A/N: Sorry for the delay, I've a lot of stuff on at college as well as writers block but I finally got round to writing this chapter. It's not a very funny one I'm afraid, a bit sad actually. We're having laminated flooring put down in the kitchen and my dad made the mistake of ripping up the lino, so we're all getting stuck to the kitchen floor now…he's completely ruined my trainers!
Also, I want to say how sad it is that Ronnie Barker has died. He's such an inspiration and he will be missed!
Laura: I hope I've not messed about with your distorted mind too much! You'll probably find out what happens. P.s you say heartless like it's a bad thing :D
Alex: Glad you're loving it. ZK and I do make a good team, she does all the writing it's great :D. She keeps helping me out and she's a star.
Sian: Meep indeed! Thanks for all your help!
Dan: Glad you liked it!
Caz-flips: Thank ZK for the Cat characterisation, she is the master!
ZK: Thanks for all your help! Keep writing stories and putting me to shame!
Thanks to all reviewers and readers! Your feedback is appreciated!
Enjoy!
Sunny
XXXXCharlie was feeling fidgety. She was having some difficulty adjusting to life on board. Things were fine, she didn't regret her decision to join Dave, it was just she'd grown used to being on her own. 3 years...3 long years with only herself as company, then suddenly she had to talk to people, have a conversation with them, offer her opinion.
It had come as somewhat as a culture shock.
Lister had hardly changed, he was still the same easy going individual he was when he was sixteen, which reassured Charlie, it was a nice piece of normality in an otherwise strange situation.
She'd been getting to know the others and they'd all seemed fairly happy to tell them about their past, their experiences (Cat a little too eager to tell her about how incredibly stylish, sexy and sophisticated he was) but Rimmer on the other hand had a strange, somewhat cold and elusive vibe about him. If it weren't for the glances he kept giving her every so often then Charlie would've thought he hated her.
There was something about Rimmer. She hadn't yet worked it out, but she liked it. He made her laugh, not intentionally. She'd watched him and Lister argue and had to bite her lip to stop her giggling, he was rather witty and seemed to have a seemingly endless list of insults. Charlie liked the way he'd worried about her and she liked the way he blushed whenever she spoke to him.
She liked Rimmer, which was quite amazing given how little she actually knew about him. She was dying to get to know him better and that was why Charlie was stood staring at Rimmer's door. She'd been staring at it for the best part of five minutes and had yet to pluck up the courage to knock on it.
Her stomach churned, a cold sweat dripped down her back and she was shaking.
Why was she so nervous?
She'd talked to men she liked before…but they'd always been in situations where if they did reject her, the chances of meeting them again were slim. Now was different, if Rimmer knocked her back, she'd had to face seeing him everyday and on a space craft in space there were seldom spaces to hide.
This thought did nothing to reduce Charlie's anxiety...in fact it made her panic even more.
'Perhaps now isn't the right time' she thought, making to walk off…then a thought struck her. A line from a song. "You'll sit alone for ever if you wait for the right time"
Taking a deep breath, Charlie rapped her knuckles on the door. There was an apprehensive wait and for a second or two, she questioned if Rimmer was in his room at all…but then the door slid open just as she was walking off.
Rimmer looked surprised to see her "Hello" he said, cheeks turning slightly pink.
Charlie opened her mouth to return his greeting, but stopped when she heard something. She strained to hear what it was, it sounded very familiar. She frowned in concentration, unaware it was making Rimmer want to cry.
'She's come to my room just to glare at me' he thought, miserably 'she must really hate me!'
"Greenday" she said, smiling triumphantly
"Pardon?"
"Greenday, you're listening to Greenday…." Said Charlie, slightly breathless.
"Wha-? Oh Yes, erm…Greenday!" replied Rimmer. There was a moment or two of awkward silence before he asked "D'you want to come in?'
"Please" smiled Charlie, following him into the room.
"You've heard of Greenday then, I take it" asked Rimmer immediately afterwards cringing inwardly. Of course she's heard of Greenday you blithering idiot, how else would she have known it was them playing!'
Charlie nodded "They're great aren't they…ever heard Blink 182?"
Rimmer froze. He now faced a terrible dilemma. On the one hand, he could lie and say yes…but what if she asked him what his favourite song of theirs was or what if she quizzed him on how many people there were in the band! He could tell the truth and say he'd never heard of them, that way there'd be no embarrassing slip ups.
"No, I can't say I have."
"My Chemical Romance?"
"Nope" he shook his head
"Sugarcult?" asked Charlie
"Again, no…. to be brutally honest, Greenday is the extent of my rock music" admitted Rimmer,
For some reason Charlie liked this "A rock virgin" she grinned "I'm afraid, Rimmer I'm going to have my wicked way with you!"
'Any time' sighed Rimmer inside his head
"I've got some CD's you might like to borrow, I mean…if you like Greenday, you'll probably like them…"
Rimmer nodded "Thanks"
Another uncomfortable silence occurred, the pair sneaked glances at each other before hastily looking away, disgusted yet intrigued by their own dirty thoughts.
"I bet you're wondering why I'm here," said Charlie at long last
"I did a little, yes"
"Well" she coughed, her stomach starting to churn again "It's just…I've gotten to know everyone on board…except you…so, I thought because we're living together, I mean…in the same space as each other, it'd be best if we got to know each other a little better…"
Rimmer's heart began beating excitedly inside his chest "Yes!" he said, a little too loudly "That'd be great!" He still hadn't asked Charlie out on a date, maybe this would offer the perfect opportunity.
