Hart & Soul - "First Date"

Hello everyone,

Our next episode takes place when Charlie and Brian are around 14 to 16 years old. Charlie isn’t as insistent on hanging out with her brother and Brian the way she was when she was younger. She’s starting to grow out of her tomboy phase, trading in comfort for something a little more intentional, hoping a certain boy might finally notice her.

As mentioned last week, please keep in mind that these shorts are not professionally edited, so you may spot the occasional typo or error.

Please enjoy this week’s snippet, Hart & Soul — “First Date”.

-Madison Chase

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Sometimes it felt nice to be furniture. Not overlooked and forgotten, but comfortable. Reliable and quietly appreciated. Like your favorite living room chair, a pillowy bed with clean sheets, or the snack-filled fridge you ran to every day after school.

Charlie once told Brian he was like a bean bag–kind of cool, fun to have around, and somehow always in the middle of everything.

Ben would probably call him a toilet.

At this point, Brian might as well have moved into their house. He’d been hanging around Ben for about five years now; the pair of them practically inseparable. At first, they congregated with the other neighborhood kids on the front lawn before setting out for their daily exploration of the neighborhood. As adventures in the woods gave way to huddles around the latest video game, Brian lingered longer and longer after the rest of the boys went home. Eventually, he just came and went as he pleased as though he were the fourth Brant kid, and the family just… accepted it.

It was nice being accepted without question.

He loved his grandparents, but life with them hadn’t started out very easy. Being saddled with raising a little boy while mourning the loss of their son was a tall order, especially when they thought they were done raising kids. There were a lot of growing pains while adjusting to everyone’s new normal.

Some of that pain came at the end of a belt.

Brian quickly learned to keep to himself and stay out of trouble just to avoid his grandfather’s quick temper. Until Ben came along. Something about the kid revived a sense of adventure and playfulness in Brian. Something he thought had been buried with his parents. And then there was the rest of Ben’s family.

The Brant's were no Brady Bunch, but they were real. Fun. They welcomed him into their home with open arms and made him feel safe to act like a little boy again—away from his grandparents’ watchful eyes. It became more than just somewhere to go to have some fun, it had become a safe haven. Something that filled the hollow emptiness in him.

He’d been hooked.

After three hours of trying to beat the same boss, Ben finally tossed the controller to the couch and jumped to his feet. He tried to pretend he wasn’t about to blow his stack, but the redness flaming the sides of his face was proof enough he’d come close to the edge.

“Video games are for babies. Let’s do something else.”

“You didn’t say that when you were kicking my ass at Underground,” Brian teased as he stood and lightly elbowed Ben.

The two shoved at each other before realizing someone was watching. Brian stopped and took notice of Charlie, whose arms were crossed tightly over her chest.

“What up, Chuck?” Ben grinned as he moved by her, attempting to shuffle her hair.

Charlie was quick to dodge, knocking his hand out of the way. “Stop calling me that!”

“Nah,” he grinned.

Brian watched the whole exchange, smiling at the bond they shared. Even though Charlie acted like she couldn’t stand Ben, she always tried to find ways to squirrel herself in the mix. Siblings were only annoying when they didn’t include you. At least, that’s what Brian gleaned from watching Jenna, Ben, and Charlie. He’d never know from experience.

“Wanna come with? We’re hea- oof!” Brian’s well-intended invitation ended with Ben’s elbow in his gut.

“Man, no. I don’t wanna babysit,” Ben protested with an annoyed sigh.

Charlie shot a mean look toward her brother before rolling her eyes. Brian simply shook his head, but Ben was already out the door. Letting loose a sigh of his own, Brian rubbed the back of his head.

“Sorry, Chère-bear.” The soft pink flush blossoming across her cheeks made him grin.

“Maybe next time,” she managed to say as she looked anywhere but at him.

“Before the streetlights and not a moment later or I’ll hunt you down.”

An old-fashioned but simple enough rule to follow… if you weren’t a teenage boy who considered himself invincible to his mother’s ire. Both boys had a tendency to test their luck, Ben especially, and it almost became a game to see how far they could push against the parents’ rules without breaking them, but this time Mr. and Mrs. Brant weren’t home when they clambered onto the front porch two minutes after the streetlights fired up.

One of many date nights they took during the summer. Jenna, who was forced to watch the younger kids in their absence, grumbled on the couch on the other side of the open screen door, clicking through the many channels on their T.V. offered. She couldn’t care less if Ben was home on time.

“Bullshit, I don’t believe it.” Ben shoved Brian a little as the two laughed.

“Oh come on, you know it's true!” Brian shoved Ben back. “Mr. Dickenson is a creep. I really don’t get why you think he’s cool.”

“I dunno man. I don’t believe what everyone says.” Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you staying tonight? Mom already gave the okay.”

Brian shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

“Alright! I’m grabbing us a few slices.”

Brian waved him off as he ran into the house, the silence of the evening breaking with the sudden squabbling of siblings inside. With a grin, Brian mosied off the porch, taking in the sights and sounds his own home would never know. He loved the Brant house. Every aspect of it; from Jenna, Ben, and Charlie fighting over meaningless things to the half-mowed yard encircled by lush trees.

As he walked parallel to the treeline, he came upon a pair of feet sticking out from the brush, complete with pink polished toes. As he recognized those pink toenails and silver anklet, a tight panic gripped his chest.

