There'd been a plan. From the get-go, Z had known - his relationship with Charlie was a doomed one, and yet he'd been unable to help himself. He'd fallen straight down the rabbit hole and he'd fallen hard in love with her, and he still didn't regret it. But.
But there'd been the constant fighting, and the indecision, and the pressure, and the paranoia. All of it had become too much, after a while, and even loving her didn't feel like enough. He couldn't give her what she needed. What she wanted. So they broke up. Which had felt like hell - he'd wandered the school halls like a ghost for weeks, unable to sleep, unwilling to smile. He'd been completely unable to let it go, to let Charlie go.
He had to make a choice, and he had to make a plan. For a guy like him, plans came easy, and putting them together, once he was set, was even simpler. Which was why leaving Mythian behind didn't actually feel like a loss. As glad as he was for the opportunity the school gave him, he had plenty more outside of it, too, and nothing to stop him, now. So he'd handed in his resignation, effective immediately, just a few short days before graduation. He didn't have any classes anymore, wasn't holding anyone up, and it was time to move on.
It was time to give Charlie his everything, if she'd still have him. Which is why, when she waves at him from the other side of the room, he crosses the space between them, practically jogging to her, stopping just feet away, looking down at her.
"Congratulations," he says, softly, before reaching out, a hand framing her cheek gently, and leaning down into a kiss, more tentative than he'd like, more public than he's ever done. He might be too late, it might all be too late, but... He might as well try.
It was a hard lesson to learn for anyone but especially at her young age: love doesn't fix or cure everything. She loved him, oh how she loved him. But it wasn't enough to make the rest of it okay, their problems, the things that put a chasm between them. It was awful and she didn't do any better than he did afterward, especially since she definitely went into a spiral of drugs and drinking and careless sex.
She'd snapped out of it eventually, her heart started to mend even if she pined over him. She'd been lucky that she wasn't in his class the last semester of school because that would have been way too painful. They'd been apart for months but every time she saw him, she felt that pull, that ache. And now the one thing that had torn them apart was gone.
She wasn't his student anymore and she didn't know how to handle it. So she waved at him, like an idiot. Then it was something straight out of a movie. He moved towards her, spoke words she barely had a chance to process or hear before he kisses her.
He's kissing her. In public. In front of... people. Anyone can see it. Everyone can see it. For a moment, in her shock, she holds still. However, after the span of a breath, her hands move to his face and she pulls him closer to her, body arching up towards his in a way that's achingly familiar, her heart soaring.
It's when he feels the release of tension through her body that Z feels like screaming in triumph; sure, his heart is beating a mile a second, and not just because of the kiss, but also because of everything it implies and everything it changes. They're in public, and it's the most terrifying thing Z has ever done in his life, it feels like, and he's been in jail.
Still, he doesn't pull away when she moves closer, instead holds her tighter, and kisses her deeper, letting out a tiny noise before he reaches down and wraps an arm around her hips, pulling her up into his arms, lifting her off of the ground.
She has every instinct to pull back and remind him that they can be seen, to make sure he knows what he is doing because, well, it's been such a battle since the beginning. But she can't, she wants to savor this moment, to treasure it. She can question it and him later.
He sweeps her off her feet and she can (and wants to) do little else but hold onto him and kiss him back, making her own contented sound against his lips.
When he pulls back, it's reluctantly, lips sticking to Charlie's for a moment as he lowers her back to the ground, leaning in for another brief press of lips, soft. He brushes his thumb against her cheekbone, not quite able to smile, despite everything bubbling up in his chest.
"Congratulations," he repeats, voice a little rough.
When he pulls back, she probably looks a bit starry-eyed and thoroughly wooed. Her lips curve into a lazy, contented smile as he speaks and her hands move to his sides, dragging him closer to her, ignoring the fact that her dad is somewhere around here.
"Gee, thank you," she murmurs happily, lean up to nuzzle his nose with her own. "Has someone had a change of heart?"
His eyes close again, one of his his hands moving up to her hair, cupping the back of her head. It's hard not to pull her to him as tight as he could, with how much he needs her close, but he manages to control himself. He has no idea it that's going to last, but he's doing his best.
"I've missed you so much," he says, murmuring against her lips. "I've quit my job here."
"I missed you--" Record scratch. Her eyes open from their dreamily closed state to look up at him, a little shocked but at the same time, it makes sense why he'd kiss her now. "You what? Wait, really? Why?"
