Chapter Two: Love and Drugs

Becca was dead serious about the next action she wanted to take. She wanted Haley- bad- but she highly doubted that Haley wanted a little prissy worthless girl like her. I want her. Damn, do I want her! These thoughts ran through Becca's head at breakneck speed during supper that night.

"Becca, are you okay?" Asked Becca's older sister Jessi, who babysat regularly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Becca replied, and excused herself, before she could be questioned by her family members.

On the way upstairs, she grabbed the cordless phone and curled up with her pillow in her room, trying to figure out a way how to call Haley. She had never had trouble before, so why was she sweating like mad? Cuz I know I want her, Becca realized, with a sinking feeling of who this was that she was talking about this way. This was a girl she was friends with- not some cute guy on the basketball team in her class. Becca slowly dialed Haley's number whilst telling herself to get a grip. Someone answered on the fifth ring. Haley.

"Hello?" Haley answered.

"H-Haley, it's Becca." Becca struggled to speak...and remember her name.

"Oh, hey, Becca! What's up?" Haley asked.

"Um, not much...I uh, wanted to ask...ask you something..." Becca's voice trembled nervously.

"Okay, then, shoot." Haley responded.

"Do you like me. I mean..." Becca blurted out feeling like a world class idiot.

On the other end, Haley's heart jumped and she almost forgot to breathe.

"Haley?" Becca asked, fearing the worst. "Wait, no it's okay, I understand. It was all just a game. I get it." Becca sounded like she might cry, and then she hung up. Once again, on the other end, Haley went pale, berating herself. Oh my God...she hung up on me! Thinking that I was all grossed out! "Unh!" Haley smacked herself on the forehead, and where her hand had made contact, there was a big red mark.

At the Ramsey house, Becca buried her head in her pillow as a tear slipped and rolled down her cheek. She bit her lip, trying to keep back a sob threatening to escape her lips. Both Becca and Haley went to bed that night with the other in their thoughts, wondering if it was the end of their friendship.

While Becca and Haley were dealing with their miseries, Charlotte was stuck at her house, and Stacey was due to be there in any minute.

"Keep watch for her, honey," Charlotte's mom instructed her, as she made last minute preperations for Stacey's babysitting job--babysitting Charlotte's thirteen month old sister. Char's parents were going for a romantic night out, just the two of them, in Stamford. Lucky them, Char thought moodily, they have each other to love. Just as Stacey has Whatshisface to love.

Just then, Charlotte saw a curly blonde haired and blue eyed girl that served as her babysitter approach the steps and rang the doorbell.

Charlotte soundlessly opened the door. Stacey was surprised to see Charlotte's cold and hard face stare back at her. Usually Char was open with her and, well, happy to see her. Usually. But, tonight was different. Stace was kind of hoping that Charlotte would be easy tonight, because of her heartbreak from her so-called boyfriend Robert. But, she could already see that that was not possible. Unless, she could figure out what was bothering her "sister" so much.

"Hello, Stacey." Char's mom said warmly. "How have you been lately?" She asked, as she led Stacey in.

"Not so good." Stacey said glumly, but then she cheered up as best as she could and said, "But it's no biggie. You and Mr Johanssen make sure you have a good night." Stacey and Charlotte waved Dr and Mr Johanssen off.

"So, what shall we do tonight, Char?" Stacey asked, trying to make up for the times she had chatted nonstop about Robert. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been! Charlotte just shrugged, thinking, What do you care? Just talk about Robert, like you've been for the last while! Stacey sighed inwardly, knowing that she owed an apology and an explanation.

"Char...I know I haven't been a very good friend to you for the last little while and, I thought I'd say that I'm sorry." Stacey said.

"You thought?!?! Do you have any idea how much I love you? Do you?!" Charlotte yelled, tears streaming down her face as she turned and ran upstairs as fast as she could, slamming her door. Stacey cringed. But, then she thought of what Charlotte had asked her. Well, the technical answer would have been "No, I didn't know." Stacey knew that Char would want (and deserved) a better answer than that at the moment.

After a couple of minutes of thinking, Stacey cautiously approached Charlotte's door, knocking and saying, "Hey, Charlotte, it's me, Stacey. Open up, we need to talk." When Char didn't respond, Stacey opened the door herself, to find Charlotte on her side, facing the wall. Stacey saw that her little sister was wide awake. And probably really P.O.ed, Stace thought. Stacey went and sat on the edge of Charlotte's bed, and softly said, "Why are you mad at me, Char?"

"Just cuz," Came the reply.

"But, why?" Stacey prodded.

A sigh. Then, "Stacey, I-I really like you...like you know. The way that you're not supposed to like a girl, lady, woman or whatever,"

She was still facing the wall. "So, now you hate me, I expect?" Char questioned.

"Char, I don't hate you!" Stacey exclaimed, surprised. "Hun, look at me, please. I need to tell you something. Something I can't really say with you facing the wall." She added. Charlotte turned, facing her for the first time since their encounter in the kitchen.

Stacey took a deep breath and began. "Charlotte, I love you. As a sister. I need you to realize that. I don't love you or romotely even like you as anything more. Or not like what you're thinking." Charlotte bit her lips at these words, tears rolling down her cheeks. "But...why Stace? Why?" Char asked desperately.

