A/N: By the way, I had to kill Willy Wonka; something coming later in the story. And Mike is back to normal, only he grew taller because he's older, but you get the idea. I'll gradually bring back the old characters somehow (except some of the people I had to kill off and some of the ones that don't have any significance in my story whatsoever, haha).

Oh, and because I didn't do a disclaimer thing in the first chapter, here is: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OF CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY! I have one original character here though. Stay tuned & enjoy! )

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike

Greaaat… I missed an episode of the Bachelor last night. And it was all for nothing too. My head hurts a lot. I can't remember much; just small specks of memories of Charlie with red all over his shirt and pants. Didn't I set him up with someone? Yeahh, that rich girl from years ago. What was her name again? Oh, right, Veruca Salt.

She seemed to have changed a lot since we last saw her; rich, snobby, pig-faced, mink-covered and mean. Now, she's still rich, a bit less snobby, still pig-faced, her mink seems to have died down, and she's… nice. Well, not too nice, but nice enough to be called an improvement.

Veruca now lives right across the street from me. Her family moved here two years ago and now she's starting to remember me. Last week, she asked me out on a date. Needless to say it didn't work out. It seems that going to a carnival in stilettos, coupled with consuming way too much candy floss before a roller coaster ride, doesn't really add up to a very good date night.

This girl hinted that she was desperate for a boyfriend, so I set her up with the next best thing; Charlie! I wasn't there for all of the spaghetti fiasco because I knew Charlie would come after me, so I headed home and found my mom's stash of vodka. That's probably how I got this hangover.

Anyway, Veruca called me. She told me that she had been trying to call Charlie to apologize, and maybe ask for another date. I was only half-drunk at this time, so I thought I should go looking for Charlie and ask him to reconsider Veruca. I don't know why, but I brought my slingshot and a bag of walnuts too. I probably thought it was funny at the time because I saw it on Dennis the Menace.

Before I knew it I was running out of my house, singing the Friends theme song at the top of my lungs. It seems as though I will have to miss an episode of that too, even if it is just a re-run. I thought to myself while gulping down some more vodka. (I don't know why I drink this stuff; it tastes horrible, but it makes me feel better.)

Imagine my drunken surprise when I see Charlie sitting on the curb with another girl wearing his sweater. My mind was probably clouded by alcohol, but I was still pretty angry. How would you feel when you tried your best to set your best friend with a girl, and he goes out on his own to find a girl he likes without even saying 'thank-you' or 'nice try, mate'? Well, I felt a bit used.

I still don't know what possessed me to do it—perhaps it was the vodka—but I look up my slingshot, stuck a walnut in it, and aimed truly to the back of Charlie's head. I distinctly heard him call me an ass, but I didn't care. I missed two of my favourite shows tonight AND I tried making him happy, but no. It's just not enough.

I laughed at him loudly and leapt over to Veruca's house. She probably knows what it feels like to feel used.