Sonorous (Charlie Dalton x fem!Overstreet reader)
Word Count: 5.8k
Summary: While dropping your brother off for his 3rd year at Welton, one of his best friends catches your eye.
Warnings: Drinking (you know I had to include Chet’s party), slight violence, kissing
---
“Tradition, Honor, Discipline, Excellence,” the booming voices of hundreds of Welton Academy pupils and alumni rang out through the small chapel. Mr. Nolan stood at the front, aged hands resting on the sides of the lectern, Welton’s crest displayed proudly across the front. This was your third year attending a Welton introduction ceremony, your third year sitting in the uncomfortably ancient pews with your parents while your brother and his peers were welcomed with watchful arms into the halls of America’s finest preparatory school.
Knox had found his seat next to you after leading the ceremony with the banners which represented the four pillars. His suit, which your parents had purchased for him at the beginning of his freshman year at Welton, was now ever so slightly too tight on his young adult frame. The seams squeezed at his shoulders, the leg of the pants threatened to expose the top of his socks as he sat, and the button in the front took just a little more effort to close. Examining your brother it finally hit you that he was growing up, and so were you.
Knox and you had always been close, especially as children before your parents sent him away to Welton, and you to Henley Hall. Now, seeing him all grown up, the body of a man replacing that of the boy you once knew, you realized that your time with him was limited, that your childhood was coming to an end.
Seemingly sensing your anxiety, Knox turned to face you, his eyes meeting yours with a sympathetic gaze.
“You okay, Overstreet?” he whispered, mouth curling up into a smile as he called you by your last name.
“Never been better, Overstreet,” you feigned a smile. Knox merely rolled his eyes, his hair falling in front of his forehead as he turned his attention back to Nolan. You watched him, catching him stop and giggle at something, or rather someone, before he could return his attention to Nolan. Curious, you leaned in front of your brother, tracking his gaze to a boy sitting several rows up from you, turned around with a giddy smile flashing across his face.
His hair was dark blonde like Knox’s and his cheeks rounded into rosy apples when he smiled, his eyes full of mischief and wonder. As you scanned his face, his eyes dropped from Knox’s to yours, his already rosy cheeks flushing an even deeper crimson. Flashing quickly between you both, you could see it click in his brain that you were Knox’s sister, his eyes widening at the realization. In a move that you would learn was characteristic of the boy, his eyes locked with yours again, giving you a quick wink before turning back around to Nolan.
You blushed…you blushed hard. Knox gave you no reaction, seemingly having shifted his attention back to Nolan before your interaction with the boy concluded. Fixing you hair and settling back into your seat between Knox and your parents, you tried your best to pay attention to the presentation at the altar, your mind refusing to acknowledge anything other than the boy on the other side of the room.
–
“Wonderful service Mr. Nolan,” your father greeted the principal at the door.
“Ah thank you Mr. Overstreet. Knox is one of our brightest, we look forward to another impressive year from him,” he gestured to your brother, who was standing directly behind you.
“Thank you sir,” your father and brother said in unison, eliciting a chuckle from your mother.
With a nod, the four of you said your goodbyes to Nolan and left the chapel.
“Knox, y/n, we’ll pull the car around so you can grab your things,” your mother said, following your father towards the parking lot just outside of campus.
“Alright we’ll be here,” Knox answered, turning to you.
“Another year at Hell-ton, you must be thrilled,” you teased, bumping your shoulder into your brother’s arm.
“Unimaginably,” he retorted, eyes scanning the fields around the chapel where hundreds of families were hugging their boys’ goodbye.
“Ah,” was all Knox said before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking towards one of the fields.
“Oh?” you asked, beginning to walk behind him, “Okay?”
Your brother turned around to face you as he walked backwards toward a group of men chatting in the field, “my friends. You met Neil last year I’m pretty sure, but I don’t think you’ve met anyone else”
“No I don’t think I have,” you responded, keeping pace with your brother as he turned around and briskly walked toward the group. You were about to speak up before the nasaly voice of one of the men cut through the air
“Knoxious!” You winced at the nickname, chuckling to yourself as you and your brother finally reached the group of boys.
