➳ Iɴᴠɪꜱɪʙɪʟɪᴛʏ Tʜᴇᴏʀʏ | ᴘᴀғᴘ | Bᴏʏ Nᴇᴇᴅᴇᴅ | Aᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇᴅ

This is an archived version of FeralFront. While you can surf through all the content that was ever created on FeralFront, no new content can be created.
If you'd like some free FeralFront memorabilia to look back on fondly, see this thread from Dynamo (if this message is still here, we still have memorabilia): https://feralfront.com/thread/2669184-free-feralfront-memorabilia/.

    original.jpg


    Background: Charlotte McAnthony, or Charlie, is a 19 year old Freshman in college. She comes from a small town in the middle of no where, Arkansas. As soon as the opportunity arose, she got out of the state and took a scholarship offer from a college in Colorado. It wasn't easy to leave home, but her decision was made slightly easier when she learned two of her best and oldest friends would be moving across the country to go to school with her.


    Of the two friends, she's known Mason longer by a good few years. The two were fast friends when their fathers started working together. They seemed to have a lot in common - their preference for hot chocolate over coffee, their hatred of pie, their ridiculous attraction to dogs, and possibly most important was their passion for photography. As the years progressed, Charlie started to fall in love with her childhood best friend and when she learns they'll be attending college together, it seems like all the pieces are falling into place. Things are finally looking up.


    Then, without warning, Mason seems to fall hard for another girl. Charlotte Rickman. Charlie instantly feels betrayed but keeps her feelings to herself to keep from ruining her friendship, but as her best friend tries to pursue a relationship with the other Charlotte, their bond starts taking some serious damage. Always good at hiding her emotions, though, Charlie keeps her pain bottled up, acting normal around her two friends, despite the cyclone of emotions inside.


    Plot: Still trying to salvage her friendship with Mason and Ross, Charlie agrees to go on a trip with them over the weekend to take some pictures in the downtown area of a big city about an hour away from the college. When she arrives, she learns that the other Charlotte will be joining them as well and proceeds to curse her luck as both boys fawn over the girl like a goddess. Once they arrive in the city, Charlie effectively fades out of the picture, watching miserably as the other three have fun.


    At one point, after about an hour of taking photos, it starts to get a little dark. Charlie stops to take a picture of an old building and when she looks up, she realizes her friends have all wandered off, leaving her alone in the shady downtown area. When she goes to check her phone, she finds that it's dead and she has no idea how to contact the boys. Deciding to walk for a bit to try her luck, she finds herself in a dead end alleyway. Before she can backtrack, she finds herself cornered by a couple of guys who proceed to try and rough her up.


    This is when Y/C comes in, dark and heroic. He scares them off and helps Charlie out. They talk for a few moments before Mason and the others come around the corner and assume the worst. Before a fight can ensue, Charlie irritably explains what happened. The boys don't like it, especially Mason, but Y/C asks for Charlie's number and she obliges.


    A week or so later, Y/C shows up in the small college town where Charlie's from and convinces her to come out and get dinner with him. They have a great time and get to know each other. When they go for coffee on campus, however, they run into Mason and Charlotte and Charlie gets up and storms out. Y/C follows her out and figures out what's going on. He offers to help her make Mason jealous and Charlie hesitantly agrees.


    Over the next few weeks, Charlie succeeds in making Mason jealous, or at least uncomfortable, but while she's distracted, Y/C is falling for her. One night, when they're hanging out and chilling, Y/C goes off about something, leaving Charlie confused and feeling feelings she hadn't felt before. Soon enough, she realizes that Y/C is the one she's actually in love with. At that point, will it be too late to salvage yet another relationship?


