I'm back with Chapter 11! I've somewhat sorted out how I want this story to play out, and how it'll finish, but I'm still not totally sure how it'll all work out. I've been talking to animationgirl89 over on my Tumblr, and she's been an amazing, helpful, and sweet friend to me- buddy, if you're reading this, I cannot thank you enough! On another note, I'm still thinking a lot about what happens after this story is over. Will I be done making content for ADGTH? Of course not! There's going to be more Charlie x Oaklyn content, so don't worry ;)
Sometimes I think about how much people really care about this story; I mean, I know animationgirl89 does, and I'm very grateful for that, but I wonder how many others have read and chose not to review. I respect the decision, but I hope I can get some real reviews, other than only somebody saying "Anne Marie's lucky to have such a gift, right?" Of course she is! But I'd like to see others sharing their own views on it, you know? Anyway, enough babbling. Enjoy!
That same evening, although several miles away in the outskirts of New Orleans, Charlie and Anne Marie had made their way to an old church. The sky was pink and purple, looking like somebody had painted it and brushed it clumsily, and suddenly an ominous cackle sounded.
Charlie had five boxes of pizzas stacked on his head, and Anne Marie struggled to hold a bigger box as they climbed many, many flights of rickety, creaking stairs. Anne Marie, a little nervous, stuck close to Charlie, putting her hand on his back so she couldn't lose him.
When she'd asked where Oaklyn was earlier, Charlie, feeling guilty again, had quickly explained that Oaklyn wasn't feeling well, and she was home resting. Anne Marie was satisfied with Charlie's answer, and he was glad she didn't ask more questions.
"Who does his evil deeds... in the shadow dark of night?" the radio somewhere upstairs asked, followed by the same wheezy laugh that had echoed before.
"The phantom does..."
Panting, Charlie stepped up the last few stairs, and Anne Marie looked over at him. "These... these are some of the poorest... people I know," Charlie wheezed, turning his head to her. "They're-they're broker than, uh..." Charlie stopped, trying to catch his breath, but then he looked back up. "-the Ten Commandments!" He gave a short, wheezing laugh. "Little joke," he clarified, coughing briefly. "Very little..."
Charlie and Anne Marie peeked over the last wooden step, and Charlie grinned widely. There were something like 12-13 puppies in there, and a brown and tan rough collie accompanied them as they listened, deeply invested in the scary story. A creaking door noise came from the radio, when suddenly a woman's scream made them all jump; every puppy began yelping fearfully, and Charlie sat up straighter as one fell from a drawer.
"Hey!! Anybody here order a pizza?!" Charlie shouted, tilting his head so the box could open slightly.
All of the puppies turned their heads, and in unison, they called joyfully, "Charlie!! Pizza!!" Then they all came running at Charlie, barking, as he jumped up onto the main floor, and Anne Marie slowly joined him. They bombarded the surprised shepherd, who backed up a little with a big smile on his face. "Hold it-! Hold it-! Hey, hold it!!" he cried, but then his tongue flopped out, and Charlie started laughing, shaking his head. His movement caused the pizzas to fall off his head, and instantly the puppies dug in.
Charlie wagged his tail happily, still laughing, but he crouched a little to let three more puppies jump off of his back and neck. "Woah, woah! Hold it!"
Hell, I don't know how Flo does it! Charlie thought, still laughing as his watch hit against his chest with the movement. He walked around the crowd of puppies, trying to say something. "Ahem! I want- I want you..." He chuckled, stopping and facing them. "Hey!" The puppies looked up as Flo joined Charlie. "Heh, I want you kids to meet a very, very special guest..." Charlie said, taking a breath. He gestured with his paw at the little girl beside him. "Anne Marie."
She giggled and gave the puppies a little curtesy. "Hehe! Pleased to meet you!" The puppies didn't do anything; they immediately continued eating the pizzas as fast as they could, until the little yellow bulldog pup grabbed what was left of one and tried to run away with it, but he was tackled by several of his siblings before he could escape.
