Chain Reaction Generation Three Summary: Chapters 21-30

Charlotte goes into work the next day, still not made up her mind completely whether or not she wants to quit. They have a pretty good day. After they close, Jarvis starts apologizing for fighting with Tommy yesterday. She says she broke up with him. Jarvis asks her out, sort of, saying maybe they could go next door and talk about it (next door is a restaurant). She tells him no. Jarvis, still reeling with almost-unbelief that she's actually single right now, forgets all about how he'd planned to wait a little while once she finally breaks up with Tommy before telling her how he feels... again.

He spills it all, wanting to kiss her if he gets the slightest hint that that would be okay. She warns him not to, ready to knee him in the groin just like she did with Tommy last night. Infuriating woman. So, he decides NOT to kiss her, but...

...come very, very close to it, shocking her. He keeps his lips mere centimeters from her skin, moving around, whispering how he loves the way she smells. Then he hovers over her lips, and she closes her eyes like she expects him to kiss her, like she wants him to. He asks her out instead.

That wakes her up, and she gets mad and quits.

He chases her outside where he tells her she can go ahead an quit (which isn't okay with him, btw) but she can't deny she felt something back there. She tells him stop living in a dream world, that they may have once been friends but that she never wants to see him again.

She goes home and texts Dwight what happened, wishing she could talk to him face-to-face, but he's at the Everton dorms. She and he continue texting back and forth over the next few months, but Jarvis doesn't give up. He keeps coming by to apologize, leading her to almost punching him. She just can't have a relationship with Jarvis! Dwight, however...

...he finally comes home for a weekend, and she goes to his house to visit. He's telling her about how they caught his roommate cheating off his schoolwork, and he's devastated because of it. They talk for a bit longer, and she tries that flirting thing that Chloe and Isabella have been trying to teach her. She flirts with Dwight and tells him that she has a crush on someone, and she's very glad he's home this weekend from Everton.

That... doesn't work like she wants it to. Dwight gives her the exact same reason she's been giving Tommy and Jarvis: that he's not interested in having any romantic relationships right now, that he just wants to be friends. Ouch.

So she runs outside. Worried about how he's hurt her feelings, he runs out after her, and they talk. Then, she tries to "pull a Tommy" on him.

But he pushes her away. She asks him if he's gay. He tells her he's not. (He's actually bi, but that doesn't matter right here.) She doesn't just want to be friends. So, Charlotte loses another friend.

Charlotte likes picturesque spots. She likes the positive energy that they give off, so she can often be found at such places. One such evening and after receiving a tip from Chloe, Jarvis finds her at one of them.

He begs her to come back to work. Charlotte can't. She just can't. She doesn't really understand why other than she can't bear the pain. She doesn't want to date Jarvis because she's worried that if something happens, she couldn't bear feeling his pain. But that's not working--because she's feeling it right now. It's unbearable for her. And it scares her. She subconsciously thinks to herself 'I can't bear pain like that again.' (This gets explained in better detail later.)

Eventually, she gets up and runs away from him.

It's been four months since their last talk, six months since Lottie quit at the store. Jarvis goes through the motions of life, only living for his store.

Then someone walks over to him, recognizing him.

Isabella.

They talk. He sort of fills her in on what's been going on since the last/first time he met her. He doesn't give names of anyone, so she has no idea he's talking about her niece. She agrees with his hypothesis that he's totally screwed everything up with this girl and that maybe he misread the look in her eyes before he'd almost kissed her. Jarvis gets mad, mad that he's been chasing a girl who will never want him.

The evening/early morning wears on, and they get closer. He gets her phone number, and he wonders if he should give up on Lottie.

(I adore this pic, especially since the last chapter had such bad, horrid lighting.) This is the day after Jarvis meets Isabella for the second time. That's Chloe in the pic.

The past six months, she and Tommy have been getting closer. At first, all she was doing was helping him get over Charlotte. It drove her crazy that her sister could break up with someone like him. He started getting better, and they stayed good friends. Chloe would like more, but she's worried he'll see her as a replacement for her twin sister.

She likes to stand right at the edge of the cliff while she looks out over the water--to get rid of any peripheral of land, making her feel like she's flying.

This makes Tommy nervous when he finds her here, and he calmly asks her to step away from the edge.

She's never worried about falling, so she dances around just to tease him.
Then her foot slips!

He quickly reaches out to grab her and pull her back, and they both shake in fear while he drags her even further back from the edge.

She realizes that she's wearing shoes with slick soles, and that she did something really stupid just then. All Tommy can think is that she's too daring for her own good, and he wraps his arms around her as far as possible, thinking that if he held on to her tighter, she'd be safer. Tommy is a bit of a male chauvinist, but he has good intentions about it.

