A/N: Welcome back. The saga continues and our friends are back at school.
WARNING: There will be some bad language, and some derogatory language too, throughout this chapter and quite likely others as well. If this bothers you, don't continue reading and don't attend high school or college...or any public place. Because in the real world, colorful language abounds.
I will use language that may be offensive to you. I hope so! I find it offensive as well and it is not part of my normal vernacular. These words, much like in real life, are meant to be offensive and hurtful by the characters that spew them. They do not in anyway represent my personal views.
If you need to go, the exit is that way - and no hard feelings.
With that happy crap out of the way...on with the show. OH wait…
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck. Nor do I own a copy of Vanilla Ice's To the Extreme album. Ok...That last part was a lie. But the Chuck part...that part was true.
Chapter 3
Wednesday morning at Burbank High School was much the same as any other day. Chuck Bartowski walked the halls, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, hoping to not draw unwanted attention. That was a difficult feat given he was roughly 6'3" now, and stood out like a sore thumb among the throngs of teens pouring through the hallway. He almost always walked with a slump in his shoulders. In part to make himself slightly shorter and in some small measure because he usually had a dejected feeling walking the halls at school.
Few days went by where he was not anonymously punched in the back, flicked in the ear, shoulder blocked into a locker by "accident" or his books were seen sliding down the hallway and summarily stepped on or kicked. As they were not allowed to carry backpacks between classes, it was open season on whatever textbooks, notebooks or folders he was carrying. All the while enduring the name calling and laughter of those walking by. "Freak", "gay", "fag", "geek", or "nerd"; well, that one he didn't mind so much.
"Nerd" he could wear with a badge of honor. A title not bestowed but earned through a life-long pursuit of Nerd-vana. Now "geek" he was not fond of but he attributed it to their lack of understanding of the difference between "nerd" and "geek". So he would allow it, figuring they meant the former.
Although the term "freak" denotes an abnormality of some sort, Chuck saw it simply as being different. If different meant he wasn't like the rest of the assholes at school, then he was fine with that designation. Of course he knew they meant it as an insult but he tried to let it all roll off his back as best he could. The terms "gay" and "fag" presented mixed emotions. He was not offended by being placed in those categories so much as he was angered at people weaponizing those words; making them hateful. Besides, what business was it of theirs if he was? They were going to think whatever they wanted anyway, so who cares. Chuck was quite secure in his masculinity (such as it was) and had no uncertainty on which side of the fence he firmly landed. But the heart wants what the heart wants, so who is he to judge anyone else. Living in glass houses and all.
The name calling he could deal with, but at times the general insults hurled at him could take a toll. Assumptions about his mother's "promiscuity" and the like, while perhaps true in some ways, opened wounds that he thought long scarred over. People had no clue as to his family history, as the only person who knew was Morgan and he had been gone for more than 7 months now. Besides, who would he tell? These were just the generic, hurtful ramblings of misguided teenagers hoping to earn a laugh from their friends.
As Chuck was mindlessly walking to 3rd period, keeping his head down and not making eye contact as usual, a cheerful voice broke his concentration.
"Hey, Chuck." he heard uttered as the voice passed behind him. He turned around in wonder to see who had actually referred to him by name in the hall...and a girl no less? As he spun he saw the bouncing of a blonde ponytail weaving through the masses. He apparently spun himself around a little too forcefully and ended up bouncing off the lockers with his left shoulder, making a hell of a racket. Chuck fumbled to regain his balance as people grumbled and pushed past him. He stood to his full height to see if he could spot who it was, but there were too many people bustling through the halls to tell. He pulled himself together and headed off to class.
Chuck had a hard time focusing in classes today. In large part he already knew the subject material, but he always tried to pay attention as a courtesy to the teachers. Today his mind kept drifting to the voice in the hallway. There was really only one girl he had spoken to in...well...OK. There was only one girl he had spoken to, and that was Sarah Walker. Surely she would not risk talking to him in the hallways at class change? That would be suicide. No. It had to be someone else. Likely someone doing it on a dare or something. Nobody said "Hi" to him.
Lunch came around and Chuck found his usual spot under a tree in the courtyard where it was relatively quiet and out of the way. People were less likely to bother him here because they would have to walk a ways from the outside tables to come hassle him. He opened his brown bag lunch and began to get his PB&J while listening to his iPod, drowning out the rest of the world.