    {Disclaimer: I don't want this to be a really fast story. I want there to be some actual foundation and development between the characters. I'll play Charlie and Mason. I really would like for this to be an advanced and solid thread and moving too quickly won't do that.}


    Rules:


    ➳ Keep cursing to a minimum


    ➳ Be active


    ➳ Be advanced (3+ GOOD paragraphs, 5ish sentences each)


    ➳ Have good grammar and spelling


    ➳ Don't apply and never respond


    ➳ Apply with a guy


    ➳ Patience, young grasshopper


    ➳ No blatant sex scenes


    ➳ If you have any questions, just ask. I won't bite


    Character Requirements: I won't ask for much here, just a photo of your character, his age, his personality, and any other information you feel it necessary to add.



    red_head.png


    ~Charlotte "Charlie" McAnthony~


    19 years old


    ~Personality~


    Stubborn as heck and unafraid of anything... except revealing her true feelings... obviously. She's feisty and fiery and a force to be reckoned with. When pestered, Charlotte can become rather guarded and difficult to get along with. Under her tough exterior, she's funny and sweet and interesting. Deep down, however, she's soft and vulnerable and just wants to be loved.


    ~Fun Facts~


    ➳ Charlie loves to read and write


    ➳ Hates coffee


    ➳ Loves dogs and cats


    ➳ Lives for photography


    ➳ She likes little shows of affection, like leaving sweet little notes lying around


    ➳ Hopeless Romantic


    ➳ Wants to be a counselor some day


    ➳ Special Education Major


    ➳ Doesn't come from a wealthy family


    ➳ Loves interruption by kisses


    Display Spoiler

    308384d77d6db2845a260b492ad3c370.jpg


    *Graham Tabor*

    20 years old

    *Personality*

    Never a man of gratitude, Graham feels he owes very little to anyone. Small, one on one situations are where he shines, being quite good at forming personal and unique connections when he wants. Larger groups tend to be a bit more intimidating to him and admittedly he can get a bit flustered. He has a willingness to express weaknesses such as that, but they usually come out in an ironic or dark manner. In general his sense of humor and demeanor as a whole is almost sadistic, depending on the day. Due to several factors, present now and from his past, he holds very little expectations for the people around him. Although when closer and more balanced relationships are formed, he gets very attached to these people and any feeling of betrayal could really hurt him. If they go smoothly though he's extremely loyal and thoughtful. It's not as if he doesn't want these relationships, he finds them to be the most fulfilling part of life. Yet his seemingly careless but really quite calculated attitude and unwillingness to try might lead some to think the opposite. A soft spot for the helpless has always been present in him, as he's experienced what that's like for himself.

    *Fun Facts*

    ~Grew up with several younger and older sisters

    ~Maybe in part due to the above ^, formed a pretty decent sense of style.

    ~A minor claustrophobe

    -Also minor germophobe/almost needs things to be tidy or clean.

    ~A fanatic of roasted peanuts, and trailmix. (Except the raisins)

    ~Pretty big film buff, although understands most around him might not be.

    ~Not from a particularly wealthy family at any point, although only got worse with time.

    ~Major in Film Production

    ~Can be a real sweetheart, admittedly not very east to get to that part of him though.

    OOC:

    I will indeed :) Here you go!

    Also, most of my posts won't be this long ^_^


    IC:

    This day had not gone the way Charlotte had hoped. When the boys had texted her and invited her to the city to take pictures, she'd been over the moon. It was supposed to be just her and the guys, just like old times... But then he invited her. Noah invited the other Charlotte and everything came crashing down in a glorious storm. Everything Charlie thought she knew was slowly fading into nothing more than wishful thinking.


    And then they'd ditched her. As if inviting a girl with the same name hadn't been bad enough, Charlie had been shoved to the back of everyone's mind with little more than a second thought and she wasn't going to lie, it hurt. A lot. She couldn't even enjoy her favorite thing in the world: photography. It was like... she couldn't stand still long enough to actually get a good shot without risking the group leaving her. She was mad at them, but she didn't want to get left in the city by herself.


    Of course, that was exactly what happened. Charlie finally got fed up and decided she was going to get some good shots. Something good had to come out of this trip or she'd pull her pretty red hair out. Stopping to take pictures proved to be a great stress reliever, as she'd hoped, but when she looked up, the others were gone. That was it? Really?


    Letting her camera hang loosely around her neck, the 19 year old irritably pulled her phone from her pocket, ready to call Ross and tell him off for letting them wander off with out her, only to find her phone completely dead. "Perfect," she huffed, shoving it back in her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she looked around. Before they'd wandered off, they'd all been in one of the areas between buildings. Once they got to the street, they could have literally gone anywhere.