“Dalton,” Knox said, walking through the group to embrace the shorter man who had winked at you earlier. You stood a few steps behind your brother, glancing between the five men. The tallest of them, a rather thin man with hair that stood up in an almost militant fashion, and a shorter ginger man next to him stared at you mouth agape. You broke the tension with a small wave, which the shorter one reciprocated, lifting his hand ever so slightly.
“So this your girlfriend, Knox?” The boy from the chapel asked, sauntering over to you with his hands shoved deep in his pockets.
“Ew Charlie no, that’s my sister,” Knox responded, turning to face his friend who was now mere feet from where you stood.
“Sister, huh? I never would have guessed,” Charlie said, staring you directly in the eyes, “you see she’s good looking and you’re-”
“Alright alright,” Knox said, stepping closer to you two.
“Charlie Dalton,” the boy said, extending a hand to you, making you blush again. This time he absolutely noticed, as a smirk threatened to spread across his face at the sight of it.
You collected yourself, “Y/n Overstreet,” you replied, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake.
“Her handshake is stronger than yours, Knox,” Charlie joked, turning around to face your brother, who was rolling his eyes.
“That’s enough Dalton,” Knox said, stepping towards you and gesturing for you to come closer to the rest of the group. Charlie let go of your hand and turned to face the group with you, his shoulder so close to yours that it threatened to brush against you as your brother introduced you to the rest of the group.
“So thats Neil, who you already know,” Neil offered you a gentle smile and wave, which you returned, “and thats Pitts and Meeks,” he said while pointing to the tall man and the ginger, both of whom still stood with their mouths agape…
“Shape up boys, say hello to the lady,” Charlie quipped, snapping the pair back to reality. They both blushed before timidly waving, turning away to gossip amongst themselves, you couldn’t help but laugh.
Knox pointed to the last boy, a shorter blonde kid who was obviously new to the group, as he avoided talking to any of them, let alone you.
“This is my roommate, Todd Anderson,” Neil chimed in, patting the shoulder of the boy next to him, who looked up briefly before turning away again.
“Anyway fellas, this is my sister Y/n, she goes to Henley”
“Oh good school,” Pitts spoke up with a smile
“Yeah…” you replied awkwardly. Meeks smacked Pitts with his shoulder, making the taller boy wince.
“Pittsie here has never seen a woman before,” Charlie joked, “that’s why he doesn’t know how to talk to them. I on the other hand-”
“No Dalton,” Knox proclaimed, “not my sister, she’s off limits”
You giggled at Knox, “16 years and I’ve never once seen you be protective of me, Knox, what’s gotten into you?”
“Y/n there’s some sort of unspoken rule that your friends are never supposed to flirt with your sister, which Dalton doesn’t seem to be aware of,” Knox replied, locking eyes with his friend who stood against your opposite shoulder
“What, what?” Charlie asked breathily, shrugging his shoulders, “who says there’s any flirting going on here?” He asked before swinging an arm over you, pulling you closer to him.
Pitts and Meeks ooh’d at Charlie, spurring him on. You looked to your right, locking eyes with the boy as he pulled you in closer. Smiling up at him, you giggled as he shot you another wink, sending butterflies through your stomach.
“Charlie I swear to God-” Knox began before he was cut off from a voice behind you.
“Overstreets!” Your father’s brash voice rang out from their parked car no more than 100 feet from you, “Come get your things Knox!”
“You got lucky this time, Dalton,” your brother said, pointing a finger at his friend before marching off towards your parent’s car.
“Its a shame you’re off limits,” Charlie said while removing his arm from you and shoving his hand back in his pocket, “I was gonna say I’d sure like to do this again sometime”
“What, taunt my brother in front of all your friends?” You smirked at him, “who says I wouldn’t want to do the same?”
Charlie smiled at you, nibbling his bottom lip between his teeth. He simply nodded at you as you jogged away after your brother. Cheers from the other boys could be heard from behind you as you ran. Turning around, you caught sight of the four other boys shaking Charlie’s shoulders and teasing him while he just smirked at you, eyes never leaving you as you followed your brother.
–
“So you’re telling me the plan is to sneak into your brother’s party…which is in your own house?” You asked Ginny, turning around from the vanity where you had been applying your makeup.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Ginny shrugged
“Oh god, Ginny, this is gonna be a night for the books,” you chuckled as you turned back to your friend’s mirror.
