#chenri

She was still there hours later when Charlie burst through the door. She was in between waves and dozing when the door slammed open. She jumped, sitting up, eyes wild, before her hand flew to her mouth and she was hanging over the side of the bed puking again. Charlie was at her side in seconds, holding her hair away from her face and rubbing her back, frowning down at her in concern. When she was done he helped her lay back and tucked her in. “Charlie?” She had finally registered who it was in her home. “What are you doing here?” “Making sure you’re alive,” he answered. “For once I agree with Mel. You need a phone.” Enri sighed and nodded. Charlie pressed a hand to her forehead and she leaned into it. “You’re nice and cool,” she murmured. She was burning up. Frowning, Charlie readjusted the blankets.

"Just lay still, I’ll be right back." Enri nodded again and closed her eyes, while Charlie stood from the bed. He sent Mel a quick text reading ‘Enri’s sick.’ before leaving his phone on the counter to get Enri a cup of water. He dumped the bucket out in the toilet, rinsed it out and returned it to her side. He then hunted until he found a really old-fashioned thermometer and wiped it off before sticking it in her mouth. While he waited for it to tell him how bad her fever was, he got a washcloth and some towels from the bathroom, and wet the washcloth under the sink. He draped one of the towels over the side of the bed to keep it clean, and put the other under the bucket. He pressed the damp cloth to her forehead and plucked the thermometer from her mouth. 105.3. Not. Good.

He rushed to his phone and dialed Mel, uncaring whether she was in class. When she picked up scolding him like an angry squirrel, he interrupted. “Enri’s vomiting and running a temperature of 105.3, she needs to see a doctor.” There was silence on the other end before Mel finally said. “Got it. I’ll figure something out,” and hung up.

Charlie placed his own phone in his pocket and turned to look at Enri as she dozed, her face clammy with sweat. He walked back over to the queen size and climbed onto the bed to sit by her side, gently pushing the hair away from her forehead over and over again. Struck by inspiration, he snuck upstairs for find her brush and hair ties before returning. “Enri?” he prompted gently. She cracked one eye open to peer at him. “Hm?” “Do you want me to braid your hair?” After pondering it for a moment, she nodded and sat up. Lurching so he could reach, Charlie pulled two more blankets from the trunk at the foot of the bed and draped them around her, kicking himself for not thinking of it before, and gently freed her hair from its fabricy prison.

He gently brushed her hair before putting it into a long braid. He used to do this for his sister, so he knew how. Not to be distracted, he tied it off just in time, as she leaned forward to hang over the side of the bed again. Crawling to sit next to her, he supported her while she dry heaved before helping her back under the covers and using the two blankets he had acquired to make her even warmer. She smiled at him as he helped her sip some water. “Thanks Charlie,” she whispered, before lying back.

About an hour later, Mel called.  Charlie picked up in record time, and didn’t even give her a chance to say anything before he was demanding answers.  He only shut up when she shouted on the other end. “Fang!  Shut up and listen.  You’re going to want to carry her, okay?  It’ll be faster than us coming to get you.  The van’s at the edge of the forest, so we can just load in and get her to my house.  Jayden’s driving.  We can ask my Dad about a doctor when he gets home.” Sighing, Charlie nodded before realizing Mel couldn’t see him and muttered affirmation.  He got together anything he could think to grab, including a change of clothes, a thermos of water, and the stuffed wolf he had won for her when they went to an amusement park.  Satisfied that he was as ready to take her from the small cabin as he’d ever be, he walked over to the bed and gently roused Enri, explaining what was going on.  She nodded, and slowly climbed out of bed to be wrapped in blankets and picked up.  

It was a long and nerve-wracking trek.  He had to stop several times to let Enri heave over the bushes, despite the fact that there couldn’t possibly be anything left in her stomach to throw up.  Mel met them halfway, breaking into a run as they came into sight and reaching up to feel her friend’s forehead.  Enri cracked a tired eye open to see who was touching her, and attempted a smile for her friend.  ”Hey Mel,” she rasped, “I don’t feel so good.”  Mel stroked back a few stray hairs from her clammy forehead.  ”I know.  But we’re gonna get you taken care of, and make you better, kay?”  Enri closed her eyes with a sigh.  ”Kay.”  Mel looked up and saw Charlie’s expression.  She reached up and patted his cheek.  “You did good Fang. Now let’s get this lil angel to civilization.” 

Mel smiled up at him and rolled her eyes upon seeing the glare he was shooting her way. “The jumper looks great on you and you’re not getting your contacts back so get over it.”