He nods, pulling back enough to look at Charlie, absolutely serious and completely genuine. "It was just because of us, but it was a big part of it. I just - I want something different, and I want to be with you. So I can't be here anymore."
Now that he says it out loud, it seems like such a simple decision. It wasn't, it was so far from being easy, but as he holds her, it makes all the sense in the world. It's the right decision.
"It's the right decision," he repeats, out loud this time, thumb pressed gently against Charlie's jaw.
She looks at him for a moment, her cheeks flushed and wonder in her gaze. A part of her is sad that it took so long, that they had taken that time apart. But at the same time, it made her realize how much she loved him, missed him.
To hear him say that he wants to be with her... "Well, it took ya long enough," she said with her usual swagger, the one she had when they first met, the one that gave her an air of confidence that, as he knew better than anyone, wasn't always present.
She lifts her hand to touch his at her face. "I was planning on traveling through Europe and eating pretty much everything I came across... Is that a plan you can get behind?"
"Yeah, it did," he replies, even though he knows if he hadn't waited for her graduation, it would never have worked out. Not with his own hang-ups, and with his need to not be doing this at school. She'd have been here, and he'd have been... somewhere else. But not with her, he knew that.
Maybe, one day, she'd understand why he did any of what he did. Maybe one day, he'll be able to explain it in a way that doesn't make her feel like he was ashamed.
"That sounds like heaven, actually. You know if you want, we could start right away. Takes me seconds to get to the mainland."
It still doesn't make sense to her, not exactly. She can understand that he wanted to keep his job but at this school, the boundaries between students and teachers were blurred, romantically. And all she could think about was that he was ashamed of being with her when there were lots of other people who had no problem with showing off. It was, ultimately, what drove them apart.
"It takes me a little longer than that." Considering she doesn't have the perks of his power. She glances at him with a gentle and tentative smile. "Are you sure about this? Because I can't do the whole hiding thing again."
It was possible she'd never understand, the way they'd both grown up so differently, with different boundaries and hang-ups. But they could move on from it, now.
"I can take you with me."
Only on short distances, and in a way that's pretty exhausting, but it's a possibility, if they wanted to make the most of time - at least at the beginning. There was something about traveling like everyone else too, anyway.
Shaking his head, he brushes some more hair off of her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. "I don't want to hide anymore, and we don't have to. I'm not a teacher, and you're definitely not my student. We're just... together. If you want us to be."
"That's cheating," she murmurs playfully, although it might be cheaper than having to actually travel. However, she's a little more distracted by what he says next, as he confirms he doesn't want to hide anymore, that they don't have to.
She smiles up at him. "I do," she confirms, she wants to be with him. "I never stopped wanting to be with you." Her smile turns a little impish. "But I hope you know, I'm going to take about, like, a bajillion pictures of us together."
He can't help the roll of his eyes, even as he chuckles gently, still stroking her cheek as he does. He's never been one to have much of a presence on social media in any way - especially not with the job he used to have, and how much he wanted to keep his anonymity. But none of it matters anymore.
"Yeah, I gathered you'd be trying to make up for lost time."
"Don't act like you don't love me," she teased him with a smirk, moving to tug him down for another kiss, whispering against his lips. "I promise I won't post too many."
He almost retorts something about loving her, not loving her need to post her life out on social media, but he doesn't really want to argue with her right now, not when things might actually get back to being good. To being back to what he wants them to be.
"I love you," he says instead, hands in her hair, tilting her head towards his. "I really, really do."
Feels like an obvious destination, but he's never been, despite being so close to the mainland and having spent many days in Portugal. And if they are to take a proper gap year, culture is absolutely necessary.
"Only if we get to go to Óbidos after." That had been her plan first, to go to Óbidos then decide from there. But Lisbon was an easy space to get to, one that made sense.
"Speaking of after... do you have any plans later?" Her father and brother are somewhere around here and she has to wonder if its a good idea for him to meet them or not yet.
"Well, my dad's here so I kind of have to go see him off but later..." She waggles her eyes at him for a moment. "Unless you're feeling keen about meeting my dad right now." Which she's not exactly all about at the moment. There would be a time for that, down the road. But maybe not right now, all things considered.
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But there'd been the constant fighting, and the indecision, and the pressure, and the paranoia. All of it had become too much, after a while, and even loving her didn't feel like enough. He couldn't give her what she needed. What she wanted. So they broke up. Which had felt like hell - he'd wandered the school halls like a ghost for weeks, unable to sleep, unwilling to smile. He'd been completely unable to let it go, to let Charlie go.
