Roommates

-chapter seven-

Charlotte's P.O.V
I know it isn't a good idea to call in sick for your first day working somewhere, but my nightmares had become too much for me to handle. I'm barely sleeping anymore.

Oli knocked on my bedroom door. He does this multiple times a day to check in on me. I can't even imagine how bad I look after rotting away in my room for days without sleep.

"Hey, Char. How are you doing?" he asks sympathetically.

"The same as usual."

Oli puts his hands in his pockets and looks at the ground. "I had a thought, and just tell me if you don't want to but... maybe I could take you to see some kind of therapist? So you could see if there's something bigger going on here?"

"I... No, thank you, Oli. I'm fine, really. I don't need any sort of professional help."

"I know, I know. I just think maybe they can give you some sort of suggestion to help you feel a little better?"

"I appreciate it but-"

"Or we can have a movie night? You can pick the film."

I open my mouth to speak then close it again. Watching Titanic with Oli, eating ice cream and popcorn, making stupid jokes together. I feel a ghost of a smile on my face. "Sure."

"Great!" He remembers he's supposed to be casual. "I mean, cool. When do you want to do it?"

"I'll just go for a shower then we can."

"Alright. I better get my onesie on to get in the mood."

I laugh. It's the first time I've laughed in days. Oli hurries away to get changed.

Sometimes, I just have bad days. Sometimes the past comes back to haunt me but... everything will be okay. Life moves on and my dad is gone now. He can't hurt me anymore.

As I walk into the bathroom though, I can't help but feel like someone is watching me. I turn around. Nobody is there.

Oli's P.O.V
Charlotte comes out of her room in a cat onesie and sits down on the sofa beside me.

"Loving the tail," I say.

Charlotte giggles. "I like your bill."

I'm wearing a platypus onesie.

Charlotte puts on Titanic and I crack open a tub of cookie dough ice cream. I've missed her while she's been in her room for these past few days.

Charlotte suddenly begins to hold my hand. I look over at her and she doesn't take her eyes off of the screen. I look back at the screen too but can't focus on anything but the warmth of our fingers intertwined.

"Thank you," she says eventually.

"For what?"

"For the movie night. For getting me out of my hole."

I smile at her. "Don't worry about it."

Charlotte leans her head on my shoulder. "I've missed you," she says.

"I missed you as well."

"Thank you for checking in on me."

I laugh. "You don't need to keep thanking me for things."

"I do though."

I rest my head on top of hers and we continue to watch the movie.

"Why do you love this film so much?" I ask.

She thinks about it for a while, then says "I guess I just hope one day I can have a romance so great. Yeah, it's tragic in the end but I feel like the good times make the bad worth it."

"Yeah, I agree."

"Oli..."

"Yeah?"

Charlotte takes her head off my shoulder to look me in the eyes. "I was just thinking about how you have pretty eyes."

"Thank you?"

Charlotte laughs. "It's a good thing. Your hazel eyes make me feel like I can tell you anything. That's your superpower."

"And yet you still don't tell me what's going on with you."

Charlotte ignores this comment. "They should write more songs about boys with hazel eyes that are willing to watch Titanic with you a million times and check in on you when you're down."

"That's a very specific request."

"I know, I just..." I know how she feels. They should write more songs about girls with big and sad chocolate brown eyes who make your heart melt, have the voice of an angel and make you willing to watch Titanic a million times.

"Have you ever just really wanted to do something but you know you can't deal with the consequences of doing that thing?" she asks.

"Yeah. I have a lot," I reply. Our faces are very close. I feel a pain in my chest. It's a good pain though. A soft ache that makes you know you're feeling.

Charlotte watches the screen for a bit but I don't take my eyes off of her. I feel like if I blink she'll disappear. It's like she's made of glass right now.

I want to kiss her... but I know she has enough on her plate as it is. I think I should be honest though and let her decide what's best.

"Charlotte, I-"

Her phone pings and she picks it up. She has a face of confusion but puts the phone down. "Sorry about that. What did you want to say?"

"I want to kiss you."

The only way I can describe the looking on her face is alarm. She looks alarmed. It looks like sirens have started going off in her head. I have made a mistake.

"What?" she says.

"You know what? It was dumb. Forget I said it. Goodnight Char-" I go to get up but Charlotte grabs my wrist. I look down at her and she pulls me back on to the couch.

"Hell no. You are not saying something like that then just running off."

I gulp nervously. "I just thought-"

"You didn't even wait to hear what I said!"

"Charlotte, I am so sorry. If you want to move out, I understand. It's awkward and-"

"Stop talking." Charlotte cups my face with her hands and closes the gap between us. She tastes like the sweet and salty popcorn she was just eating. When we stop, I want to kiss her again.

"What does this mean?" I ask.

I search for the answers in her eyes. "I don't know," she replied.

Author's Note:
Thank you for reading this chapter!
I'll be honest, all I can think about is how their first kiss was in onesies. I just find it hilarious to think about how it must've looked.