i'm afraid to get past this; {charlie&&open}

[Charlie Benette]

So I cry and I beg for you to, love me, love me, say that you love me. Lead me, lead me, just say that you need me. I can't care about anything but you...

[/i]

Charlie buried herself into Hector’s side and slowly closed her eyes. She could fall asleep right now, but any dream that she would have would not be able to match her already perfect reality. She looked at him through narrowed eyes.

“Mmmmm....tell me.”

She closed her eyes as he told his version of their story. She smiled sweetly, picturing the whole thing playing out behind her eyelids. Like a movie it went on. Happy beginning, middle and end. The best part, it was all in reach. It wasn’t like some game of house where they pretended how to play out life, like small children waiting to experience reality. This could happen. It would. Sooner than they would realize too. Time had already flown by so fast. It seemed like yesterday was last winter when Charlie and Hector were in this same park, only nailing each other with snowballs as close friends, instead of cuddling on the grass as lovers. And soon, this day would be a sweet memory.

Her eyes flickered lightly, small tears brimming in them.

“I like that version. You should write it down.”

Charlie sat up and wiped her eyes with a sniffle, quickly, trying to keep the sight out of Hector’s view. It wasn’t that she was afraid to cry in front of Hector, it was just that she didn’t want to put a damper on the moment.

She looked back at him, all fixed and smiled with another sniffle.

“I guess I could put it off.”

Appeasing him, she laid back next to him and leaned her head back on his upper arm. She tilted her head to look into his eyes.

“What are you gonna do this weekend? Are you working?”

She looked up at the tree. She followed each branch with her eyes, examining the beautiful colored leaves. She sighed. She wouldn’t mind if fall went on all year long. It was such a beautiful and comfortable season. Plus, it was football season and she could feel the energy that Hector was giving off from all the excitement. She loved watching him get all revved up for the games and she made it a point to be at everyone, even if she wasn’t suppose to cheer that night. Hector said when she was there, he felt lucky, so she never let him down, and was there every time to cheer him on.

Charlie looked over at him and smiled at him with a nod.

“If you want to. I just redecorated my room too, so if you want you can stay in there.”

Whenever Charlie wanted to redecorate her room, her father made sure she got a twin or full bed. They were just big enough for one, and it would be very uncomfortable for two, but then again, that was the idea. It wasn’t that Mr. Benette didn’t trust his daughter; it was the boys he didn’t trust.

You could never tell by looking at Charlie, but she once wasn’t so beautiful. In her freshman and sophomore year she was actually quite gawky. She had shoulder length blonde hair and thick rimmed glasses with braces and only stood at about 5’4”. But over the summer, something magical happened. Charlie had grown out her hair and it became lovely and cooperative. Her braces were taken off and her teeth sparkled. She also got contacts and grew 3 or 4 inches. All these small little changes made a large difference in her love life. Soon Mr. Benette feared his daughter might be the victim of some scummy boy and he vowed to do anything to keep her innocent.

Though her past boyfriends may have been in it for more, Hector only cared for what Charlie wanted. Mr. Benette, however, hadn’t caught up yet. He did though finally let Charlie get her old queen sized bed back, surely this meant he trust her?

Lately, I had desperately pondered, spent my nights awake and I wondered,
‘What I could have done in another way to make you stay?’ Reason will not teach a solution, I will end up lost in confusion. I don't care if you really care as long as you don't go.

Charlie ignore Hector’s blushing and kissed him.

“You look fine. Still very handsome.”

She took his hands in hers and swung them back and forth for a moment. She smiled after a moment and nodded in the direction of the road.

“Come on. We’ll go back to my place and take care of it.”

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[hector miller]

.HECTOR MILLER.
but i hope to find that personality,
that makes me feel happiness.

Hector grinned at Charlie; he loved when he was able to make an impact on her like that. He couldn't wait until the day when he could finally get down on one knee and propose to her - he knew that what they had wasn't just some high school fling, it was something real. It was the stuff people dreamed of, the stuff that successful marriages were built on. There was no way they were going to disintegrate like his parents, or like anyone else he knew of. They were strong, and they were going to stay strong, no matter what happened. He absolutely refused to let himself believe that every half of a high school couple believed this, and then things usually didn't end up working out that way. Unless Charlie suddenly fell out of love with him, or decided that he wasn't good enough for her, they were going strong. He couldn't think of ever breaking up with her or not loving her like he did now. God forbid anything happen like either of them die, or Charlie got pregnant in high school - like Xanadu and Napoleon's cousin, Rose, who lived with them after running away from home with her fiancee, Mike. He couldn't even imagine what that must have been like for the two of them to do.

