Familiar Strangers - Charlie Gillespie

Chapter Five ~ The Hollywood Sunset

A random hiking trail.

"Charles Gillespie, what are you getting us into?" I asked him with a playful laugh.

"Hey! Charlie!" he responded with an adorable angry face. "And Rains, just trust me. I know where we are."

"Okay, first, when you're mad, you're not angry. You're just like a cute little bunny. And second, you better not axe-murder us in the woods tonight because I got into NYU."

"Woahhh so prestigous! I'm kidding, great job Iris!"

"Thank you very much Charzan" He rolled his eyes and I giggled as we got out of his, weirdly, bright orange car. We started to walk the trail when Charlie broke the silence.

"So... NYU?" he asked.

"Yep! Betcha can't guess what my major is!"

"Hmmmmmm let's see... well you're a nerd so... Biology?"

"No... and Biology is not for nerds, the people that do Biology for a living are incredibly smart!"

"Right. Nerds." he joked. "What about English?"

"Ewww no, what am I even gonna do with an English major?" I answered as I scrunched up my nose. "Try again."

"Oh no I can't try again, I give up!" he laughed as he threw his arms up in the air in defeat.

I laughed some more and said, "Musical Theatre major. You get acting, singing, and dancing all in one! You know I plan to be an actress one day."

"Ohhhh a triple-threat I see!" he exclaimed. "Do you play any instruments as well?"

"Three" I said as I held up my fingers.

"WHAT REALLY?! Which ones?!" god I love it when he gets all excited like that

"Uhhh Guitar, Ukulele, and Piano!"

"Holy shit Rainy that's awesome!" he said with the biggest smile.

"Like I said, I didn't ask to have a talented best friend!" Daisy laughed behind us.

"AH! Daze I forgot you guys were here for a slight second! I'm sorry!" I exclaimed

"No it's cool" Everett said.

"You know, not that it's anybody's business, but I'm going to college in England!" Daisy said.

"Daisy that's awesome!" Charlie said. "What about you, Everett?"

"I'm going to NYU with Iris!" Everett said all excited and jumpy.

"Wow that's also amazing!" Charlie responded with a laugh. His laugh was so pure and genuine, the way his eyes crinkled and his smile widened to it's full potential. It's like he's a human ray of sunshine. This is why he was my favorite in the show. He's just so good. I looked at the sky through the trees and saw a goldish orange glow, like the perfect sunset. We rounded a corner, Charlie closed my eyes, and brought me from out of the trees.

"And... open!" he said all excitedly as he rested his hands on my sholders, watching my reaction. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The way the sun bounces off of the buildings of LA, the mountains in the distance, and the sky. Oh god the sky, it swirled an orange and yellow gold color with a slight hint of dark blue on the horizon. The clouds were light pink and as I watched the sky twirl and dance, I slightly subconsciously leaned into Charlie's chest. I looked behind me and Daisy was in absolute awe. Her expression was wide open, and her smile was sweet. She's so beautiful. Everett, on the other hand, bouncing off the walls, a madman, you might say.

"Hey, Maple Man, can you tell me where we actually are?" I asked him.

"Well... based on all the trees, and these weird walls right behind us, I'd say we were right in front of the Hollywood sign." He said casually. I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I-I'm sorry what?!" I turned around the face him. He laughed so hard he had to bend over at my reaction.

"Yeah we're at the Hollywood sign, Rainy!"

"Holy shit!" Daisy yelled.

"Yeah, I already knew that" Everett said as he pretended to toss his hair.

"Ummm how did you know that?" both me and Daisy asked him.

"Haven't you guys ever seen The Kissing Booth?" he asked back. Both of us fell silent.

"I have!" said Charlie.

"See? Charlie gets it!" we all laughed. We all stood together watching the sun set, and every once in a while I glanced over at Charlie, who always looked at me back. Once the sun set for good, Daisy said what everyone was thinking.

"FOOD." She said. "I need food, you Canadian idiot."

"Daisy!" I exclaimed and slapped her. "Be polite!"

"It's okay, Iris" he responded with a laugh. "I actually know a perfect burger place we could go to!"

We all ran to the car once again, and this time Everett called shotgun.

"Haha!! I got you back miss Iris Robinson!"

"Yeah yeah okay very funny, I'll sit in the back with Daisy."

We both got in the back seat while Everett and Charlie bonded over Star Wars up front. Daisy didn't want to bother them, so she texted me to talk instead.

DaWife: So what's the deal with you and Charlie over there?

There's nothing, Daze... he's literally just my friend

DaWife: *Boyfriend

Daisy!! Not boyfriend!

DaWife: Whatever, I just know something's there. Even if you don't see it yet.

I didn't respond to her absurd claims, and just looked at her. God, she really is beautiful. Her lips were so full and her natural pout, oh god. Her hair fell perfectly, her eyes shone a green-ish color. I felt the urge to kiss her, but then I realized it. What the hell am I thinking??? That's my best friend right there. MY BEST FRIEND. Get all of the weird thoughts the fuck out of your goddamn head. She's just a girl. Yeah but Addison was just a girl too said the other voice inside my head. God I hate it when she shows up.

I felt myself kind of scooching my hand closer and closer to hers, and when we touched, I felt some sort of electricity. I looked at the hand, and I looked back up at her. Surely she must've felt that too...

I honestly wanted to see how far I could get close to her before she noticed. I kept inching my hand closer and closer to her, my fingers brushing up against her bare thigh. No response. I rested my hand on top of her thigh and began rubbing small circles onto her thigh. Dammit, she still didn't notice! I'm not gonna go any farther, I'm just gonna keep doing this, surely she'll notice what I'm doing.

Daisy POV:
I could feel her brushing up against my hand, and I felt something. I don't know what, but most definitely something. She kept going toward me with her fingers, and I could most definitely tell what she was doing. She was gonna try and get a rise out of me. Well, Iris, it's not gonna work. Not today, my friend. She got to my thigh, and I could tell that she wasn't gonna back down. I could feel that same electricity when she brushed up against it as I did in my hand. She got on top of my thigh and started rubbing me.

Oh god Iris what are you doing... Oh fuck that feels nice... don't react, don't react, don't react!!