"Shall we then?" said Charlie, motioning to the door.
The pair walked along the cargo bays, occasionally talking but on the whole, they were both very quiet.
It was Rimmer who eventually broke the silence, "Please, don't take this the wrong way but…how the hell did you and Lister become friends. You don't seem the usual type of person he hangs round with…most of his friends would be denied entry to insane asylums for fear of scaring the patients…"
Charlie laughed "It's a long story…. and for you to understand how me and Dave became friends, you'd have to understand how miserable my childhood was…"
"Why?" asked Rimmer "What happened?"
She sighed, wondering if she had to strength to tell Rimmer all the painful memories. "My parents relationship started going rocky when I was 9, they managed to keep the marriage going for another 3 years, but it was plain to see they didn't love each other anymore…My parents were both workaholics so that didn't help…and then there was me…I was an accident…the result of a brief, unplanned moment of passion that took hold after the annual Marketing Seminar." She gave a strained smile "It's hideously ironic…the name 'Charlotte' is supposed to mean 'longed for child' and I was perhaps the biggest financial mistake my parents ever made…sometimes I think they would have loved me more if I was a spreadsheet!"
Rimmer wanted to say something reassuring, but found he couldn't. He felt so sorry for Charlie; he knew how it felt when your parents didn't like you.
"So anyway…they stayed together for 3 years and then eventually decided to get divorced…that was messy…they'd argue for hours and I'd hear every word. I'd sit in my room, listening to them shout and scream at each other…" she trailed off, biting her lip and willing herself not to cry.
"You don't have to talk about if you don't want to..." said Rimmer,
Charlie shook her head "No" she said firmly "I probably need to get this off my chest" she tucked her hair behind her ears and sighed "One night…I'd had enough… it'd gotten too much…I ran off…I stormed downstairs and walked straight out of the door into the night…. I hung around outside for a few minutes, to see if they'd try and stop me…but they didn't." her faced harden, and although she was smiling her eyes were cold "They were too busy arguing over who got the plasma TV."
She stopped walking, and leant against a wall as if just talking about was draining her physically and emotionally. "I went to the park…" she said softly, sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor "I mean, where else was there for a 12 year old to go at night. That's where I met Dave" she smiled, properly this time.
Rimmer sat next to her, wanting nothing more then to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything will be okay, but he didn't. He just sat and listened.
"He asked if I was okay…stupid question really, I was in floods of tears on a park swing at 10 o' clock at night. I said it was just parent trouble but…" she stopped and shook her head in dismay "I just had to talk to someone…before I knew it…I was telling him everything, I knew I shouldn't…you don't just start telling a stranger your life problems…but I had to talk to someone…I had no friends, no parents, not really…I had no-one…"
Rimmer went to take hold of her back, but Charlie wrapped her arms round her knees, so he pretended he'd been putting his hand on the floor.
"After I'd finished, Dave told me a little about himself, he kept making me laugh, cheering me up. It turned out we were in the same school…he walked me home then, not that my parents had even noticed I'd gone..." There was a short pause "I saw Dave at school the next day…I honestly didn't expect him to let onto me, I was a nerd, the person who went un-noticed at the front of the class but Dave was nice to me, as were the lads when I was introduced to them!"
"Didn't they mind? Lister's friends, you being a girl and all…" asked Rimmer,
Charlie laughed "Well, they were a bit reluctant at first, but they soon realised I wasn't like other girls when I joined in the 3 hour conversation entitled 'real or fake?'"
Rimmer was still slightly confused "But did you never want to be friends with girls rather than a large group of rowdy, lewd teenage lads"
Charlie looked at him, "I'll tell you something Rimmer, something you might or might not already know…Girls are the bitchiest creatures ever to have lived. They'll say one thing to your face then another behind your back. They're mean, heartless, callous and nasty. You know where you are with boys Rimmer, they'll tell you straight out if you're being a smeg head and they're a great laugh."
"But still…didn't you find it a bit daunting…being the only girl in that gang?" he asked.
"Nope. They were the best friends I could have asked for and I actually enjoyed the majority of my teen years."
"I'll take your word for it" said Rimmer,
"I'm sorry…" said Charlie.
"For what?"
"For dragging you down here to whinge about my childhood. I've probably scared you off now haven't it…I've freaked you out getting all hung up on something that happened when I was 12!" she looked down at the floor.
Rimmer shifted closer to her, he placed his hand cautiously on hers, half expecting her to pull away but she didn't.
"You haven't scared me off" he said softly, Charlie raised her head and smiled. They gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments, trying to read each other. Rimmer saw in Charlie a shy, knocked-about young girl who had turned into a feisty young woman. Charlie saw in Rimmer a shy, knocked-about young boy who had yet to come out of his shell and into the real world…
"Charlie?" Rimmer asked suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"I…I…" he stuttered, trying to search for the right words, although what he was attempting to say, he didn't know.
"I know," Charlie said, unexpectedly.
But it was true. She did know…whatever it was Rimmer couldn't say. She understood him.
Rimmer shuffled a little closer to Charlie and she turned to see him better. She put a hand gently on his shoulder, her eyes flicking directions between his eyes and his lips. Rimmer put his hand on her waist tentatively, and he felt her breath on his cheek – it was warm and comforting. As they leaned closer and closer to each other, Rimmer and Charlie could both feel themselves getting more excited, their pulses racing. Their foreheads touched just when something in Rimmer's mind screamed, 'what are you doing?'. He withdrew his head quickly, dragging Charlie to the floor.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, scrambled to his feet and dashed back to his room.
