charlie-hopper

[charlie-hopper]

badowensummers‌:

“What fiasco was that? The fire on the table or the coke remains on the sink? They were both accidents.” He shrugged once, scoffing at her joke, before giving her the response that she was definitely after. “Ha, when have you ever seen me scared of anything?”  

The last time he was scared was when he was twelve years old and about to physically stand up to his father for the first and only time necessary. He was convinced he couldn’t be scared of anything again after tackling the biggest fear in his life, but he was always worried of being proven wrong of that. Even being accused of being a murderer and having your life dangling by a thread was not enough to bring fear back to him. 

“I can’t say anything to convince them though, Charlie. You’re the only one who can. The evidence appears to be there, but you can be my alibi and clear that whole thing up then we can be done with it, right? Other than that I don’t care what you do with the paper. Shout I’m innocent all you fucking want.” He shrugged his shoulders, looking like the thought had never crossed his mind. “Why the fuck would it be JJ?” 

The reality was that he had considered how JJ looked like a suspect a lot. If he was more worried that he’d go down for this, then he’d be raising a lot of red flags to the police, but he had Charlie, so he would protect JJ for now and not bring up his name in relation to this murder. Of course Charlie had different ideas though. For now this stayed between them until she decided the world needed to know what she thought, so he’d have to convince her that she was going down the wrong road. 

His disappointment at it not being about sex was palpable - he’d actually have to talk about this stupid paper? “When was the last time you climbed a tree?” He asked it with pure amusement, however his face straightened out as she delicately took his hand and rested it on her chest. 

He didn’t like moments that could be described as intimate and yet here he was with his hand on her heart that quickened in seconds, staring in her eyes. He could say ‘thank you’ now for the fact that he had her full belief that he was innocent, for being the one to get him out of this mess. He would never say it though and there was comfort in knowing that she never needed him to say it.

Unless you’ve got something else in mind. He raised his eyebrows in one quick, suggestive motion. He kept his hand on her chest, not doing anything with it, but just holding it there, teasing her. His other hand moved her hand to lightly brush his growing hardness. “I mean, feeling your heartbeat has got me excited.” 

Charlie was talking about neither the fire nor the coke, but the moment with the broken window and she had a feeling Owen knew perfectly well and was just choosing to misremember in order to keep his title of being a little shit. It was a brand of mischievousness that suited him well and Charlie found herself drawn to it like magnet because she recognized so much of it in herself. And as much as her body wanted to jump into it, to just let their sex and love be like a weed that could tangle and grow, she had to say - “I don’t know why the fuck it could be JJ, I just know how the fuck it could be JJ, which, in this case, is half the battle. Are you certain you know where he went that night?” She asked, her voice quiet - though certainly not soft, never soft. Her hand stayed still over his, for a moment. 

But only for. The moment of intimacy moved on, fleeting like a butterfly, one to be pinned down if it were to be preserved. Their love existed within these liminal spaces, though neither would call it by its name. 

Charlie felt him press her palm into the length of him. Spell broken, blood rushing back to her ears like water, like the sound and noise and existence of the world around her had been suddenly turned back on. They were here, standing on his porch in the dead of the night, and they were little more than horny, grungy teenagers. Charlie’s grin turned wolf-like, like she was an animal left alone a little too long, and when wolves were left alone - they starved. She arched up to her tiptoes to press a light kiss to the corner of his mouth, as if she could taste all the things he wasn’t saying when he was teasing her about climbing trees. 

“I’ll have you know I was in a fort just the other day. Which is basically just a treehouse, so it’s like I climbed a tree.”

She pulled away a little to get a better look at that sly face. 

“You don’t believe me, do you? You don’t think I could do it. Pick out a tree, any tree, I'll climb it.” Charlie challenged as she huffed out a laugh. Her hands were already drifting - Devil’s playings and all that. They drifted to his waistline and then back to his hardness - even if things were going to be quick and naughty, Charlie always made time to tease. “My heartbeat? Is that so? And just what are you going to do about it?” She dared, the touch of a wicked gleam in her eye. 

And wicked was an apt descriptor because she was suddenly peeling away from him then, with more self-control than even she knew she had. She reached for the doorknob to the house and let the back door swing open. Charlie glanced over her shoulder at Owen, gave a quick curtsey and showed herself inside, certain he’d follow. 

For now, it felt like it was just them in this corner of the universe.

Nightcall /Charlie & Owen

[charlie-hopper]

rory-fitz‌:

Rory sighed at his current predicament, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. Typically his more mischievous side would shine through in a moment like this, when he’s discovered an opportunity to do something spontaneous and unexpected. However, this was Charlie Hopper, girlfriend of the most frightening person in the entire village, someone that Rory unfortunately couldn’t avoid if this got back to him. But, it seemed that quite a few things were working against him tonight- Charlie was quite persuasive, Rory’s curiosity was seemingly clouding his judgment the longer that he was around her, and his mischievous side couldn’t help but take her teasing as a challenge.

