Charlene lived on the coast, further east of Orlando than Finn, or even Maybeck. Her three-story white and glass perched on stilts at the edge of the pale sandy beach spilling into the sea. At the moment, it was packed. Kids in colorful swimsuits and tees swarmed the yard and beach, talking and wading, grabbing popsicles or sodas from coolers and tables that ringed the house.
"Nice party, Char," said Willa, sneaking up on her.
"Oh, hey," said Charlene, whirling around and grinning. "This old thing?"
"Shut up. Anyway, really, happy birthday."
Charlene rolled her eyes.
"I feel stupid being the youngest."
"Only five months younger than me," Willa said consolingly, handing Charlene a bottle of Perrier. "You look like you could use it," she added.
"Thanks, Mother," said Charlene sarcastically, but unscrewed the top and sipped it. The party, just getting into full swing, was almost uncomfortably hot, not just because of the dozens of kids swarming around her, occasionally calling "Charlene, you're out of Sprite", or "OMG, Charlene! Happy birthday!", but mostly because of the fact that at 7:30, it was still over 90 degrees.
"Found Maybeck over by the grill," said Willa, jerking her head toward the house.
"Why would I want to know that?" said Charlene innocently, making her blue eyes very wide.
"Save it," Willa teased, pulling her glossy dark hair into a ponytail. "You know he like-likes you."
"Well I don't like-like him," said Charlene firmly. "Besides, Jess is the one who's got the massive crush on him."
If only Willa knew…but of course, no one knew. Least of all him.
"Well, I'm going to go find Philby. His cousin was grilling shrimp over there, so I know he made it," said Willa, scanning the crowds.
"That's right!" Charlene squealed, giving her friend a quick hug. "Your four month annivvvvvvvvversary."
"That's enough, Blondie," Willa retorted, giving Charlene a mock-stern glance. "Go party or whatever. I have a boyfriend to find."
She wandered off, disappearing quickly into the hordes.
Charlene set down the water, feeling much too warm, and peeled off her white dress, heading for the ocean in her yellow two-piece. The shore was practically empty, since everyone else had attacked the food, and she dipped her toes in the cool water, watching as the rivulets streamed past her toes.
"Hey," came the voice behind her. She knew exactly who it was.
"Well, well," she teased, turning. "Look who decided to grace us with his presence."
Finn wore royal blue jammers and there was a crumpled gray t-shirt in his hand. She stared for a moment, observing the way his green eyes smiled at her.
"Can't rush perfection," he said, obviously amused. "Know how hard it is to find you?"
"My bad," said Charlene, sticking her tongue out. "I should have instructed all the guests to hold large neon arrows pointing in my general vicinity for your convenience." Secretly, she was glad he had looked for her. And he was right – it must have taken him a while, what with the abundance of blonde girls in bathing suits currently milling around the party.
"Hilarious," said Finn. "Going for a swim?" he added, inclining his head toward the surf.
"Good guess. Join me?" Finn pretended to consider for a moment.
"Well, I guess there are worse things than swimming on the Florida coast with a pretty girl," he said, grinning. "Race you."
Gifts and cake didn't occur until nearly 9, when the sun had dipped closer to the neverending turquoise sea and brought the temperature down to a more comfortable 78 degrees. All the guests, numbering upwards of 80, Charlene guessed (it had been a word-of-mouth invitation)gathered in a huge circle on the beach, handing gifts to Charlene one by one, half eaten plates of fudge-walnut cake with mint ice cream in front of them.
Some of these people Charlene knew from school, the people she sat by, talked on VMK with, complained about PE with. There were her closer friends, the ones who trained gymnastics with her, the ones who she could call at 4 in the morning.
Then there were the other DHIs. They were….It was impossible to say. There was no way to say it. The bond was much, much bigger than little, insignificant words. No one else would ever understand it.
Brightly wrapped boxes and bags accumulated at Charlene's side, flatirons, books, graphic tees, and huge stuffed animals spilled from them.
Finn, sitting gjust close enough to make Charlene's spine tingle, was last, handing her a large present wrapped in neon pink paper.
"Remind you of me?" Charlene laughed, waving the box at him.
"Had your name all over it," he replied, smiling.
