Chapter 3 Tingles and Two Buff Dudes

As soon as Charlotte and I stepped into the school I got a weird feeling in my stomach.

Instead of being glared at, people actually smiled at me and waved.

Weird.

"Aspen? Is that you?" I hear Kayden ask as I walk into first period. I quickly sit beside him which makes Charlotte groan in annoyance before she plops down in the seat on my left.

"Do you know why everyone is acting so..." I say as my voice trails off since I'm trying to find the right word

"Weird?" He asks which causes me to nod my head

"Yeah. You notice it too?" I ask which causes him to nod his head

"Who hasn't, There's a rumor going around that you're trying to fit in" he says with a sad tone which causes me to place my face in my hands and groan

This is what I was afraid of.

It's like our school is afraid of change.

"Obviously most of the students love it," he says in a cheerier tone

"Then there's Maddie" he says in annoyance which causes me to laugh as I look at him

"I wouldn't worry about her, she'll be too busy flirting with Charlotte" I say with a hopeful voice and a wave of my hand

"What about yesterday when she found something else to do" he whispers as he points to the cheek I got slapped on.

I just look down at my lap and hope that Charlotte didn't hear that. If she did she wouldn't even hesitate to bring it up later.

-

First and Second period flew by so fast that it's currently lunchtime.

As I walk into the cafeteria I immediately sit down at a booth with Kayden as we wait for Charlotte.

She said that she was bringing me lunch which made me upset that she was sneaking off of campus again but she just brushed off my worry.

"Maddie at three o'clock" Kayden whispers across from me

"Wha-" I say but get cut off by Maddie's voice

"Are you new? I haven't seen you before" Maddie says as she slides into the empty space beside and touches my arm

I slowly turn to her and hope that she doesn't slap me. When I'm fully facing her she raises her eyebrow at me in question.

Does she really not notice me?

"Well, I asked you a question, silly" she says with a lighthearted laugh as she loops her arm with mine

Is she high?

"Maddie, it's me. Aspen" I say which causes her to stare at me in confusion before she suddenly starts to burst into laughter

"You're funny, you should sit at my lunch table." She says as she points to the table with all of the popular students

Surprisingly, they're all nice to me.

It's only Maddie that has a dislike for me.

"You wold fit in so well over there" she says with a wide smile as she plays with the ends of my hair

Okay, this has to be a joke.

What do I win?

Concert tickets. A backstage pass. A vacation.

"I don't fit in over there" I say as I turn to Kayden for help which turns out to be useless since he shrugs his shoulders and looks away

"What are you talking about? You're a total babe magnet" she says as she pulls me out of the booth and towards the popular table

I press my feet farther onto the ground only to end up tripping over my feet.

"Kayden, Tell Charlotte to help me when she gets here" I say since Charlotte has the biggest effect on Maddie

"You must be friends with Charlotte since you're sitting at her booth," she says as she walks us towards the table

"Of course we are, because I'm Aspen" I say with irritation evident in my voice

"You're hilarious," she says with a laugh as we each pull out a chair and sit at the table

"How?" I ask as I awkwardly sit there

"You're really committed to pranking me, aren't you?" she says with a mischievous look in her eye before winking which causes me to facepalm

Is this how Hannah Montana felt?!

And where is Charlotte?!

-

I barely made it through the rest of the school day.

I was avoiding Maddie while at the same time I was looking for Charlotte.

I walk into the school parking lot only to see Charlotte leaning against the hood of her car with a smirk on her face as she looks at me.

I quickly make my way towards her.

"Where were you?" I say with a serious tone as I cross my arms which causes her to pout at my facial expression

"Why? Did you miss me?" She says with a smirk which causes me to roll my eyes

"I'm being serious, Charlotte." I say "You disappeared and were nowhere to be seen" I say as she stares at me intently

"I was worried about you when I couldn't find you" I say as a tear rolls down my cheek

After lunch I was able to sneak away from Maddie so that I could look for Charlotte, but she was nowhere to be seen.

If something happened to her and I wasn't there to help her I would never be able to live with myself.

She grabs my hips before she pulls me into a tight hug which causes me to wrap my arms around her neck and lay my head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she says as she tightens her grip around my waist

"I had an emergency that I needed to take care of" she says with an emotionless tone which causes me to pull away from her so that I could look into her eyes

"Emergency?" I ask with confusion evident in my voice which causes her to tense

"It's nothing that you need to worry about. I'm craving salad, do you want to go to your favorite restaurant?" She says as she quickly changes the subject. I decide to drop it since she obviously doesn't want to talk about it.