Once his sandwich and apple were gone, he rested with his back against the tree. Listening to music, watching grass grow just generally trying to forget that the world around him existed. That tranquility was broken as bits of white and red rained down on him from above. The first time this occurred he was rather startled, as one would imagine. If this were only the second time, you'd think it would warrant a repeat of that feeling. Alas, Chuck remained calm and did not even flinch this time. He slowly looked above him to examine the impact mark where someone's apple had managed to disintegrate against the tree about 18 inches above his head. Chuck eyed the lunch crowd with a flat stare as the culprits rolled in their chairs. Seeing no point in trying to make a fuss over it, he simply went back to the solitude of his music until lunch was over.
As Chuck walked the halls to his 5th period class, Pre-Calc, he realized that his palms were starting to sweat and he was getting a little nervous. This would be the first time he would see Sarah since their tutoring session at her house yesterday. He was still trying to get over the fact that he was in HER house; the Sanctum Sanctorum! OK...so it turns out it is just a house. It was a very nice house though; homey. A nice family lived there. That was certainly something. Although he had a nice family too when it came down to it. A family of two granted, but they were pretty happy, weren't they?
Entering the room and finding his seat, lost in thought, he hadn't even bothered to see if she was here. He usually sat in the back corner where he found from experience was the safest place to avoid projectiles during class. From this vantage point he could just see her between the rows of people as she sat in the front row. Her golden hair pulled into a tight ponytail, sunglasses resting on top of her head. She always sat in the front row of all of the classes he had been in with her. She was always engaged, asked questions and answered many of them too. She really was quite smart, and kind he'd come to find out, on top of being….well, breathtaking.
Class came to an end and as people were collecting their things, Sarah rose from her seat, peering around the classroom. Finally spotting him, she made her way toward him calling his name.
"Hey. Chuck?" her voice pierced through the rustling of the room and it was almost as if time stopped. Chuck swore he saw a pencil, motionless in mid-freefall. The eyes of everyone still in the room shot immediately toward them.
"Hey, I have cheerleading tonight and I was wondering if you would be able to meet right after school so I can get some work done beforehand? Is that alright?" Sarah asked, looking up at him through her eyelashes.
Chuck lost the ability to form words for a moment as he stared at her and then noticed the dozen or so eyes glued to them as if watching a trainwreck. Oh this is a trainwreck alright. "Um...uh..yea. Sh-sure. No problem." he managed to get out without choking on his own tongue.
"Great! Thank you for helping on such short notice. Where can I meet you?" Sarah looked at him inquisitively as he seemed to be quite distracted.
"Um..I uh….I guess the library? Since you don't ...uh… ya know.. Have a lot of time. Does that work?" Chuck stammered.
"Sure. That works. Same place as yesterday. See ya then." Sarah smiled and walked out of the room as all of the onlookers' eyes followed her in unison.
Chuck collected his things and was on his way out right after when all of those eyes suddenly shot toward him, as if locking on a target. As Chuck tried to make his way through the crowd he whispered "Excuuuse me. Yeah...um...gonna slip right….yeah, right uh….through here. Thaaanks". He quickly exited and made his way to the restroom.
Splashing some cold water on his face, he tried to curb the flow of blood to his cheeks and ears. He braced his hands on the sink and stared at himself in the mirror, water dripping off his nose and chin.
"What. The. Hell... was that?" Chuck blew out a long breath to compose himself. "Oh this is not good. Not good at all! This shit is gonna be all over school before the day is over. GAAH!" he grunted in frustration. He took a deep breath through his nose. "Nope. It's fine. It'll be fine. Don't stress out. I'm sure it's nothing. Nothing to worry about. Just get back out there and ….hide! Yeah, hide...No! ... No! … Be a man for once! Just stand up and take whatever comes." Chuck pronounced.
Just as he was drying his face and hands to leave, one of the toilets flushed and a senior, Brent Thomas, walked out to wash his hands, eyeing Chuck curiously. The realization that he had not been as alone as he thought throughout his ramblings washed over him like a polar vortex. His mind raced trying to come up with an excuse for the display he just put on. When all he could come up with was rehearsal for a one-man play, he decided that was not going to help his situation. So he simply left and didn't look back.
