Archive of Our Own

Charlie tapped her foot on the tile floor, happily listening along to the song that the animatronic band was playing onstage. It was some older song, from the 60s or 70s, that dad and Uncle William kept around for sentimental reasons.

The girl blew out a bubble with her gum as she looked over the pizzeria. Once, it had been so magical for her to come here, see the team onstage, and even get to meet them afterward. 

But now, Charlie was 9 years old. She’d been seeing them since she was 3. It got old, after a while.

So instead, while her father worked in his office, Charlie had taken to watching over the place. After all, she wanted to work there eventually, so becoming accustomed to how it worked made sense.

Though this often translated to her sitting near the stage and watching everyone else.

Charlie knew her father, Henry, was a little worried about her. He kept saying she should make some friends, outside of just the Aftons. But Charlie was happy with how she was. Watching over everything…it made her feel calm.

Kind of like the Puppet. Charlie smiled as she looked over and saw the Marionette animatronic at the back, watching over everything. 

Many didn’t like the Marionette. Charlie heard a few people scoff, call it ‘creepy’ or something similar. But Charlie had always found its presence comforting. Like a silent guardian, that never received the praise or acclimation that everyone else did, but simply did its job, quiet and strong.

Charlie scanned the room. A lot of the kids were near the front, cheering on the band as they played their song. The parents waited by the tables, some already eating and some waiting for their pizza.

Pushing off from the stage, Charlie skipped a little before walking down the side of the room, past the bathrooms and past the front door. A few of the employees rushed in and out of the kitchen, some with slips of paper that had orders, and others with steaming food.

Waiting for one employee to pass, Charlie tapped her foot before walking by the kitchen. She ignored the hallway there-according to dad, it led to the guard’s office, and was off-limits. Instead, she walked over to the small box where the Puppet could be seen, halfway out of the box, watching over the room carefully.

Charlie skipped by the box. “Hi, Mari!” she said cheerfully, before pausing as she reached the other side and saw something odd.

Tucked behind the box was another girl, around Charlie’s age, with black hair in a few small braids. She was attempting to shuffle some odd looking cards, and growled with frustration as the cards slipped out of her hands and fell onto the floor.

“Um, hello?” Charlie asked, a little unsure. 

The girl paused, then looked back at her without smiling. “Hi.”

Charlie swallowed. “Are you okay? You’re not with the others.”

“The others are boring,” Cassidy replied, turning back to her cards.

Charlie paused, then cocked her head. “What’s your name?”

The girl turned back to her cards, picking them up and attempting to shuffle them back into a deck. “Cassidy.”

“Nice to meet you, Cassidy,” Charlie said, sitting down next to her. “Mind if I sit here?”

“Why?” Cassidy asked, turning back to her and seeming a little annoyed.

Charlie swallowed. “Because I don’t think people should be left alone.”

“I like being alone. You should understand that-you were keeping to yourself before coming over here.”

“Well that’s-” Charlie blinked, pausing. “Wait, how did you know that? Were you watching me?”

“I watch everyone. It’s probably why they don’t like me,” Cassidy replied, still not looking up as she divided the deck into two halves.

“Oh, I’m sure they-”

Cassidy laughed. “No you aren’t.”

Charlie closed her lips. “What are you doing? What are those cards?”

Cassidy sighed with exasperation, but picked the top one out of the deck and showed Charlie. It showed a skeletal knight on horseback, holding a flag.

“They’re called tarot cards,” Cassidy explained as she slid the card back into the deck. “You can use them to predict the future.”

“How does that work?” Charlie asked.

“Someone with a special gift picks a card randomly from the deck, while they’re all turned down,” Cassidy explained. “Each card has a different meaning. So long as the person has the gift, the meanings of the cards they pick will spell something out.”

“That…doesn’t sound real,” Charlie replied, shaking her head. “After the deck is shuffled, each card is in that position. The message of the cards that get drawn would be the same, whether or not someone has the ‘gift’.”

“Hush!” Cassidy replied, bending the cards and successfully shuffling them this time. “Those who have the gift are drawn to the specific cards that will spell out the right message!”

Charlie sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Then she opened them. “So, do you have this ‘gift?’”

“I think so, but I’m not sure. That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Cassidy replied, laying out the shuffled deck into a few piles. 

“How do you do that?” Charlie asked, cocking her head again.

“By picking out cards and seeing if they mean anything, duh,” Cassidy replied, rolling her eyes. “Could you please leave me alone?”

Charlie huffed. “Well, fine,” she replied, standing up. “If you’re going to be rude.”

“I said ‘please’. It’s nothing against you, I just don’t like people very much,” Cassidy replied as she finished sliding out the different piles.

Charlie rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop a small huff of amusement. “Bye then, I guess.”

“Bye,” Cassidy nodded, still not looking up from the cards as Charlie walked away.

She’s a little weird, Charlie thought to herself, shaking her head. But kind of nice. I wonder if I’ll see her again.

Meanwhile, behind her, Cassidy focused in on the piles of cards in front of her and, holding her breath, slid one card out from the first pile.

Then she froze, face blanching for a second. The card depicted a being with wings looking over two people standing in a garden.

Cassidy’s eyes widened, and she looked up, just catching sight of the brunette girl before she turned the corner and was out of sight.

Then, blinking, Cassidy shook her head and turned back to the cards.

It’s nothing. It probably doesn’t mean anything, anyway.

* * *

A few months later…

She was still near the back.

Charlie glanced over, holding onto a bar on the playground, looking over at Cassidy. The new school year had started, and the girl was now in Charlie’s class.

She was…interesting. Charlie knew she didn’t really care about class-that much was clear to anyone-but she also didn’t do bad at all. 

But she didn’t pay attention. Instead, she would always shuffle those tarot cards in the back of the room, ignoring the world around her until it came knocking.

“Boo!” someone shouted, and with a yelp Charlie’s hand slipped and she fell onto the padded ground, about a foot and a half down.

Someone started laughing above her, and Charlie glared up, shielding her eyes from the sun’s glare, which was coming off from the slide. “That’s not funny, Evan!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Evan said, holding out a hand. “You seemed so distracted, I just saw the opportunity…”

Charlie took his hand and let him pull her up. “Don’t keep doing that and expect me to use my recess monitor powers to protect you.”

“I’m sorry, will you ever forgive me?” Evan asked, sadness in his tone.

Then they both dissolved into giggles.

“What were you looking at, anyway?” Evan asked, peeking over.

Charlie pointed over at Cassidy. “Her.”

“Oh!” Evan said. “W-who’s she?” He seemed a little more nervous, for some reason.

“Her name’s Cassidy,” Charlie replied. “She went to Freddy’s a little ago and we talked a bit. She seemed kinda cool.”

“Want to go talk to her?” Evan asked, awkwardly scratching his head.

Charlie gave him an odd look. “I…guess? What’s wrong? Why are you acting so weird?”

“It’s nothing,” Evan replied, turning away. “We should probably invite Elizabeth too, right?”

“Sure,” Charlie shrugged, letting the subject drop. “Where is she?”

Evan pointed. “I think she was on the swings.”

“Right,” Charlie nodded, looking over and seeing her. Elizabeth was a few years younger than them, in first grade while Charlie and Evan were in fourth. Mike was in sixth, and had just moved on to middle school that year.

Charlie hopped off of the jungle gym, Evan sliding down one of the plastic slides. Elizabeth was currently arguing with someone over one of the swings, who appeared to be around her age.

“I was here first!” Elizabeth yelled to the other boy.

The other boy folded his arms. “You’ve had it the whole time! It’s someone else’s turn!”

“No one said that! Recess doesn’t have rules!” Elizabeth replied, folding her arms.

“Hey, hey!” Charlie said, walking over and holding up her hands in negotiation. “What’s going on here?”

“Fritz is trying to take my swing!” Elizabeth said, pointing.

“It’s not her swing!” Fritz protested. “She needs to share! She’s been on it since recess started.”

“Hey, hey, none of us have the time to fight over this,” Charlie said. “Elizabeth, you need to share.”

Fritz made a sound of victory as Elizabeth began to protest.

“Hey, hey!” Charlie said, pulling Elizabeth away. “Why don’t we go do something else fun, huh?”

“I don’t wanna! I wanna swing!” Elizabeth pouted, folding her arms as Fritz took the swing.

“Well, maybe we could do something else,” Charlie replied calmly. “Evan, will you-”

Evan nodded, taking Elizabeth’s arm from Charlie and pulling her away, out of the swings area. “Hey Lizzie, why don’t we go say hi to a friend?”

“I don’t wanna!”

Evan kept talking to his younger sister as Charlie shook her head, walking over to where Cassidy was.

The black haired girl looked a little different today. She had a black t-shirt on with a jacket tied around her waist and blue jeans. Her hair was down, not in any form of braid or ponytail. Just like before, she was working intently on shuffling the deck of tarot cards, though this time she was also rubbing a small silver necklace. Her small backpack was leaned against the fence just behind her.

“Hiya Cassidy,” Charlie nodded.

Cassidy looked up and nodded. “Charlie.”

“How did you know my name? I don’t remember telling it to you,” Charlie replied, cocking her head.

Cassidy paused. “The cards told me.”

“Ah, right,” Charlie nodded, rolling her eyes as she sat down. “And what other knowledge did these all-knowing cards bequeath onto you?”

“Bequeath? Who are you, Shakespeare?” Cassidy replied, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie shrugged.

“Cards? What are you talking about?” Elizabeth asked, still annoyed at being pulled away but clearly curious.

Cassidy sighed. “So this time you’ve dragged along a few other pointless life forms?”

Charlie rolled her eyes again. “They’re tarot cards,” she explained to Lizzie and Evan, gesturing to the deck. “Apparently to someone who has ‘the gift’, they can tell the future.”

Elizabeth gasped, immediately dropping her annoyance. “Really? Can you tell me my future?”

Lizzie reached one of her grubby hands to one of the piles on the ground, and Cassidy slid it away, scrunching her nose.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. “You know, the point of this is to give people their fortunes, right? Shouldn’t you get some real practice in?”

Cassidy sighed. “Fine. I’ll give you all some fortunes. But only I touch the cards, okay?”

“Right!” Evan nodded. Charlie glanced over at him. He seemed…unusually enthusiastic about this.

Cassidy slid all the cards back into one pile, then quickly shuffled the deck before redistributing them. “I’ll start with you,” she said, nodding to Elizabeth. The first grader nodded excitedly.

Moving down the different piles, Cassidy picked the first card up from each before examining them all. After pondering for a moment, she started revealing the cards to Elizabeth, one by one.

“The Fool,” Cassidy said. “Representing optimism and trust in life. The Page, representing immaturity. The Empress, representing life in bloom. Strength, representing courage. Wheel of Fortune, representing change. 3, representing betrayal. Death, representing an end. The Tower, representing a collapse of structure. Judgment, representing rebirth. And the Sun, representing success and happiness.”

