Goodnight Hollywood Boulevard

It had been a few weeks since Charlotte put her plan into motion. She lied to Leslie and she lied to Wyatt; Garrett was now supposedly out of her life, and thus she only went to the studio to see the others when Garrett wasn’t around. They were none the wiser. After dinners with Wyatt, Charlotte would go home and call Garrett while she waited for Wyatt’s bedroom light to turn off and she’d hear his car drive off. She would then make her way over to the boy’s apartment to spend the night with Garrett.

It was a Saturday and Charlotte had the day off – from everything. She was walking along the pier with Bobbie, catching up on her life. She had finished telling her about school, and her new crush on an upperclassman, when she grabbed onto Charlotte’s arm.

“Char, what’s going on?” Bobbie asked, looking at her sister with concern in her eyes. “This is the most dressed down I’ve seen you since we’ve come to California. And this Wyatt thing you’re doing? I don’t get it. Does Garrett know?”

Charlotte sighed softly, but smiled at her little sister. “Yes, Garrett knows about Wyatt. It’s only temporary. Leslie doesn’t like Garrett anymore, and I figured pleasing Leslie by dating her new poster boy Wyatt, I’d be able to keep my job and stay sane while doing it.”

“So Gary is completely fine with it?” Bobbie skeptically asked.

“I mean, he hasn’t said anything otherwise but I’m not dumb. I know he’d rather me quit the job and find something else,” Charlotte said as she fished in her bag for something. She unwrinkled the paper and handed it to Bobbie. “He doesn’t know about it. Garrett, I mean.”

Bobbie stared at the paper in her hands. She couldn’t believe what she was reading. “What the fuck, Charlotte?”

“Bobbie, I just have to, okay? I don’t want any kind of arguments going on about it,” Charlotte said. She took her papers back from Bobbie and placed them in her purse again.

“I don’t want to argue about it, either,” Bobbie said softly. “I was just wondering, you know, is that what you want?”

Charlotte only smiled at Bobbie before she stopped to look in the window of a store. “Garrett’s birthday is in a few days. I should probably start looking for something.”

Bobbie shook her head. She didn’t necessarily agree with what Charlotte had in mind, and she decided to text Garrett to invite him out for lunch. If he knew what was going on, Bobbie was sure he’d put a stop to it. Bobbie followed Charlotte into the store, quickly reading the reply from Garrett before shoving her phone into her back pocket. He’d be meeting them outside the restaurant in 40 minutes.

“Do you think he’d like this?” Charlotte asked, holding up a Back to the Future boxset.

When she received no answer from Bobbie, Charlotte continued on her search for the perfect birthday gift for Garrett. She found a few things he would like, but none of them really screamed perfect, and Bobbie kept nagging about going to lunch already.

“I don’t get why you’re in such a rush to eat,” Charlotte pointed out. “You just ate a few hours ago before we left the house.”

Bobbie just shrugged, trying to hide her smile. Seeing Charlotte hunting for a birthday gift for Garrett reminded her just how much he meant to her sister. It was easy to miss, considering Charlotte had her own life and Bobbie had hers. The two hadn’t spent much time together in a while, and since Charlotte and Garrett got together while they were away from home, it was like it almost hadn’t happened – to Bobbie, anyway.

“Garrett?” Charlotte asked, shocked. He smiled, holding his arms out, inviting her in for a hug. She hugged him tightly, her hands tangling in his hair. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you,” he laughed and kissed her. “Bobbie said you’d be here.”

Bobbie grinned at Charlotte. “Let’s go inside.”

Charlotte nodded, smiling at her as she slipped her hand into Garrett’s. The three were taken to a booth and handed menus. They sat in silence, Bobbie staring at the two across from her. They were huddled close, sharing one menu. Garrett would gently kiss Charlotte’s temple every few seconds, his eyes trained on the menu. Their waiter approached the table, took drink orders and promised to return within minutes.

“So, Garrett,” Bobbie started. Garrett pulled away from Charlotte slightly and his eyes met hers. “How’s the record going?”

