It was after two o'clock in the morning and all that separated the bathroom from his sister, Ellie, and her husband, Devon's, bedroom was a single wall. Chuck was doing his best not to make a sound because he knew from experience that wall wasn't terribly sound proof. It was a dangerous mission but there were just things in life worth the risk. Chuck absolutely refused to go to sleep without brushing his teeth first.

The plan was to use his phone as a flashlight instead of flipping the one switch that turned on the fan and light together. Then maybe he could keep the lovebirds sleeping, get his teeth brushed and tip toe into bed without waking anyone up.

He'd just finished brushing his teeth when, bang, the plastic water glass fell on the floor. Chuck swore under his breath. He hadn't anticipated the clumsy factor paired with bad lighting. Then again, maybe they hadn't noticed. Reaching down slowly Chuck picked it up and put it back, before tiptoeing down the hall into his own bedroom.

Finally collapsing on his bed, Chuck breathed a sigh of relief. Even if they woke up now he could just pretend to be asleep.

Laying on his bed Chuck could feel how completely exhausted he was, but at the same time he was wide awake, almost buzzing with energy. His mind just wouldn't stop going over the events of the evening. All the things he'd done and not done played over and over in his head.

He still couldn't believe he'd danced like that in front of Sarah. He was embarrassed just thinking about it. Yet there had been something about her saying 'this was a one time thing' that had gotten him all fired up.

What Chuck had found even harder to believe was how Sarah had danced with him. He felt himself blush just remembering it. She'd been all over him and if Chuck hadn't actually been there, he would have swore it hadn't happened. That moment would be playing in his head for years to come, he was sure.

Apart from the dancing, Chuck also couldn't believe how rude Daniel had been to Sarah. Chuck felt sure he'd have hated Daniel even if he hadn't been so mean to Sarah. There was just something evil inside that man as far as Chuck was concerned.

Then, last but certainly not least, there was Sarah herself. Chuck could hardly believe she'd been on his arm for a whole night. There had been so many times last night that he'd wanted to kiss her. If he'd just had the guts maybe they could have given it a real go instead of this cover nonsense. But Chuck just hadn't gotten up the nerve. Instead he was lying in his bed anxiously fretting about the whole thing instead.

"Idiot," Chuck whispered to no one but himself.

Then again maybe he'd just spared himself some extra grief and humiliation. Because realistically there was just no way a woman that amazing was interested in him. Chuck had done the 'in love with someone who didn't love him back' before and it had cost him everything. He wouldn't do that again. He couldn't.

Maybe the best way to think about it was that they'd had one perfect night. He could hold onto that forever. He'd never forget what it felt like to dance with her. He'd treasure the memory of their night together and get back to his life. Yeah, that was probably the best plan.

Chuck finally fell asleep with that thought in his mind. It had managed to quiet all his other spiralling thoughts. The image of Sarah's beautiful eyes floated in his mind as Chuck drifted into a deep sleep.

He was woken rather earlier than planned by the light coming in through the curtains he'd forgotten to close last night. Groaning, Chuck got up and closed the curtains then tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. He was awake. With a sigh, Chuck pulled himself out of bed and went in search of something to eat.

"Morning sunshine," his sister's voice was the first thing he heard upon entering the kitchen. Chuck replied with a non-commital noise. "You were out late."

Without really meaning to, Chuck smiled. "Yep," he said.

"Where did you go?" Ellie asked. He could easily see the delight on her face and knew she was happy to see him smiling.

"Out," Chuck replied. Who was he kidding? He'd have to confess all before he so much as got a glass of milk.

"Out where?"

With a deep sigh, Chuck decided to give in. "On a date," he said. "Well kinda a date. It was like a date in some ways, but not technically one in all the usual ways, if that makes any sense."

"It really doesn't," Ellie replied. "Still a date is good! Five years is a long time."

"Please not with the five years again," Chuck whined. When you have a sister who is almost like a mother, it does compound the nagging. "Just 'cause I haven't had a girlfriend since Jill doesn't mean I want a lecture." Between the eating late, the lack of sleep and the emotional confusion of a cover date with his dream girl, Chuck just couldn't handle a sister lecture on top of it all.

"Alright fine," Ellie replied kindly. "No nagging. Is friendly interest okay?"