Chuck's 6th period class was study hall (a.k.a. Bulldog Time) so he normally spent that time in the computer lab or AV area. Today he thought the AV area was more appropriate because he was certain to be alone there. Mr. Mowery was in charge of AV for the school as well as all of the lighting and sound system in the theatre (don't let Mowery hear you call it an auditorium; he's touchy that way). Mowery had trained in theatrical technical production in college, but as the L.A. area had no shortage of people with degrees in theatre, he was little more than an AV guy now. He was only moderately bitter about it but was pretty cool to hang out with. Mowery despised most of the "self-important, stuck-up little shits" that wandered these halls, likely because they treated him like crap. Chuck could relate.
Chuck made his way to the empty theatre and sat in the third row back, feet up on the chair in front of him. It was quiet and peaceful here. He could escape all the shit he dealt with all day in the halls or in class. Admiring the new lights and speakers mounted on the sides of the stage reminded him of the day he installed those back before Thanksgiving...
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It was mid-November and Chuck was staying late after school to help install new lighting and sound equipment for the theatre in advance of the upcoming Christmas Choir Concert. Chuck had been working with Mowery for almost two years now, maintaining the AV equipment, helping to run sound and lights for assemblies, school concerts, plays and the like.
When Chuck had finished with the install, it was well after school hours and Mr. Mowery was in his office watching TV (likely drinking his dinner again) since he didn't have cable at his apartment. Seeing as Mowery was occupied, Chuck thought it would be a good time to play with the new equipment for a while. Naturally, one would have to test this equipment out to ensure...proper working order. Right? Chuck was more than happy to oblige. He connected his iPod to the auxiliary input on the sound board and proceeded to shake the theatre.
Chuck has always had an eclectic taste in music: Jazz, R&B, Metal, Grunge, Pop, and even classical. But one of his guilty pleasures was Broadway. He had stumbled upon musicals on TV watching Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds Singin' in the Rain or Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno in West Side Story. With a wealth of music at his fingertips online, he expanded to Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Pippin and more. He enjoyed singing along in his room at home since he was usually alone at night, with Ellie at work.
After several songs he figured he had given the speakers a big enough workout. Now it came time for Chuck to test the mic levels on the new system, so he figured this may be the only time he would be able to sing in a setting like this, seeing as nobody was around. He pocketed his iPod and connected the new wired mic to the sound board. After double checking the levels with a few words (Check...Check...One...Sibilance...Sibilance) he decided on a song that he thought would work well. He approached he mic stand and he began to sing one of his favorites, Corner of the Sky from Pippin.
Everything has its season
Everything has its time
Show me a reason
And I'll soon show you a rhyme
Cats sit on the window sill
Children sit in the show
Why do I feel I don't fit in
Anywhere I go
Rivers belong where they can ramble
Eagles belong where they can fly
I've got to be where my spirit can run free
Gotta find my corner, of the sky
As he finished the first chorus he heard an enthusiastic clapping come from the side door of the theatre. He immediately choked to a halt and looked around in abject horror to see who was clapping. Mrs. Davis, the music teacher and choir director was practically running toward the stage clapping.
"Mrs. Davis! I'm so, so sorry! I uh….I didn't know anyone was still here and we were just finishing up the new installs and...and we needed to test the mic levels…" stammered Chuck as he fumbled with the microphone, beet red from his neck to his ears.
"Young man! ...yu...Young man! Slow down! Please! Stop!" the older woman chuckled at the clearly embarrassed and spiraling young man.
Chuck finally managed to halt all the words pouring out of his face, mouthing a silent "Sorry".
"Son, you are not in trouble. Please calm down. I was just in my office going over music selections for the spring concerts and the spring musical when I heard the music shaking the walls." smirking at Chuck as she continued. "I just came down to see what all the racket was about then I heard Pippin and I was floored. Young man, where on Earth have you been hiding? That was amazing and a capella no less!".
He didn't quite know what to say. He was certainly embarrassed that someone had heard him singing, but he never thought he was any good. Sure he loved to sing but loving to do something does not equate to being any good at it.
"What's your name son? You do go to school here, right?" Mrs. Davis inquired.