So, with a playful twinkle in his eyes, Rory simply scoffed lightly and gave a smirk at Charlie’s words. “I dunno, I have my moments, yeah? Right. Okay, let’s go to the fort then.” As long as Owen doesn’t murder me. The second part of this statement remained unspoken. Of course Owen Summers would destroy him if he found out, why wouldn’t he? Rory pushed the thought away and instead, pushed himself in the direction of the farm at Charlie’s insistence. At the offer of the cigarette, Rory shook his head. “Nah, thanks but I don’t smoke yeah? Just a bit of weed sometimes but-” He shrugged, “Doesn’t really help with keeping up the demands of the farm, ya know? I just keep it and the other stuff to parties, really.”

They reached the farm quickly, Rory bringing them up by the barn in a direction that avoided the current crime scene. At this time of night the farm was dark and the animals asleep, so Rory motioned for Charlie to wait outside the barn so he could grab a lantern. Just as his hand touched the lantern, he heard a familiar bark and the sound of Biscuit’s collar jingling. Rory bent down to pat the dog’s head, “hey buddy.” He stood, and with lantern in hand and now a dog in tow, he returned to where Charlie was waiting. “It seems there’s someone else who wanted to visit the fort as well.” Rory nodded his head in the direction of the fort as the trio made their way into the woods.

When they reached the fort, a small shed-like structure with a small table and bench inside, Rory raised his eyebrows and glanced at Charlie. “It’s not much, but it was a nice escape when I was younger. It’s made of cedar so-“ He paused and shook his head, “And I’m sure you don’t care… Sorry, with farming comes massive knowledge of plants and trees and… hardwood, I guess. But it has its uses.” He shrugged slightly with a small smile.

He didn’t smoke? 

“Of course you don’t.” Charlie said as she withdrew the cigarette. She felt like she should have taken it as a sign, just another example of how they were incompatible and thus would not get along at all. 

She waited by the barn as he went to retrieve the lantern, not bothered by the dark but compelled to stare over to where she could only guesstimate the crime scene was. Through the pitch of the night, Charlie could barely make anything out, leaving most to her imagination. This was somehow worse. Matt’s blood had probably soaked into the ground, back there hadn’t it? She itched to take a closer look, considering the first words of an article sat typed up on her laptop, back at her desk. It would be a nice little first hand detail if she could score a glimpse. Maybe she could sneak away, or maybe she’d come back, in the dead of night, to take a closer look -

Charlie shook the thought from her mind as a cone of yellow light approached. It was not the cone that had caught her attention though. It was the jingle of a collar and a bark. 

Dog.

The retriever trotted up the hill and swept Charlie’s  mind clean of all other thoughts. It bounded up to her, tongue panting, in that friendly way that all good boys do. She stared down at it  

“Hello you!” 

Of course, Biscuit was more than welcome to join. Charlie loved being the center of attention but was more than willing to make an exception to the rule for Biscuit. Charlie was a dog person, plain and simple. She and her father owned two retired police dogs, a pair of greying older german shepherds, and as good as she was with people, Charlie far preferred dogs to them. 

Biscuit was a welcome addition and the trio trotted up to the fort, that cone of yellow light leading the way. As she stepped over the threshold and took in the table and the bench, it dawned on Charlie that she’d been here before. 

“Oh! Hold on! I remember this place!” She gave a dry chuckle. “When we were younger, we used to say a that an alien werewolf lived out here. I can only assume that the alien part was added because standard werewolves were too boring even for the stories. It was said that if you listened closely, you could hear him wailing for his family that lived on the moon.  Anyway...” 

She trailed off, leaving out the part where they’d dare each other to trespass onto the Fitzgerald’s property for a glance of this alien werewolf. There was no need to draw attention to the minor crimes committed here in her youth. 

Instead, Charlie focused on the set up of this little fort. It was cute. She wished she’d had a place like this when she was younger. The planks creaked underneath her boots as she circled the interior of the wooden structure. Made of cedar apparently. Her lips quirked up at his embarrassment. 

“You seem nervous, Rory. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I was the cause of it.” 

Charlie took advantage of their little pause to crouch down so that the retriever could approach her. “Biscuit,” Charlie cooed as she began issuing ample pets. “Have you been keeping that werewolf away? That would explain it. You’re adorable, you know that? Rory better stay sharp, I might just kidnap you.” 

She found her seat on the floor, legs crossed. Her eyes flicked up to Rory. 

