He was off early. He had spent the better part of the day at Santa Clara, but it had been kind of slow, so the owner let him go early. Why he wasn’t
sure, it wasn’t like he had a life. Especially with his best friend missing in action. It was 4 o’clock on a Thursday afternoon and he had nothing
to do. Popping his headphones into his ear and pulling at the collar of his shirt to adjust to the heat, Dex began his slow stroll down the boardwalk. No point in going home that early, his parents were expecting him until
6 and his sister was probably still at KRU. Gah. It was times like these he wished he was just a little more popular. He could use a back up friend
for times like these. One that had no life so when Dex called he’d have the time to...man, this scenario sounded pathetic. He needed to stop. Like
now.
Hm. Ice cream. His feet slowed with his thoughts as he walked past the door of Tropical Dreams. He could go for a scoop or two of Cotton Candy ice
cream...and it wasn’t like he didn’t have the time. Holding the door as a family walked out, Dex walked in after they passed. His hand slipped
into his pocket, lowering the volume on his music as he pulled one of the buds out of his ears. He took a quick look around the tiny shop. Kids from
the beach, classmates that wouldn’t recognize him, Charlena, a girl and her...wait. Charlena.
His eyes went back to her and everything around her seemed to fade. The noise of the small shop, the kids running past him in and out the door...A
small smile came to his lips as he stared. She had her hair up today, probably trying to keep cool in the Hawaiian sun. She was so--his thoughts
stopped as he caught a hard bump from behind. “Dude. If you’re going in, go in.”
Dex mumbled out a quick apology as his feet began to move toward the short line for ice cream, his eyes still on Charlena. As hard as he tried to tear
them away, he couldn’t. She was just that captivating...
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
A quiet 8-count formed on Charlena's lips as she went over the final routine of the summer. Her team, the Green Team (or more affectionately known as
"the Green Machine", completely their doing, not hers) was going against the rest of the teams at Cheer Camp's last send off before camp was over and
the school year started again. As a camp counselor, it was her responsibility to put together her team's routine. Unfortunately, that had her doing
hand movements to the music in her earbuds in a not so empty ice cream shop. "Run the World" was loud in her ears, she tapped the front of her iPhone,
playing and pausing the music as edited the routine in the worn, spiral notebook she'd been using since the camp had begun that summer. At least she
was getting some work done, even if she did look a little...odd. Her house was completely incapable of letting her practice as everyone in it
seemed to need her attention! Marchelle, her baby sister, and her "Justin Bieber obsessed" friends used every opportunity to ask her to take them
EVERYWHERE on the island since she had a driver's license and they didn't. Escaping to a ice cream parlor far enough out of her family's reach was the
only way to fix the constant distractions. And it was working, she was almost done. Go her!
Looking up from the pages of her notebook as she started the song over again, she watched people enter and exit, a large family walking out the doors
that had gotten there after she'd arrived. God, how long had she been there? Well, long enough for her partially eaten scoop of bubblegum ice cream to
melt into a soupy puddle of pink in her Styrofoam bowl. Perfect. She literally had only eaten ONE spoonful! Checking the time on her phone,
she looked to the counter and back to the door. To leave or replace her ice cream, that was the question.
Oh. A smile hit her lips as she noticed a very familiar face looking in her direction. Thick frames, some t-shirt that she'd never seen in her whole
life and Vans. Had to be that Poindexter kid. With a little friendly smirk, she watched him walk up to the counter, looking back down to her paper as
her music began again.
Dang Hawaii was rude today. Of course, it was his fault for not paying attention to the line. He stepped up to the counter, another apology on his
lips as the girl taking his order sighed...Maybe it wasn’t his fault and she was just having a crappy day. Well he wasn’t going to darken her
angsty little doorstep anymore than he had to. He ordered quickly, a cup of cotton candy ice cream. It was the world’s 8th wonder and ever since
he’d had his first bite, he hadn’t been able to stomach any other ice cream. The girl walked away without speaking, hopefully to get his ice cream
out of the freezer, and his eyes wondered back to Charlena. She was frowning. Why was she frowning?!
Her fingers played at the spoon in her small Styrofoam bowl and it struck him. She was out...Well...This presented an opportunity. He could buy her
another scoop, take it to her and strike up a conversation...He could handle that right? A conversation with Charlena Tucker? She was only the
prettiest girl he had ever laid eyes on...The only girl in Hawaii that he’d ever really thought about as girlfriend material. Sheen had always told
him he was too sappy when it came to Char...not to mention all the other things he would like to be with her...but it wasn’t like that.
Dex didn’t want to sleep with her, he just wanted...he just wanted her to know who he was.
And what better way to do that than introducing himself? As the girl came back to the counter with his ice cream in hand he spoke before she could
give his total, “This is going to sound stupid and I know you’ve probably scooped a thousand cones of ice cream today, but any chance you know
what she had?” He pointed toward Char and for the first time since his transaction started, the girl smiled a little. What? She nodded, walking off
again before she brought back a mound of pink with a spoon in it. She gave his total, the smile still on her face as he gave her a $10 and told her to
keep the change. He had to do this before he lost his nerve.