Flo was sitting beside Charlie, who grinned as he watched them tussle. Flo giggled, but then she turned to Charlie and put a small paw on his knee. "Hello, Charlie," she said sweetly, and Charlie smiled.
"Hello, Flo."
"It's nice of you to come by," Flo continued, taking her paw away to smile shyly at him. "We don't see much of ya anymore..." Charlie, starting to become shy himself, stood up and turned away and back. "Well, y'know how it is, I mean... heh, I've got a business to run..." Flo chuckled. "Yeah, I know how it is..." She stood up and came closer to Charlie, and he took a shy step backward. "Oh, Charlie... gosh, all these little guys love ya-"
Charlie, bashful, gave her a timid smirk as he backed away from her a little, but suddenly he felt a puppy biting his hind leg, and he gasped, looking down. The yellow bulldog pup, covered in pizza cheese, opened his mouth wide, and then he chomped down on Charlie's hind leg; his neck fur spiked up, and even though it didn't hurt too bad, those puppy teeth were sharp!
"Oh, woah!! Oh, easy, easy!" Charlie joked, shaking the pup off. He sat up, looking up at him with sparkling eyes. "Uncle Charlie, can I have some more?"
Charlie blinked carelessly, and he put his paw on the box beside them. "Whatever you want, whatever- here, eat the box!" He slid it across the wooden floor, and the puppy chased it until it bumped against the board. Yelping shortly, the puppy smiled back at Charlie when he saw just one slice of pizza left, and he instantly grabbed it in his little jaws, growling playfully.
Of course, every other puppy who'd finished eating came running at him, and one took it away. "Ow! Give it back! That's mine!" he yelled as his sister began to triumphantly walk away with it. But it was stolen by another puppy, and Charlie grinned. "Just a minute, Pizza-Pup! Don't you wanna share?"
The puppy who had the slice, a little blue one, growled warningly and backed up as his siblings cornered him. Charlie walked over, mischievous. "Hey! Alright, it's only a pizza, fellas! C'mon!" He chuckled, but the pup was in no mood to share. "Don't you mind sharing?" The puppy tried to run past Charlie, but he caught him by the scruff and pulled him back. "Now- come on, don't fight!" Charlie placed the slice atop his head. "Alright, I'm gonna tell you something about sharing!"
He sat up, smiling down at them as Anne Marie sat with another puppy on the metal stairs.
"What's mine... is yours!" Charlie began to sing, "what's yours... is mine..." The puppies all looked saddened, hanging their heads, but especially the blue colored one. "The more you share..." Charlie continued, putting his finger under the puppy's chin to lift it, "the more the sun'll shine!"
Charlie jerked his head out of the way as a puppy snapped at his head, but he grinned. "Every-bod-y!" He started to casually walk around. "What's mine... is yours. What's-" Then a puppy sitting on the drawer beside Charlie leapt down and stole the pizza slice, trying to run away. "Hey! Will you put that pizza, pup-" he spread them apart. "Stop it! This is not right; you shouldn't be fighting!" Charlie held the slice up. "Listen... to Uncle Charlie!"
Charlie tugged a bit of the cheese off. "Whether you're... the boss! Or some...one's pet!" He put it down in front of the yellow bulldog, who nuzzled his leg. "The more... you give... the more you're gon-na get!" Charlie finished his verse, and the bulldog puppy passed the piece to his whimpering sibling. They all started to sing, and Charlie passed bits of the pizza around in the circle of puppies.
"You've got a little or a lot!" they sang, "you've got to share 'cause you know what-" Charlie smiled. "That's it... that's it! Hey, I'm proud of ya! Hahaha..."
"Each other's all that we have got! The sun'll shine... if- you- share all the time!"
Proud, Charlie stood up and slowly began to cruise along through the puppies' circle as they sang their lyrics, and he continued with his. "What's mine... is yours. What's yours... is mine!" Charlie wagged his tail as they smiled at him, and his eyes shone with glee. "The more... you share- the more the sun'll shine!"
