Finger on the Trigger to My Dear Juliet

I was trying to cram my new gym clothes in my bag so I could take them back to Ronnie’s and wash them when my zipper snapped and all my stuff fell on the ground.

“God damn it.” I muttered, bending over to pick it up.

A mere few seconds later, I saw a pair of familiar feet dressed in a pair of ratty converse come up beside my back pack and a loud, throaty laugh, “What the hell Max?”

I picked up my clothes and stuffed them in my bag, the zipper still broken and made it to my feet in just enough time to see two pairs of brown eyes staring at me in sheer amusement. If anyone didn’t know any better, they’d think Charlie and Ronnie were friends. They both had big, brown eyes, and long black hair, except Charlie’s features were more tamed. Her eyes were outlined softly in liner, and her hair was unstraightened, falling across her shoulders, while Ronnie’s was just in rats all over the place.

“My fucking bag broke,” I groaned, holding it towards them, “Honestly?”

Charlie grabbed the bag from me, grinning slightly. Ronnie pulled me by the shoulder and the three of us started walking towards Ronnie’s, and now officially mine as well, house.

“So, Ronnie, how’s the hand feeling?” I asked.

“Oh fuck off Max.” He said, bringing his hand up to light the cigarette in his mouth. My mouth curled up at the edges as I saw one of his fingers and the palm of his hand was a dark red, looking extremely singed. I immediately fell into fits of laughter as I doubled over.

Charlie looked over as well and started snickering a little bit, but hit me slightly on the shoulder, handing me my gym clothes, “Here,” She said, then giving me my notebooks as well, “Hold these.”

“You guys are assholes,” Ronnie chuckled.

“What are you supposed to tell your dad?”

“I don’t know,” He shrugged, “What’s he gonna do about it?”

I mimicked Ronnie, shrugging, “Take you to the doctor?”

“Max,” Charlie said from beside me. I turned to her, expecting her to give me some spiel quite similar to Ronnie’s yesterday about how just because my parents take me to the doctor everyday, doesn’t mean that everyone else’s parents are that weird. Instead, she held her hand out, so I placed my gym shirt in it and she folded it neatly, packing it in my bag, then took my gym shorts, doing the same thing, and finally my notebook. I then watched as she zipped up the entire bag and handed it back to me, “There. Now it’s fixed.”

“Thanks.” I said, slinging my bag over one shoulder.

She nodded, leaning close to my ear, “Now, get me a smoke from Ronnie.”

“Hey Ron?” I asked, tapping him on the shoulder, “Can I have one of those?”

“One of what?”

"Those." I said, motioning towards the pack of smokes in his pocket.

“I thought you quit.”

Charlie pinched my side slightly, “Yeah.” I paused, “But you’re smoking them and it’s making me want one, so can I have one?”

Ronnie rolled his eyes and held the pack out towards me. I plucked one from the pack and handed it to Charlie, who pressed it between her lips and grabbed for Ronnie’s lighter.

“Hey!” He said, turning to me, “Max. What the hell?”

“She wanted one.”

“She stole one from me this morning.”

Charlie lit her cigarette and blew the smoke out of her lips. I watched as it came out in smoke rings, lingering in the air above her face. Her lips were parted perfectly before they started moving. I then felt a slight smack on my shoulder as her mouth turned into a smile and I shook my head, breaking from my trance.

“Max, check your underwear!” Ronnie laughed loudly.

“Suck one, Radke.” Charlie said in a serious tone.

I looked over at Ronnie’s face, and his grin was completely gone. She took another pull on her cigarette and walked towards the other side of the street and stopping in front of the house she came out of this morning.

She turned around with the cigarette still between her lips and yelled, “You better wait for me tomorrow! I’m not walking by myself!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Ronnie yelled back smiling, “Fuck off Fallon!”

She merely waved her hand at the both of us and Ronnie pulled my arm towards his house. We walked in the front door to see his older brother sitting on the couch eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs, slopping milk all over the table.

“Jesus Christ,” Ronnie muttered, “Get a fucking life Tony.”

“Fuck you!” Tony yelled back, spitting milk everywhere, already convincingly drunk.

“Dad still at work?”

“How the fuck would I know? I just got up.”

I kept my head low, doing my best to avoid Tony. We’d never gotten along much when we were younger, and when Ronnie finally moved away from me, both Ronnie and I were more than upset to say the least. Tony’s never given up calling Ronnie and I faggots or being completely concerned that all we do is fuck each other all the time.

“You’re so lame.” Ronnie said, turning to go up the stairs.

“Hey Max!” Tony called from the living room. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to face him, “You better watch out. Ronnie here has been cheating on you with his little friend, what’s her name? Chad?”

“It’s Charlie you fuck bag.” Ronnie snapped, “Get off the couch. Go find something to do.”

The both of us then made it upstairs where Ronnie threw his door open and dropped it on the floor. I stuck my bag on the bed, watching as Ronnie landed in his chair and sighed loudly.

“So, how long have you known Charlie?” I asked.

“Since we moved here.”

I bit my lip, wanting to ask the question that was a roaring fire in my mouth, but just couldn’t bring myself to do it, “So, is she your best friend?”

Ronnie laughed, flicking a paper ball off his window sill, “Charlie? My best friend? No, dude. We’re just really good friends.”

“Who is her best friend?”

“I am.”

“What, are you the only guy she talks to?”

“I’m the only person she talks to.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know Max,” Ronnie snapped, “Why do you care so much?”

I shrugged, “Just wondering.”

But, that wasn’t true. As Ronnie fell silent, staring out the window, waiting for his dad to come home, I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.

When Charlie and I were in Phys ED, we had to partner up. Boy girl, boy girl, boy girl. As pairs made their way towards each other, she flinched whenever any guy came near her. Not to ask her for partners, but just walked past her. Her eyes met with mine from across the gym and she smiled at me, waiting for me to come stand next to her. Once I’d made my way over there, the teacher told us to link arms and stand back to back.

Which, was no problem between the two of us, but I noticed how most of the boy/girl pairs stood close to each other, while mine and Charlie’s arms were barely linked and she refused to lean against me. I wasn’t expecting her to, it was only the third time she’d spoke to me all day, and this time, it was without Ronnie. But, throughout the whole class, she did practically everything but run in the opposite direction any time a guy came near her, unless it was me.

“Do you ever hang out with her outside of school?” I asked.

“Shut the fuck up Max.” Ronnie laughed, “Do you want to jump her or what?”

“No,” I said quickly, “I’m just wondering.”

“We’ll hang out with her tomorrow, after school. Alright Max?”

“Alright.” I smiled, sitting up in Ronnie’s bed.