Hey. So it has been over a year since I last updated/written anything for fun. And I thought I couldn't crank out another Charlie/Michael drama, but turns out bullshitting English papers gets the creative juices flowing. I don't know if anyone has alerts for this story anymore, but anyone who does end up reading this, I hope you like it. I must say I have missed Charlie.
~Crews

WARNING!: Anyone who likes Twilight may not like what Charlie and Michael say in the middle of the chapter. They are pretty adamant in their views. Just letting you know now :)

"No Charlie," Michael said exasperated. "I will not turn in to a bat. Why are you so stuck on that anyway?" We were both seated on the couch, sitting as far away from each other as physically possible. I couldn't keep the smile off my face at his obvious discomfort. After all the mind messing he had done to me, making me want to kiss him every time I got near him and my complete lack of self-restraint (well not all of that was him), messing with him was the BEST. I widened my toothy grin and raised my eyebrows, the picture of innocence.

"But Michael," I said in a falsetto voice. "You showed me the speed and the missing heartbeat, but your lacking fangs makes me doubt what you say is true. Why can't you just change into a bat, just once?" I batted my eyelashes.

"You are a horrible flirt," Michael said. "Really, it hurts just watching." I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, the innocent charade gone without a trace. He studied me, head tilted to the left. "Now you look like your old self. Don't do that, you'd give me a heart attack if it was still beating."

"Oh you're so funny," I snapped, pulling my knees up to my chest. My mind could barely contain the thoughts whirling through my head. Super fast, no heart beat…
"Don't forget the mindreading," he chimed in with a smile.

"God, you're fucking Edward Cullen," I groaned. I dropped my head burying my face in my arms. "You know, I really don't like Twilight." I looked up so I could see his expression, quickly hiding my smile.

"Good," he said, voice dripping with disgust. "That asshole is a poser. Sparkling in the sunlight? Yeah right. Who the fuck comes up with that shit? Hell, in the fourth movie they don't even sparkle. Talk about inconsistency." He looked at me and snapped his mouth shut, looking like he wished he could take back what he had just let slip.

I was up and off that couch in a second, looking at him like I didn't even know him. And to be honest, I really didn't. "Please," I said, eyes wide in horror, "tell me you didn't see Breaking Dawn. It's still in theaters!" I hissed. God, did he go by himself?

"No!" he shouted, getting to his feet. We stood nose to nose, me horrified and him defensive. "Beatrice dragged me! I didn't want to go." I burst out laughing, falling to the floor as my legs collapsed beneath me.

"I… can't… breathe!" I gasped, clutching my stomach. "You…let…the…bitch…haha!"
"I'm glad you find this so amusing," he grumbled, looking down at me. "You know, I am seeing a side of you that I hadn't thought existed and to be honest it is kind of scaring me."

"Like you being a vampire shouldn't scare me?" I asked.
"That's different," he said. "I can't help what I am. This," he said, gesturing down at me on the floor. "I don't even know what this is."
"I can help you with that," I said, slowly getting to my feet, grabbing the arm of the couch to steady myself. "This is me losing my mind. Seriously, my life is so fucking screwed up." I looked up into his face. "I am fake engaged to a dark, sexy vampire who refuses to turn into a bat for me, my mother is the bitch from hell along with your skank of an ex-girlfriend. Pair that with my own crazy, delusional self and we make the perfect skitzo couple from Looney Bin Land. How can you not find this funny?"
"Wait, you think I'm sexy?"
"Of course that would be the only thing you hear," I sighed. My head started throbbing.

"What? No flippant remark? No sarcastic comeback? You really have lost it," Michael said, stepping forward to grab my shoulders, holding me up. "Does that mean that you wouldn't object to some cuddling tonight?" He smiled crookedly.

"Haha nice try! I'm not that far gone," I snorted, trying to pull away. He wouldn't let go. "Jeez, Michael, what did I say about restraining me..."
"I know," he said, an evil glint in his eye. "But if I let go, then I wouldn't be able to try to convince you to change your mind." Before I could protest his lips were crushing mine as his arms pulled me closer. I'll admit, despite all the little warning bells going off in my head, I loved it. I could just sink in his arms, let him carry me to his room…

God, I really had lost it. I wasn't acting like myself at all. Who was this Charlie who let a guy take her by surprise three times now? Where was the no nonsense, ass-kicking chick who didn't tolerate this shit, who rebelled against everything that life threw at her? Who accepted nothing without a fight? Where had this complacent, pushover girl come from? My resolve finally solidified as I stood there in his arms, my lips responding to his of their own accord. I felt Michael tense as he undoubtedly read my mind. I raised my arms, placing my hands flat against his chest, pushing away from his wonderful mouth. He didn't resist, lifting his head back, but he wouldn't let me escape his arms.

