Take to the Skies

Send 🎃 for our muses to carve pumpkins together

Send 👻 for our muses to visit the haunted house together

Send 🌽 for our muses to go through the corn maze

Send 🎟️ for our muses to go on carnival rides together

Send 🍎 for our muses to go apple bobbing together

Send 🔒 for our muses to be in an escape room together

“I’m not leaving you!” Ash said with a sigh. “I’m just…leaving this apartment. I’ll still be lonely and up your ass twenty hours a day.” She poured herself a glass of wine and took a sip. At Ara’s comment, Ash snorted. “Careful with that. Your little puppy might come over and die if he sees you naked.”

“Good, you better be.” Ara huffed, shoving a forkful of food in her mouth as she continued to half pout and half consider a bright side to this. “Don’t call him that. I don’t talk bad about Nic, so why do you have to be so mean to Charlie?” She questioned, giving her best friend a pointed look. She knew she was mostly teasing, or at least she hoped she did, but it still bothered her whenever someone said something to the effect of insulting him. 

“I…thank you.” Charlie smiled. He was relieved that she wasn’t super against the idea of him kissing her. He just…didn’t know when he would kiss her. It sucked because the moment was ruined. Then again, there wasn’t really a moment to begin with, unless he counted Ara practically tackling him. That could be a moment. “Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool. So, uh, would it be weird if I kissed you right now? Because I really liked it when you kissed me and I want to do it again.”

Aravelline was trying to hold in her laughter at how awkward he’d become, and she was sure the smile on her face was wider than ever before. Her mind was racing at his question though, all fields of thought bombarding her at once. She hadn’t really known how she felt about Charlie before the kiss, but she couldn’t deny kissing him felt right. But where did they stand now? Did it matter at this exact moment or should she force them to talk it out? She took a deep breath, stilling her mind as her hand slid underneath his and she laced her fingers through his. “I want to kiss you again too.” She said, nodding after she realized that wasn’t a true answer to what he’d asked. 

“Well, she’s very much like a plant in the way that she falls down a bunch, just like plants in wobbly little pots do.” Beverly tilted the pint of ice cream slightly to demonstrate how pots wobble. “Oh, it’s totally mean but, like…I don’t care.” 

Ara bristled. This girl, whoever she was, was ruder than anyone she’d ever met. And she herself existed, and was best friends with Ash. “Look, is Charlie going to be awake anytime soon? Or can I just go in there? It doesn’t look like you’re looking for your pants anymore and besides, I don’t know what they look like so I can’t imagine I’d be of much help anyways.” 

Ash crouched down to pick up the fork Ara dropped. “Mid-September. It’s Professor Carson’s old apartment. He’s giving me a good deal so I just…kinda had to snatch it up.” She put the fork in the sink before sitting down at the table with Ara. “Don’t look so sad, dude. I’ll be here all the time anyway, and I’ll bring you food. You’re not losing me.”

“Jesus, that’s right around the corner.” Ara said, getting comfortable enough with the idea of her moving that she could discuss it normally. “Of course I’m sad. You’re leaving me, and even if you’re around I mean... it’s not the same with just me and Lucky Charms.” She said, looking around for the cat in question. “But, now I don’t have to share anything I guess... and I can walk around the whole apartment naked.”

Charlie had a horrible knot in his chest in the brief second between asking the question and Ara laughing. It dissolved almost instantly. “Oh, okay good. I was afraid that was going to be a thing now.” Charlie’s laugh had a nervous hint to it. He didn’t know if he could kiss her now that the moment was ruined. Charlie looked at the TV for a moment, but then back at Ara. “Should I kiss you now or, just, uh, wait for the right time.”

“No, it’s not going to be a thing Charlie. Don’t worry, you and stress don’t go in the same picture.” Ara tilted her head, watching him as she wondered what to do next. She wasn’t quite sure how these things worked since she’d only really casually hooked up before. Liking someone was a whole different ball game, and if she hadn’t known it before, the kiss solidified it. She liked Charlie. His question broke her out of he realization and she found herself laughing again, only softer this time. “Charlie, you can kiss me any time you want. I don’t think I’ll ever complain.” 