“Seriously though, nice place you’ve got here. Great view.” Charlie pointed up, at the sky, full of stars. ”Much better than a bar.” 

didn’t see you there  | rory + charlie

[charlie-hopper]

rory-fitz‌:

Rory tapped his nose in thought for a moment and shrugged. “Mainly the farm, ya know? There’s so much land there that I could always find a new place to explore growing up… I did have this fort thing back in the woods behind the barn that I always went to- it’s still there…” He shook his head to push this idea away, shocked at himself for even bringing it up in this context. Remember who you’re talking to. “But somewhere a bit more, I dunno, public? Might be the best idea, ya know. I don’t want to cause any trouble.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and breathed out, watching as nerves and confusion fell out of him to form a brief cloud of steam in the chilled night air. 

They began wandering down the dimly lit street as Rory followed Charlie’s lead. He glanced over curiously when she spoke again, raising his eyebrows and nodding at her question. He had to physically push himself to keep walking and fight the urge to stop in his tracks at her admission. He was relieved for the cover of nightfall that hopefully hid the slight flush and bumbling confusion that riddled his face in that moment. “Oh, uh, yeah… ‘Course.” He’d had his fair share of Seven Minutes in Heaven experiences, some of which brought him close to sex… but not like this, not sex that connected him so intimately to someone who was now dead. 

“Wow… Shit. That’s… a lot. I’m sorry, Charlie…” His brow furrowed as she continued talking, assuming by her words that what happened with Matt wasn’t necessarily a positive memory for her. His head filled with questions that would satisfy both his confusion and concern over what she way saying, but Rory wasn’t really one to pry, and he didn’t want to upset her by making her relive memories that may not be all that happy. “Yeah… I get that.” He sighed, shaking his head with another shrug. “Every interaction I ever had with Matt was nice, ya know? He was always just a fun and laid back guy it seemed… But like I said, I didn’t know him really well so I can’t really say…” He shrugged. “I do though, get what you mean, yeah? We all have bits of memories like that we’d rather not relive.” He winced to himself as his thoughts once again returned to New Years Day.

“It’s not just the memories we’d rather not relive, it’s the memories we’d rather not leave as a our legacy. Anyway —”

Her eyes snapped up to him. She raised an eyebrow and let a smirk drip across her features. The part of her that lived to make other’s uncomfortable loved watching the emotions flit across Rory’s face like a storybook. And it was clear he was uncomfortable now. He really did nothing to hide his emotions from the world did he? Charlie couldn’t imagine such an existence, she had no interest in consistently offering up that level of vulnerability to a world that didn’t deserve it. Besides, the young woman felt like she had deep blue oceans inside her that would drown out everything else if given the chance.

Bold. At the mention of the fort, Charlie gave Rory a second glance. Surely he knew what he was doing. Surely what she was witnessing here was an uncharacteristic flash of bravery.

“You want to go, to a hidden fort, with me, at this hour, alone? Mr.Fitzgerald! My, my, my, what would people say?”

Her eyes tracked him as she watched him backpedal and suggest something more public. Charlie snickered. 

“Ah there it is. the suggestion did feel uncharacteristically bold for you. But I’m kidding, I don’t give a fuck what people would say. I want to see a fort.” Then she shrugged, like it was the simplest truth in the world. “And let’s be real, Rory. I don’t think you could cause any trouble if you tried.” 

If it was a mean thing to say, it should have been expected: Charlie was a mean person, and the sooner Rory remembered that the better. She felt like she could see him romanticizing her in a selection of ways and what did he think this was? Some fairytale where evil was cured by the pure of heart? Sorry, bud. not this reality.

Charlie pointed her freshly rolled cigarette at Rory like it was a magic wand, gave it a little wave like she was casting a spell, and then flipped it in her fingers so that she was essentially holding it up to him as an offer.

“Lead the way.”

didn’t see you there  | rory + charlie

[charlie-hopper]

rory-fitz‌:

Rory sighed and shook his head as Charlie encouraged him to vent his feelings about this situation. “I dunno… I feel like a downer by bringing it up. I mean, it was…” The sentence hung in the air. Horrific? Gut-Wrenching? Scarring? All of the above. Rory didn’t voice this though, instead he shrugged slightly. “Alice and her parents are the ones who are dealing with so much, ya know? I’m just glad they didn’t have to find him like that…” 

Rory’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, thinking back to all of the interactions he’d had with Matt over the years. “Close? I dunno, not really. I mean, he was a really nice guy, always the life of the party. He was always there. But since he’s a few years older than us, we never got super close, yeah? I’m good friends with Robin and Leo though, who were really close to him- so I’ve heard a lot of stories.” In reality, Rory tended to stay neutral with people- being a friend to everyone, but not necessarily having a best friend, except his dog. That thought sounded oddly lame to him though as he sat next to one of the coolest and most powerful girls in Spenningdale. So he kept it to himself.

