Love Is a Bunch of Stupid Decisions

Chapter 27

Waking up next to Ben again made life feel real again. Hearing his steady breathing and seeing his crazy curls thrown over his forehead as he slept peacefully made me feel more at ease than I had felt in a long time.

Yes, he screwed up. Yes, forgiving him was hard. It wasn't the kind of thing where I said the words "I forgive you" and then life instantly went back to normal. It'd take a while, but it was going to be worth it (I hoped). No one ever said that love was the easy thing to do.

It was a sunny and chilly morning, and knowing that Ben probably wouldn't wake up for a while, I decide to run out and get us some coffee. I take my time, wandering around the city streets that I used to roam with my friends from high school and college.

I was a completely different person now.

So many things had changed. They were all for the better, don't get me wrong, but I was nothing like the girl that I was in high school, or even a year ago. I liked me so much better now.

I stop in my favorite open-24-hour coffee shop, the memories of cramming for midterms and finals until 4:00 AM surrounded by papers and styrofoam coffee cups filtering through my mind.

When I make it back to our hotel room, Ben is laying in bed. He smiles sleepily at me, patting the spot next to him on the bed. I more than happily take it, handing him his coffee. "I can't tell you how nice it is to have you here with me again," He speaks, his voice still tired.

"Would you still be saying that if I didn't have coffee?" I smirk, sipping on mine.

"Of course I would.... but the coffee is nice too," He replies, making me laugh. "Any plans today?"

I shrug. "Nothing out of the ordinary for today, I suppose."

"Really? Even while we're back in your city, there's nothing you want to do?"

"I mean, I figured we'd do all that next Monday when you're all free. But if you want, I can give you a special mini-tour before the show," I smile, already mapping it out in my head.

"There's nothing I'd rather do," He smiles, leaning over to kiss me. "Give me half an hour to get ready and then I'm all yours."

I decide to go down and visit Ava while he gets ready, since I haven't actually seen her since Ben and I decided we were good again. She answers her door quickly, practically pulling me into the room. "Spill," She smiles.

I sigh, processing the entire night and trying to figure out where to start. "Well, it started off ok. Then I had the world's biggest mental breakdown halfway through dinner, which was probably good for me in the end because it was all things that I should have said years ago, but it still made dinner insanely awkward. So we all left, and on the ride back, I actually heard him out and let him say what he had to say. I think we were both wrong in a lot of ways, and there are still parts of me that don't want to forgive him, but I guess life isn't always picture-perfect, like a movie. But I still forgive him. You know?"

She smiles, clapping her hands with excitement. "You have no idea how much of a relief it is to hear that," She chuckles.

"Actually, I think I do," I laugh. "Anyways, he and I are going out for a little bit before the show, so that will be nice. I should probably get back soon so we can leave, but I'll see you later?"

"Absolutely!" She responds.

I head back to our room, where Ben is just putting his jacket on. It was mid-March, which meant that Michigan was still snow-covered and windy, despite our hopes for warmer weather. I grab my jacket and the two of us head out, hand in hand.

"Where are we going first?" He asks, letting me lead him around corners and across crosswalks.

I smile mischievously. "You'll see." He groans in response, usually being the one that surprised me, instead of vice versa.

After several minutes of walking, we end up at my all-time favorite cafe to have some brunch. I hadn't been here in quite some time, but thankfully, nothing had changed- every decoration and detail taking me back in time.

"Did you come here a lot?" Ben asks, enjoying his raspberry french toast, which we had both gotten.

I nod. "When I was on a college kid budget, this was one of the only nice places I could actually afford to come to. I came here at least twice a month."

"What's the biggest thing that's changed about you since you came here last?"

I lean back in my seat, thinking. There were too many things to list. I had much better style now, I had finally learned how to do my eyebrows (thank god), and I had infinitely more knowledge regarding being a publicist. But one thing stood out from everything else. "I think the biggest thing is that I'm just so much happier now. And that's because of you," I smile.

"It's not because of me," He says, playfully rolling his eyes.

"Well, it kind of is. My life doesn't revolve around making people happy anymore, and if I hadn't met you, I don't think I ever would have learned that lesson," I shrug.

His face melts into the happiest of smiles. "That's the least that I could do for all that you've done for me."

I smile back, feeling enormously grateful for how much things had changed in the last 24 hours. Again, things weren't perfect, but it was a work in progress. Once we're done with brunch, we walk around and window shop for a while, being sure to check out the Grand Rapids Art Museum before we get our afternoon coffee (yes, we were coffee addicts).

"We should probably get back, huh?" Ben says, looking at the time on his watch. He had to be back to get ready for show in about half an hour. I agree, taking his hand and starting to walk back in the direction we came from. "Wait. I thought we came from this way," He says, stopping in his tracks.

I shake my head slowly. "Ben, I know this city like the back of my hand. We came from this way," I laugh.

After a brief moment of confusion, he gives up and follows me "Are you trying to make the rest of us feel dumb?" Ben says, quoting Mean Girls.

"I'm not trying to. It's just happening," I continue, both of us laughing.

"I bet you could quote the entire show, forwards and backward. You could probably even cover for every single role."

"You know, I bet I could," I laugh, thinking about how I could probably also do every piece of choreography and blocking. I had seen the show a lot, and I was a quick learner.

Once we're back, I spend a little while in our hotel room while Ben gets ready at the theater. In that time, I get a surprise phone call from my mom.

"Mom? What's up?" I ask, unsure of what to expect.

"Charlotte! We just wanted to let you know that we were able to grab some tickets to come see Mean Girls tonight, to, uh, make up for last night," She says.

I feel my face go red. "Oh, you didn't have to do that. I'm sorry again for ruining-"

"No, we did have to do this. We want things to be better, and we want to start being better about supporting you now, so your dad, brother and I will be there to see the show tonight!"

My heart warms up, feeling grateful. "That's so exciting! Well, I'll have to make sure to find you tonight. I'll see you in a little bit!"

I work happily for a few more minutes, excited to have my parents finally come see the show tonight. I'm closing my laptop to start getting ready when Ben walks back into our hotel room, panic written all over his face.

"Ben? What's wrong? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

He nods, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, uh, I should be. But remember what we were joking about earlier? How you could probably play any role in Mean Girls?"

Confused, I nod. "Yeah, why?"
"I never thought I'd actually have to say this... but Char, we need you to go on as Cady tonight."

A/N: Back and causing chaos once again, just like old times !!!! missed you all