Carrying on the Torch

Disclaimer: I don't own Good Luck Charlie

A/N:

Chapter 34 (The Second Date)

As time passed, Charlotte's second date with Mason arrived on the sixteenth. They were on a park walking trail, gazing out at the beautiful scenery that surrounded them. The trail was just a dirt path with long grass and trees along the sides. The trees rose and arched over their heads, seemingly blotting out the sun and sky. Although, the sun shone through the various holes in between the leaves and branches, creating almost a crystal effect from the various light rays.

She had her arm wrapped around his and was leaning into him, gazing happily at his gentle expression. This was more than just a date, but a celebration, as their team won the game on Wednesday. He looked to her, melting her in the instant his eyes met hers. "So what's everyone doing today?" His voice soothed her, more so than she would have liked. She cleared her throat and looked at the path in front of them, thinking of her friends. Everyone was busy with something. Dee was busy pissing off the head cheerleader, she was busy pissing off Brittany, and Regina was having a good day as all of them were. What did all this mean? It was simple, as said with Charlotte's slow-forming smile.

"Dee and Kevin are having their first date, he actually asked her out!" Mason nodded and looked ahead.

"That's good to hear." Though Dee wasn't intentionally pissing off the head cheerleader, nor did she actually care, that woman was like Brittany in the sense that she wanted to date the football guy. Wasn't it always said, the head cheerleader was supposed to date the quarterback? "Kevin's never liked to associate with the cheerleaders, too fake for him, but Dee's definitely different. He's liked her before she was a cheerleader." She was amazed, and a bit surprised. Kevin didn't like cheerleaders, Dee didn't like football players, and here the two were actually dating the other.

"So both of them had to look past the other's status." She tapped her lip in thought and hummed, remembering that both Dee and Kevin had known each other before their teenage years. "Young love is an amazing thing, isn't it?" Mason met her eyes and grinned. Her heart flipped and she slowly squeezed his arm.

"I could get used to the young love. How about your other friend, has she found young love?" He smirked, clearly playing off on the subject. She closed her eyes and lifted her shoulders. Regina was actually out with her dad and Alice.

"Regina's having dinner with her parents. Both of them." He arched an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad to hear those two are starting to come together." Charlotte nodded and glanced over her shoulder. In that instant, she'd heard a twig snapping and leaves shifting from a force stronger than wind. Her senses heightened and her blood started to pulse in her veins. Was someone following them? She narrowed her eyes and stopped walking, making Mason stop as well. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I heard something." Brock was in jail, wasn't he? So who would be following them? She doubted Mason's uncle would stoop to levels of stalking if he saw the two of them out on a date, he'd probably just walk right up and tear them apart. "It was probably nothing…" The wind blew past her face, and the leaves above them swayed. The only thing she was hearing now were the birds chirping. "I guess I'm still on edge…That whole thing with Brock really shook me up."

"Well the drunk bastard can't do anything to you." He moved his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She put her head on his shoulder and sought to relax her muscles. As they started walking, she took a slow and steady breath. Her mind was flashing back to that day with Brock, and her face was twitching as she tried to forget about it. It wasn't traumatic as it was uncomfortable. She could have taken him out, and she messed up. Because of that, she might have been killed by him if Jo and Sierra hadn't shown up. The thought of death was terrifying to her, and it really had made her think long and hard about life in general.

The end of life, tragedy was so sudden, so quick, but what happened after death came? She believed in God, she believed there was a Heaven and there was definitely a Hell, but, she still couldn't help questioning and being afraid of the afterlife. There were many ghost stories, and ghosts remained after a tragedy, didn't they? Or what if it was how the atheists described it? Nothing. Pitch black darkness, left only with your thoughts? She believed her family was in Heaven with God, but what if a part of them were still wandering this Earth forever enshrined as a ghost?

"Mason?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…" She paused and moved her eyes to a nearby bench alongside the trail. She pulled him over to it and sat down, he sat next to her and let her cuddle close to him. "Do you believe in Ghosts?" The word barely ran off her tongue without leaving behind a bitter taste. She wasn't sure she believed in ghosts, but the thought of them existing was intriguing.

