A/N
I picture Charlie as Meghan Trainor just so you guys know. (Meghan Trainor is bae)
So here's the first chapter hope you like it.
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*Ashton's p.o.v.*.
Just another boring day in this boring prison they call school. Its fourth hour and I'm sitting in my advanced placement psychology class. I thoroughly enjoy this class but I enjoyed it a lot more when my best friend, Charlotte or Charlie, as I call her, sat next to me.
"Alright class today we are going to be talking about Social Psychology. Take out your notes.", My psychology teacher, Mr. Hayes, says shortly after the bell rings signaling that class has begun, "Let's start with attitude formation and change."
He clicks the remote allowing the first slide to appear on the board before speaking again.
"A great deal of research focuses on ways to affect people's attitudes. Advertising is just one example of the many areas that uses several different ways to do this.", He states.
"One of the ways advertisers do this is with the mere exposure effect.", he clicks the remote once again revealing a new slide, "the mere exposure effect is the principle that states that the more one is exposed to something, the more one will come to like it. This does not apply only to Advertising, this applies in our everyday lives as well."
"So is love at first sight not real?", One of my classmates and best friend's girlfriend, Amberlynne, asks.
"That's not necessarily what I'm saying. I'm just saying that psychologists have found that generally the more you see something or someone the more you will come to like them. Maybe you already like them when you first see them but the more you see them the more you will like them. So, in other words if you want to get someone to like you just show your face.", he answers.
"So you want us to stalk them?", Amberlynne asks causing the class to erupt in giggles.
"Not necessarily but hey if that's what it takes.", he answers laughing.
"Hmm the mere exposure effect. That's interesting. Maybe that's what happened with Charlie.", I think to myself, "I guess mom was right."
Charlie and I had been best friends and inseparable since birth. Looking back now there were signs, even at a young age, of my feelings for her.
*flashback to the age of 5*
Charlie and I were having a play date at my house when our parents decided to take us to the park. They packed up a few things, put us in our car seats, and we soon arrived to the park.
My favorite thing, as well as Charlie's favorite thing to do at the park was to play in the sandbox. We loved getting dirty and making things with the sand.
Looking back now, I guess that's one of the things I always loved about her, the fact that she doesn't care about getting dirty or about what people think about her.
I remember playing in the sandbox with a few other kids when suddenly one of them threw sand in Charlie's eyes.
"Hey, don't do that to her! You're a bully!", I defended as soon as it happened.
"Aww your boyfriends sticking up for you.", he said mockingly to Charlie as her mom picked her up and began to remove the sand from her eyes.
"She's not my girlfriend, girls have cooties.", I defended us both before walking away.
I told my mom, who happens to be a psychologist, about it later that night.
"You say that now but just wait till you're older.", she smiled, "just wait till the mere exposure effect kicks in."
"No mommy, she has cooties.", I fought back.
"But you hang out with her everyday so what's the difference?", she questioned.
"Cause I don't have to hold her hand, everyone knows that's how you get cooties, mom.", I answered.
She just laughed.
*end of flashback*
I didn't understand what she was taking about back then but as I continued to get older things started to click.
*flashback to the age of 13*
We were in p.e. playing dodgeball. There were only a few of us left, Charlie, my friends, Calum, Luke, and Michael, on one side and several kids who bullied Charlie on the other side.
I noticed their team whispering something to each other right before forming evil looks on there faces as they started turning towards Charlie.
I wasn't quite sure what they were going to do next but I knew it couldn't be good.
Anger boiled inside of me as they all began releasing their dodge balls, aiming right at Charlie's face.
My heart dropped as I saw her fall to the floor in tears. Anger continued to boil inside of me until I lost it as they all high fived each other.
"WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO HER?! SHE NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG TO YOU! JUST LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE!", I yelled running towards them with my fists balled.
"Aww look fatties little boyfriend is coming to her rescue.", one of them snickered.
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND. SO WHAT IF WE WERE DATING ANYWAY? SHE'S SMART, BEAUTIFUL, AND KIND, SOMETHING NONE OF YOU WILL EVER BE!", I yelled.
"How can you think she's beautiful? Just looks at her, I mean for starters she's fat", The same person started but I cut them off, not interested in hearing anything else they had to say.
"Weight doesn't define beauty. Beauty is from within and if you can't see that then why don't you just go fuck yourselves.", I said with tears forming in my eyes as I helped Charlie to the nurse's office.
After helping Charlie to the nurse I was sent to the principal's office where my parents were called and I was soon in a lot of trouble but I didn't care.
*end of flashback*
I hated the way everyone treated her. Maybe she wasn't the skinniest person, and maybe she still isn't, but that doesn't define beauty. Charlie was and still is the smartest and kindest person I know which also makes her the most beautiful.
She's never been the most girly girl, I guess that stems from spending all day everyday with a boy and never really having that many friends that are girls, but I guess that's just another thing I really like about her.
*flashback to a few weeks prior*
We sat in my basement playing video games. (Ok, I know Ashton's not all that into video games but just pretend ok.) She sat in a green beanbag chair on the floor right next to the matching one I sat in.
I watched as she focused on the game. I noticed the way her eyes lit up whenever she was doing something that she loved, such as playing video games, I noticed the way her nose crinkled as she contemplated her next move, I noticed the way she puckered her lips to the side in concentration, I noticed the way her forehead crinkled in confusion when she noticed me staring.
*end of flashback*
One thing that I hadn't noticed till now was that everything I had noticed about her that day was just another thing I had slowly been falling for for the past 17 years.
"Mr. Irwin, can you tell me what the foot-in-the-door phenomenon is?", Mr. Hayes asks quickly snapping me out of my thoughts.
I shook my head.
"Make sure you're paying attention, Ashton.", he said as he continued his lesson which I drowned out for the most part.
"Your test over this will be next Friday, and don't forget your projects are due tomorrow.", he informs us right before the bell rings and I wait for Charlie before leaving the classroom and heading to the cafeteria for lunch.