Lizzie looked at all the cards before looking back to Cassidy. “So what does it all mean?!”

“Well, in this order, it says that you are someone who will rise to all of life’s challenges,” Cassidy said. “Though you tend to act without thinking, you are optimistic and will bloom early in life due to your courage. Someday, however, something will change. Some ending will occur in your life. Someone will betray you, and it will single handedly destroy the stability you have in your life. Then, however, you will start again and your life will be reborn before eventually finding success and happiness.”

“Whoa!” Elizabeth said, eyes wide. “What’s going to happen to me?!”

“I’m sorry, the cards can’t tell me anything that specific. But you’ll handle it in the end,” Cassidy nodded, giving the younger girl a smile and placing a hand on her shoulder before turning to Evan. “Now you, I assume?”

“Oh, uh, yeah!” Evan nodded, his voice a little squeaky.

Once again, Cassidy gathered and shuffled the deck before redistributing them. Then, once again, she split the deck into piles and picked one card from each. Then, she examined them before chuckling to herself. 

Evan shifted, a little nervous.

One by one, Cassidy started to reveal the cards.

“The King,” she said. “Representing rationality. The 2, representing indecision. The High Priestess, representing inaction. The Wheel of Fortune, representing change. 3, representing betrayal. Death, representing an ending. The Star, representing hope. The Hanged Man, representing enlightenment. The Ace of Swords, representing a fresh start. And finally strength, representing courage and subtle power.”

Evan blinked, looking at the ten cards Cassidy was showing to him. “What does it all mean?”

“You’re a rational person, but you’re also indecisive and your inaction has and will cost you,” Cassidy said, placing the first three cards back down. “One day, someone will betray you. Or…actually, it’s a little confusing. Some kind of betrayal definitely happens. This will end an era of your life. However, it will also be a catalyst for growth. After a while, you will receive enlightenment on your life and find a fresh start, before discovering your own courage and power.”

“Whoa. You can tell all that from some cards?” Evan asked, looking at the deck a little more carefully.

“I think it’s safe to say I’ve got the gift. These things got your personalities down pat,” Cassidy nodded, gathering the deck.

“What about me?” Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow. “Do I get a fortune read?”

Cassidy only paused for a moment before shrugging. “Sure,” she said, reshuffling the deck before splitting it into ten piles. This time, she picked up only the first card and thought a moment before looking back at Charlie.

“The Queen,” she said. “Representing intelligence.” Cassidy picked up the next top card. “The Queen again,” Cassidy chuckled. “Representing sensitivity.”

“What does it mean?” Elizabeth asked, eyes wide.

“It means Charlie is intelligent but cold, and cuts through BS,” Cassidy said. Evan snorted while Elizabeth mouthed BS with confusion, clearly not knowing what it meant.

“But!” Cassidy said. “It also means she is emotionally nurturing, intuitive, and sensitive to others feelings.”

“That’s true!” Elizabeth gasped, taking Charlie’s arm and shaking her. “It is!” 

Charlie chuckled a little, pulling Lizzie’s arm off of her as Cassidy pulled the next card. “Temperance,” she said, already reaching for the next card. “You will live your life with balance, moderation and sensibility. The Emperor. Your life will have structure, stability.”

“These are all pretty basic things…” Charlie murmured, but Cassidy held up a hand as she kept drawing.

“The Tower,” she said. “You will experience a collapse in your life of structure after having a sudden insight. 3, you will experience a heartbreak in your life. 6, you will leave somewhere you know. 8, you will feel powerless and stuck. 10, you will feel defeated.”

Charlie shifted, a little uncomfortable with her reading. She was already on her ninth card. Both Evan and Elizabeth had had some happier tides by this point!

“And finally,” Cassidy said, pulling the top card from the final pile. Sliding it off, Cassidy glanced at it. “The Love-”

Immediately, the card reader cut off, and actually flushed. Then she placed the card back down.

“Hey!” Charlie said. “I wanted to know what my reading was!”

“It’s nothing. I think I messed up the shuffle,” Cassidy replied, already gathering the cards and packing them away. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s not nearly as dire as that.”

“Dire? Now who’s the Shakespeare?” Charlie asked, folding her arms. “What did the card say?”

“It’s nothing. You don’t believe in the cards anyway, why would you care?” Cassidy replied, pulling over her backpack and tucking the cards away.

Charlie opened her mouth to protest again, but Elizabeth grabbed her arm. “You heard her, Charlie! Your future won’t be that bad! Don’t worry!”

Charlie sighed. “Alright then. Evan, why don’t you take her to the monkey bars over there?”

Evan gave her a worried look, but took his sister’s hand and led her away.

Stepping up to Cassidy, who had her back turned as she zipped up her backpack, Charlie folded her arms. “Why didn’t you want me to see that last card?”

“Because I messed up the shuffle. I already told you,” Cassidy replied, standing up and sliding her backpack on.

“You’re a good liar, but not that good,” Charlie replied. “You were clearly fine with the reading up to that point. What changed?”

“I realized that I messed it up,” Cassidy shrugged, turning to reveal a neutral expression of boredom on her face. “If you want to know, here.”

She drew the top card from the completed deck and handed it to her. It depicted a man in a jester outfit, holding a goblet.

“The Page,” Cassidy said. “Representing mental immaturity. Doesn’t quite fit, especially not with the story laid out. So I must have messed it up. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Charlie shook her head, exasperated. “Deflect and be prickly all you want, I know you’re sweet inside.”

“How dare you! You take that back!” Cassidy replied instantly, seeming genuinely angry.

“Why else would you be so nice to Elizabeth? Your smile there was genuine, I saw it,” Charlie replied smugly.

“I wanted the little brat to stop whining so much!” Cassidy insisted.

Charlie glanced to the side, examining her fingernail. “Whatever you say.”

Cassidy looked at her, furious, then growled before storming away.

Charlie smirked a little, before turning her attention back to the playground as a whole. As a recess monitor, it was technically her job to look over the place and make sure no one got hurt. Honestly, she probably shouldn’t have been in the corner in the first place.

Glancing over the swings, Charlie watched, making sure that everyone was using it right. Then she glanced at the slide, seeing Jeremy push Susie down it and laugh while Susie complained.

“Hey!” she said, walking over. “You can’t be pushing people, Jeremy!”

“Oh buzz off Charlie, it was one joke. And she’s fine!” Jeremy replied, gesturing to Susie, who was dusting herself off.

“It is not ‘one joke’!” Susie replied, folding her arms. “You also hid my lunch last week! And the week before that you put a whoopee cushion on my chair!”

“Come on, that was hilarious!” Jeremy laughed, along with a few other people.

Charlie sighed. “Jeremy, do you want me to call Mr. Cortez over? You can’t be pushing people, or doing anything like that, okay?”

“Fine,” Jeremy replied, rolling his eyes. “I guess the teacher's pets stick together, huh.”

The boy walked away. Charlie quickly made sure Susie was alright, only to hear a sudden scream from the other side of the playground.

Immediately running over, Charlie pushed through the small crowd of kids who had gathered around, only to see…Cassidy, holding Evan’s arm, which she had twisted around and was holding him down with. Evan was clearly in pain, and was clearly the one who had screamed. 

“Don’t startle me like that!” Cassidy said, letting him go.

“Hey!” Charlie shouted, weaving past a few people to get through. “What happened here?!”

“I just walked up and tapped her on the shoulder, and she grabbed my hand and completely twisted my arm!” Evan replied, holding his arm. “It really hurt!”

“You startled me! It was a knee-jerk response!” Cassidy replied, folding her arms.

“Who breaks someone’s arm as a knee-jerk response?!”

“It isn’t broken, I’d be surprised if it was even sprained-”

“Hey!” Charlie said, holding up her hands and shutting down the argument. “Cassidy, you can’t be doing that! I’ll let you off on a warning since it was instinct, but you need to reign yourself in until people don’t get hurt, okay?”

Cassidy folded her arms, rolling her eyes. “Fine.”

As the crowd started to disperse and both Cassidy and Charlie began to walk in opposite directions, Charlie heard a few people on the playground say, “Wow Evan, now that was a scream.”

Charlie turned around, seeing a few kids in the jungle gym laugh at Evan, who was holding his arm and was clearly embarrassed.

“It hurt!” he said, trying to defend himself.

“Oh, I bet it did,” one of the kids, George, said, still chuckling. He then did a bad, high pitched impression of Evan’s screech, to the amusement of his friends.

Charlie sighed, turning around. She couldn’t technically do anything until an incident actually occurred, but she could be ready…she had never really liked George or his cronies anyway, so…

“Hey, back off!” Elizabeth shouted, stepping in front of Evan. “Leave him alone!”

George gave another obnoxious laugh. “Really? You don’t have your brother or his friends to defend you anymore, so you had to downgrade to this?”

“I’ve got a name, asshole!” Elizabeth shouted.

All of George’s friends suddenly went ooohhh, still quite obnoxiously. George folded his arms and looked down at Elizabeth.

“Your sister’s a bit of a bitch,” George replied.

“Hey!” Evan said. “You can’t talk to her like-”

“I was talking to Elizabeth,” George said, rolling his eyes, once again to the laughter of his cronies.

Charlie took a step forward. Whether she would be accused of favoritism or not, this had to stop.

“I mean,” George kept going. “That scream sure sounded girly, didn’t it? And you got beaten by a girl, so-”

“Why would that be humiliating?” a new voice asked.

Charlie paused as Cassidy, who had apparently been listening in on the conversation, stepped back in, off to the side.

George paused, a little thrown off his rhythm. “What?”

“He didn’t get beaten ‘by a girl’,” Cassidy said, using air quotes. “He got beaten by me. And that’s not something to be embarrassed by, that’s pretty much the norm for anyone.”

Once again, all of George’s friends went oooohhhhh as George folded his arms, looking amused.

“Oh is it now?” he asked. 

Charlie paused, knowing she should stop this but a little curious about what might happen.

Cassidy dropped her arms and looked at George curiously, before walking over slowly, deadly silent. Evan and Elizabeth just stared, backing up a little. George seemed to lose a little bravado as she walked forward, simply because of how calm she was.

Reaching the opening in the jungle gym where George was calling out from, Cassidy held out a hand and beckoned him closer. Swallowing, George leaned in to hear what she was going to whisper.

Everyone watching the scene was frozen.

Then, Cassidy grabbed onto his collar and yanked him off the jungle gym. He shouted as his friends all stepped back, eyes wide.

Charlie immediately jumped into action, but Cassidy was already there. She reached George on the ground and, before he could get up, grabbed his arm and twisted him around, holding it against him just like with Evan. He made a small screech from the pain.

Cassidy glared at him as Charlie stepped closer, shouting at her to stop. “Scream,” she muttered, pushing his arm further up.