“Charlie?!” Her name ripped from the center of his chest and he rushed over, pushing the low-hanging branches away to find the youngest Brant laying on the ground. When she didn’t react, a flood of worst-case-scenarios pushed Brian into action. Was she hurt? Did she hit her head? Choke on that stupid candy she always had?

“Charlie!” He dropped to his knees and grabbed her shoulders to shake her, but stopped as confused hazel eyes locked onto his, before twisting into pure annoyance.

Brian snatched his hands away from her and sat back on his heels as she pulled off her headset. “What is your deal?”

“You scared the shit out of me!” Brian pressed a hand to his chest to keep his pounding heart from bursting out.

Charlie raised herself onto her elbows, leveling him with a look that somehow both made him feel like an idiot and made his heart patter with something stronger than panic. “How?”

“I just… you were just laying there I thought you got hurt or something.”

Charlie laughed, shaking her head. “I was watching the fireflies.”

“The… fireflies…” His eyes narrowed in at the comment she made, not processing what the hell she had said. How was any of this funny?

“Yeah.” A small wrinkle formed between her eyebrows before she rolled her eyes at him. “Oh my god, c’mere.”

She stretched a hand out to him, her hand flexing in an attempt to coax him closer. He hesitated, glancing behind him to the house watching over them like a watchful chaperone. Ben had already gone inside and was probably already digging into the fridge. When he turned to look back to Charlie, she hadn’t so much as wavered in her wait for him.

He relented, moving to sit on the ground next to her. She smiled at him for just a moment before falling back to lay on the ground as she had been before he interrupted her.

“What are–”

A sharp tug on the back of his shirt yanked him down to lay beside her. He cursed, reaching under him to remove a sharp rock jabbing into his spine, then settled into the grass to the song of giggles.

“Just shut your face and look,” she whispered, pointing up.

Tiny yellow lights glittered deep in the leafy canopy hanging above them. It was like a whole different world up there, something closer to nature than the bustling city streets carving through the neighborhood and the hum of electricity in the wires leading to the house.

“Oh,” he said. “Yeah, that’s pretty.”

“Right?”

“So you just come lay in the dirt a lot, or…”

“Sometimes.” She cut him off quickly. He waited for her to add to her abrupt statement but when nothing else came he cleared his throat.

“Oh… okay.” There was a moment of silence between them as he watched the lights flicker above. Though it was cool, he rather be doing something else. It was hard to lay still for too long especially when his mind was racing. Instead of breaking the silence, he twirled his thumbs.

“Got something to say, Brian?”

He could hear the smile in her voice. His brow arched as he glanced over at her. "Huh?" The single word carried the faintest hint of laughter, and he felt his cheeks flush.

He couldn’t hide his smile as he finally said the safest thing that was on his mind, “Not something I expect from… well… you.” She turned to glare at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She finally asked a hint of danger in that tone.

“Err, well… you’re a girly girl.” Brian bit the inside of his cheek, turning his attention away as he cleared his throat.

Silence built up again, did he piss her off? Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say after all. An abrupt laugh came from her. He wasn’t entirely sure why she was laughing at that. So he nervously chuckled in response.

“Brian Hart. You either do not pay attention or you’ve been listening to my brother way too much.” She teased before poking his side. He let loose a small genuine laugh as he lightly pushed her hands away. To be fair, he had been paying attention to her. She’d changed a lot over the years. From a Tom-boy who wanted to get into everything the boys did to dressing up in all those dresses. That being said, she could hold her own even in a dress.

“I guess not.” That felt like the safest answer.

The silence lingered between them. Small glowing bugs drifted through the trees, blinking like scattered stars. One fluttered toward Charlie and landed on her outstretched hand. She looked so peaceful in that moment, so unlike the chaos that usually surrounded her, that it felt almost unreal. A grin spread across his face.

She rolled onto her side, meeting his gaze. A faint blush colored her cheeks as a crooked smile tugged at her lips. "You know, you aren't half bad."

"Hmm?"

Charlie merely shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she left him to interpret her meaning. His heart quickened, hope soaring high at all the possibilities.

Then, before he could get a word out, she added, "For my brother's best friend."

And just like that, the hope crashed back to earth.

He let loose a half chuckle and looked back up at the night sky.

"Brian?"

"Yeah?" he asked, lifting a brow.

"Thank you for checking on me."

From the corner of his eye, he saw her sit up. Then, before he could process what was happening, her lips pressed gently against his cheek.

Warmth rushed through him. Such a simple gesture, yet it was enough to make his heart stumble. He turned toward her, only to find her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink.

Their eyes met.

The surprised look on her face mirrored his own, and for a moment, neither of them knew what to say.

His pulse thundered in his ears.

Then Ben's voice rang out from somewhere in the distance, shattering the moment.

Charlie and him both turned toward the house. He felt her rise abruptly beside him, then pause. When she looked back, her expression was unreadable for a split second.

"Thanks for the date," she said softly.

And then she was gone, taking off toward the house.

He sat up quickly, watching her disappear into the dark.

Brian reached for his cheek, he was smiling like a fool as he said to himself, “That… was a date?”

“Huh?” Ben cut through the moment, unknown to what had just happened. He looked down at Brian, the look of confusion written on his face. “You coming in or what?”