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Two hours.
Two hours until Charlie has to meet up with John for their date. She should be excited, really. After all, she used to have a crush on John when they were kids. At least, she's pretty sure she did. That probably means it'll be fine to date him. She'll probably like it. Hopefully.
She's just a bit too nervous—as she should be! Who wouldn't be nervous for a date? That's probably not a great sign. But in Charlie's case, she has been feeling perhaps a little too nervous.
Briefly, as Charlie knocks on Jessica's front door, she wonders if it's normal to feel her heart in her throat before a date. This is her first one, after all. And she likes John. She's probably just overthinking things, as per usual. She has a test in two days that she hasn't studied for, and she was originally planning on doing so tonight because she has a project to work on tomorrow, but it's fine. John obviously didn't know she'd be busy this week, and Charlie agreed to the date, so this is totally one hundred percent on her.
A few footsteps and a creak pass before Jessica's tapered fingers curl around the door, slowly opening it to reveal that she's actually in her soft, flowy pajamas.
Charlie has seen this before, but she doesn't know if she'll ever get used to viewing Jessica in casual clothing. Always the type to stand out and show off her prim demeanor, Charlie sometimes has a difficult time connecting the Jessica she sees at school or during their hangouts to the one who lies around the house in an oversized shirt, no mascara in sight.
The one constant, however, is the nearly almond shape of her nails. They're always painted a light, pretty color, like purple, pink, or baby blue. Somehow, they're almost never chipped. Almost perfect.
"Hey," Jessica says, running her fingers through her brown hair to throw it out of her face. She's been growing it out recently, and it's now well past her shoulders. Charlie can still tell that she hasn't fully gotten used to the length yet.
A moment of silence passes.
"Oh, hey," Charlie says, finally remembering how to respond.
Jessica steps aside to allow her entry, and Charlie heads into the house.
Charlie takes in the cool temperature of the house, as well as the smell of something clean. Fresh linens, perhaps?
After closing the door, Jessica hurries ahead of her and gestures toward the kitchen.
"Oh my gosh, you look so cute," Jessica says, gesturing with her hands to emphasize her words. "I mean, since when did you get that dress? I didn't even know you owned any. Oh, hey, do you want water or something? We have juice, coffee, tea, whatever."
"Um, water, I guess. And, uh, Aunt Jen took me shopping a little while back. She said I should get this, just in case. I didn't think I'd ever wear it, but I guess it turns out it came in handy after all."
Charlie awkwardly shrugs, pauses, and then wonders why on earth she shrugged like that. She tries to put her hands into the pockets of her jeans—a typical nervous habit of hers—but since she's not wearing any jeans, she lifts her hands and places them into the pockets of her denim jacket.
"I'm loving the jacket," Jessica admits, looking through an overhead cupboard. She doesn't make any remarks about how this is one of the two denim jackets that Charlie wears all the time.
Charlie tries not to shift in place as Jessica fills up a tall, clear glass. Charlie listens to the water fizz, admiring the little bubbles that slosh around within the cup as the water rises. She remembers washing dishes as a child and particularly enjoying that aspect of it. Her eyes flick up to Jessica, who is looking at her expectantly, the glass held out in front of her.
Oh. Right.
Charlie hurriedly takes the glass, her fingers momentarily brushing up against Jessica's perfect nails. She barely manages to avoid spilling the water as she brings it up to her lips and takes a quick sip of it. Actually, she doesn't even want the water. Why did she go along with it?
"Alright, upstairs," Jessica says, turning and heading in the direction of the staircase.
Charlie follows behind her, carrying the water and holding it as carefully as she can so as to not spill it by being clumsy.
The path to Jessica's room isn't too familiar. Charlie hasn't been over here very many times. The two of them mostly hang out with the rest of their friends, or if it's a girl's hangout, they do it at Marla's and sometimes Charlie's place. Jessica's parents are very strict about having company over, and boys aren't allowed.
