[right][b][u]TIMESTAMP:[/u][/b] A Flashback Of One Evening In March of 2018[/right]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/UPsViHj.png[/img]
[sub]A [@Venus] & [@BrutalBx] Collaboration
Featuring [color=D3D3D3]Charlie Decker[/color] & [color=7B68EE]Natalia Belmonte’s[/color] First Conversation[/sub][/center][hr][hr]
[color=darkgray][indent][indent]It was becoming more and more difficult to focus on class now. Charlie was now spending every night on the corner, slinging ReyRey’s latest product to the nighttime creatures of Edenridge, Massachusetts. It was a great disappointment to the Southside boy that his occupation was now affecting his school work. Charlie actually really enjoyed school, especially Mr Beau’s class. Literature had always been his escape. The day was still clear in his mind when his love for the written word began.

Charlie was six years old. He has long black hair because his mother couldn’t afford to get it cut at the time and he was wearing massively oversized clothes that Rhonda’s friends had given him. They had travelled upstate to Maine, Portland to be specific to visit the only living family that Ronnie had left, her grandfather. He was a mean son of a bitch. He had all but scrubbed his son from his life when he moved to Boston, thus he never really tried to have any relationship with his granddaughter Rhonda or her son. But in his dying days when the dementia had taken hold, Arend Van Decker wanted nothing more than to meet his progeny.

Rhonda was taking care of Arend in his garden and Charlie was wandering around the house when he stumbled into his great grandfather's library. The room itself was small and three of the four walls were covered in books but to the young boy, this place might as well have been the length of a football field and the height of the Eiffel Tower. It was like a scene out of a movie in Charlie's head and when he reached out to grab the first book, he believed in his head that when he opened the pages he would be transported into a magical world of wonder and excitement and he would take his family on an breathtaking adventure. He may not have gone on that journey to wonderland but Charlie did set off on his expedition into the infinite universe of literature.

Beau wanted a book report done and wanted it done in pairs. Charlie looked forward to working with Poppy as always, at least until the moulder of minds decided to pick the pairs and Charlie was placed with the girl he was currently waiting to meet on the top bleacher overlooking the soccer field, Natalia Belmonte. There really couldn’t be anyone else in a completely different world to Charlie than Tal. She was beautiful, rich, popular, all the typical gimmicks one would expect for someone considered a queen of the school. Little did most know that Charlie already knew Tal a little more than one would think; he happened to be her weed dealer. Flicking through the pages of Stephen King’s Night Shift, his legs bouncing slightly as he soaked in the horror lord's words and waited for the Queen to arrive.

From an outsider's perspective, Natalia Belmonte's social life seemed to be on the up and up. Since becoming an integral part of the victories obtained by the Edenridge High volleyball Clovers, the young woman's popularity had begun to increase as her schoolmates began to take notice of her beauty, brains and athletic prowess. One of these schoolmates with a piqued interest in the fifth Belmonte child was Reagan Ramsey herself. The Asian beauty had approached Tal in the deserted showers after gym class, cornering her in one of the stalls. At first Natalia had thought Reagan was there to chastise her for staring at her bare body while she looked for her clothes and got dressed in the locker rooms. Instead, she found herself being initiated in the art of sapphic intimacy, surrendering to the queen bee in ways she had only imagined in her dreams. Their shower liaison had continued in Reagan’s bedroom during a ‘sleepover’, and after all was said and done, the senior offered the sophomore an opportunity she couldn’t refuse: a shot at becoming the next Supreme.

But what people didn't know, because Natalia was an expert at hiding it, was that the loss of her friendship/relationship of sorts with Niles Sinclair had been hitting her harder than anyone could possibly imagine. They had been joined at the hip for as long as she could remember; and for a little over a year, they had crossed the lines by becoming lovers too. Stating that she hadn't known what life was like without him, as dramatic of a claim as it sounded, was accurate. Although she would never admit it, Niles' absence had left a large void in Tal's heart that not even sleeping with the Ice Queen herself could make her forget. And without the distraction of volleyball to occupy her mind, the green-eyed girl had turned to the solution provided to her by Charlie Decker: weed.