    Frustrated as all heck, Charlie decided to start walking and hope she ran into them. As she walked, she thought of all the rude things she would say to her so-called friends when she found them, knowing good and well that she would never say any of the things that popped into her brain. Somewhere along the way, she decided to go through some of her photos for therapy. In doing this, she took a wrong turn and before she realized it, she was walking down a dead end.


    When she heard the voices, she knew she was in trouble. She dropped the camera and it bounced softly off her chest before hanging loosely around her neck again, still on a picture of her and Noah. Looking back the way she'd come, she saw a couple of men walking towards her, talking to each other and laughing. She suddenly became very aware that she was trapped.


    "Whoa! What do we have here?" One of the guys said, noticing her. Charlie stood frozen, trying not to show the utter discomfort she felt. She was slightly aware of her current appearance and felt even more nervous. In an unconscious attempt impress Noah, she'd wore cut off jean shorts and a dark, over sized hipster-esque flannel. She had long thin legs and she was a relatively pretty girl. This was not a situation she wanted to be in.


    "She looks scared, Jack," the shorter of the two men said, amusement dripping off his words like poison. She took a quick step back as the other guy took a step towards her. Her back hit the wall and the air was knocked out of her. Charlotte stared at them defiantly, ready to fight if she had to.


    "Give me this," the man, who I could only assume was Jack, snapped, grabbing Charlie's camera and yanking her closer to him. She let out a yelp and shoved his chest, forcing him back a step. He laughed before grabbing her arm. "Nice try, kid." His grip tightened around her arm, his fingers digging into her skin painfully. Without thinking, Charlotte screamed for help before being shoved roughly against the wall again, hitting her head hard enough to make stars appear. "I don't think so, sweetheart..."

    ((Ah, wonderful. That's fine by me, most anything works. I can say the same myself, I'm not sure I like the direction this post took actually but what can ya do.)


    Graham walked along as buildings, streets, blocks passed him by. His campus being in-city he already had explored so much of the area. Yet he could always find enjoyment in simply walking, observing the culture and variance of said culture moving from block to block was fascinating. Fear was never a thought in his mind, he had been roughed up a bit in his past and at this point was a fairly large guy. So going into the slightly more notorious areas wasn't much of a problem for him. Sniffling quietly he pulled his phone out of his black jeans, checking for the usual notifications. His shirt was lighter, with a deep blue base white cranes with specks of color went along it. It was a nice day so a jacket or sweater wasn't really necessary. Finishing up on his phone Graham heard a faint yelp come out of what looked like an alley in front of him.


    Taking notice to where exactly he was in the city, it didn't leave much to the imagination in what that could mean. Silently putting away his phone he crouched down a small bit and peered around the corner. Sure enough there were two men surrounding... someone. His view was a little bit obscured. Unfortunately there was a bit of distance separating them. Regardless, he silently began to inch along, slowly getting closer and closer. There was little to hide him if they were to look back so his pace was just about all he could do without his footsteps becoming quite audible. Soon enough though he could properly see the person, now identified as a women about his age, they were surrounding. Heart pounding as he got closer and closer, he flinched a small bit. A yell came out of her and now just about at arms length he stood up fully and leaped at the man farthest back.


    Seeing this women get thrown against the wall turned his fear into pure adrenaline and anger. Now that he could hear the slimy men that were doing this to her it sorta became real to him, it became personal. The man he had grabbed was shorter than the one who had pushed the lady. Height wise Graham was about equal to the aggressor, yet he was probably a bit bigger in general. The man he held in his hands alternatively was a fair bit bigger than him. Using the advantage of surprise he put in everything he had and threw/pushed him into the nearby wall head first. Instantly he crumpled, yet he wasn't able to see anymore than that as he moved onto the next man. "What the f**k" Already he had turned around and before he knew it a fist was flying at Graham's face. There wasn't much he could do as he was stricken and staggered back a small bit. As another assault started though Graham used his larger stature to charge the man and take him to the floor. Aggressively starting to punch him across the face, the initial defense and retorts slowly died down, clearly starting to tire and feel the effects. Eventually though he was torn off and pushed onto the ground as the other man had gotten up. It seemed he wasn't in too great a condition either though, so with blood running down his temple he helped his partner up.


