Whoa! A Disclaimer change! I do not own the movie title later in the chapter.

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Chapter 15: Do I Care About You?

The days rolled on.

Angelica didn't hear anything from Chuckie and her heart ached more.

Those days turned into weeks.

She finished her suspension and returned to High School...only to find that Chuckie couldn't bring himself to even say "Hi" to her. He would acknowledge her with a nod but nothing more. Her heart ached even more. In spite of this, there would be moments when they would almost stare at each other. Angelica would quickly blush and turn away.

Those weeks turned into months.

Christmas was just over 3 weeks away and everyone was looking forward to finishing school for the holidays and getting together again...except Angelica. She agreed with the former, but the latter would just cause her to become pained and upset as she knew no-one would be happy to be around her. She had counted every day since she admitted to Chuckie how she felt about him and every day she had hoped to hear something. She still hoped that he would talk to her but now her hope was no more than a wish. A wish that wouldn't come true.

....

Angelica sat at the counter in the Java Lava and sighed deeply. She was depressed. She had hoped that Chuckie would be on duty today but it was Kimi. Over the past month or so, Kimi had got a little better with Angelica. Although she still despised her, she didn't object to her being in the Java Lava and now Angelica received one death glare each day the 2 were in the Java Lava at the same time. Right now, Kimi was cleaning the tables so Angelica just kept her focus on the blender. The bell rang as the door opened. Angelica whirled around, her heart pounding at the possibility of the person being Chuckie, but she was disappointed to see that it was only Phil.

She never really saw Phil and Kimi as a couple but they seem to get along well together and they make each other happy. Indeed, they embraced and held each other close and Angelica wished that she could do that with Chuckie. Fantasising was her only escape from the heart ache she had.

The 2 lovebirds had started to chat together and Angelica couldn't help but overhear them.

"You looking forward to Saturday?" Phil asked.

"Yeah. You, me, Tommy, Lil, Dil, Susie and Chuckie. Man, it's just gonna be like old times again." Kimi replied.

"But what about your brother's insane slave over there?" Phil asked.

Angelica felt hurt. 'Is that how they view me? Completely mad?'

"Who cares about her? I don't. Not after what she did to Chuckie." Kimi scoffed.

"I think that we should at least ask her. We've known her nearly all of our lives and well...you've seen how she been acting over the past couple of months." Phil tried to reason.

"Yeah, ACTING is the key word. It's an act Phil! She doesn't care what happens to Chuckie...she doesn't care about anyone other than herself."

"Kimi, please! Calm down. Maybe we should discuss this with the others first." Phil suggested.

"Maybe. But my views will not change because I know her. I can see right through her."

Angelica sighed. Kimi was blinded by her hatred to see that Angelica had changed. Either that or she didn't want to admit that Angelica had changed.

....

Later, everyone was at Tommy's house to discuss that whole Angelica situation.

"Don't you guys think that we should ask her to come with us?" Phil asked.

"To the cinema? I'm not sure." Tommy said.

"I think we should." Dil replied.

Kimi growled in anger for her response.

"Well, I don't think I'd like her to come, but it wouldn't really be fair if we didn't at least ask. We have known her for a long time." Lil commented.

"Yeah, I guess we should." Susie agreed.

"What do you think Chuckie?" Phil asked.

"Hmm? What?" Chuckie asked.

"You weren't paying attention yet again. What's up with you Chuck? You've been like this for ages!" Tommy asked. He had noticed the loss of concentration and attention span that Chuckie once had. He was concerned.

"Er...nothing. I'm fine." Chuckie lied.

"Chuck, you are lying. I know that, you know that and everyone else here knows that. What's bothering you?" Tommy asked.

"I...okay, there is something bothering me...something big. But I can't tell you...any of you. Not yet at any rate. I'll er, go home and think. I need to be alone." Chuckie told them as he got up and headed out of the house.

"Gee, I hope he'll be alright. I just wish I knew what was bothering him." Tommy commented. Honestly, Tommy felt a little guilty as he felt he had failed in his duty as a best friend, he couldn't get Chuckie to open up to him.

"I know." Susie told them.

Everyone looked at Susie.

"What? What's wrong with him?" They asked.

"I don't know if I should tell you as I'm not sure what you will think and do."

"No, tell us please!" Lil begged.

"Well...I'll tell you that it concerns a certain cousin of Tommy and Dil."

"Angelica! Grrrr. What did she do?!" Kimi demanded.

"Calm down Kimi! She didn't do anything to hurt him but she did do something which obviously is making him think long and hard."

"What?"

Susie took a deep breath. 'Forgive me for telling them Angelica.' She thought. "She...she kissed him. A long and passionate kiss. She is in love with him."

No-one said anything as they were all too shocked to say anything.

"She told me a couple of months ago, shortly after she had admitted her feelings to him." Susie explained.