The puppies stood up. "If- you- share all the time!"
They closed in on Charlie's hind legs, circling him as they all sang along. "Whether you're... the boss! Or some...one's pet... the more... you give..." Charlie stood on his back feet, and the lead puppy, the bulldog, grabbed onto his tail to form a conga line with all of the pups. "The more you're gonna get!"
"More than you have!"
Charlie smiled. "The more you're gonna get!"
He quickly grabbed the larger box hidden behind the stair, and he smiled again as the pups kept singing. "All your life-!"
"The more you're gonna get!"
Charlie dropped the box, revealing a chocolate cake with pink frosting and a cherry on top. "The more you're gonna get!" the puppies finished. As soon as they saw the cake, they all came running. Charlie giggled, but once he saw that they were all fighting for it again, he glared. However, Charlie glanced up, and he shrugged. "Heh!"
Anne Marie was at the bottom of the steps, and she put a puppy down so he could go running with his siblings. Something caught the girl's eye, and when she picked it up, she noticed a photo inside the wallet; it looked like Harold and Kate! Charlie was laughing as the puppies ate more, and when Flo gave him a quick lick on the cheek, he startled; then Charlie smiled casually, wagging his tail. Would've been better if Snowflake did that! he found himself thinking, and Charlie blushed a little, but not because of Flo.
Then an unexpected stab of guilt made Charlie wince. Snowflake.
He was snapped out of it by Anne Marie's accusatory tone of voice. "Charlie... where did you get this...?" she asked, staring with those bright blue eyes of hers. Charlie's belly went cold with guilt, and he swallowed. "Well, I, uh..." He chuckled, struggling to find an excuse. "Ah-heh, I, uh... I..."
"You stole it..." Anne Marie whispered, looking very hurt. Charlie cringed, flattening his ears. "I was gonna give it back," he tried to say, but Anne Marie looked away. "You stole it!" Charlie winced. The child turned around and disappeared up the stairs. Charlie took a step forward, but Anne Marie didn't stop.
"Hey... Squeaker! Hey, c'mon, kid! I-I-I..." Charlie stopped, hanging his head with a mixture of guilt and frustration. "Oh... blast."
Charlie looked up the stairs, feeling bad, and one of the females puppies gave him a glare. He sighed. One of the puppies came up behind him. "Uncle Charlie?" she asked, "you wouldn't steal, right?"
Charlie gritted his teeth, putting on a carefree smile. "Uhhh... n-no, no,I-I wouldn't call it... stealing..."
Anne Marie sat upstairs, holding the wallet in her little hands, and the picture of Harold and Kate on their wedding day. She looked down at it sadly, and then she began to sing.
"All I have is a picture in my mind how it would be... if we were together..."
She laid down on her stomach, holding her feet in the air. "Let's pretend that you're far away, let's say you write to me... and you promise in your letter..." She started to daydream.
"That you'll come home... come home to my heart... when you come home, we'll never be apart... if I keep... dreaming of you, start believing it's true..."
The girl lowered her head a bit. "Soon you'll come home... soon you'll come home... soon you'll come home, to my heart..." The little girl's thoughts were filled with dreams of her with Harold, Kate, and all the puppies...
One of them, the female that glared at Charlie, snuggled up against Anne Marie, and the bulldog pup did the same, yawning and falling asleep beside her.
"Soon you'll come home..." Anne Marie looked outside to the blue night sky, full of stars. "Home to my heart..." She laid down, yawning sleepily. "Soon you'll come home... home to my heart..."
"If Ibelieve..."
Whoo, yeah. Chapter eleven! Uhhh, yeah... if you're enjoying this story, I'm glad you are! I just really hope this isn't a pointless thing I'm writing for nobody, except my friend on Tumblr, of course, but... y'know, I hope people actually do read it. Thanks! Until next time,
-BoT