The inside of her room is strikingly clean and organized, almost the opposite of Charlie's. She's always got clothes and robots strewn about the floor, and she trips on Stanley or the train track no less than once a month. She just doesn't have the heart to move them anywhere else.
Jessica's bed is made, and all of her various pillows are set up in order of biggest to smallest. Up against the wall, her vanity is covered in makeup and accessories that are all neatly organized, not a single item seemingly out of place. Charlie is certain that they are exactly where Jessica wants them to be. She probably always follows the same exact routine too.
"Here, come sit," Jessica says, gesturing to the chair in front of the vanity.
Charlie does so, still awkwardly holding the cup.
"Uh, where should I set this?"
Jessica realizes Charlie is still holding the cup, so she glances around the room looking for a spot to place it.
"Right over here," Jessica says, easily taking the water from Charlie's hand and heading over to set it on her dresser. Charlie momentarily wonders why she didn't go set it on her nightstand instead, but maybe neither of them are thinking right at the moment. It's probably fine.
Jessica saunters back over, a smile on her face as she scans over her makeup and likely makes a mental note of the various products she has. "So, what are we thinking?"
"Oh," Charlie says. She doesn't really know much about makeup. "Uh, not that much. Just chapstick, I guess. Maybe… the powder thing?"
Jessica turns and raises a brow. "Is that right?"
"…Um." Come on, Charlie, think. What other types of makeup are there? "A little mascara?"
"Charlie, are you trying to go almost all-natural, or do you not want me to work my magic?"
Trying to resist the urge to fidget with them, Charlie places her hands in her lap. "Well, I dunno. I've never tried this stuff before. What if I look weird?"
"Oh, please. I'm the one doing the makeup," Jessica swats her hand all blasé-like. "How could it look weird?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I just, um. I don't wear it, so it's just… the idea of looking different is kind of making me, I dunno, nervous? Like, what if I look too good, and then I don't know how to do my makeup, so I can never look that good again? Or, what if I start doing my makeup, and then I have to do it every single day because then I'll look weird without it, even though I never cared for it in the first place?"
"…"
"Oh, sorry."
"I think you're wildly overthinking it."
"Probably."
"Well, if you don't want bold, I won't go there. We'll do something light, right? Just a bit of powder, some light lipstick, a little blush, a bit of eyeliner, aaand light on the mascara. Oh, and a touch of eyeshadow. Very light blue. Trust me, it'll look great," Jessica says as she grabs at items from her well-organized collection.
Charlie isn't really sure about this, but she nods, so Jessica gets started. She takes the powder puff and lightly pats Charlie's face with it, gentle and methodical.
"Ah, it's a bit different doing it on someone else. It feels like I'm doing it backwards."
"Maybe you can think of it like… you're a painter, and I'm your canvas."
"Oh, please, Charlie. You're much too pretty to be a canvas. Obviously if I were a painter, you'd be my muse."
Woah. That's… Something about the way Jessica said that is making Charlie's skin tingle, but in a good way. Sure, Charlie gets compliments from her aunt and her friends every now and then, but whenever Jessica does it, it always feels a little extra special. Charlie always takes those moments and holds them close to her chest.
It's probably just because Jessica is so perfect. She's always so put-together that Charlie can never quite take her eyes off of her, clinging onto her every word.
"Yeah?"
"Of course. Who else am I gonna ask? Carlton? He can't sit still for the life of him, and Michael is always hogging him. Lamar is always busy, and Marla also wouldn't be able to sit still or stop talking. Charlie, you'd be my perfect muse."
"Oh, so I'm your last resort?" Charlie jokes.
Jessica huffs in amusement. "You're my first pick, obviously. I was explaining why no one else can compare to you."
Charlie feels a bit of warmth creep up her neck and tries to distract herself from the sensation by asking another question. "Well, what about John? What's wrong with him?"
"Hm? Oh, I suppose I forgot. John is… well, John. Not very visually interesting, is he?"