Taking a deep breath, he headed toward her table, ice cream in both hands. Oh shit. What was he going to say when he got there? She had her headphones
in, would he tap her? With what? His hands were full. Fuck. He hadn’t thought this through, he hadn’t...Oh shit, too late. Somehow in his
panic his feet had continued to move and he was at her table and she was looking at him. He had to speak, he had to say something,
anything.
“He-y-,” his voice broke. Fucking epic. Epic start. “I, uh, noticed you were, uh...out.”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Ugh. Maybe if she took the scorpion lift and moved it to the end of the routine instead of in the middle, the whole thing would flow ten times better!
Even as the song looped itself in her headphones, Charlena just wasn't happy with what she was drawing out! It seemed like something was missing!
Well, besides another bowl of bubble gum ice cream. Leaning back against the hard, plastic chair, her back arched in a satisfying stretch, her fingers
pulling at the thick strands of her bun, tightening it as she thought. There was nothing moving through her brain. Well, atleast nothing that was
going to help her finish off the routine and get home with just enough time to evade her sister and head out again. The varsity football team was
throwing an end of summer party and she and the other varsity cheerleaders wer expected to be there, a personal command from Dictator Madge Ben Hassi,
herself. And you didn't defy Madge, especially not when she already had a personal vendetta out against you.
But that was another time, another place and those thoughts were doing nothing but distracting her, something that she fled her house just to avoid.
Sliding her finger across the touch screen, she sent the volume of the music higher, those thoughts muddling as her silent eight count fell back into
time. Until, she felt someone at her side. You know, the feeling you get when you know someone is next to you? Yeah, that was the one. Her eyes barely
left her paper as she pulled them up...and into the face of...Poindexter?
"Oh!" With a jump, pulled her earbud from her ear, her hand meeting her chest, right over her heart. When the heck had he even left the counter?! She
hadn't even heard him walk up next to her! With a smile she straightened her body, sitting up a little higher in her chair as she looked into his
face, catching him mid-sentence. What was he saying? Something about her being out? What? Smiling a big, her eyebrows raised as she looked to his
hands. There were two bowls there, instead of one. Two bowls, one with a mound of pink...ice cream! Bubblegum! Did he buy her ice cream?
"Is...is that for me?" Of course it was. That's what he'd meant! She was out of ice cream! And he'd noticed and bought her more? What a sweet thing to
do? There weren't many guys who would've taken the time to even think about her empty bowl. Most would've just sat down, totally invading her privacy
and spouting some horrible line off at her.
"Thanks..." Giving him another smile, she reached for the bowl and took it from him, waiting for him to sit down at her table. It just seemed natural,
like the next thing that he'd do. Instead, he kind of just...stood there.
"You can...sit down, you know." With a small giggle, she placed the bowl on the table and moved over a bit, hoping he'd get the point.
Good start. He’d scared the living crap out of her and now he was mumbling over his words. Why the hell had he come over here? He wasn’t ready for
this, he didn’t know what to say...and what he decided on didn’t seem to make any sense. I noticed you were out? Really? No, he
was the one “out”. Out of his mind if he thought that this could end in anything but disaster. Or...maybe not. He smiled as she did, her eyebrows
lifting as she spoke. Is that for me?
Oh! Right! “Uh, yeah. Yeah, sorry-,” he stretched his hand out to her and she took the bowl from him, a small thanks on her perfect lips.
Perfect. Somehow, that word didn’t do her enough justice. Charlena Tucker was more than that. She was...damn. He didn’t even know. Not
only was she stunning, but unlike her cheerleader counterparts, she had a heart. She cared about people other than herself. Dex remembered seeing her
for the first time. Freshman year, third day, 5th period gym. Sports obviously weren’t something he was good at and the guys that were weren’t shy
about letting him know it. Whatever. They could all have a nice little laugh at his expense, because he honestly didn’t care, but Char had. She told
them to knock it off and they did for the most part. May not have been much, but it was something. It made her special...to him anyway...
“Oh, yeah...thanks-,” he said quickly. He had been staring again. Any normal person would’ve given her the ice cream, sat down and said
something smooth. Dex wasn’t normal and he certainly wasn’t anyone Neal Caffrey. A small silence fell as Dex racked his brain for something to
say. He didn’t want this to be anymore awkward than it already was. He had to say something! Did she know what his name was? Should he introduce
himself...even though he had before? I mean, she had asked him to sit, she couldn’t do that with strangers too often right? Shit! He had to say
something!