He paused, bravado completely falling away to a look of pure terror.

“Cassidy, stop! Let him go!” Charlie shouted.

“Just a second, Charlie!” Cassidy replied, pushing his arm even further up. She looked angrier at George than she had at Evan or Charlie before. Bending back into George’s ear, she once again whispered, “Scream.”

George, almost crying now, opened his mouth and let out a scream, easily heard by the many who had started to gather around again.

“Mr. Chavez!” Charlie shouted as Cassidy let him go.

The teacher walked over and grabbed Cassidy’s hand. “Ms. Delgarde, you cannot do that!”

“Really? Because I just did,” Cassidy replied, instantly calm again as the crowd all went oooooo.

The teacher gave her a furious look. “I am taking you to the principal’s office!”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Cassidy nodded, already being dragged away.

* * *

Charlie waited, tapping her foot, Evan and Elizabeth both next to her. They were sitting in the hallway, on the cushioned chairs right outside the principal’s office. They didn’t need to be there-they weren’t in trouble-but they were waiting for Cassidy.

She’d been called in after what happened on the playground, and hadn’t come out yet. Charlie tapped her foot, a little worried for her. She didn’t know Cassidy that well, but apparently the other girl had been willing to defend Evan, and Charlie knew that should have been her.

Finally, the door to the principal’s office opened and Cassidy, looking just as unbothered as before, walked back out with a form in her hand.

Immediately, Evan and Elizabeth stood up, walking over to her. “Is it all okay?” Evan asked.

“Yeah, did you get in trouble?” Elizabeth nodded, looking worried for her.

Cassidy just looked at them with a bit of surprise. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Well…you were defending me, I felt bad that you got in trouble for it,” Evan said, scratching his head.

“I didn’t do it for you,” Cassidy replied, shrugging. “Don’t feel bad. I don’t care.”

“So, did you get in trouble?” Charlie asked, finally standing up from her chair and looking at her.

Cassidy held up the form. “I got suspended for two days.”

The three froze, looking terrified for a moment, before the Aftons broke out in chatter.

“Wait, really?!”

“Will you be okay?!”

“Is this going to be-”

Cassidy held up her hands, shutting them up. “I’m not worried,” Cassidy said. “It’s two days. One and a half, really, since today is the first and it’s already half done. It’s a free day off school. Why would I be worried?”

“I mean, getting suspended is a big deal!” Evan said. “It’ll go on your permanent record, and-”

“A two day suspension is not the worst thing that’s gonna be on my permanent record by the end of this year,” Cassidy replied, folding her arms.

Elizabeth sighed. “What about your parents?! You have to tell them, to get them to sign that, right?! Aren’t you worried about how they’ll react?”

“I would be,” Cassidy shrugged. “Fortunately, I have a secret weapon. He’s on the way.”

Charlie narrowed her eyes in confusion. Secret weapon?

Suddenly, she heard the double doors behind them open and someone step through. Cassidy, looking past them and actually smiling, walked past.

Charlie turned, and saw Cassidy hugging an older man. He appeared to be in his early to mid 60s, with hair that might once have been black that was now steadily turning gray. He wore a red flannel shirt and blue jeans, seeming like some sort of country man or lumberjack.

“What did you do?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as Cassidy pulled off of him.

Cassidy gestured to Evan. “Some kid was pathetically insulting him for screaming while in pain, so I humiliated him in front of everyone to settle the score.”

“Ah,” the man nodded. “I assume you have a form to sign?”

Cassidy handed him the paper. The man took a pen from his shirt pocket and, using a nearby table, signed his name at the bottom.

Charlie swallowed, stepping forward. “Who’s this?”

“Hm?” Cassidy asked, turning around. “This is my grandfather, Abuelo. Abuelo, these are some people who felt bad about me getting in trouble and sought to satisfy their consciences.”

“What does that mean?” Elizabeth whispered, tugging on Evan’s sleeve.

Abuelo chuckled, rolling his eyes. “I’m sure they just wanted to check on you, Cassidy. It’s nice to know you have friends.”

“That is incorrect. I met those two today,” Cassidy replied, gesturing to Evan and Elizabeth as she took the signed form back.

“Very well,” Abuelo said, rolling his eyes and walking back through the double doors.

Cassidy looked back at the three. “Thanks for showing up, I guess. You should probably go back to class now. I’ll be back in after tomorrow.”

“What’s your address? I can come over with the work so you don’t fall behind,” Evan offered.

“My address is for me to know. I can handle a day’s more work,” Cassidy replied, before turning and walking out the door.

Charlie swallowed, before quickly walking out. The Aftons followed her, immediately turning and walking down the hallway to their class. Charlie held off a moment, watching as Cassidy met up with Abuelo again and they began walking the other way.

She tapped her foot, unsure for a moment, before walking up and tapping Cassidy on her shoulder. “Cass?”

The two turned to her. “It’s Cassidy,” Cassidy replied. “What do you want?”

Charlie tapped her foot, still a little nervous. “Well, I wanted to apologize.”

“Why should you? You didn’t do anything wrong,” Cassidy shrugged.

“I mean, I should have stepped in and stopped him before you had to get involved,” Charlie said. “If I had, you wouldn’t have gotten in trouble. So I’m sorry.”

“If you had, I wouldn’t have gotten to embarrass George in front of everyone, and he would have kept on the way he was,” Cassidy replied, shrugging. “After today, do you really think he can keep acting like he did?”

Charlie snorted, remembering George’s scream. It…had been rather high-pitched, even more so than Evan’s. “No…”

“So it’s still good overall,” Cassidy nodded. “Goodbye, Charlie.”

“Bye,” Charlie nodded, pausing as Cassidy turned around and continued walking away with her grandfather by her side. After a moment, she turned around and walked back to her classroom.

After she did, Cassidy threw one glance over her shoulder at the girl before looking back, shaking her head.

Abuelo eyed her, a smile playing on the edge of his lips. “You know, when you denied them being your friends and talked about those two, you didn’t mention her.”

“I didn’t,” Cassidy nodded.

“So, is she your friend?” Abuelo asked.

Cassidy mused as she walked, thinking of the small tarot card in her pocket that she had slipped in while fixing her deck. The card that depicted a being with wings looking over two people in a garden.

“Maybe,” Cassidy shrugged. “Come on. Let’s head home.”

* * *

Three years later…

“Are you ready to give up?” Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

Cassidy glared back at her. “Never!”

Charlie felt like chuckling. Who knew the normally-unflappable girl had a competitive streak?

After two or so years of passing in the hallways, occasionally working together for group projects and sometimes chatting if they happened to be in proximity to each other, Charlie called the other girl her colleague. Maybe not her friend just yet, after all ‘friend’ was usually someone who she would spend time outside of school with, but they weren’t strangers anymore. 

Even if Charlie still didn’t know much about her. Cassidy was tight-lipped about her personal life, to both Charlie and the rest of the school. Charlie heard that she’d even had things like her address and her birthday removed from school records, to stop people from knowing about her.

The two were sitting across a table at Freddy’s.. It was Evan’s birthday party, and few people had been invited.

Firstly, there was Elizabeth and Mike, obviously. And Charlie soon after. Then Mike’s friends, Carlos, Barbara and Trevor.

After an…accident, a few years ago, Evan had been hospitalized for months. Mike and his friends, who had been responsible, all felt horrible and each did their best to make it up to him, especially on the anniversary of the day.

Then, after them, Evan had invited Cassidy. Charlie had gone to suggest the idea to him, only to find Evan already had.

And after Cassidy, Evan also invited a few other kids from their class. Namely, he invited Susie, Jeremy, and Gabriel. Gabriel had asked if he could invite Fritz, who was a few years younger, and Evan had agreed.

So they’d all gathered at Freddy’s for the day. Evan normally liked to have his birthdays at Fredbears, but after the…accident, he avoided the place as much as possible. Which was incredibly ironic, when you considered Fredbear was his favorite character.

After eating and a few board games, they’d decided to have a game of Risk. Which is what led them to this.

After roughly an hour of playing, Charlie and Cassidy were the only people left in the game, beating out even Mike and Carlos, who had also been playing (Barbara, Trevor, Susie, Elizabeth and Evan were playing a different game off to the side). Charlie had managed to acquire North America and most of South America, as well as Australia, while Cassidy had brutally taken over Asia and Europe, while keeping one foothold in South America to ensure Charlie didn’t when the continent. The two were hotly fighting over Africa at the moment.

Charlie examined the board, and the troops she had there, before sliding three cannons forward, into Brazil. Cassidy raised an eyebrow at her, but grabbed the two defensive dice while Charlie grabbed the three offensive dice.

Alright, she has two cannons and four horses. That’s the equivalent of a whole cannon more than you. Roll well. Fate, please smile upon me…

At once, they both released their dice. Charlie quickly looked over with excitement, only to drop as she realized Cassidy had a four and a six, while she had a two, three, and five.

That means…five goes against six, I lose. Three goes against four, I lose. Two gets ignored.

Cassidy looked at her smugly, as Charlie growled and turned one of her cannons over, to show the defeat.

“Roll again!” Charlie insisted, grabbing the dice again. Cassidy gathered her own.

“Seriously?” Mike sighed, face falling off from his hand. “Guys, can’t we just end the game? You two can draw on this.”

“Never!” Cassidy insisted, rolling her dice and grunting as she lost the roll. Charlie smirked.

“Why?” Mike asked, clearly bored. 

Cassidy paused, then looked back up at him. “How about this? We arm wrestle. If you win, we go play whatever game you want to. If I win, you let us fucking finish.”

Charlie paused, and Carlos perked up with curiosity.

“Arm wrestle?” Mike laughed, a little nervous from her confidence as she held out one hand. “I’m two years older than you.”

“I didn’t ask,” Cassidy replied, still extending her hand. “Are you going to make me wait all day?”

Carlos elbowed Trevor, who had also been ousted from his game. As Trevor turned, Carlos gestured to the two. “Who do you think will win?”

Trevor raised an eyebrow. “Mike. He’s two years old, and goes to the gym more than any of us.”

Carlos eyed Cassidy, who stared at Mike like a laser, clasping his hand as he sat.

“Willing to bet on that?” Carlos asked, turning back to his friend.

“Ready?” Cassidy asked. “Set, go !”

Both immediately started straining, though neither made any progress. Charlie eyed the match with interest, seeing how Mike was desperately pushing against her hand, while Cassidy kept her usual deadpan expression.

As both kept pushing, Mike got more worried and exhausted, as Cassidy started to narrow her eyes in determination.

But their hands didn’t move.

Eventually, Mike sighed. “This isn’t gonna change,” he muttered. “I give up.” 

Immediately, he dropped his hand and Cassidy instantly pushed it down.

“Boom!” Carlos said, holding out his hand to Trevor.

Trevor folded his arms. “He only lost because he gave up! Double or nothing, if I can beat her!”

