Chapter Text
Hurricane high school.
Could you think of a place any worse than Hurricane highschool. Youd earn a medal if you could, because I genuinely dont believe anything could be worse than being forced to drone away at a desk, in the midst of an English class in Hurricane.
Lights buzzing above you, teacher just as bored as any student, and the quiet ticking of a clock making the seemingly slowed pass of time drag on even longer. If the windows weren't closed someone surely would've dove out head first by now. Maybe it'd be Charlie first.
Charlie liked to think of herself as someone so wasn't really like other kids, she was more socially aware of them, or simply just more aware in general. She often spent her free time dove head first
into a good novel after all, or helping out her dad in his workshop and stealing his weekly news paper for a quick scan while he tinkered away at another project.
Honestly, she was just glad to be able to spend time with her dad above anything else, when she was younger she definitely wasn't allowed anywhere near the garage, and even now at 15 she had to work to earn trust. The number one rule was; don't. Touch. Anything.
She understood why, she couldn't imagine a grubby 8 year old running through your space, messing up your neat organisation, and possibly breaking something, would be a very pleasant experience. But she did wish she got more time with him in the past.
Being from a lone parent family, she learnt
something most would go years oblivious to; independence. Her routine consisted of getting herself up, making her breakfast (and her dad's work lunch.) Leaving to catch the bus to school, coming home, doing chores, going out with friends, coming home, showering, bed, repeat.
She largely took care of herself, made sure her own back was washed, homework done, clothes washed, food prepared.. She literally couldn't imagine living any other way. There was a faint distant memory of when her dad used to cook for her, but she didn't remember it tasting very pleasant, so perhaps making her own meals was for the best and-
RING
RING
RING
the school bell blasted through her ears, her already sore head aching. She'd let her mind wander again, and had missed half the lesson. She would surely regret that later, but that sounds like a future Charlie problem, she had things to do.
She planted an arm on her desk, sweeping every belonging scattered across it into her bag, slinging the heavy thing over her shoulder in one swift motion. Practised, precise. She would worry about organising it again in the morning, she did this every time the school day ended. She had a bus to catch after all.
She swiftly moved out of the classroom door, integrating into the dense crowds. She had about 10 minutes to make her way out of the school, and down the street, though she couldn't run till she out of the
large yellow doors of the entrance. Every leaving student knew that Mrs Linas stood at the edge of the main hall at the end of every. Single. Day. Trying to snatch anyone slacking off on the rules for a late day detention. She'd been caught out a few times when she was running particularly late to catch her bus, the car rides home with her dad were always quiet and disapproving. She'd do anything to avoid stressing him out so close to his, "important business deal." as he says.
Okay okay. So close to the entrance, just gotta squeeze past one or two more.."
She sped up just as she reached the end of the hall, sprinting out of the doors and then-
SLAM
She collided heads with a student turning the corner sharply, the pair falling backwards and slamming into the hard pavement. Worst of all, the crowd behind Charlie did not halt, the opposite in fact, they simply created a small bubble around her, not quite stepping on her, but leaving barely any room to collect herself, or pick herself back up.
Her headache went from slightly above mild, into a firm migraine, piercing through her skull. That'd probably bruise, and worst of all it'd be smack dab in the middle of her face where everyone could see. And not a single person offered even a hand of assistance or a "are you okay" in the crowd. Maybe she preferred that they minded their business actually.
She planted two hands on either side of herself, pushing her to her feet, a heavy black bag slung back over her shoulder.
She took a few steps forward, pushing through the crowd with her arms to do the kind thing it seemed nobody else cared to.
She offered a hand to the student she'd knocked into, oh wait.. oh shit!
"Beth? Sorry, I didn't see you. You alright?" Charlie's face immediately softened, every inch of anger she felt towards whoever had bumped into her, dissipating immediately.
"Ah, Charlie, my apologies. I feel I was at fault here, im in quite the rush," The ginger girl replied. Elizabeth Afton was certainly not someone who had to rush, Charlie was surprised to hear that. She was usually someone so composed, so perfectly planned out and thought through. She forgot nothing, ever. To everyone else, it was admirable how seemingly well
planned and perfect she seemed. But to Charlie, it was concerning. Elizabeth worked herself to the bone to be even half as comparable to her brothers in the eyes of her father. Charlie was all too aware of this, as the seasoned "shoulder to cry on" since practically the day they were born.