He slowly sat back down on the couch as she spoke. Charlie reached out a hand to take one of hers, a small smile creeping onto his lips. “You do?” He scooted a little closer to her. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about what their first kiss would be like, and this was not one of the scenarios that had run through his head. And he thought about kissing Ara a lot. It was embarrassing. Charlie let go of Ara’s hand to wrap around her shoulders. “I didn’t think it would happen like that either.” He bit his lip, wanting desperately to kiss her again. “If I kiss you again, do you promise not to fall off the couch?”

“Of course I do.” Ara nodded, pushing her hair behind her ear. As she felt the couch shift, she mimicked his movements and slid closer to him. At his question, her head snapped up, and she stared at him in shock before bursting out laughing. It took her a moment to catch her breath, but finally she found herself able to calm down. “I promise not to fall off the couch.” She said when she could finally answer, smiling at him so bright she was sure her cheeks would start hurting soon. 

“Oh.” Charlie was hoping she’d wanted to kiss him. But from what she was saying it was just because he annoyed her. That hurt. He helped Ara back onto the couch before standing, making sure he had his things. “I…it’s fine, Ara. Really. I mean the kiss and everything was way more than okay, I wish we could do that again.” His hands started to shake. “But I…if you don’t want that– I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” 

It was in this moment that Aravelline realized she had fucked up. “Charlie no! That’s not... I can’t.” She buried her head in her hands as she tried to figure out how to go back and say something better. “Charlie, I do want to kiss you.” She said softly, her face still in her knees. “I just didn’t want it to happen like that. You know, like as a impulsive thing.”

“Well, he doesn’t. But the girl kissed him and he just doesn’t have the balls to ask her out. He’s had this huge crush on her since, like, the New Year. He should just do it.” Beverly said through the bite of ice cream. “I don’t remember. You’d have to ask Charlie.” Bev paused. “Oh, don’t worry. You’ll have your friend back soon. It totally won’t last. Kid can’t keep a plant alive, how do you expect him to maintain a relationship.” Beverly resumed her ice cream eating, completely unaware of who she was talking to. “He did get mad at me for laughing, though. He told me how she fell after they kissed and I just…I lost it..”

“Oh, wow. That’s a lot to process.” Ara said, her mind whirring. Was Charlie going to ask her out? Did he want to ask her out? And how long had she just said he’d had a crush on her for? “Why does him being able to keep a plant alive matter when it comes to him having a relationship?” Aravelline asked, not being able to bring the two together in her mind. She didn’t find herself getting upset until she heard something about being laughed at. “Why would you laugh at something like that, that sucks.” She commented dryly, shaking her head. “I mean, it’s kind of mean isn’t it?”

Beverly had forgotten about her pants as she sat on the couch and ate her ice cream. “Oh god no, you don’t want to meet drunk Charlie. He’s like the roadrunner from that old cartoon except he won’t shut up.” Beverly laughed and looked over at Ara, only now noticing her sour expression. “Oh, ew, you’re mad or farted. I’m Beverly, it’s a damn shame Charles hasn’t said anything about me.” Bev took another bite of the ice cream. “I’m his sister’s best friend. I care because I’ve known him for like seven years.”

“Charlie and I are really close friends, I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.” Aravelline said, her mind flashing back to their kiss. She wasn’t sure if maybe he’d told her something more or if... if maybe Charlie didn’t feel the same way she did. She’d resolved to tell him soon but now she wasn’t sure. “Did he say anything about her? Maybe I know her and I can find out who she is for you?” Ara suggested, though she would be snooping more for herself than for the other girl, she had no objections to sharing the news if it was with a friend of the family that Charlie trusted enough to get drunk around and tell about some girlfriend in the first place. 