She stared off at a tree in front of them, gazing at the gaping dark hole in the center. A possible home for a squirrel, or a storage for nuts, maybe even a nest for a bird. She tore her distracted gaze away and looked at Mason, he was studying her with a careful gaze. He put his arm around her shoulders and brought his right heel to his left knee. "No."

"No?"

"I believe in spirits, though." She raised an eyebrow, feeling an odd feeling coming over her. What was the difference? She bowed her head for a moment and studied each individual pebble and dirt swirl. "Ghosts versus Spirits, I think ghosts pertain to a depressing view of a trapped soul. If there's a Heaven and a Hell, then there can't be such a thing as ghosts." She lifted her head and turned her gaze to him, he was looking up at the tree branches above them. His expression was thoughtful and studious. "Think about it, if a person believes in God and goes to heaven…or if they're so sinful that they go to Hell, why would they be trapped on Earth? Especially those who died in a tragic death, you'd think they'd go to Heaven. My parents, Aunt Ivy's mom, your family…they should all be in Heaven right now, shouldn't they?"

"Yeah, I can't imagine why they wouldn't be." She smiled slightly and felt her hair shift in the wind. She still could imagine her family watching over her, guiding her, taking care of her. "But…you know when Brock was on top of me?"

"Yes…"

"I didn't think much about it at the time, but when his body relaxed…to the point that I managed to push him off of me…it was almost as if he'd been torn off. I thought I saw Mom and Teddy, my big sister. I don't even know how Amato found Jo and Sierra, but in the instant I ran over to my dog, I thought about my dad…like he would have led the dog to them…Even back when Jo performed that formation in honor of Gabe, I swear he was there beside her." It probably would have happened like that if they were alive, there was a chance, wasn't there? She watched Mason's lips curl into a smile and waited as he turned his gaze to her.

"Spirits, however, are all around us. Watching us, protecting us, guiding us. Loving us. Spirits, I think, are the angels of Heaven, or even the demons trapped in Hell…you hear of those exorcisms all the time, and those things are hard to fake." She slowly nodded and turned her gaze towards the sky above her, breathing in slowly. She imagined her mom, sister, brother, and father spanning the sky like a giant painting with their wings spanning across the sky, creating the clouds. All of them smiling down at her. "I believe Heaven opens its doors for the angels to come and go freely whenever they please, and their spirits are the ones mistaken as ghosts. The 'ghost' of a loved one, or someone tied to a place of death or meaning, is a spirit watching over that area or person."

"You think so?"

"I think every plane ride your brother goes on, your family's sitting right there with him and guiding that pilot through every trouble. I think every time my aunt decides to put down that extra bite of something that could increase her cholesterol, it's her mother standing beside her, telling her to put it down." Charlotte's eyes started to water as she began imagining her family, taking those momentary trips. It was nice to know that they could seriously be watching over them.

"And the 'ghosts' that people claim to be tied to a place?"

"Usually victims of tragedy, I think their spirit comes to make sure the tragedy doesn't happen a second time. It can't just be coincidence whenever someone comes so close to the same thing happening to them, and they just manage to luck out of death."

"Yeah…I'm sorry that I started talking about all this, Mason."

"It's okay, you wanted to get it off your chest." He shrugged and looked at her with a smile. She blushed as he groomed her hair back.

"So, if you believe all this, how do you know any of it is true?" She was more than just curious, she was intrigued, as he looked so solemn and sure when he spoke of it. Had he seen something? Had he researched it? Mason chuckled and slowly shook his head.

"You won't believe me."

"Try me." Right now, she'd probably believe anything. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like everything he was saying could very well be true. It would certainly explain why she thought she felt her family's presence nearby. Mason moved his leg down and exhaled softly as he pressed his fingertips together.

