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11

Monday came in a flash and I wish the weekend I had with Charlie didn't end.

I walked into school towards my locker, not looking forward to seeing Alyssa. She was already standing there but not alone. She was pressed up against the locker by Logan and I couldn't help but laugh a little. I couldn't believe she used to be my best friend. I couldn't believe she had betrayed me the way she did. I would have done anything for her even if that meant stepping back knowing that she liked Logan.

I couldn't watch any further otherwise I think I'd probably throw up. The thought of everything that happened Friday made me sick.

I swiftly turned around and walked in the other direction, heading up the stairs. When I got upstairs, I let out a breath of relief as I saw Charlie. He was talking with the group of guys we were with on Saturday in the corn maze.

One of his friends motioned his head in my direction and Charlie stopped talking immediately and came over to me.

"Long time no see." Charlie smirked as he approached me and I was too slow to hide my reddening face as his smirk only deepened. His playful smirk faded as fast as it appeared and suddenly he was serious. "Did you sleep last night? You know I didn't want to leave you alone last night." He could easily see through the pounds of concealer under my eyes that I used to try and hide the fact that I didn't sleep at all. I forced Charlie to go home last night as he had been with me for two nights and I felt as though I was taking advantage. "No." I shook my head. I couldn't lie to him.

He took my hand as he had during the weekend, and I couldn't help but feel butterflies form in my stomach. "Why didn't you let me stay? I wouldn't have minded." I shook my head again. "I kept you all weekend. The most I could do was let you go home and sleep in your own bed." He squeezed my hand but kept his gaze on me. "Thank you, but I care more about you than I do about my own well being." This only made my heart melt. For someone to care so much about someone else that they would sacrifice their sleep amazed me. I could never sacrifice my sleep, it was something I loved too much.

~

I survived the day without any encounters with Alyssa. But that was before the last class of the day, yearbook, and in that class, we sat next to each other. How was I supposed to escape her then?

I came into yearbook expecting to see Alyssa sitting there, but instead I only saw someone else. A freshman that usually sat across the room, but was now next to me, in Alyssa's seat.

I looked across the room to see Alyssa seated next to a girl in her Junior year and they were talking. I guess she really had moved on.

That class seemed to drag on forever, but eventually it ended. I quickly made my way out of school and headed for my bike.

When I got home ten minutes later, I decided it was a good time for a run.

On my run, I'd normally stop by Alyssa's house but I guess I would have to get used to skipping that part.

After I finished my two mile run, I ended up at the park. Taking a break and looking at my surroundings, I took a drink from my water bottle but as I did, I almost spit it out. I tried to swallow but that only led me into a coughing fit, attracting the attention of the thing that made me almost spit my water out in the first place. It was Charlie, shirtless.

I've obviously seen him shirtless before, but to suddenly see him when I wasn't expecting it, especially when he was shirtless always took my breath away.

Charlie jogged over with his dog Nash, a black Labrador who I had known for almost all my life. "Hey, out for your daily run?" I nodded my head as I was still trying to steady my breathing from the couching fit I was having. "Yup." I managed to squeak out an answer but it was all raspy. I saw Charlie try to hold in his laugh as I continued to cough.

When I was finally able to catch my breath, I bent down to pet Nash who was wagging his tail excitedly. "Hey boy. How are you doing today?" I knew he wouldn't answer but could you really pet a dog without talking to it like it was a human.

I stood up when I felt Charlie's gaze on me. "How are you? You know, after yearbook." I frowned slightly. "I'm ok. She decided to switch seats and move across the room from me." He frowned as well but then smiled. "Well at least you don't have to be in her presence. Sometimes you get lucky enough for trash to throw itself out." I couldn't help but laugh at his comment. Charlie and Alyssa may have been twins but that doesn't mean twins always have to like each other.

~

After talking for a little while longer we decided to play with Nash, throwing the frisbee for him to go and fetch.

Nash came running back towards me with the frisbee, only this time he wasn't stopping. Nash hit into my legs causing me to stumble and fall backwards. Right before my body hit the ground, an arm was wrapped around my waist and I was stopped midair just inches from the grass.

I looked up to see Charlie looking at me, worry flashed across his face. "That was close." His concern was immediately replaced with a cocky smirk.

That was something I always loved about Charlie. He could go from being the most goofy person to the most serious person in seconds. He could also go from being adorably sweet to a cocky jerk. It definitely always kept things interesting that way.