“So what about this Charlie boy?” Ginny squeaked, a taunting tone in her voice letting you know she knew of your crush on your brother’s friend
“How do you know anything about Charlie?” you stared at the mirror, it was your best attempt at maintaining a poker face while your best friend interrogated you
“Y/n, last year you hardly ever called Knox when he was at school. And now you guys are on the phone like everyday, and you always ask him how Charlie is. You don’t expect me, your best friend, to wonder who the guy you’re always asking about is?”
“I’m not always asking about him, Ginny, I just thought maybe I should take a greater interest in my brother’s social life…that’s all”
“Oh what a load of bull!”
“Ginny!” You squealed, still looking at the mirror.
“You know I’m right! Cause if I wasn’t, you wouldn’t still be facing away from me trying to hide your blush!” She exclaimed. Embarrassed, you turned around, hands covering your face.
“I don’t know what blush you’re talking about,” the muffled words sounded from behind your hands. Erupting in a fit of laughter, you moved from the vanity seat to the floor where Ginny was sitting, giggling with your best friend as you daydreamed about the boy you had met only once before.
–
Hey Little Girl was blaring on the speakers in Ginny’s living room; the party was now in full swing and you and Ginny were both fairly certain that nobody would notice if you slipped downstairs to enjoy the antics. As you exited her room and made your way down the stairs into the kitchen, the last thing you expected to see was your very own brother, Knox Overstreet, slumped against the counter taking shots with Chet Danburry’s teammates.
“Shit!” You whispered, flipping around the kitchen wall and turning to Ginny.
“What? What? What is it?”
“Knox is here, did you know he was gonna be here?”
“Knox?” Ginny asked, leaning in front of you to peek her head around the corner.
“For God’s sake Ginny don’t look!”
Ginny slammed her back against the wall next to you, “damn it really is him!”
“Why on earth would Chet invite my brother to a party? How does he even know him?”
A lightbulb must have gone off in Ginny’s head, because she turned to you with bright eyes and exclaimed, “he came over for dinner a couple weeks ago! I heard him talking to Chris, uhhh and they seemed to hit it off…so maybe she invited him?”
“Chris? Like Chet’s girlfriend Chris?” You exclaimed. Ginny only nodded, a smirk flashing across her face, “oh Knox!”
Keeping a watchful eye on your brother the entire night, you and Ginny worked your way around the party, flirting with the boys who clung to the walls and chatting with the girls you had known in elementary and middle school. Whenever Chet and Knox were both clear of the kitchen, you would sneak in and snatch drinks for you and Ginny, giggling as if you were the only ones breaking rules that night.
After what felt like hours of mingling, flirting, drinking, and playing the game of avoiding your older brothers, the roar of the party had finally died down and you and your best friend found yourselves propped up on the kitchen counter watching the stragglers mingle in the living room. The football team had congregated around the bar, still taking shots and cheering for Chet whenever he did something mildly average, and the rest of the partygoers were scattered around the coffee table and the many chairs and couches which surrounded it. Your buzz was beginning to wear off as you found yourself scanning the living room for your brother, who you quickly realized you had not checked up on in at least half an hour. Next to you Ginny was nursing a crystal glass of gin, her eyes locked on the ripples it made when she shook the vessel. She was out.
A panic starting to settle in, you turned to the window behind you and peered through the curtains in case your brother had ended up outside somehow. Just as you glanced through the glass you heard commotion behind you.
“...Sander’s brother! And he’s feeling up your girl!” One of the footballers said, drawing your attention to the large group of athletes who now stood facing the couch behind them. Suddenly, Chet launched forward toward the couch, his arms raising as if he was about to punch someone. You launched yourself off the counter, taking a few steps across the kitchen to watch the situation unfold. As Chet began throwing punches at someone next to the couch, you noticed his girlfriend, Chris, sleepily standing up next to him.
“Chet, stop!” She screamed as soon as she was awake enough to realize what was happening. Her screams spurred you to move closer, a decision which would reveal that the victim of Chet’s brutal swings was your very own brother.
“Knox oh my god!” You screamed, jumping over the couch and grabbing onto Chet’s jacket, pulling him off of your brother.