"I...I knew she loved him but...I didn't for a minute think that there was something between them. Man, this is big. No wonder Chuckie is so distracted. I mean the girl who picked on him nearly all of his life and assaulted him suddenly turns around after feeling so guilty for doing all of those things and says that she loves him more than anything. I expect that Chuckie must feel something for Angelica if he is affected this much by this." Tommy told all of them.

"He does."

Everyone turned to look at Kimi.

"What do you mean?" Phil asked.

"He does have feelings for her. I know because he told me towards the end of the summer break. He had held an attraction for her for quite a while but when she started to be nice to him, that allowed him to open up more and he fell for her. At the time, I was happy for him but now, Chuckie would be best to just turn her down so we can all get on with our lives." She explained.

"Now Kimi, don't you think you are being a little harsh? You have to admit that Angelica has changed! We all have seen the difference in her! Heck, she seems rather tormented and hurt than aggressive and resentful." Tommy asked.

"Not really. She hurt him and now she says that she wants him! It's a lie!" Kimi exclaimed. "I'm not taking any more of this. I'm leaving."

"Kimi wait!" Phil begged. He got up and followed her out.

The remaining 4 looked at each other.

"So...shall I ask Angelica if she wants to come with us?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah." Susie replied.

....

Angelica was unhappy, us was customary for her as of late. She had decided to take herself off for a walk around the neighbourhood to try and cheer herself up. So far it hadn't worked and she actually a little worse. She kept thinking of Chuckie and the kiss that she had given him. She ached for just a chat with him but she wasn't sure if she would ever get to speak to him again.

She sighed heavily as she rounded a corner only to slam into someone, knocking them to the floor.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I should have been looking where I was-" She cut chat when she saw that the person she had knocked down was none other than Chuckie Finster. "I'm...so sorry." She blushed a little as she held her hand out.

Chuckie looked at her and slowly took her hand. Angelica got a rush of feelings and lost her balance as she hauled him to his feet. He instinctively grabbed on to her to stop her from falling. The end result left Angelica in Chuckie's arms. She blushed wildly as she realised the current situation. But it felt good to be in his arms. She felt as if she belonged there so she closed her eyes as he held her.

For Chuckie, he couldn't explain it but he didn't want to let got of Angelica at the moment. He could sense her pain and he wanted to help ease it so he just let her stay in his arms. He did admit that he wouldn't mind staying like this for the foreseeable future as it actually felt good to him.

For the next few minutes they just stood there...with Chuckie gently holding Angelica. Nothing was said and nothing else was done until Chuckie took his arms away from her. She looked at him.

"Uh...sorry. I..." She didn't know what to say.

"Um...yeah...it's alright. I'll uh...see you around." Chuckie stammered before jogging off.

Angelica sighed happily as she watched him go. 'He finally spoke to me. Oh, that hug felt sooooo good!' Her idea of going for a walk actually paid off for her. Maybe things will look up.

....

Despite the cold chill that had crept over, Angelica was in a good mood. She hadn't been this happy in months and she actually felt good about herself. Her mobile phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked merrily.

"You sound happy." Tommy replied.

"Oh Tommy! How's my favourite cousin?" She asked.

"Hold on there. I've got something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Well...on Saturday guys and I are gonna watch a film and we were wondering if you'd like to come." Tommy explained to her.

"Sure thing! I'd love to! What time?" Angelica asked excitedly.

"We meet up at my house at about 1pm."

"Great! See you then, bye!" Angelica hung up and started to cheer in joy. "Oh! I'm gonna spend more time with Chuckie! This is going to be so good!"

She didn't even think about what Kimi would do. The threat of Kimi never registered in her mind.

....

The days went by until Saturday rolled over. Angelica's mood had not changed so she was still happy while Kimi was still seething with hatred and anger (she was being restrained by Phil and Susie so hopefully nothing would happen). The seating arrangements at the cinema were obviously planned to say the least. Kimi was on the far left with Phil next to her, then Susie, then Tommy and Lil, then Dil and finally Chuckie and Angelica.

"What is the movie called?" Angelica whispered to Chuckie.

"Die Another Day." Chuckie whispered back.

"James Bond?"

"Yep."

Through the movie, Angelica's hand seemed to rather close to Chuckie's. On more than one occasion she gripped onto him, only to realise what she was doing and quickly remove her hand. She apologised and kept thinking about how she was embarrassing herself. Chuckie however, actually didn't mind it when Angelica gripped onto him. He would have been happy to let her hold his hand as it seemed to make her feel comfortable...not to mention he liked it.

When they left, Kimi kept giving Angelica death glares while she kept hanging around Chuckie. More than once Phil asked Kimi to try and calm herself while Tommy did his best to keep Angelica and Kimi apart, purely for Angelica's sake as he knew that Angelica wouldn't lay a finger on Kimi while Kimi would probably try to bash her head in if she got the chance.

At the end of the day, things had seemed to calm down. Kimi wasn't as aggressive and she actually seemed to have some self control. But Tommy and Phil wouldn't take any chances.

