they're just girls ; irwin [ discontinued ]

7 : curious best friends and music shops

charlie

"charlotte rae manners!" charlie groaned as she heard her full name being called from behind her.

turning around, she was met by michael's green eyes, and the smile she has grown to love.

"how many times have i told you not to call me by my full name, mike."

"i'm sorry. i was willing to catch your attention and i know the only way to do so is to call you by your full name." michael half smiled half smirked, as charlie nudged his shoulder.

"are you going to walk me home, orrr?" charlie trailed off. the two had just gotten out of school, most of the time michael would walk her home.

"sure, but could we stop by the music shop first ? it's on our way."

a smile formed on charlie's lips, it was her second favorite place. after the beach, of course.

the two walked in silence for a while before michael popped a question he was willing to ask for a while.

hesitant, he stopped walking, and faced charlie.

"charlie, have you been smoking again ? you've been acting the same way you were, when you were smoking about 20 cigarettes a day, back in november."
he said, his voice full of concern.

charlie never liked it when people asked, or talked to her about this kind of stuff.

she strongly believes that she is responsible for her actions and doesn't like it when people question her decisions.

she thinks they're being rude, and that they think that she's not mature enough, when, really, they're just looking out for her.

growing up, her mother never showed her that much care, even though ella did care for charlie, very much.

and that resulted in charlie being unable to show people that she did care for them, when she really did, just like her mother.

charlie stopped walking, and faced michael.
"and what if i have ?" she asked, sass lacing to her every word.

"charlie, i don't want you to put your life in danger." he said.

"i'm not, michael! i know what i'm doing!"

michael kept his calm despite her sudden outburst.

"no, you don't. this thing kills people, char, and i don't want you dead."

"we're going to die anyways," she rolled her eyes and resumed her walking, michael following shortly after.

michael thought about bringing up her mother, but decided against it. it was a sensitive topic and charlie would just lose it.

the two of them kept walking in the direction of the music shop, quickly changing the subject to music related stuff.

as soon as they arrived at the small, vintage red music shop, charlie pushed the heavy glass doors, walking in, with michael following behind her.

the two went in separate direction, each searching for different kind of music.
charlie was flipping through the numerous records until she finally decided on one, but a hand reached for it before she could.

"sorry, it's not supposed to be here actually." a voice said.

ashton's.

her eyes flicked to her right, where the beauty was standing, her blue eyes met his brown ones. she glanced over to his outfit. he was wearing a red uniform with a name tag on it and black jeans.

she put her lips in a thin line and backed away, mumbling a sorry, and scurried off in another direction.

she was scanning through records again, and she found another record she liked.

as she was about to reach for it, the same voice spoke up.

"that's a good choice, actually."

her eyes flicked to the curly haired boy eyeing him for a bit before mumbling a thanks, and was about to go off in another direction, in search of other records that could spark her interest.

as she turned her back to ashton, she felt a hand grab her forearm, and instinctively swatted it away, turning around, now annoyed.

"what, ashton ?"

ashton stayed silent for a while, before saying, "hi."

charlie rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"how are you doing, charlie ?"

"what's it to you ?" she spat.

her tone of voice was loud enough to catch michael's attention, who was now eavesdropping behind the rack of records separating them.

ashton sighed. "i was just looking out for you, charlie. can we just forget about that ?"

his following words confused michael.
looking out for her ? when did he do that ?

charlie ignored him, making her way towards the cash register.

ashton went behind it and charlie placed two or three records on the counter.

"since when do you work here, anyways ?" she asked, her eyes wandering to the many record filled shelves on the wall behind the counter.

"'bout a week ago.
I have a couple more jobs, though."
he scanned their items, his eyes fixed on the cash register.

"cool," she said nonchalantly, picking at her chipped black nail polish.

michael didn't say anything, he tapped his foot against the vinyl floor, impatiently.

as soon as ashton was done with bagging his records, he grabbed the plastic bag and hurried out of the shop.

"bye, ashton." she said, starting towards the exit.

"i'll see you around ?" ashton added.
he didn't intend for it to be a question, but he was unsure.

charlie turned around to face ashton. she didn't reply but instead slightly smiled, her smile was barely visible, and, to say the least, awkward.

she left the small store, facing michael who had his arms crossed over his chest.

-----
yo
i suck at cliffhangers lol.
don't forget to vote if you enjoy it. i sound thirsty af lmao, sorry 'bout that.