𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 | 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗

"Where are you taking me?" I asked Charlie as he walked a bit of ways into the woods right outside the school. "I feel like I'm about to get murdered, you know?"

"Relax." Charlie laughed, glancing back at me. I was. We were just joking after all. "I don't want you getting caught with me. That wouldn't be good." He stopped at a bit of a clearing, sitting down on a fallen tree. He patted the tree to have me sit down next to him. I did. "Read."

"Read?" I wasn't sure I heard him right.

"You kept writing poetry, haven't you?" His stupid smile appeared on his face. I blushed a bit, finding it sweet that he wanted to do a dps meeting for me.

I nodded. "I promised Keating."

"O captain. My captain." Charlie corrected me.

"O captain. My captain. Yeah," I giggled a bit, leaning into Charlie a little more. "I didn't bring it with me. I didn't know we were gonna do a whole meeting out here."

"Make something off the top of your head. Go." He didn't even let me have a say because every time I tried to complain he shut me down.

"Uhh," I glanced around. "Trees."

After a bit of silence, Charlie began laughing. "That's it? Trees."

"Trees." I said, sitting up a bit straighter. "Trees. Bold and strong. Lopsided, wrong." I started to laugh, not knowing what I was saying.

"Mm trees." Charlie nodded, pretending like he was some pompous old timey poet. "A prism to the sky."

"Ooo prism, wow." He smiled at my response.

"Yet its shining light is observed far too much." He paused, his face falling into something far more serious. "It becomes dull and rusted. And I wonder, am I tree?" His serious face soon morphed into a smile. "She is the rose. She lights fires in valleys, terrorizes towns, and destroys generals." He paused again, looking at my lips and then into my eyes. "She sees through walls. She invents new languages. She knows the prism all too well."

I rolled my eyes, hating this sappy sort of poetry. Charlie chuckled in response. "She's afraid." I paused, not knowing what he meant. "The rose was afraid to grow. She grew prickly skin so she wouldn't be touched. Only observed. She was afraid."

"Charlie, stop." I said, laughing nervously.

"She was wild." As he kept going, I stood up, not wanting him to psychoanalyze me. He watched as I put my backpack over my shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Charlie. I asked you to stop." I said, feeling weirded out a bit.

"You don't like complex emotions, do you?" He asked, and I glared at him. I wanted him to quit pressing me. "I understand, y/n."

"Stop it, Charlie." I repeated, this time a lot more serious. He was thrown off guard a bit, and I let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. Just, please. I don't need therapy."

Charlie didn't say anything. I saw his eyes appear slightly glass-like, though. Damn. Did I do that? "Yeah, no. Sorry." He cleared his throat and put his smile back on. "Sorry."

It felt awkward as we walked back to the school. I felt like I ruined everything, but then again, he didn't respect me when I told him to stop. We didn't say anything to each other.

Charlie interrupted the silence once we were in the school. "Friends?" He held out his hand in front of me.

I was confused about what he meant. This reminded me of the first time I met him. Did he want to start all over again. "Were already friends?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but..."

I took his hand, giving it a shake. "Friends twice."

Charlie's saddened expression turned into a smile. "Friends twice." He repeated. I was never mad at him, just frustrated for pushing my boundaries. They were there for a reason. "So? No meeting on Friday, then?"

"No." I looked to the ground, wishing I could change the past. "I want to."

"You should." I looked up to see Charlie back to his normal self. "We miss you, y/n." He looked down the hall, still nervous that my mother was prowling around looking for her little lion cub. "Meeks keeps talking about you... saying stuff from when you two were kids."

"No!" I laughed, feeling embarrassed. "That is rude!"

"You better come back and make him pay for his crimes." He smirked. "He'll be a real dead poet."

I chuckled, happy Charlie wasn't mad at me for earlier. Well, maybe he still was, and he was just good at hiding it. Still, my mind went back to his glassy eyes, the same ones I saw at the meeting with Mr. Nolan. I wished I could read that boys mind. "I can't go to the meetings, Charlie. You know that."

"What ever happened to Carpe diem?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"I can't risk it."