Charlie doesn't know how to respond to that.
"Oh, right. You're going on a date with him."
Charlie gives a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah…"
"Well, he's not ugly, I suppose? He's just not really my type. Sorry, not sorry," Jessica says nonchalantly.
"It's fine. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that."
"So you think John is beautiful?'
"Jessica!"
Jessica laughs at her, and Charlie pouts.
"Just teasing."
Is it bad that 'beautiful' isn't one of the words Charlie would use to describe John? He looks fine. It's probably just because he's a guy that it feels weird. That's got to be it. Besides, Charlie is more worried about herself this evening.
It's her first date, so she needs to make a decent impression, or something like that. It's got to be special. John is probably going to dress up too, especially since he's learned to be more attentive to his appearance the past few years. He'll probably wear something nice that toes the line between casual and formal.
Could Charlie be the one overdoing it? Does she even need to go all-out and get all dressed up just to go see a movie and get a bite to eat? Would John even care if she just dressed how she normally does?
Jessica pauses after she pulls the tube of lipstick away from Charlie's lips. Charlie hardly even noticed that Jessica had been putting that on her, so lost in her thoughts just now.
"Charlie? You okay? You look like you're about to have to go to, uh, not a funeral, but something slightly less depressing. Are you having second thoughts?" Jessica gives her a worried look.
"I dunno… It's not that I don't like John. He's great. It's just going to be weird, I guess. We've always been friends, and I have no idea what it's going to be like doing couple things."
"Well, it's just a date. That doesn't make you a couple," Jessica points out. "He has to ask you to be his girlfriend first."
She picks up a black stick and a lighter. Charlie's eyes go wide as she watches Jessica burn the tip of a black pencil.
"Woah, what are you doing?"
"Hm?" Jessica looks over at her, as though nothing is abnormal about this. "Warming it up. Unless you want me applying this to turn into a nightmare for both of us?"
Charlie shakes her head. "Ah, no. Burn— burn away. You clearly know what you're doing."
Jessica laughs lightly, and Charlie's eyes latch onto the light shimmer of her lip gloss. She wonders if she should ask Jessica to share some—if it would make her lips look that good. Or, maybe it's just Jessica who can pull it off so well.
Yeah, Charlie doesn't want anything that would stand out too much. She'll probably be fine with the lipstick she's already got on.
After a minute or so of Charlie learning exactly why Jessica thought it would be a good idea to burn her eyeliner pencil, she feels a bit grateful to herself for not feeling compelled to wear makeup every day. Do other people really put this stuff on all the time? She could have sworn Jessica was trying to stab her in the eye a second ago.
Blush and eyeshadow are an easy ordeal, and Charlie preoccupies herself by thinking about the new zombie movie she's about to see with John. Her attention is pulled elsewhere when she notices Jessica pulling something out of her shirt—something that had clearly been stuffed in the middle of her bra. Charlie blinks, staring in surprise, and Jessica simply unscrews that cap.
"What— what is that?"
"Mascara."
"Why was it in your bra?" Charlie asks, a bit incredulous.
Jessica seems to realize that this is definitely a bit strange. "Oh! Well, it's best to warm it up for easy application. I always put it there so it can get warm while I do everything else. Uh, I didn't really think about it. Is it too weird?"
Charlie can feel warmth creep up from her neck and up to her face. How is Jessica so casual about putting something like that in her… bra and then using it on Charlie? Is this just something girls usually do? Is Charlie the one making things feel weird? Probably.
She's not thinking about Jessica's… never mind. It's out of her mind. Completely. She doesn't have the urge to look at her chest like a total weirdo. Not at all.
"Oh, okay, that's fine," Charlie says simply.
As it turns out, applying mascara requires precision and for Charlie to blink when asked to do so.
"Whatever you do, don't squint."
"Aye aye, captain."
Jessica rolls her eyes and goes about putting her makeup back in the correct spots. "Well, go on now. Take a look. What do you think?"
