Don't Be Scared, It's Only Love...

Charlotte sat in Jordan's living room contently. She had made the trip up just to see him and she couldn't wait to cuddle with him and watch movies or go skating like they usually did. But Charlotte also couldn't help but notice that Jordan had not seemed too excited to see her. She bit her lip, thinking to herself.

Jordan had stepped outside to make a call and Charlotte now wondered if maybe he was seeing someone. It would explain the nervous look on his face, all panicky like he was more upset than happy to see her. Charlotte sighed to herself, forcing the wall of steel around her heart to thicken.

After all, it's not like we're exclusive, she thought to herself.

"Hey, so you wanna head down to the ice rink and clock in some skating time?" Jordan asked, his eyes now worry free and happy. Charlotte was now the one who forced a smile.

"Sure, Jord," she said, and then hesitated. "Who did you have to call?"

Jordan held her gaze for a second, looking like he was trying to figure something out. Then a sigh escaped his lips and he sunk down on the bed next to her.

"A girl I had a date with tonight," Jordan admitted, then quickly went on. "I cancelled though! No one's important enough to ditch my best friend for."

Charlotte almost laughed to herself. She knew Jordan was far from dumb and her hints weren't subtle. He knew she liked him. And she thought he reciprocated; he flirted, fawned over her, made her feel special, sent flowers and gifts. What more could you say without just blatantly saying it?

"Oh, okay," Charlotte finally settled on responding. & then she decided to be a little nasty, because the thought of another girl even being close to him made her blood boil. She was out for revenge. "You know, you should've just told me you had a date. I would've gone and hung out with Tanger or Geno or something."

Jordan's eyes flashed in confusion at her lack of reaction.

"Wha-? I mean, I just thought..... huh?" Jordan asked, with his eyebrows furrowed. Charlotte held back a giggle.

"Spit it out, Jor," she said, smiling. Jordan’s eyes narrowed.

"I know what you're trying to do, trying to get me to admit that I was sneaking around because we're kind of together, but not really," Jordan said, then his eyes widened. Charlotte fought to keep the smile off her face.

"Oh, is that what you think?" she said slyly. "Well, I'm sorry Jord, I just don't see you like that."

"Char, come on. Look, how about this: you can be my girlfriend and we can make this whole thing exclusive and stop skirting around the issue," Jordan suggested, smirking confidently. Charlotte laughed loudly.

"You think I'm gonna say yes to that pathetic attempt at asking," she snorted. "You're gonna have to work for this. & that means no flirting with any other girls at all for a week. {i]Then I'll consider."

Jordan's face dropped quickly, but he covered it with a scoff.

"That's cake," he said, smirking. Charlotte's own smirk matched.

"Oh, this is gonna be good," she said, laughing.

-----------------------------------------

"This is your first test, Jord. You ready?" Charlotte asked with raised eyebrows. Jordan smirked confidently, strutting into the club and looking back at her.

"I was born ready, babe."

Charlotte sat quietly at a table and kept her eyes trained on Jordan as she sipped her frozen margarita. She chuckled to herself as he uncomfortably unlatched girls that had flung themselves at him. Charlotte knew Jordan couldn't resist a willing hottie and, even at the risk of getting her heart broken, she just had to have a little fun with this.

She sat up a little more, setting her drink down, as a girl who didn't look like all the other puck bunnies seemed to be making a determined beeline for Charlotte's favorite blue-eyed boy. Her eyes narrowed quizzically as Jordan's face stretched into an easy smile at the sight of the girl.

Across the room Jordan saw Jenna approaching and a smile lit up his face. He had taken a liking to this girl for a reason; she was sweet, genuine, and hot. Her lips curved into a smile and she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Fancy meeting you here, Staal," she flirted. Jordan chuckled.

"Ahh, so you're following me around now, eh? Guess one look at me had your body begging for more," he teased. She laughed.

"Oh, yeah, that’s definitely it."

"So, how are you?" he asked quickly. She giggled.

"Since yesterday when you called to cancel our date, you mean? Pretty good considering I got asked out and then rejected harshly in a matter of 3 hours," she shrugged, grinning to show she was joking. Jordan's smile faltered.

"Yeah, listen, I'm sorry about that. A friend unexpectedly showed up and I never get to see them, so I just-" Jordan tried to explain hurriedly.

"Hey, look, no worries, alright? Seriously, you can make it up to me some other time," she interrupted, winking. Jordan smiled before hearing a small sound of someone clearing their throat pointedly behind him.

"You really suck at this whole 'test' thing, don't you? No wonder you almost flunked out of high school,” Charlotte said with a condescending smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Jordan's smile faded.

"Hey, Charlie. Look, why don't I meet you back at my apartment later, okay? I think I'll take that test another time, yeah?" Jordan said, giving her a look to try to understand.

But Charlotte couldn't understand him for the life of her. First he claims he wants her to be his girlfriend, but when she simply requests he proves himself first, he's suddenly crazy for this other girl again.

All she asked for was one week. Jordan couldn't even make it through a day. Charlotte held back angry tears as she glared at Jordan and then stomped out of the club.

Charlotte wasn't clingy. She wasn't that girl who had to be with their boyfriend every second or texting their boyfriend every second or whining about not being with their boyfriend every second. But, somehow, Jordan Staal had changed her.

She wasn't Ms. One-Night Stand anymore, she was now that girl. &, at this moment, her face still heated from the embarrassment of Jordan's blatant rejection, she decided this was a very bad thing.