Carlos shrugged. “Alright.”

Trevor walked over and held out his hand. Cassidy eyed him before sighing and clasping it.

“Three, two, one,” she said, and immediately they began straining. After roughly three seconds of Trevor’s hand being bent back, it hit the ground. He gasped, arm clearly in pain, as Cassidy continued looking very unbothered.

Charlie blinked in a bit of surprise.

Wonder what she could do with that-

Charlie stopped her own thought track.

Where the hell did that come from?!

After that, the entire party shifted as the other group came over. Rather than playing games, it suddenly became about everyone trying their strength against Cassidy, and everyone failing.

Meanwhile, Charlie did her best to figure out her own messed up feelings on the matter.

* * *

After the party finished up, and the employees came in to clean up the room, Charlie picked up her jacket and tied it around her waist, walking to the door, still lost in thought. Most of the others had left, including almost everyone from Evan’s class as well as Mike’s friends.

Mindlessly, Charlie opened the door and stepped outside, sighing. Even though relatively little had happened at the party, somehow, it felt like a massive shift had occurred. Like something had changed, and she couldn’t see things the same way again.

“Whatcha thinking about?”

Charlie paused, glancing over and feeling oddly nervous as she realized Cassidy was leaning against the nearby wall, over a poster of the main band. The streetlights above them shined, casting a strange ambiance over the area.

“Nothing much,” Charlie replied.

“Don’t lie,” Cassidy replied, eyes focused on her hands as she fiddled with something. “You’re clearly lost in thought. So what about?”

Charlie pursed her lips. “You know, this might be the first time you’ve actively started a conversation with me. Is that perhaps progress I sense?”

“Don’t change the subject,” Cassidy replied, hissing with satisfaction as she apparently did something right, before rubbing her hands against the cold and glancing over at the other girl.

Charlie shifted nervously. For some reason, she did not want to tell the other girl about the odd, intrusive thought that had come during the party. And she definitely didn’t want to tell her about the sudden odd feeling Charlie had whenever she looked at her. 

“What are you doing?” Charlie tried instead. “Was that a tarot card? Are you still doing those?”

“Sometimes,” Cassidy shrugged, giving her an odd look but allowing the subject to change this time. “I’ve gotten better. But no, it was a normal playing card. I’m just practicing my sleight of hand.”

“‘Sleight of hand?’” Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like you’re some medieval rogue in DnD or something.”

“You know DnD?” Cassidy asked, cocking her head.

“Not well. I’ve thought about playing it with the Aftons, but…it might be a little difficult to teach them.”

“Right, because Evan seems so difficult to teach,” Cassidy replied, rolling her eyes.

“Evan’s not the problem,” Charlie laughed, sounding a little offended at the clear sarcasm. “It’s Elizabeth and Mike who’d be resistant!”

Cassidy shook her head, still fiddling with the item in her hands.

Charlie cocked her head. “What are you practicing your oh-so-important ‘sleight of hand’ for?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Cassidy replied. Then she shrugged, slumping against the wall a little further. “Just anything, really. It’s a fun skill to know.”

“Fun skill…like knowing how to read tarot cards?”

Cassidy actually chuckled. “No. That’s just one of my interests.”

“What other interests do you have?” Charlie asked, interested (quite ironic, that).

Cassidy shrugged. “I’ve been looking into voodoo dolls,” she shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about getting an ouija board. Oh!”

Suddenly, Cassidy looked at her, actually seeming excited. “I almost forgot. I’ve also been looking into how to read palms!”

“Really?” Charlie asked, cocking her head. For some reason, she really liked hearing the other girl talk, finding out more about her. The girl was so mysterious and quiet about herself, it felt like an accomplishment when she finally opened up, even a little.

But that wasn’t all of it. Charlie felt like there was something else, some other reason why she wanted to know more about the other girl, and become her friend. Something…

“Here,” Cassidy said, reaching out. “I can give you a free reading. I need the practice, anyway.”

“Oh really? Tarot cards and a palm reading, all for free? How generous of you,” Charlie said in an exaggerated voice as she reached her hand out.

“It is. Now hush,” Cassidy replied, grabbing her hand. Her hands were smaller than Charlie’s, her fingers deft and nimble, and a bit rougher. 

Cassidy quickly spread her hand out so it was faced up, all her fingers fully extended. She then pointed her finger at the different lines on her hand, examining them as she ran her finger along its different lines. Charlie definitely didn’t hold back a whimper, definitely not.

After pausing to examine, Cassidy looked back up at Charlie. “Good news,” she said. “Your head and heart lines are both pretty long. Your sun line is short, but it’s not that important anyway, and your life line is a decent length.”

“W-what does it mean?” Charlie asked. She was scared, but not because of the fortune. The brunette looked at the other girl, swallowing, as Cassidy focused intently on her hand.

“It means you’ve got a good head on your shoulders and you have a conscience,” Cassidy explained, tapping the lines on her hand. “It also means you’ll live a decently long life, and you probably won’t have a lot of fame, but that really isn’t necessary for a happy life.”

“Right,” Charlie nodded, anxiety present in her tone.

Both stood there for a moment.

“Hey Charlie?” Cassidy asked, still not looking up from her hand. 

Charlie swallowed. “Uhm, yeah?”

“I was wondering…what were you hiding from me?”

“Huh?” Charlie asked, chuckling nervously.

“You’re clearly anxious about something,” Cassidy shrugged, still not looking up. Her finger was absently tracing one of the lines on her hand, and Charlie ignored the shivers that it sent through her system. “And you kept trying to change the subject earlier, when I asked what you were thinking about.”

Charlie swallowed.

Cassidy looked up, finally meeting her eyes. Her brown eyes stared intensely into Charlie’s green. Charlie swallowed, feeling completely frozen by her gaze. Her heart began to race in terror and desperate anticipation. Her breath stopped as she inhaled sharply, staring at the other girl as a flush rose to her cheeks.

“What are you afraid of?” Cassidy asked. Her head was cocked to one side, just slightly, in curiosity. Charlie suddenly noticed how full her lips looked, the surprising comfort in the intensity of her dark eyes.

After a moment’s pause, Charlie gave a nervous, awkward chuckle and pulled her hand away, out of Cassidy’s grip. “Bugs! I hate them, more than anything.”

Cassidy dropped her own hands, nodding, looking back down in her usual apathy, but perhaps tinged with the slightest bit of disappointment. “Right.”

It felt like…a letdown.

“So anyway, I’ve gotta be going!” Charlie said instantly, ignoring the pit that opened in her own stomach and instead awkwardly turning and walking down to the car where her dad was waiting. “I’ll see you around!”

“Right,” Cassidy nodded, turning and picking up her bag which she had leaned against the wall. “See you around.”

Charlie exhaled, devoutly ignoring the immensely loaded scene that had just happened. Instead, she walked to the car where her father was waiting in the driver’s seat and opened the shotgun seat before sliding in, closing the door and sighing.

“You okay, kiddo?” Henry asked, looking over at her.

“Yeah…just a little tired. I don’t want to be rude, but could we have a quiet drive home, maybe?” Charlie asked, her voice quiet.

Henry nodded, giving her a worried glance but being resolutely silent as they drove out of the parking lot and onto the street outside, ready to head back home.

Charlie laid her head against the cold window and breathed in, closing her eyes, before once again sighing out.

Fuck. I’ve got a crush on her, don’t I?

* * *

Charlie was at a crossroads. An impasse.

Four years had passed since her realization about herself. The current year was 1990, and she was now a junior in high school.

After realizing that she could have a crush on a girl because she did, Charlie had quickly started examining herself to figure out what was happening. She soon realized that that pattern held-despite the stereotypes and what Elizabeth always claimed, Charlie had never had any kind of attraction to any boy, whether in real life or on television. However, while she couldn’t exactly remember having a ‘crush’ on any girls, she did always have a certain fascination with the female leads in movies.

Realizing that Cassidy wasn’t a fluke, Charlie was prompted to start looking into the idea of same-sex couples, a concept that had never actually occurred to her before. And that was…revealing.

There was an entire community dedicated to this. The LGBT+ community, of which Charlie fit in with the L. There was an entire history, one that had been kept from her for years. Some of the biggest events, like the riot at Stonewall or the governmental neglect during the AIDS crisis. 

Charlie was…relatively sure that the existence of queer people wasn’t intentionally kept from her. She didn’t think her father or the people around her were homophobic, it just…didn’t occur to them.

And while Charlie had initially been ashamed, or thought of it as something to hide, finding the entire history and community over the last four years had been truly eye-opening. Now, she (quite appropriately) took pride in the fact that she was a lesbian. Because it was something to be proud of.

Despite all that, she still hadn’t…told anyone. Last year, when she’d managed to attend a pride rally in a nearby town, she’d pretended she was going to the library for a full-day study session (thankfully, Henry had bought it). She’d bought herself a lesbian pride flag, but she hid it every time someone came into her room, to avoid awkward questions.

Well, not anyone. One of the biggest surprises of her life had come when she’d gone to that pride rally and found none other than Michael Afton there as well. That had led to an…interesting conversation in which they both confessed to a few things.

Mike was apparently pansexual and confessed that he had a crush on another guy in his grade, named Jeremy Fitzgerald. Just like Charlie, he hadn’t told anyone.

Well, apparently he told Carlos. In fact, Carlos was actually the one who helped him get to the pride rally in the first place.

So, the two of them (and Carlos) kept each other’s secrets. Charlie wanted to tell her father, but every time she tried to, her heart felt like it was stopping and her mouth clamped shut. 

And that was the crossroad. The impasse.

She desperately wanted to be honest with her father. But the thought terrified her.

Oddly enough, as Charlie became more and more aware and involved in the community, she actually ended up spending less time with Cassidy than before. She ended up nearly completely falling out of contact with the girl. They barely saw each other, rarely spoke, and didn’t spend any time with each other outside of school for the rest of middle school and the first two years in high school.

Charlie felt a little guilty. She almost felt like she’d abandoned the girl, but she also didn’t know how to talk to her again.

Honestly, Charlie didn’t even know if she still felt the way she used to about Cassidy. It had been so long since that night…

Now, out of curiosity, Charlie glanced over at the girl. They were both in the same English classroom, with the teacher droning on in the front on a topic that Charlie had already covered in her own study.

Cassidy was doodling in her notebook. Eyeing her, Charlie tried to guess what she might be drawing.

Probably a pentagram, or some old pagan symbol, Charlie thought with a small internal chuckle. Cassidy had always seemed fascinated by the occult and things associated with it, after all.

From across the room, Charlie saw Cassidy lift her pencil, narrowing her eyes at the drawing for a moment before shrugging to herself and moving on.

Shaking her head, Charlie took a sip of her water bottle. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. The brunette didn’t have the guts to talk to her, and she knew it.