[color=7B68EE]"Hey,"[/color] the Belmonte girl greeted her classmate with a nod of her head, dropping her backpack on the row in front of her while taking a seat next to Charlie. She wasted no time in pleasantries or small talk, and got straight to the point. [color=7B68EE]"Same price, right?"[/color]

Charlie ignored her for a few seconds as he finished the page he was reading. Business was business but the words he read were food for his soul. Sometimes it was really the only thing that kept him going. And those who knew the lanky boy best, knew not to disturb him when he was reading. Once he had finished, Charlie licked the top of his finger to moisten it and turned the corner of his current page so he could find his place later. The native boy closed up the book, rested it beside him and turned his dark face to look at the new arrival. [color=D3D3D3]“Yeah, same price.”[/color]

Reaching into his bag, Charlie pulled out a small antique tobacco tin. Poppy’s mom had a massive selection at Well Loved Wonders and he had taken to using them for his deals. Depending on the customer, a tin might just have the actual weed inside or if Charlie liked you, he would throw in the papers too-- and for some weird reason, he did like Natalia. They were in completely different social circles. This old adage of coming from two different worlds applied dramatically to the two of them. She was a Princess and he was a Pauper. Yet still something in her soft green eyes made Charlie think that they weren’t so different. He saw her beauty-- of course he did, how could he not? But inside he saw a mirror: a mirror with a crack in the seam.

While Charlie concluded his reading session, Natalia fished her wallet out of her backpack, retrieved the designated amount of dollar bills for her transaction and returned the wallet to her backpack. Once the young man was finished, she handed him the money with one hand and clutched her product with the other, wasting no time in opening up the tin to examine the contents within. A grin spread across the Belmonte girl’s features as her eyes fell on the prize: beautiful forest green buds of Mary Jane, accompanied by complimentary rolling papers, all perfectly packaged in the Decker boy’s signature antique tobacco tin. The tins were something Tal had grown fond of during her time as Charlie’s customer. They made the deals less intimidating and more like a harmless exchange between friends.

[color=7B68EE]“Thank you,”[/color] Natalia muttered to the dark-haired boy, shifting her sights from the tin to her dealer and offering him a friendly half-smile.

There was something different about their transaction today. Usually, once Natalia had received her goods from Charlie she would be up and out of there faster than anything. He was never offended by it, quite the opposite actually it made his life easier since it meant there was less chance of them getting caught by Principal Payne or one of his minions. Payne seemed to have his eye on Charlie ever since Allison, he was obviously one of the ones that believed that he had killed her on purpose. At this point that was just another name to add to the list, it didn’t mean anything. However, Natalia stayed after paying him, even thanking him, that actually meant something to Charlie.

[color=D3D3D3]“It’s no problem.”[/color] The tall Serpent returned Tal’s half smile with one of his own. There was a feeling, welling up in Charlie’s head, like a scratch. It was telling the Indigenous young man that something wasn’t quite right with the Belmonte girl, something was wrong. They were never friends, they had hardly spoken beyond their weed transactions and the odd class assignment which forced communication but still, he could see something was off. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his own tobacco tin. Flicking it open, Charlie Jay took out a joint. Holding it between his fingertips, he leaned his hand over towards the starry eyed beauty. [color=D3D3D3]“Want one? Free of charge”[/color]

The girl's eyes lit up, and the half-smile she'd sported earlier widened into a grin. [color=7B68EE]"You sure know how to make a girl feel special,"[/color] she joked, plucking the offering from Charlie's fingers. Natalia shot him a complicit wink, and wasted no time in lighting up the joint with her lighter and taking a long, deep drag.

Tal closed her eyes as she let the smoke fill her lungs with the scratchy feeling she'd become accustomed to-- the one followed by a mellow trance in which all her life's worries gently faded into the background. After a few seconds, the girl's eyes slowly fluttered open. [color=7B68EE]"Wanna share?"[/color] she asked him, holding out the joint to Charlie.

Well this was a surprise! Was she…flirting? Charlie knew that this was likely just how she was, he shouldn’t read too much into it right? [color=D3D3D3]“Sure, gotta save the rest of the product right?”[/color] He reached out to take the joint from her, their fingers touching ever so lightly as he did. He brought the roll up to his lips and inhaled. Natalia’s taste was all over it. 