Chuck thought about it and decided it was. He told her so and she added, "Are you going to see her again?"

"I doubt it," Chuck answered. "It was kinda a one time deal. That's where the not quite like a real date part comes in."

"Is she married or something?"

"Nope," Chuck replied. Then he paused and added, "She has a horrible ex, though."

"Every girl's got one of those," Ellie brushed off the remark. "Doesn't mean she's undateable. You should just ask her out again."

"It was a fake date, El," Chuck sighed. "Fake, not genuine, counterfeit, a forgery, a sham, not real."

"It might have started that way, but you won't stop smiling so I'm thinking it went well. Also you didn't get home until after two in the morning!"

"You heard that, huh?" Chuck groaned. So much for his not waking anyone else up.

"The neighbours heard that," his sister's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Sorry," Chuck mumbled.

"It's alright," Ellie said. Chuck knew this hardly meant anything since he was pretty sure his sister would forgive him for murder. She was always on his side and despite all the ways she could be annoying, Chuck loved her dearly.

"Anyway as I was saying, girls don't stay out late with guys they don't like," Ellie stated as if she had read this in a book somewhere and it was a proven scientific fact. "They make an excuse and leave early. It sounds to me like you two had a nice time, so I don't see why you can't see each other again."

He knew Ellie was just being supportive, but it hurt because Chuck agreed with her. He wanted to see Sarah again, and it sucked that Sarah didn't want that too.

"I don't think she's that into me," Chuck explained. "It was like a work party thing. She needed my help to cover for her with a coworker."

"I still say you should ask her out again," Ellie stated firmly. "Worse case scenario, she says no and you are just back where you started. You have nothing to lose."

"Your logic is sound but there is one tiny problem," Chuck said. "I don't have her phone number." He then explained how Sarah had shown up at his work and then they'd met up at a specific time.

"Balls in her court then, I suppose," Ellie sighed. "She knows where you work." As she turned to look up, Ellie noticed the clock on the wall and suddenly realised she was late for work.

"Speaking of time," his sister added urgently. "I gotta run! But we can talk more about this tonight if you want, okay."

"Yeah sure," Chuck said with a casual smile.

Just then Devon entered the kitchen. "Just got enough time for a protein shake then it's off to the hospital." As he spoke Devon walked to the fridge and grabbed one of his aforementioned shakes before following after his wife. Chuck wished them well and waved them goodbye as they ran out the door to get to their very important adult jobs. Leaving him all alone to meander his way to his soul crushing retail job.

He'd just finished breakfast and was thinking about what he should do to kill a few hours when Chuck had a realisation that sent his morning into an even greater downward decline. His car wouldn't start. With a groan he realised he'd end up wasting the whole time before his shift getting it running, just so he could go to work. Sometimes adulting just sucked.

He seriously considered calling in sick to work, but knew if he didn't go, he'd just end up sitting on the couch in his pjs all day which would not make him feel any better. Plus calling in sick meant not getting paid. No, by far the easier thing to do was go to work and put in a minimal effort day.

After finishing his second cup of coffee, Chuck changed into a pair of old jeans and his favourite sweater before going outside to have a look at his car.

Chuck was more a computer guy than a car guy. Since the car hadn't started, he could only guess the battery was dead. He called Morgan to bring his mom's van over to give him a jump and then waited for him to arrive.

Morgan was also on closing shift with Chuck tonight at the Buy More. Usually, that meant they car pooled but with Chuck's car out of commission Morgan was just as motivated to get Chuck's car going as Chuck was. His mom needed her van tonight. She worked evenings.

The moment Morgan arrived, he started asking questions about how Chuck's night with Sarah went and when he'd get to meet Carina Miller.

"Honestly, buddy, she didn't seem too keen to meet a fan of her Batwoman movie," Chuck confessed to his friend.

"But it's such a good movie!"

"She didn't see it that way," Chuck replied. "Do you like anything else she's in, even a little?"

"I haven't seen her in anything else," Morgan admitted.

"Well maybe you should get to binge watching her career before you think about meeting her," Chuck suggested. "Otherwise, I can't imagine it going very well, or even happening!"

Morgan seemed to think about this. He was taking the whole thing rather more seriously than Chuck felt the situation warranted, but that was Morgan for ya. Chuck loved the man like a brother but sometimes he didn't quite understand him.

