
My singing halts and I blush bright red. I'm glad she can't see me.
"What? It's not like I tell you to shut up when you sing along to Fifth Harmony!" I say defensively. I hear her giggling.
"Ain't no wifey," she replies, trying to sound the least bit getto.
"Oh, god."
Swinging the door open, I laugh so much my stomach aches. Her face goes beat red, but I can't help myself. She's done accents before, but normally, they sound half-decent. This one is just plain horrid.
"Say it again!" I manage to blurt in between giggles. "Come on, its not like I didn't hear."
Penny crosses her arms, staring me down in a weak attempt to save her dignity. "You're just jealous that I have a better singing voice than you."
"True, but at least I don't run around pretending to be from a hood."
"Hey, I just haven't practiced it as much!"
"Sure," I say with a smirk. "You know, that's probably the dorkiest thing that's ever come out of your mouth."
Her mouth drops and I use my index finger to close it. "We've talked about this, Pen. Close your mouth, I don't want to smell your breath."
Before she can retaliate and claw at me with her manicured nails, I scurry off to my bedroom. Once I secure the lock, I smile victoriously to myself. And then, I mutter, "Love you too, Pen!"
* * *
Hiyya there, dear reader! :)
It's Monday here in Australia, and believe it or not, I'm posting at not two in the morning! I mean, I finished it yesterday at like 1am, but I thought I'll just post it today. :)
This chapter is dedicated to @ShadowHunter666 :) Thank you so much for reading and voting for this story!
Multimedia Weekly:
- a photo of Eli's blonde twin
- Ugly Heart by GRL (not sure if I've put this song on a previous chappie, but oh well)
The next update will be a Christmas special. Christmas will be finished by then, but you know, just keeping up the holiday spirit. :)
Thank you for reading! Please VOTE, COMMENT, and SHARE to show your support! c:
Kk, bye now.
J~