He tells her there are other things to do at the cliffs, and they light the bonfire. Then he surprises her by kind of putting his arm around her, even if Chloe wished he'd step closer. He thanks her for helping him get over Charlotte, and all she can think is Charlotte--again?

Then he tells her he did his school report on her. The assignment was to pick someone, past or present, who has overcome something difficult and how he or she did it. He tells her how she grew up without a mom and how she was willing to accept the help offered from people around her. That takes a different kind of bravery. He tells her he thinks she's amazing.

So Tommy gets a "Tommy" pulled on him. (not the gun, the action) So maybe he likes, somewhat, Chloe being daring, and he relaxes into it. Just when Chloe realizes what she's doing, she quickly stops and backs up.

He asks her why she did that. At first, she tries to pretend she didn't, unable to believe that just happened. He finally gets out of her that she thought he was being really sweet. So he teases that if that's how she reacts when he's really sweet, he'll keep doing it. She's starting to freak out, and she tells him she needs to go fix dinner. It's 3 o'clock, and he calls her bluff.

He doesn't want her to escape without figuring out why she did that. He could easily guess, but his confidence there isn't as strong as it once was. He asks her if that was an accident just now. She answers yes because she wasn't going to do that yet. The 'yet' had slipped out unintentionally. Before he can ask, she points out that he said she was amazing, implying it was about her and not her sister.

"Everything I was always looking for I found in you," he tells her. (melt) Yes, it's weird that she's a duplicate of the girl he's liked since a kid, but he does acknowledge that Chloe is a different person. He already, of course, thinks she's beautiful, but she has the qualities he wished Charlotte had had. Basically, I'm saying it's not because she's her twin.

Wait a minute... He said something sweet. He smiles, pulls her hands up and behind his shoulders, and steps closer before wrapping his arms around her waist. That means he gets to kiss her, right? Chloe's reeling, unable to answer, so he kisses her. It's not a big one, but it's no peck either. She says she needs to wrap her head around all that's happening. They agree to meet at the café tomorrow. Chloe practically skips all the way home.

The next day after school, Chloe sits and thinks about how much she desperately needs this coffee. She could hardly sleep last night for being so happy. She's so into her thoughts that she doesn't realize that Tommy has been standing there a full minute before finally saying her name loudly to get her attention.

He sits, and they talk. He compliments her and is relieved when she doesn't try to shoot it down.

Then they talk about yesterday. Tommy is dying to know if she'd thought more about what happened, if she'd wrapped her head around it yet. Was it a mistake? She answers that it was a mistake that she wanted to happen. But she's still worried about the whole twin thing.

He reiterates some on what he told her yesterday. He says that he kept wanting Charlotte to be who Chloe was, that he kept trying to make it happen but couldn't. Then, when the he and Chloe became friends, he realized how blind he'd been. He more than just likes her, likes her.

They make it official.

Chloe's happy, and Tommy's relieved she finally got the message.

That's pretty much it for Chloe, so wrap that up with a bow and a 'happily ever after.' At least, so far as to where I am in my writing.
Back to Jarvis:

He's on a date with Isabella, his first date ever, actually. He's thrilled that trying romantic stuff actually works this time. After eating at a more-expensive-than-usual restaurant, they take a walk. She's talking about something, but he's not paying attention. She's talking about Chloe and Tommy, but she doesn't use any names! Then she notices his blank, but happy stare. She apologizes for rattling off about something he's not interested in, and he tells her he's just happy she decided to come out with him today. She smiles and tells him that he is the sweetest person she's ever met and that if being out with her today makes him happy, he deserves it.

And Jarvis gets his first kiss. She pulls back quickly, not even realizing the significance of what she just did. It was just another thing for her, a sweet thing, but not as big a deal. Jarvis decides he wants more, so he goes for it.

Thing is... he doesn't know when he's supposed to stop. He could do this all afternoon. (It's a lunch date, obviously, but I thought I'd mention that.) He finally realizes something's up when she starts shaking, so he pulls back, still holding her.

She asks him where he learned to kiss like that, and he's secretly thrilled that he happens to be a good kisser. So, he kisses her again, but this time, he doesn't stop when she starts shaking. He just has to hold her tighter. He considers inviting her back to his place, but he's a bit embarrassed by it now. He guesses from Izzy's (how he refers to her) hair, makeup, jewelry, manners... that she belongs to a wealthy family.

Speaking of family, he really doesn't like her last name is Taylor, but he chalks it up to it probably being a popular last name. After all, she looks nothing like Lottie.

Back to Drake:

He comes back to Eden finally, and Valentino doesn't know him. So, Laura stays with Drake to let Valentino get used to him again and get used to living at Drake's house. He still calls Laura 'Mama,' and cries for her when she goes back to live at her house. Drake decides to hire an au pair.

