Nightcrawler (A Slimecicle FF)

TWO

Charlie stared ahead as he jogged on the sidewalk, his music playing through his ears loudly. His focus was on his breathing; trying to keep himself going long enough to make it to where he wanted to go. 

That day consisted of more filming, mostly inside his apartment, so it was nice to get outside.
   
He'd moved away from Vermont to join his friends in LA, finding an apartment for a decent price that wasn't too far from where Ted lived. 
   
He had on shorts and a short-sleeve shirt, since it was actually a pretty nice day out. Even so late at night, it was surprisingly warm.
   
Charlie slowed down once he approached the alleyway, trying to catch his breath by putting his hands behind his head and staring up at the sky. 
   
After a minute or so, he glanced around, taking out his airpods and taking a step towards the alley. He paused, though, biting the inside of his cheek. Did he really want to go in there?
   
He shook it off and started into the alleyway, running a hand through his hair and looking around. 
   
As he neared a corner, he froze when he heard a noise behind him. As he whirled around to look, though, there was nothing. 
   
"Shit," Charlie muttered. This was a horrible idea.
   
As if on cue, someone grabbed onto his shirt collar and shoved him against a wall before he had the chance to know what was happening. 
   
The person held him there, but he didn't push them away, though he easily could have. 
   
It's because it was her.
   
"Who are you?" Her voice was sharper than he'd imagined. That was all he'd gathered, since she still had her hood flipped over her head.
   
"No one. I, uh," Charlie adjusted his glasses once she pulled away. "No one."
   
Her fists were clenched, but she took a long look at him and relaxed her fingers. He definitely wasn't even remotely threatening, even with his built stature.
   
"Then leave," She spat.
   
Gladly.
   
But he didn't. Instead, he cleared his throat and stood up straighter. "Why do you always wear that hood?"
   
Charlie mentally scolded himself at that, because now she knew that he'd seen her before. She probably thought he was a stalker or something. 
   
She looked at him for another minute, before letting out an amused breath and taking another step back. 
   
"What an odd thing to ask," She whispered, seemingly to herself. 
   
"You didn't answer."
   
"I don't have to."
   
"Self esteem issues?"
   
"Not in the slightest."
   
He raised an eyebrow at that. If she was so confident in what she looked like, why would she hide in the shadows? What reason could she have?
   
"Goodbye, Glasses," She mock-saluted him as she started to walk away, but he called after her, ignoring her decided nickname for him.
   
"Wait."
   
She paused and turned her head slightly, her back still facing him. "What?"
   
"What's your name?"
   
She just chuckled, and instead of answering, she backtracked towards him.
   
"I'm not someone you want to get to know," She stated.
   
"Can I at least see your face?"
   
"I'd have to kill you."
   
"Funny."
   
"I thought it was."
   
"So this is it? The mystery girl remains a mystery?"
   
As Charlie said that, she flipped down her hood, revealing long, dark brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders in curls. She had smooth, tan skin, and her brown eyes stared into his own with a teasing look in them, but her pink lips weren't smiling. 
   
She was drop-dead gorgeous.
   
"Congratulations," She tilted her head at Charlie before smirking. "I wouldn't recommend being in the streets so late, Glasses. This city will eat you alive."
   
With that, she turned once again, flipping her hood back over her head and not looking back.

*****

   
"Fuck off!" Charlie laughed as he was once again startled in Phasmophobia, courtesy of Schlatt. "Come on!" 
   
Schlatt was cackling over their discord call, and everyone else was egging him on as he refused to let Charlie be at peace. 
   
"Ugh, this used to be my job," Charlie groaned, a playful smile on his face. 
   
They wrapped up recording the video, and eventually, some of the guys started to leave the call. 
   
"Wait, Ted," Charlie spoke into his headset before he could leave. "Can you stay for a minute?"
   
"Can I stay, too?" Schlatt chuckled. "I wanna hear this."
   
"Uh, sure," Charlie cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses once again, and took a deep breath in. 
   
His mind went to her features, which were ingrained in his memory despite the fact that he'd only seen her for a few seconds. 
   
She had a cute, symmetrical nose that went against everything he imagined her to look like. She seemed so tough, but the way her features were so soft made it seem like there was more to her than met the eye. 
   
"Charles? You there?" Ted teased. 
   
"Oh, uh, yeah," He cursed. "Forget it, it's nothing. See you tomorrow, yeah?"
   
So he was wrong. He wasn't over it. Over her. Seeing her only made him want to get to know her more.
   
"Is it about that girl again?"
   
"No."
   
"It is," Ted chuckled. "So you saw her again tonight?"
   
Charlie glanced at the clock in his room, seeing that it was already midnight and frowning. It had been two hours since he'd seen her.
   
"Yeah," Charlie shrugged, even though he knew they couldn't see him. "That's it. Sorry to bother you."
   
"That's not it, Charlie," Schlatt stated. "Something happened. It's obvious."
   
"Did you finally man up and talk to her?" Ted asked.
   
"Well, not exactly," He started. "She found me. Nearly killed me, too."
   
Charlie was sure she wouldn't have actually killed him, but the way they met wasn't exactly smooth. 
   
"Really?" Schlatt questioned, clearly skeptical and trying not to laugh. "What happened?"
   
Charlie told them. He explained what happened, and their conversation, and told them that he saw her face for the first time. He left out a decent amount of details, because he knew he'd get made fun of.
   
They were both quiet for a second, but Ted chuckled once again. "You're making this up."
   
It would seem like it, wouldn't it? It seemed like something out of a film. It didn't seem real at all.
   
"Nope," Charlie sighed, staring out his window at the thought of her. Her hair was soft; surprisingly tame despite wearing that hood so often. "Well, I should get some sleep. See you guys tomorrow."
   
"That's it? That's all you're going to say?" Ted sighed. 
   
"I'm tired, leave me alone," He yawned, pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Bye."
   
He left the call and immediately went over to his bed after turning off the lights, falling face-first into his pillow with a sigh. He was tired. All he wanted was a decent night's sleep.

*****
   
"Long night?"
   
Charlie's heart stopped and he quickly sat up on his bed, widening his eyes despite not being able to see in the dark. 
   
"What the fuck?" He reached over to his nightstand and turned on the lamp, grabbing a book off of the shelf and holding it up threateningly. When he saw who it was, though, his arm lowered slightly. He narrowed his eyes. "How the hell did you get in here?"
   
"There you go with the questions," Her arms were folded as she leaned back against the door to his room, but her hood was down. She smirked at him. "Nice place you've got here."
   
"Jesus Christ," Charlie squinted at her, rubbing his eyes and cursing. "I'm going insane. I just need some sleep—"
   
"I'll say," She giggled. "You're working too hard."
   
"I don't even know you," He put his head in his hands. "Get out of my head."
   
"So that's how it is?" She took a step towards him. "We meet once, and you just give up?"
   
He frowned. "Well, yeah. Do you know how hard it is to get near you?"
   
"If it were easy, everyone would do it."
   
"That's why you're so mysterious? As a challenge?"
   
"That's one reason, yeah."
   
"What are the others?" He asked.
   
She smirked. "You'll just have to find out for yourself, Charlie."

Chapter two! Yeah, Charlie had a fun little dream at the end. How is it so far?