Dancing Through the Minds of Twizzlers

Charlie: Week 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Meryl Davis, Charlie White. Please note that this is a work of fiction and is no way affiliated with Meryl Davis, Charlie White or their personal lives. This did not really happen

Week 2: Charlie

Week of March 24, 2014

Of course Meryl picked swing. With all the lifts and throws, it fulfills her daredevil personality. This scares him though. He won't be there to protect her because he won't be the one throwing her around in the lifts. He'll be stuck on the sidelines, waiting with bated breath to make sure she's safe, but he'll be powerless to do anything if she's not. He knows Maks is a strong guy, but Charlie doesn't know if he trusts him with his Meryl.

Wait, his Meryl? Where did that come from? “Can’t think like that, you love Mer- Tanith!! Oh my God, what has gotten into me?” he thinks.

When Sharna asks him why he selected the tango all those weeks ago, he had replied that he had no idea why. However, he knows exactly why, because he wants to prove to Meryl that he actually can Tango. Thinking back on the Tango Romantica original dance they had performed in the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, He knows it's his fault they fell a tad out of sync. Meryl was perfection as usual, and he was subtly struggling to keep up after a restless night and an exhausting day. If he does well here, he'll show to her he is capable of perfection as well. He's proved it with Olympic Gold, but this tango will be his second chance to show her.

The second he's told by Sharna to go talk to Maks about bad boy instructions, he knows the producers are looking to stir something up between him and Meryl; preferably, some sort of negative reaction from her. He can't claim to be in show business, but he knows some of the tricks of the trade after seventeen years of acting lessons and Marina lectures. He knows,  of course, that they will never get what they are looking for because he and Meryl never fight. Sure, they have had disagreements in the past, but their minds could always read each others, so those arguments usually ironed themselves out on their own. All he has to do was take her hand in his, and everything would be back to normal.

All this secrecy about the bad boy lessons is killing him. He's always told Meryl everything, no matter what, and he hates that he's contractually obligated to withhold information from her. It feels like he's breaking the law.

The feeling eats at him all week, and he decides he's never been more excited or relieved for a Monday in his whole life. He won't have to keep things from Meryl anymore, and it's a great feeling off his chest. He's nervous though. For the first time in seventeen years, Meryl is doing lifts and throws with someone who is not him. He doesn't know how well he will handle it, but he knows it's going to hurt, a lot. Maybe even more than the stunt at the beginning of last week's dance. (He still hasn't recovered from that.)

He has to talk to her, if only for his own peace of mind.

-------

The show is about to start and she's nowhere to be found. He's going to have a panic attack, holy shit, he needs to talk to her. He sees her make up artist, Violetta, in the corner, and asks her to relay the message to Meryl that he's looking for her. She gladly sets off.

Meryl finds him a couple minutes later.

"Violetta said you were looking for me. What's up, Chuck?"

He loves that nickname (and she is the only one who can call him that) and he loves how calm she appears to be on the outside. He can see in her eyes that she's nervous as well. He goes into survival mode, Number one instinct, make sure Meryl is okay. He pulls her into a hug, and starts his spiel.

"Please be safe tonight when you dance, Mer. I won't be the one lifting you, and I'm so worried because I won't be there to catch you if you fall. I trust you and Maks but I still am worried. Please don't think I don't have faith you, but I just won't be able to forgive myself if you get hurt because I'll be helpless on the balcony and powerless to do anything! Please just promise me you'll be careful."

She's quick to try to assuage his fears.

"I promise Charlie. I'll be extra careful. I don't want you to be worried over me, and please don't feel helpless! Just focus on you, because you're dancing right now."

My gosh, in his Meryl induced panic, he's totally forgotten he's dancing now. He'd better get out there before Sharna kills him. He gives Meryl one last hug, and one last kiss on the cheek before he runs to join Sharna.

His dance goes really well if he doesn't say so himself. He gets his scores (not bad) and goes to sit in the corner. He waits now for Meryl's dance.  

After Cody and Witney receive their scores (and hug each other for a tad too long, [by the way, he totally knows they like each other. Ahh teenagers these days]), Charlie  sees Meryl and Maks standing in the middle of the floor. He feels his heart speed up and his palms get all sweaty. She looks beautiful, of course (when doesn't she, he asks himself) but this costume is a lot...smaller and more revealing than her usual ones. He can tell that Meryl looks a tad uncomfortable. She has her hands bunched up in front of her, her eyebrows are scrunched together, and there is a small crease on her forehead. Okay, maybe she's more than a tad uncomfortable. But once again, he isn't able to do anything and Maks isn't picking up on it, so she goes nervous and unconsoled.

Their package finishes playing and they take their starting positions.

"Dancing swing, Meryl Davis and her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy." Nope, still not used to it. He never will be.

He knows they open with a big lift. He's never been more nervous in his life, and he isn't even the one dancing! Here it is...

Success! She flips over Maks' head and lands safely on the dance floor. Charlie lets out a sigh of relief. He continues to panic at at every lift, and also basically every time Meryl has one foot off the ground. He needs to get a grip on himself before Tanith sees and chews him out for worrying so much. She knows how over protective he is of Meryl, and she thinks it's a bit excessive because "Meryl is a grown woman and she can handle herself, Charlie. Stop worrying or you'll give yourself gray hairs and a heart attack." he guesses she has a point, but he really can't help it; he loves Meryl so much, and it would absolutely kill him if anything happened to her at all.

When Meryl's feet touch down on the floor for the last time, Charlie feels like he needs a nap. He's  working himself up so much over worry he tired himself out. They come up to the skybox to get their scores, and Charlie doesn't even have time to pat her on the shoulder before Erin and Maks scoop her away. The rest of filming is all a blur.

After the press line, they finally have a moment alone in her hotel room. They've been talking all the way back to their hotel, and haven't noticed where they are, perched on the end of her bed, reliving the night. He likes how this feels, this easiness, because sometimes with Tanith, he runs out of things to talk about, and the silences are always awkward. But with Meryl, it feels completely natural. When they run out of words, the silence between them speaks loud and clear, and it’s never awkward. They’re practically mind readers, knowing exactly what the other is thinking, or what they need at that moment.

There’s a natural lull in the conversation, so he brings up what’s been bugging him all night.

“Mer, your dance was amazing. I shouldn’t have been worried about those lifts of yours. I knew you had it, I was just worried over nothing because I wanted to protect you. I’m really sorry if you thought that I doubted you and Maks tonight, because I really didn’t.”

“I know you get worried over everything Charlie, I understand where you’re coming from. sometimes, I got worried that Maks would drop me, or that something would go awry. It’s funny though, because I was never, ever nervous with you on ice. I guess the separation is just different, so we’re learning how to handle it. And I definitely don’t think you doubted me or Maks at all. It was just instinct, I guess, to be worried.”

“ I’m really glad you understand. I swear to God, if we don’t dance together by the finale…”

“I totally agree. Now, I have to get to bed because I have the early rehearsal slot tomorrow. Shoo! Just kidding, of course but I really do need to go to bed.”

“Alright, alright, I can tell when I’m not wanted.” Charlie smirks. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He scoops her into a hug, gives her a kiss on her head, and strolls out the door to his room.

Only after, when he lays in bed awake, does he realize just how much he misses his partner’s embrace when they dance. Sure, Sharna is amazing, but she’s not Meryl. No one else in the world is Meryl, and no one else he could ever meet could ever be her.