Coffehouse Sweetheart: Merlie Fanfiction

Chapter 3

"All good things, all good things. By the way, are you single?" Derek said as he peered into the camera.

"Yep." Meryl smirked. "And so is Kassie, Jess, and Brooke. But I'm single, and too glam to give a damn, unlike them." She responded as the girls glared teasingly at her. And there was sassy, diva queen Meryl. Kassandra and Jessica laughed as Charlie and the guys chuckled.

"Hey, no hitting on my partner." Charlie said playfully, but with an edge behind his words. There was something about that situation that made him uncomfortable. He suddenly felt protective of Meryl.

"Oh, I gotta go, we've just arrived at the airport. Bye, Charlie, I'll call you when we arrive in Italy." Meryl ended the call just as Jessica pulled into the parking space.

Brooke and Meryl got a seat in the front of the plane, by the restrooms, with Kassandra and Jessica right behind them. Meryl, of course, window seat, and soon plugged in her earphones and stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. Kassie, the planner, was going through their plans one more time. Jessica was typing away on her laptop, probably a homework assignment, and Brooke was watching an episode of Pretty Little Liars.

Charlie boarded the plane, a little concerned about Meryl. He didn't see her anywhere at the airport, and was worried about wether the girls had caught their plane or not. Oh, they'll be fine, they're capable 28 year olds, he thought silently, trying to reassure himself. His seat was towards the front of the plane, where he got the aisle seat with Derek next to him. Joe, David and Josh sat in front of him.

Charlie dragged his carry on bag behind him, when it suddenly snagged on a bright pink bag.

Brooke looked up from her laptop screen to see a guy with blonde curly hair grinning sheepishly down at her. "Excuse me, miss, um, my bag is stuck on yours."

"Oh, sorry." She said politely, untangling his bag strap from the studs on her bag and moving it out of the way.

Charlie studied her face carefully. She looked so familiar, but wasn't sure from where. "Have we met before?"

Brooke looked up in surprise. "Um, no, I don't think so." She smiled at him apologetically and turned back to her laptop.

He smiled back in disappointment. Just as he turned to carry on to his seat, a brunette stirred next to the blonde and he caught a glimpse of her face. Meryl?! No, it can't be, he thought to himself. Why does everyone seem so familiar to me today? He tried to clear his thoughts.

Meryl was shaken out of her thoughts as she heard Brooke's laugh. "What's going on?" She took out her earphones and shifted to a more comfortable position, facing Brooke.

"Oh my god, he's so cute! Did you see him? I couldn't really see his face from his sunglasses, but OMG his hair tho!" Brooke rambled on to Meryl, who shook her head in disbelief.

"Really? Brooke? Stranger danger." Meryl giggled.

"No, his bag got stuck on mine, and he said I looked familiar." She explained.

"What did he look like?" Meryl's curiosity took over.

"Well he was tall, and really cute, and had blonde curly hair." She described from memory.

Meryl narrowed her eyes. Sounded like Charlie, she thought. "What color were his eyes?"

"Well, he had sunglasses on, so i really couldn't see half of his face." Brooke sighed.

Meryl laughed. "Get yourself a boyfriend, Brooke. And we're that bored that we're talking about strangers. Wow." She giggled and put her earphones back in.

Brooke laughed and went back to her episode. One hour into the flight, Meryl stood up to go to the restroom.

Charlie stared blankly at the wall as he listened to his music. Suddenly some movement caught his eye, and he looked up in shock. The brunette sitting next to the blonde was standing up, and this time, there was no mistaking her slender figure and thick, wavy hair. Meryl! He thought, in delight, She's on the same plane as me! He yanked his earphones out and ducked as she turned in his direction. Charlie didn't want her to see him.

Meryl returned from the bathroom with a look of disgust on her face. The girls burst out laughing at her expression. "The nastiest bathroom I've ever been in." She complained to Brooke.

Charlie watched her, and stifled a laugh at her rare expression. He developed a plan inside his head, smiling to himself.

Brooke was getting bored, after rewatching almost all of the Pretty Little Liars episodes. She almost jumped out of her skin as she felt a tap on her shoulder.