"I'm..uh..I'm Chuck. Chuck Bartowski. I'm a junior here ma'am." Chuck replied shakily.
"Chuck. Why have I not seen you before? Why the hell are you not in my choir?" she almost growled. "We are always desperately short on male voices and with a voice like yours...WOW." the woman was clearly taken aback. "You HAVE to come see me in my office tomorrow. We'll get you added to the choir after the holidays," she demanded.
"Um...I uh. I...I don't know about that, Mrs. Davis. I've never been in a choir before and I'm not too keen on the idea of ...you know...with singing in front of people." Chuck implored as he was clearly uneasy.
"Look. Chuck. I understand, but the great thing with being in a choir is that you are not alone. There are going to be dozens of other people up there with you. Not to mention, with your height, you'll certainly be in the back row with lots of people between you and the audience. We really do need you, Chuck. You would be doing me and your fellow students a big favor by joining." Mrs. Davis was laying it on thick, sensing his apprehension.
Chuck was so torn right now. On the one hand was doing something he loved and being able to help out a teacher and kids in the choir. Yet on the other...paralyzing fear and possible humiliation in front of a crowd of his peers. "Can-can I think about this for a little bit? I'm not sure if I can fit it into my class schedule plus I work after school too. Not to mention it's a ...pretty scary prospect for me." he pleaded with the woman.
Conceding momentary defeat Mrs. Davis continued "Ok, Chuck. But after the Christmas break is over and you get back into the swing of things, I want to have this conversation again. OK? Deal?" giving Chuck a raised eyebrow.
"Deal, Mrs. Davis. An-and have a great holiday," he chimed in with a small smile on his face.
"Thanks Chuck. You too!" she exclaimed. She turned and walked toward the exit and before leaving she called over her shoulder "I'll see you in the new year, Mr. Bartowski!" and closed the door behind her.
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Once the bell rang indicating the end of 6th period, Chuck made his way to the library study room where he had first met Sarah the day before. He was still pretty nervous but was trying to remain calm. Yesterday had gone well. There was no reason to believe that today would be any different. He pulled out his materials and was getting situated when Sarah made her way into the room.
"Sorry, I'm running a little late. Some people can't take a hint. Annnnyway. Thanks for agreeing to meet me on such short notice. I have about an hour before I have to go and change for cheerleading practice." Sarah explained as she pulled out her notebook and pencil.
"Sure thing. So uh….where did you want to start? We have the test on Friday, so what topics are you still unsure about?" Chuck inquired. He sat patiently trying to do his best to stay focused on her face. He didn't want to be "that guy" and come off as a creep. He was more respectful than that.
"Chuck! I'm freaking out more than a little bit about this test. I REALLY need to do well. Ugg. OK." she sighed as she flipped through some pages of the textbook then continued. "Ah. Here unit 7.14. Can you go over this again? I think I am getting it but I'm a little unsure," looking hopefully at Chuck.
He smiled and began to go over the material with her in a calm, easy manner that truly put her at ease. Chuck had a way of explaining things that put it into a context that was easier to understand. It was as if he was beginning to understand how her mind worked, how she processed things, and was able to frame the material in such a way as to capitalize on her strengths. They spent the remainder of the hour going over various topics from her study guide until the alarm on her phone cut their session short.
"Man. That time already? That didn't seem like very long. Alright….well. Thanks so much for your help. I actually feel a little better about this test now. If I cram tonight and tomorrow I MIGHT be ready." Sarah chuckled at herself as she was putting her things back in her bag.
"Hey Chuck? Um...could I...I mean would you mind if I called you...if I had questions? I'm just certain that I am going to be studying and get stuck." Sarah looked at him with almost a pleading look on her face. How was he supposed to resist that?
"Uh...Sure! Whatever you need. Um.. here." Chuck tore a piece of notebook paper out and jotted his name and phone number down, handing it to her. "This is my cell phone number. Ellie made us get cell phones since we are on the move so much, with different schedules. So you can reach me where ever. I'm always up late, so call if you need anything." Chuck smiled at Sarah with a hint of color in his checks, letting go of the piece of paper.
"You are awesome, Chuck. Thank you so much! I promise I will only call in cases of emergency. Damn! I gotta run. I'll catch ya tomorrow." Sarah said over her shoulder as she left the library.