Then, he gets a call from Ethan. Malcolm Landgraab has escaped prison... again. This time, though, he murdered two cops and bus driver. They catch his two accomplices, but they still can't find Malcolm. Ethan has a hunch, and he asks Drake to come along. Drake realizes that's probably because he knows he won't ask questions, unlike how Alex would do.

They find Malcolm on the Landgraab property near the hidey-hole that Tony had once revealed to Ethan. Upon seeing Malcolm, Drake gets some semblance of a conscience. He doesn't want Ethan to shoot Malcolm... mostly because he's Emily's brother (and that would ruin Ethan) but also because it just feels wrong. Drake knows he's a killer; Ethan isn't. He passes Ethan, and a Goth pulls a gun on a Landgraab.

They talk, but everyone is shocked by who else comes along and pulls a gun...

Mikey!
(He wants to be called Mike or Michael, but his family stubbornly won't adjust, so neither do I hehe.)(yet)
Mikey exclaims how Malcolm shot his mother, ripping his family up. He wants to kill him.

Drake is ready to shoot should the man in orange move at all. He will not hurt Emily's nephew! Ethan barely keeps his cool while creeping toward Mikey. Then, just as Ethan starts to jump and make a grab for the gun, Mikey fires.

Malcolm looks at Mikey with all the shock that Drake feels before crumpling into a heap, shot in the heart at close range.

It's too late for Ethan to prevent his son from becoming a murderer. The two struggle on the ground while he belatedly gets the gun away from him. Drake goes and checks to find that Malcolm is, in fact, very dead.

Mikey fights his father off him, using his weight to his advantage. He sees himself as a hero.

Drake immediately starts planning what possibilities they have in order to keep Mikey out of jail. Mikey doesn't care. He says let the cops come; he's a hero. Ethan and Drake don't think he has much of a chance convincing a judge of that.

So Drake tells Mikey to do exactly as he says.
And I leave that there for now. >:) Believe me, plenty more on this later!

For now, back to Jarvis:

He meets Graham and Brielle, having no idea they're also Lottie's grandparents. He's nervous about meeting Graham, but he realizes that as long as he's respectful, everything is fine.

At dinner, he really doesn't want to talk about his family, especially with all the media buzz from recent events. (No one knows Malcolm is already dead, of course. There's a hunt still going on.) He also hopes that Izzy leaves out the bits in his childhood and teen years when he lived in a tent. They're a wealthy family, how could they possibly understand? (Oh, Jarvis... if you only knew...)

Not talking about family is a thing for him, so Izzy doesn't talk much about hers after that first date, but by the time they start reaching their two-month mark, she wants them to meet him. There's a charity function coming up where they'll all be there. Charity function: yep, wealthy family.

Isabella gives him a makeover, and he says he feels like a dressed-up monkey. She laughs and says then he's a cute and sweet dressed-up monkey. Then she gushes how she wants him to meet her nieces. They're twins.

And the pieces finally... FINALLY start coming together. Only now does Jarvis wish he'd learned more about her family.

Red hair. A twin. Last name Taylor. He knows that voice. And she looks amazing.
Lottie is Isabella's niece.

We back up like two minutes and switch to Charlotte's pov. At first, she says hi to Jarvis, then... no. Just no. It can't be.
He says hello to her as well, almost unable to find his voice, and Charlotte drags Isabella into the next room.

She realizes that maybe she could've spent more time with her aunt like Chloe always has. How is it she's never mentioned Jarvis to her? Sure, she had to keep it a secret while he was a teen, but... And she'd always just said 'my boyfriend' the one or two times she'd mentioned him.

Izzy realizes that Jarvis only once said a name when talking about an old friend: Lottie. She figures out 'Lottie' is Charlotte, and Charlotte feels the icy daggers hitting her skin as her aunt glares at her.

Jarvis is kicking himself for not trying to find out more with the last name similarity. Lottie still feels Isabella's anger and the challenge in her eyes. Charlotte knows she's outmatched. Isabella is beautiful.
So, she says some trite well-wishes and escapes outside as soon as she can see that the two of them aren't looking.

There's a pretty, little sculpture garden in the back of the museum, and she goes to it.

Only NOW does she realize she loves him. And she's a monster. She knew he might find someone someday, but why does it have to be her aunt?! And she has no right to be jealous.

She and Dwight had slowly been becoming friends again, and that's when she figured out that he wants to become a psychologist. He told her that because of her acute empathetic ability, she felt ALL the pain her father felt when her mother died, which was far more than any toddler should ever have to feel. He told her she never wants to feel that again, so she pushes away those people who mean the most to her and chase the "safe" ones like he was. (this discussion started after she asked him if he was ready to date. he said he was but that she's in love with someone else) She thinks he's brilliant, but he got one detail backwards. She doesn't want someone else to feel the pain her father felt should something happen to her. In pushing him away, she felt she was protecting Jarvis.

