charfletchh

[charfletchh]

she didn't rise to the barb; of course it was if she said so. everything was true if she said it. "what an invasive question. at least buy a girl dinner first." of course, he had already seen her naked, but this was far more personal. there was an unread email burning a hole in her inbox, and she wasn't ready to address it. "why? gonna miss me? i'm gonna miss you," she grinned, so sincere in her insincerity. "if you want a polaroid to remember me by, bidding's already started, so better get yours in soon."

"I guess I'll see myself out then," Nate muttered, forever the champion of throwing a pity party. But what was he, if not normal, at least in comparison to most of the people that he knew? From the Hamptons, at least those that summered there, and not the other townies like Nate, from Ogden...Charlie had it wrong. He was different from everyone else. He didn't just think he was - he knew he was. Those differences had been held against him, more than once. But he didn't want to be reminded of them, didn't want to think of them, and certainly didn't want to point them out to her, so he just shrugged up his shoulders, not meeting her eyes. "If you say so," he said, abruptly changing the subject instead. "You manage to graduate?"

[charfletchh]

"hm." charlie couldn't even pretend she didn't find that nauseatingly optimistic, and she made an internal note that spy wasn't a viable career path. and maybe it was knowing her escape was so close, maybe it was having known jacqui since they first came to ogden, maybe it was the alcohol, but something in her relented. "look, between you and me?" she dropped her voice without the usual sultry huskiness. "i'd come up with a better answer, because no one's really gonna fall for that inspirational pinterest quote bullshit. and people are asking questions."

"It is," Jacqui agreed with a sigh, before shrugging up their shoulders, lightly twisting a lock of their long black hair around their finger, watching Charlie for a moment. They had always liked Charlie, since they had first met her when she was their orientation leader, a formative introduction to Ogden, besides everything with, well, Jesse. And her father, of course. But she had never quite seen her like this, and she was curious as to why that was. "Sure, it's far. But, you know. Why stay in one place? Big world out there."

[charfletchh]

she wrinkled her nose. "i don't think so, you've lost all your appeal now. maybe after the 30-year reunion if you don't lose all your hair." she congratulated herself on a well-reasoned response; maybe her prefrontal cortex was developing after all. or she just didn't like to be made a fool of. "i don't know what you mean. i'm extremely committed to not committing to things. i've been doing it for years now," she informed him smarmily. she couldn't even commit to a hair color. "maybe people like us just need other things to commit to us. so we don't have a choice."

"but if i go ahead and do that, there go all our future chances at randomly stumbling into bed together. i like the saying never say never, you know?" it wasn't the wisest of decisions to start slightly flirting with charlie again — especially not with how frail things are between her and sassa. but it would be quite the move if he ever really wanted to piss her off, so he's got to keep it in his back pocket. other than that, charlie and link meeting anywhere in the middle together was sure to leave a crime scene behind.. metaphorically or literally. but he was drunk, a lot of his relationships in pieces, and it was harmless. "ha, very funny. that's quite rich coming from you, though, don't you think?" he teases with a grin.

[charfletchh]

as charlie saw it, she had two choices before her. she could huff and leave, letting sassa win, or she could call her bluff. it wasn't really much of a choice at all, and she settled onto the bed herself. "if you wanted some alone time with me, you could have just asked." sassa might be underestimating how good charlie was at getting under people's skin - or really, under their clothes. "just give it up. i see right through you." she was saying it just to bother sassa, but the more she thought about it? the more she wouldn't be opposed. "i think you're tired of being boring."

Sassa blanched, giving Charlie's... outfit a once over with a hint of horror - or something - on her face. "I can't see that happening," she said, the slightest curl coming to her upper lip. It's not like they had similar senses of style, that was for sure. But, of course, she couldn't give in now. Instead, she stepped back, dropping onto Charlie's bed with the raise of one eyebrow. "Comfy sounds good," she crooned.

[charfletchh]

"i don't know how i'm going to go on without you." and she would miss milo, she realized, the thrill of never having to explain herself, the easy patter of their banter, the way he sometimes made her feel stupid (which she well may be) but never horrible. "it's a little late for a christmas miracle, but i love your optimism," she crooned.

Honestly, he wouldn't expect anyone to take the heat off of the rest of them, especially not Charlie. The idea was pretty laughable to him. He grinned and shook his head. "I guess one of us has to get out of here unscathed." Not that he was assuming that meant he wasn't going to. Just… he did have about five more months of bullshit he got to look forward to. Milo chuckled and tilted his head. "No," he said, "how much? And how much will that change once I completely body you at shots in five minutes?"

