"A tattoo? Utter stupidity".
Chapter 1
The coldness of the room made him unsettled, as he rolled onto his side, only to press his arm into the hard surface of his make-shift bed. The pain shot up his arm, which made him wake up with a startle. The light shone from the barred windows, flooding the room with morning sun. The light immediately struck his eyes, as he blinked, the large metal door came into focus, he then sat up with a fright. Instinctively he rubbed at his arm, only to find tiny drops of blood on his fingers, he frowned not understanding why. He then lifted up his t-shirt to find: a tattoo, a love-heart with the centre name of Candy.
Charlie gasped, then shook his head to himself.
"Bloody hell!"
He looked down again, realisation sinking in, he touched it and rubbed at it; sore as it was. He tried to read the name: Candy, upside-down.
"C-A-N-D-Y? Who the hell is Candy?" He rubbed at it again, wincing with the pain, as it clearly was a real tattoo.
"Oh you're kidding me!...Duffy's going to kill me!" He shook his head to himself, as he touched his head with his hand.
He then looked around the room, as his head spun with his aching hangover, he began to realise he was in an actual police cell.
"Oh you're having a laugh, how the hell did I get here?"
He said, as he touched his head once again, emphasising his blight.
"That's it, she's going to absolutely kill me now."
-o-
Looking down at the tattoo, whilst sitting on the mini-bus, as his arm ached due to the soreness, he grimaced to himself.
"I swear I told him to write Duffy." Charlie said. He turned to look at Candy, who simply laughed at him.
"You air-head Mr Fairhead!" Josh jokingly said, laughing at him.
Charlie grimaced again to himself.
"Duffy is going to kill me."
"I'd hate to be in your shoes now mate with that." Josh said laughing.
"I've no idea what to say to her." Charlie replied.
"Why don't you say it is your new pet name for her?" Cal suggested.
"Not helping." Charlie said.
"How about the tattooist was dyslexic?" Ethan recommended.
"Or drunk?" Max pointed out.
Charlie gave Max the "look" of unamusement.
"Rather than focusing on how she will react, why don't you focus on the when? It'll not be easy to explain, but it can be hidden for the time being. If you have a look in my briefcase I have an emergency first aid kit, I'll let one of you bandage his arm. An injury is easier to explain, especially when it is hidden." Dylan suggested.
"Thanks Dylan." Charlie replied.
"No problem, but this doesn't resolve the police record situation." Dylan mentioned.
"One thing at a time Dylan, we have to get him down the aisle first." Josh pointed out, as he opened Dylan's briefcase.
"You know I remember the first time I saw you two arguing." Josh said.
Charlie grimaced, as Josh wrapped the bandage around the tattoo on Charlie's arm.
"Oh?" Charlie asked.
"Even then you could never win the argument." Josh laughed.
"Not helping. It was meant to be a romantic gesture, and I doubt she will see it like that now." Charlie sighed, rolling his eyes at himself.
"Oh she'll definitely not see it like that mate." Josh winced.
Charlie sighed.
"Oh, she loves you Charlie, she always has, she'll forgive you, don't worry." Josh said, seeing the genuine worry is his best friend's face, as he tied off the bandage.
"I hope so." Charlie said, as he put his sleeve over his bandage.
"Oh come on mate, you two are soulmates. I always told you to tell her how you felt, now you have, and now look. You're getting married." Josh said, as he patted his friend on the back.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Charlie replied.
"It's just taken a little longer than you thought that's all." Josh smiled.
"Yeah, that's a good point, why did it take you so long Charlie?" Cal asked from the back of the bus.
"Well, I, erm." Charlie said, blushing.
"Nerves, that's all it has been for years. The amount of times I told him to say something, and he didn't." Josh said, shaking his head.
"We were both married, or seeing other people for the majority of the time, and it just never seemed the right time to say something." Charlie explained.
"How can you go thirty years and not say something though?" Ethan asked, genuinely surprised.
"I don't know how you've managed it." Max interjected.
"Oh there were a few times we came close, but it was just the wrong moment." Charlie said.
"And you waited all this time to tell her?" Candy asked.
Charlie nodded.
"Now that is love. She must be quite a woman." Candy added.
"She is, she's worth the wait." Charlie smiled to himself, and then smiled at Candy.
-x-