Jarvis finds her exactly where he'd hoped he would: in a picturesque spot. Charlotte panics when she sees him, also figuring out that the path in front of her is a dead end. The only way out, other than jumping the wall which she just might, is to get past him.

She tries, and he side-steps her and asks her to dance. He doesn't wait for an answer.

She knows she has a crying fit in her very near future, but she doesn't want Jarvis to see. All Jarvis can think is how breathtaking she looks and that dancing is a very good excuse for holding her in his arms. But she keeps coming up with excuses to stop! So he just keeps shushing her. Lottie can't take it anymore, and she starts crying. Jarvis wipes her tears, asking her to explain, that he might've once tried to guess but that his confidence there is a bit shot. She asks him to stop wiping her face. But she's still crying!

"Yes, of course I am! That's what people do when they're miserable! The worst is I know I deserve it. Why can't you just leave me be so that I can bash myself to pieces for pushing you away?"

Then Jarvis makes full use of his good kisser ability. I make like the pic is just the very first few seconds and it heats up quickly. There isn't even the slightest pretense of dancing as Lottie has the best kiss of her life, not thinking of anything else but him. But then, when the thoughts do return, she knows she's kissing her aunt's boyfriend, but for now, she doesn't care. She loves him, and if this kiss is all she ever ends up getting from/with him, she'll take every second she can.

For Jarvis, love and lust explode as he starts wondering how quickly he can peel this dress off her. Eventually, she pushes him away, but she doesn't leave, merely walking towards the dead end. He doesn't like the space she opened up between them, and he closes it, wrapping his arms around her.

He begs her not to walk away, especially now. She reminds him he has a girlfriend, but in his mind, that's something he can work out later. Now is so much more important. As he responds to her question: he was starting to have feelings for Isabella, but he's loved Lottie almost his entire life.

She tells him she's been too screwed up in the head to admit she loves him too.
So of course he has to kiss her.

Unfortunately, now they have an audience.

I'm trying to summarize. I really am! So I'm cutting this very short. Isabella is hurt but will be okay. She growls to Charlotte that if she hurts Jarvis then she'll never speak to her again. As it is, the two of them had better stay clear of her for a while. (Charlotte smiles in this pic because she can feel Jarvis' resolution to choose her because he loves her down to the marrow of his bones.)

They talk for a minute before Jarvis wants to give her a tour of how he's decorated his apartment.

The tour doesn't make it very far, however. Already, Jarvis is wondering if it's too early to propose and thoughts that go along with that. He's also really turned on and again wondering how quickly he can get her out of this dress (again, yeah, I know). She stops him, though.

Another thing I have to leave as-is:

She pulls back and gives me a look that tells me I need to cool it, even if she's also smiling. I could happily lose myself forever in her eyes. I imagine they're like a maze and she's at the center. And at the center hide all her secrets, stuff I hope she shares with me, stuff that I hope that explains why she does what she does, did what she did. I love her. I imagine the two of us grown old together with our grandkids running around and playing at our feet or older and asking for money. We'd be living in a better house than this apartment but also talking about this place with fond memories... Memories I want to make.

Charlotte is slightly smiling because she's wondering (worried) if that's how he does his hair nowadays. He tells her it was Izzy's doing, and he can go wash it out if she doesn't mind waiting a few minutes. She says as long as she gets to see the real Jarvis, it's fine.

That gives him an idea.

click here to go to summary chapters 31-40

Chain Reaction Generation Three Summary: Chapters 11-20

Charlotte ages to teen! And has an 'I don't care' kind of fashion sense. She's excited to be a teen. For one, Jarvis had been remarking how it was weird how she looked like a kid but acted more mature than one. That is, until she'd throw a fit about something and he'd have to hold her under one arm at about waist level until she'd get her temper under control. She says he acts more like an adult than a teen.
She's standing here waiting for Tommy. She hasn't seen him as a teen yet.

There he is! Charlotte comments on his shirt, and Tommy also stares at her... 'shirt.' Yeah. The shirt. That's what he's staring at. Mhm.
They talk, and Charlotte asks him if them being teens means they can finally be best friends. He sheepishly admits that she's always been his best friend. That makes her really happy.

So she hugs him.
But that escalates to this...

She kind of kisses him back until he sticks his tongue in her mouth. Then she wants him to stop, but he doesn't act like he's ready to. Her dad has taught her some self-defense stuff, so she chooses a gentler option and stomps, hard, on Tommy's foot. That wakes him up.

At first, Tommy tries to act like it was an accident, that it just 'happened.' She knows he's lying and calls him out on it. So he's like "Fine! Guess what, Charlotte, I like you. No, I love you." She gets nervous and reminds him he said he was her best friend. He insists she is. That makes her mad. She yells at him, saying that's not what friends do. He reminds her she kissed him back.