"C'mon Phil, let's get Kimi home before she tries to turn Angelica into a new Swiss cheese. Coming sweetheart?" He asked Lil.

"Sure thing honey. Come on Kimi. Let's go tease our guys." She suggested mischievously.

"Cool. I'm game to annoy Phil!" Kimi replied merrily.

The four left leaving Angelica, Chuckie, Susie and Dil.

"Well...I think I better go. Mum and dad might be unhappy if I'm out too late." Dil told them as he left.

"Oh yeah! Me too. I'll see you guys later." Susie said as she left.

"Okay...that was weird." Angelica commented.

"Yeah."

They stood there for around 10 minutes, not saying anything before Chuckie spoke to her.

"Listen...about during the movie..."Chuckie started.

"I know. I'm sorry...I just couldn't stop myself. I'm sorry if I offended you in any way." Angelica explained as she looked at the ground with a hint of a blush across her face.

"You didn't and don't be sorry. Really I'm the one who should be apologising."

Angelica was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I haven't really been that friendly to you over the past few months. I've never really said anything to you and I don't want you to be unhappy because of it. Ever since...that night...you have been on my mind an awful lot. That's why I seem so distracted. I've been in deep thought and although I'm not quite ready to forgive you yet, this does help me tell you that I do...like you." Chuckie admitted to her. He looked away from her as he said this.

"You...do?" She asked hopefully.

Chuckie nodded. "For a while I've thought that you were very attractive but I never really had the guts so say anything, much less tell anyone else. Tommy kind of had a feeling that I liked you and Kimi only found out when I told her during the summer break. You see, when you started to be nice to me, I found it a lot easier to like you as you didn't make fun of me." He explained.

"So, what does this mean? Are we something?" She asked.

"There is something between us, I do not deny that. For the moment though, our relationship will have to stay on hold as I fear for your safety if Kimi found out that I've told you this. That's why Tommy and the rest left. I asked them if I could have some time alone with you to tell you this. I never told them exactly why I wanted to be alone with you, for all I know; one of them could be watching us. But maybe, we could...hang out sometime and maybe pick up where we left off from the summer."

"So...we are...together, but we're not?" She didn't fully understand but understood most of it.

"Sort of. We like each other but we can't progress for the moment. Maybe in a month of so the others will feel better towards you. I know they do treat you a bit better now." Chuckie stopped for a moment.

A silence fell over them as neither knew what to say now. They stood silently in the night sky and a cold chill started to flow around them. Angelica shivered.

"It's getting a bit cold." She commented as she rubbed her arms to generate some heat. She could make out the clouds in the sky.

"Come here." Chuckie said softly as he put an arm around her in an attempt to keep both of them warm. "We should get to our homes as it might snow." He said.

"Yeah. Let's go." Angelica replied a little disappointedly.

They turned and started to walk as the wind picked up. Angelica shivered as the freezing cold chill surrounded them as they walked. Chuckie seemed to be unaffected by the coldness and he proceeded to rub Angelica's back to help keep her warm. As they walked, snow flakes started to fall and within a minute, the snow was falling to the ground rapidly.

"We're not gonna get very far in this blizzard!" She shouted.

"My home is closer! I'm sure mum and dad won't mind if you stay the night!" He shouted back.

"I should call mom and dad though!"

"Wait until we're inside!" Chuckie advised.

The 2 started to run through the snow, they're breathing heavy as they started to tire out only after a few minutes. Despite this, they managed to keep going and after around 10 minutes of constant running, they made it to Chuckie's house. They got in and collapsed on the floor, exhausted.

"We...made...it."

"Oh Chuckie! You're alright!" Kira shouted as she picked her stepson off of the floor.

"Yeah...mum? Is it...alright if Angelica...stays for the...night? It's too...dangerous for her...to try and...get home." He asked.

"Of course. Angelica, you should phone your parents." Kira said.

Angelica nodded and hauled herself to her feet and made her way to the phone and dialled her parents.

"Hey mum...I'm fine...I'm gonna stay at the Finster's tonight...yeah...I'll be back tomorrow...alright....I will...goodnight...I love you too, bye."

When Angelica put the phone down, she turned to see Kimi practically in her face. She jumped.

"Kimi! You scared me!"

"Listen Angelica, don't try anything with my bro or I'll make you suffer." Kimi spat in a low voice.

"What do you mean? I don't wanna hurt him! I have no intention to!" She protested in defence.

"See that you don't and you'll be fine...goodnight, I guess." Kimi said as she walked up to her room.

"Pay no attention to her. She's too overprotective of me." Chuckie said as he approached.

"I see what you mean when you said you feared for my safety. Do you think she'll ever forgive me?" Angelica asked.

"I don't know. She's not as forgiving as I am. She might in time, but it will be years down the road but hopefully she'll just accept that you have changed quickly...for her sake." Chuckie said.

To Be Continued...

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We are nearing the end of this story now. It has gone on much longer than I originally intended but that is a good thing.

Please R&R!