“Chet stop you’ll hurt him!” Chris squealed, grabbing onto her boyfriend’s shoulder as he stood up.
You crouched down to your brother, cradling his head in your hands as you examined his wounds.
“Next time I see you, you die,” Chet threatened, holding onto Chris like she was nothing more than an object.
“Why don’t you fuck off Chet,” you responded, making the men around him chuckle.
“Oh yeah? That the type of man you are, Overstreet? Your little sister’s gotta finish your fights for you?”
“Leave him the hell alone,” you stood up to face him, “and next time, maybe don’t let your girlfriend black out alone on a couch.”
Chet scoffed and led Chris away, her muttering gently apologies to Knox as she walked away.
“Y/n?” Knox questioned faintly, you turned around to join your brother on the ground once again, “What are you doing here? How’d you get here?”
“I’m here with Ginny, Knox,” you lifted up his hair to look at a bruise that was now forming on his temple, your heart breaking for your poor brother, “we’re gonna get you back to Welton okay?”
“Thanks,” he said quietly, “for sticking up for me y’a know, Charlie was right about you,” he slurred his words lightly as his eyes grew tired.
“Charlie?” You questioned, “he was right about what?”
“He won’t shut up about how you probably beat my ass,” he laughed, his eyes now fully closed.
“Charlie…” you wondered out loud.
–
“Welton Academy, hello.” The tired voice of an old man spoke on the other side of the line.
Clearing your throat and shooting a quick glance to Ginny, who was sobering up as she sat next to you in her father’s office. Putting on your most mature voice you responded.
“Good evening sir, I apologize for calling you so late but I was wondering if I could have a word with Mr. Charles Dalton?”
“Ah…Dalton. Well you see its after hours and the boys are all asleep right now…if you call back in the morning–”
“It’s urgent sir,” you feigned seriousness, “I’m his mother you see, and I’m afraid there’s been a um…”
Ginny smiled up at you, shrugging her shoulders.
“An incident, yes, in the family. And um, well, Charles must hear about it immediately.”
“Might I relay the message to him?”
“I’m sorry sir, but it’s quite sensitive and I feel as if I should deliver it myself,” you nodded your head, Ginny bit her hand to prevent her laughter.
The phone laid silent for a few painstaking minutes as you paced around Mr. Danburry’s desk, you and Ginny spiraling over how to get Knox back to Welton without causing a scene.
“Mom?” Charlie’s nasaly voice echoed on the other line, lacking the same sleepy tone as the older man.
“Charlie!” You practically squealed.
“Huh?” Charlie sounded perplexed over the phone, “wait, Y/n?”
“You recognize my voice?” You asked, butterflies filling your stomach.
“Well of course I did, how could I forget the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard,” you could sense his smirk through the phone.
Ginny cleared her throat, turning your attention to her, snapping your awareness back to the issue at hand.
“Oh right, um, Charlie,” your voice grew serious again, “I need your help.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said seriously, concern growing in his voice, “what’s wrong, what can I do?”
“I’m at the Danburry’s and um Knox is here”
“Okay,” he chuckled, “what’s the problem with that?”
“Well, you see, Chet sorta attacked him and…well…he’s not doing too hot and I don’t know how to get him back to Welton”
“Oh shit,” he squeaked on the other line, “is he doing okay?”
“Yeah I mean Chet beat his ass but-” Ginny grabbed the phone from your hand, “but then Y/n grabbed him by the collar and put him in his damn place,” she practically screamed into the receiver.
“Atta girl, Overstreet!” Charlie cheered for you, making you blush as you returned the phone back to your ear.
“Anyway Charlie, can you help?”
–
“Okay and then just a left up here,” Charlie whispered, groaning as he supported half the weight of your brother. You had decided the best way to get Knox back to his room was to just carry him, you and Charlie each hoisting one of his arms over your shoulders. Knox began to groan as you reached the top of the stairs,
“Knox shhhh,” you said quietly, trying your best not to wake any of the pupils, or God forbid the teachers, who lived in this hall.
Charlie chuckled at you both, turning the corner and gently opening the door to Knox’s room. His roommate was sound asleep in his bed, and you and Charlie made quick work of laying your brother down, removing his shoes and jacket, and tucking him into his bed.
