Dreaming Big

Chapter 10: No.

"C'mon Charlotte, get in the sleeping bag."

"No."

"You're still soaking wet, you're going to get sick."

"No."

"If you do not get in this sleeping bag I will come over there and drag you in here myself."

"No."

"You're impossible!" Chase finally exploded, flopping down onto his back. I buried my head into my knees so he wouldn't see my smile. The best thing in life was making this kid annoyed with me. Ava, Carson, Chase and I were all inside the tent, and trying to get some sleep. Well, Ava and Carson were asleep, and looking too comfortable in each other's arms. It made me want to puke.

Chase had spent the last half hour trying to reason with me to share the sleeping bag with him. I would NOT in a million years, ever EVER, sleep within three feet of him. I didn't think he would do anything bad to me, I just didn't like touching people. Especially boys. Currently, I was pushed into the corner of the tent, legs bent into my stomach and my chin resting on my knees. I could probably sleep like this.

"Fine. Freeze for all I care," Chase snapped, and turned his back to me. Whatever. I laid my head down on my legs and tried to drift off to sleep. But it was useless. As exhausted as I was, there was too much adrenaline to sleep. I got up and quietly made my way out of the tent. I walked a little ways, making sure the tent was in sight, but enough that I could feel like I had some space. Unlike the others, I wasn't afraid of the darkness, being alone, or the woods. In fact, there wasn't much I was truly afraid of.

I found a nice old oak tree that was bathed in a spot of moonlight and sat down in front of it, resting my back against the trunk. My head was swirling with everything that had happened today. I just stared off into the shadow, letting the gentle sound of the wind through the trees calm me down. My clothes and hair were still wet, but I wasn't cold.

I sat there for hours, not moving or do anything, just thinking without meaning to. Some relief had been lifted off my shoulders, now that I was with my sister again. But we were in serious trouble. It wasn't just Ava and me anymore, breaking some minor rule and running away. It was much bigger than that now. We ran from something huge being tried against us. Not only that, but I had also taken another kid in serious trouble with the law along with us.

Now what would we do? Going back would be the logical thing to do. Let's face it: two fifteen year olds and two fourteen year olds out on their own? We wouldn't make it two days. It's not like we could get a job, rent apartment, and all live in it happily ever after. But if we went back, no doubt we'd be in more trouble than before. So what were we going to do?

Then there was Carson. I didn't know where Ava found him or why, but I wasn't sure I liked it. So he just shows up unexpectedly out of the blue? From where? How'd he find her? Where'd he find her? Through everything he had put her through the last few years, I didn't trust him and didn't like him very much. He had played with my sister's heart too much.

"What are you doing out here Charlotte?" I jumped about a mile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Chase said quickly, sitting down next to me while I tried to steady my furiously beating heart. "It's alright. I should've been paying more attention," I replied. He didn't say anything. "Why'd you come out here if you had no attention of talking to me?" I snapped at him, finally not able to take it. I had been with this kid all day, and he had been on my last nerve all day.

He glanced at me, surprised that I had been short with him. "I woke up and saw that you weren't in the tent...I got worried," He said, ending it softly. I met his eyes, and was surprised to find that they were sincere. "Oh," I whispered and looked away. All of a sudden, a freezing wind blew, leaving me shivering with goosebumps down my arms. "I should've brought out the sleeping bag, hold on I'll go get it," Chase said, seeing that I was cold. Before I could tell him not to, he was already racing towards the tent.

I waited quietly until he brought it back, sat back down and tossed it over the both of us. "Thanks," I said, pulling the fabric tighter around me. "Sure thing," He said. I couldn't help it, I looked at him. He was staring out across the woods, just as I had been a moment before. Through the moonlight I could see him perfectly. The way his brown hair fell sideways across his head and flipped a little bit up right before his eyebrows, which were thick and the exact color of his hair. Caterpillars, I thought with a smile, remembering when I was little that I had used to call thick eyebrows caterpillars. His eyes were a icy green, lighter than I had originally thought before.

Feeling my eyes on his face, he turned to look at me, and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you suddenly being so nice?" I asked, not being able to take his sudden mood swings anymore. He looked surprised again. "I wasn't being nice before?" I couldn't tell if he was teasing or not.  He sighed, "Look Char, I haven't meant to be so mean...it just comes out that way." I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Right. Like you haven't meant to start all those fights with me, or have been a jerk, or anything of that nature."

I expected him to go off about how I was really the one who started fighting, or that I was the one being a brat, but he didn't. "I'm sorry, Charlotte. I really am." His eyes were genuine, softer and kinder than I had seen them. "It's alright," I replied quietly, and turned away from him. We sat there in a comfortable silence for a while, before I took another glance. That's when it really hit me.

Maybe it was the way that I was seeing him from the side, or the way that the light hit his face, but it was then that I realized just how good-looking he was. Other people would disagree, I was sure of it. But I saw something different in him. I quickly turned away, trying to fight down the sudden rush of butterflies in my stomach. Stop it Charlotte. You are not getting feelings for him.

We didn't say anything else the entire not, and eventually my eyes began to droop. My head spun with exhaustion, and my head dropped to the side and landed on Chase's shoulder. I was too tired to care. Just before I feel asleep, I could feel his hand tightening the blanket around me, pulling it up where it had fallen off my shoulder. He laid his head on top of mine, and I drifted into the blackness.