“So...what you working on?”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Smiling at his short, quiet answer to her request, Charlena moved her chair up to the table, her elbows finding the flat top as her eyes,
absentmindedly, returned to the notebook in front of her, the music still pouring through the earbud that was still snug in her ear. Oh, she didn't
mean to be rude, but it seemed like table guest just wanted a seat, not the conversation. Silence set quickly between them, she noticed it. But it
didn't bother her at all and she didn't mind the quiet company. In the midst of her subtle head bopping, a steady "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8" keeping the tempo
as she ran over the routine yet again, she realized she didn't know what to call "the Poindexter Kid". That name, which he probably
unknowingly had received from most of the jocks at AJW, what what she knew him by. Of course, she didn't want to offend him by saying it to his face!
But she couldn't...quite...remember his first name! What was it?! Uh...Michael? Melvin? Did it even start with an "M"? Her thoughts were interrupted
when his quiet voice broke through them, asking her about her about her odd head bopping and the scribble of drawings on her notebook page.
"Oh, this?" No, that, Charlena. Of course he was talking about what she was working on. She could be such a dolt, sometimes. Smiling,
she moved her notebook closer so he could see. "It's cheer camp stuff. We're doing an end of the summer "cheer off". All the teams get together and
compete...with cheers. Kinda stupid. I
know." Giggling, she wondered if he could even tell what the cheer was supposed to look like. All he probably saw were stick figures and motion lines
and words like "stick it!". Yes, the intricate language that is "Cheer-ish". She was quite fluent. But even though he didn't understand, she kind of
knew that the Poindexter kid wouldn't be rude about it. He was a sweet kid, kind of a target for punches and spit, but a sweet kid, nonetheless. And
that's why Charlena didn't mind letting him pull up a chair. He always smiled and waved to her, you know, treated her like she wasn't just a set of
legs walking down the boardwalk whenever they saw each other. Of course, he stared a little. But Charlena thought that it was because he didn't know
what to say to her. Which wasn't a surprise. Not a lot of people did. Charlena hung with the "death" crowd. There were the "innies" and the "outies"
and there was "death". You didn't talk to the death crowd, which were the jocks and cheerleaders, unless they acknowledged you first...or just
acknowledged the fact that you were breathing. They were a bunch of jerks when other kids were around, but by themselves, they were actually pretty
cool. At least to her.
Spooning a small amount of ice cream into her mouth, she pulled at the loose hairs falling from her bun and stared at the paper again, hoping
that...
"Milhouse!" There it was! His name was "Milhouse". Kind of unfortunate, but it was his and she remembered it from the first day of school, last year.
Unfortunately, in her remembering, she kind of shouted it at him. "Oooo. Sorry. But that's your name right? Milhouse?"
Oh this? Why was her voice so mesmerizing? It didn’t matter what she was saying, asking him for a pencil, answering a math question in
class, shouting at him from the field while she cheered; it always had him stuck. He loved hearing her voice, though. Mostly because usually,
he didn’t have to reply with words. She barely ever spoke to him directly, so responding to her had never been a problem. Not until now, obviously.
Now he had taken it upon himself to speak to her and she had been nice enough to speak back...Of course she had. Charlena wasn’t like the others,
she never had been and he often wondered what they had in common...But it really wasn’t his business. And she was speaking still.
“Cheer camp-,” he nodded, a slight smile on his face. That sounded like something she would spend her summer doing. She had always had a little
more spirit than her counterparts, in his opinion anyway...then again it was biased. “That sounds like you-,” wait. What? What kind of creeper
shit was that? They weren’t friends, how would he know what sounded like her? “And I sound like the 2011 version of Duckie. I’m sorry, I just
meant, y’know, I’ve seen you...At the games and such...You’re, uh, you’re good.” Oh God, shut up Poindexter, shut up! He shoveled a spoon
full of ice cream into his mouth and tried to look at anything but her face. He knew this would end in disaster. He knew it.
He let the silence settle again, for fear he’d say something else stupid, but he wasn’t the one to break it. It was his turn to jump a bit, her
voice raised as she said...his name. She knew his name...or at least she was hoping she did. And she was right...kinda.
“Yeah. Milhouse...or you know Dex, which is a lot less unfortunate sounding,” he smiled again, looking back at his ice cream as he stirred it a
little. Dex was more of an acceptable sounding name for a bofriend...Oh good. That stalker thing was happening again.
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Ha. Charlena was a tad bit impressed! Poindexter actually said "Cheer Camp" without snickering. And it was refreshing to not have to scowl when guys
did. Yes, cheerleading was a sport and YES, it took more than just smiles and pompoms to actually do it. Most of the girls on the squad had had years
of gymnastics training, learning stunting and form just to be CONSIDERED for the squad at AJW. They were just that good. And just that competitive and
Charlena wasn't even competition squad! Most of the football players that she hung with wrote it off so it was nice to see someone take her seriously.
