《Ｌｏｖｅ Ｔｈｅｓｅ Ｄａｙｓ》

19. Enemy

In my world, when one crazy thing happens, three more follow. This time wasn't the exception at all. The night everything with Leela and Alex happened, after I went to Charlie's home to talk to the boys, the feelings continued spilling.

It was raining still, so Oliver's dad picked him up shortly after I arrived. Charlie and I were left alone, Alice was studying with her classmate in the dining room, so my friend and I went to his bedroom. The original plan was to jam, so he grabbed his guitar, but I sat on the floor and I still needed to speak.

"So many things are happening to me, there's so much in my head right now" I confessed, exhausted.

"I can imagine," Charlie put his guitar aside, "with everything that happened today and what's been going on with your health. It's a lot."

"Yeah, but it's not just that" I started.

He crossed his legs as he listened carefully. "Tell me about it, darling."

I laughed at the therapist position he assumed, I took a deep breath and began throwing up information.

"During those days when everything with Luke happened, I was very sad. Sad and alone because Leela had Alex and Darcy had Elliot. No one understood how I felt, and honestly I believe everybody just expected me to get over it quickly. I had no one to confide and no one to keep me company. There was just one who was there," I sighed, "and that was Oliver."

He hummed indicating me to continue. "I might or might not have caught feeling for Oli."

Charlie removed his glasses in shock. I grinned and continued as I carelessly glanced at the ceiling, "not might, I did catch feeling for him. Yeah, I like him, like, a lot."

"You surprise me," he said, "Oliver is my friend, don't get me wrong. I love him. But what the hell does he have?"

I chuckled at his question, "I don't know." I sighed as I thought of him, "I don't know how to explain it. He makes me laugh a lot, I guess." I tried to find the reasons but they were beyond my understanding. "I'm surprised you didn't notice on your own, I'm so easy to read."

He laughed, "believe it or not, you aren't. I can read Darcy and Alex like an open book, the other boys don't express much, and Leela is very expressive, indeed... But you!" he pointed at me, "You're a Pandora box. I swear I never know what you're going to do next."

I didn't know whether to feel flattered or insane. "You really are the first person that tells me this in, like, my whole life" I said. "It's probably his nose, though" I joked and Charlie laughed. Oliver's nose is slightly big and pointy, I fucking love it.

After the jokes, we started talking about love. Charlie got serious.

"Was there ever someone important for you?" I inquired in true curiosity. Charlie had never spoken of any romantic interests, not even in the slightest.

"There was one," he said, "back in my hometown. I didn't want to catch feelings because I knew I was going to leave and I didn't want to put her through that. In the end she found someone else" he finished with a dark look on his face. This was definitely something that pained him to talk about.

"That must have sucked, I'm really sorry" I said. "Life really is a bitch, huh?" I tried to joke it off.

He chuckled as he looked down at his feet. "Look what you make me do, you make me talk about this ridiculous things and get emotional" he said.

I smiled, "if not me, then who will?"

After some time of jokes and laughs and subtle comments, Charlie felt the need to continue talking a little more. "You know... There has been only one time since then when I genuinely thought of taking the risk. Falling in love, I mean."