Charlie was talking and then very, very suddenly he couldn’t because Ara was kissing him. It didn’t seem like it was the most comfortable position for Ara but he could barely concentrate on that because her lips were quite literally on his and everything was just…woah. One of his hands reached out to touch her…elbow? It was awkward which seemed to sum up the entirety of Charlie’s life, so this worked well enough. Charlie felt Ara begin to slip and tried to catch her, but he only managed to…Oh god. “I just touched your butt. Are you okay?” He asked, face white as a sheet as he reached down to help her back up.

Ara felt the nerves of a million quidditch games fill her stomach as she took her hand, and she pushed back the tears she always got when she was anxious. “Charlie... I don’t know why I did that... I just, y-you wouldn’t stop talking and I wanted you to stop so I could watch the movie and then I just... I got so flustered... and then I was kissing you.” She started to explain, shaking her head and throwing her hands around erratically. “Honestly don’t even worry about my butt because I just kissed you and you didn’t even do anything to let me know that would even be okay and that’s honestly... yours was an accident and I just did it and it wasn’t an accident. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an accident.”

Charlie stopped talking when Ara told him to, his cheeks turning bright red. “Sorry, a nervous habit.” He muttered. But then there was the next jump and he started speaking even louder. “You know I have a chicken named Alfredo. You should come to the farm and meet her someday. I’ve also got Nugget, Marsala, and Shwarma. I know it’s kind of morbid to name my chickens after food made out of chickens but I was like thirteen when I named them. I don’t think I’m that messed up– HOLY COW.” Charlie shouted as there was a huge scare. He was nearly shouting as he began speaking again. “I found five dollars on the floor of the store I work at and I kept it even though I’m supposed to give it to my manager.”

Aravelline’s head was spinning as she tried to focus, a small headache growing as he started speaking louder. Finally she snapped, somewhere after the chickens and between the money, she lost control of her impulses. Her mind was turning with a million ways to shut him up, but only one of them really struck her as the fastest. Before she could fully process her emotions she’d leaned over him and kissed him hard. After a moment, her brain started to realize what was happening. Less so in an effort to move away, but more so a realization that she had angled herself into what was possibly the most uncomfortable kiss ever. As she laid her hand down on the couch, leaning on it to give her leverage, she felt herself lose hold. She let out a startled cry as she fell to the floor beside the couch, her hand reaching up. 

Charlie felt his heart start to race as she moved closer to him. However, the movie was terrifying and he soon enough found himself completely under the covers with only his eyes poking out. He was talking the entire time as he felt himself grow more and more afraid. “This isn’t real, though. Like it’s all CGI, there’s not any real blood. It’s fine and good and they’re not dead. You know my siblings are upset with me for my inventions? Mainly because they keep exploding in Kit’s things but still. They’re upset. With me. Charlie, their baby brother. They’ve never been mad at me for my inventions.”

Aravelline herself was peaking out of the blanket on the side, trying to focus on the movie and prove her philosophy that if she could guess when the scares were coming, she wouldn’t be so afraid. She found it difficult though, given Charlie’s incessant talking. “Charlie, please.” She whispered, not sure if he heard her, but swatting him in the chest to try and get the point across. “Beat them up then. Blow Kitt’s things up on purpose.” Ara suggested hastily, hoping that would end the conversation and lend her ears back to the movie as quickly as possible.

Bev opened the door more to let this random redhead in. Maybe she was a Carr cousin or something. “Can you help me find my pants? I stayed here last night and must’ve taken them off somewhere.” She frowned and began her search again, completely stopping once to take a bite of ice cream. “The kid…” Bev said quietly, trying to remember what he said last night. “He wouldn’t dish about this girlfriend he has so I got him a little drunk last night but he should be fine. I think he’s still passed out in his room.” 

“What? I guess so.” Ara said uncertainly, though with how many people were in and out of this house she wouldn’t be sure any pants she found were specifically the girls. “You did what to him?” Ara asked, trying to control her temper as she looked over to Charlie’s room in concern. “Why would that have been the smartest thing for you to do? Why would you even care that much? Who are you?” She kept her voice controlled, really not wanting to wake up Charlie too soon if he was in fact sleeping off a hangover, and instead went back to trying to find this mystery woman’s pants so maybe she’d put them back on.