Really seriously, as he told her that it sounded like something that she'd do. Looking up from her notebook, the corner of her mouth raised an an
amused, but curious smirk. How did he know that she'd do Cheer Camp? Well, duh, most of the cheerleaders did. But honestly, she hadn't even thought
that Poindexter even cared about stuff like "cheering" to notice. He wasn't really at the games enough and most guys didn't pay attention to
anything besides the cheerleader's butts, not the cheers themselves.
"Oh...thanks. Didn't know you did school functions." Crap! She'd kind of said that without thinking. How rude of her! "Oh, I only meant I didn't
really see you at any last year." Wincing a little as she smiled, she took another scoop of ice cream out of the small bowl and carelessly twisted the
spoon between her lips, her head falling to the side, curiosity overcoming common sense. Of course she hadn't seen him. The in-crowd, the jocks and
anyone who was supposedly, "worth knowing" sat on lower stands, near the cheerleaders. Anyone not in that group knew to not come near that area, which
sadly include him...Milhouse. Remembering that fact, she looked away, shifting uncomfortably in her seat as she listened to the rest of his...did he
say Duckie? Her gray eyes narrowed playfully as they met his face again.
"What do YOU know about Duckie?" With a laugh, she let her spoon fall back in bowl. "Of course you don't sound like Duckie. Duckie did mixtapes and
you haven't given me ONE." With another laugh she crossed her legs and wondered how extensive his John Hughes knowledge was! If it went far enough,
they'd be best friends in no time!
"Dex. Okay then. That's what I'll call you." So, he liked Dex? No problem. She stored it to memory and he wouldn't have to remind her again. That was
a promise.
Of course he was able to say “Cheer Camp” without snickering. Why wouldn’t he be? He knew for a fact he couldn’t do half the stuff he’d see
the squad do. Hell, who was he kidding? He couldn’t do any of it. He was sure a heck of a lot of training went into...routines and such...Not that
he would know anything beyond what he had seen in movies. She was right, cheerleading wasn’t really something he was into...but if Charlena was into
it, Dex could learn to be. He could learn to be into anything if it meant being closer to her. Not even as a boyfriend or anything, but just as
friends...maybe...if that was possible. He could name a handful of guys off the bat that wouldn’t let him hang around their little clique.
And they were just the reason she’d never seen him at school functions. Of course, he’d only gone to a few of them, when he and Sheen had nothing
better to do and when Mils was busy doing whatever she was doing, but he never really focused on the game. Charlena was there. “I don’t
really...Just when I’m not doing...whatever else...” He couldn’t be more specific because there really wasn’t much that he did...nothing that
he would want to tell her anyway. Girls like Charlena weren’t into the things he was into. Comics, and weird music, and stupid movies...
Wait. She got his Ducky reference. Even challenging him as to his knowledge of the 80s classic Pretty in Pink. Sorry, but he knew that movie
backwards and forwards. Milicent lived for it for like a week after she saw it and Dex had to see what the hype had been about. He told her it was
overrated and she made him watch until it wasn’t anymore. “I think I know enough-,” he said with a smile, shoveling another spoonful of ice
cream into his mouth. Duckie did mixtapes. He couldn’t help but chuckle, but he hated that it was louder to him than her laugh. Her
laugh...He was making her laugh.
“Well, I guess he’s got one up on me for now, huh-,” Oh man, that sounded a lot less like a line before he said it. He thought about
backtracking, apologizing again and saying he didn’t mean it like it sounded, but she was already on to the next thing; she would call him Dex from
now on. The fact that she figured they would ever speak after this was enough to make his life for the rest of his high school career. That was what
she would call him... “Awesome-,” he said with a slight nod...great...now what? Ah shit. He was out of shit to say, out of things to talk
about. Okay, it was cool...he just had to stick to what he knew...
“So you liked Pretty in Pink?" Duh, asshole. What female didn’t? But it was all he had...
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
He knew enough about Duckie, huh? Charlena couldn't help but wonder what qualified as "enough" as she didn't catch many guys that would even waste
there time watching a sappy, though extremely comical, 80's teen drama-dey. Not when there were sports to be watched and movies about decapitation to
be seen. Heck, when she thought about it, she didn't really catch a lot of girls that were interested in John Hughes movies. Not in the age of the
remake. There was no point to watching the "original" anything when if you gave someone enough time, they'd just make a sub-par remake for it and
millions of dollars off of it. If you asked Charlena, great movies didn't need do overs. And Pretty in Pink was definitely
one of those movies...although if this conversation came up with the kids from "her" crowd, she would probably say different, probably giving a quiet
eye roll to someone's suggestion that Twilight was the best drama ever. Not that Charlena would agree. She wasn't a follower. She just didn't
see the importance in arguing with someone who thought that anything "sparkly vampire" related was the "best ever". Pointless argument.
Charlena's eyes lit up in amusement as Dex chuckled and talked about how Duckie had one over on him. With an agreeing shrug, she laughed again,
digging out another spoonful of ice cream. Pushing her notebook from between them and closer to the middle of the table, she noticed that once again,
she was distracted. She honestly could've stayed home if she was going to shoot the breeze like she was. But...something made her not mind too much.
