𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 | 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢-𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

Charlie's face had healed up more in the coming week. He was actually fairly resilient. Elliot Wilshire, 22 years old, was his brand new roommate. Elliot was in his second year of college, a fellow english major. He began to attend our study sessions as well.

It was obvious that Elliot came from a rich family. Tweed coats, leather shoes, perfect sweaters... he was honestly a dream boat. I could see why he was so desired, but neither Rhonda nor I went after him. I liked Charlie, and Rhonda seemed almost put off by his 'unfortunate' posh background.

His hair was bright red but quieted down with the gel he used to smooth it back. By the time evening hit, a few strands started to poke up like little daisies in a meadow. He was tall, but not like Donovan tall. He didn't tower over everyone, but even if he did, he would be considered a gentle giant. He was a much better fit as a roommate than Don ever was.

Todd and I befriended him quickly. He would judge our papers, helping us with any questions we had because, well, he was one year ahead of us. His mind was sharp, and he was much like Todd when it came to writing. His flow was like a mountain stream, and his words were as beautiful as any lake. I wondered if I was any good with my own.

"Hmm.." He would always think aloud whenever he read our papers, marking them with a deep purple pen. "It's well written, just added a few suggestions is all." I knew whenever he said that, my paper would be filled with purple ink. I appreciated it, though, because without him, I may be failing.

I always caught Charlie's eye at the study sessions. Elliot would sit in between Todd and I, helping us with our work. He could be quiet touchy, too. That part of him I didn't like so much. I could tell it made Todd a bit uncomfortable as well.

I would always look at Charlie whenever Ell would pat my back or lay his arm around my shoulder. Charlie would send me a thumbs up, trying to aggravate me more. Part of me wondered if he would ever save me from this harmless thing. Probably not.

I missed sitting next to Charlie. When we did sit by each other, he would usually grab my hand and lay his head against my shoulder. I missed it. I missed his sandy brown hair, the smell of oud, and his stupid way he called me doll. I watched him from across the table. How could he just sit there and act so... so... ugh.

"Spaced out?" Elliot asked, waving a hand in front of my face. I flinched, then turned to look at him. "Sorry, sorry." He chuckled quietly.

"No, I'm sorry." I replied, staring back down at my journal. I quickly looked back up at him when he called my name. His eyes were beautiful, a rich forest green. It reminded me a lot of his own work—heavily influenced by nature.

"Hm." I watched as his eyes paced to my journal, then back at me. "You're not writing."

"I'm bored." I replied, simple and effective. He didn't need to know I was daydreaming about Dalton.

"Hm." He grunted again. I hated it when he did that. I wasn't sure what he was thinking. "So," Elliot glanced over to Charlie to make sure he wasn't paying any attention to us. "My folks are hosting a dinner with some higher up from my father's job. Would you like to go with me? I desperately need a date." He quickly began blushing. "God, shit. Sorry, I didn't mean like oh I chose you because I was desperate or anything. I mean, you're my first choice. I just -" He was kinda cute when he got flustered, causing me to giggle.

"I get it." I replied, smiling. "Don't worry, Elliot. Uh," I glanced over to Charlie, catching his eye for a moment. "I don't know..."

"It's nothing serious." He promised, trying to convince me with his breathtaking smile. "You don't even have to talk to my family. They just expect me to have a date, that's all. We can go as friends."

"If it's as friends..." I was starting to be convinced. "Than fine, but why don't you ask Rhonda first." He held up an eyebrow when I said that, knowing I couldn't be that dumb. "Right, right." I laughed, knowing how Rhonda wouldn't play her part. Instead, she would be bouncing off the walls or, worse, flirting with Elliot's dad.

"Thanks, y/n. It means a lot." He paused a moment, just staring at me. It was fine when Charlie did that, but something about Elliot made it feel more intense.

"No." Charlie suddenly said as he rose from his chair. It squealed out from under him. "She's not going." He walked over to us, still across the table. Elliot watched him, his eyes turning into some boyish innocence.

"Hm?" He tilted his head slightly, and I knew this pissed Charlie off even more.

"She's not going, Elliot." Charlie was seething, and I wasn't understanding why.

"I am going." I replied to him, but he didn't hear me. He continued to mentally throw knives at Elliot.

The redhead simply smiled. "It's her decision." His voice was pure and soft, which contrasted to Charlie's.

"She's fucking falling behind in one of her classes and you expect her to drop everything and go to some rich asshole communion? The answer is no." Meeks tried to interrupt him, calm him down, but he wasn't budging. "She's uncomfortable with you, man. Can't you fucking see that or do you need glasses?"

My face went red, because it was true. Elliot did make me a bit uncomfortable, but he was a good friend. He wasn't a creep, right? I glanced to Rhonda, wanting her advice. She wasn't looking at me. She was so transfixed on the action, a huge smile on her face.

Elliot didn't say anything, his show stopping grin fading slightly. "She can decide if she wants to go or not." He repeated, not wanting to cause a scene like Charlie was.

"Charlie..." He finally looked to me. His anger vanished and was replaced with something else, something I had not quite seen before. I couldn't tell if it was jealousy or fear. "I'll go and I'll be fine. I appreciate you looking out for me."

"Doll.." He didn't know how to respond to me, but he wanted to contradict everything. "You don't have to."

"I know, but it's only for one night and if it helps his dad look good to his boss, than so fucking be it. It's just dinner." I replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, it's just dinner." Elliot chimed in, that smile right back on his face.

Charlie looked to Elliot when he spoke, his face hardening like rock. "I didn't fucking ask you, did I?"

"Charlie, stop it. You're being an asshole." I finally said. It was what everyone was thinking.

"We get it. You're a jealous hormone driven teenage boy." Rhonda said with a laugh. "You could at least hide that better." This made the others stifle their laughter as Charlie looked around, a bit hurt.

"Fuck off, seriously." He said, and stormed out. I went to get up, to follow him, but Rhonda held me back.

"Let him cool off." She said. "He'll realize how stupid his little outburst was." She paused when she saw my face. "Hey, it's okay. I promise he'll realize. Guys do this a lot because he likes you and doesn't want Elliot getting in his way."

I didn't listen to her. The way his eyes glinted, the way his face fell, I could see he was hurt. This Elliot guy stepped in and took his glory. Charlie needed someone to lean on, even if he was overreacting. "I'm just gonna reassure him." I told her, and she let go of me. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold me back.