All Grown Up copyright Viacom

Chuckie & Angelica

Chapter 7

By StoryCrafter

Posted: 8 Apr 2007

"Hey, mister, please wait for me!"

Chuckie immediately stopped walking and sighed. He had forgotten all about little Lara! "I'm waiting."

Lara ran up to him. "Angelica promised a trip to the ice cream afterwards. Do you think that she's still going to?"

"I don't know, Lara. Apparently I don't know her as well as I thought I did." The revelation struck him like a knife. Unfortunately it was all too true.

"That's all really nice and all, mister. But will Angelica take me to get ice cream?"

Chuckie chuckled. "If she doesn't, I still will."

"Yippee!"

Lara took Chuckie's hand into her own, and they both took a stroll to his car. There seemed to be a few things that this girl could be teaching him. And Chuckie wasn't too loath to learn, either.

As they reached his car, he spotted Tommy's car pull up into the parking lot. Tommy drove an old 1989 Ford Tempo. Kimi seemed to be in the front seat with him. And he wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Lil looking at him from the back from between Tommy and Kimi. Chuckie swallowed when he saw them. None of them looked too pleased with him. "Uh oh. This isn't good."

Lara looked at him, apparently picking up on his anxiety. "Who are they?"

"My friends." Chuckie didn't explain any further.

Tommy pulled in the spot directly across the row from Chuckie's car. Just great. What did they want? He was sure that it had something to do with his "interference" with Angelica's, though.

Though it was hardly interference. He was simply trying to tell Angelica that he… that he loved her. Which was proving to be a task that was proving to be harder than he had initially thought.

Tommy got out of his car and began to approach Chuckie's. "I think you had better come with us, Chuckie."

"Why? What did I do?" Tommy gave him a look that obviously meant You have got to be kidding me, right? "Okay. Fine. I'm ruining Angelica's date. Are you happy now?"

Tommy grimaced. "Not really."

Kimi and Lil caught up with Tommy after getting out of the car. Yep, it was Lil who had been in the back seat all right. Kimi pierced Chuckie's hide with her gaze. "Just what were you thinking, Chuckie?"

"Yeah, Chuckie. I'm not sure Phil will ever forgive you."

"Jeez, you guys, don't I feel bad enough without you two making it worse?"

Kimi and Lil exchanged a look before answering. "No!"

Chuckie sighed. He was never going to live this down. Not even if he lived to 102. Which he planned on doing. "Don't I at least get a chance to explain myself?"

Lil considered him closely. With her arms crossed over her chest. "All right, Chuckie. I'm listening. But this had better be good."

"I hope that you haven't anything to do with this." Kimi was kneeling in front of Lara, grinning.

"How should I know? I'm just a little kid."

Chuckie had serious doubts about Lara's innocence, but he ignored them as he gave his explanation nonetheless. "You see, guys, I've known Angelica for a real long time. And I don't think she really loves Phil. I think I'm the one she's really in love with."

"Uh-huh."

"It's true! Just ask Lara here."

Lil looked in her direction, and Lara shook her head no. "It looked to me that Angelica liked-liked that other guy." Chuckie shot her a look. Which she appeared to ignore. "She would snap at him if he even looked at another woman."

Lil smiled fondly. "That's Phil all right."

Kimi poked Chuckie in the chest. "You heard the little girl. Angelica wants to be with Phil now. Not you."

"I'm not convinced of that."

Lil drew an exasperated breath. "Come on, Chuckie. The little girl says she likes Phil more. What more proof do you need?"

"For Angelica actually say that she loves Phil." He gave an awkward smile. "And that little girl's name is Lara."

Both girls apologized to Lara, but she dismissed their concerns by saying, "Don't worry about it. I get that all the time."

"You do?"

"Chuckie," Tommy interrupted, "I want you to promise us that you will come home with us."

"No."

Tommy shook his head sadly. "I was afraid that you were going to say that." He gave a nod, and Lil and Kimi surrounded Chuckie and grabbed his arms. "I'm sorry, Chuckie, but this is for your own good."

Funny. That's what they all say when friends kidnap each other at times like this. "Just how is this for my own good? You seem more concerned about Angelica and Phil."

"We just don't want you to do anything that you are going to regret."