He had to make a choice, and he had to make a plan. For a guy like him, plans came easy, and putting them together, once he was set, was even simpler. Which was why leaving Mythian behind didn't actually feel like a loss. As glad as he was for the opportunity the school gave him, he had plenty more outside of it, too, and nothing to stop him, now. So he'd handed in his resignation, effective immediately, just a few short days before graduation. He didn't have any classes anymore, wasn't holding anyone up, and it was time to move on.
It was time to give Charlie his everything, if she'd still have him. Which is why, when she waves at him from the other side of the room, he crosses the space between them, practically jogging to her, stopping just feet away, looking down at her.
"Congratulations," he says, softly, before reaching out, a hand framing her cheek gently, and leaning down into a kiss, more tentative than he'd like, more public than he's ever done. He might be too late, it might all be too late, but... He might as well try.
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She'd snapped out of it eventually, her heart started to mend even if she pined over him. She'd been lucky that she wasn't in his class the last semester of school because that would have been way too painful. They'd been apart for months but every time she saw him, she felt that pull, that ache. And now the one thing that had torn them apart was gone.
She wasn't his student anymore and she didn't know how to handle it. So she waved at him, like an idiot. Then it was something straight out of a movie. He moved towards her, spoke words she barely had a chance to process or hear before he kisses her.
He's kissing her. In public. In front of... people. Anyone can see it. Everyone can see it. For a moment, in her shock, she holds still. However, after the span of a breath, her hands move to his face and she pulls him closer to her, body arching up towards his in a way that's achingly familiar, her heart soaring.
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Still, he doesn't pull away when she moves closer, instead holds her tighter, and kisses her deeper, letting out a tiny noise before he reaches down and wraps an arm around her hips, pulling her up into his arms, lifting her off of the ground.
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He sweeps her off her feet and she can (and wants to) do little else but hold onto him and kiss him back, making her own contented sound against his lips.
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"Congratulations," he repeats, voice a little rough.
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"Gee, thank you," she murmurs happily, lean up to nuzzle his nose with her own. "Has someone had a change of heart?"
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"I've missed you so much," he says, murmuring against her lips. "I've quit my job here."
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Now that he says it out loud, it seems like such a simple decision. It wasn't, it was so far from being easy, but as he holds her, it makes all the sense in the world. It's the right decision.
"It's the right decision," he repeats, out loud this time, thumb pressed gently against Charlie's jaw.
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To hear him say that he wants to be with her... "Well, it took ya long enough," she said with her usual swagger, the one she had when they first met, the one that gave her an air of confidence that, as he knew better than anyone, wasn't always present.
She lifts her hand to touch his at her face. "I was planning on traveling through Europe and eating pretty much everything I came across... Is that a plan you can get behind?"
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Maybe, one day, she'd understand why he did any of what he did. Maybe one day, he'll be able to explain it in a way that doesn't make her feel like he was ashamed.
"That sounds like heaven, actually. You know if you want, we could start right away. Takes me seconds to get to the mainland."
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"It takes me a little longer than that." Considering she doesn't have the perks of his power. She glances at him with a gentle and tentative smile. "Are you sure about this? Because I can't do the whole hiding thing again."
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"I can take you with me."
Only on short distances, and in a way that's pretty exhausting, but it's a possibility, if they wanted to make the most of time - at least at the beginning. There was something about traveling like everyone else too, anyway.
Shaking his head, he brushes some more hair off of her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. "I don't want to hide anymore, and we don't have to. I'm not a teacher, and you're definitely not my student. We're just... together. If you want us to be."
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She smiles up at him. "I do," she confirms, she wants to be with him. "I never stopped wanting to be with you." Her smile turns a little impish. "But I hope you know, I'm going to take about, like, a bajillion pictures of us together."
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"Yeah, I gathered you'd be trying to make up for lost time."
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"I love you," he says instead, hands in her hair, tilting her head towards his. "I really, really do."
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Feels like an obvious destination, but he's never been, despite being so close to the mainland and having spent many days in Portugal. And if they are to take a proper gap year, culture is absolutely necessary.
"There's tons of stuff to see, there."
I miss themmmm
"Speaking of after... do you have any plans later?" Her father and brother are somewhere around here and she has to wonder if its a good idea for him to meet them or not yet.
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Because when he thought of later, he thought of time alone with Charlie, not exactly meeting up with the in-laws...
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