☁️Little Charlie☁️

CH 32

Charlie kept ahold of his paci at all times, keeping it hidden in his pocket. He rubbed the shield with his thumb and flipped the handle up and down during class. He kept his hand tightly around it while walking down the halls, not wanting to lose it. He couldn't wait to be home so he could use it. Ever since he told Alex about his Age Regression, he's felt a bit better about it. Especally since Alex bought him this paci. It made him so happy and beleive that it was completly okay to regress.

Lunch time came around. Charlie joined Alex and Katie at their regular spot. It was sloppy joe day, meaning Charlie would need two hands. He waited until Katie wasn't looking to quickly put it in his bag. Thankfully it came with a cover so the teet wouldn't get dirty while it bounced around in his bag.

"Whacha doin?" Katie asked while Charlie was zipping up his bag.
Uh-oh. He slowly turned around in his seat to face her, though he didn't know how to reply.

"He was just putting his present away" Alex spoke for him.

"Oooh a present? From who? Can I see?" Katie asked excited.

Charlie bit his lip and looked over to Alex.

"Um" Alex started "It's from me but, It's kinda personal. Maybe some day though".

Katie slumped down a little in her seat. "Fine" She grumbled. She sat back in her seat, perking up rather quickly. "I'll respect that" She said before taking a bite of her sloppy Joe.

Charlie let out a sigh of releif. Alex smiled and winked at him.
AHH why were his cheecks suddenly so warm? Charlie put his hands up to his cheecks and looked away. He sipped his chocolate milk trying to cool down. Why did Alex make him feel so warm and bubbly all the time??

************

"Bye Charlie!" Alex said waving to him. Charlie waved back with a smile. His smile faded when he turned to face the bus. Gross.
He took a deep breath before walking over. As he got closer, he saw Jacob eyeing him from the window. Crap crap crap.
Just then, he heard clicking heals get closer to him. He turned his head and saw Mia.

"Hey" She said a little out of breath. "I got out of work early so I thought I'd pick you up".
Thank the heavens!
Charlie nodded and followed Mia to her car.
"I gatta stop wearing heals all the time" She said getting into the car. "Especially since I work at a preschool. Not easy chasing down scrambling children in these babies".
Charlie giggled, thinking back to when he went to school. There was always this one kid who'd race around the playground. He was the best at tag of course. His mind wandered from the playground to the building blocks he always played with, the books he looked at in the reading corner, and that one firetruck he put Teddy on and pushed around. He smiled to himself and looked down at his bag. The closer they got to home, the more excited he got.

"Oh, by the way" Mia said as they pulled into the parking lot. "I have something to discuss with you but, we'll wait until dinner, okay?"
Charlie grew a little nervouse. He gave her a nod and grabbed his bag before getting out of the car.
As soon as he was inside he took his shoes off and bolted up the stairs.

Once in his room, he closed the door and put his bag down. He unzipped the second pouch, grabbing Teddy first, then his paci.
He took the cap off and admired it for a few moments.

"Look Teddy!" He whispered with a big smile. "Isn't it cute?"
He decided it was finally time to test it out and popped it in his mouth.
Almost immidiatly, he felt different. He practically melted into little space. It was like sucking his thumb but much better! It was so soothing he could probably fall asleep with it. He hummed a happy tune and swung his legs over the bed as he wiggled around.
He picked Teddy up and and held onto his paws as he danced with him.
All of his stress and worries were all washed away. His paci was already making a huge positive impact on him.

After a few hours, Charlie woke up to a knock on his door.
Oh no. He sat up in his bed and looked under the covers. He wet the bed again.
Just as he was starting to like his little space again, this had to happen.
He spat his paci out with a frown, feeling ashamed and disgusted with himself.
"Charlie?" Mia spoke from the hallway. The door started to open. Charlie quickly threw the covers over his lap and shoved his paci under the pillow just in time. "Hey bud, did you fall asleep?" Mia chuckled looking at his bed head. Charlie faked a small laugh and nodded. "Well wakey wakey, time for dinner. There's someone waiting for you too" Mia said. Charlie gave her a nod and signed that he'll be down in a minute.
"Okay" Mia said closing the door.

Charlie let out a sigh and threw the covers off his bed. He removed the sheets as well and patted the matress, it was dry thankfully. Most of it just got on the blanket since he had wrapped himself up like a burrito. After changing into dry clothes, he wrapped his wet clothes in the sheets and blankets into a ball. He walked over to his closet and shoved it into the hamper basket. Then he stood on his tip-toes to look for new sheets and a blanket.

After making his bed real quick, he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. He smiled when he saw Alex sitting at the counter.
"Hi Charlie!" Alex said hopping off the stool to give the birthday boy a hug. Charlie smiled and hugged back tightly. "Did you like the present I gave you?" Alex whispered.
"Mm-hm" Charlie replied blushing a little.
"Good" Alex said pulling away from the hug to ruffle his hair. "Is it weird that you're older than me?" He laughed.
Charlie bursted out laughing just now realising that. 'When is your Birthday?' He signed.
"My Birthday?" Alex repeated. His sign language was sill a bit rusty. "It's In April, just three weeks from now".
Charlie smiled feeling excited. He already started planning in his head what he would get for him. Something to do with Dragons of course.