[charfletchh]

"california! that's so far." she was doing her best to feign interest, but charlie had always hated talking about other people. maybe that's why g told her to ask why jacqui had chosen ogden; not because there were clues to be found, but as sheer punishment. "your dad went here? that's so sweet." as a fellow nepo student, charlie didn't think it was sweet at all. but different strokes. "i'm sure it was hard to leave everyone so far behind. family, friends... that's a big change of scenery. don't you miss them?"

Call it intuition, but an awareness ran up Jacqui's spine, their head tilting ever so slightly towards one shoulder as they watched Charlie - their expression didn't change, but they stayed silent for a beat longer than perhaps normal, before they shrugged. "Southern California. Santa Monica, to be exact," they said, their smile turning soft as they named their hometown. They still loved the west coast, perhaps more intensely since moving out to the other side of the country. "My father went here, so alum family. Wanted a change of sceneary, try something different, did a tour - and here I am."

[charfletchh]

"well, i'm special." she laughed it off, but there was an unread text from an unknown number burning a hole in her phone that she was sure held nothing good. "if i was a better person, i'd try to take all the heat for you all. but i'm not, so don't mind me if i try and stay under the radar as much as humanly possible. i'd like to continue to get through this unscathed." she'd been lucky, if she thought about it - the worst of it had been the leaked time capsules, from what felt like forever ago. there had been so many worse humiliations for others. in a sick way, she was almost going to miss it. "have i told you yet how much i'm going to miss you?"

Milo frowned and shook his head, "I don't think it's just you, Charlie." He had to wonder if there was something about him floating around out there, and if there was… what was it? He'd already had shit about him leaked, though if he was being honest sleeping with Greer -- besides the fallout it caused between himself and some of his friends -- wasn't necessarily that bad. So, what else was there? He'd told Greer a lot… "I wish it was," he added with a small grin, while he maybe joked but also maybe didn't really joke, "No offence, but I'd rather it be you than me. You're leaving it's not even going to affect you for that long."

[charfletchh]

"hey now. i've never pretended to be normal. i'm so much better than everyone else," she smiled serenely, making it difficult to tell how serious she was. (spoilers - she was dead serious). "anyone normal wouldn't be here in the first place." she wasn't sure if she meant here, as in this wild party, or here, as in this wild situation. no, if there was something charlie was sure of after everything these last few years, it was that everyone at this school had skeletons in the closet. "you're not so different from everyone else." she didn't mean it as an insult or a compliment. "even if we'd all like to think that we are."

Nate's eyebrows arched up ever so slightly as he turned to look at Charlie more straight on, his expression appraising for a moment before he turned back away from her, his shoulders shrugging up. "I wasn't looking for answers," he said, his words terse, his shoulders tensing. He had long since stopped looking for explanations, looking to be let in on the secrets of the way things worked. "She was never normal. None of you guys are normal. But you act like you are." Nate paused, a shake of his head as he scoffed. A rare moment of near vulnerability, for him. Though it wasn't coming from any desire to actually be vulnerable, it was brought on by pure frustration at this point. "Maybe that's the problem."

[charfletchh]

"dumpster fire? my perfect life?" she gasped in mock admonishment, pressing a delicate hand to her heart. sure, there were plenty of things other people would probably recommend she work on; drinking more water and less tequila, talking less and listening more. but charlie was perfect the way she was, and if other people didn't see that, that was hardly her problem. "hm. maybe you should get neutered." although if he kept hanging around sassa fiske, she might take care of that. "and let your hair grow out longer. show everyone you can commit to something!"

"hey stranger." charlie was not one to hold a grudge, especially on a night like new year's. fresh beginnings was kind of the thing to do, right? and besides, she'd always felt some sort of odd kinship with him - a sense that he was just as fucked up as she was. "i never make new year's resolutions. i'm perfect exactly how i am," she informed him prissily. "i do make them for other people though, so let me know if you need suggestions. i have plenty."

[charfletchh]

"ooh, yay! i can't wait." charlie did her best to feign enthusiasm. as much as she loved rhia, and was confident in her songwriting abilities, she'd sat through enough warbly renditions of wonderwall to be wary of an acoustic guitar. "okay, wait, let me art direct you." she looked at rhia through the phone screen (but not before switching to the front camera and taking a few selfies first). "give me an over-the-shoulder. and can you try looking like you know how hot you are? you look terrified. this is not a hostage situation." she clicked away as she talked, taking dozens of identical pictures to capture every slight variation in rhia's face.