"Something is wrong with me," I said, looking up into his eyes. "I don't act like this, ever."
"Could that mean you're actually starting to like me?" he asked, smiling his crooked smile.
"Ugh, I hope not," I grimaced, burying my face in his shirt as his arms snaked around my back. "I would like the psycho-killer vampire." His body started shaking in silent laughter.

"Thank you for putting that so mildly," he laughed.
"What about Kate?" I asked.
"What about her?"

"Why was she here? Besides the obvious reason," I clarified before he could once more question my sanity. Michael grasped my shoulders, pushing me back so that he could see my face.
I could tell he was trying to think of a lie or trying to soften a blow, something that was going to be less than truthful. I stepped back, my old self surfacing once more.

"Fuck this shit," I snapped. "This is done, we're done. I don't care anymore. I'm moving in with Rob. At least he doesn't lie to me." Alright, I admit, that was a low blow, especially since he had just revealed the secret of the century, but you know what? I was sick of everything. And just like that, it descended on me all at once. My psycho bitch mother, the events of my life that hardened me into the cynic I am (and yes I know I'm a cynic), the engagement, the vampire. My shoulders slumped as my body, fatigued from the gym and the chaos swirling through my head, started to shut down. The room started spinning before my eyes.

"Charlie?" Michael called, seemingly from far off though I could see his concerned face swirling in my narrowing gaze. "Charlie!"
I tried to raise my hands, trying to push him away, but my muscles refused to move as the world around me faded to black.

I felt soft hands smoothing my hair as I slowly started to come back to life. I was somewhere soft and warm, pressed into the crook of an arm. A low murmuring sounded in my ears, the noise persistent gibberish until my mind started to process that the noise consisted of a stream of words, repeated over and over in a hushed tone.

"Please wake up. Please wake up."

"I'm awake," I grumbled, raising a hand to my aching forehead. I felt him sigh as he wrapped his arms around me, squeezing the air from my lungs. "But if you keep doing that," I gasped, "I won't be for long." The arms released me as I opened my eyes, Michael's face crowding my vision.
"What happened?" I asked.

"You fainted," Michael said.

"Well," I said, shifting my gaze to the ceiling, "fainting sucks. I'm not doing that again." Michael chuckled as I began to take in my surroundings. Black walls, black sheets, Starry Night… "Why the hell am I in your room?" I snapped. I sat up, wincing as pain shot through my head. I leaned back, resting my head back on the soft pillow…. "And why the fuck am I in your bed?"

Pushing through the pain, I lurched off the bed, flailing as my legs tangled with the blankets. As the floor loomed closer and closer, I closed my eyes, mentally prepared for the face plant I knew was imminent…

Strong hands grabbed my shoulders, saving me before I could smash my nose in the carpet which would have undoubtedly spewed blood everywhere. And with a vampire, I don't think that would have been a good idea. I felt giddy as he pulled me back up onto the bed, resettling me in the crook of his arm.
"None of that now," Michael chided. "You don't need another concussion." I glared at him.
"What do you mean by another?"

Michael looked down, watching his fingers as they plucked at the comforter. "I panicked," he mumbled. "And you fell too fast…"
"You didn't catch me," I stated. "Jeez, what is the super speed good for if you can't catch the fainting damsel?"
"Damsel?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"Shut up! You know what I mean," I snapped.
"You know," he said, looking down at me, "you're taking this vampire thing very well. I was expecting you to scream, throw something at me, you know, anything really. But not this. I did not expect this."

"Is that what Bitchy Beatrice did?" I asked.

"We're not even going to go there," he said dryly.

"Well, I already knew you were a freak, so knowing this just proves that I was right," I said. "And there is also the fact that I am mentally unbalanced."
"Without a doubt," he said solemnly, his face betraying his amusement. He was leaning over me again, that evil glint in his eye stirring butterflies in my stomach. "You know, I never did manage to change your mind…"

"Don't even think about it," I grumbled pulling my feet from beneath the covers before I attempted to get out of bed again. "I haven't changed my mind about that." I heard him sigh behind me as he too got to his feet.

"I guess I'll just have to try harder," he said as he walked around the bed and opened the door to the hall. He leaned against the frame as I slowly got to my feet, making sure that my legs would hold me up. My headache had resided and was now nothing more than an occasional throb.
"You do that," I said walking past him and down the hall, heading for the kitchen. "Speaking of trying harder, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"

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