Charlie insisted that he could talk to her and he smiled. “Thanks Charlie, that means a lot.” He was taken aback by her pushing the drink away from him, distantly relieved that the movement didn’t send another drink spilling onto his sweater. He hesitated at the offer to leave the pub, feeling equally relieved and intimidated by the idea of being anywhere but here. However, Rory couldn’t ignore who Charlie’s boyfriend was, and despite his long-lasting crush on Charlie, he couldn’t deny how scared shitless he was of Owen Summers. He also owed him a bit of money for some party pick-me-ups, so being alone with his girlfriend seemed like a dangerous idea. He knew nothing would come from it though, so against his probable better judgement, he shrugged and nodded at the suggestion. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Just for a bit, yeah?” He paid his tab and pulled on his coat, nodding goodbye to Sam as they were greeted by the biting chill of the night. 

“So, uh, where did you have in mind?”

Everything Rory was saying about Matt seemed to be tracking with what Charlie knew about the man. So no surprise there. Still, she made mental notes to check in with Robin and Leo. Robin seemed like a good start seeing as Charlie already had some sort of acquaintanceship or camaraderie with the woman. In many ways this little detour, into the pub, into conversation with Rory, had been worth it for this tidbit of information. 

Charlie also noted that Rory seemed genuinely concerned about Alice and the rest of Matt’s family, seemingly putting their grief above his own. She nearly raised an eyebrow at that. Charlie wasn’t sure how to sustain a conversation with someone  this… nice. The young woman was almost legitimately afraid that something would slip out, something harsh or cruel, and she’d accidentally break Rory. And while such things shouldn’t matter to her - whether she did or she didn’t break Rory - it was really a matter of effect and having to deal with the fallout of the situation, one she’d undoubtably have to deal with simply by being in his proximity.

It was cold as ever in the inky dark. Charlie pulled up the collar of her coat as she stepped out of the pub and into the night. She pointed down the road. “Great question. I was just going to sort of start walking in a direction and see what happened. Maybe the railroad tracks? We’ll see. I’m open to suggestions. Where were your regular haunts when you were younger?”

As she said these things, she began, towards wherever. Charlie recognized that going on an evening stroll with the person she wasn’t in a committed relationship with probably wasn’t the best look, but she couldn’t find in herself to give a fuck. The young woman had her agenda, and when that was the case, social norms be damned. As she walked, she pulled a packet of tobacco and some papers from her pocket. 

“Can I tell you a secret?” She said to Rory as she went through the motions of rolling a cigarette. It was Charlie Hopper’s personal philosophy that the quickest way to someone’s heart was through conspiracy. Tell them a secret, they’d trust you. Easy as that. She didn’t wait for him to answer. “My first time was in a closet with Matt at some party. Seven Minutes in Heaven. You know that game.” There. Status quo changed. Secret shared. But Charlie didn’t feel like stopping there. “It feels weird to think about that now. Like you’re not allowed to think about the bad or dirty stuff someone did after they’re dead. But... it feels like a terrible kind of erasure if you ask me; creates this strange, idealized version of the person; makes you forget who they really were. I mean, Matt didn’t deserve to die, obviously, but it’s just... strange to think about those little bits of his life. Shit like Seven Minutes in Heaven.”

didn’t see you there  | rory + charlie

[charlie-hopper]

C.H. POLICE INTERVIEW | 06 JANUARY, 2020

Officer: When did you arrive at the party?

Charlie: 11:07pm.

Officer: You’re certain of the minute?

Charlie: I texted Rory -

Office: Fitzpatrick?

Charlie: Yes.  I texted him when I was walking in and told him he better have a shot ready for me. You can check the time-stamp on that text.

Officer: Were you drinking that night?

Charlie: It was a New Year’s Eve Party. Did my father make you ask that question?

Officer: It’s procedure. How long did you stay?

Charlie: Till about 3am. No text message to prove that one, but I’m sure there are people who can confirm. The party was still going when we left.

Officer: Who were you there with and who did you leave with?

Charlie: I showed up with the usual crew - Owen Summers and Jane Oliver.

Officer: And you left with -

Charlie: Owen. My boyfriend. I went back to his and we didn’t sleep right away, so…

Officer: Who did you interact with at the party?

Charlie: A little bit of everyone, I don’t really stay still at these sorts of things.

Officer: Did you see anything strange?

Charlie: What?

Officer: Did you see anything strange?

Charlie: Oh no, I heard you the first time. It just seems like a thinly veiled way of asking if I know who killed Matt.

Officer: Do you?