"You don't have to worry about that, Tommy. I won't."

Tommy shook his head. "If only we can believe you, Chuckie…"

Chuckie nodded toward behind him. "What about my car? We can't just leave it here."

Kimi grinned wickedly. "You're right, Chuckie." She turned to Tommy. "Somebody should drive his car home."

Tommy nodded. "Okay, Kimi. Why you take Chuckie's car home while Lil and I take him with us?"

"That's the idea."

This was just perfect. Now he had to think up a way to get away from his friends. They knew him all too well….

-OOO-

Didi found her son draped onto the couch, watching old sci-fi movies from the fifties. She had come from the kitchen, expecting him to be sitting upright. But she supposed she should have known better. This was Dil after all. "Dil, could you call your brother down? Dinner's ready."

"Can't, mom."

Didi planted her hands on her hips. "And why not?"

"Tommy's not upstairs."

"And where is he then?"

He went with Kimi and Lil to stop Chuckie from ruining Angelica's and Phil's date."

"My gosh. I didn't know that they were dating."

"Only this one time, mom," Dil said, smiling. Then he had a thoughtful expression on his face. "I wonder how Benny will feel about this."

Didi felt not a few tears ready to burst out. "Don't worry, Dil. He won't mind. He won't mind at all."

Dil looked at him inquisitively.

"Benny was killed by an enemy sniper, dear."

"Oh." She didn't like it when Dil went pale like he did. It reminded her too much of the time that she had to break the news to Stu that his mother had died, though the circumstances had been completely different then. For one thing, Dil didn't really know Benny all that well. Or did he?

Didi went to the window and looked out. "Now it's up to Angelica to decide who she loves more. Phil. Or Chuckie." She sighed. "Though I wish you would tell me that Tommy was leaving like that."

"Oh right. Sorry, mom."

"Don't worry, Dil. I'm sure everything will work out in the end."

-OOO-

"So, Angelica," Phil tried to say smoothly, but he didn't quite manage to, "have you been here before?"

"Yes," Angelica said wearily. "Yes, I have."

Here was the ice cream parlor that Phil had promised that he would take Angelica to. She wished that he could have picked a better place than this dump. It just reeked of the preschoolers that were gathered inside. She looked at it with disdain. "Is this the place you're taking me to? It looks like it was made for three-year-olds." She knew what she was talking about. The first time she had been here was still three. And the last time, she had only been about five.

"So?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Deville, I'M NOT THREE-YEARS-OLD ANYMORE!"

"Oh." Angelica had the feeling that he hadn't noticed. Now that would have been a problem if she had tried anything serious with Phil.

Yeah. Like that would ever happen. Though it was more likely than her trying anything with Chuckie.

That would have been well nigh impossible.

Phil chuckled. "Yeah. I've noticed."

Angelica whacked him on the back of the head. She hadn't like the way that chuckled sounded. It sounded a bit too… leerish for her tastes. Or the way that he was looking at her chest. Like he had never noticed it before.

"Oh! Why did you that for?" Phil started rubbed the back of his head.

"You're supposed to be my date. Not some of kind of slobbering fanboy."

"You get fanboys?"

"You know what I mean, Deville."

"I can be your fanboy if you want."

Angelica growled at him. Even though his offer did sound attractive. Very attractive in fact…. She shook her head. There was just no way that she, Angelica Pickles, was going to have Phil Deville for a fanboy. No way was that going to happen.

And besides she had plenty of "fanboys" already.

"That won't be necessary, Deville. Just take me back home."

"Don't you want your ice cream?"

"No! I just want you to take me home. NOW!"

Phil sighed. "Okay, Angelica. If that is what really want…."

"It most certainly is!"

They got their coats and Phil opened the door for Angelica. "We could stop over at the Java Lava instead."

She lifted her nose into the air. "Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They climbed into Phil's car and they left. None too soon in Angelica's very humble opinion. The sooner they got from that dorky, kiddy place, the better.

Not that the Java Lava was much of an improvement. It was all too familiar to be very romantic.

From the next boy she goes on a date with, she was going to expect something more. Like that Chez Marie place, for instance. She heard that it took a year of waiting to get a reservation. But with the right boy….