Nathan returned from class—not even able to remember for the life of him what subject it was—and slugged up the stairs to his room. His eyes felt heavy in his head as he fumbled around in his backpack for his keys. He was the only boy on the floor to ever lock his room. A moment's search produced him with his keyring that had a single charm dangling beside the dorm key; a trinket of a whale he'd bought as a souvenir on his trip to San Diego that last summer. It was browned with fussy handling and was the only good thing that he could remember from the trip. Glancing up, he noticed a rushed message scribbled messily on his whiteboard slab: "Two Whales 3 p.m." He matched the handwriting with the pathetic "sorry" that had been on his whiteboard no less than a day ago—a message he'd frantically erased as soon as he saw it. He let out a single chuckle from the corner of his upturned mouth and raised a sleeve to her message once more. Normally he wouldn't take the fucking time, but if anything he hoped this would be the last time he'd have to deal with this eerie fucking charade. He flung his backpack onto the made sheets of his bed and patted his back pocket for his wallet. He swung his keys around his finger as he made his way to his red SUV.
Immediately upon entering the diner, Nathan was met with a familiar waft of greasy bacon and sweet syrup. The door jingled as he pushed himself in away from the cold winds, and several heads poked up to glance at who had just come in. Hoping to avoid having anyone recognize him, he quickly darted his eyes around the tables in search of Charlie—or at least a seat to duck into. His eyes fell upon the peculiar sight of a large, black sunhat and round gleaming sunglasses sitting on the girl's cheeks. He turned his neck into his chest and shuffled towards her cautiously, making sure he wasn't mistaken. Much to his reassurance, she met him with a smile and gestured for him to sit down across from her. Sliding into the seat, he leaned forward on his arms and sneered, "What the fuck are you wearing? You do know we live in Arcadia Bay?"
"I'm incognito." She said, lifting the glasses with her long slender fingers.
"From who? If you're hiding from the cops you're doing a pretty shitty job considering this is the police lunchtime central." Nathan answered.
"Not just the cops; I don't want anyone to spot us together." She replied. She placed her purse onto the table and leaned in towards him, "Listen, let's go for a drive, huh?" The question seemed strangely out of context and Nathan raised an unamused eyebrow at her.
"You think you can drag me out here and then make me take you on a fucking date? What the hell is this? I only came 'cause I thought this would be quick!" Charlie took a moment to gather herself and whispered,
"Keep your voice down."
"You don't tell me to—"
"—When you go for a drive, no one can hear what you're talking about, Nathan." It took a moment, but eventually it clicked in his head what she was hinting at. Charlie gave him a relieved sigh and murmured, "I'll buy you a Dr. Pepper before we go." Nathan leaned back in his seat, realizing that no one had ever offered to buy him anything before. Not sure whether or not to deny her offer, he stumbled over a mouthful of responses before she cut him off and raised her hand up to catch the attention of a nearby waitress. The woman looked as if she'd been working since last Friday—straight. The corners of her mouth were slightly downturned, not in a frown but like they'd been in that position for a long time. "Hi, one Dr. Pepper for him, please. And nothing for me." The waitress nodded tiredly and took their menus back as Charlie quickly took off her sunglasses. "Guess those are a little unnecessary." She muttered mostly to herself, and placed them aside next to the condiments and napkin dispenser.
It was long past midday in Arcadia Bay, which mean the sun was already beginning it's descent from the sky. Rays of light shone through the yellowed blinds next to their booth and beamed past Charlie's face at an angle that made her hazel eyes glow. The more he observed the girl before him the more she reminded him of Rachel. Slightly less eccentric and a little more worn down around the edges, but still somehow absolutely radiant in the light of the warm, waning sun. He found her—well, beautiful, but it churned his stomach how much of Rachel he saw in her, and how much he missed her face. He bundled his hands together in his lap and his legs began to bounce anxiously beneath the table. Nathan watched as she lowered her face and rested her chin in the palms of her hand that were held up by her elbows in a ninety degree angle. Her eyes were closed and her head was swaying gently to the song playing on the jukebox.
