Nightcrawler (A Slimecicle FF)

FOUR

"Charlie. Charlie. Charlie!" Schlatt clapped loudly right in front of Charlie's face and he jolted, yelping before his attention snapped to him.
  
"What?"
  
"We called your name eight times," Cooper chuckled. "What were you thinking about?"
  
Charlie pulled off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Was he really that lost in thought?
  
He'd gone by the alley every night after the night she walked him home, but she wasn't there. He didn't know why he expected to see her there, but he did, so he was disappointed when she wasn't. It had been nearly a week.
  
"Just tired, man, leave me alone," He mumbled. She mentioned that he'd be able to see her if he looked hard enough...what did that mean? How was he meant to find her in such a large city? "You were saying?"
  
"You've been working too hard," Travis smiled kindly at him. "Why don't you go home? Try to get some sleep?"
  
"I'm fine," Charlie put his glasses on. They were all hanging out at Schlatt’s place, playing games.
  
"I'll come with you," Travis urged. "We were saying that it's late and we were all going home anyway. I'll stay with you and make sure you don't work too hard."
  
"I'll come, too," Ted stood to his feet and made his way to the door.
  
"Guys, really, that's not necessary—"
  
"Yes it is," Travis patted his shoulder. "You drove here, right? Let's go."
  
Charlie sighed in defeat and nodded, waving at Schlatt and Cooper before following Ted and Travis out of the apartment.
  
He drove in silence as they talked to each other, too busy thinking about Santana to give input. How was he meant to find her? Maybe she didn't want to be found.
  
Charlie sighed as he parked the car, pulling his keys out of his pocket and going to his apartment.
  
"I'll get you guys set up," He yawned. "Travis, could you get some water from the kitchen?"
  
Charlie shoved his key in the door as Travis nodded, letting it swing open. The first thing Charlie noticed was that he'd left the kitchen light on.
  
Was he just seriously that out of it?
  
As he made his way into the living room, though, Travis called from the kitchen. "Uh, Charlie? Is there something you're not telling us?"
  
He narrowed his eyes and went into the kitchen. "What do you mean?"
  
Travis held up one of his rags, which was by the sink for some reason, and Charlie widened his eyes.
  
Ted’s eyes widened, too, and he spoke. "Is that...blood?"
  
Charlie took the red-stained rag from Travis's hand, his heart suddenly beating a lot faster than normal. "What the hell?"
  
"You mean it's not yours?" Travis looked at him with pure horror on his face, and Ted pulled out his phone.
  
"I'm calling the police."
  
But Charlie's eyes went to the side of the sink, where there was a silver ring resting on the counter. The design was a snake that was meant to wrap around the finger, and he held up a hand.
  
"Ted, wait."
  
Ted narrowed his eyes at him, but didn't dial the number.
  
"Charlie, someone's clearly broken in," Travis said in a whisper.
  
But Charlie stayed put, his eyes searching the dark apartment before he spoke. "Santana?"
  
Travis and Ted looked at each other. Ted gritted his teeth. "Charlie's actually gone insane."
  
"Santana, are you in here?" Charlie held the cloth in his hands, and he heard a shuffle from down the hall. "I know it's you."
  
Her voice rang out from the shadows. "You weren't supposed to be home yet."
  
Travis and Ted both jumped at that, but they didn't move.
  
"Did you pick my lock?"
  
She was quiet for a second. "I just had to get cleaned up."
  
Charlie looked down at the rag in his hands, cringing at the blood that stained the white fabric. "Is it bad?"
  
"...no."
  
"So come out and prove it."
  
She went quiet once again. "Who are they?"
  
Charlie glanced around at that, now aware that she could see them. He let out a shaky breath. "They're my friends. They're nice, don't worry."
  
"That's what you think," He heard her mutter softly. Charlie looked over at Ted and Travis, who had shocked expressions on their faces.
  
"Come on," Charlie urged. "You obviously came here for a reason. Don't you trust me?"
  
"We just met," She spat. "So no."
  
"Then why are you here?"
  