Glancing back over the classroom, Charlie noticed that, similar to herself, Evan was glancing over at Cassidy. She knew that he had kept in contact with her. The two were actually friends, as odd as that seemed.

“Now, this is very important,” their English teacher said. “Now that that’s out of the way, let’s start talking about your assignments!”

Charlie sat up in her seat. Right. He’d been talking about these for weeks now-the big assignment that would take them all the way to the end of the year, serving as the last big project in their grades.

“Now,” the teacher continued. “You will have one partner for this assignment, who you will be working with for the rest of the year, until the final presentation.”

Chatter immediately broke out as different groups of friends began breaking off.

“These partners have already been assigned!” the teacher quickly interrupted, and a sound of disappointment came from the entire class.

Charlie shook her head, slightly chuckling to herself. She really didn’t care who she got, so long as it wasn’t someone like Jeremy or George. Other than that, it didn’t really matter to her.

“Now, you and your partner will be choosing one nineteenth-century novel to read if you haven’t, as well as assess completely. The final presentation, and what the final project is, will be a Concurrence presentation on this novel which will require a plot summary, a detailed analysis of the key themes, an analysis of each main character and how they play into the key themes, an explanation of the methods the writer used to speak to their audience, as well as a modern perspective that could be applied to it. This project should be well-thought through, take several weeks to complete, and have an equal division of labor. When we reach the last few weeks of school, you will give the presentation in its entirety with your partner.”

Charlie nodded to herself. It sounded simple enough.

The teacher walked back to his desk and tapped the stack of papers on one side. “These contain all the requirements for your presentation. Both you and your partner should have one. This will almost certainly require outside work, so I’d recommend giving each other your contact information as well.”

He then picked up a clipboard with a list on it. Coughing, he began reading off names.

“Hunt, you’re with Walker,” he began. Susie made a sound of affrontement as Jeremy laughed. “Anderson, you’re with Cooper. Larsen, you’re with Evans.”

A few people began to stand, but the teacher held up a hand.

“Not yet,” he said. “Start moving after I finish off the list, okay?”

The class sat back down.

Charlie tapped her foot, bored, as the teacher kept reading off names.

Which novel should I do? Charlie thought to herself as the teacher assigned Evan with Gabriel. One of the classics, like Jane Austen? No, she was 1700s, it has to be 1800s…then again, it was late in the century. Maybe he’ll make an exception. Besides, some of her work came out in the early 1800s-

“Emily, you’re with Delgarde,” the teacher read out, his voice shooting back into Charlie’s mind as she was brought into the equation.

Charlie froze, then looked over at Cassidy, who looked back at her with a shrug and started to grab some of her things.

No, no no no no! Why did it have to be her?!

“Alright,” the teacher said, having finished his list. “You’ll have the rest of this lesson to choose your novel together and exchange contacts. You won’t have much more class time to work on this, so I’d recommend putting in the work outside of class time.”

The teacher then put up his hands, gesturing to the entire class at once, and they began to move.

Charlie sat at her desk, silently panicking as Cassidy dragged her chair over, against her desk.

What would Cassidy say? Would she…bring up that moment? Or about how Charlie hadn’t really spoken to her for years after they had been friends?

Cassidy pulled her chair on the other side of Charlie’s desk and tucked her pencil behind her ear. It looked…cute.

“What novel do you want to do?” Cassidy asked. Charlie swallowed.

“Erm, what?” Charlie asked. She’d been studying the other girl, trying to read her.

“What novel do you want to do?” Cassidy asked, bored but patient.

“Oh, uh, I don’t really care. Maybe a Jane Austen one, like Sense and Sensibility? Those have plenty of themes for the time.”

Cassidy scrunched her nose. “Really? A sappy romance?”

Charlie scoffed. “Alright then, what do you want to do?”

Immediately, Charlie regretted the question as Cassidy gave a small grin and shifted on her desk.

“The Fall of the House of Usher,” Cassidy said. “Now there’s a novel! Supernatural justice, plenty of key themes, rich characters, and it even has an easy modern perspective to give, on climate change and environmental causes.”

“Should’ve figured you’d want to read Edgar Allan Poe,” Charlie sighed. “Why don’t we compromise, with Jekyll and Hyde or Frankenstein? Maybe even Dracula?”

Cassidy folded her arms. “I don’t know…those are the most famous ones. Everyone is going to be doing them, and I don’t think we can do the same one.”

“What gave you that idea?” Charlie asked, cocking her head.

“He said so a few days ago,” Cassidy replied, gesturing to the teacher. “After we decide, we have to tell him and he’ll mark it off so no one else can pick it.”

Charlie blinked. Shit.

“The Raven?” Cassidy suggested.

“Too short to count as a novel,” Charlie replied, shaking her head. “The Time Machine?”

“Too famous. It’ll have already been picked,” Cassidy said. “The War of the Worlds?”

“I really don’t see any modern perspective to give on that,” Charlie replied, shaking her head. “Jane Eyre?”

“ Another romance?! What is it with you?” Cassidy asked, folding her arms.

“What is it with you? Why do you have to keep choosing dark, broody, war-y ones?! At least I suggested some others too!”

Cassidy glared. “Well at least I didn’t-”

The bell rang, cutting her off.

Charlie glanced at it, then sighed and picked up her things. Quickly, she pulled out a notebook and scratched her home’s landline number onto it, then ripped it out and handed it to Cassidy. “My contact,” she said. “Let’s get this thing finished later.”

* * *

“Let’s decide on a novel first,” Charlie said as she sat down, popping her backpack on the seat next to her. They were in the lunchroom, with Cassidy (as per usual) sitting by herself.

Cassidy glanced up from the book she was reading. “Oh. You made it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Charlie asked.

Cassidy shifted, folding the page of her book and closing it. “It means I wasn’t sure you were going to, because you were late.”

Charlie’s grip tightened. “Well, maybe I was feeling a little lost on the way, and I had some stuff to figure out-”

“What are you talking about? It’s like, two miles from your house,” Cassidy asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion. “You’re talking like you went on some grand journey.”

Charlie paused. Oh. She was just talking about actually getting…oh.

“What do you think about The Scarlet Letter?” Charlie suggested, hoping to change the subject. “I mean, we could compare it to the modern religious aversions surrounding modesty.”

“I don’t know…maybe,” Cassidy replied, tapping the table. “But what about something a little closer to our time and place, like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or The Three Musketeers? We could compare the attitudes in Tom Sawyer to the Civil Rights movement.”

“Could work,” Charlie nodded. “I think I’d prefer Scarlet Letter though. I know it a bit better than those ones.”

“Fair. It’s a pretty short read,” Cassidy replied, shrugging. “We can do Scarlet Letter. I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Charlie nodded. “First things first, you have to read it. I think I have a copy at home you could borrow, if you wanted to.”

“Right,” Cassidy nodded. “You can hand the book off in school, and I’ll call you when I finish it. Then, we can meet up and start talking about the presentation.”

“Do you have a computer at home?” Charlie asked. “It’ll be easier to work online.”

“No, but it’s easy to use the computers in the library,” Cassidy replied, sliding her book into her backpack. “You create the presentation and share it with me. We can divide up the work after I finish reading it.”

“Sounds good,” Charlie nodded, but she felt a little disappointed as Cassidy stood up, slid her backpack on, and walked away. 

Charlie could tell that the girl had gone back to how she had been before, before they had become friends. And…it felt awful. Like Charlie had backtracked horribly.

The brunette narrowed her eyes.

Well, only one thing left to do.

* * *

“So when are you going to ask her out?” Mike asked, though a large bite of his sandwich.

Charlie froze, then looked up at him. “What?”

“Evan said you’re working with Cassidy. When are you gonna ask her out?”

Charlie paused. “Who said I’m going to?”

Mike gave her a sarcastic look. “Char, she’s the one who made you realize you were gay.”

Charlie flushed. “Yeah? So?”

“Don’t you have a huge crush on her?”

“No!” Charlie protested. “No, I used to have a small crush on her! That’s all!”

“Right,” Mike replied, rolling his eyes. “Remind me about the night you realized you were gay?”

Charlie folded her arms, looking away. The two of them were in the Emily household, with Henry still working at the restaurant, and Mike’s two siblings waiting back at the Afton house.

“Listen, Charlie,” Mike sighed. “When we were in middle school together, you clearly had a thing for her. I didn’t realize at the time because I didn’t know you were gay, but looking back it was pretty obvious. And even now, in high school, I always saw you looking over at her. It’s subtle, but from my perspective, I’m not sure you ever stopped having feelings for her.”

Charlie glanced down, flushing. “M-maybe.”

“Right,” Mike nodded, taking a drink from his glass. “So when are you going to ask her out?”

“Who said I was going to?!” Charlie asked, panic back in her tone. “I mean, even if I like her, I don’t have any reason to think that she would like me! She could be straight! She could be homophobic! We don’t know.”

Mike shook his head. “You’re right, we don’t know. But I’m usually pretty good at reading people, and I’m gonna be honest, I can’t really see her ever liking a dude.”

“Are you really basing a sexuality off of ‘vibes?’” Charlie replied, folding her arms.

Mike laughed, raising his arms in surrender.

Charlie elbowed him, but smiled in return. It was…nice, to have someone to talk to about all of this. Who would have thought Charlie would end up being close friends with Mike, of all people?

“So, are you coming to this year’s Pride parade in Boulder?” Mike asked. “I can provide transportation this time around. It should be easier to make an excuse for Henry.”

“Of course!” Charlie nodded. “I loved the last one. Especially since…well, you know.”

“Right,” Mike nodded, laughing.

Charlie sighed, slumping down in her chair. “I’m glad we’re friends, Mike,” she murmured.

At that, Mike seemed to…stiffen, a little. He tapped his foot, taking another sip of his water.

Charlie blinked, looking at him. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Mike sighed. “Can I confess something?”

Charlie shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Well, I was talking with Elizabeth and Evan,” Mike explained. “And the thing is, well, sexuality actually came up.”

Charlie suddenly sat upright, eyes wide in nervousness.

“Apparently, Elizabeth has been…questioning, recently as well,” Mike explained, nodding. “And I really wanted to explain things to her, and make sure she didn’t feel alone…”

“Did you tell her about me?” Charlie asked quietly, in terror.

“No, no no no!” Mike said quickly, holding up his hands. “That’s your secret, I wouldn’t do that to you, no!”

Charlie sighed with relief, falling back down. “Good.”

“But I did tell her about me ,” Mike explained, gesturing to himself. “And about the community. Both her and Evan seemed interested, and Elizabeth was super excited to learn more and even attend the next Pride parade.”

“That sounds good,” Charlie nodded.

“Right…well the thing is, if she goes, and you go…she’s gonna find out. I wanted to make sure you were aware. I was thinking, I know you’re scared, but if I was there to help you and we had some time to prepare, maybe you could come out to them? They aren’t homophobic, I know that. And it would make it easier when we go in June, so…”

“Right,” Charlie nodded. “That…that makes sense.”