He sighed, at least she’d let him wear his favorite jeans. That was about all she’d let him do. She’d forced him into wearing a white dress shirt and pulled a blue jumper over it, quite literally, after having climbed up on top of his dresser and whacked him into submission. With a bottle of cologne he was certain he didn’t own and was now wearing.

She’d hidden his contacts while he was out for his run this morning and he had yet to find them. He suspected that she’d thrown them out but he’d just go out and get new ones on the morrow. He tugged the ends of the shirt down, refusing to tuck them into his jeans no matter how many times Mel tried. He received another whack to the head and glared at the angry little elf standing in front of him.

"I need that you know." He muttered.

Mel rolled her eyes. “Losing a few brain cells won’t kill you. Now go be a gentleman and pick up your dates.”

He blinked. “Dates?”

Mel skipped ahead, pulling the door open. “Um hmm. You’re going with Enri and Henry aren’t ya?”

She pushed him out the door as he tried to understand what she was getting at. “Aye, but what…oh. Genius Melanie. Fucking hilarious.”

She giggled. “Isn’t it though?”

He grabbed the doorframe and turned around so that she could see his unamused expression. “Sarcasm. You staying in the night?”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

He raised an eyebrow curiously. Mel almost always stayed in on friday nights and watched a dvd or spent the night jamming away with Jeremy.

"What are you getting up to?"

She wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. “Got a hot date, not that it’s any of your business.”

He stopped, stepped back in the house and picked her up. He carried her into the kitchen and set her down on the counter, giving her his best stern face.

"Remember, you’re not a slag. Respect or I’ll leather him alright?"

She nodded. “I know, I know. Take things slow, make sure he treats me right etcetera etcetera.”

He rolled his eyes at her flippant brushing off of his threat, knowing that they both knew he meant it, and nodded. “Good.”

He stepped back and headed for the door, listening for the thump as she jumped down off the counter.

"Oi, Charlie?" She called just as she was about to close the door behind him.

He turned and cocked his head to the side, indicating that she should continue.

"I’m watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the-night."

He moved to grab her and throw her over his shoulder but she’d been expecting it and the door was already slammed shut and locked. He cursed, hearing the ringing sound of her laughter from the other side and flashed her the bird when she peeked through the living room window. She stuck her tongue out and pulled the curtains shut again.

He shook his head, shoved his hands in his pockets and made for the driveway. Being the idiot that he was, he had volunteered to pick Enri up, about a four hour trek, before they headed to the park where they’d meet Henry.

He muttered insults aimed at Melanie as he walked, glaring at the ground in front of him for the first hour. Then he decided that maybe watching the sky was safer. Glaring at the ground would only serve to make it more apt to cause Enri injury on the way back.

Once there, he ran a hand through his hair to make sure it looked okay and reached out to knock. Just as his hand brushed the door, it swung open and Enri was grinning up at him. He blinked. She wasn’t usually this… smiley. What was going on?

He took a moment to appreciate how nice her legs looked in the simple dress she was wearing. No heels, thank goodness, because they were death traps for women. Or so he had decided. Her hair was tied back for once and he reached up to take the hair tie out. She looked better with it down. Besides, he knew she had never like ponytails anyway.

She stepped outside, closing the door behind herself, and reached for his hand as she tripped on her way over. He rolled his eyes and muttered about the ground having it out for him. She’d barely lost her balance and was perfectly fine, but he was convinced it was the earth’s way of getting back at him for glaring at it earlier.

Enri rolled her eyes and reached out to smack him, to which he pouted like the drama queen that he was. “Mel’s already killed more brain cells than I can afford to lose. At this rate I’ll have to give up all hope of a decent job.”

She shook her head. “Quit being such a baby.”

He picked her up and swung her over his shoulder, ignoring her protests about wearing a dress and smirked. “Who’s being a baby now?” He teased.

"Still you." She shot back, crossing her arms after having given up trying to get him to let her down.

At least she’d figured that out faster than Mel had. The girl could pound on his back for hours before she gave up, not because she knew he’d set her down when he felt like it but because she’d turned her fists black and blue. Eejit.

When they got to the parking lot outside of where the fair was being held he set her down and chuckled as he watched her brush herself off. She glared at him and stalked off to the line for tickets without a word. Ooh, the silent treatment, he’d change that.

He stepped up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist and ignoring when she slapped at his hands. He set his chin on her shoulder and grinned when she turned to glare at him. She roller her eyes, crossed her arms and went back to ignoring him.

