MIDNIGHT RAIN, ʲ.ᵏ

⁂chapter 13⁂

the moment johnnys eyes met hers, charlotte knew she was in trouble. his eyes seemed to zero in on patrick's arm linked with hers, and immediately she knew this night would be awkward.
"hi," she said once they reached the table of their friends.
"hi," johnny said tensely, "didn't know you were coming feely."
"yeah," patrick said awkwardly, "charlotte convinced me."
"ah." johnny said unenthusiastically, "well you two have fun." he downed what looked like a shot of whiskey in one swig. charlotte felt reluctant to walk away from him, especially if he thought there was something going on with her and patrick, but then his words from earlier flooded her mind. friends. best friends. it didn't matter to him if she went out with every guy on the rugby team. they were just friends, nothing more. she had to stop expecting him to act like a boyfriend when he was anything but that. yet, as she walked away, her arm still linked with patrick's as they walked up to the bar, she could feel johnnys eyes on her. it was awkward for a long moment. her and patrick sat side by side on matching bar stools, silently.
"so..." patrick said, breaking the silence by nudging his shoulder against hers. "what's going on with you and kav?"
charlotte tensed, swirling her drink stirrer around her margarita, "we're friends." she says simply.
patrick laughs, "no, what's really going on with you and kav?"
charlotte sighs, "you promise you won't tell?"
he nods, linking his pinky with hers, "promise."
"he said we're best friends, pat, but i really, really like him." she said. the words felt awkward leaving her mouth, and she realized suddenly that it was the first time she had confessed her feelings for johnny to anyone. she was glad though, that it was patrick. they hadn't been friends for long, but he was a good friend, a loyal one, and she knew he wouldn't tell anyone.
"well from the looks of it, he really likes you too." he points out.
charlotte scoffs, "yeah right."
patrick laughs, "no, seriously."
"shut up patrick."
"come on charlotte," he said, hopping down from his stool, "i'll prove it to you."

she was reluctant, but after a moment and a few expectant looks from patrick, she slide off her stool, and followed him. he led her back to the table where the rest of their friends sat, and pulled out a chair. the only chair left at the table.
he looked up at her and grinned, noticing everyone at the table looking at them.
"we can share char," patrick said, gesturing to his lap. charlotte knew he was doing this for the sake of proving that johnny had feelings for her, but she blushed all the same. she opened her mouth to respond but a loud noise cut her off. she snapped her head up quickly to find the source of the sound, and found johnny staring straight at her, clenching his fist around his glass of whiskey.
"oh, i don't think so." he said angrily, glaring at patrick.
he only laughed, "what? you want the poor girl to stand?"
johnny kept glaring, but stayed silent. reluctantly, charlotte sat on patrick's lap. she felt him tense and look quickly toward katie wilmot, who she suspected he had feelings for, but she was looking at hughie. she knew neither of them really wanted to be in this situation, but they had committed to the bit and they would have to stick it out. she downed margarita after margarita, trying to mentally escape from the awkward situation. finally, after six margaritas, charlotte looked up to find johnny's eyes already on hers. he stared at her silently for a moment, his jaw locked, before he slammed his glass down on the table and stood up, walking to stand in front of her.
"charlotte," he said tersely, "a word."
she nodded stiffly, following him as he slammed open the front door and led her down the parking lot until they reached his white range rover.
"why the fuck are you sitting on feelys lap?" he said, his fists clenching.
charlotte sighed, "you can't seriously be mad."
"of course i'm mad, why the fuck would i want to see that?" he shouted, one of his arms pointing aggressively toward the building. in her drunken haze, the only thought charlotte could form was thoughts of how good his arms looked, how strong and toned they were. he looked at her expectantly, making her realize he was expecting an answer.
"i'm not exactly sure why you care." she shrugged, her eyes drawn back to his muscular arms.
he threw his arms out in exasperation, "you're not sure why i care?" he said darkly, "seriously charlotte?"
"what johnny?" she rolls her eyes, raising her voice.
"you were basically all over feely and you don't know why i care?" he snaps, taking a few steps toward her.
charlotte stepped back, stunned at his close proximity, but her back hit the door of his range rover, trapping her. "wow, good job following along." she glared.
he took another step toward her, then another, until they were barely a breath apart. his arms that she loved so much reached out to rest against the car door next to both sides of her head, effectively trapping her near him. he leaned down close to her, surprisingly close, and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he whispered in her ear, "cause i don't want to see you with any other guys, charlotte. i thought that was obvious."

she blinked rapidly for a moment, stunned by his words. after a second of silence she just nodded.
"okay."
"okay?" he raised an eyebrow, a lock of his dark hair falling onto his forehead. one of her hands shakily reached out to push it out of the way, and for a moment he grinned before his face turned seriously again.
"so what's gonna happen now is you're going to get in my car, and i'm gonna take you home, because you have no business being all over one of my teammates, especially not in front of me."
she nodded again, too stunned to really say anything as he pulled his arms away from her and opened the passenger door, waiting for her to climb in before he shut it. a second later, he pulled open the drivers side and got in. the first few minutes of the drive went by in silence, interrupted only by the sound of the blinker and his ragged breathing. as they got closer to her house, charlotte realized she didn't want this night to end, not just yet.
"can we get ice cream?" she asked, staring out the window to avoid his face if he said no.
she heard him sigh, but then the radio was turned on and the familiar chorus of "you are in love" by taylor swift filled the car. as the song played, charlotte could have sworn she caught johnny looking at her a few times, but she convinced herself it was only the margaritas.

he made her stay in the car while he got there ice cream, not wanting her to make a fool out of herself. when he climbed back into the range rover with a large chocolate cone for her and a large cone of superman for him, she swore she could've kissed him right then. there was nothing charlotte loved like ice cream. the drive back was pleasant, the radio played quietly in the background as they ate their ice cream and chatted amicably, their previous argument seemingly forgotten. for now. when they finally pulled into his driveway, charlotte realized she wasn't going home at all. she was going to his home, which was even better.
"charlotte," he said gently as she moved to get out of the car, "you have some ice cream." he gestured to her cheek. when she failed to get it, he laughed, "no," he said, reaching over to wipe it off himself. they stayed like that for a moment, his big hand resting on her cheek. she couldn't help herself really, not when she was staring at his arms and definitely not when she started leaning forward. his lips met hers suddenly, and she sighed. he tasted sweet, like ice cream, and his mouth was steady and warm against hers. they broke apart after a moment, and he rested his forehead against hers.
"charlotte," he said gently, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, he closed his eyes again, letting his forehead rest against hers, "you're my best friend."