Worlds Apart

-- August/September 2004 -

It only took me half a day to know how much I hated America. From the hectic airports to the long drives, there really wasn’t much to love. My parents thought that moving to America would be a great idea. It wasn’t. Sure we had a pretty nice house in a nice neighborhood. But the city we lived in? The city was called Baltimore, located in the state of Maryland. It was close by the ocean and when you walked around town, the smell of ocean and fish was overwhelming. Everything in general was just bigger over here. When my dad told me that he got a 2 year contract with the American department of his job, I couldn’t help but having the whole Alex situation swimming in over me. I really felt like punching a wall. Besides, who takes their 16-year-old daughter away from her friends and across the Atlantic, 5 hours of time difference? It was ridiculous. Complete and utter mayhem. Since ‘I was raised well’, I of course did as my parents demanded, was nice to all the new people in our lives but inside my head, I just wanted to take a gun, put it to my temple and pull the trigger. Americans were nice, it wasn’t that. Really nice. As they found out we were from England, they would just ask all these questions and constantly make us talk because of our accents. I would roll my eyes every time. I was supposed to start school next week and my parents said that after school, they had a surprise for me. I bet they’re going to make me take my drivers license. Woohoo.
I hated it, honestly. I hated everything about this country.

My dad stopped in front of the school Monday morning. “Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to go with you?” he asked, obviously concerned as most parents would be as they ripped their daughter away from her friends and to a new country 15435434554 miles away. Or something like that. “Yes, dad. Jesus. If not, I’ll just sit in the bathroom eating lunch by myself and cry,” I said sarcastically and opened the door, but my dad grabbed my arm softly, making me look at him. “Char. I know you hate this place, but please try to enjoy it. It’s only 2 years. Then you’re going to be done with school and can do whatever you want,” I rolled my eyes. “Of course. I promise,” I said and leaned over to give my dad a kiss on the cheek. “Bye dad,” “Do you want me to pick you up after school?” I shook my head. “I’ll probably take the bus. Or who knows, maybe I’ll have empty brained friends with cars by the end of the day!” I said with a sarcastic enthusiasm and finally got out of the car, waving slightly as my dad drove off. I took a deep breath and turned around to have the school’s name in front of my, in huge white letters. Dulaney High School. Here we go.

High school sure was stressful. I got my schedule and locker and I may have been a little too excited about the locker thing. I was already planning so many things to do with it. I didn’t have much time to think though because I had to find my homeroom. I found the classroom and found an empty seat and sat down. As the teacher got there, she asked me to come up in front of the class and I did as she told me. “Class, this is Charlotte Alford. She transferred from… Essex in England, am I correct?” I nodded slightly at her and brushed my blonde fringe a little out of my eyes. I walked back to my seat, feeling everyone’s eyes on me. It must be the whole ‘being from England’ thing again. I just kind of looked down at my hands as she was calling up names. Until a certain name made my heartbeat stop and my head snap up. My heart was now racing at an incredibly speed. I got a lump in my throat and breathing became difficult. I searched around the room, waiting for the student to raise his hand. And just across the room, by the window, he did. Alex Gaskarth, a guy with long light brown hair, dressed in a navy blue hoodie, a black Foo Fighters t-shirt and grey skinny jeans raised his hand. As he took it down again, he looked over at me. We both knew at this point. After 8 years apart, we locked eyes again. Smiling.

Students scattered out from the classroom as the announcements were over and I watched Alex get up from his seat along with a guy a little taller than him that was really skinny. They were joking back and forth. I could pick something out from their conversation that made my heart race fast again. “Dude, Essex? Isn’t that where you grew up as well?” the tall guy asked Alex and he just stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “Yeah,” he replied simple, shrugging a bit as they walked out. I took my time getting my stuff because my entire body was shaking. Out of the 50 states in America and the thousands of different cities, my parents moved to where the Gaskarth’s did. I stopped in my tracks.
Holy. Fucking. Crap.
They fucking knew it.
They knew it and they didn’t tell me.
I felt the anger rise up in me but snapped out of it, as someone laid hands on my shoulder.
“If it isn’t a certain Charlame that happened to be in my homeroom, who are you?” Alex grinned at me as I turned to face him. My eyes widened as I got a closer look of his facial feature. Puberty has treated you well, was the only thing that ran through my head. “You’re blonde,” he commented and touched my hair slightly. “You’re… Still brunette,” I giggled and ruffled his hair slightly. “Hey!” he exclaimed and pouted. His accent was clearly gone. “Don’t touch the hair, it’s my trademark!” I looked at him for a while and started laughing. “Your trademark? What the hell?” I kept laughing and that didn’t amuse him. “Anyways… What’s your next class?” he asked and I reached into my backpack to get my schedule but Alex ripped it out of my hands as I got it. “English with Mrs. Prez? Well, isn’t it your lucky day today, I’m in that class too,” he beamed at me and handed back my schedule. “Not only did you get to experience my great looks and perfect personality, you also get to sit next to me in English!” he exclaimed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and guided me towards the classroom. It only took that conversation to make everything like our childhood again.