    A sick smile was on Graham's face seeing the damage he had done. Blood also ran into his mouth even if he had taken pretty minimal damage, he busted a lip. "You should probably go before my friends get here." Already they were reluctant on what to do next. Quite frankly the shorter man looked like that hit into the wall really did a number on him. His words were the final cause in their retreat, muttering quietly as they quickly left the alley and were out of sight. Obviously what he had said was a complete bluff, he had no one coming. Not a lot of people would take that risk though, he knew he wouldn't. Finally he turned to the women who he now had a full look at. "Well no wonder. What's someone like you doing in this part of town, alone, not to mention somehow ending up in a dead-end alley?" Graham didn't miss the camera around her neck either, he wondered if she had a burn as it was pulled. It obviously didn't help her cause much in this confrontation

    It took a moment for Charlie to recuperate once the man released his steel grip on her arm. She brought her hand up and put it over the place his fingers had dug into her skin and stood rigid behind him, her back still pressed against the wall. She felt her entire body shaking. Her red hair hung down in front of her pale face, hiding one of her green eyes.


    This other guy had come out of nowhere. Charlotte had seen him a moment before he'd thrown the shorter thug into the wall, but her shocked expression had done nothing to warn her attackers. Within moments, the stranger had somehow managed to put himself between her and the two idiots who'd tried to grab her. He said something about others on their way and the two seemed to hesitate for a moment before bolting. Watching them go, the young ginger broke and slid down the wall, gripping her head withe both hands and staring at the ground in shock.


    Other than a few bumps and scrapes, Charlie was pretty sure she was okay. Her head throbbed where she'd hit it hard against the wall and she was willing to bet the places the first guy had grabbed her arm would be bruised the next day. Shaking, she barely registered that her savior was talking to her until he leaned a little closer to her face, catching her attention.


    "I... I got lost... My friends... and I wasn't looking... I just..." She was frantic, her brain offering words faster than her mouth could spit them out. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to force herself to calm down as well as force the tears that threatened to fall back. "Th-thank you for what you did..." Her chest was so tight, raising and falling quickly after her scare. She lowered her gaze, unable to look at the damage that had been done to the good Samaritan's face.

    After hearing her response Graham finally took notice to just how unsettled she seemed. The adrenaline and rush seemingly drained out of him as he took a step closer. He himself was surprisingly unaffected, if only because he had seen similar scenarios before and of course wasn't the victim. Wiping some of the still lightly flowing blood on his arm he tried to get her to look at him, the little remorse he had for people in this situations starting to show. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're fine, no need to thank me. Just try to calm down and we'll get you back to your friends, okay?" Obviously he wanted a little bit more information out of her but he didn't want to rush her.


    Eventually as a few moments passed with the only sound being quiet breaths Graham started to speak again. "Okay. So, what's your name? Are you from around here?" It was a tough situation in many senses but he couldn't do much if he didn't know anything about her. A small frown did fall on his face at what she had said. It was pretty strange that her friends in the first place let her fall behind, and from what he could tell weren't looking that hard for her. It may have only been a few moments though and she would have called them if what just occurred, hadn't. In reality she would probably be fine by herself but he would feel guilty leaving her alone in this state.


    Graham looked over his shoulder for a moment as he thought he heard voices, seeing nothing though he presumed they were coming from somewhere else along the street or he was just hearing things. Still, he was very alert and a little jumpy himself from what had just happened. Realizing she might want some space he moved himself to wall on the left side of the alley. Simply watching as he let her compose herself properly.


    Charlie closed her eyes and took a few minutes to start breathing normally again. Her heart pounded, but somehow she was okay. Closing her eyes, she tried to find the strength to talk. She ran a hand up into her hair and gently ran her fingers over the throbbing spot on her head and winced. She doubted it was a concussion or anything, but there was a bit of blood on her fingers when she pulled them back around to check. She let out a defeated sigh and closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry... I just-"


    "Charlie!" Suddenly, she jerked her head up, her eyes flying open. She stood up quickly, the blood rushing to her head so fast that she stumbled. She grabbed Graham's shoulder for support. When the spots stopped dancing in her vision, she let go of the other boy's shoulder and turned, just in time to be wrapped up in a bear hug by the one guy she'd ever cared about. "I can't believe you're okay! Oh my gosh, don't scare me like that!"