Talking to Dex was nice and conversation away from the new "it" couple at AJW, who's summer party was going to be the best, who was sleeping with
who...all things that really didn't matter all that much to her anyway...was so refreshing. It was nice to shoot the breeze with someone who was kind
of removed from it all. Who had more to say to her than the latest gossip, the newest cheer stunt or the sleaziest pick up line.
Tuning back into Dex, she nodded, her expression jokingly pointing out the obviousness of his question. "Was Andie obsessed with Blane?" Of course she
loved Pretty in Pink! It was the epic teen drama of the 80's. Girl with a die hard crush gets the guy and makes her own prom dress? Perfect.
But no one's life was like that. Charlena hadn't had a crush since the fourth grade and even that was quick lived, as her family moved to Hawaii
before she could even tell the kid she liked him. He probably would've pushed her down and called her "gross" anyway.
"I'm surprised you even KNOW what Pretty in Pink is. Most guys have no clue." She said, taking a moment to swallow the ice cream she'd just
slipped into her mouth. "I...can't believe I'm actually admitting this to anyone, but I'm a huge John Hughes fan. The biggest."
Just because he’d seen Pretty in Pink a few times, didn’t mean he was any less of a guy. Sure, sports weren’t really his thing but he
like a good decapitation with the best of them! Tarantino movies were some of his favorite. Inglorious Bastards, Pulp Fiction, Grindhouse. He was an
equal opportunity movie lover, alright? Nothing wrong with that. There wasn’t a movie he wouldn’t admit to seeing...although there were some that
he would classify after confessing to. I mean, you couldn’t make fun of movies you hadn’t seen right? Yeah, he’d seen a lot of movies, but none
of them made him any less...mannish. But his manhood wasn’t in question here. His Pretty in Pink knowledge was.
He watched as she pushed her notebook away from her and he smiled. She was giving him her attention. Like her full attention. He’d earned it and she
was...interested. Never, in the freaking 500 days of summer, did he think that the words interested, him, and Charlena Tucker would end up in
the same sentence together. Sure, it wasn’t the ‘interested’ he wanted it to be, but it was a start. A start at friendship...Ha. Sheen was going
to have a field day when he told him about this. But he couldn’t focus on a conversation with Sheen right now, he had to give all his attention to
not messing this one up.
Was Andie obsessed with Blane? Yeah. He had known the answer to his stupid question ebfore he asked it, but honestly, he didn’t know how to
be around Charlena. He only knew how to be Dex, but he knew that wasn’t good enough. Right now, sitting with Charlena Tucker, he would have killed
to be anyone else. But he was sure anyone else wouldn’t have seen Pretty in Pink enough times to quote it back to her.
“Maybe you’re just not talking to the right guys-,” wait. What? Shit. He’d meant to think that not say it! That was rude! “I mean,
uh...y’know...movie types. Or at least guys that will admit to having seen the flicks you’re into. Oh the things I could embarrass myself
with-,” a nervous chuckle left him, before he scooped his ice cream again, listening to her admit to her love for John Hughes, oh here we go. “And
number one on the list of things I could embarrass myself with.”
John Hughes was something he knew well, “My sister, is a fan too.”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Why Dex didn't have more friends who were girls, Charlena would never know! Well, she didn't think he had any friends that were
girls...or...girlfriends, even. As awful as it'd sounded, she didn't really take the time to think much about Dex. Their groups were eons
apart. She floated with the kids that did parties and shooters and...other things that she would never imagine doing...in her whole life! But
they were company and they were the only kids that she could have a conversations with without the other person either giving her the "deer in
headlights" face when she tried to speak to them or running away, flat out. And Dex...well, Dex found friendship with a different bunch. The
kids that talked about anime, shows that Charlena had never thought about watching and music that you could only get on satellite radio during their
lunch break. Not that that made a difference to Charlena. They were people and just like her, they deserved to be into anything they liked! Even John
Hughes movies an-and showtunes! Okay, yeah. No one would EVER find out about that last thing. Now way, no how. All the same, Dex and his friends were
fine in Charlena's book. They way her friends talked about them was so...awful. Well, not specifically, They never really called names, mostly because
they didn't know any TO call. But it made her wonder sometimes. Wonder why she even...hung out with them at all.
None of that really mattered at the moment though as Dex fell right into conversation with her about something that should've been so uncomfortable
for most guys. Le Chick Flick. Although, for some reason, Charlena already knew that he wasn't like "most guys". And his next comment totally proved
it. He was right! Maybe there were guys out there that were confident in who they were enough to admit their different tastes for things, like Dex!
Everything about him said "I'm different" and it was pretty cool that he didn't fight it. That he didn't mind what people thought and he walked in his
own shoes. There weren't many kids like that at AJW...her included.