Pleased with Charlie's approval, Rhia's hands balled into fists of excitement. She felt an urgency to wobble over and see for herself, pick through exactly what it was Charlie found hot. Her smile waned at the mention of a Disney princess, which was far from the effect she was going for. The blue lace meant to imitate something between a snow fairy and a merciful angel, not an angsty, PG-rated ice queen. "You should come over after! I can play it for you," Rhia enthused, focusing on what was easier. Good thing she brought her guitar, forever after the next chance to play for someone. She felt less secure without Charlie beside her, not to mention the discomfort of someone else observing her imitate confidence. "Oh, I don't know. How do you think I should pose?" Rhia asked shyly. She pulled the hem of her slip outward and tilted her head pleadingly.

[charfletchh]

she felt a rush of affection for milo - unbothered, unperturbed milo, who did not seem to be particularly interested in unraveling whatever knot g had thrown his way. she couldn't tell whether he trusted her or if he just didn't care very much. "exactly. i'm always in the library." and she was - mainly because it was a convenient place to stop and pee on the way to the frats and it was open until midnight. "but i'm gonna pass this time. don't know why i'm getting blasted for just taking a couple rounds at it."

Milo stared at Charlie, his look as flat as one could be. "Ugh, Charlie… I don't give a fuck what is going on," he said, "but don't bullshit me." He rolled his eyes, letting out an annoyed sounding breath. Clearly done with his interrogation, if that was what you wanted to call it. "Look, whatever this is about," he said, having to really hold himself back from rolling his eyes again. He hated G and whatever dumbass shit they were on. "I've got your back." He slid his phone back into his pocket, and adding more assertive as if answering a stupid question that some unknown person had just asked, "I could never think of why. We study together all time."

[charfletchh]

"sure!" charlie didn't believe in resolutions, but she did believe in lying. "indulge me. i'm just feeling nostalgic. i'm graduating soon, you know," she gave her best puppy dog eyes. "like where did you grow up? what led you to ogden?" she was being decidedly uncasual and uncool about it.

“Hey,” Jacqui said, a smile spreading on poptheir face as they returned Charlie’s greeting, slipping past her to grab a drink before turning back around, a hint of amusement parting their lips. “What do you mean?” they asked, laughter laced into the words, wondering what had led Charlie into feeling that way - on New Year’s eve of all days, as well. “Is this some…unfulfilled 2023 resolution or something?”

[charfletchh]

"hey stranger." charlie was not one to hold a grudge, especially on a night like new year's. fresh beginnings was kind of the thing to do, right? and besides, she'd always felt some sort of odd kinship with him - a sense that he was just as fucked up as she was. "i never make new year's resolutions. i'm perfect exactly how i am," she informed him prissily. "i do make them for other people though, so let me know if you need suggestions. i have plenty."

— CLOSED STARTER

who: @charfletchh where: NYE party

"this party is a bit of a bore." link instantly says as he comes up next to charlie, totally uninvited. he wasn't even looking at her when he had made his statement, but his gaze shifts towards her before he speaks again. "so, what are your resolutions for the new year? it should be a long list, no?" he teases with a small grin, taking a sip from his cup as he kept his eyes locked on her. link never really knew what ground he and charlie stood on — annoyance was a heavy theme in their last few interactions.

[charfletchh]

as he said her new password, a bell of recognition rang in the back of her mind - huh. her old password was CharlieIsSexxxy. how could she have forgotten that? "edward, you're an absolute saint." she leaned forward, grabbed his face, and kissed him on the cheek with a dramatic flourish. "those silly computers. my little girl brain just can't handle it." there was so much clicking. so much refreshing. god bless face ID. "well, you'll have to keep it in the drafts," she frowned. "still nothing." the TBD next to her final remaining class grade floated off the page, ominous and foreboding. "this is stupid as hell. eddie, don't bother wasting any more time here. you should just drop out. because apparently no one gets to graduate."