As Chuck watched Sarah disappear into the hallway he thought to himself, "Did I just give my number to Sarah Freakin' Walker?". He shook his head at himself as if to bring himself back to reality. "OK, Chuck. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The chances of her calling you are pretty damn slim. Plus this is only for tutoring help. So stop freaking out about it," he internally berated himself.
Chuck went by his locker to grab his jacket and drop off his books. Sure it was Burbank, California, but even in Burbank, January was still in the 50s, which felt like freezing to him. On his way out of the school he had to pass by the gymnasium where he could hear the distinctive squeak of shoes and balls bouncing on the polished maple floors. As he got closer to the doors into the gym he could also make out the synchronized chanting of what he assumed must be the cheerleaders practicing.
Slowing as he walked up to the door he could see the basketball team practicing on the half of the gym nearest the door. On the far side, he could make out the cheerleaders grouped together, laughing as some were demonstrating choreography for some cheer they were working on. As the group parted slightly, he spotted her. Sarah was wearing a white T-shirt and rather short shorts, with legs from here to next Tuesday. He was spellbound, standing there as if frozen in time. Watching her laugh and smile amongst her friends was breathtaking; Sarah Walker in her natural habitat. The concept of laughing and having fun with friends was a relatively foreign concept to him, but it seemed so effortless to her. He was rather violently ripped from his daze as a basketball slammed into his stomach.
"Move your ass, Nerd!" shouted one of the players as his teammates rolled in laughter pointing at Chuck.
Mortified, Chuck collected himself to exit the scene glancing past the cheerleaders, many of which were chuckling and pointing in his direction. Just before turning to leave he made eye contact with Sarah for a brief instant. Her brow was furrowed and her lips pulled tight. She did NOT look happy. Clearly he was busted. She was most certainly thinking he was following or stalking her like some creep. He quickly averted his gaze and as he made his hasty exit, he just made out her voice as he passed out of view of the door.
"Nice. Real mature guys." with no small amount of irritation in her voice.
Chuck quickly left the building berating himself the all the way to work. "You're such an idiot Bartowski! What the hell is the matter with you? Now there is going to be hell to pay when...no. IF there is a next tutoring session. She probably thinks you're as weird and creepy as everyone else claims you are. God! So stupid!". Eventually he got it out of his system, realizing there was nothing he could really do about it now. He'd just bury himself in work to take his mind off it.
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Thursday morning came too soon. Chuck had spent way too much time online last night chatting with folks on the IRC channels he frequented. Swapping code snippets and inside tips and tricks from these private channels was how he learned so much about obtaining "educational" copies of software and "borrowing" access to various remote systems. He was not into anything nefarious, but if he had been so inclined…
His day was no more eventful than any other day. It blended in with the countless other days of staring at his shoes as he walked through the halls, keeping to himself as best he could. He was heading to his Pre-Calc class and he was dragging his feet; intentionally trying to make it just before the bell so that there would be not time before class started for Sarah to openly berate him for yesterday's …"event". Thankfully his plan paid off and he got to his seat just as the bell rang and class started. He at least had a 57 minute stay of execution.
Once class was finished, he tried to collect his things and vacate the room as quickly as possible, in hopes that he could avoid Sarah's wrath for just a bit longer. He stood and turned toward the door to leave but his path was blocked by a tall, leggy blonde.
"GAAH!" Chuck jumped in surprise. "S-Sarah. Uh.. H-Hi. Um. What...uh..How-how's it going?" he babbled as he tried to regain his composure and failing miserably.
"Hey Chuck. You got a sec to talk?" she inquired with a rather flat look on her face. Ugg. A talk. This was not going to be good.
Trying not to let his anxiety show he responded "Sh-sure. I have some time. What's up?"
"Chuck, about yesterday...at the gym?" she paused, searching for the words to continue.
"Yeah. That….Look, Sarah. I'm...I'm really sorry. I-" he blurted out before Sarah put a hand up to stop him. Her face turning from flat to perplexed as she stared at him.
"Chuck? What..what are YOU apologizing for? I'm the one that's sorry. Those assholes were being mean and childish. I can't believe them. You didn't do anything wrong. Those ... jackasses just enjoy tormenting other people to make themselves feel better about their own inadequacies." Sarah fuming.