Charlie had been avoiding turning to look in the mirror the whole time, unsure of whether she was ready to see her new look. Even now, she's pretty hesitant. But if Jessica is telling her to do so, of course she has to.
After taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Charlie turns to look in the mirror. For a moment, she swears she can feel the rhythm of her heartbeat change as she catches sight of her face. It's so different. True to her word, Jessica didn't go heavy on the makeup. However, it's weird seeing what is clearly Jessica's makeup style on her own face. Of course, Jessica shares a similar style to other girls their age, but for some reason, Charlie can tell that there's a bit of a distinction. Jessica has always been good at taking popular trends and making them her own, always standing out in her own way.
It's so strange to see herself in the mirror, a face full of makeup, and beside her, Jessica's face is bare. It almost feels like somehow it's opposite day. But still, even like this, Jessica is ten times prettier than Charlie. She just has this natural beauty to her that makes her look radiant no matter what.
But Charlie isn't really sure about her makeup. Sure, it looks very good, but it just doesn't feel like it should be on her face. Suddenly, coming here to get this done feels like a dumb idea. Charlie had an idea of what her makeup might look like, but seeing herself and not being able to recognize the person looking back at her is just too weird.
And what can she even do now? Tell Jessica she doesn't like the makeup she just spent likely over half an hour on? No way can she say that. Besides, it's not the makeup that's the problem, but just her. She's the weird one who can't handle looking pretty, or whatever. What's wrong with her?
"Ah, you don't like it, do you?" Jessica asks.
Charlie hurriedly sits upright and turns to look at Jessica. "No! No! It's fine. It's fine— good. It looks good."
"Well, of course it looks good. I'm the one who did it." Jessica tosses her hair over her shoulder. "But you have to admit, it doesn't look like you, does it?"
"Huh?"
"It's what you asked for, but it's not really what you wanted, is it? I just—I don't think you like it. I know that look on your face, Charlie."
Charlie sighs, placing her hands in her lap and turning to look back at her own reflection. "I guess. But I've got to get going soon, and it looks good, so—"
"Uh-uh," Jessica says, placing a hand in front of her to stop Charlie from getting up. "Not on my watch. I'm not letting you go on a date not feeling like you look like— like totally bitchin."
Charlie lets out a surprised laugh. Jessica hardly ever swears, so it always catches Charlie off guard when she says things like this. "Oh my gosh, you can't be serious."
"I'm so serious."
Somehow, taking off the makeup is not as easy as Charlie would have expected. It takes longer than expected to clean up her eyes and lashes, and she wonders how some people manage to deal with this whole process every single day. It has to be annoying to spend so much time taking it off.
Once she's back in the chair, Jessica starts with some powder again.
"Sooo, you've gone on dates before," Charlie says. "Got any advice? Anything I should, like, avoid doing?"
"Well, you know what they say. No kiss on the first date. Buuut, if you guys end up… you know, kissing—"
"Jessica—"
"Just. Do not French kiss John. It's not like the movies. It's so grody. I seriously hate it when guys try and use tongue," Jessica says, making a noise of disgust while sticking out her tongue. "Gag me with a spoon."
Charlie tries to imagine it for a second. Kissing John. The thought is so strange to her. But adding tongue? Okay. Yeah. Charlie completely gets it. The idea is really, really weird. "Noted," she says simply.
She closes her eyes and tries to relax, simply focusing on Jessica's touch and the press of a fluffy brush on her skin. It's fine. She's fine. For right now, she can just be cool and chill and not worry about what comes next.
Jessica hums a little, her voice so clear and confident that it doesn't crack or falter. It's a melody that sounds familiar, but Charlie can't quite figure out what it is. It's probably something she's heard on the radio without paying much attention to, because she and Jessica don't have music tastes that overlap that much. Jessica likes popular trending bands, pop, and some stuff from the 60s. Charlie is more into punk, post-punk, rock, or pretty much anything else that super-religious folks would call abnormal or evil. She takes some pride in it, though.
