Jenga

Chapter Nine- Trapeze

I like him.

I can't deny it. I want to deny it, but while some of my heart says no, more of it says yes. So I just go with the larger part.

I wonder how I should deal with something like this. Am I supposed to tell him straight out, wait for the right moment, or keep it to myself?

I'd like to keep it to myself, actually, but if Charlie continues doing things like this, I won't be able to.

"I'm not as vile as you thought, aren't I?" he asks.

"Don't be too conceited, now. I just apologized to you. I don't want to have to say something out of line again," I say lightly. I had just finished crying, and my voice will crack if I speak in my usual tone.

"At least your tears stopped."

"You're so difficult."

"What? Why?"

"One minute you're annoying and the next you're nicer than my brother."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far as to nicer than your brother, but I guess it's fun being the way that I am usually, and on rare occasions like this, I just do without thinking."

"You don't think about being nice to me?" My voice slightly raised.

"No, no, not in that way. I mean, I think my life is a little brighter with these people around me--specifically you--so much that I end up being a hero. I don't even think about doing so; it just happens, as if it were a small gift from me as a thank you for making my mundane life a little less darker. Ah, enough of this. Come on, I'll take you home."

"Thank you," I mumble, not showing my face to him. I can't. Not right now.

I mean, seriously, I just realized something revolutionary. I can't act normal.

Charlie lifted up a corner of his lips and we began walking, my hands clutched onto his arm.

"You're welcome."

Life. . . really, is like a trapeze to me. There are so many times where you seem as if you're going to fall, but something is always there to pick you up. In my case, that something, is Charlie.

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I stagger my way toward him, slightly afraid to talk to him again. "Um . . . happy birthday, Max. This is the only thing I could think of to get for you."

Without looking at me, he looks at the tickets and sighs. "I can't take 'em."

"What? Why not?"

"Because . . . I already went and saw the movie earlier today. I decided to treat myself. I went with Phoebe."

"Phoebe? Phoebe Carlton? You and her are back together?"

"Yeah. So, I don't need those tickets. Why don't you go with someone?"

The first person that pops in my head is Charlie. I shudder at the thought of him and hang my head, feeling a little upset that he's still angry with me.

But then, to my dismay, he pats my head, much like how Charlie did so not to long ago. I look up and see Max's smiling face. He usually smiles, but this one is more real. "You know I love you, right Noa?" he asks.

I answer gaily, regaining my spirit, "Of course!"

Then I notice something. I notice that Max's eyes have grown. "What's with that face? You look scarier than Elmo!"

"I should be asking you that! Noa, have you fallen in love?"

"W-why do you ask?" How did he figure me out so quickly?

"You just smiled." Max's voice still held shock within it.

"Seriously?"

"So you have fallen in love."

"That's r-right."

"With that delinquent, right? Ah, you have such terrible taste."

"And you don't? Getting back together with that slut who went with Cyan on your birthday last year!"

"Noa. . ."

"I only want you to be happy, Max. You're just too all over the place for your younger sister to handle."

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Sunday has finally come. The day I muster up my courage and ask Charlie to come to the movies with me. To be honest, I'd rather go with Cyan, but I want to go with Charlie. Ugh, I sound so weird to myself.

Anyway, I pick up my cell phone and call Charlie's number, which Arthur had given me from Cyan. But instead, a woman's voice answers the phone. "Hello?" It's Jen's voice.

"Ah, wrong number," I cowardly say.

"Wait, is that you, Noa? If you want to talk to Charlie, you don't have the wrong number. He lost his phone a month ago, you see. Here, let me bring him to you. Charlie!" When Jen shouts Charile's name, I witness how loud her voice really is.

I'm able to tell when Charlie gets to the phone because I hear Civa's voice in the background: "So, she still accepted you."

"Is that you, Noa? Why are you calling?" Charlie asks, his voice regularly deep but unusually somber.

"Uh, yeah, I wanted to know if you were free. Is something wrong?"

"The tickets for Flying are all sold out!"

"Seriously?" What luck. What a coincidence. "Alright, stop whining. I have two tickets. I'm calling to ask if you want to see it with me."

"Really? Thanks!" Like a dog, Charlie's voice suddenly came to.

"Yes, really. Meet me over there! Hurry up so we don't miss it!" I'm about to hang up but Charlie says something else.

"Really, Noa, thank you."

This time, I know I smile. "You're welcome."