    "Noah... Noah, I'm fine..." Charlie murmured, not really trying to push him away. After a moment, he seemed to realize what he was doing and let go of her, holding her out at arm's length. When he looked searched her face and she assured him she was okay, his face hardened and he turned on the stranger to his right. "And just who the heck are you? Did you do this to her?" he demanded, his voice hostile. He was bristling and Ross was quickly coming to stand next to him for support when Charlie forced herself between them. "Stop it! Noah, Ross, back off! He saved me!" She was still pretty shaken, but after watching Graham deal with the two thugs earlier, she didn't want to see what would happen if a fight ensued between him and her friends.

    Graham sighed as the girl in front of him still seemed a little too out of it as to explain her situation. He had even started to take out his phone and call for some help before suddenly a name was yelled from not too far behind him. The girl, now identified as Charlie, held his shoulder. The pressure causing him to grunt quietly in surprise. As she stumbled over into the newcomers arms though it didn't take much to realize these were her friends. Some of the mental pressure was then lifted off his shoulders as they would be taking care of her, plus now she had an interesting story to tell. This sweet little interaction ended pretty soon as an icy gaze was turned to him.


    The little comment thrown at him just resulted in the same sickening smile that he had on his face mere minutes ago. "No, you want to see exactly what I can do to you though?" Standing firm even as the second came forward, the blood from earlier now dried on a few of his teeth on top of it still flowing lightly. Charlie coming between them only caused him to move a step back as he kept eye contact with the front most boy. Regardless of what had just transpired he admittedly didn't know Charlie but still didn't appreciate being accused of hurting her.


    "Hey." Graham tapped Charlie lightly on the shoulder as she was facing her two friends at that moment. "I can't tell you if those guys were part of a bigger group. Just to be safe though maybe I should have some way to contact you. It's not likely but if they try to target out of either one of us out of spite, or... whatever. They weren't particularly smart or emotionally stable. We should be able to warn each other." What he said certainly had validity, gangs were somewhat prominent in this part of the city. Yet he would be lying if he said he wasn't gauging the reactions of the other boys as he did it.

    OOC:

    Long post so I can get them back to town so your character and my character can text or have some other interactions and stuff ^_^"

    Key:

    Noah

    Ross

    Charlotte

    Charlie


    IC:

    For a moment, Charlotte was terrified Noah would throw himself at Graham, despite being completely outmatched. Noah was a gamer and a skater, not athletic at all. He wasn't a fighter and other than knowing her since they were toddlers, he didn't owe her anything. So why was he going all alpha male on the guy who'd saved her life? They weren't dating and he'd made it painfully clear that he had no intention of becoming a couple when he'd invited the other, prettier Charlotte on this little outing and then left her in an alleyway in the middle of the city.


    Noah took a step forward, but Charlie shoved her arms against his chest, stopping him from doing anything stupid. "Don't be an idiot," she said quietly. He kept staring coldly at the bulkier male in front of him for a moment before he tore his gaze away to look at her. The pleading in her stormy blue eyes must have been enough to make him stand down. As much as it obviously pained him, he took a step back. "Whatever. Come on, Charlie, we'd better be getting back." She hadn't realized it until now, but it had been getting pretty late. She was extremely lucky that Graham had come around when he had.


    When Noah determined they were leaving, Charlie hesitated for a moment. She was fine with leaving. Heck, she couldn't wait to take a couple ibuprofen and curl up in her dorm. Taking a breath, she was about to follow her friend when her savior's voice spoke up from where he'd been standing. Charlie felt her ears heat up a little as he asked for her number and even though his reasoning behind it appeared innocent, she couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, sure... Here, let me give you my number." To her left, Noah visibly tensed, but didn't turn back around to face her as she put her number into the boy's phone. When she was done, she handed it back to him and gave him a small, lopsided smile. "Thanks again for helping me. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come when you did."