"I should, shouldn't I? Let me borrow your laptop when we get to your house, then." Hector said, tapping her nose lightly with one finger. He leaned back against the tree again, and thought. His schedule at the garage was hectic, and he usually didn't find out until the day before if he was working that weekend or not, but his boss was a nice, easy-going guy who would understand if he couldn't make it in on such short notice. "You know Jer. He's so spontaneous, I have no idea if I still even have a job," he joked. Her next statement caught him off guard. She wanted him to stay in her room? She knew that nothing was going to happen, obviously, and if her father ever knew that he was staying over, he would either shit a brick or kill Hector. "You redecorated it? Again? What, do you go through room designs per month or something? God, you change it around faster than some people change their underwear." It was true, she was always changing something about her room. His own room had stayed the same for the last ten years, with only a couple of necessary things being added, like a bigger bed and a computer. Otherwise, it was exactly the same. He was still touching his face when Charlie took his hand and gestured to the road. "Well, okay. You have a kit or anything so I can fix my face? It's my best feature, you know." There he was, with the jokes again.

---

Status: COMPLETE.
Total Word Count: 481
Listening To: Quietdrive - Rise From The Ashes
Lyrics Used: Quietdrive - Handsome Devil's Benediction
Notes: None.

[Charlie Benette]

There's a fire inside of you. That can't help but shine through. She's never gonna see the light, no matter what you do.
And all I think about is how to make you think of me, and everything that we could be.

[/i]
As Charlie regained herself, she looked into the future. Some day all these things would be truth, they’d be life, they’d be real. For her to have to wait for something that was inevitable seemed so unfair. She wanted it now. All of it now. Charlie had never been a selfish person, but when it came to this, she wanted it all, now. She wanted to marry Hector now, to live with him now, to have his children...soon.

She looked back at him and nodded.

“That can be arranged.”

Before he pulled away, she grabbed his hand and held it in both of her’s. Then she kissed his hand several times, a sign of her devotion. She smiled for a moment, remembering when there used to be a class ring on his finger.

She remembered the day he took it off.

And I just wanna show you, she don't even know you.
She's never gonna love you like I want to. And you just see right through me but if you only knew me, We could be a beautiful, miracle, unbelievable. Instead I'm just invisible.

[/i]


August 30th, 2007.

Charlie looked up at Hector as he sat in her favorite oak tree. The tree was strong and ancient and despite all the storms they had had this summer, not one leaf ever seemed to leave it.

Her eyebrows crinkled as she squinted up at him, the sun in her eyes. He was carving something, something she couldn’t see.

“What are you doing to that poor tree, Mr. Miller? We’re supposed to be doing history homework.”

Charlie looked down at her book and sighed. Too much homework, so little time. She closed the book and looked around the grass. Hector had thrown his jacket down next to her moments before after grabbing his pocket knife out of it. Charlie looked back up to him. He was beautiful, and she wanted him so bad. But he played football and she was on honor roll. He had a cheerleader girlfriend and she was friends with the Washingtons. They would never be.

She frowned.

“Hey Char.”

Charlie turned her gaze from the grass to the tree once again, where Hector was looking down at her.

“Yeah?”

“Come up here. I need your opinion.”

Charlie rolled her eyes at him.

“No really come on. Give me your hand, I’ll help you up.”

Charlie bit her lip and stood up. Then she slowly made her way over to the tree where Hector’s hand was waiting for her’s.

I shouldn’t be here, she thought. He had a girlfriend. But really, she wasn’t doing anything wrong. They were friends, and he need help with homework.

She looked up at him again and gave him her hand.

In one strong yank, she was up in the tree, the branch next to him. She smiled as she looked around. It was beautiful, a drape of colored leaves, hiding them from the world.

She grinned at him and he smiled back at her. She pursed her lips.

“What?”

Without a word he held his class ring out to her. Slowly, her hand moved to take it. When she finally did, her heart felt heavy. It was the ring she had seen Laura wearing so many times. Why did he have it back? She looked at him with a lump in her throat. She held it back out to him.

He shook his head once and pointed to his carving. Charlie turned to look at it, only to gasp.

H.M.
<3
C.B.

Charlie looked back at him, speechless. After a few awkward moments, she finally spoke.

“Umm..I...I don’t understand.”

Hector smiled and leaned into kiss her. And since then, she couldn’t refuse.

Charlie gave Hector his hand back and slipped in reality. She cleared her throat and smiled at him.

“Well you should. You’re one of the best mechanics there.”

Charlie shrugged. It was true, but she couldn’t help it. Decorating and redecoration were her favorite things. She nodded and began to lead him away.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it all taken care of.”

And then, after one last kiss, they ran off.
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