With the jumper cables in place, they started the van and soon enough Chuck heard the sound of his car's engine coming to life.

"Thanks, buddy," Chuck said. "Return your mom's van. I'll come pick you up in, let's say, half an hour?"

"You got it, buddy," Morgan replied before turning to get into the van and drive away.

Locking his car but leaving his car running in the driveway so it didn't die on him again, Chuck went back into the house to get changed for work and grab his wallet. Packing lunch was not in the cards today. It was definitely a subway across the street kinda day.

He got into his car and drove it around the block a few times to charge up the battery a little before going to pick up Morgan. The last thing he needed was for the stupid thing to die again while it was parked at work.

He left the car running in Morgan's driveway too, for the same reason. What Chuck really needed to do was buy a new battery but he hadn't quite gotten around to it. The other option was getting into miles of debit to buy a new car, but Chuck didn't want to be that kind of broke. Being poor was one thing. Drowning in debt was another.

Once Morgan was in the car, he wouldn't stop talking about Carina Miller. Apparently he'd googled her other movies in the half hour since Chuck had last seen the bearded man.

"She's been in a lot of crime shows!" Morgan was saying. "Usually as a guest star, but I looked up the scenes on YouTube and, wow, the lady can act as well as wear a catsuit perfectly!" He paused for dramatic effect before adding, "She's funny too. I saw she's been in a few comedies. Not like super well-known ones, but still good ones."

"So do you feel like a more well-rounded Carina Miller fan now?" Chuck asked.

"Most definitely," Morgan stated with far more certainty than Chuck felt like a twenty minute google search warranted.

They arrived to work just barely on time, but Chuck knew the boss wouldn't care. So long as you didn't bother Big Mike during his lunch hour, he was pretty easy to deal with.

And so his boring work day began. Chuck answered a few calls and talked to a few customers, one of whom thought their phone was defective because they'd taken it out of the box and tried to dial it. Very patiently, in his best customer service voice, Chuck explained to the lady that the phone would need to be charged first and the sim card put in. The lady was so confused, Chuck just told her to come in.

Then, he had another customer who at least knew how their phone turned on, but couldn't figure out how to log in to their account. Once again, it was Chuck's job to help them with problems that any eighth grader could do in their sleep.

It was days like this when Chuck wondered why the hell he worked here. He'd gone to Stanfard for god's sake! When he thought about how close he'd been to graduating before his life had fallen apart, Chuck wanted to take a bottle of wine and hide under his desk.

The saddest thing is that he'd had to lie to get this job. Not in the typical way people lie on their resume, but in the most ridiculous way possible.

Every job he'd tried to apply for had either told him he was underqualified or overqualified. Any place that required a complete degree had rejected his partial one, and any place that required nothing had rejected him on the basis that he was too skilled for the job.

So, when he'd had enough, Chuck had altered his resume a bit. He'd downplayed all his education and credited himself as a 'self-taught' computer type. He'd been hired basically on the spot. Stupid backwards world.

The next customer who came up to Chuck had accidently turned on vanishing messages and was mad that she couldn't see any of her texts. Chuck tried to explain to her and show her how to turn vanish mode on and off, but she was very clearly not listening. The phrase 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink' sprung to mind as the woman was leaving.

Chuck looked down at the nearest screen to check the time. He groaned. There were still over two hours in his shift and he had no breaks left to take up the time.

"So this is the 'store' you meant."

The voice was familiar though Chuck felt sure he'd never heard it in the Buy More before. He looked up and sure enough he saw the very last person he'd expected to see here of all places. It was like his worlds collided.

"Hi," Chuck said, trying to think of a way not to be awkward and failing.

"I'm just here buying a new speaker for my dad. I never expected to find Sarah's boyfriend here."

The emphasis on boyfriend had Chuck worried. Was his cover blown?

Bit of an unavoidable delay here guys sorry about that. I've been sick as hell for over two weeks. Lost my voice a couple times, couldn't breath through my nose and my head was full of cotton. Brain didn't work right either. Me thinking was bad. lol. The virus has been vancquish and I'm back. This chapters been done for a while but until recently I didn't have to concentration to finish editing it. Here's hoping I can get some more writing done in the next week cause man have I missed it!