He only started using it after Allison’s death. At first it was a marketing ploy, Charlie had to prove that his shit wasn’t tainted and was safe for consumption. Then after a while, it just became something he enjoyed, something that helped as anaesthetic for this pain and turmoil that had made its home in his head and heart. After breathing out the smoke, Charlie handed Tal the joint back and peeled off his leather jacket, resting it atop his book next to him. [color=D3D3D3]“You’re not as scary as Reagan wants you to be, are you?”[/color]

[color=7B68EE]"I'm not? [i]Fuck.[/i] I guess gotta work harder then. Wouldn’t want everyone to think I’m a big, cuddly teddy bear,"[/color] the girl joked around again with a chuckle, taking another pull from the joint. [color=7B68EE]"I guess it all depends on who you ask. People like you might be inclined to say no, but people like the freshmen girls on the team who see me spike the volleyball with no mercy might be inclined to say yes,"[/color] she added with a small snicker, offering the joint back to Charlie. [color=7B68EE]"I still have until the end of the semester to fix that, though. Plenty of time to turn into the big, bad, scary wolf people say you are."[/color]

[color=D3D3D3]“I mean you’re on your way,”[/color] Charlie took back the joint and inhaled again. This was some good shit. It was courtesy of some connection ReyRey had over at Blue Hill. It was somewhat comforting to know that his people were into the same shit he was, meaning he felt less like a disappointment. [color=D3D3D3]“Here you are, sitting in plain view of the world with a murderer. Careful, Natalia. I probably laced those joints with rat poison. Gonna take us down together Romeo and Juliet style.”[/color]

The green-eyed girl tried to hold back, but after a loud snort, she erupted in laughter. The morbid joke Charlie had just made would have earned him a scathing look from any other student at this school. Over a year had passed since the tragic passing of former Queen Bee Allison Davies of a drug overdose during a house party in the Southside, but her death still loomed over the school and Charlie Decker like a dark cloud. Although Charlie maintained his innocence, everyone blamed him for the girl's death. Natalia, on the other hand, was of the unpopular (unvoiced) opinion that willingly using any type of drug meant the consumer was aware of the risks it could bring-- one of them being death. No matter how much you trusted your dealer, you could never be 100% certain of the contents of what you were taking, or whether they were safe or not. Luckily for Charlie, Tal was in an emotional place where dying wasn’t a particular concern. 

[color=7B68EE]"Good thing I'm not afraid to die, then. Otherwise I’d be shivering in fright!"[/color] the girl answered in between laughs, pretending to fall back dramatically with a hand on her forehead for added effect before returning to her seating position. 

After blowing the smoke out of his lungs again, he offered the MJ back to Tal. [color=D3D3D3]“Seriously though, what’s on your mind? I can tell something’s off and if you can’t talk to a stranger, who can you talk to?”[/color]

The Belmonte girl was quiet for a few seconds, mulling over Charlie’s offer as she took another drag from the joint. Talking about her feelings wasn’t something Natalia partook in very often. She was raised to believe that honesty and expressing too much emotion was a sign of vulnerability, not strength, and Belmontes were not faint of heart. But her thoughts about this topic had been weighing on her heart for months now, and she'd had nobody to confide them in. Although she and Decker weren't close in the slightest, he'd been the first person outside of her sisters to notice something was wrong and inquire about it. 

[color=7B68EE]"I miss my best friend,"[/color] Tal admitted with a sigh, trying to downplay the world of hurt she'd secretly been in since she and Niles had severed their ties right before winter break of last year. She took another pull before handing the joint to Charlie. [color=7B68EE]"It's hard to learn to live without someone that was an important part of your life since you were in diapers."[/color]

In certain ways, Charlie could relate. Sadly there were a lot of kids whom he had grown up with who were no longer living. It was the curse of living on the Southside: where gang violence was as commonplace as someone taking a dog for a walk. Death was as simple as breathing. He was lucky that he still had his closest friends-- Jade, Decky, and of course, his Poppy-- but that didn’t mean that he still wasn’t carrying the weight of the beautiful departed on his broad shoulders.

[color=D3D3D3]“I can empathise. I’ve lost a whooole lotta people.”[/color] He thought back to every time he had to put on a black suit, every sheepish look when someone mentioned his father and his mind drifted to another type of loss. Charlie’s Mom was losing her sight, getting wheeler by the day. How could she even possibly deal with that with as much grace as she was? It wasn’t possible.

[color=7B68EE]“This… This is a different kind of loss.”[/color] Natalia politely added, hoping Charlie wouldn’t interpret her words as invalidating his own experiences. [color=7B68EE]“You can’t call them with good news or bad news. You can’t hang out with them after school, or on the weekends, or during break. You don’t have that ride or die anymore. They’re physically present, yes. They haunt you like a fucking ghost lingering around you all the time. You can see them every day. You can hear their voice nearby. But the place that they occupied in your life? That’s gone.”[/color]

[color=D3D3D3]”I can’t say I’ve ever felt that”[/color] Charlie had never felt the same kind of pain. He had known people that had died, mostly under tragic and horrific circumstances. Yet he had never lost anyone in the same way as Natalia. She had given her heart to someone, the bravest thing a person could do and they had stomped on it. Charlie didn’t have that same kind of bravery. He guarded himself with words from dusty books and a leather jacket that barely fit. He was a coward and he knew that he wasn’t like the girl that sat with him. She was fierce and courageous, he was pathetic but he still wanted to help. 