“You don’t have to do it right away,” Mike quickly said. “Remember, we’ve got a couple months until the next parade in June. And you could go without telling her…but you’d have to find another car and avoid us the whole time.”

“I understand,” Charlie said, nodding. “I’ll…I’ll see if I can do that.”

“No rush,” Mike said again. “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready, and that’s the end of it.”

* * *

A few weeks later, Charlie sighed as she pressed a hand against the chain fence. On the other side was a playground, one that was very familiar to her. Usually, there would be elementary school kids playing on it, but since it was a Saturday, the place had no one on it.

Charlie gripped the fence. Cassidy had called her and set up the meeting to discuss their shared project. Apparently she’d finally finished the damn book, and it was time to start working on the division of labor.

Without being able to work on it before, Charlie clearly hadn’t made much progress, aside from creating the online presentation. After today, both she and Cassidy would hopefully be able to work on it and have it finished by the time they gave it, at the end of May.

“Have you been waiting long?” Cassidy suddenly asked, appearing by her side. The girl was wearing a black jacket and a white shirt with black jeans.

“Uh, no, not long,” Charlie replied, suddenly nervous. Damn it! “Why’d you want to meet up here?”

“We both know this spot,” Cassidy replied. “Besides, there’s some convenient benches right in there we can work on.

Charlie paused, then looked over where Cassidy was pointing. “Cass, that’s inside.”

“Don’t call me Cass. And why should that mean anything?” Cassidy asked, cocking her head.

“Because it would be trespassing?” Charlie suggested, rolling her eyes. “Because the gate is locked, so we can’t even get in?”

Suddenly, Charlie jumped as she realized Cassidy had moved down to the lock on the gate, and was fiddling with it. “Just give me a second,” Cassidy said.

Charlie paused, then bent down and hissed at her. “Cassidy! We can’t go in there! It’s breaking the law!”

“No one will even know we were in there. I can reseal the lock,” Cassidy replied, rolling her eyes as the lock suddenly popped open.

“I don’t doubt that you can,” Charlie replied. “But why go there when there are so many other places we could go to?!”

“Because we’re already here? And I need to get some live practice for lockpicking anyway,” Cassidy replied, shrugging as she tucked two lockpicking tools back into her jacket pocket. “The gate’s already open, princess. Do you wanna get this done or not?”

Charlie grit her teeth, but stepped in and quickly pulled the gate closed while Cassidy walked over and sat down on one side of the nearest bench.

“We’d better not be caught!” Charlie hissed at her as she sat down on the other side, across from her.

Cassidy rolled her eyes. Then, she reached into her backpack and handed her the book. “Interesting read. Mystery’s easy to guess, but I can see some of the points that we could make here.”

“Right,” Charlie sighed, nodding. “You brought your sheet with the requirements, right?”

Cassidy nodded, taking it out of her bag. “How should we divide up the work? You shared the presentation with me, right? So we can both work on it separately?”

“I don’t have an account to share it with, because you refuse to tell anyone your personal details,” Charlie replied, folding her arms. “So no. The only way to make the presentation is to work on it from my account.”

“That’s fine,” Cassidy said, pulling out a pen and looking down at the paper. “So how should we divide this up? I’ll do plot and characters, you do themes and modern perspective?”

“Sounds fine enough to me,” Charlie replied. “But we should exchange ideas, and both sign off on an idea before it goes in the presentation. Sound good, ‘princess’?”

“Fine by me, sugar,” Cassidy replied. 

Charlie immediately sputtered. “What?! Why that?!”

“Because I knew it would do exactly that,” Cassidy replied, smirking a little before sliding the marked paper back into her backpack. “Let’s set a date for completion.”

“Right. Well, the dates when we’re giving the presentation are from May 31st to June 5th, right?” Charlie asked. “So let’s aim to have it done by mid-May. Perhaps May 16th?”

“Isn’t that in just a few weeks? A bit stiff if I can only do work from your account,” Cassidy replied.

“Guess you’ll just have to call me,” Charlie said, before freezing as she realized just how flirty that came off. Blinking, she looked at the other girl, who seemed completely unfazed.

“Guess so,” Cassidy nodded, picking up her backpack and stepping away from the bench. “I’ll start getting ready. Do you mind if I keep the copy for now, since you’re more familiar with it?”

“Sure,” Charlie replied, shrugging as she handed it over, standing up herself.

“Perfect,” Cassidy nodded, stuffing the book away in her bag before walking back to the gate. She opened it, letting Charlie step through first before stepping through herself and quickly replacing the lock.

Then, the girl just gave her a nod before walking away.

Charlie, oddly enough, felt a bit of panic when she saw the girl turn and walk the other direction. She felt the need to say something, to have the last part of their conversation not be about work.

“Call me, princess!” she ended up shouting.

Cassidy paused, then glanced back at her.

“Fine. Sweetums.”

* * *

“You’re working with Cassidy, right?” Evan asked, walking up to Charlie as she typed on the computer. Charlie blinked in a bit of surprise, having been wrapped up in what she was doing. Mike, who was reading a book near the side of the room, also looked up.

“Yeah,” Charlie nodded. “We’re doing a full analysis of ‘The Scarlet Letter’. It’s actually what I’m working on right now.”

“Right, right,” Evan nodded, standing awkwardly for a moment. Mike chuckled to himself, turning back to his book.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. “What is it, Evan?”

“Well, you two are friends, right?” Evan asked. He was scratching his arm nervously.

“I guess?” Charlie replied, cocking her head. “I thought you two were more friends than us.”

“Yeah, yeah…but still, she values your opinion.”

“I don’t know that she values anyone’s opinion-”

“I just mean, could you put in a good word with her?”

Charlie paused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Evan sighed. “Okay, full disclosure…I want to ask her to the junior prom in early July, and I think if you would put in a good word, then…”

Charlie froze. His words were…interesting…

And they filled her with dread. Maybe a bit of disgust. Not at Evan, of course, but just…she really, really didn’t like that thought.

“I…I’ll see what I can do,” Charlie got out, and Evan clapped his hands together.

“Thank you!” he said. “That means a lot.”

Turning, Evan walked away, further into the house.

Charlie blinked, a little frazzled from the encounter, turning back to her work.

“You’re going to help him…” Mike’s sarcastic tone began. “...ask out your own crush?”

Charlie gripped the mouse of the computer. “Evan is free to ask out whoever he wants to. Cassidy is free to go out with whoever she wants to. If they want to date, then they should.”

“But…you don’t want them to,” Mike nodded. It wasn’t a question.

Charlie sighed. “I don’t know.”

Mike chuckled. “You know, you might have to ask her out if you don’t want her ending up with him-”

“Why are you helping me? Don’t you want to support your brother?!” Charlie insisted, turning to him.

Mike shrugged. “I don’t really care who she ends up with,” he chuckled. “I’m just enjoying the show.”

Charlie glared at him.

“What! You know it’s better than any drama!” Mike protested, dropping the book.

“I can’t ask her to the prom anyway,” Charlie replied, turning back to the computer. “Not only am I not ready for everyone to know, prom night is right before the Pride parade in Boulder. If I want to go to the parade, I can’t spend the night before at prom.”

“Ah. I didn’t realize,” Mike replied, picking up his book again.

“Of course you didn’t. You don’t even go to school anymore,” Charlie replied, rolling her eyes. 

“Anyway…speaking of the parade, do you think you’ll be ready to tell Elizabeth before June 6th?”

Charlie froze as the thought came back to her.

“You don’t have to!” Mike said quickly. “I don’t want to pressure you. You still have some time, you know…”

“I just…” Charlie sighed. “I want to tell her, I do. And I want to go to the parade. I just…I really don’t want to at the same time.”

“I understand,” Mike nodded. “I felt the same way when I told her.”

“You did?” Charlie asked, turning to him. “How’d you push through it?”

Mike breathed in, then out. “I saw,” he began. “That Lizzie was hurting. That she was really confused. That she needed guidance, and that I was the only one who could give it to her. And that made it easier. Gave me the strength to push through.”

Charlie sighed.

“But don’t feel bad. Coming out is a big deal,” Mike said, tapping her shoulder. “I’m just worried the world might not be so generous.”

* * *

“Your summaries look good,” Charlie said, looking over the work Cassidy had done on her computer as Charlie had made them some lunch. “The one on Pearl could use a bit more detail…but overall, good job. Your part’s mostly done.”

“Good. How much have you gotten done?” Cassidy asked, taking a sip of water as she ate some of the macaroni and cheese Charlie had made. “This is really good, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Charlie nodded with a smile. “I finished the key themes of the novel itself. I’m just trying to figure out what modern perspective or parallel we could draw…”

“Easy,” Cassidy shrugged. “Talk about how the Puritan beliefs of religion affect the modesty of their members.”

“That isn’t a ‘modern’ perspective, that’s the point of the original book,” Charlie replied in a dry tone.

“Then…talk about the difference between public and hidden sin, and how it was shown in the novel. You could compare it to Watergate or some shit,” Cassidy suggested, spooning some more food into her mouth.

“That could work…” Charlie murmured, a little distracted. 

Alright, time to test the waters…

“I was thinking I could talk about how social stigma forces people to hide aspects of their life,” Charlie said, her heart racing as she continued. “And for a modern parallel I thought about maybe comparing it to how the Christian idea of family forces…forces LGBT+ people into hiding.”

Cassidy paused for a moment, glancing up and meeting Charlie’s eyes for a split second before looking back down and continuing. “Good idea. I’m not sure this is the best town to be pro-gay, but I like the thought of it.”

“R-right. Well, sometimes you have to break the glass ceiling, right?” Charlie chuckled nervously.

Cassidy paused, then looked at her. “Right.”

They looked at each other for a moment. The longer they did, the more anxious Charlie got.

Does that mean she’s not homophobic? Is she gay? Is she straight?! That told me almost nothing, damn it!

“So are you going to write it in?” Cassidy asked, standing up and walking behind her. “I can help you, if you want.”

“Oh! Thanks,” Charlie nodded, going onto the slide and starting to type. 

As she did, Mike arrived back at the house after finishing his shift at Freddy’s sighing as he stepped into the dining/kitchen area with them.

“Hi, Char,” Mike nodded, then he noticed the other girl. “Oh! Hey, Cassidy!”

“Hey Mike,” Cassidy nodded.

Charlie paused. “Wait. You two know each other?”

“We go to the same gym,” Cassidy explained. “And we help spot each other.”

“Yeah. You’re going in next Tuesday, right?” Mike asked, pointing at her.

“Of course,” Cassidy nodded. “But I might not make it in a few weeks. Forgot to mention, but I might be going to prom that night and I don’t think I can squeeze both things in.”

