Sweet Charlotte

「 fourteen: hushed saviours 」

"Okay, so, the old plan is scrapped." Seth said, snapping his seatbelt into place, sighing as the motor revved to life.

Willow nodded. "Exactly."

"So, now we aren't trying to see if we can get information from people about where Charlotte went, but we're trying to see if we can put together what was going on between them and her before she vanished."

"Right."

"And we're doing that by befriending people?"

"You got it."

Seth stared at Willow silently, taking in the plan, before scoffing and snapping the car into drive. "This is ridiculous."
"It's going to work," Willow said. "We weren't going to get anywhere trying to get people to tell where Charlotte ran off too. They won't know if she vanished because she went into hiding. We need to figure out what she's running from before we narrow down her location."

As Seth paused at a red light, he turned to her, the corner of his mouth pressed together. "You know, for a girl who's spent a majority of the past year in a hospital room, you sure know a whole lot about how people work."

She shrugged. "Gave me lots of time to plow through mystery novels."

Seth smirked, shifting his attention back to the now-green light. Why was he not surprised that she was also an avid reader? Her analyses of the world and interpretation of actions screamed 'future-English-major.' She very much seemed like the type to study and observe individuals from afar, not that there was anything wrong with that. Seth would argue that he, especially recently, was the same way. Being a bookworm fit perfectly into her mould.

Unlike the drive to Seth's place, the drive to drop Willow off felt calm. There was an aura of understanding this time around; one that didn't allow the odd surroundings of her arrival to dampen their chatter.

Though, they both knew that was going to be the elephant in the room when he parked his truck in front of her house.

And it was.

Seth eased his car to a stop, but didn't shift the gear to park. As Willow tried on her door, it wouldn't budge.

"Come on, Seth." She groaned. When he didn't respond, she turned to look at him. His expression was serious, daring, as if he was begging for her, just for a moment, to take him seriously. "What?"

Seth shook his head, the ghost of a smile curling up on either end of his mouth. "You know what I want to ask."

Willow could feel her heart falling. "I was hoping you weren't going to bribe me for answers."

"I'm not." He said. "I guess you don't know what I'm going to ask."

Willow loomed her neck forward, exposing her intrigue. "Then, what?"

"I was going to ask if you're okay to go inside." Given the way her eyes widened and her body leaned, Seth assumed that no, she wouldn't have been able to guess that.

"If you don't want me to drop you off, I won't. I'll take you somewhere else." He continued. "Don't let me leave you here because you want to be convenient for me. Demand that I do what's best for you. I'll do it."

She so badly wanted to scream why, the word dancing on the tip of her tongue, prying at her lips. She sealed it away. She was too scared to know the answer. "I'll be fine." She finally managed.

His eyes zeroed in on her, and the tone in his following 'okay' implied that he didn't believe her. She felt some comfort then, knowing that he was skeptical of her wellbeing while still respecting her wishes.  Even though she was lying, and even though they both knew it, she appreciated it. Sometimes a lie was best.