Author's Note! Hey, everybody! Before you start reading, please note that I am not in any way trying to dramatize PTSD. I know it is not a joke, and my heart completely goes out to those suffering with it. And I'm so sorry if you find this insensitive, but just know that upsetting anybody with it is not my intention. If you are not a fan of me inserting PTSD into a character, please just leave. I'll see you in the next fanfiction :)

Charlie Bucket sat down at his desk on the first day of sophomore year. He was a little bit nervous, since he seemed to look a lot younger than everybody else. He walked every day and passed many people daily, and he never had one walk where he'd get a lot of looks. Especially because of the whole factory situation. Sometimes, though, it didn't feel like it was just because of the factory.

The teacher walked into the room. The minute he stepped foot into the room, he locked eyes with Charlie. His expression changed into a confused/disgusted look. At first, it didn't seem weird because he dealt with those looks often, but then he called him out.

"Sir, are you in the right school?" The teacher asked.

Charlie was confused. What kind of question is that, thought.

"Um…yeah. Yes, I am." He replied.

"Well, I'm sorry, mate, but you don't look old enough to be here." He said as the class erupted into laughter. Charlie, out of sheer panic, turned bright pink and rushed to the bathroom. Of course he knows what he looks like, but he never paid too much attention to it. He raced to the boy's bathroom and stared into the mirror. He was almost stunned when he saw what he did.

Charlie looked like he hadn't aged at all since he was 11, and he was now supposed to be 16. He really did look young. Come to think of it, he never noticed how much he hasn't changed. He hasn't had the time to sit down and stare at his reflection when he had a lot to do in his life. He isn't a conceited kid, either, so he didn't want to waste time looking at himself. So he never really saw that he was making slow growth progress. But he always chalked it up to being a late bloomer, so the thought didn't stress him out too much.

Suddenly, he realized that he left the class he was supposed to attend. Well, I don't want to go back…not after that…he thought. He slowly opened the door as a teacher approached him.

"Young boy, I don't think you belong here," he said, "are you lost?"

Charlie didn't want to be there, so he lied. "Y-yeah. I…think I got the wrong school. I apologize, sir. I'll see myself out."

The teacher was taken aback by how polite he was. But he silently walked to the side, clearing Charlie's way. The kid nodded and proceeded to leave the building. He left the school without anybody questioning it; everyone thought he just walked into the wrong school, which was very dumb, but it was fine. The boy left the school and found a bench.

He thought of a lot. What causes growth to stunt? Is it the food he ate? The water he drank? The medicine he was provided? Honestly, it could have been anything. Maybe he had good skincare? Or perhaps inherited this? He was confused.

"Psst…" he heard somebody whisper.

"Charlie…!" he heard again. Charlie looked around, confused. He was then met with a familiar face. It was…Violet Beauregarde? Violet? The one that blew up like a violet balloon? He hasn't seen her in three years. He had no idea about her whereabouts, too.

She was wearing a grey shirt and grey sweatpants. Kind of…odd attire. Aside from the outfit, she didn't look odd or anything because of the blueberry situation. But he noticed one thing...she looked the same as when he last saw her.

"Violet?" Charlie said, loudly.

"Sh-! You're gonna get us both caught!" she hushed him. "Lay low and follow me."

He did as she asked. She wasn't speaking to him, though, for some odd reason. Violet was occasionally turning back to see if Charlie was still there. He tried asking the general questions, but she'd hush him. But then she finally spoke.

"I've been searching for you for a while." She said.

"Me? Why?" He asked.

"Can't answer." She replied.

"Um, okay." Charlie said.

It was silent for a second. Then, Violet broke the silence.

"So you've noticed it too, right?" She asked.

He was confused. He kind of felt like he knew what she was talking about, but she wasn't clear.

"What do you mean?" He replied.

"Your aging process. It's going slow, right?"

He knew it. "…yeah. But that's natural, right?"

"I knew it. You, Mike, Veruca, Augustus, and I aren't so different."

It's been a while since Charlie has heard that string of names. Suddenly, a bunch of memories flashed of the factory, which he lived in. Of Willy Wonka, Augustus getting sucked in a pipe, Violet blowing up, Veruca falling to the trash, and Mike getting shrunken. He hadn't thought of the others in years.

"Wait, what?" He asked.

"You remember them, right? It's been years, but it was unforgettable." She said to him.

"Well, of course. Especially since I…you know, won. I've basically had a reminder every day about you guys."

Her expression changed.

"Yeah, I know. It was pretty unforgettable. Especially for the little one."

"'The little one?'" Charlie asked.

"Yeah. The kid about half a foot shorter than me. Likes watching television or something like that."

"Do you mean Mike?"

"Yeah. Him. He's had some serious issues. The three of us can sorta handle what's happened, but Mike seems to be holding up weaker than a stick below a boulder."

"What?" Charlie said, baffled.

"Oh, that kid's been freaking out about random words since we first met up."

"Random words? What happened?"

"Once, I told a joke, and Augustus was laughing up a storm. Then I said something along the lines of, 'wow, you're laughy taffy, aren't you?' And then the kid freaked. He broke down. Started sobbing, screaming. He really made a scene in the middle of a park. A bunch of people came to see if he was okay."

"…'laughy taffy?' Did you ever figure out what set him off?"

She hesitated. "Well, kind of. But he did get set off another time. He asked if Willy Wonka was dead—which he isn't—and I said that's a stretch. After I said that, he started shaking and hid in a closet. You can hear the sounds from a mile away, though. It took everything to pry him out."

"Gee," Charlie said, "that's brutal."

"Sad thing is, we don't know what triggers his PTSD."

Charlie paused for a second. "PTSD?"

Violet stopped walking. She looked down and said, "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Basically, when you've gone through some stuff. War, trauma. And there are certain triggers. You know what triggers are, right?"

"Yeah. But…why does he have PTSD?"

"Beats me. But I'm not a doctor; I can't diagnose him. Even though it's pretty obvious he has it."

"Have you figured out his trigger words?"

"All I've figured out is the word, 'taffy'. He freaked out when I asked him if he wanted some."

Charlie stopped for a second. He remembered what happened. Mike got shrunken, his mom put him in her purse, then Wonka…said he's going to be turned back to normal via…taffy puller. Oh, lord. What was done to him?

"Taffy puller." He said aloud.

Violet turned to him. "What?"

"The…taffy puller. Don't you remember?"

She stared at him blankly. He forgot that she wasn't there to witness it.

"…right. Mr. Wonka had this…thing. I don't know how to explain, but it was like a teleporter. And Mike decided to use it on himself." Charlie said, recalling the event from five years ago. "Then, his mom freaked out because he shrunk himself, and Mr. Wonka said he should be stretched back to normal via taffy puller."

Violet's eyes widened. "No way! That explains the scars."

"Scars?" Charlie said. "What scars?"

"Well, I don't know what they are for sure. They're distinct marks, though, and they're only at his joints and stuff. Like, if somebody ripped all of his limbs off and sewed them back on."

Charlie cringed at the statement. Did that happen? No, it couldn't have.

"It seems like he had a rough situation," he said, "Was that the case for everyone else?"

"Kinda. Let's just say, I gave up gum, Veruca's less annoying and snobby, and Augustus cut down on food."

"Wow." He said. He was shocked. The same kids that were with him at the factory are not opposites of who they were now. Over what, though? What happened that caused a huge change?

"I know, Violet giving up gum. Crazy, eh?" She joked.

Charlie chuckled. "I guess it's reasonable to."

Their walk lasted in silence. Though their conversation was disturbing, it was refreshing to speak with Violet again.