“O-oh?” Charlie asked, her voice giving a small crack that she covered. “You’re going to prom?”

“Depends,” Cassidy shrugged. “I might be. I figured I should give you a warning, Mike, just in case.”

“Good to know,” Mike replied, raising an eyebrow at Charlie.

Charlie flushed and went back to typing.

After a few more moments, Cassidy tapped her foot and asked, “Could you tell me where your bathroom is?”

“Down the hall, first on the right,” Charlie replied, pointing to the nearby hallway.

“Good,” Cassidy nodded, immediately walking down and opening the door, before stepping inside and closing it.

As soon as the door was locked, Mike stepped away from the kitchen and near where Charlie was sitting. “You have to ask her out!”

“What? What are you talking about?” Charlie asked, looking at him in confusion. “We already talked about this!”

“Yeah, but she’s signaling to you! She wants you to ask her out!” Mike whispered. “That’s why she said that she might be at prom! She’s waiting for you to ask her!”

“We don’t know that!” Charlie insisted. “Besides, I already told you I’m going to the parade!”

Mike sighed, folding his arms. “Alright. So are you ready to tell Elizabeth?”

Charlie froze.

He sighed. “I don’t want to push you,” he said as the sound of the sink came from the bathroom. “But, I mean, if you’re going to stay home and not tell Elizabeth, you should at least take the opportunity that’s here!”

Before Charlie could reply, Mike pushed himself off the table and stepped back into the kitchen before Cassidy opened the door and walked back out.

“Did I miss anything?” she asked.

“Nope!” Charlie said quickly. “No, you didn’t miss anything!”

Cassidy gave her an odd look. “Okay then. If my work is done, I should probably leave.”

Mike coughed, quickly jerking his head to the girl.

Charlie swallowed. “Okay,” she said, standing up. “I’ll walk you out.”

Stepping forward, Cassidy walked forward as Charlie followed. They walked over to the front door, Charlie opening it and Cassidy walking out.

“By the way, I think Evan wanted me to put in a good word with you,” Charlie added as Cassidy stepped out. “He said something about wanting to ask you out.”

Cassidy sighed. “Right. I figured he would.”

Charlie blinked, stepping out and letting the door close behind her. “You did?”

“Yeah, he’s been kinda flirty for a while now,” Cassidy nodded. “I’ve tried to make it clear this is a platonic thing, but…”

“Oh, right,” Charlie said, laughing with a tiny bit of relief at the fact that she clearly wasn’t interested. 

“So are you going to?” Cassidy asked, tipping her head.

“Going to what?” Charlie asked.

“Put in a good word. He asked you to, didn’t he?” Cassidy asked.

Charlie sniggered. “You know, you and Evan compliment each other. Maybe you should give him a try.”

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that. I enjoyed liking you,” Cassidy replied, looking forward.

“Well, I’m sorry Princess. You asked,” Charlie replied, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t call me that. My name is Cassidy,” Cassidy replied.

“Aw, but you seem so haughty! And regal!”

“Shut up,” Cassidy replied, before they both broke down into laughs.

“So…so you’re not going out with Evan, then?” Charlie asked as the laughs died down.

“Nope,” Cassidy replied. “As of right now. I’m open for that night…”

Cassidy drifted off, before giving the brunette a small glance. Charlie blinked as she suddenly realized what it meant.

Oh no no no, Mike was right.

Suddenly, Charlie was petrified.

Cassidy kicked a rock on the pavement, waiting.

Oh come on Emily, say something!

Charlie swallowed. “Would…”

Cassidy looked up at her, a bit of hopefulness in her expression.

Shitshitshit.

I can’t do it.

Charlie’s shoulders dropped. “Would you be okay with starting the presentation when we give it?”

Charlie didn’t see it, but Cassidy’s shoulders dropped too.

“Sure. Sure I would.”

* * *

A few days later, Charlie finished typing the last page with a bit of a flourish. She was a little late from their set date to finish the project, but it was still before the end limit.

After a bit more research into LGBT+ history for comparisons, the final page of the presentation was finally finished. Charlie sighed as she clicked off of the presentation. She didn’t want to see another copy of Scarlet Letter for a while.

“You doing okay?” Mike asked, looking up.

“Yeah, I just finished the project,” Charlie explained, closing the computer. “I’m glad to be done.”

“Really? You’re losing easy access to Cassidy, you know,” Mike replied with a raised eyebrow.

Charlie just glared at him, before grabbing a pillow from the couch and throwing it at him.

Mike shielded himself from the pillow, laughing, before looking back at her and dropping his smile.

Charlie cocked her head, sighing. “What’s wrong?”

“Well…” Mike muttered. “I mean, the final chance for you to tell Elizabeth is kind of really close. The parade is in just a couple days, and I mean, I guess you could come without telling her if you found some other transportation…”

Charlie just blinked, thinking, and examining herself.

Then she sighed. “I can’t do it.”

Mike looked at her, a little disappointed. “I figured.”

“I want to Mike, I really want to. But…I just can’t,” Charlie shook her head. “Maybe I can come with you two to the parade next year.”

“We’ll see,” Mike nodded, before he looked back up at her with a little mischief. “But if you don’t go, you have to promise me you’ll ask Cassidy to prom.”

“What?! No, that is not part of the deal!” Charlie replied, shaking her head.

“Fine, it doesn’t have to be prom, but at least ask Cassidy out, okay? For me?”

“Your big request is for me to ask a girl out?” Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes!” Mike said. “Promise me!”

Charlie gripped her arm. “I…I promise I’ll try.”

Mike grinned. “Well, that’s all I need.”

* * *

Despite her promise, Charlie found it difficult to tell Cassidy anything. The next time she saw her, her mouth clammed up. And the time after that.

After a few days of this, the presentations began. Cassidy and Charlie gave theirs, and while a few people laughed and tried to make fun of them for talking about the LGBT+ community, most were silent. Still, Charlie didn’t want to know what would happen if someone like George was in their class.

God forbid.

And after around a week of that, the presentations were finished. Then there was a Monday, and then there was a Tuesday.

And on that Tuesday was prom.

And so, on Tuesday morning, Charlie swallowed and desperately walked up to Cassidy during the break. She was, as per usual, by herself.

“Hey Cassidy?” Charlie asked. The girl looked up at her.

“Yeah?” she asked.

Charlie swallowed. “I was wondering…you said something about prom, I think?”

Cassidy looked down, then back to whatever she was fiddling with. “Yeah. I’m going with Evan.”

Immediately, Charlie froze, her heart lurching as her mouth paused, midway. 

“O-oh you are?” Charlie asked, voice a little unsteady. “I thought you said that you didn’t like him?”

“I don’t. It’s a platonic thing,” Cassidy replied, shrugging.

“Then…why go to the dance with him at all?” Charlie asked, coughing a little.

Cassidy glanced back at her, giving her a side-eyed glance. “Because…he asked me out.”

Those words felt like a punch in the stomach. At that moment, Charlie knew that if she’d just been a little faster, then maybe…maybe…

Charlie’s heart dropped as she stepped away. “O-okay,” she said. “Well, I was just wondering, so…”

“Well, now you know,” Cassidy nodded.

Charlie stumbled back a little, then turned and walked away. “I need to use the restroom,” she muttered to anyone who might be listening, then she walked over quickly and pushed open the door.

Walking over to the sink, Charlie put her hands on the sink rim, feeling sick.

Why couldn’t you just…

Coward.

You’re a coward, Charlie Emily.

* * *

That night, Charlie watched over the dance apathetically. Unable to go to the parade (Mike had already left) and with all her work done, she didn’t have anything else to do. She was already going to have a bad night, so she may as well help others to have a good one.

Charlie had volunteered to help keep an eye over the place, just like how she had been a recess monitor so long ago. She’d help out the chaperones find kids that snuck in alcohol, or anything similar, and make sure the event ran smoothly.

For once, Charlie was disappointed in the lack of juvenility in her classmates. Very few people actually tried to break the rules, which was very disappointing for her. It gave her little to do, which meant she had to keep scanning the room, which meant…

She wanted to feel happy for Evan, she really did. She knew that Evan really liked Cassidy, and her going to the dance with him was a big deal to him. But seeing them standing together, Evan nervously smiling as they traded banter…it just made Charlie feel sick. 

Because she really, really wished that it was her instead.

Blinking, Charlie realized that there was a group of boys all gathered around the back. Narrowing her eyes at the suspicious display, Charlie stalked behind them, trying to see over, to what they were all focused on.

Sure enough, it was an open bottle.

Bursting through, Charlie snatched it from them. “Alcohol is against the rules,” she said. “Just enjoy the party.”

The boys, including George, sneered at her. “You always have to ruin the fun, Emily,” he muttered darkly. He didn’t seem overly drunk, just a little buzzed.

“If I was ‘ruining the fun’, I’d get you kicked out,” Charlie replied, folding her arms. “But if you don’t cause a mess, I’ll let you stay. How about that?”

Not waiting for their reply, Charlie walked over and quickly handed the bottle off to one of the supervisors, before sighing.

“What’s got you down?”

Charlie froze as she heard a familiar voice speak, before turning to see Cassidy, holding a cup of punch.

Charlie’s mouth went a little dry. She hadn’t seen the girl up close before…she was wearing a black cloth dress with a tie around the waist and an open back, similar to what was worn by characters like Betty Boop in those old cartoons.

It looked…good.

“Hey,” Charlie said. “You look…nice.”

“Thanks,” Cassidy nodded.

“Where’s Evan?” Charlie asked.

Cassidy gestured over to where Evan, Jeremy, Gabriel, and Susie were all talking. “He’s with some friends.”

“Right,” Charlie nodded.

“Did you hear the news?” Cassidy asked, turning to her with a raised eyebrow. “Apparenlty, Susie and Jeremy are attending as each other’s dates.”

“Really?” Charlie blinked with surprise. “They’ve hated each other for as long as I can remember.”

“Yeah well, I guess they bonded while working on the project together,” Cassidy shrugged. As she lifted her cup and took a sip, Charlie heard her mutter something that sounded like, ‘familiar story…’

Charlie swallowed. “So why are you talking to me?”

“You were alone, and looked sad,” Cassidy said. “And I was alone too. I guess I wanted to check up on you, make sure you were doing alright.”

Charlie pursed her lips, but smiled. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Cassidy nodded, looking at her with a smile before her eyes shifted to something behind her.

Charlie looked over. It was a photo booth, one that the school had brought in as part of the event.

Cassidy raised an eyebrow. “Should we…”

“What?” Charlie asked. “What are you talking about? Shouldn’t you be getting those photos with Evan?”

“I can get them with him later,” Cassidy replied, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s not like he’s my date date. I’ve made sure he knew that before we started.”

“I…” Charlie paused, looking into Cassidy’s intense, dark eyes, which were determined. “Okay.”

Cassidy smirked, a little wicked, and Charlie’s throat suddenly went dry as the other girl pulled her forward, into the booth.