He says that he knows her better than anyone, and he knows that if he'd talked about how he felt instead of just going for it and kissing her, she'd shut down and block him out. And the guy's got a point. But Charlotte doesn't want to think about it. She doesn't want to listen to him begging her to give 'them' a chance. She runs home.

The next day, she's planned on meeting Jarvis. She can't wait to see his reaction to her being a teen.

Meanwhile, Jarvis has been trying to figure out how to get rid of Charlotte. Not that way. I mean like make her stop hanging around him. He knows it probably looks bad that a small girl is hanging out in the woods alone with a teenage boy. Of course, he'd never do anything like that, and it makes him furious to think someone would. But he also knows that if the right nosy person got involved, it could create a big mess. So he tries once again how to figure out how to tell her to get lost. It's just... he really likes hanging around her. He: the guy who wanted to go it alone in the world and depend on no one has let a little shrimp of a girl get to him. He knows if he actually told her to get lost that he'd miss her so much that he'd be too depressed to get up in the morning.

He continues with his inner debate, having no idea that Lottie has aged up.
Then he sees her.

He can't believe it. She tells him he can't call her 'Little Lottie' anymore, and he pretends to size her up from her feet to legs to curvy hips and waist and... plum. He forces himself to keep up their little pretend fight so that he doesn't pull one of those cartoon character freak outs when the character sees a hot babe walk by. It's all he can do to talk normally. It's weirding him out. It's just Lottie for plum's sake!

He realizes she has no idea how hot she's just become, even if his stomach has as it's tied up in a knot. Speaking of stomach, Lottie says she can cook them breakfast, jumping up and down excitedly. He wishes she wouldn't do that because she is not wearing a bra. He agrees to let her cook, mostly to get her to stop bouncing up and down, but then he realizes he just committed himself to eat with his stomach forming its own pretzels.

While she cooks, he takes a walk to, um, clear his head. >.> Nah, not like that. He just needed a reality check that it's just Lottie after all and he doesn't need to go bonkers like he's doing. That works... until she leans over to put his plate down and the front of her shirt slips down before she can correct it.
He forces himself to eat every bite of breakfast that she cooked, and he prays he doesn't have to throw it up later from nerves.

Then Lottie asks him if it's normal for best friends to date each other.

He knows she somehow has an uncanny ability to read him, even if he doesn't know the real reason why, so he doesn't look at her as he answers that yes, it does happen sometimes. He thinks/hopes she's talking about the two of them. Then he finds out she's talking about Tommy and that Tommy has already kissed her.

That immediately pisses him off because now it's happened again. He's never liked Tommy. So he tells her that if she thinks it's weird, it's weird. Then he realizes how what he just said could come back and bite him. But then he tells himself he's nuts because it's just Lottie, after all. I mean sure, he can understand why Tommy likes her. She's great, and now, she's hot to boot. Plum.

He stops the discussion by saying it's time to go look for junk.

So I have to directly quote this:

     Today's session of hunting for discarded junk is labeled 'hey, Jarvis, wait up.' Does she have to wear that type of shirt? Does she have to have those hips? Must she have an amazing rack? And that's to say nothing of those eyes. I'd sell everything I own and go completely broke again for those eyes.

     She's just Lottie! Damn it, Jarvis! Get that through your head!

Then later he also checks out her ass. He tries to tell himself it's just physical, that he was just surprised, that he's just a dude acknowledging she's hot.

Lottie helps him at the next flea market, and he wonders if when he opens a store that he should hire her to work there. That way he could see her every day. Because they're friends. Yeah.
Jarvis does really, really well at the flea market. So well in fact that he says they should go out and celebrate. Nothing expensive, but actually go out.

But it's not a date! He internally insists to himself that he didn't just ask her out.
They go to a diner.

At the diner, Lottie talks while Jarvis starts going mush-for-brains, totally in lovey dovey mushy wuvvikins land. He's just staring at her face and thinking how perfect it is. He gets out a random comment every so often to make it look like he's paying attention to what she's saying instead of paying attention to every little detail about her. When the food arrives, he belatedly realizes that the 'conversation' has turned to the fact that Tommy has started talking to her again.

What?

She brings him back to speed and mentions that Tommy still thinks she and him should date. All Jarvis can think at the time is 'poor guy.' He says it, and she asks him to explain.

So, slightly with a mouth full of food, he starts going into an explanation of how great she is. That why wouldn't Tommy want to date her? "You're sweet. And funny. And smart. And sensitive. And I'm an idiot if I try to tell myself I'm not crazy about you." He swallows and notices Lottie just sits there and stares at him, gaping.

Uh, what just happened?