She scoffed from her spot in the dark, stepping from the hallway and into the light. Her hood still blocked any view of her face, so Charlie looked down at the cloth in his hands once again.
  
"Take off the hood," He said quietly. "I can help you."
  
"I don't need your help, Glasses," But she pulled her hood down and revealed her beat-up face, as well as her messy hair. A trail of blood was still dripping down her nose, and she also had a bloody cut on her lip. "I just need to stop the bleeding and I'll be on my way."
  
Her coffee-brown eyes trailed over to Ted and Travis, who hadn't said a word. Their mouths were wide open as they looked at her, then at each other.
  
"Guys," Charlie held the rag that was in his hands under the sink in the kitchen, rinsing it with water and wringing it out. "Don't just stand there. Travis, get the first-aid kit out of the closet."
  
"So you're okay with this?" Ted finally spoke, gesturing over to Santana. "She broke into your apartment."
  
"I knocked first," She snapped.
  
"And that makes it okay?" Ted spat back.
  
"Ted," Charlie hit his arm, trying not to think about her standing outside of his door, without him answering, probably feeling completely alone. He held the damp rag out to her. "Here. Hold this up to your nose. Travis is getting the peroxide so we can clean up that cut on your lip."
  
She glared at Ted before bringing her eyes over to Charlie. "Whatever."
  
She snatched the cloth out of his hand and walked away, making herself at home in his living room.
   
He went to follow her, but Ted grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?"
  
Charlie narrowed his eyes. "Helping her."
   
"You're not at all concerned at the fact that she knows how to pick a lock, and her knuckles are just as bloody as her face? You're really going to trust her?"
   
"Yes, Ted, I am," Charlie frowned. "She came here. That means she trusts me. I should at least give her a chance."
  
Ted glanced over at her before sighing. "She's the mystery girl?"
  
Charlie nodded, looking down at his feet. "Yeah."
  
"I guess Schlatt was wrong, then. She's not ugly at all."
  
Charlie rolled his eyes, despite the fact that he was right. "Just, don't say anything like that or she'll run off."
  
"Got it," He let go of him, so Charlie walked away, into the living room and making sure not to get too close to her. Now that Ted had mentioned it, her knuckles were bruised and bloody.
  
Travis had set the first-aid kit down on the coffee table, so Charlie sat on the table in front of Santana and opened the kit. He pulled out the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a cotton ball, and her eyes moved to the objects in his hands. She tentatively reached a hand up to the cut on her lip, wincing as she touched it.
  
"What is that?" She narrowed her eyes as he opened the bottle and poured some on the cotton.
  
"Uh," He stared at her lip. "This might sting a little."
  
She glared at him. "If you touch me with that, I swear I'll—"
  
Charlie put the cotton on her cut before she could finish the sentence and she gritted her teeth, gripping the armrest on the couch tightly. He held it there, tipping her chin up with his other hand to get a better look. He could tell it stopped stinging after a minute because she loosened her hold on the armrest.
  
"Bitch," She muttered, glancing around at Ted and Travis once again. "Will you tell them to stop looking at me like that? I was desperate, okay? I know I left a mess, but I was going to clean it up when I was done."
  
Charlie sighed, bringing the cotton away from her lip and ignoring the proud feeling inside at the fact that she'd let him that close to her.
  
"Let me see your nose," He said softly. She frowned, but did as he asked and removed the rag from her nose, which now had a trail of dried blood but wasn't bleeding anymore. Charlie pressed his lips in a thin line and leaned back, looking down at his shoes. "What happened?"
  
"Nothing," She smirked cockily, as if nothing had happened. "Thanks for the help, Glasses. Bye."
  
"Do you not remember my name?"
  
"Yes," She stood to her feet, looking over at Travis and Ted before standing up straighter. "But it's better for you that I forget."
  
"When will I see you again?" Charlie asked nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "You haven't been by the alley lately."
  
She winked at him before flipping her hood up over her eyes. "I'll be around."

Fun little chapter for ya! It's not my best work, but I hope you guys like it so far!