Elizabeth was someone who Charlie certainly adored, comparable to only her father, but definitely not in the same way. There was something different about the two. Something they both were somewhat aware of, but wouldn't face. Atleast, Charlie hoped Elizabeth noticed it too. They'd never addressed it, even in private, at their weekly, strictly confidential sleepovers. Where they shared every little secret.
She pulled Elizabeth to her feet, taking the ginger's large denim handbag into her own arms. She was already late to her bus, why
not help Elizabeth while she waited for the next? It was in an hour anyway. It was only polite! Chivalry may be dead in their schools male population, but Charlie still valued it.
"Aren't you sweet." Beth teased, giving her a light shove before leading the way back into the school. Luckily, most everyone had cleared out by now, probably something to do with nobody wanting anything to do with this shit hole. Charlie, of course, followed close behind.
"What did you even forget?" Charlie inquired, though she had an idea it was probably one of her books, seen as they were headed straight to her locker.
"Something important. No matter, thank you for your assistance." She chuckled lightly, Charlie smiled at that. She wasn't
fully sure why Elizabeth's laugh felt so warm. It made her stomach twist every time.
"Something important enough to throw off your routine? Wow, must be the cure to cancer." Charlie joked, though just earned an eye roll in return.
"Ballet got cancelled, my instructor is sick. I have free time today, you should come over and fill the slot. I know you missed your bus, my father could drop you off afterwards." One thing about Elizabeth she never got, was her hatred for free time. She liked to have a packed schedule, time in between only stressed her out, and she'd never know what to do with herself. Perhaps thats why she reads so much, it's better to fill the odd 40 minute car rides here and there with something productive, she says. Though Charlie couldn't disagree
more. Car rides were for jamming to music and sight seeing, strictly! No work to be done. It should be illegal to be as busy as Elizabeth, she had as many clubs as every person in her registration class combined.
"Maaybe I could stay over? I know we planned for tomorrow, but what's another day." She tried to lay it on lightly, changes to Elizabeth's strict routine would stress her, though for some reason Charlie always seemed an exception. She was always welcome where nobody else was, but she certainly didn't want to push her luck.
"Sure. Though you'll have to wake up early with me, I planned to do a little room reset tomorrow, in preparation for you coming over."
"I'll help. How early do I need to be up, 9am, 8am?"
"Six." She replied bluntly, giving Charlie a mischievous look she knew all too well.
"6am on a Saturday, you're a mad woman! Atleassst let me sleep in till 7 while you do your bathroom puhhlll-EASE!" She begged, her hands pushed together in a dramatic, begging prayer. She certainly didn't want to wake up at 6 on her Saturday morning, but Elizabeth was strict on her routines, the only way was to meet her somewhere in the middle. And she wasn't going to cancel, she loved time with Elizabeth and if waking up at tomorrow at 6am was what it took to have that, she was prepared to make that sacrifice.
"Fine, fine. Just as long as you aren't in my way, you can sleep in a little longer. Just sleep in my bed beside me, if you're not on the floor I'll have room to move around and get into my flow."
In her bed? That made Charlie's face heat up. Obviously they'd slept in the same bed all the time as kids, but they were teenagers now, and Elizabeth had a single bed. But if Elizabeth insists she cuddle up with her, who was she to refuse?
—
Elizabeth loaded.. Well, a piece of paper? Into her bag. A seemingly very important piece of paper that she couldn’t quite understand. Didn’t matter anyway, she was swooped up by Elizabeth before she could even react anyway. The duo making their way back towards the mostly empty car park with arms linked.
The joy she felt from her and her best friend’s chance encounter, quickly dissipated however, when she realised who was driving the car. William Afton. She had never been too fond of him, he was a very traditional man in his values, and by traditional she meant vaguely racist and misogynistic. A man stuck in his ideals, from his time as a young boy, never quite aging past 20 and determined to cling onto his youth, and the way of life he had at their age.
She slid into the back seat, Elizabeth sliding her arm out of Charlie’s the second her father was in view. (much to Charlie’s dismay.) She wasn’t sure why she didn’t touch her around her father; friends, especially girls, are particularly physically affectionate. What made them different? That she felt she had to hide their affection for each other.