"Because I saw them. Mom and Dad." She pressed her lips together and lifted her eyebrows. As he talked, she pictured herself in his shoes, seeing the scene through his eyes.

Mason huffed while bent over on the football field, it was a tryout for him. The final run that would land him a spot on the football team. He wanted this, more than anything, but he knew when he was overexerting himself. He felt the quarterback, Kevin, pat him on the back and give him a thumbs up. "You can do it, man. It's only one field."

"Only one field?" Mason gave Kevin an odd look and moved his hand to his chest, he was going to die! He turned his eyes to the goal on the other side, it looked like it was fifty miles away! Did he even have the legwork for this? Sure he could get that good after a while of practice, but right now in his current state? How could he even get that far? The fifty yard line, maybe. "If I don't make this run, the Coach won't let me in, will he?"

"You could get a waiver." Mason twitched as he watched Kevin running forward with the football. For a split second, Kevin changed. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the Quarterback, he was now a full three inches taller, dark skinned, bald, and with a strict, yet pleasant expression. Mason did a double take and shook his head, he could have sworn he just saw his father.

"Impossible…" When his dad was alive, they used to play catch all the time. He'd catch the ball, then make a run for his mother, racing his father, and the winner got the prize. The prize usually consisted of a chocolate chip cookie, or some other snack that his mom just baked.

"Focus, Mason! Run!" He let out a grunt and looked down at the football in his hands. His eyes widened and wasted no time clicking into a sprint. He clenched his eyes shut, ignoring the searing pain that his body was in. He'd been doing other things during this tryout, everything was trying his endurance and strength, so his body was naturally already burning. What didn't help was, he wasn't even past the forty yard line when his legs started burning, and the coach wanted him to run the entire field!

How long had he been running? He was about to collapse. He couldn't collapse, but Kevin did tell him it was okay for him to take a ten second pause, no longer. He swallowed hard and stopped running, standing still and contemplating whether he should continue onwards.

His legs were on fire, his body ached, and his heart was pounding a mile a minute. Heart attacks, did they really run in the family? They ran in his aunt's family, sure, but his? Could he give up? Should he? He wanted to be someone, he didn't want to fade away into nothing, to be nothing. He wanted to accomplish something, he wanted to prove that he had some worth in life. Was it worth the pain? Was it worth his health? He felt a hand touch him, and practically jumped out of his skin, there was no way Kevin or the Coach could reach him in such a short amount of time.

He looked to his right and froze, he was gazing into the strong, but soft eyes of his Dad. "Don't give up, Son." His father smiled at him and pointed to the goal. Mason's eyes followed his finger and he could make out the image of a light skinned woman with chocolate brown curls gracing her shoulders. She had the sweetest smile and the most loving gaze. In her hand was a plate of brownies. This had to be a dream, but why did a dream feel so real?

"M-Mom?" His heartbeat started to slow down, the pain and fire in his body flashed away. His father's hand felt strong, firm, but more importantly, real. His mother called out to him, her voice beckoning him like that of soft, sweet music.

"Keep going Mason, you can do it! You'll get the first brownie, if you win."

Keep going? His eyes flooded with the tears that soon streaked his face. He heard Kevin call out to him, asking if he was giving up. He saw his father run ahead of him and his eyes grew large. "No…I'm going to make it!" He readied himself and locked the football to his side, then bolted ahead. His father looked back with a smile, guiding him. His legs still held no pain, which was nothing short of a miracle.

"Come on baby!" His Mom called out. "You can do it! Just a little more!" He swallowed his tears and confusion, then put more power in his run, passing up his father in an instant. When he looked back, his father was gone.

"W-What? Dad? Where…" He shook his head and looked forward, his eyes locked onto his Mom's beautiful face. "Mommy…" He felt young again, he missed his mom's gentle hug. He was only four when his Dad died, his Mom held on strong for the next two years, doing everything she could to take care of him. When she passed, it was the most painful experience for him. He couldn't stand the thought of being without her.