    "Okay, let's go already! I'm driving and you know how that construction zone is at night." Noah sounded irritated as he reached back and gently tugged on Charlie's shoulder. He cast one more cold glance at Graham before turning to leave the alley. Charlie turned to follow, moving slower. She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder once more before disappearing around the corner with her friends. They walked in silence for a long while before Charlie broke it.


    Running a hand through her bright red locks, she sighed. "Look... I can tell you're upset, but he really was just trying to help me. I stopped to take some pictures and lost you guys. These two guys grabbed me. If he hadn't come around when he did, I would have been toast." She carefully rubbed her hand over the spot where the first guy had grabbed her arm, wincing at the soreness that already made her skin tender to the touch. Her head still throbbed painfully.


    "You should have told us you were stopping. We could have all stopped and waited." Noah sounded irritated and while Charlie knew he had been worried, she couldn't understand how all of this was somehow her fault. She had tried to tell them to slow down multiple times throughout the night, but both of the boys had been too busy fawning over Charlotte to care or listen to Charlie. Frankly, she was offended he would even suggest that after she had been very clearly been trying to get their attention all night. When she mentioned the guys that had grabbed her, though, it was Ross's turn to look concerned.


    "Two guys grabbed you? Did they hurt you?" Ross was about a month older than Charlie and a good head and a half taller. At Halburg University in their small town of Surrency, Colorado, he played running back and was pretty well known for his speed and strength on the field. Charlie had met him through Noah when she was eight years old and the three of them had been close ever since. "I'm fine... I hit my head on the wall and the other guy grabbed my arm real tight, but I'm okay, honest."


    "Maybe we should call the police or something?" Charlotte offered, brushing her perfect blonde hair out of her face. Despite how much Charlie wanted to hate her, the girl did seem genuinely concerned about the whole situation. They came to a stop in the parking lot where Noah's red Camero was and Charlie shook her head. "I don't want to worry about it anymore... Besides, I didn't get a good look at their faces before Graham beat them up and scared them off. I had my eyes closed most of the time." The boys didn't seem satisfied with that, but Noah was done. "Everyone just get back in the car... We'll get back to Surrency and everything'll be fine." The car ride back was awkwardly silent and Charlotte sat up front while Ross and Charlie were banished to the back.

    ((Cool cool)


    Graham nodded as he let her take his phone for a moment and put her number in. Not missing the small changes in her facial expression and slight embarrassment and especially not missing Noah tensing up. Honestly he was hoping for a bit more but apparently he was smarter than he looked. When Charlie handed him back his phone with a little sweet smile he couldn't help but return the favor. Even after what he did the reception he got from her was really more kind than he expected. It made him feel kinda nice. "Yeah, of course."He responded as he put his phone into his pocket. Silently though he wondered if anyone had walked past her, granted he got there pretty early. It was an interesting thought though, and that's even mentioning how her friends just sort of abandoned her. Something he still didn't quite understand really.


    After they had left Graham shook his head. That Noah guy was really angry, he had some suspicions of why but honestly they didn't seem to line up quite right. Maybe he was just honestly a jerk. Shaking off the events that had transpired he began his walk yet again. Usually this time would be used to think though and there was nothing more prominent in his mind than what had just happened. So as time passed he began getting more and more antsy and eventually took out of his phone. Now on his way back to campus, against the voice in the back of his head he started to form a message for his new contact. "So your name's Charlie?" It was simple and didn't have much meaning to it. Wasn't urgent but could start conversation, just a pretty safe starting message.


    Not expecting a message too fast Graham put away his phone and quickened his pace a bit. Soon enough he was back at his dorm and went to sit at his desk. Already having gone to the gym early in the day he didn't have too much to do. Deciding to do some work on some projects and some general online stuff he opened his laptop. His roommate, Ben, wasn't in right now. That didn't mean much though he was probably out with his girlfriend or even partying for all he knew. Even if it wasn't too late that wasn't exactly a problem for Ben. His phone sat on the desk next to his laptop, something he was pretty conscious of.