"Oh stop it. Anything "John Hughes" isn't embarrassment, it's culture. There should be classes instructed on his greatness." Charlena answered, her
head nodding seriously before she broke into laughter. Taking another bite of her ice cream, she heard him talk about his sister. So, Dex had a
sister? The coolest sister ever it seemed since she was a "brat pack" fan.
"Cool, she wins points. Definitely." Speaking over the cold in her mouth, she swallowed, her head cocking to the side. "So, let me guess. You're her
watching buddy, right?" That sounded a lot like how Charlena was pulled into "Hughes" world. Her mother...the real one...was the fan of all fans when
she had been her age, going to see the movies like some people camped out for those Harry Potter films! They bonded over them, needless to
say. And if there was anything she missed about her mother, besides seeing her face everyday, it was that time they spent together.
"So, if you're sister is into Hughes...what are you into?" Oh lord. She hoped she wasn't prying. It was just that...it seemed like he watched the
movies for her, his sister. But Charlena wanted to know what...he liked. That was all...
Oh he could give her plenty of reasons he didn’t have friends that were girls, or girlfriends especially. He was way out of his league with
any female that he had an interest in, and the ones that had interest in him were very few and far between. He wasn’t like most guys he knew. The
last girl he’d gotten up the nerve to ask out had been Karen Milton in the 7th grade. She proceeded to tell him all the things that she found
unattractive about him, from the way he walked, to the way he apologized for damn near everything. He wasn’t smooth like a lot of guys his age. He
couldn’t talk a girl out of her panties with the finesse of James Bond, hell not even with the finesse of Michael Cera. He was just...stuck. Stuck
in a loop of awkward lovelessness and bullying...but he’d made good friends on the journey, so he couldn’t complain.
Sheen was the one person that kept him sane on the grounds of AJW. Sure, he could be a little crude at times, but it was cool...to Dex anyway. Most
people just found it annoying. Dex couldn’t though, he knew Sheen. He was just a good guy trying maybe just a little to hard to fit in. He was
actually really funny once you got to know him. Besides, neither of them could roam the halls alone for much longer anyway, nerds got picked off
quicker that way. Something Charlena knew nothing about. She was never alone at AJW, always with a cheerleader or a jock, or some dude after her phone
number or whatever guys asked her for...hm. How lucky was it he’d caught her alone today?
He’d gotten her alone, in a non-stalkerlike way, and they were actually having a conversation. Sure, it was about chick flicks, but it was better
than nothing. Way better than nothing. He man not have been much of a Hughes fan himself, but she didn’t have to know that and if she
wanted to he was willing to talk to her about John Hughes until he was blue in the face. He laughed along with her at her joke before he told her
about his sister’s fandom as well. And she...won points. Hmm. Dex wondered how many points he had earned since sitting down. But he didn’t have
time to think much about it as she asked him a question. Her watching buddy.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what I am-,” he said with a chuckle. “It works out for me sometimes. She has good taste in film...mostly.” He smiled,
taking another bite of ice cream as she asked another question. What are you into? He choked, coughing a bit as the ice cream went down the
wrong pipe and sent a chill through him that he could feel in his ears. What was he into? Mostly her and anything she was into and...oh she meant
movies...
“Um, regular stuff, odd stuff, foreign stuff...everything really-,” he said catching his breath. “I guess uh, Harry Potter for my regular stuff,
Memento for my off stuff, and maybe...Let the Right One In for foreign...”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Okaaaay? Outside of the mention of Harry Potter, Charlena had no idea what any of the other movies that Dex had mentioned were. So even though the
last two were a "odd and foreign", she couldn't differentiate between the two as both sounded odd and foreign to her. Well, not the last one. The last
one sounded sweet. Let the Right One In? That had to be a romance. Some sappy, foreign romance movie, right? Looking back at his lack of
prejudice when it came to John Hughes movies, it totally could've been. Looking at Dex, Charlena would've never assumed that he was so...comfortable
with himself. And...his...sexuality. Oh. Whoa. Charlena's eyes narrowed for a second, a smile breaking out on her face as she looked at Dex.
And just like that, she figured it out. Totally comfortable with chick flicks. Completely different sense of style? No sign of a girl friend...or a
girl anything, besides his sister. A slight interest in cheerleading. Hadn't talked about her boobs or butt during their entire conversation? Dear
Lord, why hadn't she seen it to begin with? Looking down, the smile still on her lips as she took in another spoonful of ice cream. Duh, Dex was
gay!
"You know..." She started, her teeth biting at her lower lip for a second while she sorted her words carefully. In no way did she want to offend him
or call him out in the middle of the ice cream shop. Of course, he hadn't come out and said it to her. But she wanted him to know...that she knew. And
that she was okay with it. God, it must've been so hard to be in a school like AJW and be an individual. There were so many jocks and insensitive
people combing the hallways, just waiting for someone who was different enough to make them nervous. And Dex was, of course, a target. Poor thing.
Well, it might not have meant much, but she wanted him to know that she didn't judge him. Nope, not at all!