“Sleep good darling,” Charlie joked, placing a gentle kiss on your brother’s forehead.
You and Charlie exited Knox’s room, closing the door as quietly as you could as you giggled to yourselves.
“Thank you so much,” you whispered
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Charlie said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “let me…let me walk you home”
“Oh no its okay, really,” you blushed, “I mean you live right here,” you pointed to his room.
“Y/n you’re crazy if you think I’m letting you walk back to Henley Hall by yourself”
“Charlie I’ll be fine”
“Dead poets honor, I’m walking with you,” he said sternly, taking a step closer to you.
“I don’t know what that means, but yes sir,” you nodded, eyes locking with Charlie’s as you two stood no more than a foot from each other in the dark hall for a secon longer than normal. Charlie’s gaze dropped to your lips, his pupils growing darker as he examined them. Your heart beat picked up, and so did your breathing, as your eyes scanned his face, your mind racing with curiosity.
Just as Charlie’s eyes began to close and his face approached yours, a door handle rattled behind him, snapping you both to attention.
“Shit we gotta go,” Charlie whispered, his hand snaking around your waist to spin you around and usher you around the corner and down the stairs.
Once outside you felt a weight leave your shoulders as you and Charlie heaved a sigh of relief. During your escape his hand had traveled from your waist to your hand, his calloused fingers interlaced with yours. Slumped against a tree outside Welton’s gate, you and the boy giggled as you relived the details of your narrow escape from the all-boys school.
“Come on,” Charlie tugged at your hand, standing up from the tree, “lets get you home.”
You used his hand to help pull you away from the tree. As you began walking he threatened to unlace his fingers from yours, but you strengthened your grip, shooting him a quick glance which rested somewhere between pleading and commanding. Charlie simply responded with a simple smirk and the relaxing of his hand into yours as you walked down the empty road.
“So…” Charlie began, “what were you doing at Chet Danburry’s party?” You could sense a hint of jealousy in his voice.
“Oh you know, flirting with football players, taking shots, playing strip poker…” you joked, Charlie’s eyes widened as his cheeks blushed, you couldn’t help but laugh at him.
“Oh really now?” Charlie quipped back, his hand swinging yours, “I wouldn’t suppose football players would be your type then, would they?”
“Most definitely not Mr. Dalton, how dare you suggest such a thing,” you tauntingly reprimanded him.
“Then what would be your type?” Charlie smirked to himself, your hands now swinging quicker between the two of you.
“Hmmmm let’s see,” you pretended to ponder, “I’m particularly fond of boys who go to a certain private boarding school in Vermont…Welton? You may have heard of it,” you joked.
“Oh yes, very prestigious institution,” Charlie retorted.
“And within that category, I must say I’m rather partial to a Welton man who is funny, outgoing, never follows the dress code, has a reputation as a rule breaker,” you sighed, “definitely someone who would help me carry my idiot of a brother back home after getting his ass kicked. Oh, and absolutely someone who would walk me home after helping said brother home,” you scanned the forest to the side of the road, “and I like light brown hair too”
Charlie stopped walking, his hand ceasing to swing with yours. Before you could even process the confusion, the boy who had occupied every single one of your thoughts for the past month was suddenly directly in front of you, his free hand firmly grasping the side of your face as his lips crashed into yours feverishly. His hand let go of yours and slipped around the back of your waist, pulling you flush against his chest as his tongue worked to part your lips and let him inside. Your heart raced as you kissed him back, closing your eyes and sliding your hands up around his neck. You played with the hair on the back of his head as you pulled him closer to you, deepening the kiss even more. As suddenly as it began, your feverish makeout session with Charlie Dalton ended.
“I’ve been dreaming about doing that for so long Y/n, you have no idea”
“Trust me Charlie,” you said breathlessly, “I do.”
He pulled you into a tight embrace, placing a sweet kiss to the top of your head.
“We can never tell Knox about this,” he whispered.
“Nope, never,” you said into his shoulder
–
“Good morning sleeping beauty,” Meeks joked as Knox groggily walked into Mr. Keating’s classroom. He was obviously hungover and entirely drained after last night. As he walked by Charlie’s desk in the back corner, his friend grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him back.
