The Kings of Summer

thirteen.

"So...you honestly believe that you saw Heaven?" Joe asks, standing next to Biaggio's hospital bed. He looked out of it, but then again, that wouldn't change the weird conversations they had—those were normal.

"Yes. There were many demons." Joe clears his throat, concerned about the fact he saw demons in...Heaven. That was clearly incorrect. "But I'm better now. Stronger. If I had to do it over, I'd get bitten again."

The brunette chuckles softly. "I know you would, Biaggio. You're a good friend." There is a silence before the hospitalized boy speaks up.

"Remember when I said, "if I had to do it over, I'd get bitten again"?"

"You...you just said that."

"I was wrong. I would never do that again." The tall teen laughs, patting his shoulder lightly before walking out of the room. He stands there for a second, getting ready to leave, until he saw Charlie walking towards him. Her short hair was now longer and darker, and her beautiful green eyes were sad. He had to push away the guilt he felt for making her that way.

"Joe. I...I, um, got this for you from the gift shop. Uh, it had an eagle on it the snake's natural enemy," she says, laughing lightly.

""You're miles above the rest."" He chuckles and looks up at her. "I...I guess they didn't have one that said, uh, "You saved me from an agonizing death by rapid blood oxygenation.""

"Oh, no, they did; just no envelopes." She looks up at him, her thick lashes framing her green eyes wonderfully. He wasn't close to her, so he couldn't see her light freckles—that bothered him a little bit. "I broke up with Patrick."

"What? When?" Joe asks, seeming a little too eager because he earns a confused glance from Charlie. A part of him feels way too excited, but the other part of him is sad for his best friend. As horrible as it sounded, Charlie now broke both of their hearts.

"Yesterday. Before I decided to come find you. Joe, I was so worried about you. I care way too much about you, and that's really scary. We didn't even know if you were dead or not. You know?" Another silence falls between them. "I would give you a hug or something, but I don't know, maybe you don't want to be anywhere near me."

Joe is screaming internally. Of course he wants to be around her. He wants to be around her every second of every day. He wants to hold her and kiss her and run his fingers through her hair. He wants to make her smile and make her laugh.

But he has to resist. He has to sort things out. He has to think things through before he starts a relationship with Charlie. And he most definitely has to mend his broken friendship with Patrick first. So, he just smiles at her. "No. A hug can work." He leans in to her, bending down to hug her. His long arms wrap around her petite body. Her small arms reach up to wrap around his neck.

It took everything in him not to lift her up and hold her tighter.

They pull apart just as Caitlin rushes into the hallway. "Hey. Is he okay?" Charlie begins to tell her that he is fine, but she rushes in before she can reply. Following close after Caitlin was Patrick. Now, all three of them stand there in an awkward silence before the teen girl pulls Patrick forward, forcing the two boys to make up.

Their friendship was more important to her than her relationship with Joe. Girlfriends come and go, but friends are forever.

~

"So, who's this Charlie? Is that Patrick's girlfriend?" Frank asks, sitting across from his son at one of the hospital tables.

"Not anymore, but, uh, I'm sure she'll go running back to him soon," he admits sheepishly. He realizes that their relationship was short-lived, and they would surely want to rekindle their...flame. It would be different if they had been dating for a while.

"She looks like a real heartbreaker."

"Yes," Joe chuckles.

"You were very good, Joe. In the woods, before."

"Good?"

"Yeah. You were good. I was really proud of you."

"Thanks." Joe remembers helping Biaggio into the car he pulled up. He remembers trying to keep him awake and focused on him. He remembers telling him that it wasn't as bad as it looked. He remembers trying to make him feel better by assuring him he would stay alive. "Guess I'm a man now, huh?"

Frank laughs. "You're getting there, bud. No need to rush."

"So, uh...how are things between you and Carol?"

"Carol? You're referring to the spider woman I found in the gutter?"

"That you found in the gutter, yes. That's the one."

"Things, uh...things are actually cooled down between Carol and me. It's baffling. Just...I can't quite pinpoint the exact moment when everything went south," Frank teases. Both of them laugh, clearly enjoying the joke.

"Yeah, sorry about that one."

"It's okay. It wouldn't have worked anyway. She didn't...she didn't make me nervous. Not like your mom did, anyway. And you need that." Joe looks at him in understanding. He let Carol go because he didn't make him nervous. Maybe Joe shouldn't give up on Charlie. She was the only one that made him handshakingly nervous.

The two get up, deciding to leave the hospital, and head for the nearest elevator. It dings, signaling that it had reached their floor. The large, metal doors opened to reveal Charlie and the Keenans.

Talk about awkward.

They all file in and endure the painfully silent ride to the main floor. Once they reach the first floor, everyone files out and begins to make their way to their cars. That was, until Charlie stopped Joe.

"Hey, um, I was thinking maybe I could ride with you? Seeing as we live next door to each other." Her eyes cast down to the floor, clearly nervous about their conversation. She never felt this nervous, but now all she feels is that. She is so terrified that she is ruining her relationship with Joe even further. She is so terrified that she is going to be an even bigger cancer.

"Yeah, sure," Joe replies before turning and following Frank. Charlie waves goodbye to the Keenan family before following the brunette out into the parking lot. They drive in silence until they stop at a stoplight. In the front seat, she can hear Joe chuckling lightly. Charlie looks in the direction and sees that him and Patrick are currently flipping each other off. This would look bad, but the fact that they have genuine smiles on their faces makes the situation okay.

"What's going on over there?" Frank asks.

Joe sighs. "Patrick's just is being an idiot." Charlie smiles at his comment; glad they could forgive each other. She looks at the front seat where Joe sits. He looks at her through the passenger side mirror and smiles a little. She smiles back before he makes a weird face at her. Her loud laugh shatters the silent environment, and she quickly covers her mouth before making a funny face back at him. She crosses her eyes and sticks her tongue out at him, earning a loud chuckle from the boy up front.

Maybe this is how it was supposed to be. Maybe you're supposed to have a little bit of sunshine and a little bit of rain. But whatever it was, Charlie was glad she had it.

__________

Word Count: 1260

OH MY GOSH.  THIS IS THE END OF THE BOOK

just kidding haha.  there should be one or two more chapters so...don't have a rack attack.

i'm actually really upset that this is ending, because i really enjoyed writing this.  ugh

i just wanted to thank everyone that reads, votes, and comments.  it really makes my day when i see the reads and votes skyrocketing.  ugh...you guys make me so happy!

xoxo