"...I totally respect you for being...you. I must be hard in a place like AJW..." She said, her cheeks flushing a bit at her words. She hoped he could
figure out what she meant and she hoped that, even though they didn't know each other well enough for him to really care, that it might have meant
something that she did care. That she wasn't like the rest of her friends and different didn't mean "bad" or "wrong" to her. She'd always been an open
person to that kind of thing. Whether people accepted what a person did with their life, she felt it was important, always important, to respect them.
"Anyway! Now that I've made everything...weird." With a giggle, she turned in her chair, her elbow coming to the table as she leaned on her hand and
looked at him.
"You're always on the boardwalk, aren't you? I see you around a lot." Of course she did. Most of AJW hung out on the boardwalk! It was definitely a
social spot. She guessed it just seemed that someone like Dex would try to stay away from all things "social" outside of school. Yet, he seemed to
always be roaming around Weimai, those thick-framed glasses on his face, hands in his pocket...except when he was waving to her. Gosh, he was so
friendly!
She seemed to approve. Not really of the movies he’d mentioned; he could see in her expression that she hadn’t even heard of the last two, but she
approved of his...choices? He guessed that was a good word for it. She wasn’t like the others. Of course, he had known that before he sat down, but
now it was obvious. Dex was different. He didn’t fit in. He never had and he probably never would and that was okay becuase Charlena
Tucker...didn’t care. He’d come over and had a conversation with her and she...liked it. She liked him. Sure, not the way he hoped, but
they’d work up to that if he got the chance to. Dex never thought she would go for a guy like him...but he hadn’t been anyone but himself and she
was still smiling...still smiling at him. Then she spoke.
Hm. Well he was right? He guessed? She respected him for being him...Yeah. He was right. She got him. Well, maybe not completely, but she
wasn’t judging him for the things she couldn’t figure out. It must be hard in a place like AJW. “It’s not too bad-,” he shrugged a
little, watching her blush and thinking of how cute he found it. “Besides, if I wasn’t myself who else would I be?” He smiled a little as he let
the silence between them settle as he took yet another bite of his ice cream. She spoke before the pause got to be awkward.
Weird? Nah. It was perfect. This had gone better than he ever could have imagined it going in his mind. Charlena was laughing and unlike her clique,
it wasn’t at him, but with him. And apparently, unlike a lot of her friends, she saw him. On the Boardwalk and around and such.
“Oh, uh, yeah. I work at Santa Clara. The comic book shop a few doors down...You should stop by sometime. I could recommend you something.” He
smiled a little. That was bolder than he’d ever been with a girl...because he was basically asking to see her again.
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Of course Charlena approved of Dex! There were so few people in her social group...heck, in AJW that felt comfortable enough to even let people see
inside of the little cocoon that contained who they really were! She couldn't even do that. Oh god. If any of her friends found out that the playlist
on her iPod entitled "Char's Junk" was really a compilation of Broadway scores, she would never be able to show her face again! But sometimes, she
wished she didn't care. She wished she could float down the hall, belting "Don't Rain on my Parade" at the top of her lungs and not give two hair
flips! That would've been divine. Ugh, she had so much to learn from Dex, really she did. And she couldn't wait until she could talk to him about it,
just open up about everything that she wanted to know and thought she knew about him...
She nodded her head as he answered her statement, saying it wasn't too bad being one of the "different" ones. Well, it was a heck of a lot of work
fitting in. But that was a point, wasn't it? It didn't take effort being himself, because that was just who he was. The only people who had to deal
with it were the kids like her, who would have rather died than try to be anything other than "perfect". And then,,,he said it. If I wasn't
myself, who else would I be? With a smile. Charlena just looked at him for a moment, appreciating the simplicity of his comment and at the same
time, envying it. She knew it. Right then and there. She liked this Poindexter guy. She totally did..,
"Well said." She murmured, not breaking the stride of the conversation as she asked him about his presence on the boardwalk. So, he had a job huh?
That would've been nice. Not really a "job", persay. But the time to actually WORK one? Yeah, definitely. The summer was the only span of time that
she could do anything outside of work and cheerleading and honestly, she ended up doing stuff that involved both of those things anyway. With a
schedule as full as hers, there was no way. But she could live vicariously!
"Oooo Santa Clara? The comic store? I've always wanted to go in there! But I don't...read comics. Or...graphic novels? Is that what they're called?"
Giggling again, her eyes widened at his offer to recommend something. "You'd do that? So, right off the cuff, what do you think I'd like?"
He still couldn’t believe it! He was talking to Charlena Tucker and she was talking back. Responding when he asked questions, laughing when
he made jokes! God, was it really this easy? If he had know before that all he had to do was buy her some ice cream and sit down, he would have done
it a long time ago. He was enjoying her company, as he knew he would, but surprise, surprise; she was enjoying his as well. In all the different
scenarios that he had ever imagined that had to do with the two of them talking, he had always screwed it up by now. But he hadn’t. He hadn’t said
the wrong thing about anything and she was actually enjoying their conversation. She was into him. Maybe not the same ‘into’ and his ‘into’,
but ‘into’ none the less. It was a great feeling.
