MIDNIGHT RAIN, ʲ.ᵏ

𐬾chapter three𐬾

charlotte had a secret. johnny believed this with the same certainty that he believed he needed air to breathe and food to survive. there was admittedly something off about her. she had captivated him completely. all he had been able to think about for the past two days of the weekend, had been charlotte. the day she got hurt had been a friday, so he had time to go home and regroup. charlotte biggs. he sighed, her name had practically lived in his head this weekend. and even worse, he didn't particularly mind. she had a secret. he didn't know how he knew, or what behavior of hers led him to believe it, but he knew. he wasn't sure exactly what this secret was, but he was going to figure it out. he walked into school, feeling more determined than he was when he wanted the academy to notice him. charlotte biggs. the lockers were alphabetical, so he went to hughie's locker in hopes of getting a glimpse of her, but even when hughie and claire walked into the building, charlotte didn't arrive.

"hey lad," he said, nodding at hughie, "where's your sister?"
"claire?" hughie asked in confusion, gesturing to where claire was putting her books in her locker.
"no, you eejit, charlotte." johnny sighed. hughie looked at him in confusion, "charlotte? what do you want with her?"
"i just need to talk to her," johnny said, not wanting to explain their complicated situation to hughie. hughie shrugged, "you're out of luck, lad, chars out today."
"what?" johnny asked, "out? out where?"
"some scar specialist," he waved a hand dismissively and walked over to where his girlfriend, katie wilmot, was waiting.

johnny felt his eyebrows crease in confusion. a scar specialist? did this have something to do with whatever's going on with her? the school day was long and unproductive, he couldn't get any work done with his mind focusing so intently on charlotte. at rugby practice he was uncoordinated and jittery, barely able to catch a single ball. he just wanted to leave. after practice ended he made his way to lunch before stopping in the middle of the hall and turning around, walking back out of the school and to his car. he sat in there for a moment, unsure of what to do or where to go. he could go home, no one else would be there, but he knew there was somewhere else he needed to be. the biggs estate had a long paved driveway which gave him plenty of time to rehearse what he wanted to say. he walked up the front porch steps like he had hundreds of times before, but it felt different now. cause it was. before, he had come for hughie, and now he was here to visit a different biggs sibling.  he knocked on the door three times, and waited patiently for someone to answer. charlotte biggs opened the door wearing a huge white dublin shirt and black shorts.

johnny grinned and raised an eyebrow, "dublin?" charlotte blushed, "i just like the shirt."
johnny winked and she stepped inside to let him in.
"my moms not home right now, if you came to see her," she said, "you know, about hughie or something."
"i came to see you, charlotte," johnny said, taking a step closer to her.
"why?" she asked in confusion, her head tilting slightly to the side.
"you weren't in school today," he shrugged, "skipping, biggsie?" he grinned.
charlotte rolled her eyes at him jokingly, "i was busy."
"i heard," he said, elbowing her gently as they stood shoulder to shoulder in the entrance hall.
"what?" charlotte asked, suddenly sounding queasy and upset.
"hughie told me you were out today," he said hesitantly, "are you alright?"
"he didn't tell you where i was?" she asked shakily.

johnny knew exactly where she was, but something about the distress on her face made him shake his head. "he never said," he lied, shrugging. charlottes face instantly relaxed, and he felt good about his lie, was happy he made her feel better. he walked into her sitting room and sat on her couch, trying to act casual. a scar specialist. from what he could see right now with her in a tee shirt and shorts, she had no visible scars, at least not ones that would warrant visits to a scar specialist. he wondered what could have happened to leave her with a scar potent enough to result in her going to a specialist for it. once again, johnny thought back to the secret he was certain she had. what happened to her? his mind wondered as he watched her sit beside him on the couch and tuck her feet under her. what happened? he ached to know, to find out, but he knew he couldn't just ask. that would ruin everything. he didn't just wanna learn her secret, he wanted to learn everything about her. her favorite color, her middle name, what her life was like before he moved to cork, before he met her. he wanted her to know about his life, too. he wanted to take her to meet his mom and dad, go to the movies with her, listen to her talk about her day. he wanted it all. and yet, still, the inches between them felt like feet and he knew he was making no progress like this.

charlotte smiled brightly, ending their moment of silence. she went bounding up the stairs, her fluffy sock clad feet pounding against the carpet. she returned a moment later with a bright purple stereo. she set it down on the couch between them and gestured towards it.
"your pick," she grinned, staring at him intently. something about her gaze made him feel seen in a way he hadn't felt in years. he turned through the stations until the song "she will be loved" by maroon 5 began playing loudly through the speakers. charlotte cocked her head to the side and looked at him in surprise, but he could tell his song choice pleased her. she nodded along to the lyrics, and after the first minute, he stood up and offered her his hand. she grinned widely as she grabbed it and he pulled her to her feet. he spun her around to the music and they begun singly horribly out of tune as they danced. after a while, it was less of a dance and more of johnny twirling her around when she wasn't jumping and singing. he was smiling widely, gazing at her like she had the answer to all his life's questions. he dipped her during the chorus and spun her around gently during the songs bridge. when it ended, they were both out of breath and laughing. 

it got dark early in cork, johnny had realized throughout his years there. in dublin, it would stay sunny till nine, but here, the sun was downcast by the time it was four. another pop song he didn't know began playing, and charlotte continued to sing wildly out of tune as he laughed.
"charlotte," he said suddenly, interrupting her dance by pulling her back onto the couch, "wanna go for a ride?"
she grinned widely, "where to?"
johnny grabbed his keys out of his pocket and began walking to the door, but not before grabbing the obnoxious purple stereo he had grown to love, "come find out."