“Uh, it’s good. John’s doing vocals most of the day,” Garrett answered.

Bobbie smiled and nodded. “Has Charlotte told you anything about her work lately?”

“Bobbie,” Charlotte sighed. It was on its way out now, there was no stopping or denying it.

“What? I’m just asking since he obviously knows about Wyatt,” Bobbie said innocently.

“What else is there to know?” Garrett asked, looking at Charlotte now.

“Damnit, Bobbie,” Charlotte groaned, then dug in her purse for the papers she had shown her sister earlier. She handed the paper to Garrett and waited.

He took his time reading it over. Bobbie’s eyes never left Garrett’s face, his expression changing several times as the words sank in. His eyes met Charlotte’s in an intense stare.

“What is this, Charlotte?” he nearly demanded, voice low and gravely.

“It’s, uh. Fuck, Bobbie,” Charlotte grumbled. “I’m resigning. That’s my letter to Leslie.”

Garrett stared at her for a moment before he asked her to talk in private. Charlotte glared at Bobbie as she scooted out of the booth, following Garrett back outside. Garrett had no idea what to say – he knew about Wyatt, and how Charlotte was fake-dating him to stay in Leslie’s good graces. But now it was all for not, and she was quitting?

“Seriously?” he asked, giving the paper a slight wave for effect.

“I’m not happy there anymore,” Charlotte reasoned. “This Wyatt thing was a short-term plan, and it’s coming to an end. I need to move on, and I’ve figured out what will happen from there.”

Garrett shook his head, the letter starting to crumple in his fist. “Seriously, Charlotte, this is the dumbest thing you’ve come up with. Dumber than you faking out your boss by pseudo dating the world’s biggest douche.”

“I’m not going to sit there and be someone’s bitch all day,” Charlotte argued. “That’s exactly what I am. I get coffee, I deliver papers, I file, and I run stupid errands. Garrett, I’m not doing anything for myself there. I’m going nowhere. The only option is to move on.”

Garrett’s eyes dimmed. “I don’t want to argue, Char.”

“Well, then, let me do this. Let me resign and show you just how much better off we’ll be in the end,” Charlotte whispered. She hadn’t meant to, but the realization had settled now and the fear of starting over, on her own, grabbed hold of her.

“We?” Garrett asked softly.

Charlotte sighed and, again, reached into her purse. “This was supposed to be for your birthday.”

Garrett stared into her eyes as he took the next set of papers from her. He slowly looked down at it, his lips curving into a small smile. “Oh my God, Char. You’re-”

“I’m moving,” she finished. “Closer to my heart.”

“But, I mean. I’m happy that you’re coming back. Fuck, I’m absolutely exploding inside, Char. But isn’t that a bad decision? You can get to know so many people here as opposed to in Arizona.”

Charlotte knew Garrett wouldn’t understand the move. Fashion might be Charlotte’s livelihood but it wasn’t her everything. She could make clothes anywhere, she could sell clothes anywhere; she didn’t need to be in Hollywood to do it. She just needed to be close to Garrett, close to home.

“It’s not forever,” she said, taking the copy of her apartment lease from Garrett. “I’ve done a lot of thinking lately. You know, creating plan after plan. Arizona is only for a few years.”

“And then?” Garrett dared to ask.

Charlotte shrugged. “Probably New York. I need to focus on family more, really, before I decide anything else.”

Garrett nodded, scuffing his shoes on the old wood of the boardwalk. He didn’t want to hear too much of Charlotte’s future, for fear that he wasn’t included. “I’m proud of you, Char, for knowing what you want and being able to go after it so fearlessly.”

Charlotte smiled, brushing her lips against his. “Gar, the thing I want most is you. And I have you. Everything else is trivial.”

Garrett blushed, biting his lip. “When are you resigning?”

“Soon. The more time I spend with Wyatt, the more I begin to despise him,” Charlotte laughed. “He’s so annoying. I don’t understand how I ever liked him.”

Garrett laughed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I don’t get it, either.”