On a Wednesday

11:30

Philadelphia, PA

Charlie looked at his lame lunch, wondering what to eat first. There were the slimy peaches, the barely safe to drink milk, the mix of his top 4 least favorite vegetables, and what the Board of Education called "steak". Nothing really appealed to his appetite.

Dee, however, brought her lunch from home today. She had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a soda, and chips of a flavor Charlie couldn't quite make out. His stomach growled, making Dee take pity and give him her napkins.

"Thanks," Charlie said. He really didn't mind eating the peaches when he had the napkins wrapped around them, like a peach burrito. He and Dee ate in silence for a while, both of them thinking the same thing.

"I wonder what Mac's doing," Dee said.

"Want to play 'What Are They Doing'?" Charlie asked.

"What the shit is that?"

"We literally imagine what Mac is doing. When we decide on him, we think of other people that aren't us."

Rather than sit across from Charlie, as she did for Mac most days, Dee sat directly next to Charlie. She turned and said, "Ok, I guess."

Charlie and Dee Make Headcanons

"What do you think he's doing?

Charlie thought for a minute. "I have a few theories."

"Spill," Dee commanded, getting a little excited. Talking about Mac without him around always made her happy.

"First, I think he could be sleeping, I mean, what do you do without school?"

"Sleep."

"Exactly! Next, and I don't know if he wants me telling you, but he likes baking and cooking sometimes, so maybe he's cooking a little?"

Cooks were a little bit of a turn on for Dee. It allowed her to be lazy and was also a shared interest. She bit her lip and nodded for Charlie to go on.

"Or maybe he's watching TV? We tend to do that a lot."

"Right there with you," Dee told Charlie's ever changing eye color. Today it was a bluish green, yesterday it was hazel. What the fuck, irises? Choose one fucking color! Is that too much to ask?

"Do you have any theories?" Charlie asked.

"Hm…," Dee originally thought Mac was going to fantasize about women that weren't her. With Charlie, that worry kind of went away, with lack of a better word. So what if Mac liked someone else? It didn't feel important.

"Maybe he's…at Jiffy Lube with his mom?"

Charlie raised an eyebrow. Dee continued.

"And she's working while Mac's sitting in the waiting room. And there's some kids movie pretty much everyone's seen now, like Toy Story." Dee started getting into it. "It, like every public establishment no one wants to be at, is just chilly enough to be uncomfortable. There's a young family sitting quietly at a 90 degree angle from Mac. The parents are overweight, taking up the whole couch; the kid isn't really 'fat' and watching the movie. Mac is hungry, but he has no money for the vending machine. Besides, it might be rude to eat in front of the fat people. Mrs. Mac promised when she's done with the fat peoples car, she'll take him to a fast food restaurant. It's taking to goddamn long. He focuses on the movie."

Charlie's jaw hung slack. He had stood up for some reason that escaped Dee while in her synopsis. She always forgot Charlie was a little chubby. He was potbellied, with pudgy fingers and a nice looking bulge. It was almost like looking at an oversized toddler, except much… Dee looked for the word… older? Taller? Dare she say cuter?

"That was incredibly detailed!" Charlie said, a tint of pride in his voice.

Dee smiled, accomplished, "Thanks, Charlie."

"Credit where credit is due, Sweet Dee."

As Charlie sat down, his arm moved awkwardly, knocking his milk all over his steak. "Oh shit!" He decided then it was a good idea to try it. "Oh shit!" he said again, this time smiling and with his mouth full.

"This is delicious," Charlie told Dee, "Want some?"

"I'll pass," Dee declined as politely as she could. She changed the subject. "How's your birthday planning coming along?"

Charlie chewed the steak about half as long as the other poor steak losers, cooing with each bite. "I'm calling this milksteak. You'll know what that is in 18 years, right?"

How in God's name would she forget? "Definitely," she said.

The rest of lunch consisted of Charlie telling Dee plans for his party. His mom bought a bunch of weird ass beers, like peach schnapps. There were plans to have an ice cream cake and cupcakes for the lactose intolerant. Dee was getting more excited by the minute, and she considered showing Charlie her PS letter. She decided not to, since Charlie probably had less clues than she did. Or worse: he did know and would embarrass her by telling PS out of context bullshit.

#

The bell rang. Dee and Charlie left together, planning to part ways immediately. Rather, Charlie followed Dee to her next class. On the way there, Dee asked Charlie something that's been bugging her for a while: "Why didn't you sit with-"

"Because I prefer you. Don't flatter yourself, Dee, he's an asshole."

"Isn't he invited?"

"Of course he is! I should go. See you later, Dee!"

Dee felt a pang of pity for Charlie being alone. Her class was half full, making her feel less so. That was actually inflated by a popular girl who shall go unnamed (Dee's to classy for that), who said "how cute the Aluminum Monster looked with Dirt Grub", adding kissing noises and sarcastic love notes. It almost sounded right, despite the teasing in her voice. Dee smiled; despite the lack of Mac, it was a pretty good day.

I noticed, along with others, it was getting a little Mac/Dee in previous chapters, but I liked the idea of a nonverbal Mac/Dee/Charlie love triangle for a while. To be honest, I'm impartial for whoever gets her, if either of them get her.

Next chapter focuses on Frank. My official OTP is Frank/Artemis, but Artemis doesn't meet the gang for a while.

Thank you everyone who favorited/allerted/reviewed this :) means a lot, folks