“Here,” she said, pulling the curtain and pushing Charlie in. “Let’s take some photos. No one else is using it.”

Charlie shrugged, then smiled at the camera as Cassidy sat down, pulling the curtain. The light flashed once, then again, then again, then again.

After it finished, Charlie glanced over at Cassidy, who hadn’t moved. She blinked, a little nervous for some reason she couldn’t place.

Cassidy pursed her lips. “You know, I missed you after you stopped talking to me,” she said.

Charlie froze, her words suddenly striking home.

“That hadn’t happened before,” Cassidy confessed, the music from outside seeming to fade away as Charlie’s attention was completely enraptured by her words. “I never…had someone who I cared enough about to miss. You changed that.”

Charlie winced. “I’m sorry, Cassidy. It didn’t have anything to do with you…I had a lot of stuff I was figuring out about myself.”

“I figured,” Cassidy nodded. “But I was still really glad when we started talking again, even if I didn’t show it.”

Charlie cocked her head. “Cassidy, are you drunk? You’re never this open with me.”

“I might be. I think someone might have spiked the punch,” Cassidy sighed, looking over at her. “But you…you did something to me. I haven’t recovered…and I don’t want to.”

Charlie just froze, heart racing as the girl drifted just a hairs-width closer.

Eventually, Cassidy paused, hovering in the air between them.

“Ask me to kiss you,” she whispered.

Charlie swallowed.

“Please.”

That one word was all she needed.

Cassidy lunged forward, almost like a snake as she pressed her lips against Charlie’s. Charlie paused, warmth spreading throughout her entire body as she felt Cassidy’s hand reach up and stroke her face gently.

In that moment, everything Charlie had been holding back broke free.

Charlie pushed back, wrapping her arms around Cassidy’s head as years of repression sought an escape. An escape that came in the form of a black haired, occult-obsessed girl who Charlie loved.

At least, that was how it felt.

Charlie was slowly moved back, her head hitting the seat as Cassidy’s slender hands wrapped around her body.

Charlie was lost, and never wanted to find herself…

Flash.

In an instant, the moment was over as Charlie heard the sound of a camera and…and laughter.

In an instant, the curtains of the photo booth were ripped back as George happily shouted “Smile” and snapped another photo.

Charlie’s mouth dropped open in horror as, in an instant, her world shattered.

The crowd had gathered around. George’s cronies were already taking the photos and spreading them around. People were laughing, and pointing.

Charlie heard Cassidy growl beside her as George snapped another picture.

Then another.

Then again.

Then again.

Then Cassidy ripped the camera from his grasp and broke it in one hand, but the damage had already been done. Charlie felt sick, horrified as she saw everyone in the crowd taking her photos, laughing, pointing. Some of them even shouted slurs.

As her ears began ringing, Charlie pushed out from both Cassidy and George, as Cassidy had started to fight with him. She stumbled her way through the crowd, barely taking in their jeering faces, as the attention was drawn onto Cassidy.

Finally getting out of the crowd, ears ringing, Charlie hit the door and took one look back.

Her eyes met Evan, who looked just as horrified as her, but also…guilty. Shameful.

And Charlie knew.

He did it. He…he outed me.

Pushing open the door, Charlie stumbled out and started to run into the cold night air, desperately trying to avoid everyone and everything. Coming to prom had been the worst mistake she had ever made.

With nowhere else to go, Charlie stumbled home.

* * *

That night, Charlie slid onto her bedroom floor and wept, finally breaking down. 

She…she hadn’t even been willing to tell Henry. She hadn’t been willing to tell Elizabeth.

Now…now her entire grade knew?!

Probably the entire town, after a few days. You couldn’t stop a rumor like this.

So Charlie cried, letting everything out.

She could barely even see. Head buried, arms down, she couldn’t even take in the world around her.

That was, until she felt warm, hairy, familiar arms wrap around her in a comforting embrace.

Still sniffling, she looked up to see Henry’s face, looking at her with worry.

“I heard what happened,” he whispered gently. “I’m so sorry, Charlie. But know that I love you, no matter what.”

Once again, Charlie broke down, this time wrapping her arms around her father and squeezing as hard as she could.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, life became hell.

Both Charlie and Henry agreed it was best to pull out of school for a while, maybe for the rest of the year. After all, there was only ten or so more days, and all the main projects for her grades were done already.

But even that wasn’t enough to protect them. From people harassing Henry at work to some even coming by the house to throw toilet paper or shout slurs, one thing was clear-this was an awful town to be openly gay in.

After another day of this had passed, Mike and Elizabeth had returned from Boulder, and immediately realized that something was wrong. Charlie had explained everything to both of them.

Elizabeth hadn’t been upset about Charlie not telling her, instead, she did her best to comfort the other girl as much as she could. Meanwhile, Mike went back to the Afton home in a fury to get the truth out of Evan.

Speaking of, Evan felt terrible. Apparently he had seen Charlie and Cassidy kissing in the booth and, wrapped up in his own head, had ended up spilling it to George, who had gotten everyone else. Accident or not, Charlie wasn’t ready to speak to him again. Not for a while.

Charlie knew she couldn’t handle this. It was her worst nightmare. Henry and the Aftons were the only thing that gave her any kind of hope.

And…she hadn’t even spoken to Cassidy since that night. Honestly, she was a little afraid. Not just of what the girl might say, but also because of what people might say if they talked again.

Things were terrible, no two ways about it. And they didn’t show any signs of getting better.

It seemed there was only one option. And yet, Charlie had still been a little shocked when Henry had suggested it. 

They’d been having dinner, when he had turned to her and, out of the blue, asked, “Do you think we should move?”

It was the best option, ultimately. Getting away from all the abuse, all the hatred, all the bigotry and harassment. 

Three years ago, Henry and William had opened up a new restaurant, in a different town, much farther away. A different Freddy Fazbear’s, one that was bigger and better. And, with a little elbow grease, Henry would be able to work only from that location.

And so, they planned. It was sudden, but as the summer began, they packed up their things and called a moving company. They prepared to leave, saying goodbye to all their friends who stuck by them.

And, on the last night before they would leave, Charlie found herself wandering a familiar playground. It was nighttime, which meant it was abandoned. The entire place was empty, which was exactly what Charlie wanted.

She exhaled, sitting down on a swing.

“I’m sorry.”

Charlie paused, then turned, seeing Cassidy walk up, sigh, and sit right next to her. She seemed just as tired and emotionally drained as Charlie had, maybe even more so. Of course, she would be going through everything Charlie was, if not worse.

“About what?” Charlie asked.

“Getting you caught up in this,” Cassidy replied quietly. “I’m really, really sorry. I shouldn’t have…I shouldn’t have kissed you. Then we wouldn’t…”

Charlie looked down. “By that logic, I shouldn’t have kissed you back.”

“Right,” Cassidy nodded.

They swung for a moment, the only sound being the whine of chains.

“Why’d you come here?” Cassidy asked.

Charlie sighed. “I felt in control here,” she whispered. “I guess I’m missing that now.”

Cassidy nodded. “I get that. Same reason. It was…it was a simpler time, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Charlie muttered, before letting out a small, ironic chuckle. “I guess your fortune came true, huh? Sadness, defeat…”

“They usually do,” Cassidy nodded. “Even when I don’t want them to.”

Once again, silence.

“We’re moving.”

Silence.

“Oh? Where?”

Silence.

“Further upstate. My dad and I…we just can’t handle all of this anymore, and he figured out how he can work from up there.”

Silence.

“Makes sense. It’s a good idea.”

Silence.

“Are you moving too?”

Silence.

“No.”

Charlie looked over at Cassidy, who was holding her hands still, looking down at the ground.

“Why not? You probably should,” Charlie said.

Cassidy sighed. “My parents…aren’t the type to give up. And they…aren’t inclined to listen to me right now. They didn’t take it well.”

“Oh,” Charlie said.

Because really, what else could she say?

Cassidy looked over at her, before standing up. “If you’re leaving, I have a gift for you.”

“You do?” Charlie asked, standing up.

“Yeah,” Cassidy nodded. “Consider it a keepsake. A souvenir. Something to remember me by.”

She reached into her pocket, before pulling something small and rectangular out and handing it to Charlie.

Charlotte took it. It was a tarot card, like the ones Cassidy was used to reading. This one depicted an angelic figure with wings looking over two people in a garden.

“What does it mean?” Charlie asked, looking at her.

Cassidy pursed her lips. “It’s the end of your fortune.”

Charlie paused, then looked at the card. “Really?”

Cassidy nodded. “It’s over. What happens next is up to us.”

The two stood, frozen, for a second.

Then, sighing, Cassidy put a hand on Charlie’s cheek and kissed her. Charlie closed her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek as she held on for as long as she could.

Then Cassidy broke away.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered one final time.

“I’ll remember you,” Charlie promised. “I’ll meet you again.”

Cassidy looked at her, then shrugged, before turning around and walking away.

She didn’t look back.

* * *

A few years later…

High school had been rough, but it was over now.

Summer vacation had come, and college was next. Charlie had a bright future ahead of her, at least, that was what her teachers said. Still, she had a month or so before her classes at her university began.

And that was long enough to come back to the town she hated.

Hurricane hadn’t changed much. Most of what Charlie remembered from this place was from the last few weeks, after being outed, when they’d dealt with harassment left and right until they left.

But now, they seemed to have forgotten her. Thankfully.

Driving her new car, Charlie eyed the place, avoiding the high school and instead skipping ahead. There were a few places she wanted to go to, but there was only one place she felt she needed to go to.

Pulling to the side of the road, Charlie skipped across the road and put her hands up on the chain link fence. Inside, she could see the elementary school kids playing-it was recess, after all.

Charlie smiled as she saw a few kids playing, for a second thinking she could see two girls, one reading tarot cards, the other listening with fascination.

But, the other girl wasn’t here.

Charlie’s smile dropped as she looked around. She should have figured. It had been a year, she couldn’t have expected…

The woman sighed.

“Whatcha thinking about?”

Charlie froze, then turned. 

Sure enough, she could see Cassidy standing behind her. Charlie smiled. The girl hadn’t changed much at all, though she seemed more bent-over, tougher.

“Hi, Cassidy,” Charlie nodded.

“Hi,” Cassidy nodded. 

Charlie sighed. “It’s been a while.”

“It really has,” Cassidy nodded.

“How has it been? With everything?” Charlie asked.

“Not great,” Cassidy replied, shrugging a little. “But I can handle it. Especially since we’re out of high school now.”

“Right,” Charlie nodded. “Do you know where you’re going to college?”

“I…I’m still figuring that out,” Cassidy sighed.

Charlie looked down, then up at her. “Do you want to talk about it over coffee? My treat.”

Cassidy cocked her head, then smiled.

“Well, all you had to do was ask.”