Take Two: Mo and Charlie
Authors Note: This is just my way of making me feel better after seeing Lemonade Mouth. Don't get me wrong, it was a good movie, but I wished Mo had gotten together with Charlie instead of Scott.
Disclaimer: I don't own Lemonade Mouth, etc, etc. Don't sue. ;)
"I- I like you, Mo. A lot. I have for a while now and I had to tell you."
She looked away, jaw locked, eyes teary, "No. No, Charlie, this can't happen."
"Why not?" He asked, sadness and anger mixed in his tone.
Inside the house, Mr. Banjaree held the curtain back and looked out the window. He saw his precious daughter talking to some long-haired American boy. He was about to open the door and call Mo inside but his wife pulled on his sleeve, giving him a hard look, "She's growing up. You have to let her make her own decisions," she said. Mr. Banjaree sighed and let go of the curtain reluctantly. He walked to the kitchen and sat on a chair, waiting for his daughter to come in.
"There's- Sometimes- I just-" Mo hesitated. What could she say that would make it all okay? Charlie started walking away angrily but Mo caught his arm. He stiffened, "Charlie, wait. Please," she pleaded.
"Why should I?" he said, his tone hard and refusing to look at her because if he did, he knew he'd do whatever she asked, " I just confessed how much I care about you and you didn't even- ugh." He tried to pull his arm away but she held on tighter.
"Charlie," she said softly, "My life is extremely complicated right now. If I said- If I said, that I liked you too, this could end badly and I don't think I could handle losing our friendship. You're my best friend."
Charlie turned around as soon as she said she could like him too, "Wait! You like me?" he asked, shock coloring his tone, "And what is this about it 'ending badly'?"
"My dad isn't going to be okay with this. He will kill us. I'm risking enough just being in Lemonade Mouth," she insisted.
"We can deal with it, Mo," he said happily, "We just have to try."
"I'm still heartbroken," she stated bluntly, "You know it, I know it, heck, my mom knows it. If we date now, you'll be my rebound and that's not what I want for us."
Charlie's face, which had looked destroyed when she said she was heartbroken, looked hopeful at her use of the word 'us', "What do you want for us?" he asked.
"Forever," she answered. Her eyes grew wide when she realized what she had said but Charlie looked ready to start happy dancing.
"Really?" Charlie said in wonder.
"I-," she looked up at him, "Yes. I just know we can be great, but not now. It's not time yet. We're still too young."
Charlie had dreamed about this, Mo saying she wanted to spend forever with him, but he had never imagined that it could actually happen, much less now when he knew Scott was still pinning for her. "What about Scott?" he asked seriously.
"What about Scott?" Mo answered, "I can't trust him anymore. His 'friends' are too friendly. He's too friendly to his 'friends'. In my book, that's almost cheating. He knew how I felt about it, and he choose to hide it. There is no risk there; in fact I turned him down just yesterday."
He let out a relieved sigh, she giggled and turned to look at her house, seeing the door and window curtains still closed, she jumped up and gave Charlie a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "Can we continue talking about this some other time?" she asked, "My dad is going to come out any second now and he won't be happy to see me with a boy."
Charlie nodded at Mo and gave her another quick hug before walking away. Mo waved at him and he returned it, placing his hands in his pockets and whistling on his way home.