Oh, unholy, rotten plums. He really did just say that... to someone he knows doesn't want a boyfriend. He also knows he can't lie to her. (still doesn't completely understand why) He can't pretend like that didn't just happen either with the way he now sits looking devastated.

"Charlotte, honestly, I don't want you to start talking to him again because I don't want you to start possibly dating him because I'd rather... If you date anyone, I want it to be me."

Notice he called her Charlotte? Well, I guess not, but that's a big deal. He, right now anyway, only uses her actual name when he's being totally serious. It's not true 100% of the time, but it's a pretty good indicator, I've noticed, and I'm the one writing him. At least, he lets me believe that. >.>

Also, notice the pink shoes in the next pic. He saves money wherever he can, even buying clearance or used or used clearance shoes, and pink men's sneakers weren't a hot-selling item.

Charlotte says she's going to the restroom. He knows she's escaping, so he pays the bill and leaves the restaurant, not going far. She texts to ask him where he is, and he tells her, dreading what's coming up... because it can't be good. He'd pictured, fantasized, this scene in his head a million times--but under much better circumstances. His favorite was that she would realize she had feelings for him and would be troubled about it, but he'd happily tell her it's all okay and that he's loved her for a long time already.
It's just too bad that isn't happening.

After staring at her all evening, he can't look at her right now. She asks if he meant it. He says to her she knows he did. She doesn't get why, though.

"You have no idea, do you? I didn't want anyone tagging along with me, yet there you come acting sweet and cute. Even as kids, I couldn't resist. Every time you'd come over, I'd tell myself, 'Today is the day I tell her to get lost.' But I couldn't do it. Seeing you again is my reason for getting up in the morning. Then, you aged up, and holy plum, Charlotte! It's a miracle I could talk. I probably looked like an idiot."

She doesn't know what he means by 'holy plum.'
I can't do this justice in summary form again:

     If I weren't so used to it by now, my jaw would drop. Fine. I'll tell her. "You're plumbing gorgeous, Charlotte!" I knew it. She's leaning back, teetering on overwhelmed. But she asked for it. "Where do I begin? First of all, your hips. Maker, I love to watch you walk. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but you should probably think about wearing a bra. Haven't you noticed me staring at you? I spent the last hour studying every aspect of your beautiful face." I reach my hand up, suddenly dying to touch her hair. "And your hair-"

     "Don't," she tells me quickly and scoots a tiny bit away, but it may as well be acres. My hand freezes in place before closing into a fist.

He freaks, saying he's ruining everything. She insists they can still be friends, but he can't do it. He's sorry, but he can't do it. And if one day she's ready to date and it ends up being Tommy, that will hurt like the worst pain imaginable.

So, to stop this from going any further, he breaks their friendship, hoping a clean break will heal better.

He walks away, miserable, while she cries behind him. He does his best to remind himself it was always supposed to be a one-man show, and now that how he feels is out in the open, that he couldn't keep it hidden, he can't pretend to only want to be her friend.

Charlotte stays in bed all weekend before Ethan finally goes in to see what's wrong. She tells him to go away, but he doesn't. So, he gets an earful about his daughter and boys. He suggests maybe she needs to pick up a new hobby. They discuss options, and she chooses woodworking of all things.

Turns out it's a really good hobby for her irritating boy issues. Now, whether the boys are irritating or the issues are, that's for you to decide.

She makes a knife rack. Figures.

Then, Chloe (her twin if you've forgotten. Poor Chloe. I push her aside too much.) warns her at breakfast that Tommy is coming home with them after school that day. They're working on roles in a play, Julius Caesar. Tommy is Caesar, and Chloe is... Brutus. So Charlotte gets kicked out of their room so Chloe can practice stabbing Tommy in the back. Lots of giggling that actually makes Charlotte jealous. She goes out to her wood bench and works hard, getting sweaty. She goes to take a shower.

You can tell this was an un-planned screenshot by the damn plumbob.

Yes, that is Charlotte in the shower with Tommy walking in on her, washing a dish where angry poops happen. Not in the sink. (It's a mod name if you're unfamiliar with it.)

The water gets suddenly cold, and the she figures out why. And Tommy realizes, finally, that someone is in the shower. And he looks his fill before apologizing and realizing he needs to leave.

What's really sad here is Chloe has a huge crush on Tommy and has for a while, but all he sees is Charlotte, her plumbing twin!

Charlotte doesn't know later whether to approach him about it or not, so she goes and has a seat in the living room, where he finds her later. She doesn't speak. Neither does he. So she pretends to mess around on her phone. He finally speaks.

He apologizes but also wonders why she didn't lock the door. She replies she didn't think she had to... because the shower was running! He says he didn't know why he didn't notice other than he had a lot on his mind at the time. She still says that gave him no right to stand there and gawk at her.
To which he replies that art is meant to be admired. (sometimes my characters make me just melt)

She works at recovering from hearing that, and she says he needs to apologize for staring. He says he won't.