    It was about an hour before they got back to Surrency and with Charlie's phone still dead, she didn't get any texts for a while. When they got back to campus, Noah suggested they all come over for a movie night, but after the crappy afternoon in the city, Charlie wasn't in the mood to just hang out. Instead of going to Ross and Noah's dorm, she decided to have them drop her off at her place. Reluctantly, they obliged and without another word, the young college freshman got out and headed inside. A two minute long elevator ride and a short walk later and she was opening the door to her shared dorm room. Luckily, Madeline was out of town for the weekend, so there was no one to question Charlie when she collapsed on her bed.


    Plugging in her phone, Charlie decided to go and shower off. Hopefully the warm water on her skin would help relieve some of the tension she'd been building up since arriving in the city earlier. Stripping out of her shorts and tank, she stepped into the shower and stayed there for a lot longer than usual. When she was feeling better, she got out and wrapped herself up with a towel before looking at herself in the mirror. She looked pale and tired and the bruises on her arms stood out like black paint on a canvas. Frowning, she turned and exited the bathroom before she could think too much about it anymore.


    After pulling on a pair of clean shorts and a long-sleeved sleep shirt, Charlie sat on her bed and sighed. She leaned her head carefully against the wall when her phone chimed, signifying a text message coming through. Groaning a little, she forced herself to sit up and look at it, expecting it to be from Ross or Noah. When she read over it and realized who it was from, though, a small smile tugged at her lips. Brushing her wet red hair out of her face, she responded. Charlotte. Charlie for short. And I don't think I caught yours? Once she sent it, she dropped her phone on the bed and laid down, staring up at the ceiling, thinking..

    Graham, currently typing away at a paper saw his phone light up as a text came through. Already this had happened multiple times, he was actually seeing what Ben was up to and a few other friends in case they wanted to do something. Since he wasn't in a rush per say though he hadn't checked for awhile. Finishing up his paragraph he finally picked up his phone. Openly smiling, he walked over to his bed and laid down, crossing his legs as he did so. Obviously his other friends were great yet Charlie was something new. Something different, he didn't know where she was from, or really much anything about her. It was exiting really.


    Not one to think too much about the timing or wording of texts, once his phone was in his hand his response came pretty quick. Nice, and no I don't think so. I'm Graham. I actually have some questions if you don't mind. What were you doing in that part of town, are you from around here? Even if she hadn't grown up around or lived in the area most would be able to see the differences and people who were more prominent in that area. Throwing his phone on his bed as he got up Graham quickly glanced at his message, before he moved though he realized it was almost suspicious in the way it was worded. Usually he would simply shrug it off and go back to whatever he may have been doing before. This time though he picked up his phone again, biting his lip and starting to create another message. Almost as soon as he had started though he deleted, dropped, and turned away.


    Graham walking back to his desk shook his head. It was pretty uncharacteristic for him to nitpick and worry about such possibly insignificant things. It wasn't too hard to rationalize as he went back to the idea of just meeting her, so he sat back in his seat and got back to work. Looking at the clock in the bottom right corner of his screen he realized everyone was likely busy or unwilling at this point. Of course going out more than a little late wasn't a foreign concept to him. Yet tonight he might have had a little too much action already for anything too crazy after hours.

    Charlie would have been embarrassed to tell anyone later on that she had been waiting for the boy from the alley to text her back. She'd waited a few minutes before scolding herself for being such a teenage girl. Deciding to pull out one of her textbooks, she drowned her attention in school work to keep from worrying about when he would message her back. Even working on her schoolwork, however, wasn't enough to distract her too much. Since there were very few people who ever messaged her anymore, Charlie knew exactly who it was when her phone screen lit up and the alert chime went off again.


    Reading over the message once and then twice, she smiled. Taking her time thinking about a response, she saved his number in her phone before messaging him back. I like that name :) And no, I'm from Surrency. We were just there for the weekend. Thought we could get some good pictures in the city. She didn't think there was anything strange about sharing any of this information with this boy even though they had just met. She'd seen the glow in his eyes when he'd hurt those men who'd hurt her and she'd heard the excitement in his voice at the idea of beating up Noah earlier. Still, he'd saved her life and he'd seen her. Most people didn't see her anymore.