"There's a place where lovers go,
To cry their troubles away
And they call it 'Lonesome Town'
Where the broken hearts stay"
"I love this song," She murmured dreamily. Her eyes remained shut for the entire duration of the song, and a stagnant smile rested peacefully on her lips, not caring for a moment that Nathan was watching her. Once the last lines of the song faded out, she opened her eyes and saw the waitress standing by their table. The woman gave her a nervous smile as if afraid she was interrupting something, before pouring the drink for Nathan.
"You like old-timey shit like that? He asked her, taking a sip of his drink.
"I'm a sucker for it." She sighed. "Who isn't though? It's so pure and just… precious."
"I can't say I am." Nathan chewed on the tip of his straw. "Want to play another one?" He pulled out some spare change from his pocket and dropped them on the table. Charlie looked surprised.
"I don't think we have time to wait for the queue." She rested her head onto the table and began making a pile of the coins he had taken out. Nathan sipped at his drink quietly, watching her stack them up.
"Have you eaten anything? Are you just going to sit there?" She looked up at him and the pile of coins knocked over.
"No, no, I'm not very hungry."
"It's three-thirty."
"I know," she said, glancing up at him then back at the coins, "Don't have much of an appetite right now." He frowned watching her stack the coins again as if they wouldn't just fall over at a certain point.
"You know," He started, "The thin look isn't in anymore." As if inevitably, the coins fell over once again and Charlie sat up straight in her chair, staring Nathan square in the eyes, making him think for a moment he might have reached unwanted territory. She let out a disappointed laugh that almost sounded like she might've started crying.
"You think I do it for looks?" She pushed the fallen coins back across the table at him and began to stand up.
"No, wait, Charlie I didn't mean it like—don't leave yet I—"
"Are you done with your drink? Let's go." Nathan quickly stumbled out of his seat, almost forgetting he had a straw in his mouth. He leaned back over the table to grab her sunglasses from the corner.
"Here, don't forget these." He said, handing them to her. Charlie nodded him a thank you and put them on despite not having yet stepped outside. She pulled out her worn leather wallet and fumbled to pull out three dollars, then deciding to just leave whatever she had left for the tired waitress to pick up. Fixing her hat, she promptly led the way to the front door. Nathan followed behind somberly, afraid he may have struck a bad nerve.
It was truly such a strange range of emotions that Charlie provoked within Nathan. Guilt, for one, was something he rarely let himself be bothered by. He'd had his nights of panic episodes where the only thing racing through his aching mind was bundles of regret in his past, but here and now, she drew out some sort of immediate response in him that wanted itself to be heard. He stumbled along behind her, brewing a frustratingly difficult way to apologize without making it seem like he was turning soft. Without realizing it, he ran into her and she dropped the pack of cigarettes she had just pulled out.
"Shit—" he sputtered, picking up the box and handing it back to her. The cigarette hung loosely out of the corner of her lip as she fumbled to find a lighter.
"Smoking's a dirty habit." A new voice jolted the both of them upright and a broad-shouldered cop stood before them with a coffee in his left hand. He was leaning against the side of the diner as if on the lookout for any activity around the area. His tone seemed friendly enough. "Oh—Nathan?" he seemed startled to see the boy in public.
"Yeah, hey." Nathan shoved his hands into his pockets embarrassedly.
"Who's this?" The cop asked with genuine curiosity. He took a sip of his cold drink.
"I'm Charlie." She said, taking her first drag.
"Oh and I suppose you go to Blackwell too?"
"I'm studying creative writing."
"Interesting. And what's a bright young girl like you doing smoking?" The man finished his coffee and dropped it into the full trash can beside him. Charlie took a few more drags without speaking. Nathan couldn't tell whether she was having trouble coming up with a response or if her impeding silence was her answer. After a few moments the cop made an obviously fake glance at his watch and waved at them. "I've been out here for too long, I better get back to the station, see you kids around. Stay out of trouble!" He nodded as he walked by Nathan and made his way back to the police car parked behind the diner.