"Sarah. It-It's fine, really. Wh-Why are you apologizing? You had nothing to do with it. I just...I shouldn't have been there in the first place…" Chuck trailed off as his face began to flush in embarrassment, recalling the reason he had been standing here in the first place.
"No, Chuck! Don't you dare try to condone the shit that these people pull. You're twice the person they are and I'm just sorry that I have to be grouped with some of those people. I can't stand most of them." Sarah was clearly angry and impassioned but Chuck was not sure why...Wait...did she just say…? What did she just say?
Chuck was speechless and could only stare at her in wide-eyed wonder. Twice the person?
"I'm ...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice to you. Those people just make me so … so mad." she sighed as she took a breath in an attempt to find her calm. "I also wanted to thank you again for the help yesterday. I'm going to be cramming tonight for this test tomorrow. If all goes well, hopefully I'll actually pass it." she continued with a self-deprecating smile.
"Hey. You'll do great! You're brilliant and I have every confidence that you will crush that test tomorrow," Chuck interrupted.
Sarah pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. A smile crept across her face as she looked up at him, the color rising in her cheeks. "Thanks Chuck. Well, I have to get to my next class. I'll see you tomorrow." she backed away squeezing her books a little tighter and turned and left. Chuck stood there with a stupid smile on his face, lost in thought for a moment longer before he too left and headed to the AV office to finish out his day.
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Chuck had finished his shift at Ward's and was walking in the door of his apartment building when his cell phone wrang. It was most likely Ellie because...well nobody but Ellie really knew his number or had a reason to call him. He was perplexed when he saw a number he didn't recognize so he apprehensively answered it as he unlocked the door into his apartment.
"Hello?..." Chuck answered.
"Chuck?" a panicked female voice asked.
"Yeah. This..this is Chuck." he responded as he tossed his stuff on the couch and turned his full attention to the call.
"Hi. This...this is Sarah. Sarah Walker? I'm … I'm really sorry to be calling you but…" her voice trailed off and became quiet.
"Sarah? What's wrong? Are you ok?" he asked with concern in his voice.
"Chuck, I'm freaking out! I...I've been looking at this stuff for hours now and I thought it made sense. But...but now, I..I dunno. I'm scared Chuck." her voice going quiet over this admission. "I've never struggle in any class before and this...this scares me that maybe I'm not as prepared for college as I should be. That...that…" she was clearly spiraling which seemed so out of character for her.
Chuck interrupted with a calm, soothing tone. "Sarah. Sarah! Listen to me. OK? It is perfectly natural to be nervous. Alright? I know that you understand this material, you just need to trust yourself. As for being prepared for college? Pfft. You are leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else. I can see the dedication and drive that you have to succeed. I have no doubt that you will not only ace this test tomorrow, but you will come out the other side stronger for it."
There was silence on the other end. It lasted long enough that Chuck had to look at the phone to see if the call had dropped. Finally the silence was broken with a shaky voice.
"Thank you, Chuck. That..that means a lot….Umm...would uh. Would you have any time tonight to maybe go over some of this stuff with me again? You know. A last minute cram session?" Sarah pleaded. The sounds of cabinets and various doors opening and closing could be hard in the background.
"Uh..Yeah. Sure. Whatever...whatever you need. Sarah? Uh...are you in a Scooby Doo episode or something? I hear tons of doors opening and closing." Chuck asked with a slight chuckle.
Sarah responded with a wet laugh. "Neiow.. I'm trying to find something to eat in this place, but there's nothing that isn't frozen or would take too much effort to cook. My Mom is at a soccer game with my sister, so it's just me."
Without even giving it a second thought Chuck offered "I can cook for you." He then realized how odd that sounded so he quickly corrected himself. "Um..what I mean is, I'm already cooking supper for my sister and I. You are welcome to join us. Then...then we can study. That work?"
"Wow. You cook? Um..sure. That sounds really good actually." Sarah professed.
"Great. Are you a uh...a vegetarian or have any weird food allergies or aversions I should know about?" he inquired a bit apprehensively.
Sarah let out a snicker. "No. Nothing like that. Thanks for asking though."