Charlie: I don’t.

Officer: Sometime’s even smallest oddity can help us find a lead.

Charlie: …

Officer: Were you going to say something?

Charlie: I was then I forgot.

Officer: Do you need a moment?

Charlie: No, it’s gone.

Officer: Well, be sure to tell us if you remember.

Charlie: Do you have any other questions for me?

Officer: Did you see Matt at the party or on your way to the party?

Charlie: I didn’t. Which, I suppose, I would call a ‘small oddity.’

Officer: Why is that?

Charlie: This was exactly his scene. Matt’s a big partier. “Was” a big partier. Always has been from what I remember. Strange he wasn’t there. I’m sad that this is the way it turned out. 

[charlie-hopper]

[charlie-hopper]

badowensummers‌:

The way Charlie and him would automatically started their back-and-forth stressed him out and caused him deep admiration in equal parts. There was nobody like Charlie Hopper. The way she could joke and look at him in the same way even as he was seen as the number one suspect - nobody else would do that. She strolled across the garden like he just got a promotion. 

He looked up and away from her, grimacing, as he heard the actual snap in her voice. It was most likely a mixture of annoyance at him and herself for being in this situation. She continued on, poking at him with every word. He just laughed to the starless sky - a sky they would have if they actually ruled the world. When her voice came so close he could touch it, he looked and saw her eyes glint with all the stars that were missing in the sky - she was still his. 

“Oh, it was lovely seeing your father in those circumstances. I think he might be starting to like me? He actually showed emotion in his face for a few seconds when he saw me.” He shook his head, a proper laugh leaving him. “Dinner next we-”

She had to fucking ruin it. They could’ve just had fun tonight. Just laughing at the rest of the world and now she wanted to prove them all wrong, like that fucking mattered. At a deliberately slow pace, he put his hand over her fingers and closed them, covering her precious recorder. “Ha, wouldn’t that be nice for you?” He lowered his hand again, his eyes never leaving hers. “Our conversations are strictly off the record.” 

Of course she would try to bring up sex, because he was a man and it would make everything easier for her if sex was on the table. She was right, his face turned to one of satisfaction too quickly. He pulled her in closer by spreading his palms on her ass. Well, her ass was his ass. It didn’t belong to anyone else. “Mi amor,” He whispered. “Please don’t say you’re talking about literal trees.” 

“What was that? Dinner next week? Yeah, that’s fine. You’ll just have to climb through the downstairs window though, you’ve already been banned for life after the little fiasco two weeks ago. The ban this time just includes every lifetime from here on out.” She quipped. “Don’t let him scare you though, I think he smells fear.”

Yes, her father had offered up the biggest I told you so in the form of ‘Owen Summers is bad news’ in light of Owen’s interview. In fact, she’d heard about Owen interview through a million different angles, till each iteration reflected and refracted off each other like a kaleidoscope. Spenningdale was small when it got down to it, Owen was talked about at work, talked about by her friends at the station, talked about at uni - there were even little whispers at that coffee shop Robin worked at. Charlie wasn’t sure how he could be so complacent about the whole thing. Why didn’t he feel this great sense of injustice that she did? 

A small scowl pressed her lips into a thin line for a moment as he told her to put away her recorder. She gave a small scoff of faux-offense. Again, there was a twinge of truth to this, did he really not want to do anything about this situation? 

“Yes, nice for me but also - I’ll remind you - nice for you. You’re alright with Spenningdale thinking you’ve done this? No urge to change their minds? Nothing? And you want me to be cool with that? Stay quiet on the sidelines? I don't know if you’ve noticed but i’m not very good at that. Besides, if any one should be suspect number one, it’s JJ.” 

‘Where did JJ  disappear off to Owen?’ The thought pounded in her head. ‘Why didn’t he come back for the rest of the night?”

The question was swept from her as he reeled her in and, on instinct, her fingers looped through the belt loops of his jeans so that hips met hips rather pleasantly. She was thankful for the warmth of him, maybe even a little ready to go, but believe it or not, for once she wasn’t talking about sex. 

“Believe it or not, for once I’m not talking about sex. I’m literally talking about climbing a tree or some shit, I’m — it’s been a long day,” a long week, year, existence - depression, a drag, “and so I gave myself something to help, ya know?”

She took one of his palms in her hands and moved it to her chest, so that he could feel that erratic rhythm of her pulse or her heart. And yes, that was a loaded, suggestive move in itself but Charlie wanted Owen to feel the pace of her pulse, to understand there was no way she was sitting still for the next bit.

But at this distance she could look him in the eye, she wanted to ask him many things, how he was holding up with the weight of everything, if he was okay. Because these things mattered to her, even if she was jackshit at saying any of it. 