He started to hum her favorite song, one of the ones Mel had recently got her hooked on, and smiled as she tapped her foot along to the beat. They were moving up the line and he decided it was time to step things up a bit, she wouldn’t be able to stay mad at him long anyways. She wasn’t one to hold grudges.

He started nibbling on her earlobe and she jumped in surprise. He chuckled and felt her shiver as he brushed his nose down her neck. He showered butterfly kissed along her neck and down to her shoulder, looking up to see her staring at him curiously.

"What are you doing?"

He grinned, shrugging as he kissed the spot behind her ear. “I don’t like when you’re mad at me.”

She sighed. “You’re ridiculous.”

He smiled. “I know.”

Then they were up at the booth and before Enri could speak Charlie tickled her and ordered them tickets. She glared playfully and moved to pull out her wallet when he shook his head.

"I’m paying."

She opened her mouth to protest but he wasn’t having it. He handed the money over and thanked the lady behind the glass. She chuckled and shook her head.

"No problem, it’s nice to see young couples enjoying themselves. Your girlfriend is adorable by the way."

Charlie swung an arm across her shoulder and smiled. “I know.”

And he dragged her off to the cotton candy stand where they were supposed to meet Henry. The one next to the massive ferris wheel. Enri seemed to have forgotten that she was supposed to be angry at him as soon as she laid eyes on it.

She tugged on his sleeve and he looked down at her in amusement. “What?”

"Can we go on the tall round thing?" She asked, wide-eyed.

He liked it, it made her seem more childlike than she already did. It was cute.

He chuckled. “You mean the ferris wheel?”

She nodded. “Yeah, with all the lights.”

He nodded, pulling her to him and kissing her forehead. “When Henry gets here we’ll all get in line together.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

Just then Henry came running over, stopping to wave before leaning over with his elbows on his knees. He was panting and looked to have run all the way here. When he straightened up he was grinning.

"Sorry I was late, had to go grocery shopping with my Oma and I lost track of time. Nice dress by the way."

Charlie shook his head with a smirk, trust Henry to get so wrapped up in groceries that he forgot about fun.

Enri just shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure your Oma needs you more than we do. And thank you, Mel helped me pick it out.” She turned to Charlie. “Remind me to never let her drag me shopping again.”

Charlie chuckled. “Alright, but she’ll only insist on online shopping instead. I don’t know why you bother.” He turned to greet the other boy with a handshake. “Henry.”

Henry nodded and reached out to shake Charlie’s hand. They had a secret bro shake that Enri would never understand the point of but couldn’t get them to stop using, so she settled for rolling her eyes instead.

"Nice of you to finally join us." Charlie teased as they made their way towards the ferris wheel.

Enri elbowed him in the ribs like she’d seen Mel do and he shot her a glare. She rolled her eyes, he’d barely felt that she was sure.

"Drama queen." She mumbled.

He reached out and poked her cheek with the hand that wasn’t slung around her shoulders and she blinked. Sometimes she was certain that he was five years old. He poked her again and she smacked his hand away, earning her a pout from the big baby.

"I can always go home and leave you here with Henry you know." She told him.

He blinked at her and stuffed his free hand in his pocket instead.

She nodded and reached up to pat his cheek. “Good Charlie.”

He rolled his eyes and mumbled something about not being a dog but made no further attempts to poke her. Henry chuckled from his spot on her other side and she turned her head to look at him.

"You two are like an old married couple." He told her with a smile.

She shook her head. “You mean Charlie’s like a small child whining about everything and I’m the only one who can put up with it.” She corrected.

He shrugged. “That too.”

Charlie shot them a glare to which they just grinned. “I object to being called a child.”

They just shook their heads because, well, he was.

"And I do not whinge about everything.” He muttered.

That set them off laughing. Charlie sighed and towed them forward as the line moved again. When they finally got to the front, five minutes later, Enri and Henry were still in hysterics while Charlie scowled unhappily. He handed the ride operator their tickets and dragged the other two on board.

Somehow they had moved around and now Charlie was stuck in the middle. Great. Enri laid her head on his shoulder as they began to move and he smiled. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. He’d never been on one of these things without Mel and Jake rocking it until he feared they’d all slip out and impale themselves on one of the tall conifers on either side of them.

This made a nice change from Jake heaving up all the cotton candy he had eaten once they got off. Motion sickness must have sucked. Mel on the other hand just called him a wimp and dragged them both along to the next ride as soon as he’d washed his mouth out. Nice sister she was.

