“He what?”, Meghan gasps, staring at Charlotte in disbelief.
“Don’t make me say it again,” Charlotte groans into her pillow, laying on her stomach, feet dangling off the bed.
Meghan sighs. “Wow, that’s weird. I didn’t know Shawn had… romantic feelings for you. Guess he was good at hiding them,” she says with a shrug, analyzing things as always.
“He just isn’t supposed to have romantic feelings for me,” Charlotte replies, sounding upset. “He is my best friend. And it should stay that way.”
Meghan tilts her head to the side, continuing to fold her laundry. “Okay but how was it?”
“What?”
“The kiss, silly!”
Charlotte rolls on her back, staring up at the ceiling, noticing the little cracks on it. If she would be completely and utterly honest with herself, she would have to admit that it was a perfect kiss. Tender and sweet and just how you picture it to be when kissing someone you love. But that’s the point.
She didn’t love Shawn. Or did she?
She certainly loved him as a best friend.
She wasn’t so sure about his point of view, though.
“I pushed him away,” Charlotte lies, still looking up at the ceiling. “I mean… I have a boyfriend! And I’m going to sleep with Nate. It’s decided and there is no way back.”
Meghan shakes her head. “You can’t plan those things like you plan your classes, Charlie! It’s not like you can go through your calendar and say ‘oh, I’m going to lose my virginity on November 20th at nine p.m.’”
Charlotte shrugs, looking at her roommate. “Whatever… I have a feeling it might happen on Homecoming weekend. Everyone’s out there getting drunk and we’ll have his dorm for ourselves.”
Meghan raises her eyebrows at Charlotte. “Fine, if you say so. But you should still talk to Shawn. Ignoring what happened between you two won’t make things better.”
Charlotte groans, scrubbing a hand over her face.
“Charlie, you can’t just keep avoiding him.”
“Can’t I?”
“No,” Meghan says matter-of-factly, putting her underwear away and Charlotte lets out a desperate sigh.
Even though she didn’t want to talk to Shawn she knew her roommate was right. She couldn’t ignore Shawn forever.
Entering the library, Shawn instantly looks over to Charlotte’s favorite corner near the big window. The place is free and he nudges Conor’s arm, nodding towards the table.
They sit down, careful not to disturb the other students and Shawn takes out his laptop, getting ready to finish his essay.
With exams coming up, he tried to distract himself from the happenings of last week. But seeing Charlotte in classes or holding hands with Nate seemed to be the twisting knife in his broken heart.
He had tried to talk to her. Tried to call. Tried to text. But his calls have been declined and texts ignored and he figured she really did not want to talk to him. But if there was one thing Shawn was sure about, it was his will to fight for their friendship.
