𝚂𝚄𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚄𝙽𝙺𝙽𝙾𝚆𝙽 ✩ ɢʀᴜɴɢᴇ

𝚡𝚡𝚡𝚒𝚒. 𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚛

And that's exactly what this chapter is. A detour, if you will, from the main story. Don't worry, it won't take the focus off our usual characters. It will, however, take the focus off their present. That's right, my friends. We're going back in time.

✩✩✩

The year was 1984. Jump was constantly on the radio. People were flocking to theaters to watch and re-watch Ghostbusters and The Terminator, and everyone who'd liked The Godfather was reading The Sicilian. Big hair and leather jackets were in and Chevy Cavaliers and Sony Walkmans were selling like crazy and The Transformers and G.I. Joe were a real rage. Everything was exciting, and life was good.

But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked--wait. Wrong fanfiction. Well, that's embarrassing...roll back the tape and go again! And three, two, one, action!

"What do you mean, pretty much? 'Are you ready' requires a yes-or-no answer!"

"Okay, then the answer is no."

"Seriously? Come on, Charlie! We're gonna be late!"

"Does it matter? We watched that movie last week!" Charlie was talking, of course, about The Terminator, a movie she liked but wasn't lying about already having seen.

"Does that matter? It's a good movie."

"I know it is, I just mean that we can afford to miss the first few minutes."

"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up already!"

"I'm trying! Hang up now so I can finish doing my hair."

"Alright. Hurry up."

"You already said that." Charlie hung up and put the phone down before her friend could come back with another quip. She put her hair up and pulled on the Peterbilt jacket Alex had given her even though they both knew Charlie couldn't tell a Pete from a Mack and grabbed her wallet and keys and left her room.

"Fill the tank up, will you?" Ben requested as he handed Charlie the key to his '74 K5. "And don't wreck or I'll push your first car off a cliff."

Charlie laughed. "I'm not gonna wreck. And yeah, I'll fill it up." She gave her brother a suspicious look and added, "I bet you emptied it earlier just so I'd have to do that."

"Yeah, I saw him do it," their mother said as she walked into the room. "Have fun at the movies, Pea. Don't stay out too late."

"I won't." Charlie hugged her mom and smacked her brother on the back before walking over to the door. "In case I get back after he goes to bed, tell Dad I said hi."

"Yeah, sure. Leave now," Ben said, and so Charlie did just that.

She walked over to Alex's house (it was right next to hers) and knocked on the front door. It was answered by Alex herself, who greeted her with a loud finally! and walked out and threw the door closed behind her.

"We're not going to the store first, are we?" Charlie asked as they walked to Ben's Blazer.

"Nah, we'll just buy food at the theater."