He must have been thinking for a while because when he came back out of his thoughts they were almost at the top. Enri had flashed Henry a cheeky look and Charlie groaned, they were most definitely up to something.

Just as he was wondering what they could possibly have been conspiring about, they both reached out to pinch one of his cheeks. Oh for fucks sake.It was going to be a long night. They hadn’t even hit halfway through the ferris wheel yet and he was already being tortured.

After about five minutes he couldn’t take it anymore. He stretched out his legs and slid Enri, who he was sure was the mastermind behind the annoy Charlie plot, onto his lap. She squeaked but her legs just fit under the bar and she’d let go of his cheek in surprise so he shrugged.

Henry chuckled, letting go of Charlie’s face to adjust his glasses before they slipped off and went crashing to the ground. Charlie nodded in satisfaction, this was alright. Enri seemed to have settled comfortably and was just resting her hands on the bar as they began their descent.

She was peering excitedly at the world around them and Charlie tightened his grip on her waist. It wouldn’t do to let his own girlfriend fall out of the ferris wheel. Especially not this high up.

"Ooh, look!" She pointed at something off to their left. "You can see the school from here."

Charlie rolled his eyes, you could see the whole town from here.

He patted her head. “Um hmm.”

Henry however shot forward in his seat and they were soon laughing and pointing as they found various landmarks from here. Henry’s glasses began to slip as he looked down and Charlie’s hand shot out to grab them.

Henry shot him a sheepish smile and put them back on. “Thanks man.”

Charlie shrugged. “When we get off if this thing I’m taping them to your face. We can’t have you wandering around half-blind now can we?”

Henry chuckled and shook his head. They were almost at the bottom now and Enri had turned her head to see what the boys were talking about. When they touched down the operator looked at them oddly and opened his mouth to say something, probably about Enri being sat on Charlie’s lap, when he shot the poor man a glare. The man shut his mouth and let them off without a word.

"That’s what I thought." Charlie mumbled as they walked away arm-in-arm.

Enri, who was now in the middle of the two boys, turned to look at him in confusion. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Two slurpees, three bags of cotton candy and five rides later Charlie was glad he had a strong stomach for these things because otherwise he was sure he’d have been sick. Henry was strolling along, slurpee in hand with his glasses askew and looking content while Enri skipped along swinging their entwined hands back and forth. Maybe that last cotton candy had been too much, or the last three perhaps.

Enri seemed to have taken a liking to the edible, sugary, melt in your mouth fluff. Slurpees on the other hand she was decidedly not a fan of. Charlie supposed it was because she’d sipped the first one too fast and given herself a brain freeze. He couldn’t blame her, brain freezes were hell, he was glad he didn’t get them anymore.

They walked around for a while until they passed a house of mirrors and Enri wandered inside. Charlie found her frowning and waving her arms about as she stared at her reflection.

"Why am I all twisty?" She asked him curiously.

He chuckled and pointed towards the mirror she was standing in front of. “Twisty mirror makes a twisty reflection.”

She nodded. “So all these mirrors do something different?” She gestured across the room as she asked.

Charlie nodded. He found a long one and gestured for her to stand in front of it.

She smiled. “Ooh, this one makes you look tall. I’m almost your height now.”

Charlie chuckled and patted her head. “Yup. Try the squiggly one over there.”

Henry wandered in to find them pulling faces in mirror that made them look about three feet tall and abandoned his empty slurpee in the garbage to join them. Charlie laughed when Henry popped in and slid his phone out to take a picture.

Once out of the house of mirrors they found a photo booth and piled in. Henry seemed pleased with the excessive amount of ridiculous photos they took together and Charlie only shook his head.

"Ooh look!" This time it was Henry dragging them across the field. "I’ve found all the games. We should play the water gun one and see if we win anything."

Charlie reluctantly agreed and Henry ended up winning a bug stuffed goldfish he named Fin. They tried darts at Henry’s suggestion as well and Enri turned out to have great aim despite being on a sugar high. She picked out the purple teddybear bigger than herself because it had a missing eye and she insisted that it deserved to be loved too.

Charlie gave up trying to protest and shook his head when she named it Hugo. He wasn’t really sure where that one had come from or why but he didn’t stop to question it.

Enri suggested he play a game involving basketballs and he missed the last shot on purpose. He wasn’t really bothered about winning to be honest. It was kind of nice to show off though. Henry found a game all about slap shots and turned to look at Charlie.