"Great well, we will probably eat in about 30 minutes when my sister gets here". Chuck gave her his address and basic instructions on how to get there and hung up with her. He quickly added the number she called from to his contact list as "Sarah W.". He chuckled at himself for adding the last initial. Like he would ever have multiple Sarahs in his contacts that differentiating them would be a problem. As it was he only had Ward's, Ellie and some take-out places in his contacts.
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Ellie entered the apartment with a flourish "Honey! I'm home.", as she dropped her keys in a bowl by the door and kicked off her shoes. She dumped off the rest of her things in her room and came to the kitchen to check on Chuck.
"Hey, Sis. How was your day?" Chuck asked as he continued his work preparing supper.
"Wow. That all smells amazing. Same ole same ole. We talked about infectious diseases tonight, so that was interesting… and gross." Ellie chuckled.
"Hey El. Um...I hope it's alright but I kind of invited someone over for supper tonight. I'm going to help them study for a test tomorrow." with a sheepish almost scared look on his face.
Ellie's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Wow. Sure. That's great. Looks like you made plenty of food. He's welcome to stay."
Chuck did not want to correct Ellie on her use of pronouns for fear of her reaction, so he just let it go. As if on queue, there was a knock at the door. Before Chuck could get a word out, Ellie was already at the door. She pulled it open so see a beautiful young woman with flowing blonde hair standing there with a book bag over her shoulder. Ellie's eyebrows nearly shot off her face completely as she made no attempts to mask the look of astonishment on her face.
"Hi. Is..Chuck here?" the younger woman inquired with a slight bit of hesitation.
Ellie stood silent for a moment before she came to her senses and quickly invited her in. "Yes! Yes. Please, Come in. I'm Ellie. Chuck's sister. You must be Sarah?" Ellie was almost vibrating with excitement.
"Yes. I'm Sarah. It's nice to meet you Ellie". Sarah walked into the small apartment and stood, uncertain of what to do with herself.
Ellie immediately turned into "Hostess Ellie" guiding Sarah through the apartment." Please. Set you stuff down on the coffee table and come have a seat in the dining area. Supper should be about ready."
Sarah did as ordered and sat quietly at the small dining table uncertain what to say if anything. Just as it was beginning to feel a little awkward, Chuck appeared with two plates, setting one in front of Sarah and the other in front of Ellie.
"Bon Appetit." Chuck offered with his best French accent.
Ellie was enjoying the shocked look on Sarah's face as the plate was offered. The food was not particularly fancy, but for a teenage boy, on a budget no less, he could work wonders.
"Wow Chuck. This looks and smells amazing! You made this?" Sarah asked in surprise
"Um..yeah. It's not much really. Italian beef sandwich with provolone and herb roasted new potatoes on the side. I didn't dip the sandwich cause not everyone like soggy bread. There are some bowls with au ju there and condiments for the potatoes if you want. I like ranch dressing and hot sauce personally." Chuck pointed out the items around the table. "What can I get you to drink?"
Still a bit surprised, "Um..water is fine. Thanks."
Chuck got drinks for everyone and eventually sat himself to start eating. Everyone ate in comfortable silence which transitioned into moments of small talk and comments about the food.
"Chuck. I don't get it. You went to school all day, then went to work after and still had time to make all this? Do you have a clone or something?" Sarah chuckled as she savored more of the potatoes.
"No. No clones I know of anyway. I'm sure one of me is more than enough. But um.. I just put the meat in the crockpot this morning with the seasonings. I par-cooked the potatoes last night and then tossed with seasoning and put in the oven when I got home. Not a big deal really. I hope it all tastes OK." Chuck looked expectantly at the ladies around the table.
"OK? This is soooo good, Chuck. Really! The meat is so moist and tender. Mmmm. Besides, I was looking at saltine crackers and a can of fruit cocktail as my dinner choices." she finished with a laugh.
"Sarah, so Chuck was telling me you are really involved at school. You're a cheerleader? Is that right?" Ellie inquired, clearly changing the subject.
A little taken aback Sarah, pushing some stray hair behind her ears."Um, Yeah. I'm a … varsity cheerleader for football and basketball."
Ellie continued her interrogation "Really? That must take a lot of time out of your schedule. Is your boyfriend on one of the teams? Do you get to see him play?"