He rolled his eyes and sighed exaggeratedly in response, as though she was asking him to perform a herculean task. He didn’t mind it, of course. But he knew she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. Still, he tapped on the Gmail app and waited for the reset link to appear. And, because he was only human, he took the time to snoop around her inbox under the excuse that it was “taking a while” and that he would have to “check your spam folder, one sec”. But overall, there was nothing too weird about it among the early-bird ticket sales for Lollapalooza and the Charli XCX newsletter emails. The only thing that made him suppress a chuckle was an email confirming her enrollment in a masterclass on how to change your identity and disappear completely, which, he couldn’t blame her for taking…  “Oh, yeah. I remember some people had even drafted suicide notes and everything. You’re a pillar of the Ogden community.” He argued humorously. However, that last part was simply the statement of a well-known fact. As they spoke, he finished the password-reset protocol. “You’re all set. Your new password is Eddie_is_h0t because it had to have special characters and it’s easy to remember.” He explained, self-indulging as though he had bailed her out of jail (instead of changing her moodle password), and handed her phone to her. “Do the honors and tell me I have to start working on my suicide note.”

[charfletchh]

“is it?” she smiled mildly. is it nice to have entire nights missing from your memory? is it nice to have to piece together your own whereabouts from your instagram story? is it nice to wake up in beds you didn’t remember entering? no, she couldn’t think about that too long, she got nauseous when she did. it was just better to accept these things as they were - for the plot. “from what i do remember, it was uneventful. she seemed normal. or at least, as normal as she ever was, right?” it was sad, the way bitterness crept into her voice, even now. even after everything. "if i were you, i wouldn't bother looking for answers."

Nate snorted, glancing over at Charlie out of the corner of his eyes. Maybe he was feeling particularly melancholic because of where they were, but Nate just gave his head a slight shake at her. “Must be nice. T’not remember which ones you went to.” For a while there, Nate had been a frequent attendee. When his family first moved back to the US, when he had been dating Parker, but that had petered out, especially after...everything his senior year of high school. "No. I wasn't." Which was enough to make him wonder if something happened - he had learned up close and personally that the official story so often wasn't the truth.

[charfletchh]

“he’s literally up my asshole right now.” charlie’s father generally cared to keep her at arm’s length, only checking in when something was damaged irreparably- he didn’t care when she was getting blackout drunk in high school, but cared when she wrapped his benz around a tree, hadn’t cared when she was sleeping out every night, but cared when she callously dumped one of his client’s daughters and lost his firm the business. “somehow he had no questions about my grades until i quit that dumb job he got me last summer. now i think he’s ready to buy the school a new library if they’ll just let me graduate. the stress can’t be good for him, he has no hair. and look at us - we never stress and we're gorgeous."

"He cares?" Cara asked, her eyebrows arching up on her forehead in surprise at the idea that a parent may be invested in their child's life. She had gone through phases in her life - striving for perfect grades (parents never impressed) versus not trying in school at all (parents brushing the concern of the school off) - and had never managed to garner much interest either way. One of her parents concerned about how she was doing in school was completely a foreign concept. "Well," she said with a huff of air, as if she wasn't seething with jealousy internally. "He should relax. Stressing out over it will turn him and you gray - and over grades. They literally don't even matter."

[charfletchh]

well, if rhia wanted to be the center of attention, she shouldn't have asked charlie, famous attention seeker, to be in the picture. but she kept that thought to herself as she clicked back through the camera roll. "oh! you look hot." she hadn't even noticed the first time, but could she help that she caught her own attention? "it's giving sexy elsa. is that the vibe? i still haven't heard the song." or had she? it was so hard to remember anything that wasn't directly to do with her. "do you want some solo ones too? i'm an excellent photographer." if you only considered lewds and selfies.

Despite her insistent, internal monologue, Charlie's contrary attitude reflected Rhia's own truth. Although she would trade in a beach for a lake deep in the forest or a marshy bog. And maybe a cocktail for a mocktail, considering her recent struggles. "That doesn't sound too bad right now," she admitted, and her body shivered again in protest. She pushed all thoughts of warmth, sun, and mild temperature away, concentrating once more on resisting her discomfort. Her ears perked up when Charlie began her review, eagerly awaiting the redhead's approval. Rhia realized a moment later it would have probably been a better idea to look at them herself, given the only vivid image she was being described was of Charlie's breasts. "You make me miss my crazy hair colors," she reminisced with a sigh, scuffing the back of her head. Which she didn't particularly mind, but she wasn't sure it was the pose that drew attention to them. "If you don't mind," she smiled. "Can't ruin my Soundcloud clout by getting mogged on my single cover."