In Charlotte's Eyes

ONE: [C] Even Hell Has an Ending

Some time passed. A day or so, maybe. Amelia was busy talking to Liam again. She seemed happy—much happier and calm than before he came back. Charlotte stared at her as they conversed.

Tray walked up to her. “You know, I'm pretty happy for Scenty.”

She looked up at the red tray. “Same.” She smiled, glad they shared the same sentiment.

“She deserves to talk to him again. They were super close when Airy left the first time.” Even though Charlotte kept herself away from everyone during that time, she knew about their closeness. “Seeing them talk makes me miss Contact Lens.” Tray continued, sitting down cross-legged next to her.

“Oh, really? Why him specifically?”

“He was my boyfriend.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened in utter shock. “Boyfriend?” She repeated. Two people had grown so close that they developed a relationship??

“Yeah.” She chuckled, looking out to the horizon. “It was really fun to do things with him. I stuck around and did the challenges so that I could stay here longer with him. Now that he's gone, though, I don't really have a reason to want to stay. I wanna see all the kids at school again.”

“Wow..” Charlotte had missed all of that because she shut herself away from everyone else. She wasn't the center of the universe here. Everyone lived and developed while she was stuck in place. She was so far away from being mature..

“..Is there anyone that you miss, Moldy?”

She looked at her, then down at the floor. “Uhh..” She gazed guiltily. “There's a lot of friends that I miss.”

“You can tell me about them, if you want.”

“I'll just-” She shut her eyes, stuttering. “Talk about the one on my mind most.”

“Okay.” Tray smiled patiently, her hands grabbing her ankles.

“Um-..” She felt stiff. “I had a friend where I came from—his name was Parker.” Tray nodded with a hum. Charlotte gulped. “Our relationship was- complicated, and I don't want to get into detail about it, but.. long story short, I didn't treat him right. Ever since I got here, I've been feeling guilty about it, and when I get back I really want to apologize to him.” She sighed. “I don't know if he'll accept it, or if he even wants to see me ever again.”

“Well…how bad was what you did to him?”

“I.. guess I don't truly know how he feels about everything, but.. if he didn't want to talk to me again, it’d be understandable.”

“Hmmmm..” Tray put a finger to her lip. “Well, I think he'll give you a chance.”

Charlotte shook her head, smiling at Tray’s naivety. “What makes you say that?”

“He's your friend. Friends will be there and listen to you, even if you screw up.”

What a simple minded sentiment. Even so, it was a good reminder for Charlotte. She grinned. “Thanks. I hope you're right.”

“Was Parker your closest friend?”

Charlotte thought about it, humming. She gazed at Amelia—noticing the relief and comfort in her eyes. She looked back at Tray. She smiled fondly, suddenly feeling optimistic about seeing Parker again, despite the odds.

“..Yeah. Something like that.”

-

More time passed. A substantial amount more, though Charlotte wasn't sure exactly how long. The seven of them on The Plane kept a tightly knit community, patiently passing the time as Liam worked on figuring out the commands of the computer. Really, it felt more like a community of eight with Liam, since he spent most of his time working.