Saving Charlie Pace
A/N: I'm determined to keep Charlie alive with this fic! This fanfiction will consist of all the flashbacks we never got to see in the show. Ever wondered what happened to Charlie's family? His school days? Well I'll be exploring all of that in this fic. If you want to make any suggestions please go ahead! I'll take note of them and try and include them :D These flashbacks will not be in order.
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"Look at you! All grown up!" Megan Pace beamed as she tightened her youngest son's tie to complete his new school uniform. She glowed with happiness and pride as she took a step back and looked at him with a smile on her face.
"I don't feel grown up," complained young Charlie fidgeting in his new clothes. It was his first day at secondary school and he wasn't happy about it.
"Nonsense!" his mother insisted folding her arms over her bath robe, "You look so wonderful, love. You'll get us out of here in no time."
Charlie cringed. Why did she keep saying things like that? Charlie couldn't save his family. He was only 11 years old. He couldn't even save himself. He was sure he was going to screw things up somehow today. His older brother, Liam had kindly taken the time to sit him down and explain all the horrors of secondary school to him. He shuddered.
"He'llnever get us outta here," a teenage boy pointed out leaning against the wall rolling his eyes, "We'll always be here. Rotting away."
"Liam!" Megan snapped. She pushed her messy blonde bed head hair out of her eyes and sighed as she scanned her other son with his blazer round his waist and his T-shirt down past his hips, "You look a mess. You should sort yourself out or they'll be calling me again."
Liam just frowned and shook his head, "They can't do nuthin' to make my life worse then it already is and soon he'llrealise it's the same for him too!" Liam muttered indicating to a worried little Charlie looking all smart and sensible, pale faced and dressed correctly. He wasn't sure what Liam meant and he didn't want to know either.
"Liam! Please!" begged his mother looking as if she might cry at any minute, "I need you to be good for young Charlie!"
Charlie cowered in the corner. He didn't want all the attention to be on him right now. Why was his brother being so nasty? He knew Liam could get like this sometimes. His parents blamed it on his age. But little eleven year old Charlie couldn't stand it when they argued. He didn't like watching his family slowly crumble in to the mess it was becoming.
"Good?!" retorted Liam, "For him?! It's only a matter of time until he's exactly where I am! Failing in school and wanting to be somewhere else, anywhere but here! Even a bloody island would be better then here! Face it, he's no golden boy!"
Charlie couldn't find his voice and neither could Megan. She was too much of a weak person to fight back. And so was Charlie. But Liam seemed to pick further. Charlie didn't know exactly what had brought on these feelings of resentment but it was paining him that every word that came out of Liam's mouth was hurting his mother.
"I know you think I'm a screw up but it doesn't help you think he's freakin' Moses or something!" argued Liam, "Prayers won't help fix your mess of a life or your sham of a marriage!"
"STOP IT! Stop it! Stop it!" squeaked a voice. For a minute they weren't sure if it was their imagination or if it was really Charlie who had spoken up. Charlie doubted it himself for a second. But they all knew it was quiet little Charlie who had yelled at them to stop arguing The young boy had had enough of this family's bickering. It was killing him. And the mention of his parents marriage, which he had convince himself was perfectly fine, was the last straw. He swallowed hard, attempting to go on as he turned to Liam and glared up at him, "You ruin everything!" he snapped.
For a second Liam was totally speechless. Then after a while he brought himself to ruffle the kid's hair and apologise because he felt guilty about what he had said, "Hey, I'm sorry little man. Forgive me?"
Charlie shrugged and glanced over at their mother who seemed distant and troublesome.
Liam sighed, "I'm sorry mum."
She didn't even look at him, just sat down, her blonde curls obscuring her pink face and cradled the cup of tea resting in her hands. After a small silence she sniffed and muttered, "Look after your brother."
"I will," Liam hollowly promised taking hold of Charlie's shoulder, pushing him outside and slamming the door leaving their saddened mother who when she said Look After Your Brother meant Charlie to look after Liam.
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"Now this is how it's gonna be, baby bro," Liam began as they stepped on to the bus. He pointed to a group of teenage boys at the back laughing with each other, "Those are my friends. I sit back there with them."
Charlie stood awkwardly and realised how different he must look to everyone else, most of all his brother who looked the scruffiest one there. It would have embarrassed him if everyone else didn't look so similar.
"And you sit up here at the front alone, Ok?"
Charlie stared up at him, then to the back of the bus where Liam's friends were sitting and talking to each other. Then as he looked towards the empty seat at the front he felt so small and unimportant to everyone else so he looked back up at Liam and nodded followed by a quiet. "Ok."
"Good," Liam made his way down the bus where he was greeted by smiling friends as the bus engine started. Charlie frowned and sat alone at the front. It was at that moment he realised this was how it was gonna be for the rest of his school years. Or maybe even his life.
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After school Charlie trudged along to his bus. He sighed deeply as he collapsed on to the front seat of the bus. What a day. Already a pile of homework and revision, getting lost about 12 times and he hadn't even plucked up the courage to talk to anyone.
"Hey, baby bro. How'd the first day go?"
Charlie perked up a little at the sound of his older brother. When Liam wasn't being nasty or awkward he was alright on the whole to talk to. Charlie liked Nice Liam. He wished that Liam would be around more often. He was about to answer when a few of Liam's friends entered the bus, "Oh, gotta go." Liam muttered before practically running off to the back of the bus.
Charlie swallowed hard, a glint of sadness in his eye. He wrinkled his nose and tore his stupid tie off. He eyed Liam at the back of the bus and couldn't believe seeing him smoking with a load of his friends. Liam saw this and locked eyes with him giving him a warning look. Charlie frowned and tore his gaze not believing that Liam was like this. What happened to their friendship?
What had happened to their family?
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"Liam?" asked Charlie timidly as they got off the bus, "When did you start smoking?"
"What's it to you?" Liam glared at him from the corner of his eye.
"Mum doesn't like smoking," Charlie added, "She doesn't think it does you any good."
"I don't care what mum thinks. She doesn't know anything!"
"Mum knows lots of things," Charlie replied defensively, "I think she's really clever!"
"Let me give you some advice, bro. Never listen to her, alright? She thinks she knows best but she needs to take a good long look in the mirror! Understand? We need to stick together, us two and we can't do that when she's filling your head with rubbish."
Charlie nodded a little confused but accepted what Liam had said, "Liam? Why do you hate mum so much?"
Liam frowned and let out a deep sigh, "I don't hate her," he bit his lip, "I've gotta go," he said starting to walk away.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm not going home. Not now. I'll be back later," he told Charlie soon disappearing from sight.
Charlie frowned and made his own way home agreeing to himself that secondary school was the worst thing since vaccine shots. "Mum?" he called gently swinging off his backpack. He walked past Megan's religious pictures on the wall and tried searching for her. But when he heard sobs he stopped dead in his tracks, "Mum...?"
He cautiously opened the kitchen door. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table with a tissue to her face as she wept. He felt his chest tighten. How he hated it when his mother cried. His stomach fluttered with anxiety. What was it this time? "Mum," he spoke again comfortingly.
She looked up, red faced and wet cheeked. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was dangled over her face. She tried to hide the fact she was crying as always and failed terribly...as always, "Oh Charlie," she sniffed, "How was your first day?"
Charlie took this as an invite to come in. He ignored her question and looked around the room before facing her again, a look of curiosity and concern on his face,
"Where's dad?"
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Sorry for all the angst! May have had an angst overload there.. The next chapter will be adult Charlie ;) Remember if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. -Jemma