"You play hockey right?"

Charlie shrugged. “Sometimes.”

"Why don’t you try this one then."

Charlie sighed. “Nope.”

Enri looked up from Hugo, face peering around his mountain of fur and blinked. “Why not?”

He shook his head. “No way.”

She gave him the puppy eyes he suspected Becca had taught her and he sighed. “Fine, but I won’t be happy about it.”

Enri smiled. “You don’t have to be. Henry and I will be happy enough for all three of us, won’t we Henry?”

Henry nodded. “Yeah, we sure will. Go on then.”

He handed Charlie the stick and stepped back to stand with Enri as they watched him play. He handed over the last of his tickets to the man running the game and the man handed him a puck in return.

"Three shots."

Charlie smirked. “I’ll only need one.”

The man looked at him like he was crazy but shook his head and didn’t press it any further. Charlie lined up the shot, swung and the machine went crazy. He may have cheated a little by using some of his werewolf strength but the sign above the net read 109mph in blaring red letters and he was being showered in confetti.

Music played and faded away as he handed the man back the stick. “Like I said, one shot.”

The man stared at him in shock, blinked a few times and took the stick held out to him. He stored it away and pointed towards the row of prizes above him.

"Well, it looks like we have ourselves a winner. Which prize would you like son?"

Charlie bit his lip and pointed at the large brown wolf. “I’ll take that one please.”

The man handed him the stuffed animal and he turned to his friends with a smirk. Henry clapped him on the back.

"I though you said you played sometimes."

Charlie rolled his eyes. “I do.”

Henry whistled. “We need to get you on the school team man, your slap shot was amazing.”

Charlie shrugged. “It wasn’t that great.” He turned and handed Enri the wolf, setting Hugo up on his shoulders for her.

She smiled and shook her head, getting the joke. “You really are something else Charlie.”

He grinned. “Yup.”

They parted ways after that, Henry having gotten a call from his Oma saying he was needed back home and Charlie deciding that it was about time he walked Enri back. She didn’t stop bouncing until they got into the forest and only then because she was shivering. Charlie smacked himself.

"You must be cold, sorry, I’m such an idiot. Here." He handed her his blue jumper.

She looked at it and shook her head. “Won’t you be cold?”

He chuckled. “I’ll be fine, I’m never cold. You need it more than I do.”

"Alright, but only if you’re sure." She nodded and slipped it over her head. "Thanks."

Charlie shrugged. “Anytime.”

When they got her her place she let him in and he set Hugo on the floor. Enri offered to let him stay the night but Amalia was leaving early tomorrow and he had to be home to watch Ryan. She walked him to the door and he leaned in to brush the hair away from her forehead.

"I’ll see you on Monday."

She nodded. “Wait, don’t you want your sweater back?”

He shook his head. “Keep it, it looks better on you anyway.”

She blushed and he chuckled, leaning down to brush his lips to hers. She ran her fingers through his hair, just the way he liked, and he moved to cup her face in his hand while the other rested firmly on her waist. She smiled against his lips and he was grinning as well when he pulled away.

"Night Charlie." She panted.

He smirked. “Night.”

"Be careful on your way back." She shouted as he turned to leave.

He smiled. “Careful is my middle name.”

“That guy,” she repeated, “that guy is a lame, antisocial… jerkwad! Y’know, I try to help him out, y’know. I’m like, hey, Charlie, here, make friends.” She made a motion with her hands like she was handing something to someone. “And he’s just like, grumble grumble grr.”

Melanie cross her arms over her puffed out chest, making an awkward, scrunched up face. Charlie raised his eyebrow, watching her conversation.

By now, she had broken into a full-on—very bad—impression of him. “I’d rather sit here draw pictures of everything rather than actually participate in conversations. Don’t mind me, I’m just going to hog your video games and play with your brothers and eat all your food!”

Charlie wanted to laugh at her impression, but felt a little bad due to the fact that most of what she was saying was true.

“And then there’s Enri!” Mel flopped back on the couch with an exhausted expression. “I’m like, here, Charlie, help me teach this girl how to live in normal society and be our friend, and he just—”she shot forward,“—doesn’t know what to do with her!”

Charlie nearly went over to defend himself.

“Half the time I’m… ugh,” she stopped, flipping herself upside down on the couch, feet resting over the back of it while her head and arms hung over the edge. “I wish they’d just,” she held her hands out and smooshed them together, “make out already!”