PART 1 -- The Elephant in the Room
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"You can't say things like that, Charlie. It's too soon!" Miley wrapped her naked body in a big fluffy towel as she scolded Charlie.
Charlie climbed from Miley's pool, moving to grab a towel of his own and fitting it around his waist, "I'm sorry, Miley, I didn't mean-"
"You've only been my boyfriend for a day! I mean, it's not even been a week that we've been hanging out. It's too soon to say things like that!"
"I know, it just came out! I don't know what I was thinking. Please, Miley, just forget it."
"How can I forget it?" Miley fretted, tussling her wet hair with a hand. "You put it out there. What am I supposed to say to that, Charlie?"
"Don't say anything! I didn't mean it, I-"
"What, so you don't love me?" Miley snapped.
"No! I mean, yeah, Shit, I don't know!"
"I think you should go," Miley's tone was as cold as her blue eyes. She gathered up her pile of clothing lying on the concrete beside the backyard pool.
"Wait Miley, please. Can't we talk about this?"
"What is there to talk about? We have some great sex and all the sudden you're in love with me? I can't deal with that, Charlie. Not this soon. I just... I need some space, okay?"
Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but failed to find the words. He realized there was nothing he could say that would take it back. Resigned, he nodded and moved towards his clothes.
Once dressed and walking through the gate of Miley's fence, Charlie remembered that he didn't have a ride home; Miley had driven them from school. Luckily he didn't live too far away, only about three miles, but it was going to be a long walk with the way things just went. He cursed himself for ever opening his mouth. How could he tell Miley he loved her? She was right, it was way too soon. She probably thought he was a lovesick dork, clinging to the first girl who showed him any interest. Charlie knew he blew it with the most fantastic girl at school. That was probably the end of the romance between Charlie White and Miley Andrews, he thought.
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"You've been having sex with him?" came Stacy's shocked voice through Miley's cell phone. "I can't believe you! Hand jobs are one thing, Miley, but...!"
"I know, I know," Miley said, curled on her bed. She felt confused about what happened, and guilty about forcing Charlie away. Miley needed to talk to someone and had told Stacy everything regarding the previous few days.
"Well it's no wonder he told you he loved you," Stacy said. "Most girls at school hardly even talk to him, much less spread their legs. I mean, he was a virgin, right? He's probably got a total puppy crush on you now."
"I was a virgin too!" Miley protested. "I didn't suddenly feel the urge to profess my love."
"That's so different!" Stacy's countered. "You were a virgin by choice.
Miley rubbed her eyes, "You're right. God Stacy, what am I going to do? Things just moved so fast with Charlie. I mean, one day I barely know him, and five days later I'm telling him I'm his girlfriend and we're fucking in my pool. What was I thinking?"
"Well, do you like him?"
"Yes, of course I do. I like him a lot."
"Do you love him?"
Miley thought about that for a second, "I don't know. Can a person know that in five days?"
"I think so? Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette got married a day after they met in 'True Romance'. That was so romantic..."
"This isn't a movie! This is my life we're talking about."
"I know, I know. Calm down, Miley. Geez."
"What am I going to do, Stace? What am I going to say to him tomorrow at school?"
"Hell if I know," Stacy replied. "This is why we agreed not to date high school boys, remember? They get all clingy."
"He's not clingy. He's just inexperienced with girls. That's one of the things I like about him, actually. He's honest."
"What do you want me to say, Miley? If you like him that much just talk to him; maybe tell him you guys need to slow things down. You two should try going out on an actual date, get to know one another instead of jumping right into the sack every time you see each other."
Miley breathed out a soft laugh, "You're right. That's a really good idea."
"You're welcome," Stacy said.
"Thank you. You're the best, Stace."
"I love you," Stacy teased in a sing-song voice.
Miley giggled, relieved after talking to her friend, "I love you too, see you tomorrow."
Hanging up the phone, Miley sighed and stretched out on her bed. She wondered how Charlie was doing; he probably felt awful, she thought. She considered calling him but felt it was best if they had some space.
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"You've been having sex with Miley Andrews?!?" Brian's stunned voice came through Charlie's cell phone. "Dude! That's so awesome!"
"I know. But I blew it," Charlie replied, laying on his bed in defeat. "I'm such an idiot."
"Yeah you are," Brian confirmed. "You never tell a girl you love her unless she says it first."
"How would you know? Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
"Dude, low blow, okay? But c'mon, every guy knows that. That's like 'Relationships 101'."
"I know, I know. You're right," Charlie admitted. "It just slipped out. I didn't mean to say it."
"That sucks, dude. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. She probably doesn't want to have anything to do with me anymore. You should have seen her, I totally freaked her out."
There was a long pause before Brian asked, "You want to come over and play some 'Modern Warfare'?"
=====
It took three tries before Charlie worked the proper combination on his locker the following morning. He hadn't gotten much sleep and couldn't stop playing out the events from the previous day in his mind. It was like his brain was on a continuous slow motion loop of him telling Miley he loved her. How could three simple words screw things up so much? He wanted to go find Miley and try to talk to her, but Charlie feared pushing the issue would just make it worse. With a sigh, he grabbed first period books and headed to homeroom.
The whole morning was miserable for Charlie. He wanted to know where he stood with Miley and was unable to focus on his classes; nothing seemed capable of getting his thoughts off of her. It wasn't until his last class before lunch that Charlie finally got some sign from Miley in the form of a text.
DIVINOS - LUNCH HOUR
DiVino's was a popular spot for students to go if they didn't want cafeteria lunch; a bistro-style pizza joint within walking distance of school. Unfortunately, Charlie couldn't get anything from the tone of the text. He had no idea where Miley's head was at and found it likely that he was going to get dumped over a slice of pepperoni.
As soon as the bell rang signaling the end of class Charlie hurried to meet Miley. Whatever his fate was to be, Charlie wanted to get it over with. He didn't see Miley or her car when he arrived at DiVino's, so Charlie assumed he beat her there. As he moved to go inside a rather large young man stepped in Charlie's path, preventing him from entering the restaurant. His name was Brock, the star middle linebacker on the school's football team. Charlie knew him well and had been the target of Brock's bullying since middle school.
"Hey, White." Brock spoke in a deep voice, "What are you doing here? Didn't you know? No dorks allowed."
Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Charlie replied, "I'm meeting someone, and I really don't need this today, Brock."
A couple of Brock's cronies sitting at an outdoor table noticed the encounter and got up, moving to support their teammate. As though Brock needed any help, Charlie thought; he probably outweighed Charlie by fifty pounds.
"What, is there a dork convention here today or something?" Brock joked, his two buddies laughing at him. "Get lost, White."
"No," Charlie refused.
"What did you say?" Brock asked, his face twisting with annoyance.
"I'm not going anywhere, Brock."
The fist came so fast that Charlie didn't even see it coming. Before he even realized that Brock had punched him, Charlie was laying on his back on the hard concrete sidewalk. A salty taste assaulted his lips and Charlie lifted a hand to his nose, seeing blood on the tips of his fingers.
"Charlie!!!" came Miley's urgent voice from somewhere, mingled with laughter from Brock and his buddies.
"Miley?" Charlie called weakly, still dazed.
"Oh my god! Charlie!" Miley ran from her car to the sidewalk, kneeling beside Charlie. She was frantic with worry, putting a hand under Charlie's head so that it wasn't on the hard cement, "Are you okay, baby?"
"I think so?"
"You fucking asshole!" Miley yelled over her shoulder at Brock, which went far in silencing the laughs coming from the jock's direction.