He says he'll apologize for the initial walking in but not for standing there and admiring her. He tells her he thinks she's gorgeous and that he's ... waiting. Waiting for her to realize why she kissed him back. He insists she likes him but hasn't figured it out yet. She asks, "What about Chloe?" She doesn't know why, but she can obviously sense something. He doesn't know why she'd ask that, and she can't explain it. Then she escapes to her woodworking bench.

And we go to Alex and Emily:
(the following pics are edited to show they're from the past to catch us up on what's been happening during the Charlotte drama.)
We hear through Emily's narration that Drake was indeed wanted for murder, but that he's gone away until his name gets cleared. No one knows where he is. Alex and Emily go to Laura and Kenneth's house so that Alex can meet his grandson. Laura throws a fit when Emily asks to hold Valentino.

It's sad because of how Laura used to love Emily. But that was before she 'hurt her son.' (trust me, I get that whole mama bear thing--from personal experience) She doesn't want Emily to hold Valentino. Alex gets mad, and as he's holding him, he walks over and hands him to his wife. Laura almost looses it except for Kenneth calming her down.

Emily notices Valentino will have Drake's--Laura's--eyes. She acknowledges he's a pretty baby. Then she hands the baby back to Alex, who hands him to Laura.

Drake's name gets cleared, the courts saying he killed his wife in self-defense, just as his surveillance videos prove. They can't pin Donovan's murder on him, but Emily suspects he did it somehow.

Alaric grows to toddler, and Alex's daughter by Selena, Diamond, grows to child. Diamond is a brat. Selena blames biology on that count; Alex blames Selena. The two of them have an 'I'm the better parent' silent contest through the rotten little thing.

I give Alex the older look just like I gave Brielle earlier. They are the same age, after all.

Alaric ages to child.

The stuff taken from the next chapter is 3.14. I named it Slice of Pi. I love that title.

Back to Jarvis:

Jarvis has been miserable. Even though he won't even let himself think her name, he thinks about Lottie every day whether he wants to or not.

At one point, he gets the crazy idea to go see Lottie, and he finds her behind her house working at her workbench. But he doesn't approach her, afraid of what would happen. He's also afraid he's going to be sick in the bushes from nerves. Sighing quietly, he leaves.

He continues with his little flea market table business, and he makes a few lucrative trades. He's started stashing jars of cash in buried places in the woods. No map. He remembers.

Then he ages to adult, opens a real bank account that Landgraab or anyone can't touch, and realizes he has enough money to buy an old, run-down store. (His slice of the pie)

It's a bit of a dump, but it has a two-bedroom apartment upstairs. So, bonus! He has a store and a place to live. The plumbing works... mostly, but the electrical is original for the hundred-year-old building. It'll need replacing. But to Jarvis, it's a dream come true. He wants to celebrate, but... there's no one to celebrate with.

He realizes he's going to need shelves and places to display his wares, and he wonders where he can go to find a good price on some. Then it hits him: he knows someone who might be willing to build them for him... after she chews him out, but he'll offer a good price, especially since it's her.

And this means I have a real excuse. A real excuse to see her.
He smiles.

But his smile vanishes when he gets to Lottie's house by what he sees in the backyard.

What was it he saw? I explain it next:

Well, in a minute. I wanted to include this picture because it shows all 4 of them, and I mention how Michael is struggling to keep up in school because he wants to spend all his time playing computer games. He's moody and brooding, and no one really tries to figure out why. So he goes through the motions of life, living only so he can escape. This is important to note because it comes back up later in gen 3 mach2.

Now back to what Jarvis saw, and to do that, we go into the mind of Tommy Keenan.

Like he said on the couch that day, he's been waiting. He hasn't outright said anything about the two of them being a couple since that day, and it's been a few months. He's only done little things like a compliment here or there or something chivalrous, even if it makes him look silly.

But tonight, he goes by her house to talk to her. He wants to find out where she stands. He notices she's uncomfortable, and he hates that. But he wants to know... until he can't take the sight of her that uncomfortable. He drops his arms and turns to leave, but she asks him to wait. She wants to talk about it! This is all the opportunity he was hoping for, having rehearsed this in his head a million times already.

She, again, says that she doesn't understand why they can't just enjoy being friends, but he explains that the fact that they're such good friends will make it easier to go to the next step. She says she missed him when they weren't friends but that she doesn't want that to be a reason they start dating. He tells her that he can't predict the future but can point out the present, helping her realize she does have feelings for him. She takes the bait and asks how. He asks her to kiss him. After all, that's the proof he has, what he's been hanging onto this whole time. It's in the way she kissed him.

So she does... just a quick one. Then she kisses him again.

And he can't stop his reaction. That would be too much to ask.