“Hey, you okay?” Charlie asked him, genuinely worried about the state of one of his best friends.
“My head hurts like a bitch and I have no idea how I got home…but yeah I’m okay,” Knox palpated the scab forming under his hair.
“Don’t worry your pretty head Knoxious, we made sure you got home safe,” Charlie slapped his friend on the back.
“We? Oh god how many of you guys were there?” Knox sighed, glancing around the room at all his friends, “and how did you know I was there? I snuck out, didn’t tell any of you where I was going”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” Neil said without looking up from his books
“I can tell you for certain I was sound asleep in my bed,” Meeks responded
“Me either,” Pitts chimed in,
As Knox’s attention of the group turned to Todd, the final member of the group, Charlie bagan to panic.
As Todd stuttered, Charlie spoke up, “Y/n.”
“Y/n?” Knox looked back at him, confused.
“She called me, man,” Charlie held his hands up innocently, “told me she didn’t know what to do, so I helped her out.”
“Dalton I told you not to mess with my sister,” Knox rubbed his temple.
“We saved your damn life, Knox. She innocently asked for my help, and I’m a gentleman, so I obliged,” Charlie smirked.
“God dammit Charlie, you can’t date my sister,”
“Who said anything about dating?”
“Charlie, she likes you, everybody knows that. But she’s off limits–”
“Take your seats, gentlemen,” Mr. Keating projected as he waltzed into the room, slamming his poetry book down on his desk, turning to face his students, “Mr. Overstreet, Mr. Dalton, everything alright?”
“Yes captain,” both boys said begrudgingly, Knox taking his seat in front of Charlie.
–
As the Dead Poets walked down the hallway past the main office, Mr. Nolan opened the door abruptly, “boys. I have a call for you.”
“For me?” Knox questioned, pointing to himself, but Nolan was already in the office. Shrugging, all six boys entered the office, crowding around the small phone on Nolan’s desk. Mr. Nolan gave them a knowing look before closing his office door behind them.
“Hello?” Knox asked into the phone.
“Knox?” You questioned, confused as to why your brother and not the boy you asked for was on the other end.
“Y/n?” Knox covered the phone as he turned to the other boys, “its Y/n”
“Yeah we gathered that much,” Meeks retorted
Knox rolled his eyes at him before uncovering the phone, “why are you calling? Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah no everything’s fine, I was um,” you panicked, not wanting to expose your intentions, “I um just wanted to check in with you….how are you?”
“Check in with me?” Knox questioned, once again glancing around to the boys.
“Here, give it to me,” Charlie muttered, grabbing the phone out of your brother’s hands, “he’s keen…how are you Miss Overstreet?”
You squealed his name over the phone, making Charlie move the phone away from his ear as the other boys all turned their attention to Knox who was fuming.
“Who all is there?” You asked
“Oh you know, just everybody,” Charlie laughed, blushing as he played with the phone cable
“Dear god, why?”
“Nolan didn’t exactly specify who you were calling for so we uh, we all just filed in…who are you calling for?”
You whispered, not wanting everyone to hear, “you of course, but Knox can’t know that.”
With a nod, Charlie covered the phone, handing it to Knox, “she’s calling for you, wants to know if you think your parents would let her try out for a play”
“A play?” Knox questioned, “Y/n since when have you been into acting?” your brother asked, grabbing the phone from Charlie
“Since um….recently? I don’t know, I figured I should give everything a try in high school. You never know I might have some undiscovered talent” you bluffed.
“Talent, huh? Well I don’t see why you shouldn’t try it. You’re not graduating or anything so you might as well do some non-academic stuff while you can.”
Charlie chuckled at his friend who had taken the bait.
“Yeah yeah, good thinking Knox. Okay well I gotta go, love you, tell everyone bye!” You hung up the phone, leaving Knox standing confused in an office full of all his friends.
“She’s never mentioned acting before…” Knox muttered as Charlie smirked, “what are you looking so smug for, Dalton?”
“What,” Charlie shrugged, smirk growin, “what?”
Knox scoffed as he led the group of boys out of Nolan’s office and back down the hallway.