Mi amor, She repeated internally with a roll of her eyes and a bit of a snicker. That’s fresh. She was going to have to remember that one. 

“So yes I mean literal trees,” She repeated. His smirk was infectious, and hers always managed to be as sharp as his. “Unless you’ve got something else in mind.”

And alright, maybe there was the chance that sex was still on the table. Who was she kidding? Sex was always on the table. 

Nightcall /Charlie & Owen

[charlie-hopper]

rory-fitz‌:

Although it was a joke, Rory smiled and scratched the back of his head when Charlie complimented his eyes, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to rid himself of the all too telling blush that was spread across his face. He shook his head at her question, moving slightly to accommodate her. “No, no, not at all. It’s pretty hard to crash an evening that’s going nowhere anyway…” He sighed and shrugged slightly. “My parents have gone a bit mental over the party and ya know… Matt, and all. It’s easier to just be somewhere else, and the pub seemed like the best place to go, yeah?” He took a minuscule sip of his beer in an attempt to seem much more casual with her than he felt on the inside, listening intently as she explained her night. He nodded. “Yeah, I get it.”

Rory watched curiously as Charlie sniffed her nearly empty glass, giving a smile and shrug when she questioned the drink choice. “I dunno, they are quite delicious. I’m more of a beer or whiskey kind of person though… Maybe vodka too.” He breathed out slightly, feeling his stomach retch ever so slightly over the thought of mixed drinks after he brought up every single one he’d had over the course of New Years Eve at the mere sight of Matt- something that he should have thought harder about before settling on the pub as an evening escape. 

As if noticing his slight hesitation at the mention of alcohol, Charlie asked how he’d been holding up. He scrunched up his nose for a moment and sighed, shaking his head. “Yeah, it’s been… Rough.” He ran his hand through his hair and shrugged. “Nothing can really prepare you for that, ya know? I’m good though… Well, not good but I can’t complain, yeah?” He smiled at the brief touch of her hand on his shoulder and looked down shaking his head. “Thanks Charlie. It’s just been such a weird week, ya know? Between Matt and the cops, and now my parents going mad. And now I’ve decided that holing up in a pub was a smart idea even though the thought of alcohol after what happened makes me feel sick.” He looked down into his still nearly full pint and shook his head. “Shit- sorry. That was a lot… There’s just not many people to talk to about it, I guess.”

If the size of the blush was any indicator to the size of the crush, Charlie was actually kind of disappointed in herself for missing the huge fucking flag of infatuation that Rory was currently waving before today — if only because of all the missed opportunities it implied. What kind of favors could she have cashed in on if this knowledge had been available to her earlier?

( Or maybe he was just blushing because he was just bad at taking compliments? But pfft, please. Try telling that to her boyfriend. ) 

But Charlie listened and heard the tremor in his voice couldn’t can’t really blame Rory for the small show of emotion for anything other than the principal of the matter. Truth be told, Charlie had never seen a dead body before. Or, no, that wasn’t true, was it. Maybe she’d never really taken a good look at one. There was that one unfortunate time she was visiting her father at the station when she was ten and that one time, about a year ago, when she’d helped on one run and caught a glimpse of an OD’ed teenager from the corner of his vision ( And then of course, there were the times her imagination ran wild with possibilities of what had happened to her mother’s body but - ) but somehow those felt different. 

Charlie waved away Rory’s politeness. “Actually, I’m pretty sure you can complain. In fact you should. What’s the alternative? Bottling that shit up?” She wagged her finger. “That doesn’t sound very emotionally healthy to me. That’s the kind of shit that winds up manifesting in weird ways when you’re forty if you don’t address it now.” 

How easy it was for her to prescribe in situations like these, when she herself kept so much locked away. But unlike some of her other statements, this was genuine advice. And while Charlie was certainly still in this conversation for herself, had any one of her three friends been in Rory’s shoes, she would have given them the same advice. 

“Were you and Matt close?” 

Rory did look like he was going to be sick, like the drink in front of him would make him physically nauseous if he stayed around it a moment longer.  “And really, it’s fine. I wouldn’t have offered to talk if I didn’t mean it. Besides, I’ve been stuck at my desk all day with a blank page as my only companion so real conversation is kind of welcome.”

Decision made, Charlie pushed the drink away from Rory so that it left a streak of condensation on the lacquered bar. She swiveled on her stool so that she was fully facing him. 

“We should get out of here if you don’t want to be here. Want to go for a walk? Fresh air might help.” 

didn’t see you there  | rory + charlie

[charlie-hopper]

“ heads up, jd! i’m a dead girl walking! ”

[charlie-hopper]

Please don’t expect me to always be good and kind and loving. There are times when I will be cold and thoughtless and hard to understand.