And so, Tommy Keenan has one of the greatest nights of his young life.

And we know what it is that Jarvis sees. He stands there staring at them, unable to look away for what is probably too long. Then, just before he wants to scream and run over to wrap his hands around Tommy's throat, he makes himself run away. He doesn't stop until he makes it home.

Who cares that he has a home now? He cries and makes strange noises as he almost can't cope with the incredible pain in his chest. He realizes he'd always had a plan. He was going to get to see her again! He'd done everything just so that he could show her one day, share it with her one day. Here he'd reached his dream, but he'd trade it all just to prevent what happened earlier. It means nothing to him now.

Eventually, he gets up to get a drink of water, and he wonders if he'd just missed the mark by a few hours, thinking Tommy looked suspiciously like he was celebrating. He calls himself a fool for dropping Lottie like he did, like he may as well have wrapped her up in a bow and hand delivered her to that little twerp. He goes to bed and just wants to disappear from the world.

But Jarvis has never been one to just give up.

Since Lottie is at school, he decides to force himself to go out and get more inventory before deciding what to do next. As he sits and contemplates what to do, Isabella happens across him, commenting on how his shoes don't match anything about what he's wearing. They don't know each other, and she gets out of him what has him so upset. He only says that he saw the girl he loves kissing another guy. She hints that maybe he should go for someone else then--with her best 'ask me out' smile. She's about to graduate.

He merely says thanks for the advice but that he's not interested.

But he is encouraged by her sheer daring when she came up to talk to him. He decides to just go for it with Lottie, going with his old plan about the shelves. But first, he realizes the girl in pink was right. He needs to go shopping for some new clothes. He buys new clothes for the first time in his life.

He shows up at Lottie's house. Tommy isn't around. He stands there and works at psyching himself up to go and offer her a job. I'll just go up to her... and offer her a job... a real one this time.
I'm going to throw up.
No! No I'm not. I'm fine. He finds the courage.

He gets every ounce of sass he expects, and he takes it. He does his best to apologize for, well, everything. And he asks her if he could commission some shelves... for his new store. Charlotte smiles, happy knowing he achieved his dream of owning a store, even if she's still miffed at him.
He offers her a job.

"The place needs a lot of work. Don't you want to come help to open Jarvis' House of Treasured Junk?"
She giggles, and he's transported back to the first night he met her. Then her phone rings. It's Tommy. He does his best to keep in his irritation that he called, but of course she can feel it.

He takes her to see the store. He's already gotten started with getting it ready.

They go up the back staircase.

And he shows her the apartment. She can tell he's proud of it, but she also feels how incredibly sad he is. That makes her worried because she doesn't know how she's going to tell him that she and Tommy are going steady. To avoid that topic, they start talking about shelves.

So she agrees to making the shelves, and she gets out that she and Tommy are going steady. Jarvis tells her that he's sorry for everything and that he'll say sorry every day if she just lets them start over. She'll says she'll be back tomorrow to continue to work on the shelves. (He has a workbench just outside the store--he didn't put it there. old owners did)

Lottie also winds up helping Jarvis with the customers when he gets swamped. Just like at the flea market sales, she's really good at it.

So, because she's good at it (and of course the fact that he doesn't want to see her leave), he offers her a steady job once she finishes the shelves. She happily accepts.

...and she's still working there. And she's still dating Tommy. It's driving Jarvis mad. For the first ten months or so, he kept their relationship business/friendship level. He didn't want to have the reason they break up be that she cheated on him. But then his frustration and worry that it might never happen at all starts getting to him. He starts lightly flirting, especially when Tommy shows up to take Charlotte home. He hopes he can get Tommy upset so that he'll start driving Lottie crazy.

Except when he hears Tommy sound like he's "laying down the law" and telling her she can't work there anymore, Jarvis loses it.

Charlotte yells at them and then storms off on her own. But she's too mad to go into her house right now. She goes to a nearby park bench to cool down her anger first.

And she finds Dwight Foster there (son of Finn). She cries and tells him her whole story, happy at least to have someone impartial to listen.

He doesn't so much as give her advice as help her work through things on her own. She thinks he's cute in an adorably-geeky kind of way. Also in their conversation, he tells her he's going to be a doctor. She thinks medical doctor, but that's not what he means. He wants to be a psychiatrist, so this kind of thing is right up his alley. He's curious/fascinated by her random mentioning of how she says she can feel what people are feeling, but he doesn't press it. They exchange phone numbers. (He doesn't go to the high school. He has the genius trait, so I make like he's going to Everton like Emily did instead of high school.)

Charlotte decides to break up with Tommy.

He doesn't take it too well and tries to force another kiss on her. She eventually has to knee him in the groin to make him get the message.

When she gets home and goes to bed, she ponders how she needs to quit her job.

Click here to go to chapter 21
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