Charlie comes to the realization that she's actually pretty comfortable sitting here. Somehow, this always happens to her. Whenever she hangs out with Jessica, she always starts off quiet, intimidated by her presence. But the longer they hang out, the more comfortable she gets with her. It's weird how even though Jessica is such an immaculate person that Charlie can't even dream of measuring up to her in any way, she is always able to let her guard down and be herself around Jessica. Charlie isn't quite like that with anyone else in their friend group—not even with Marla or Michael.
Hell, if she had it her way, she would just stay here all night and hang out with Jessica. John would understand that, right?
Woah. What the heck is she thinking? She can't just ditch John! He was so awkward when he asked her out, and he's always been nice to her. It would be super rude not to go.
"I'm going to do some tightlining. I bet it'll fit your style," Jessica's voice cuts through Charlie's thoughts.
"Uhh…"
"It's going to feel a little uncomfortable, but you need to stay still. And look up."
Jessica is right. It feels super uncomfortable, and she swears the pencil nearly touches her eyeball at one point, but once she's finally done, she tells Charlie that she can, in fact, squint.
Finally, she gets to look in the mirror.
"Woah. I… I look kind of like…"
"Like a rock star?"
"If that's the case, I make a pretty lame one." Charlie lightly tugs at a piece of her hair. "This is not rock star hair."
"Oh, well, just the makeup, then. Not bad, huh? It suits you better in my opinion."
"Um. Yeah. Sure. It's… uh, I could do some lip gloss too. Just to try it. If it looks weird, I'll stick to chapstick."
"Right, here. Hmm," Jessica glances around her vanity. "Oh, wait, it's in my backpack. Let me go get it."
Once Jessica heads across the room and starts digging in her bag, Charlie stands up. She isn't a fan of sitting down for too long, so she takes a second to stretch a little.
However, the thought of standing up when Jessica puts lip gloss on her feels like it would be awkward. So, Charlie goes and takes a seat on the edge of Jessica's bed.
Jessica comes to sit next to her. She uses a hand to lift Charlie's face upward and dabs a brush with clear, sticky lip gloss onto Charlie's lower lip.
Charlie almost forgets to breathe.
"Alright, just press your lips together to spread it around."
Charlie does so.
"How's it look?" Charlie asks, still staring up at Jessica. Charlie swears that the skin under Jessica's fingers begins tingling.
Jessica's eyes widen ever so slightly before she turns away, pulling her hand away from Charlie's face. Her skin feels cold without Jessica's touch.
"Uh— great. It's great. You look… good," Jessica says as she sets the lip gloss down on the bed next to her.
"Yeah, thanks for this. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you," Charlie says honestly, unable to keep herself from smiling.
Jessica bites her bottom lip and turns back to face Charlie. She looks Charlie in the eyes, down at her lips, and then back up at her eyes.
Charlie suddenly realizes how close they are to one another, shoulders touching and faces only inches apart.
"I know I'm great, but you flatter me too much," Jessica says, her voice low and quiet.
"I can't help it. You're just so…"
Charlie can't seem to find the right word to describe her. 'Perfect' is a bit too strong of a word to say out loud. Amazing? Not exactly the vibe she wants. Stellar? Charming? Pretty?
Wait, this is getting a little weird.
Jessica seems to get what she means anyway. "You know, I almost wish you could stay here with me. We could listen to this new album I got. It's, um… actually, I forgot the name."
Charlie almost gives in right then and there, her friend's eyes half-lidded and sincere. She appears in a daze, as though she's imagining what it would be like for Charlie to spend the night with her instead.
Jessica always gets what she wants, doesn't she? Is it weird that there's something she can't have? For Charlie to stay the night?
And does Charlie want to stay too?