He spread his arms out to hug her, smiling brightly as he reached her. "Good job, baby!" She cheered. He closed his eyes and moved his arms inwards, but they only swept through air. He choked back a sob, gasping as he fell towards the ground. He lifted his head, scanning with his eyes for his Mom. Where'd she go? Kevin and the Coach were running up to congratulate him, but their voices fell short. His emotions were too high for him to care about something so trivial. Instead, he fell onto his back and stared up at the stars above him, letting his tears roll towards the ground. He put his hand over his eyes, silently weeping at the memory of his parents.

"I've never told anyone," Mason said with a hardened expression. Charlotte's heart was pounding and her eyes were wet with tears, she never really thought about how much his parents impacted his life. "I've missed them constantly, and I think, that day…they had something to do with me getting on the team. I don't think it was their ghosts, they were too beautiful to be ghosts, and they looked just as they did in life. That's why it seemed so…so real. I honestly believed they were there."

"I think so too. You're right, they'd have to be. Your parents, my family…It all makes sense to think they'd be there to watch over us." She moved her hand to his and held onto it, smiling into his eyes. He smiled back at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "You think…you think your parents and mine would approve of us being together?"

"I think so, at least I'd think they'd be happy that we're happy."

"Hopefully…I'd hate to be on their bad side." She chuckled lightly and Mason laughed once.

"Well I wouldn't be afraid of spirits so much. Spirits don't seem harsh at all compared to the real world."

"Oh yeah, the real world is definitely more impacting than the spiritual one." Their moment was soon interrupted by an annoyingly familiar voice. Brittany.

"Do you guys seriously talk about this kind of stuff when you're on dates!" Mason groaned and Charlotte growled, irritation sparked in her veins. Had Brittany seriously been following them? This wasn't even the best time! She turned to Brittany and raised an eyebrow, the girl had leaves in her hair and dirt smudged all over her designer clothes. She held back a laugh, she honestly wasn't sure she could feel bad for the girl ruining her own clothes.

"Now really isn't the time, Brittany…" She slowly stood up, ignoring Mason's annoyed grunt. He most likely didn't want her to bother with the girl. She couldn't help it, she was pissed that Brittany had the nerve to intrude on their date, especially in such an emotional moment. "What is your problem? I've had enough of stalkers."

"I'm not stalking anyone." She rolled her eyes and brought her hand to her forehead. Brittany thought she wasn't stalking? What did she call this?

"That's why you've been running through the trees, following us, and ruining your clothes…" Brittany looked down and pulled at the edges of her shirt, paling considerably at the smudges and holes. Brittany released her shirt and crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes.

"I just don't think you two ought to be dating."

"Yes, we know. You think you should be with him. Please, just walk away before I get any more pissed than I am…" This girl could make a great match with Brock, though she wouldn't wish that prick on anyone. "Why are you even here? I know you dated Mason once before and you haven't gotten over the breakup yet, but seriously…it's over."

"Charlotte, honestly." Brittany rolled her eyes and sighed. What was this girl so adamant about? "I know it's over, I'm not hung up over that." Mason looked over at her and Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

"Then what?" Brittany let out an annoyed groan and flung her arms in the air. She turned away and started to walk off.

"Ugh…" After walking a few paces, she stopped and glanced over her shoulders. "By the way, I informed his uncle." Charlotte's eyes widened and her heart froze. Panic started to flood her veins and she was seconds away from tearing this bitch apart. "I still don't know why Mason's on the football team, by the way…"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Her voice came out in a low growl. If Emmett started to flare up, she was going to kill something. Maybe not literally, but she seriously didn't want to be told who she could or could not date. "Or are you just trying to piss us off?"

"I think that's already done. Have a nice date, see if I care." After she walked off, Charlotte started developing a very uneasy feeling. A sudden sadness overtook her, tearing away at her heart. He brushed it aside and looked over to Mason, who was slowly shaking his head. She smiled sadly and moved beside him, they couldn't let Brittany's sudden intrusion hinder their date. They could still have a good time together.

Well I do hope you enjoyed the chapter ^_^