Sway

Southwick Beach

The look on Charlottes face wasn't one of anger. Which, I was thankful for. However, she did look major surprised.

As the three of us stood in a semi triangle, we all sort of looked back and forth between one another. Phineous seemed to catch on to the fact that I hadn't told Charlotte about seeing her sing the other night, now he was trying to think of something to say.

"I- Uh, obviously over-spoke... as I usually tend to do." He popped his lips and placed a hand on his hip.

Considering his words were pretty useless, I figured I should explain. I turned so that I was facing Charlotte completely, "I didn't mention that I saw you sing at open mic night the other day. I honestly didn't want to sound like some, groupie fan girl."

I could've sworn there was a rush of pink flowing through her cheeks, "Oh, well... I guess you know more about me than I thought."

Leave it to Phineous to continue standing directly behind us, like a weirdo. I scratched the back of my neck out of habit and forced myself to look her in the eye, "Yeah, I guess so. If, you wanna make things fair, I could tell you something serious about myself?"

She laughed, "You don't have to do that, I'm not upset with you Talia."

At the sound of her words, Phineous started clapping and butted his way back into our space. "I'm glad that's all settled! Now, Charlotte, tell me how long you've been a singer?!"

Her face sort of fell, "I'm not really a singer, I just do it for fun... in my free time."

I wanted to nudge Phineous and tell him to fix his face, but I was honestly feeling the same way. How could she be so gifted and let it all go to waste?

"Oh, well if you were to ever post a video on YouTube, I'm certain you'd be famous overnight!" He tried to lift the awkwardness a bit, but the look on Charlottes face after hearing his words was absolute disagreement.

She waved her hand in a nonchalant manner, "Eh, I highly doubt it."

"No! Seriously!" Now I couldn't help but speak up, "Charlotte, you're insanely talented."

Again with the blushing, "I don't know about that, but, aren't we here for..." she looked at my best friend, realizing she didn't remember his name.

"Phineous... I'm Phineous." He said reassuringly. "And she's right Talia, why'd you have to bring a model to my art show, she's stealing all the attention."

We all laughed before someone pulled Phineous away, leaving Charlotte and I alone in front of the mirage. The room was so bright that it caused her eyes to look clear, like, I could see my reflection in them... my entire being. She swallowed, probably because I was staring, again.

"I'm really sorry, this is becoming extremely awkward." I shifted in my converse, running a hand through my dark strands.

She shrugged, "Don't apologize for being yourself."

This made me smile, she was just so... assured of everything. Her demeanor was calm and certain, like she had it all figured out. Even the way she rejected the possibility of becoming famous, it was as if she had some sacred knowledge that told her she'd never be anything like that. The level of intrigue she made me feel was ridiculous, I had never felt anything like it.

"We should go somewhere else," The words escaped my lips on their own.

Her blonde eyebrows furrowed together, "Won't your friend be upset?"

"No, trust me, he'll be ecstatic," I grabbed her hand and pushed us through the crowd. Leading us out of the luminescent room and back out into the New York air.

"Where are we gonna go?" She looked at me as bunches of people shoved their way down the sidewalk. I honestly had no idea where to go, all I knew was that I wanted to be alone with Charlotte Bixby. Then I remembered a place Phineous brought me to a few years ago. It was about an hour away, but it was perfect.

I looked at her with a serious expression, "How would you feel about going on another little adventure?"

She tucked some hair behind her ear and hesitated, "Adventure?"

I just nodded, internally praying that my luck wasn't wearing low.

"Sure, it's not like you're a complete stranger that I only just met this morning!"

We both laughed and I realized that I'd need to hail a cab, the place I wanted to take her was about forty minutes away. "I don't wanna seem childish but, do you think you could hail a cab for us? I.. just suck at it."

She laughed and stepped out into the street, sticking out her arm until a yellow cab stopped in front of her. We slid in and I told the driver the address, he looked at me like I was insane but drove off anyway."

"So," Charlotte was sitting on one end of the backseat and I was on the other, "Maybe I should ask where exactly we're going? You know, in case you do end up being the creepy type."

"Southwick Beach," I said slowly.

"Hmm, I actually don't think I've ever been there."

"Really? Well, have you lived in New York your whole life?"

She nodded, "Yeah, forever and ever."

"Oh, sounds like you'd rather be somewhere else?" I was tempted to learn more about her. I knew just by her demeanor that she had a story to tell, something that would pull me in further than I already was.

Her shoulder lifted slightly as she shrugged, "It's New York," her eyes left mine and turned towards the window, "Everyone runs on their own clock, all of the time."

I knew exactly what she meant, I had felt it that morning while I was leaning up against the bricks. Like, people cared more about their stuff than other people. They were just so heads down, all the time. Wrapped up in shit that meant nothing.

"I know what you mean," was all I said as I watched her look out of the window.

She didn't turn to look at me, "I thought you loved it here?"

"I do," now her head swiveled so that our eyes could meet, "but, not because of the people."

It was obvious that I was intriguing her, "why then?"

No it was my turn to shrug, "because, I like sound."

She squinted, looking at me as if I was joking. So I decided to elaborate, "Music is my passion, and, I find comfort in chaos. Indiana is just all green and boring, the only sound you'll hear is an occasional ambulance."

"So, you're a law student that's also a musician?" There was a playful smirk on her face.

"I wouldn't call myself a musician, I just play around with stuff in my free time," then I caught her eye again, "kind of like you, and your singing."

She blushed a little, "Yeah, it's just a hobby."

"Same here."

Now a silence took over and we still had at least half an hour to go. The good thing was that, it wasn't an awkward silence. It was one of those silences that feels peaceful. Like you're completely happy with the moment.

I hoped Charlotte was feeling the same, I couldn't tell though. Her blonde head rested against the leather cab seat, and her eyes continued to watch New Yorkers barge through traffic.

We spent some time just sitting like that, until she looked at me again.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Her words confused me, "When you got in the Uber, and you recognized me from the bar. Why didn't you just, say something?"

My mouth opened then closed, "I... don't know. Like I said, I didn't want to seem like a groupie."

She didn't seem to buy it, "Really? That's the real reason?"

I just nodded, "Yeah."

With that she looked out of the window again, "Okay."