Chuck knew exactly what Ellie was doing but he was rather helpless to prevent it. If he jumped in front of the "Ellie train" he was likely to become the new focus of her efforts.
"Uh...I..uh..I don't have a boyfriend. And yes it does keep me busy. I really only joined cheerleading because they did not have a gymnastics program here. So it gives me an outlet for that. But mostly it is a resume builder for college. Having extracurricular activities and club memberships to add to my college applications, the better chance I have for acceptance and scholarships." Sarah shrugged as she wiped her mouth with her napkin placing it on her plate.
"So you aren't really a "cheerleader" at heart? It sounds like you have your future planned out for yourself. What do you plan to go into in college?" Ellie inquired.
"Yeah...I guess. I don't really have a lot in common with the other girls on the squad, but they are nice enough to me. As for college, I am not completely decided but I'd like to study languages, maybe cultural anthropology? I hope that once I get into classes in college I will get a better idea." Sarah confessed.
"I think that is enough with the 20 questions, El. Sarah? You ready to get started? I'll let Ellie clean up since I cooked." Chuck interrupted with a grin on his face.
They spent the next hour and a half reviewing topics that Sarah was still struggling with until she was more comfortable with them. Chuck gave her words of encouragement in the hopes that it will build confidence in her.
"Alright. It's just past 10 o'clock. You should get a good night's rest before the test tomorrow. I have every confidence that you will crush this test tomorrow, Sarah. I have faith in you. 'You're good enough. You're smart enough and doggone it, people like you!' ." Chuck smirked but by the quizzical look on her face he was guessing she didn't get the reference.
"You know. Stuart Smalley? SNL? You know what, nevermind. The point is, have faith in yourself. Trust yourself. You are amazingly brilliant and that test doesn't stand a chance against Sarah "Freakin" Walker! Got it?" he exclaimed as he pointed at Sarah.
Sarah didn't know what to say to the rather impassioned vote of confidence that Chuck had just displayed. Nobody had ever demonstrated that much faith in her before. Perhaps her mother, but she had never put it into so many words. She did feel inspired and feed off of his confidence in her. A smile crept across her face as she nodded at Chuck.
"Thank you Chuck. For everything." Sarah admitted in a humble tone.
"You're welcome. Now go on. Get outta here!" he motioned to the door with a playful grin on his face. "Oh. Wait! Did you drive? Or take the bus?"
"I took the bus." she replied with a questioning look.
"Ellie! I'm taking the car to drive Sarah home. Be back in a bit!" he shouted, grabbed the keys and lead Sarah out of the apartment.
The drive to Sarah's house was spent in comfortable silence. The radio played just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the road and traffic. He pulled into Sarah's driveway and put the car in park. Chuck wiped his hands on his pant legs and cleared his throat.
"Welp. Heeere we are. Safe and sound. Thanks for coming over for dinner. I know it wasn't much and our place is a little cramped, but it was nice having you. I don't have people over very often. Well, never really. So thanks." he ended with a small self-deprecating smile as he glanced over to her.
Sarah looked up to Chuck as he turned "It was my pleasure. And thank you for all the help. It really means a lot."
Silence fell between them as they sat rather unsure of what to do at that moment. Just then, the song changed on the radio as if the cosmos was playing some cruel joke on Chuck. Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer began to play. As the first lyrics were sung, Chuck's eyebrows shot up and he slapped the controls on the radio, turning it off with no small amount of fumbling. With an amused chuckle, Sarah cleared her throat.
"Thanks again Chuck. I'll see you tomorrow." Sarah said as she opened the car door and stepped out. Chuck watched as she made her way to the house, passing through the headlights of his car causing her golden hair to shimmer and dance as she walked. Almost as if unaware, he turned the radio back on and continued to listen to the song as she got to her front door and unlocked it. She turned back to him, smiled and waved as she entered the house. Chuck returned the wave and watched as she closed the door behind her. Staring at the door for a moment longer enjoying the song, he spoke softly "Good night Sarah" before backing away and heading home.
A/N: And there we have it. If you made it this far, congratulations. There is more to come but reviews or PMs are welcome. Everyone that has reviewed so far, thank you so much. It is really great to hear your comments. Keep them coming.