Beautiful ➳ Neil Perry.

douze

"This cannot be happening," Alice said, dropping down on her bed with a sigh, "Out of everyone in this entire town, I didn't expect to see you tonight."

Charlie was leaning against her doorframe, his arms folded across his chest. He just watched as Alice continued to panic, laughter almost forcing itself to slip from his smirking lips. It was almost like he'd enjoyed watching her speak her mess of thoughts aloud to herself.

"Wait, you didn't know about this, did you?" Alice asked, the panic still springing from her eyes.

"Woah there," Charlie stifled a chuckle as the girl approached him, "I only found out about this last night. And I'm just as shocked as you— Don't know how my parents got the idea I needed help finding myself a girl."

Alice frowned at the way Charlie seemed to find the situation hilarious. The fact that it had been Charlie Dalton of all people— he couldn't have told his friends about it, could he? If Alice could wish for one thing right now, it'd be that Neil wouldn't find out about this. No, she didn't want to lose him like this. Especially not if this was a temporary situation.

"Don't you go around telling anyone about this," Alice said sternly, "Just promise me that. Not even your friends, alright?"

Everyone knows how fast news can spread. It spreads like wildfire. So as long as Charlie keeps his mouth shut . . .

"God, that sounds hard," he said, faking a sigh before his expression turns serious for a moment, "So which one of us is gonna break the news to Neil? You or me?"

Neil and Alice promised each other that there was no be no more secrets between the two of them. She knew she was breaking a promise and she knew it was quite selfish of her, but it wasn't worth it. Not when Alice had a plan. And if everything goes right, everything could go back to normal again.

"My parents know about you and Neil," Charlie said, "Didn't change their mind, unfortunately."

"Hold on . . . You told them?" Alice gritted her teeth, unsure of whether she was meant to be thankful or angered.

Charlie held up his hands in defence as Alice grew closer to him, "Hey, I told them for mostly your sake, not mine. And I'm just giving you my opinion here, but keeping this from Neil . . . not gonna end good."

Alice let out a sigh, quietly apologising before returning to sit herself down on her bed.

"I'm sorry. I know he's one of your best friends, but I'd rather be the one to tell him. Just . . . give me some time, okay? It's just easier said than done."

"Fine, take all the time you need," Charlie said, grabbing his jacket from the chair, "I'm gonna go. Early morning tomorrow."

Just now, Charlie seemed to be a little different from the usually charming and overly sarcastic Charlie Dalton she had been so familiar with. Clearly, he didn't seem to be the biggest fan of their shared situation right now.

Biting down on her lip, Alice was quick to jump from her bed, hurrying down the staircase to catch him in time. Charlie had been at the front door by the time she caught up to him, breathless and at a loss for words. He'd chuckled at the way she tried to catch her breath, her hand holding onto the doorknob tightly as if to stop him from leaving so soon.

"Wait," she said, straightening herself up, "I realise I've been unfair to you the whole night. I know you don't want this just as much as I do. I'm sorry for being such an annoying, whiny brat."

Charlie shrugged, "No, I get it. But if we're in the same boat, we gotta work together on this."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Wrapping his black scarf around his neck, Charlie pursed his lips into a smile, "We'll find a way out of this. I promise."

"Thank you," Alice replied softly as Charlie stepped outside towards the car waiting for him.

"See you around, princess."

She gently closed the door after the car drove off, a small smile forming on her lips. The fact that Charlie was willing to cooperate with her gave her so much hope.

When she saw his face for the first time that night, she was terrified. Alice had thought she'd known him well enough to think he was going to make the situation harder than it already was. But she was wrong about him; he'd already promised he'd help her find a way out.

And for now, that was more than enough.

* * *

"So . . . how did everything go?"

Chris always knew how to snap Alice back to focus in class. She was resting her chin on the table, smiling with excitement like a child waiting for candy. Alice stretched out her arms, opening up her textbook to the correct page before paying any attention to Chris.

"Can we please not talk about this?"

Chris sat up in her seat, "Well, it couldn't have been that bad, right? It wasn't Jonathan . . . was it?"

Alice rolled her eyes at her best friend, gently kicking her leg under the table.

"I honestly prayed to God that it wasn't."

Much like Alice when she had discovered it was Charlie Dalton, Chris was in shock. Although Alice did ask Charlie to refrain from talking about the arrangement with anyone, she was hoping Chris would be the one exception. She had been Alice's best friend since the beginning of time and was, for sure, someone she would trust with her life.

"God, Alice . . . How are you going to tell Neil?"

Alice focused on the textbook in front of her, unable to offer her friend a response for a while.

"I don't know, Chris," she sighed, "I really don't know. But I promised Charlie I'd tell him myself soon."

Alice noticed the concerned expression Chris wasn't able to hide from her. She didn't seem too convinced that Neil was going to like what he was going to hear.

"He might feel upset about it," Chris confessed, "Because honestly, I probably would be if I were in that position. But if you tell him, maybe it might be a little different." Chris encouraged Alice with a smile, shuffling her chair closer to her friend to wrap her arms around her.

"He's crazy about you, you know? Everything will be okay, Alice. Trust me on this one."

Alice rested her head on her friend's shoulder, her smile slightly fading as she noticed the way the Chris' smile didn't quite meet her eyes the way it should.