And it just kept getting better watching her smile at him. She was absolutely beautiful. He remembered seeing her the first time and wanting nothing
more than to go speak to her simply because he wanted to know what her voice sounded like. But he couldn’t. He wasn’t ready. He spent the next
week and a half trying to come up with the perfect way to introduce himself to her and he got as far as Hi...Nothing seemed to fit at all.
Nothing he could say was...worthy? Yeah maybe that was the word for it. Worthy. She was just that beautiful. And so far out of his league they
weren’t even playing the same game...But he had been wrong. Off. She wasn’t as critical as the people she hung out with and thinking back, he
probably could have just said ‘hi’ and gotten this same result. A conversation. Because the physical wasn’t the only beautiful part of her
person...
Ahhh, but he was crossing back into Duckie territory. He had to focus on the conversation at hand. He’d done a great job so far. Charlena
complimented him on the simplicity of his former statement before asking about his time on the boardwalk. There was a simple enough explanation for
that; he worked here, well at Santa Clara. “Yeah, graphic novels. We’ve got manga that most bookstores don’t carry too-,” finally something he
could talk about that didn’t make him sound like a magnet for chick flicks...What? Oh right, recommend her something.
“Maybe Birds of Prey-,” he said without really giving it much though. "A group of girls saving the world, standing up for those that
can’t do it themselves?" Yeah, that was Charlena, “Yeah...you should come by if you ever have time. I’m pretty much always there. You
could...tell me what you’re into...so we can find you something.”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
A comic store? Really? Actually, that was pretty...cool. Charlena had always seen Santa Clara walking on the boardwalk, passing it on occasion, as
well. Sometimes...she'd even thought about going in. But there was no way that she would even think about walking through those doors, not with her
friends in tow. Just looking at the door would've made every single eyebrow in her vicinity, rise. Especially with her showing interest in something
deemed completely "loser". But, she didn't think that kind of stuff was for losers. Sure, she'd never been very interested, but there had to be SOME
reason why people were! And just because her friends wouldn't turn their head to even look at the display window of the store, that didn't mean that
she wouldn't. A store with that many options had to have something for her, right?
"Cool..." Was all she could say as the sentence that she'd just heard Dex said had her more confused than anything he'd said thus far! Manga? What?
She was sure she'd find out later when she stopped by the store to check everything out. Yes, she said it. She was going to stop by! Regardless what
anyone thought or felt...okay, maybe she would wait until she was alone, like she was now. Not that her being alone had anything to do with her
talking to Dex. Not at all! But the store? Yeah, it would've been better to visit without voices like Madgeline Ben Hassi in her ear, telling her how
lame the place was and how stupid she was to even step foot in there in the first place. Why they still hung out was beyond Charlena's understanding.
Not that they were "friends" or anything, they were mostly "grouped by association", meaning that their status kept them from royally tearing each
other's throats out. Not that that would have stopped Madgeline as she loved to publicly rip into Charlena any chance she had available. But that was
a different story for a different day...
"Birds of Prey?" She repeated, a look of expected confusion on her face. Dex must have noticed because he continued on, explaining what she
guessed was a comic, to her. Girls, saving the day for the incapable? Yeah, kind of cool. And before she knew it, an invitation had slipped out of his
mouth.
Cool? Cool? Seriously? Cool. She saw him as...cool. The way the word rolled off of her lips was enough to get him to smile, her saying it in
relation to him had him toning down the smile to a smirk. He had to keep his “cool” after all. He might have been able to maintain the
conversation so far, but he was well on his way to spazzing out over the fact that Charlena Tucker had deemed him “cool”. And it wasn’t because
she was apart of the AJW in-crowd that her opinion of him meant so much. Dex could think of a few people, just off hand, that would give anything to
have Charlena tell them they were cool. But they wanted it for status. Dex saw this as a step toward making her his. Cool was the first step to
awesome in his book and that would eventually lead to him asking her out and her not completely laughing in his face.
Hell, he had kind of already done it, inviting her to come see him at Santa Clara sometime. Well not really him, but the comics of course. It
obviously wasn’t something she’d looked into before, but she’d met the right guy if she wanted to become as big a comic book nerd as him. After
he was done with her, she’d be begging her parents for tickets to Comic-Con every year. That’s if she really planned on coming down.
Dex could imagine the ridicule she would have to endure if anyone ever found out that she had been inside of Santa Clara. He endured it on the daily.
But he was fine with being her little secret if it meant spending more time with her. As long as he got to hang out with her, it didn’t matter who
knew. And from the sound of things, Charlena was definitely interested in hang out with him. In fact, she’d like that...
“Great. So would I...”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
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