"As if any of the cops give a shit if they've been on break for too long," she said, putting out the cigarette with her shoe. Nathan thought about the scars on her arms, and that night they'd spent together on the roof.
"Yeah, the car's over there." He clicked his keys to unlock the door and she hopped into the passenger seat, just barely able to pull herself up. He thought about offering his shoulder as leverage but she got up on her own, and he made his way to his own seat.
He had been driving for a while now, without knowing exactly where they were headed. He realized after ten minutes that neither of them had been talking, yet there was no uneasiness floating in the air. Maybe they had just been enjoying one another's company.
"Nathan," Charlie started. He glanced over at her and averted his eyes back onto the road. "Max knows something about Kate… about why she was acting strange at that party. And I think it might have something to do with what happened to Rachel. Somehow."
"Huh," He triggered his left signal and turned left into a random street.
"She thinks you had something to do with it." Charlie fumbled with her fingers and turned to look at him. He remained silent, his eyes focused on the road before him. It might not have seemed like it, especially him being such a thin boy in such a large car, but Nathan had always been a relatively cautious driver. His reflexes had always been pretty good, and so had his peripheral, but staring at the road gave him something to do as he listened to her talk, so he continued to stare blankly. Charlie realized she needed to warm him up first before he'd say anything. "I think Kate's been getting closer to Max lately."
"What does that have to do with anything? Wouldn't it be better for Kate to have more friends?" Charlie sat herself upright in the seat and leaned her head against the window.
"Well yeah, of course. But… the more people get closer to Kate, the further away I drift from her. Having a world of friends doesn't mean nearly as much as having one friend who means the world to you. Right?" Nathan loosened his grip on the steering wheel and dropped one hand into his lap, calmly controlling the car with his left arm.
"It's good that Kate has a lot of friends."
"I'm not—I'm not saying she shouldn't! I'm—look I'm happy for her, of course I am, I'm not some psychotic, obsessed—"
"I know." He reassured her. Charlie sighed, rubbing her tired eyes.
"I think Kate is starting to realize that there are better people out there for her than me." She brought her knees up to her chest and looked out the window. Nathan leered his eyes to catch a glimpse. He knew she was trying to open up, but it was hard, especially to someone like himself. He wanted to say something that would comfort her, but he just couldn't rack his brain for anything affectionate.
"Friends should still want to be friends even if you end up being a fucking bridge troll." He said, which made Charlie laugh,
"I guess that's how you and Victoria work, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Charlie nodded and the smile began to fade from her face. Her gaze dropped down to her red painted toes.
"Nathan, I don't have anyone if I don't have Kate, or Rachel. I just… Tell me about her."
"What?"
"Tell me about Rachel, I want to know about her." Nathan pressed his lips together and straightened up in his seat. The road was so empty this time of day, he wouldn't have minded driving for hours.
"Everyone was in fucking love with her. Everyone." Charlie raised an eyebrow. "She was… smart, and talented. A lot of people thought she was pretty—no everyone did, I'm pretty sure." Charlie smiled behind her hair.
"My better half, I guess." She chuckled.
"Don't say that." He murmured. The roads seemed to go on forever, straight ahead. Nothing was in their way, just them, the forest, and the pavement.
"Nathan, if you know something about what happened to Kate, I need to know. I can't stand seeing her like this, she's just so…broken." He pressed his lips together once more. His right arm reached back up to the steering wheel and he gripped tightly. "O-or Rachel. Just tell me what you can remember about her, anything." Suddenly, visions of Rachel's beautiful face began flashing in Nathan's mind. The dark room. Ropes, blindfolds, tape. The dark room. The syringe. Jefferson. Rachel, in the dark room. "Nathan? Nathan!" Charlie's scream was cut off by the sound of a blaring car horn. Nathan swiveled the wheel in a moment of panic; his large SUV skidded off the road and flipped into the forest with their bodies thrashing about like puppets.