    Dropping her phone on the bed, she sighed and looked at her bedspread. She was so tired all of a sudden, but she hadn't eaten yet and it was still pretty early. Getting herself out of bed she decided to heat up some soup and make herself some hot chocolate before bed. Upon standing up, she was greeted with a dizziness that also reminded her she needed some pain medicine as well.

    Graham now a little bit antsy and anticipating a response saw his phone light up and had picked it up again within a minute or so. Now deciding to take a break and preoccupy purely with his phone for a while. His clothes at the moment weren't particularly uncomfortable but he was thinking about changing soon enough considering he was likely staying the night in. Regardless he started formulating his next text, this time putting in just a little bit more time and effort. Thanks, yours is nice as well. Surrency huh, that's not too far is it? Really he had little idea but it was just an assumption. Pictures though, is that a hobby or...? He was quite aware that due to the quality of the camera it could be a minor or major.


    Thinking back Graham had seen another girl behind the two boys who wasn't mentioned at all really. In all fairness he was more than preoccupied with the two boys and Charlie but regardless. So who was that girl near the entrance to the alley? She seemed a bit dull, didn't even say anything :P. Although he felt a bit childish saying this it was based on truth, she had sorta just stayed back and done nothing. Thinking for a few extra moments he send a final text. And I have to ask. Are you and, Noah was it, a thing? Seemed pretty protective for a friend but who am I to say.


    It was an interesting question. In his mind he had rationalized that they weren't, the way she acted towards him was actually what made him think that. Who knows though? Hopefully she wouldn't return with a simple, it's complicated. At the same time hopefully he hadn't hit a cord. For the most part Graham just wanted to talk to her. Finally though he got up and went over to the bathroom with a new set of clothes. Opting for sweatpants and a whiteshirt it was far more comfortable. Opting to shower in the morning though he simply washed his still slightly bloody mouth, changed, and was out of the bathroom soon enough.

    ooc:

    Sorry I disappeared for a few days, I was moving back into my dorm at college and since I've been out of the country for a month, that's been a bit of a chore. I'm starting school tomorrow, so I don't know how active I'll be able to be, but I should be able to get on at least once or twice a day in the future :)


    ic:

    For a moment, Charlie felt stupid for sitting there, waiting for him to text her back. She felt like a stupid teenager fawning over some guy like she hadn't just met him in a dark alleyway and watched him beat the crap out of not just one, but two thugs. It was continually stupid because she knew he would have beat the crap out of Noah too if he had decided to ignore her and be dumb. Shaking her head, Charlie tried to put that thought out of her mind. Sure she was a little irritated with Noah right now, but she didn't want him to get hurt or anything and especially not because of her. She wasn't sure she could live with herself if something had happened...


    The phone lit up, jerking her out of her thoughts and making her jump. Looking around the room as if someone was going to somehow appear out of thin air and judge her for her childish reaction Charlie calmed herself before reading his messages. Surrency is about an hour east. Not a big town. When he asked about the pictures, she couldn't help but feel herself smile. Noah was a photographer too, but lately, he hadn't cared so much about the pictures she was taking. Thing was, she was the one who'd gotten him into it in the first place. Letting her fingers fly across the screen, she responded, It's my major. I'd like to go big someday, work for Nat Geo or something.


    When his next message through, Charlie caught herself rolling her eyes. Charlotte had been there, hadn't she...? Of course, she was the actual reason the boys had wandered off anyway. But hey, Charlie wasn't bitter. That was Charlotte. Noah likes her. That was all she really wanted to say about the other girl at the moment. It was bad enough he looked right through Charlie, but the fact that he had invited another girl who was tall, tan, and blonde who's name also happened to be Charlotte had really come as a low blow. Charlie doubted it was personal, but it still hurt. Definitely not a thing. We've been friends for almost our whole lives. He's like a big brother, I guess... Again, a bit of bitterness caused Charlie to scowl even though Graham couldn't see her through the screen.


    The messages stopped for a few minutes and the young freshman forced herself to get back to work on her essay. It wasn't due for a few weeks, but she was mad at Noah and bored out of her brain in her dorm, so what the heck? Besides, she was here on a scholarship so she needed to get good grades. She had no desire to go back to Arkansas for school. As much as she loved her family, this was the school she'd always wanted to go and maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance for her and Noah.