Heyy all you people out there in FanFiction Land! Here's the last (yes, it's the end) chapter of "The Not-So-New Girl". I had a blast writing it, and reading all your wonderful reviews! Thanks to you all for reading each chapter, and making my day a little brighter. Keep your eyes peeled for more stories by me (I'm in the process of writing a Hannah Montana fic, so look for that).

Love,
Charlee B.

Now on with the show!

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I'll Always Catch You When You Fall

"I want you to leave me alone!" Charlie replied angrily. She turned around, but before she could walk away, Jake grabbed her the arm and slammed her against a locker."Don't act like you don't want me," he said, with an evil smile."Get off me!" Charlie screamed, and tried to break free, but his hold on her was too strong."I see you with Derek Venturi all the time," Jake said, still smiling. "And we all know what kind of girls hang off of him. Why do you think I asked you to the dance? I was just looking for a quick hook up with some easy chick.""I guess you got that with Tiffany Collins," Charlie spat, still trying to wriggle free of his grip."Yup," Jake said. "And now I'm going to get that with you." He pressed arm against her throat and his lips against hers. She felt his hand creep slowly down her skirt...

"Charlie?" a voice said coming from far away. Charlie's eyes snapped open and she saw her uncle standing in the doorway of her bedroom. "Were you sleeping?"

"Ah," she said raising her head off her desk. "I was studying. I must of fell asleep."

"Oh ok," he replied. "Well, the phone's for you. It's Casey."

"Thanks," Charlie said, picking up the phone from her desk and pushing the 'talk' button.

"Hey Charlie?" Martin said. Charlie slowly lowered the phone and put her hand over the mouth piece.

"Yeah?"

"If you ever want to talk about what--"

"It's fine," she interrupted. "Really."

He walked away as Charlie picked up the phone again. "Hello?"

"Hey Charlie!" Casey said. "What's been going on? I haven't heard from you in a couple of days."

"Oh," Charlie said. "I've been just...around. Doing...things. You know, studying and whatever."

"Right," Casey said sarcastically. "I'll pretend I believe that. You've been acting really weird and distant ever since the meeting with the school board on Thursday. Is something wrong?"

"No," Charlie said awkwardly. "Nothing's wrong. It's all good."

"Well," Casey said. "You shouldn't feel bad about Derek getting suspended. With his record, it was bound to happen eventually."

"I don't feel guilty," Charlie snapped. "Why would I?'

"Okay then," Casey said. "You sound tired. I'm gonna go. I've got a date with Sam tonight. If you need anything, call me on my cell, ok?"

"Fine," Charlie said, hanging up without saying goodbye.

Casey was half right. Charlie had been acting weird and distant. But she was wrong about Charlie not needing to feel guilty about what happened. She was totally and completely to blame for it all. Why didn't she just tell the truth? She could have saved Derek so much grief. Jake would have gotten what he deserved. But the truth was so...humiliating. She knew the second she told the principal or anyone, everybody would know. And no one would ever treat her the same again. Even Derek. She knew he could never look at her the same way again. And she loved the way he looked at her. he seemed to have come a long way since the first time they met. She had try to blame the feeling in the pit of her stomach every time he smiled at her on indigestion, or nerves about an exam, but after what he did for her, after he saved her, her feelings for him became very clear. And this was how she was repaying him? By avoiding the truth? What kind of friend was she? What kind of human being was she for letting him take the fall for her mistake? Charlie threw herself of her bed, tears rolling down her cheeks, and tried to sleep with all these thoughts swimming in her head.

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It was Sunday morning, which was usually Derek's favorite day of the week. But not today. Tomorrow was going to be the start of his two week suspension. And Charlie hadn't spoken to him since Thursday. He knew something was bothering her. Did she feel responsible for his suspension? He knew she shouldn't. After all, it was his own fault. After every prank, every assignment he hadn't handed in, a suspension was bound to happen. It was also his fault what had happened to Charlie. If he had just told her how he felt, she would have never gone to the dance with that scumbag. But he wasn't the type of guy to admit he liked a girl. Really, really like a girl. But he wasn't the type of guy who did a lot of the things he had been doing lately. Everything seemed to be changing, ever since he met Charlie. She brought out a person in him he had never known. He had become a better person since he met her. But now he couldn't help her. Something was missing, something had been lost. He remembered the look in her eyes after the meeting on Thursday. All the sparkle, all the magic and the beauty, seemed to have vanished. And he felt so helpless knowing he couldn't bring it back.

"Derek?" Casey said, walking into his room.

"What?" Derek snapped.

"There's someone downstairs who wants to talk to you," Casey replied sharply.

"Who?"

"Charlie."

Derek quickly got up from his chair and ran down the stairs. There she was, sitting on his sofa. Just as she had a hundred times before. But somehow, this felt different.

"Hey," Charlie said.

"Hey," Derek said back, taking a seat beside her.

"I need to talk to you about something," Charlie said. Her voice was shaky, but she never broke eye contact.
"Okay," Derek replied.

"I haven't slept since...since it happened," Charlie said. "And I know what I'm about to tell you is going to sound horrible...but I was up all night thinking about it...and well, I think I owe you that much."
"Okay," Derek said again.

"There are," Charlie said nervously. "some details, about...that afternoon, that I never shared with the school board. Or with anybody. And I think if I tell someone, it might be easier to deal with. So here's the whole story..."

"Listen!" Jake yelled, furious. "I've apologized already! What else do you want from me?""I want you to leave me alone!" Charlie replied angrily. She turned around, but before she could walk away, Jake grabbed her the arm and slammed her against a locker."Don't act like you don't want me," he said, with an evil smile."Get off me!" Charlie screamed, and tried to break free, but his hold on her was too strong."I see you with Derek Venturi all the time," Jake said, still smiling. "And we all know what kind of girls hang off of him. Why do you think I asked you to the dance? I was just looking for a quick hook up with some easy chick.""I guess you got that with Tiffany Collins," Charlie spat, still trying to wriggle free of his grip."Yup," Jake said. "And now I'm going to get that with you." He pressed arm against her throat and his lips against hers. She felt his hand creep slowly down her skirt. His fingers went places they shouldn't, and Charlie felt raw and exposed. She felt as though something was burning through her like acid and she had to fight back the urge to vomit. She tried to close her eyes and wait till he was done, but it seemed to go on forever. Gasping for air, Charlie bit down hard on his lower lip...

When Charlie finally got through the whole story, her whole body was shaking and tears were streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry...I didn't tell...you before," Charlie said between sobs. "I was so...ashamed."

"Hey," Derek said, taking her into his arms. "It's okay."

She cried in his arms, crying out all the pain and solitude she had been feeling the last couple of days.

"But you still got suspended," she said, raising her head.

"It doesn't matter," Derek said. "I've got more time to help you through this."

Charlie slowly leaned closer to him and felt his lips on hers.

"I'm sorry," Derek said, pulling away. "That was out of line."

"Don't be," Charlie replied, wiping her face with her sleeve. She leaned in and kissed him, and everything felt right again, just like the first moment they met.

THE END