In Or Out

Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

I could tell that Charlie was looking at me strangely when I took it. I knew he liked this girl, there was no mistaking it. But, I know that he's seen me reading in the library before, so why would he be so surprised? My thoughts were interrupted by Naomi's hopeful voice.

"How about we exchange phone numbers so I know how you like it?"

As I exchanged numbers with her, I could feel the strange looks from my classmates. I looked towards the ground. You'd think that after years of being with Jake, I could handle the attention, but I wasn't that strong.
made sure that I knew that. I stole a glance upward, and what I saw shocked me. Naomi was glaring at anyone who dared to cast an unusual glance at us. Charlie was staring at her in wonder. She looked so strong, stronger than I could ever be. She and I connected eyes, and smiled. It was then
I knew that I wanted, maybe even needed, to be friends with her.

---

"You and Naomi, huh?" I asked Charlie, smirking. His face flushed. I had caught him after school, and now, we were both sitting under our tree.

"There's just this... fire inside of her
that I want to got to know." At that moment, another type of fire spread throughout my chest. Jealousy.
"You seemed like you two were getting pretty close as well. What was that Maximum Ride thing about anyways?" My face flushed.

"You... didn't seem like you wanted me there so I guess I just panicked." There was a strange look on his face, but he shook it off. A smile then graced his features, and when I felt the butterflies in my stomach, I knew that I was in trouble.

"You know, I was expecting you to be weirded out by Naomi's crazy fangirl mode. Why weren't you?" He actually looked interested in my answer. I looked him directly in the eye.

"Maybe because I am one." I stated confidently. He then explained to me that he had known all along, that he had seen the look in my eye when I picked up one of my favorite books, he just wanted me to confirm it. I watched him, expecting for him to look at me strangely. Instead, I saw a newfound look of pride.

I looked down towards my watch, knowing that I had lost track of time. My mom would be really worried. I took out my phone, considering we were technically off of school property, and sent her a text letting her know that I would be home soon. I looked over to Charlie.

"I really have to go, sorry." I ran off, not waiting for him to say goodbye. I ran all the way to my house, who would of thought that my daily runs would have actually helped me in someway. The whole way home, all that I was thinking about was how much trouble I was going to be in. My mom liked to know where I was, and wanted me to be home at a certain time. It sounds meticulous, but my mom had a good reason for acting this way. I unlocked the door, expecting my mom to be furious.

"Look, Mom, I'm so..." I began. She wasn't here. I did a quick look over the house before I remembered. Of course! She had work, how in the world could I have forgotten? The only reason that she was off the other day is because I had a panic attack.

My phone vibrated in my front pocket. It was a number I didn't recognize.

You get home okay? -Charlie

He must have gotten my number from Naomi.

Brenlee: Yeah. Sorry about running away so fast, I had just lost track of time.
I placed my phone on my bedside table. Homework awaits. While searching through my backpack, I caught sight of Maximum Ride. One chapter won't hurt.

464 pages later, (yeah... I might have finished the book...) it was 10 PM, and I still hadn't done any of my homework. It was times like these that I hated being in AP classes.

---

"What in the world happened to you?" A cheerful voice said from beside me. I was sitting on a bench, my head in my hands.

"I got no sleep last night." I groaned to Naomi. "But on the other hand, here's your book back." She doubled over in laughter, and that was when Charlie walked up. I could see the adoration in his eyes. Wow, he is absolutely head over heels for her. I looked towards Naomi, and had the urge to laugh with her. Her happiness was contagious.

"Who knew," Naomi stated, turning to Charlie, "that our dear Brenlee 'I'm best friends with the most popular guy in school' Larson would be just as geeky as us."

"We did." A snobby voice said. Serena and her entourage strutted towards us.
"I'm glad that you found some nerds to be best friends with, heaven knows these losers are the only ones that will ever like you" They all laughed and flipped their hair over their shoulders, walking away, their million inch heels clicking on the concrete. I scoffed. It was then that I turned around and saw Naomi's sad face.

"Who cares what they think?" I asked, putting my arms around her.

"Yeah Nia, they don't know how ama-" Charlie started, his cheeks turning red.

"It's not the name calling that bothered me," she interupted, looking over at us. "I've had to deal with that for my whole life. It's that I couldn't stand up to her, I wasn't brave enough to protect my friend.

That's when Charlie kissed her.