She carefully peeled back the paper and gently lifted the box's lid. She pulled her head back in surprise as a stream of stunningly bright butterflies soared out, tiny wings arcing away from her. At the bottom of the box, nestled in fluffy white tissue paper, was a large framed photocollage, each picture carefully cut and pasted onto a pale blue bulletin board with a silver frame.
Charlene's breath caught.
Pictures of all five of them posing with their DHI's, eating at the Mom and Pop diner, riding the Cinderella Carousel, Amanda and Charlene standing back to back, pretending to be Charlie's Angels. All of them waving from a parade float. Her and Maybeck pretending to shake hands with Winnie the Pooh, Her and Jess and Amanda and Willa doing a can-can line, wearing Mickey Mouse ears and grinning. And in the center, cut out in the shape of a star, was a picture of her and Finn.
It had been at Blizzard Beach, a little less than a month ago, when they'd all been there for a publicity shoot for Disney. They'd all been in tropical Hawaiian swimsuits and had had their hair spritzed with water to make them look "natural." Yeah, right. The shot had obviously been taken between shots, when they were goofing off and ignoring the production assistants.
Charlene was making a kissy face at the camera, heavily mascara-ed eyes bright and blissful, and Finn was looking at her and laughing, the light catching on the bronzed streaks in his hair.
She ran her fingers gently over the glossy photos and glanced over at Finn from beneath her eyelashes. He looked Nervous.
"It's gorgeous, Finn. I love it. Beautiful." He smiled, his whole face beaming.
"Thanks."
Charlene was trying to say something cute, and witty, something that would say "Finn, I really like you.", but Zoey interrupted her, grabbing her hand and jabbering about some rancom rabid cat that had bit Darryl, and when Charlene looked back, Zoey towing her into the crowd…Finn was gone.
Trying to ignore the sad, sinking feeling in her stomach, Charlene pasted a smile on her face and socialized, laughing, beaming, and pretending she didn't care that Finn was probably talking with Amanda, who had arrived a little after 8, looking stunning in a bright red halter-top bikini.
It was after 11 before Charlene had a chance to relax, flopping into a white Adironack chair by the edge of the water with a sigh. Taio Cruz and Rihanna blared in the background against the crashing waves.
"Char! Hey, beautiful!" called Amanda, hurrying down the beach toward her. Sure enough, Finn was by her side.
"You're the gorgeous one," said Charlene, giving Amanda a playful air-kiss.
Charlene loved Amanda so much – she was beautiful, understanding, patient, and endlessly loyal – and hated her with every breath in her body.
Amanda had the only Charlene wanted. And the only thing she'd never get to have.
"Don't be stupid, birthday girl. Everyone knows that you're the supermodel. Happy Birthday, okay? I love you." Amanda hugged her, arms warm and dry against Charlene's salt-spray-damp back, pulling back as Jess called her name.
"Manda! You gotta come see this!"
Amanda grinned.
"Be right back guys – duty calls!" She ran off, leaving Finn to lounge in the opposite chair and wait.
"Enjoying yourself?" asked Charlene lazily, watching the waves crashing against the sand.
"Yeah," he said thoughtfully, half-closing his eyes. "We're on a a white sand beach watching the sunset with Dynamite in the background. It doesn't get any better."
Charlene got up and walked into the waves, wading up to her waist in the warm water.
"Does it?" she asked, staring at the horizon. "Is this how it's suppose to be? Are you supposed to know? Isn't it supposed to be perfect?"
Finn got up and waded in after her.
"Charlie," he said gently, touching her shoulder, "Calm down. You're overthinking everything. You're fourteen, you're a Disney host, you're popular, and, like Amanda said, you're, well, really pretty. Sit back and enjoy!"
Charlene stepped towards Finn, eyes unsure as she tried to figure out what to say. Finn looked back at her, patient.
"I…" she began, trying to put the words in her mouth. They locked eyes, cobalt blue to bottle green.
And then she kissed him. It was gentle and soft and delicate, like when a bubble touches your arm, or a butterfly lands on you, just for a second. But Charlene's mouth burned when she pulled away.
"Charlene…" Finn was the one struggling to say something now. "I..."
"I know," Charlene whispered. She looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes. Her voice cracked. "Believe me, Finn, I know."