[color=D3D3D3]“You know, we may not be friends and I don’t know what much I can’t offer to you to ease your pain. But just know-- trust me when I say this, I’m a drug dealer-- you will get through this.”[/color] Charlie handed her the last of their joint. [color=D3D3D3]“Luigina Sgarro once wrote: When we miss someone, often, what we really miss is the part of us that with this someone awakens. You don’t need to learn to live again, you just gotta find a new part of yourself we haven’t seen yet."[/color]

[color=7B68EE]"Like becoming a lesbian, maybe?"[/color] Natalia asked Charlie with raised eyebrows and a snicker, consuming the last of the joint before dropping the nub near her feet and crushing the remains with her shoe. The comment she made was half-joking and half serious. Although she'd secretly always been attracted to girls as well as guys, her feelings for and loyalty to Niles had prevented her from exploring anything with anyone else-- with the exception of a few heated kisses with Mika during the party Allison died at. With Reagan, that hidden side of her had been cracked wide open. Their pretty pink lips on hers, their soft skin under her fingertips, their silky long hair on her grasp, their heated touch so gentle and hungry at the same time... Girls were fucking [i]amazing[/i]. She even felt a little stupid for having waited so long to experience their magic.

Charlie chuckled, a rarity for sure, especially given his usually somber mood around campus. Wow, he actually liked spending some time with Natalia. There was a lot more to her than being Reagan Ramsey’s next project or being Danny Belmonte’s twin. She was more her own person than maybe even she would care to admit. [color=D3D3D3]“Hey, if you wanna be a lesbian, I’ll support you wholeheartedly. I imagine most of the male student body will….and female too as it stands.”[/color] The would-be writer looked at the girl with stars in her eyes and smiled, while Natalia laughed and playfully shook her head. [color=D3D3D3]“Whatever you do, just be Natalia, whoever that is.”[/color]

[color=7B68EE]"I guess I’m still trying to figure out who that is,”[/color] Natalia replied in earnest, thinking about Charlie's surprisingly wise words. [i]Who [b]was[/b] Natalia Belmonte?[/i] That was an excellent question. Throughout her life, her identity had been defined by and reduced to labels dependent on the people around her. Taz and Silvia's daughter. Danny's twin. Cat's little sister. Sinclair's best friend. Reagan Ramsey’s new pet. Coach's new volleyball Clover prospect. She was so focused on adhering and tending to each of these labels that she felt like she had lost herself along the way. [color=7B68EE]"And honestly? I'm scared that, once I find out, I'll push people away by 'just being Natalia', you know?"[/color] She had already lost Niles and her relationship with Danny by being herself. She couldn't fathom the idea of repelling even more people she cared about by being her true self.

[color=D3D3D3]“I think we all pretty much share that same fear.”[/color] Charlie dealt with something similar every day. He didn’t want to be known as Allison’s murderer or some Southside scum. Hell, even the name Hard Times bestowed upon him by Decky was a label that he didn’t want. Charlie just wanted to be Charlie: a bookish dork, probably a little too tall for his own good, and living his truth. What truth was that? That was a different question, and involved another beautiful brunette with eyes you could get lost in. [color=D3D3D3]“But you can’t let that stop you.”[/color] The indegeous boy reached out, almost hesitantly and placed his hand on the young girl's shoulder, touching her warm, bare skin. [color=D3D3D3]“I think you’ll be fine. I mean, I quite like Natalia Belmonte. Yeah, that’s right: I said it, wanna fight about it?”[/color] Charlie stuck out his tongue. [color=D3D3D3]“Just don’t tell anyone, I’ve got a rep to maintain.”[/color]

[color=7B68EE]"You? What does it say about me that the scary, murdering drug dealer from the Southside deems a prim and proper Northie lady such as myself as someone worthy of his liking?"[/color] Natalia teased, doing her best impression of the shallow, self-absorbed girls from their school by letting out a dramatic sigh of surprise, puckering up her luscious lips into a pout, flipping part of her dark-haired mane back while rolling her eyes at Charlie with pretend condescension… and quickly erupting into playful cackles. 