"Because hun, it just wouldn't work out. You're twelve. And I am seventeen. Pretty soon, I will be going away to college, and I will probably meet someone there. And I'll get married and have kids...You know? Someday, you will meet someone you love even more than you love me. Trust me, you will, Char."

Charlotte just stared with her mouth open in rejection and hurt. "Just, give me a chance, Stace. Please? Even if nothing DID happen between us, I want to be able to turn to someone to be able to experience with."

Now it was Stacey's turn to drop her mouth. "What?!" she blurted out. "Sorry, Char, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I am surprised."

"I'm twelve, going on thirteen for crying out loud! I'm not the eight year old that you'd love me to be forever!" Charlotte protested. Stacey sighed. The girl had a point, afterall. But...it was just...so wrong. Not right at all.

"Stacey?" Charlotte asked, looking up into her sister's blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, Char. Maybe when you're older, but not now. The time isn't right."

"It's not like it's illegal!"

Stacey flushed. She had been hoping that she could have used that to her advantage. Even though the law was that if anyone twenty or older dated someone younger than twenty then it was considered illegal. So technically, it was legal. But, then again, most seventeen year olds wouldn't be into twelve year olds or vice versa. But Charlotte wasn't "most people". She was "Charlotte Johanssen" who was crushing on her non-biological sister. Charlotte sighed, realizing that it was useless to try on winning Stacey's heart, so she gave up. Right then and there.

"I'm sorry I bugged you with this, Stace. It's not your fault." Char apologized. "So," She tried a new tactic. "How's Robert?"

When Stacey didn't answer for a few seconds, Charlotte thought that she might have gotten his name wrong. But, then she did answer. "We...broke up, Charlotte." She averted her eyes, so Charlotte said, "Why don't we go check on April?" As if on cue, April started to scream and wail from her sleep. Stacey managed a small smile, and said, "That sounds like a good idea."

Once April was changed, Stacey and Charlotte walked downstairs, with April straddled on Stacey's hip.

"Are you hungry?" Stace asked them both, even though April couldn't really talk, other than baby talk. All April said then, was, "Bubba?"

"Okiedoke." Char said, grabbing a 7 oz. bottle of milk out of the fridge. While Stacey prepared her and Charlotte a small nutritious snack, Charlotte set her baby sister in her highchair.

Just then, the phone rang. Charlotte ran to get it. "Hello?" She said.

"Charlotte, it's me." Danielle said.

"Hi, me."

Danielle sighed almost impatiently. "Char, I called to ask you if you wanted to meet in the park with me and the others."

"Right now?" Char sounded confused.

"Yeah, right now." Danielle confirmed.

"Hold on." Charlotte turned around, put a hand over the receiver and asked Stacey if she could go to the park with her friends.

Stacey repeated what Char had said seconds ago. "Right now? Char, it's almost eight o'clock. Besides," She added as an afterthought, "I heard that Danielle Roberts is bad news."

Well, at this rate, Charlotte was all set to get on her knees and literally beg, but Stacey finally gave her permission.

"Thank you!" She cried. Into the receiver, she told Danielle that she'd be there in about five minutes' time.

With Stacey staring worriedley at her sister's back, Charlotte herself left, slamming the door behind her.

"Hey," Charlotte said, hopping off her bike. propping its rusty old stand up.

Danielle nodded her greeting, while the others said, "Hey," back.

"What's up?" Charlotte had to ask.

Danielle pulled out a joint. "This," She answered, holding it up in the illuminated light.

"Oookay.." Charlotte said, not really getting it.

"Char, we're gonna smoke it," Danielle replied, as if she were explaining things to a toddler.

"Oh, okay. That makes sense, I guess."

But Danielle seemed to not have heard her, because she lit the joint with a lighter that she claimed to have stolen from her parents a few nights ago.

She grinned, "Who wants first drag?" No one else was set to go first, so Danielle decided to do the honours. As soon as the smoke hit her lungs, her pupils became heavily dilated. "Mmm..." She said. "This shit is good. You guys have to try this."

Then, to Charlotte's horror, Becca pulled out a joint herself, and said, "Thanks, but I'll have my own."

Charlotte looked at the others, almost expecting all them to pull out joints. Nobody else did, though. She surprised herself by saying, "Sure, Danni, I'll have a try." Danielle handed her the lit joint, and she took it, pressing it to her lips and sucking on it. She coughed. "Wow. This stuff is really good." Her voice sounded warbled to herself, she felt warmness spread to her joints immediately, and as she looked at the others, it felt like she was in a dream, that everything was okay. That it didn't matter fuck all that Stacey was straight. She actually felt like she could live life. As Charlotte passed on the joint, she could she that the pot affected everyone different. It only made Vanessa more dreamy looking and Becca, who was almost at the end of her's, looked like she could pass out from happiness at any moment. Charlotte couldn't tell what she looked like, but she knew that she liked the feeling that the grass gave her. In the distance, she heard Danielle tell the others that you got high from pot. Of course, being the intelligent person she was, Charlotte knew this, but she must have forgotten, from her anger at Stacey. Through her haze of being high, Charlotte wondered just how she was going to go home now. The others were starting to become more and more blurry and less recognizable by the minute. She slowly closed her eyes...

Please read and review. Chapter three coming soon.