"Yeah, lets go" I say which makes her smile before she walks to the passenger side door and holds it open for me. I blush as I get into the seat before she closes the door and jogs around to the drivers seat

-

When we finished eating our food she drove me home and followed me upstairs.

As soon as we reached my room I picked out a grey tee shirt that stops above my belly button and paired it with black and white plaid short shorts before I walked into my bathroom so that I could change.

When I walked out I threw my previously worn clothing in my laundry basket before I turned on my television so that I could find a movie to watch.

I scrolled through Netflix for a couple of minutes before I found a comedic movie.

I look at my phone only to see that it's seven at night which causes me to scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.

Where's Charlotte?

She usually would've been up here by now.

I get up off of the bed and make my way downstairs. As I reach the last step I'm able to hear a part of her conversation before she hangs up.

"Just get it done, okay?" She asks in an annoyed tone before I hear footsteps making their way towards me.

I barely have time to move when she suddenly stops in front of me with wide eyes.

Her green eyes showed fear and shock.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asks cautiously while searching my face which causes me to stay frozen in my spot

"Not long" I reply quickly before I walk past her and into the kitchen so that I can grab some snacks for us to eat.

As I try, but fail, to reach a cabinet above the oven I feel Charlotte's lips ghost over the side of my neck which causes my breath to hitch as my body starts to feel tingly

What is this feeling?

I've never felt this before.

"Need some help?" She whispers which causes me to nervously bite my lip as I blush

I don't respond since I feel like I might make a weird noise so I just settle for a nod which causes her to smile before before she swiftly reaches up and places two packs of cookies in front of me.

I gulp as her finger tips lightly brush over my arm which causes goosebumps to arise in its wake. She smiles before she turns around and walks out of the kitchen which causes me to release a breath of air I didn't even know I was holding.

What just happened?

And why did my body react that way to her touch?

It's never done that before.

This sickness must be worse than I thought.

I quickly grab the bags of chips along with the cookies before I make my way upstairs.

As I reach my bedroom I see Charlotte laying underneath the blanket as she looks through her phone.

"I have the snacks" I say shakily as I put them in between us before climbing into the bed

As soon as I'm settled in a comfortable spot she starts the movie.

During the movie I ended up laying on Charlotte's chest since she said it would be more comfortable than laying on my pillow.

Which proved to be correct.

Halfway through the movie I started to fall asleep as Charlotte traced shapes on my bare hip which caused my breath to hitch as her finger tips sent sparks up my spine

I ignored it as I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

-

I hear a violent knocking on the door downstairs which causes me to jump up out of bed.

Who could that be?

I carefully slip out of Charlotte's arms before I throw on an oversized flannel and make my way downstairs.

"I'm coming, chill out" I say as they continue to bang on the door

When I reach the door I quickly unlock it before I open it only to be met with two huge guys dress in all black clothing

What the heck.

"Who are you?" I ask in confusion with an emotionless face as I lean against the door frame

I'm too tired to deal with this at three in the morning.

"We're looking for thunder, is she here?" One of the dudes asks which causes me to give him a blank stare

"No, I don't know anyone named thunder" I state in an obvious tone, hoping that they get the hint and go away

"We were told that she has been staying here" the other dude says which causes me to roll my eyes

I'm missing my beauty sleep for this crap?!

"Look, no one named thunder lives here. So, why don't you get back into your bmw and drive back to where you came from" I say with an annoyed smile before I slammed the door in their face and turn around only to see Charlotte walk down the stairs while fixing her hair which causes me to blush

Wow, she looks beautiful.

Wait a minute...

I did not just think that about my best friend.

Ugh, I need to see a doctor soon.

"Aspen?" Charlotte asks with a smile which causes me look down at the floor so that she can't see my blush intensify

"Y-Yeah?" I ask

"I called your name five times. Are you okay?" She asks with a laugh

"Yes, of course I am" I say as I look up only to see that she's now standing in front of me

"Do you mind telling me who was at the door?" She says with a smile as she notices my pink cheeks

"There were two buff guys dressed in black," I say which causes her smile to quickly fall

"They were looking for someone named thunder" I say which causes her to stare at me with an emotionless expression

She looks like she wants to punch someone.

"I have to go, I'll see you at school" she says before she slips on her shoes which causes me to look at her in confusion

"Where are you going?" I ask which causes her to tense before she stands up and walks out the door without responding to me.

What just happened?