Once she had collected herself, Tal leaned forward and placed a hand on the boy's knee. [color=7B68EE]"You know what? You're absolutely right: [b]fuck them[/b]. That goes for you too, by the way. Anyone have something to say about you? [b]Fuck them[/b]. Too many people here talk shit about others to keep the rest distracted from finding the skeletons they keep in the back of their closets. Don't let them use you for that shit."[/color]

[color=D3D3D3]“Fuck them.”[/color] Charlie echoed her sentiment as he leaned forward to match her stare. He found himself looking deep into those infinite green eyes and was trying not to get lost. [i]What is happening right now? Were they becoming friends?[/i] It felt that way, but perhaps there was more. He looked down and noted Tal’s hand on his knee and his hand on her shoulder which was now lower down upon her back after she had moved closer to him. They were touching and staring. Laughing and having fun. Their faces were mere inches apart to the point he could see the light freckles dotting her nose. Shit, the product from Blue Hill must’ve been particularly strong that week or Natalia’s pity had reached his level. Whatever the true reason, they had connected.

There was a strange electricity hanging in the air that had settled when the laughter faded away and the two teens remained locked in a shared stare. Whether it was the weed taking its effect on the both of them or a sudden, overwhelming need for physical comfort, Tal found herself slowly closing the distance between her and Charlie’s faces like a moth drawn to a flame. She could feel his warm breath on her lips as their noses nearly touched, their mouths just a wisp away from coming together in a kiss--

The sound of Natalia’s phone announcing the arrival of a new notification brought the budding moment to a screeching halt. The Belmonte girl immediately pulled away, her eyes wide in startlement. Muttering an incomprehensible apology to Charlie, she pulled out her phone from her backpack to discover a new text from Reagan: [i]Time to head out. I am waiting for you in the parking lot, little love.[/i]

[color=7B68EE]Shit... I have to go,”[/color] the Belmonte girl informed the Decker boy, with visible disappointment in her tone and her face as she stood up and swung her backpack over her shoulder. [color=7B68EE]“Listen, I really enjoyed our conversation today. Maybe it doesn’t have to be the only one?”[/color]

So that just happened. What even was that? Charlie leaned back on the bleacher bench and smiled. [color=D3D3D3]“I mean I sell to you at least two times a week. I doubt this will be our last conversation.”[/color] He knew that wasn’t what the beautiful girl meant, not by a long shot. He felt somewhat guilty that he was now feeling some kind of way. He loved Penelope. She was his heart. Yet it seemed that in the last few moments, a magnetic energy had descended from the heavens and wrapped he and Natalia Belmonte, the Supreme successor, in its embrace. He was drawn to her. [color=D3D3D3]"You have my number. You know where to find me. I really enjoyed our conversation too.”[/color] Looking out at the open field that sat before them for a moment before returning his attention to the brunette, Charlie mused on what to say next but the words that followed were really quite natural. [color=D3D3D3]”Remember, just be Natalia. She’s amazing.”[/color]

Natalia offered Charlie one of her biggest, brightest smiles in a display of gratitude at both his words and his actions. After feeling insecure about herself for a while, the Native boy's words had been a welcome change from the negativity that frequently visited her thoughts. They had raised her spirits, boosted her mood and effortlessly brightened up her day. [color=7B68EE]“I can’t make any promises, Charlie D. But for you, I’ll try my hardest,”[/color] she assured him, shooting him one of her signature winks and blowing him a kiss before departing their place of business.

Watching her leave, Charlie checked the time. He still had an hour before ReyRey needed him on the corner. He could get some quick writing done, swing by and see Poppy and then cook his Mom some dinner before his shift. It was weird to think that in a brief moment that felt like a daydream, he had bonded with the future queen of the school. Princesses and paupers weren’t meant to mix, but for some reason, he and Tal did. He took out his journal and untucked the pen from his shirt pocket. Gazing upwards, the moon was starting to very slowly appear in the sky causing him to smile as he put penpoint to paper.

[indent][indent][color=D3D3D3][i][b][u]Charlie’s Notes:[/u][/b] Eternity, infinite and unending. In her eyes, waves of green eternity, bedazzled with dancing flickers of gold. Joy and sadness crashed upon beautiful shores. She was alone yet surrounded by thousands and hundreds of thousands of specs of starlight souls waiting for the end to come; he was one of those souls.[/i][/color][/indent][/indent]
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