Everlong

| Eight: Charlie |

          It had been days since Ellie broke her silence, and she broke up with Joel. Miles stuck to the agreement and continued to say 'no' for her when she couldn't, which meant he was around a lot more. He and Jack had been sitting at our lunch table, and I'd be lying if it didn't freak me out every time Jack casually slid in across from me, his knees knocking against mine.

          I couldn't help but stare at him across the table as he listened to Ellie's ramblings about her latest art project. He was completely invested in whatever she was saying, resting his head in his palm and asking questions about technical terms. He looked so good just then, with sunlight beaming down on him, his hair tousled and the outline of a grin on his lips.

          Ellie's elbow rammed into my ribs. "What do you think?"

          "About what?" I said, rubbing my side and glaring at her.

          She rolled her eyes. "Water colour or acrylics?"

          Ellie didn't look a lot like Jack, but they both looked like their father. They both adopted borderline black hair—though Ellie lightened hers with highlights—and light coloured eyes. Ellie's were green, though. Jack's were the colour of the darkest part of the ocean, the part that bleeds into the horizon. Almost too blue.

          "Um," I said, biting into my carrot. I chewed carefully, trying to remember any part of the conversation I was just ignoring. I swallowed. "Acrylics."

           She nodded. "That's what I was thinking. Not bad for someone who wasn't listening."

            I blushed and ducked my head. Ellie shoved me in the side with a laugh. "In my defence," I laughed. "I don't think you've ever listened to me about how stupid the Golden Point rule is."

            She frowned. "Yeah, I don't even know what that is."

          When I turned back to look at Jack again, he was staring right at me, an amused look on his face. He didn't immediately look away, so I didn't either.

          He cleared his throat. "Heard a rumour about you today, Charlie." The way that he said my name made my stomach knot together. I barely even registered the rest of his sentence because the last word made me feel so fizzy.

          Ellie groaned for me. "Anything creative this time?"

          He shook his head, then ran a hand through his hair to push back the loose ends. He needs to cut his hair, I thought as it fell back into his eyes. It bothers him so much at this length.

          He twisted the ring around his index finger, and then looked towards Ellie. "It was about you, too."

          "Ah," I said, nudging her. "Joel started that one."

           Miles jolted at the sound of Joel's name. He was previously scrolling on his phone, looking for car parts. "What did he say?"

            "Nothing I haven't heard before," I told him, with a disappointed shake of my head. "I couldn't tell you how many rumours are going around about me. I'd go ahead and bet on the fact that I'm the most talked about person in this entire school."

            Jack scoffed. "You're kidding, right? I went to juvie. I once heard a rumour that I killed someone. I'm definitely up there."

            "Top Five, sure," I tested, leaning forward on my arms. "But have you ever been accused of excepting twenties for sex? No? Then sit down, Jacky Boy."