When she thinks about it, Charlie finds that she really would be content to stay here. She's always enjoyed Jessica's presence once she's gotten over her initial nervousness around her friend. Not to mention that Jessica always has a way of making Charlie feel seen or included no matter where they are or what they're doing.
If she were to stay the night, Charlie is certain that Jessica would keep things interesting. She might bring up some new, weird guy she has a crush on and want to rant about it, and it'll make things awkward for a bit, but then they'll move onto another topic. Somehow, it still sounds incredibly enticing.
And then Charlie notices it: Jessica has a lock of hair out of place. It's come untucked from her ear and is slipping toward her eye. Without hesitation, Charlie brings up a hand to push the hair out of her face.
Jessica's eyes widen, and her head snaps over to her, eyes locked onto hers. Charlie is momentarily stunned, so much so that her hand pauses behind Jessica's ear. Noticing this, Jessica brings up her own hand to grab at Charlie's wrist, her perfect nails wrapping around the textured denim cuff of her sleeve. Charlie's heart quickens in her chest.
Charlie doesn't know how it happens. One second, they're looking into each other's eyes. The next, Jessica glances down, and her eyes slowly shift back up again. A hand plants down onto the soft skirt covering Charlie's thigh, and Jessica's lips press up against her own, soft and plush.
Jessica's eyes drift shut, and so Charlie follows suit. Jessica lets go of her wrist and brings her hands up to rest on either side of Charlie's neck, her thumbs pressing gently onto her jaw.
Charlie melts into her touch, unsure of what she's really doing. She lets Jessica, who has had way more experience in this department, take the lead.
The kiss starts off slow, and Charlie wonders if she's going to mess it up. Jessica has had way more experience than her—this is Charlie's first kiss, after all.
Oh. This is Charlie's first kiss. And it's with Jessica. Perfect, pretty, pristine, apparently-not-straight Jessica. Is Charlie dreaming? If she is, she honestly doesn't want to wake up just yet.
They slowly start to pull away from one another. Jessica turns her head to look down at the floor. "We… shouldn't have done that. We can't do that ever again."
There's a sudden pang in Charlie's chest. She tries to ignore it.
"Right," Charlie says. "I have no idea what came over me."
"Yeah…"
They glance at one another again, and before Charlie can blink, Jessica is leaning toward her again.
Charlie gives in immediately, even if she knows this isn't right. She has to go… somewhere. She's gonna be late for something. But holy shit, do Jessica's lips feel so soft and enticing.
Jessica brings a hand up to caress the side of Charlie's face, and Charlie finds herself enraptured by her touch. She reaches out, her mind consumed by the desire to latch onto Jessica as well. Charlie places one hand on Jessica's thigh, fingers pressing into the smooth skin past her shorts.
Charlie can't believe she's this close to Jessica.
Charlie has always regarded her like a statue, or a brilliantly crafted work of art. Jessica is truly mesmerizing, her thin figure accented by bold outfits that may as well have come from a fashion magazine, her curled brown locks always perfectly framing her face. Charlie has never been able to resist Jessica's pull, drawn to her like a lost ship to a lighthouse—as though she can only admire her so much without getting too close.
And now here she is, digging her fingers into her alabaster skin and taking all that Jessica is freely giving to her. But Charlie is also cautious, not allowing her touch to become too rough or demanding. She's content to just let Jessica take the lead. She allows herself to become unashamedly addicted.
Charlie finds herself getting lost in this moment of bliss.
Charlie doesn't know how much time passes before Jessica pulls away for good, eyes half-lidded, cheeks warm, and lips plumped and reddened like sweet cherries. Holy shit. Charlie did that. She made Jessica look like that.
It's almost too much for her mind to handle.
They sit for a moment, the room quiet and heavy, all soft and warm around the edges. Charlie feels almost as though her mind is floating around, like she's on cloud nine.
Should they talk about this?
How are they going to talk about this?
"Um… are we going to talk about that, or?"
Jessica shrugs, breathing a bit heavily. "I suppose we should."
