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The Replacement

Alabelle: Aw, I'm glad you liked the little cuddling seen. I swear, sometimes my fics can be so sappy. lol. But hey, if you like that, there's still plenty more to come! And by the way, a BETA is someone who is a reader of your stories that readers them over and spell checks them before you post them. Basically, their your editor.

"Rise and shine" Elise greeted with a sarcastically bright smile, peering down at Charlie, who still laid among the rocks. "Ow, what did you just throw at me?" He questioned, tiredly. "your breakfast" She replied, giving and indicating glance towards the apple that laid beside him. "You seem like the kind of guy who's hungry as soon as he wakes up, so I grabbed one for you" She explained as she pulled on her back pack.

"Oh, how thoughtful of you" He muttered sarcastically, rubbing the spot on his head where the apple had made impact, as he sat up. "Be happy, its green" She noted playfully. He couldn't help but laugh. "Where are you going?" He asked, curious as to why she was wearing her back pack.

"The beach, to get the crap we need for our tent, remember?" She reminded him, teasingly. "Now?" He questioned in a whisper as he looked around, realizing it was barely day break.

"Yeah, get your stuff" She confirmed without an opening for argument. Charlie sighed and pulled himself up, grabbing his bag and his apple. "Do you always wake up this early?" He questioned, catching up to her quickly. "Yeah, pretty much" She replied with a shrug as the two made their way towards the beach.

"Well, for future notice, don't wake me up. I'm not a morning person" He confirmed, warningly. "That so? You seem pretty cheery to me" She noted, titling her head side ways as she flashed him a playful smile. "That's because I have a green apple" He replied with a smirk, and took his first bite.

Elise giggled and shook her head, and the two kept walking. The sun had began to rise as they reached the beach, leaving the sky a grayish blue that seemed to be glowing, although everything under it was still dark. They made their way onto the sand and sat their stuff down where her tent used to be.

"So, where did you stay?" She questioned, laying her bag on a little table beneath her tent. "On the other end of the beach" He replied, not wanting to go into details. "Do you think your stuff is still there?" She asked curiously, glancing up from what she was doing.

"No. Me and Claire were sharing a tent, so all of our stuff is still being used" He explained, looking down at his feet. "Oh, damn. You should have made her sign a prenup." Elise noted sarcastically. Charlie laughed and set his bags down.

"Well then, I guess we should start taking this heap of crap down" She noted, pushing herself to her feet and looking over her faulty little tent. "I guess so" Charlie nodded in agreement. He waited for her to move, but she remained still, looking over the tent as if it were something she'd miss.

"Would you like to say any last words?" He questioned, trying not to sound as sarcastic as it came out. "Yeah" Elise nodded solemnly. "Tent, you suck." She spoke in completely serious tone. After a moment, the two burst out into laughter. "Ok, tare it down" She instructed, and the two of them got to work.

It didn't take them long to dismember her little tent, and they managed to fit all the tarp and sticks they needed into one big duffle bag. "I don't think this is enough crap for two people to live under" She noted, zipping up the bag. "Are you sure you can't get any of your stuff back?" She asked, hopefully.

"Nope. I've put Claire through enough crap. I'm not going to give her any more" He confirmed, looking down at the sand. "Alright, then. We're just gonna have to find something else to use" She suggested, understandingly. Charlie nodded, momentarily lost in thought. Elise felt the need to draw him out of his guilt and cheer him up, so she pushed herself to her feet and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" He questioned, looking up at her in confusion. "I'm going swimming" She explained, once again pulling off her top as she headed towards the water. "Are you coming?" She questioned, shooting him a look over her shoulder. "Yeah" He replied, and pushed himself up.

He threw off his shirt and fallowed her into the water. He didn't go far in, knowing very well that he didn't know how to swim. "What's the matter?" Elise questioned, already a good yard ahead of him. "I can't really swim" He explained, slightly embarrassed.

"Aw, that's so sad!" She noted playfully. Charlie laughed and his face went red. "Come on, I'll teach you" She insisted, grabbing hold of his hand. "Um, no thanks" He replied nervously.

"What's the matter? You scared?" She questioned teasingly. "Yes" He replied bluntly. "Ok, fine" She sighed and let go of his hand. "If your not gonna swim, we should head back to the beach" She suggested, sounding a little disappointed. "Ok" He replied with a shrug, showing his enthusiasm towards getting out of the ocean with ease.

As soon as he had his back turned, Elise leaped on him, pulling her arms around his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his waist. The force of her jump nearly knocked him over, but he managed to hold his ground.

"Your trying to drown me, aren't you?" He questioned, looking at her over his shoulder as he tugged through the water. "Maybe" She replied, looking around innocently.

"Ok, just checking" He replied with a shrug. The two just laugh. He collapes when he reached the sand, laying flat on his stomach and resting his head on his arms.

"Tired?" She questioned, startling his back and playing with his hair. "Mm,hm" was his pathetic reply. The waves came in and shallow slides of water rolled up around them. Charlie didn't budge. He was exhausted from the walk there. How Elise had so much energy left amazed him. She was like the fucking energizer bunny. He just couldn't keep up.

He buried his face in his arms and let himself relax as the waves came in and out, surrounding them with an inch of water as they came and went. All the while Elise played with his hair and babbled on about what ever popped into her head, and Charlie just listened.

In conversation, Charlie had usually felt the uncontrollable need to talk. He could never just sit and listen. But with Elise, things were different. He could listen to her voice all damn day. And there on the beach, with just the two of them, he couldn't think of any place he'd rather be.

to be contenuied...