In Charlotte's Eyes

Made Up and Made Out

Two days passed. A day of separation was enough for her to collect her thoughts. She talked to Aaron and Carlos during work yesterday. They both apologized to her for betraying her trust. She, albeit reluctantly, apologized too. Now all that was left was to talk with Parker. It'd be a little harder, as their conflict cut deeper and more personally than with Carlos and Aaron. Even so, she felt proud to get that first part done with. She briefly talked with Suzuki about it, letting out some emotions of relief. He smiled, happy for her. They talked a little longer before they both got back to work.

During her break, she was able to laugh and joke with Carlos and Aaron. Like everything had been forgotten. Once she got home yesterday, she texted Parker. They agreed to meet after they were both done working for the day. They agreed to meet at Charlotte's house.

Charlotte wanted to waste no time, though. The day passed, and she waited outside for him. She wanted to avoid talking indoors. It felt more straining to talk in right now. The sky was darkening, the temperature dipped to low fifties. It made her hands feel cold, and now she wished she had brought gloves to keep her hands warm.

It was quiet outside. She sat on the front steps to the door, elbow on her knee and a hand on her cheek. A car would occasionally drive by, although it was never Parker's car. It got to a point where she wondered if he would even show up. She took a few whiffs of her vape to pass the time. Maybe she should just go back inside and wait. She grumbled to herself. She didn't really want to do that, though.

Soon enough, Parker's car came into view on her street. She stood up, walking to the sidewalk as he parked on the side of the road. She motioned for him to roll down his opposite window, to which he did. "Hi, Parker."

He gave her an awkward look; a half-smile, half-grimace. "Hey..-, Charlotte."

"Thanks for coming." She muttered. "Can I come inside?"

Parker looked at her, a little confused. "Inside..? My car?" She nodded with a hum. "Why? I thought we were gonna talk inside your house."

She sighed, which sounded more like a huff to Parker. "Look, I don't want to right now. It's kind of cold out here, so.., please?"

He looked away. "Yeah." He glanced at her quickly before looking away again. "Sure." He unlocked the doors. As Charlotte opened the door and got in, he rolled up her window. There was a moment of awkward silence, both of them waiting and seeing who would start the conversation. Parker looked away from her, his hands on the wheel, despite the car being in park. "Charlotte," He finally said. He reached for the center console, adjusting the temperature to be warmer. As he did this, he kept his eyes and face away from her. "I'm sorry about what happened last time we talked." He grimaced, feeling very guilty. "You have no idea how much me slapping you has been on my mind the past three days."

Charlotte's eyes darted around the car, from him, to his hands when he adjusted the temperature, to the window in front of her. Her arm leaned against the window, leaving more separation between them. "It's fine." She admitted quietly. "I can.. understand why you got so angry at me." She did feel a little bad about disrespecting their friendship. She did consider Parker a best friend, she just got caught up in the heat of the moment.

"Anything you said doesn't excuse getting physically violent." He grumbled. "And, look," He finally looked at her. "I'm sorry for, like.." He laughed a little at the overwhelming nervousness he was feeling. "Trying to set you up.. into, y'know, talking about it. You clearly didn't appreciate it very much, and I realized that after what happened with Carlos and Aaron."

She let out a breath through her nose, looking away from him. "I mean.. I get why you would want to talk about it. I just wasn't ready for it, I guess."

"I mean.." He sucked up a big breath. "All of this disharmony over a helmet." He muttered quickly. He shook his head. "Charlotte, I don't want to ever force you into doing anything. You have the right to live how you want to. I just.. I felt disrespected when you harshly turned away my concern for you. And then Carlos confronted me about it, and suggested that I talk to you.." He looked down, folding his hands in his lap. "I handled it wrong. I'm sorry." He muttered.

There was a moment of silence as Charlotte digested what he said and thought of a response. The car engine was the only noise filling in the space. Charlotte's hands were beginning to warm up. She sighed, loosely crossing her arms. "I'm sorry, too. For.. calling you names, and-.." She looked out her side's window. "For undermining our relationship. I do consider you a best friend."

"I've seriously felt so guilty, Charlotte." He looked at her uncomfortably. She turned and looked at him back. They made eye contact, neither looking away this time. "About slapping you. I'm glad to hear you're sorry about hurting my feelings. And-.. And I forgive you." He nodded subtly. "I don't really deserve it, but.. can you find it in yourself to forgive me?"

She smiled lightly at him. "Yeah." She admitted quietly. "You're still my friend, Parker. I'm not going to let just one conflict ruin that."

He sighed, laughing in slight relief. "Thank you."

"I don't wanna lose my spelunking buddy so soon." She lightheartedly said, a small smirk on her face.

He chuckled at that. "I won't bother you about wearing a helmet again. But, I will still show concern for you."

Her smile widened, becoming more confident. "And I'll try to make sure not to get snappy with you. But I am a bit moody sometimes, so no promises." She laughed.

Parker had a goofy smile he couldn't contain, even though he tried. He stifled a laugh. "Seriously, though, I still feel bad about slapping you. You want to slap me back to make up for it?" He offered.

She hummed for a second, then snickered, leaning back against the window. "Alright.”

Parker leaned forward over the center of the space. He closed his eyes, bracing himself. “I'm ready.”

She smacked him. It stung.

“Ooh- ow-!” He grimaced, repulsing back.

She laughed lightheartedly. “Now we're even.”

Parker smiled even through the minor pain. “Ow, okay! Did you have to slap me that hard, though?!” He joked, rubbing his cheek.

She shrugged with a hum. “Can't say you didn't piss me off before.”

“Nnh.. fair.”

They both chuckled, then a moment of silence passed. Parker used it as a moment to recover from Charlotte's slap. "Thanks for talking with me, Parker." She finally said.

"Yeah, of course. It was something we needed to do."

She nodded in a hum. "Wanna hug it out?"

He laughed. "Sure."

Parker unbuckled his seatbelt. Then, the two hugged awkwardly over the middle of the car seats. After a moment, they both separated. "Okay, I'll go back inside now." Charlotte opened her door. "Thanks again for talking with me." She stepped out of the car.

"I'm just glad we were able to make up." He smiled confidently at her. She looked at him from outside.

"Let's make sure to go spelunking again soon, okay?"

"Yeah." He felt a sense of euphoria go through his veins. "Next weekend?"

"Yeah. Let's both look up some caves to explore later. Keep in touch."

He laughed. "Sounds great."

"Bye, Parker." She waved at him with one hand, as the other made its way to the door.

"Goodnight, Charlotte." He waved back. She shut his car door and began walking up her front steps. Once she got to the door, she turned back to him. They shared one final smile and waved goodbye to each other before leaving for the night.

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