"Right. So, um. That was…"
"Yeah…"
"Do you—" "Did you—"
They both turn to each other and speak at the same time, then pause. Jessica's eyes go wide, and it takes a moment for her to close her mouth.
"You first," Charlie says.
"Right. Was that… okay?"
"Yeah. It was more than okay. It was—"
And then it hits her. Charlie didn't just kiss her friend Jessica. Charlie kissed a girl.
"Oh my god," Charlie suddenly says, frantic. "Oh my g— Does this mean I'm a lesbian?"
There is a beat of silence. It does not last very long.
"Pfft," Jessica bursts into laughter, putting her hands over her face, shoulders shaking lightly.
Charlie feels her face heat up, embarrassed.
"Sorry," Jessica says, waving a hand as she calms down. "Sorry, sorry. It's just, I didn't expect you to say that."
"Well, I think it's a valid question! I thought I liked boys. I… I didn't… do I like boys? Do I like girls?"
Jessica puts a hand on Charlie's own, giving it a light squeeze. "Hey, I've been there," she says. "I don't think it matters too much, knowing who exactly you like. As long as you like me."
"Woah," Charlie says breathlessly. "That was smooth."
"Thanks, I try."
Charlie tries to think for a moment. Whether or not she's a lesbian, she definitely likes Jessica. She has to, right? Otherwise, why would kissing her have made her feel so warm and tingly? How else could she describe the persistent urge to do it again?
Has she really had a crush on Jessica all this time? Now that she thinks about it, it makes sense. Why she has always kept Jessica at a distance, watching her from afar. Why she has always regarded her as this flawless being, drawing everyone close to her. Why she had been so nervous to come here and have Jessica do her makeup. She has a massive crush on her.
"Yeah," Charlie says, mentally adjusting to this realization. "Yeah, I definitely like you."
Jessica smiles, the corners of her eyes crinkling ever so slightly. "Perfect," she says. "Charlie, you're perfect."
It isn't long before Charlie and Jessica go back to kissing again. Somehow, after a little while, they maneuver over to the center of Jessica's bed and both lie there, catching their breaths and mumbling quietly. Charlie never wants this fluttery, buzzing feeling under her skin to go away. She doesn't want to get up and face the real world as long as she knows that she can remain comfortably by Jessica's side like this.
"I just think it's a little overrated, is all," Jessica mutters.
Charlie hums in agreement, even though she hasn't yet watched the movie Jessica has been talking about. She might, just so she can understand and take her side on the matter. Knowing Jessica, she'll probably bring it up a few more times just to really let the film have it.
Charlie's eyes drift over and glance out the window, which is silhouetted with lilac curtains. It's gotten very dark outside, and since Jessica hasn't turned on a lamp, the room is only lit up by the reflected light the moon is gracing them with.
For some reason, Charlie feels like there's something else she's forgetting…
Her eyes land on Jessica's dresser across the room. In particular, she spots the glass of water sitting on top of it.
Oh. Shit.
"Jessica,"
"Yeah?"
"John is gonna be so mad at me," Charlie says, her voice reduced to a whisper as she tries to hold in a totally inappropriate laugh.
Yet as soon as Charlie and Jessica make eye contact, they both burst out laughing. How can something be so terrible and yet so funny at the same time?
Charlie forgot about her date! It's definitely too late for her to go now.
"I cannot believe I just stood him up."
"Maybe it'll make him lose his feelings for you," Jessica points out. "And I can have you all to myself."
"Just like that?"
John isn't really the type of guy to get angry or upset over, well, anything really. He'll probably be super understanding and try to act like this night never even happened.
"I dunno," Jessica says. "Guys are weird."
"Well, what if I stood you up?"
"I… Well, I know you wouldn't do that to me on purpose. I would assume something bad happened to you."
Wow.
"You have that much faith in me?" Charlie asks.
"Well, you kissed me, not John. So yes, I do."
"Oh my god."