Sylvia Plath (via qvotable)

[charlie-hopper]

Her Vespa sputtered to a halt by the well known curb and Charlie was leaping off it in and instant, cheeks still burning from the whips of cold air that had cut into her as she’d sped down the Spenningdale streets.

Back at her desk, no more than twenty minutes ago, she’d crushed a few uppers with the underside of her coffee mug and brushed them into her drink before forcing the liquid down. Right as rain wasn’t quite the phrase one would use to describe Charlie that night. This was one hell of a predicament she’d found herself in and between the demands of her job and the expectations of her father, Owen’s recent interview had only made both of these things significantly more complicated. Of course Charlie didn’t believe it wasn’t him - 

The rest of the world, however, was not as easy to convince. The rest of the world, it seemed, had it out for Owen Summers. 

So the uppers. They’d made their way into her drink to help with what would undoubtably be a long night. They helped with the sadness too, which tended to strike suddenly, as Depression  with a capital ‘D’ was one to do. Her concoction kept that tidal wave, the one that kept trying to pull her out to sea and suck her under, at bay. Now, she jjggled the latch on the gate to the back garden, rusted from use, in a focused, happy daze. Sure enough, Owen was waiting for her, being a little jackass and making her come to him. A glance down at her watch as she strolled into the garden told Charlie she was the one that was late but that was neither here nor there. “Of course.” She shot back. “I’m always on time, I can’t help it if other people choose to be early. That’s on you.” 

She was closing the distance between them quickly enough and let out a laugh that was more of a huff. It was more at the world, than at him. “What, and I cannot stress this enough, the fuck, Owen?” Honestly, she should have just left it at that - that all encompassing tone of exasperation. But maybe it was the definition of love that she didn’t just stop right there. “I mean if you’re going to get yourself tossed in jail why settle for the small stuff, right? You might as well go down for the big shit. Live in infamy.” 

Charlie stopped a hands distance away from him. Close enough that maybe he’d see the glimmer of humor in her eye. 

Click.

She’d fished her recorder out of her pocket and now held it in her palm, between the two of them. “Spenningdale News wants a quote. I think it’s your shot at getting people to believe you.” 

Where’d you go, for that bit in the middle of the night, Owen? A pause. 

“We could do this here if you want, but I personally feel like I could run a mile or climb tree.” That would be her little midnight snack. “Want to go somewhere else, darling?”

Nightcall /Charlie & Owen

@charlie-hopper​

If he thought about it hard enough, Owen could pinpoint his current situation as being in the top five hardships of his life. And it wasn’t over yet. He had to rely on evidence not being tight enough to get him for more questioning and for his girlfriend, who had always proved her loyalty to him, to be a completely reliable alibi. 

He was smoking in the back garden, watching the back gate for her to walk through it. The night was clear, but cold. He was getting close to the end of his cigarette and he swore to God (he didn’t believe in anything close to resembling God) that if she didn’t hurry up, he was going in, locking the doors and turning off both of his phones. It’s not like he could even really be bothered with this tonight, but she needed to see him and he needed to ask her if she would definitely be his alibi. For once, the need outweighed his want. 

Just as he stubbed out his cigarette against his house wall, the back gate rattled. “Well, shit, you’re just in time,” He announced, a smirk playing on his lips. He stayed by his backdoor, waiting for her to approach him. That was what he always did. 

[charlie-hopper]

rory-fitz‌:

Rory was only a week into the bizarre work-arrest his parents had implemented as his punishment for the New Years party he’d thrown whilst they were away. Any time he was home they were constantly adding more and more random chores to the list of things he needed to do around the house, on top of his daily jobs on the farm. This included, but was not limited to, sweeping the floor of the barn- which was just a glorified dirt pit with some hay sprinkled around, as well as dusting the tool shed where his dad kept all of the extra farm equipment, two things that Rory found completely unnecessary for the wellbeing of the farm. 

Since his parents couldn’t actually ground him, he was just spending as little time on the farm as it took to still properly complete his normal jobs. This was easy enough during the day, but had proven to be more difficult in the evenings- so, he’d found solace in the pub for the second evening in a row, slowly nursing a single beer the entire night- not having much of a stomach for alcohol after his early morning New Years Day discovery. 