-- November 2004 --

“Alex, you are making me nervous!” I said as Alex guided me through his house, blinding me with his hands. “Trust me,” he replied and kissed the top of my head, making me grin like a cheshire cat.
It didn’t take long for Alex and I to become best friends once again, but now that we are older and filled with teenage hormones, we definitely were attracted to each other. We would flirt heavily at times and then go back to be just friends again. Alex had invited me over, saying he had a surprise for me. The last time someone had a surprise for me, it was my parents inviting the Gaskarth’s over for dinner, never considering it was possible for Alex and I to run into each other at school. “Here we are,” He said and removed his hands from my eyes, revealing his living room only lit by candles, the furniture pushed out of the way and a blanket on the floor along with a pizza box and a bottle of wine that I’m 100 percent sure he stole from his parents. I couldn’t help but smile. “You did all of this? For me?” I walked towards the blanket, taking it all in. “Just for you,” he smiled back at me as he took my hand and sat down with me on the blanket.

A couple of hours later, Alex and I were still on the blanket, now slightly tipsy from emptying the entire bottle of wine. We were lying on our sides, facing each other and laughing as we told each other stories. After having to clutch my stomach from laughing at Alex telling a story about Jack coming home shitfaced to his parents, we laid in silence for a while. “It feels like old times, doesn’t it?” I said, drawing circles and the blanket. Alex put his hand on top of mine. “Yes. Only now we’ve got pizza and shitty wine,” he grinned at me, a gesture I returned along with a laugh. “I’ve tried worse,” I said with a shrug and Alex smiled more.
“You’re really beautiful, you know that, Char?” Alex scooted a bit closer to me, now looking directly into my skull. Alex was one of those guys who knew he was attractive and knew how to use it. He tucked some hair behind me ear and let his index finger slide across my jaw line. I looked down slightly. “I’m not,” I said sadly, knowing he was trying to cheer me up. “No, Charlotte, you don’t understand,” he tipped my head up to look at him again.
“You are honestly the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. I even thought that when we were kids. I would always go on and on to my mom about it and she thought it was the cutest thing in the world. When we moved, all I could think about was you. What you were doing, if you got new friends… If I got replaced,” he was now biting his lip slightly. “But I knew I had to move on. I couldn’t stay miserable like that, you know?” I nodded. My mom had given me the exactly same speech some time after the Gaskarth’s moved. “When I realized it was you on your first day of school, it all came trembling down again. I thought I was never going to see you again and then out of the blue, you were just standing there, more beautiful than ever. I don’t think you know how hard I tried not to cry,” I had tears in my eyes as well but couldn’t help but let out a little giggle. After Alex told me his brother took his own life a couple of years ago, I saw him in a different light. I saw him as a more sentimental person.
“Fuck, Char… I’ve never felt this way before. It scares the absolute shit out of me how much I like you,” Alex’s eyes shifted a bit, looking a bit distant. “I’m so fucking scared. After Tom died, I’ve just felt kind of… Dead. Like I literally have no sentiments inside my body and it scares me how you walked into my life again and made me… Feel again,” he looked back at me and tears were forming in his eyes and his voice was about to break. I squeezed his hand.
“Alex…” Alex finally let the tears fall out of his eyes and sat up, covering his face with his hands. I sat up as well, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and leaned up against him. “You probably think I’m pathetic,” he let out a laugh and dried his eyes. “No,” He turned to face me. “I think you are the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

I woke up the next morning and smiled at the thought of the night before. The strong arms wrapped around me pulled me a little closer and the owner kissed my cheek. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he yawned and cuddled his head into my neck, which only made me smile more. “Morning,” I answered, taking his hand and laced his fingers with mine. “You know, when we were 8, I never thought we would end up like this,” he said, gesturing to the fact that we were laying in Alex’s bed, naked. “That’s hard to believe, considering how horny you are all the time,” I giggled and poked him. Alex laughed as well. “I love you, Charlotte,” A grin formed on my lips as I turned around in his arms to face him. “I love you too, Alexander.”

--June, 2006--

We were all a little jumpy as we were about to go on stage. The day we had all been waiting for was finally here. We were graduating high school and about to move on with our lives. All Time Low, Alex’s band, was signed back in January and as soon as the day after tomorrow, they would head on to play Warped Tour for the first time. I could never describe in words how proud I was. All 4 four of them deserved it so much and they were probably the hardest working teenagers I knew. A teacher told us to get in line so I kissed Alex and walked up to where I was supposed to stand, Jack not that far behind me. We walked up on stage and sat down on our chairs.
My name got called and I got up and my diploma had handed over then returned to my seat.
I did it. I actually graduated.
When I moved here 2 years ago, I never thought it would happen. I was 100 percent sure I would drop out at one point because I disliked the country so much. Then I met my saviors. I watched Jack get his diploma, then throwing his fist in the air and yell something I didn’t quite hear but the entire audience laughed. Then Rian went up and shot his glorious smile at the audience.
My stomach tightened as I watched my boyfriend through 2 years get up and walk across the stage to get his diploma. A lot of people cheered him on and his face just showed how much he enjoyed it. He wasn’t just my boyfriend; he was my better half, best friend, soul mate, my rock and my partner in crime.
He was the love of my life.
I applauded him along with a lot of other students and he winked at me as he walked past me. After the night where Alex and I supposedly started dating, we never really defined our relationship, we just knew. We didn’t have to ask each other about what exactly we were, it was something that just came naturally. He was my first love and we were going to grow old together. We were a one piece that just came together.
As we all stood up and the principle congratulated The Class of 2006 at Dulaney High School, I looked back to find Alex and he was already looking at me. He took off his cap and mouthed;
“We did it”
Then hundreds of graduations caps were thrown into the air, marking the end of a chapter in our lives.