Before she could even think, an older sounding song was turned up on the radio, the older man hunched over the steering wheel with a stern, serious look on his face. Charlie had been driven by the man before, and knew that small talk most certainly wasn’t his thing. Maybe this is why Elizabeth felt the need to busy herself on car trips, Charlie’s dad definitely wasn’t all too clued in in Charlie’s life, but car rides were their time to catch up on what the other was up to, for Elizabeth, this was the opposite. Less you risk a tirade about road safety, and distracting the driver.
William was crazy. That’s something she knew for absolute sure, he was a nut. But she could never tell her best friend as much, she loved her father for all his very vast, and many flaws. Many. MANY. Like, an endless list of..
—-
As they pulled into the driveway of the rather large house, William immediately removed himself from the car, and made his way into his shut off office. The door clicking behind him, locked. As he distanced, Charlie could feel a very clear veil of tension lift, Elizabeth immediately taking her hand again, as her father left her sight.
“My room, I have snacks, duh. If we need anything else I know Michael's hiding spot.” She grinned, pulling Charlie out of the car and up their winding staircase. Elizabeth’s house, though very nice in appearance, lacked that warm feeling of a home. It was all empty white walls, and light floor boards, the overhead lights feeling particularly bright despite the dark feeling of the environment. It all felt so fake. Not a single family photo lining the walls. Charlie couldn’t help but think, when her and Elizabeth live together, they’ll have plenty of photos up together, in a small but warm home.
Wait huh? When they live together? I mean, who doesn’t want to live with their best friends I guess, always close by, always fun. You get to talk whenever you want, spend as much time together going out for dinner or coffee as you like, and she would certainly support Elizabeth’s dreams way better than any man would! She planned to finish high school at 18, then go work with her dad as a mechanic at Fazbear’s. Decent pay, good enough holidays and insurance. It’s fine overall, average. But her guaranteed job there is worth a lot, it’s a safety net.
She would definitely support Elizabeth better than anyone. She would work extra to get her nice things like flowers, or a new pair of shoes, or a book. She would open a savings account to be able to take her on holidays, and would take on any amount of debt to put her through her dream school, and work her ass off to pay it off for her. Not like she couldn’t get a scholarship though, she was smart enough to. And beautiful, incredibly beautiful- oh shit how long was her mind wandering again?
She was already sitting on Elizabeth’s bed, staring off into space in thought. She does this quite often, her teachers get mad at her for it a lot but Elizabeth never minded. Instead, she simply left her to think, and went to shower, as per her routine.
Charlie sifted through Elizabeth’s dresser, picking out a set of pajamas, tossing them on before Elizabeth came out. She wasn’t quite sure how long she’d been in there, thanks to her spacing out, so she figured she’d do this quickly before she returned.
Glancing up at the clock, it was now 5:30. Elizabeth never took long in the shower, she’d be out in 10ish minutes, entertaining herself till then sounded like a hellish task. She wanted nothing more than for her to hurry up and watch a movie together.
She threw herself backwards on her comfortable bed, lined with white blankets and tartan patterned duvet covers. Charlie’s bed was particularly littered with plushies and merchandise from shows she liked, but Elizabeth’s was clean and neat. Much like her. Her walls differed too, photos of her friends or brothers framed and hung up where Charlie’s array of band posters would be. Where Charlie’s clutter, mess, and guitar were across the room, was a small wooden desk, with a white shaded lamp atop it. A tiny rotating cup of various pencils beside it. That’s where she did her work.
Compared to Elizabeth’s room, Charlie’s was dirty. But she preferred the term “lived in.” Elizabeth insisted earlier she had to “reset” and “clean” her room, despite it looking freshly moved every time she came over. Charlie tried pointing this out in the past, only to get a list of tedious things that needed “cleaned” that Charlie would’ve never thought of. Dust on top of a dresser you couldn’t see, windows with water stains, un-ironed clothes that were freshly washed..
To Charlie they were silly things, but they mattered to Elizabeth. Therefore, as silly as it was, they were important to Charlie too! And so, she never judged again. If she wanted to waste her time looking for things to clean, then she wasn’t going to argue. Elizabeth would always do things her way, and there was no point in hell trying to change that woman’s mind on anything.