Rory had been sitting at the bar making conversation with Sam who was working, as well as Leo who’d dropped by for a bit, and was now scrolling through his phone. That was until he felt something soak into the sleeve and down the front of his sweater. “Wha-” He turned and immediately flushed a bit at the sight of Charlie. “Oh, um, hey Charlie. Yeah, no worries. The sweater needed a bit more color added to it anyway.” He let out a soft chuckle and smiled at Charlie, taking the napkins from her to dab at the sweater. He motioned to the seat beside him. “You can sit if you want and I can get you another drink? What were you having?” He felt slightly flustered at the embarrassing circumstances in which he was coming face to face with who he considered to be the most beautiful girl in Spenningdale. “How’re you? I guess it’s been a wild week at the paper, yeah? With all that’s happened…”

He trips over himself like a puppy whose paws are still a little to big for him. Charlie didn’t miss the flush - was hard to when Rory’s face turned the same color as his hair - but she didn’t think much of it other than the fact that it was going to make this conversation a whole lot easier for her. Besides, she couldn’t really feel too bad about it. It was easy enough to fall for pretty things, sooner or later he’d get a glimpse of what she really was and that would send him running. 

“I think it brings out your eyes now,” Charlie joked about the new color of sweater and practically beamed at the offer to join. He was teeing her up for success. She didn’t even have to bring up work. He brought that up all by himself too. Leapfrogging to her true intentions would be easy enough if they kept going at this pace. “You don’t mind? I wouldn’t want to crash your evening.” 

She smoothed down her skirt as she settled into the stool next to him. Most of the spill had been cleaned up and now she offered up a shrug of her shoulders as an answer to his question. The perfect imitation of uncertainty.

“I’m alright. Another late night at the office. Between this and uni - I just needed to unwind for a second.” 

False. Charlie never unwound. She scrunched up her nose as she reached for the surprise drink that had yet to be cleared away and sniffed its contents. What had she been drinking? “Oh. Raspberries? Agave? Tequila,” She snorted as she registered what it was. “Do I look like a tequila sunrise kind of girl to you?” She asked rhetorically. She waved over the bartender. Most nights she cycled between a gin and tonic, an old fashioned, a screwdriver. But tonight -

“I’ll have an AMF, please. Heavy on the motherfucker.”

And that was perhaps the greatest truth she’d uttered all night. Charlie needed an Adios Motherfucker. Rory wasn’t wrong. It had been a wild week.  A flurry of chaos and accusations and speculation and there were moments when she felt like she was just hanging on by a thread. During the day, her life was split between studies and work, and the during the nights, when her body would finally allow her a moment of sleep, she was a slave to dreams of her mother, hazy memories that Matt’s death has caused to swim to the forefront of her mind. 

But Charlie was nowhere close to telling these sorts of things to Rory. Those were the kinds of truths that maybe Owen, maybe on a good day or on a day when she was absolutely blitzed out of her mind, might be able to draw from her. 

“It’s been a trying time for everyone,” She measured her words. “Just as I’m sure it’s been a wild week for you. How have you been holding up? After you know...”

She reached out to let her fingers brush across one of his shoulders in a brief gesture of comfort. A strong charade of sympathy.

“I’m here to talk if you need it.” 

didn’t see you there  | rory + charlie

[charlie-hopper]

didn’t see you there  | rory + charlie

Once she finally accepted that sleep would not come to her that night, Charlie pulled on the skirt she had worn that day, tied on her boots, forgot her jacket but remembered her cigarettes and notebook, then escaped the asphyxiation of loneliness as she shrouded into the shadows of the Spenningdale streets. A bar, she supposed, would do the trick – nameless faces, distractions, idle and meaningless conversation, where she would creep between forgotten figures to silence that unsatisfied itch inside her and ghost away before the sun would rise to remind her of the start of a new day.

Her boots trampled through a back alley, carrying her through muck and spitting her out the other side. Her path continued despite her distraction of fumbling for a cigarette, biting it between her teeth, igniting it with her lighter. Above her head, a street light buzzed. She slipped out of the darkness of the alley and into the illumination of it, looking up and catching the sight of a familiar shock of red hair.

Her eyes lit up, a little wild, a little reckless. Charlie found opportunity in everything. It meant little to her that Rory might have other plans for the evening, she had her own plans now. 

Grabbing a drink ( “surprise me,” she said to the bartender ), she made her way towards the other, keeping her distance till the moment felt right. When it did, she took a few steps forward, him still looking away from her, and let her hand tip forward imitating her drink getting knocked out of her hand.

The fruity drink went spilling all over Rory.

“Oh! I’m so sorry -“ He eyes widened as she pretended to realize it was him. “Rory? Shit, Rory I’m sorry! Some asshole bumped into me and I - here. Let me grab you some napkins.”

@rory-fitz​

[charlie-hopper]

CHARACTER TEASER - Charlie Hopper - coming soon…

don’t do love, don’t do friends, i’m only after success

DID THEY KILL MATT BANKS?

MAIN   ASK   CHARACTERS

[charlie-hopper]

[charlie-hopper]

Veronica Lodge in Riverdale, Chapter Fifty Five: Prom Night.