–
“Why can’t I talk to her, Knox? What’s the harm in that?” Charlie argued with his friend in his room, Cameron seated awkwardly at his desk as the heated exchange continued.
“Because she’s my sister, Charlie! Everyone knows how you are with girls, right Cameron?”
“Not getting involved…” Cameron waved them off, keeping his nose buried in his chemistry book.
“The point, Charlie, is that she’s off limits.”
“Why?” Charlie was pleading at this point.
“Because she’s my sister! How many times do I have to say it?”
“So what? I’m your best friend! And I like her, I really really like her!”
“Come on Charlie you barely know her”
“Yeah but I want to change that, I want to get to know her, I want to know everything about her,” Knox rolled his eyes, “Knox I know I have a reputation with girls, I know, but I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve never really liked a girl like this before…she’s special”
“Yeah, Dalton, she is. And that’s exactly why she’s off limits”
“So it doesn’t matter that she likes me…her feelings don’t factor in at all”
“Of course they do, but as your friend you just can’t date my sister. Its like a rule”
“Says who, Knox?” Charlie was yelling at this point, unbelievably frustrated at his friends stubbornness.
“I don’t know,” Knox scrambled for words, “but its a thing, and you can’t break it!”
“What if I love her,” Charlie said softly
“What if you what?”
“What if I love her?”
“Charlie you don’t know her,” Knox’s tone matched Charlie’s
“The parts of her that I know…I love”
Knox sighed, placing his hands on his hips as he paced around the room. Cameron turned around to watch the interaction, playing with the end of a pencil in his mouth.
“You mean it?” Knox finally asked after what felt like eternity.
“Yeah, Knox, I mean it.” Charlie nodded, heart pounding.
“Okay”
“Okay?” Charlie questioned
“Okay, then, if you love her, tell her. Tell her how you feel and if she feels the same then there’s nothing I can do about that. Love is a whole other thing, Charlie, I can’t get between that.”
“So-” Charlie began
“But,” Knox interjected, “if you ever hurt her you’re a dead man.”
“I never will, dead poets honor,” Charlie smiled at his best friend.
“Dead poets honor,” Knox nodded, leaving Charlie’s room with a pat on his friend’s back.
“Dalton gets the girl, what’s new?” Cameron scoffed as he turned back to his schoolwork.
Smacking him across the back of his head, Charlie responded “get your head out of your ass, Cameron”
–
“I don’t actually have to try out for a play do I?” You asked innocently, pulling away to search Charlie’s eyes for an answer
“No,” he laughed, holding you close by your waist, “I think Knox has realized that was a cover by now…at least I hope he has”
“He’s a bit of an idiot…kinda stubborn,” you giggled
“You’re telling me,” Charlie laughed as he pulled you closer, resting his head on top of yours.
The two of you stood in a quiet embrace, eyes closed as you inhaled each others’ scent, warmth and endearment filling your body with each breath.
“Y/n I gotta tell you something…” he sighed, anxiety threatening to get in the way of his confession.
“What’s up?” You asked calmly, pulling away to look up at Charlie
“Um,” he began, eyes searching the sky in an attempt to avoid your gaze, “God I know I shouldn’t say this…and I know its way too soon…and I’ve only really seen you a handful of times…”
You nodded, gaze never leaving Charlie as he stared around you and his adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
“But there’s something you need to know, and for the sanity of both myself and your brother, I just need to tell you.”
“Charlie you’re stalling,” you said, growing more anxious as he blabbled
“I love you,” he said with a sigh, closing his eyes as his head craned up to the sky.
“Hey,” you chuckled, your hand traveling up to caress his cheek and pull his gaze down to meet yours, “I love you too”
“You do,” he snapped out of his daze, his facial muscles relaxing as he looked down at you, “really?”
“Really, Charlie. Yeah its soon, and yeah I don’t know everything about you, but the parts I do know I love,” you smiled.
“That’s exactly what I told your brother”
“You talked to Knox about this?”
“It was either I tell him how I really feel or he kills me”
“I’m glad you picked option A”
“Yeah I am too…I was so scared you weren’t gonna feel the same”
“How could I not?” You laughed as you embraced him, his strong arms wrapping around your shoulders as you nuzzled into him.
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