Everlong

| Ten: Charlie |

          The library's bookshelves were tall enough for me to hide and sit comfortably behind them. The other half of the library, where the public computers were, was packed full of yelling, swearing, and unhealthy machine noises. It was what I imagined Joel would sound like if he was processed into a noise. It was almost quiet where I sat, in between the seniors studying area and the ancient Rome history textbook section.

          I was regretting skipping lunch. After only ten minutes of sitting there, my stomach started to growl angrily at me. A part of me was considering saying to hell with my plan of avoiding Jack like the plague, and go and eat my damn sandwich. But the fear of seeing Cara there, and the increasing guilt over my feelings for her boyfriend trumped the hunger pains. I hadn't even seen Ellie that morning, because I knew wherever she was, Miles was, and wherever Miles was...

          "Mmm, the Men Who Won the Roman Empire, my favourite. It kinda lost me in the middle, though."

          I looked up from my spot on the floor, and met Alison's makeup-heavy eyes. "Ah, yep. A thrilling read. But, uh, The Twelve Caesars is where my heart lies, one I'd definitely recommend."

          "Really?"

          "Dunno," I shrugged with a smile. "I don't read textbooks, I just read the questions and skim through the pages."

          "Risky move. I can respect that," she grinned. "And let me guess, no proofreading?"

          "Sounds like an agonising waste of time to me," I replied. "Any particular reason you're roaming the Ancient Rome section?"

          "Hiding," she answered simply. "Mr Gallows caught me with gum, so..."

          "Ah."

          "What about you?" She asked, sliding down to the floor next to me. She unwrapped a piece of gum, and slid it between her teeth unnervingly. The strong smell of mint exploded into the air.

          "Hiding, too," I admitted, accepting the piece of gum she was offering. "But not from Mr Gallows."

          "Hiding from someone, but not from a teacher..." Her face lit up with excitement. "Let me guess. Boy trouble? Girl trouble? Non-binary person trouble?"

          "More like...best friend's brother trouble," I told her, and we both grimaced at the reality of it. The words were harsh enough in my head, but tasted worse on my tongue.

          Alison looked at my sympathetically. "A big no-no."

          "Huge no-no," I agreed. "I know that, and he knows it, too. But I guess we're both idiots."

          She shrugged, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. "I don't know about that. You can't help who wakes up the butterflies in your stomach, and you can't tell them to calm the fuck down, either."

          I leaned my head back against a shelf, letting my eyes fall shut with a sigh. A headache was blooming in my temples. "I mean, I guess. But this whole thing is so messy. Jack has a girlfriend, did I mention that part?"

          Alison scoffed. "What, Cara? I think she's dating like twelve different people, I'm sure it's not serious."

          "Yeah, but she's my friend."

          "Ah, right," she sighed, defeated. "Ginormous no-no. No wonder you're hiding."

          "Yeah, and then you know what he said to me? He told me that he wanted to be around me. That I made his heart beat really fast. Ellie was in room!"