Things Aren't Always What They Seem

***17***

Charlotte was so excited she could barely see straight. She was about to graduate high school and her eighteenth birthday was just a few short weeks away. Jon had already hit the legal age milestone and Charlotte followed a few months behind. With summer coming and the school year almost ending, it hyped up the most exciting time of year: prom season.

Charlotte had been seeing a kid from her grade for maybe two months. It wasn't even remotely serious between them but when he asked her to prom she happily obliged. Now that prom was in a little more than twenty four hours, Charlotte found herself unable to sit still as she looked at the dress that hung in her room just dying to be worn. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't amped up with excitement. It was quite the opposite. Every time she looked at the dress it made her cringe.

When her phone rang she thought about not answering but felt bad ignoring Jon's calls. She hadn't seen him that much since his eighteenth birthday-- which was a few months ago at this point. He'd been traveling and practicing and between his schedule and her school schedule it just wasn't meshing well.

Charlotte took a deep breath before she answered and did her best to fight the tears that had fallen. "Hello?"

"Hey Char," she heard Jon's tired voice on the other end. "What's up?"

"Nothing," she said as she looked down at her feet as she sat on the edge of her bed. "What's going on? How's your trip?"

"Exhausting," he sighed out. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. It's been a rough couple months."

"Yeah, it has. I can't wait until you're back for a while. We have some catching up to do."

"Well yeah we do. Isn't your prom tomorrow?" Jon swallowed the little lump in his throat and asked her about it despite his better judgment.

Charlotte felt the tears poking at her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Yeah, it is."

She was never any good at pretending and Jon picked up the shakiness in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong?" Charlotte asked playing dumb. "Nothing's wrong."

"Char I can hear your tone of voice and I know you, it sounds like you're crying. What's wrong? Talk to me."

Charlotte let out a deep breath and finally broke down on her end of the phone. "I'm not going. Matthew broke it off and dumped me for the prom. It's tomorrow and I don't have a date. I'm humiliated Jon. I didn't think he was that big of a douche. I literally can't go to my own senior prom."

Jon's head dropped as he listened to her sob on the other end. "Char I'm so sorry." He genuinely felt for her. She was obviously hurting and it bothered him. No one hurt his best friend without Jon dealing with them. "Why did he do that?"

"Because I didn't want to go to prom weekend and he knew I wouldn't have sex with him. He decided to go with someone else and..." she sighed again. "It's just embarrassing."

"He said that?" Jon asked in disbelief. "What a dick." Charlotte couldn't see just how visibly angry Jon was on his end of the phone.

"Yeah," Charlotte said as she wiped away the tears from her puffy and swollen face. "Well, at least he didn't stand me up I guess. Whatever. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"I'm sorry," Jon breathed out. "Really, Char."

"There isn't anything you can do about it anyway. You aren't even in the state. I just...I don't know. It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"You sure? You're going to be okay? I feel bad going to bed tonight knowing you're so upset over there."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just upset by the initial shock of it all. I'll be fine. Look I should get going. Call me when you're around and we'll make plans."

"Alright," Jon said quietly. "Try and get some sleep tonight."

"I will. You too. Night Jon." Charlotte hung up the phone and went straight to sleep under her covers.

The next day Charlotte took comfort in her bed and didn't want to do anything as the hours rolled by. She kept telling herself it was silly to be so upset but she couldn't shake it as easily as she thought she would. When she heard a knock at her bedroom door she assumed her mom was stopping in to check in on her again.

"Come in," she yelled softly.

When her door opened and Jon walked in she thought she was hallucinating. "Well you aren't going to go to the prom looking like that, are you Cinderella?"

Charlotte popped up and felt her heart jump start. "What are you doing here?!" she planted her feet on the ground and leapt into his arms.

"I felt so bad last night. You should get to enjoy your prom, you know? So I took back the first flight this morning before the rest of the other guys with my coach's permission and here I am. I have a tux so if you still want to go to your prom, you have a date."

Charlotte knew that tears had welled up in her eyes and didn't care when one fell to the ground. "Thank you," she whimpered out. "You're the best friend in the world."

Jon smiled at her, "That's right I am. Now go do what you need to do or we won't be on time."

Charlotte started nodding her head and smiling like a goofball. "Okay," she stammered out as she looked at the clock and grabbed her keys. "I can still make my hair appointment. You hang here and I'll be back in a bit," she said as she rushed out her room much to Jon's entertainment. She turned around and ran back to him giving him the biggest hug before pulling away. "Thank you again."

"I couldn't let my best friend get screwed over like that," he said with a laugh.

She smiled back and turned to run out the door to her hair appointment.

When the dance was over and the dancing and the eating was done they left together and walked to Jon's car. "I'm a little cold," Charlotte said as she rubbed her arms.

"Tell me you're kidding," Jon laughed at her.

"No! It was really hot in there and it isn't so hot out here!"

Jon took his tux jacket and put it around her shoulders. "Better?"

"Yes, thanks. You know...I had more fun with you then I would have had. This worked out better than I could have hoped."

"It better have. Shit, I don't take flights out like that for nothing. Too bad though you'll have to spend your prom night with me instead of living it up."

"Please, like I care about that. I'd rather spend the night watching movies with you than anywhere else."

Jon looked at her in the moonlight and smiled. "Me too."

"You're too good to me," she breathed out as she walked close to him.

"I know you'd do the same for me, so it's really no trouble."

***Present Day***

"Are you almost ready? The wedding starts in like a half hour-- we need to leave."

"I know, I know," Charlotte said as she looked in the mirror and finished applying her make up. "I'm almost ready."

"You're killing me," Jon teased.

"Oh please you have nothing on me, I bailed you out on coming alone." Charlotte ran out of the bathroom and put her shoes on before putting on her coat and grabbing her purse.

"I know," Jon said as he looked up at her. "Wow you look nice." His heart fluttered when he took in just how beautiful she really did look.

"Thanks," Charlotte said as she flashed him a smile. "I'm ready to leave finally."

Jon opened the door of the hotel room they shared with the two twin beds and let her walk out first before locking the door behind him. The trip to the hotel didn't feel as long as it was because he was with Charlotte. He'd seen Rose the day before and she was cooler with Charlotte going with Jon then he expected her to be. He didn't really care either way, though. Rose had bailed on him and Charlotte was there. Come to think of it, she always was.

When they got to the wedding ceremony they took their seats and Charlotte quietly and quickly greeted the family they were by. She'd met almost all of Jon's family over the years and got along with everyone she had met.

The ceremony went by quick enough and Charlotte cried during their exchanging of vows which elicited a smirk from Jon as he made fun of her. She gave him a nudge and fought back laughter as she dabbed at her eyes and he struggled to keep a straight face. When it was over and cocktail hour was upon them Charlotte saw the rest of Jon's family that she hadn't seen in so long while he stole glances at her from across the room.

***

Patrick opened the door to the hotel room he and Rose were staying in and looked around and the beautiful amenities their room included. Rose looked around and smiled before pressing her lips to Pat's cheek. "It's going to be a fun weekend I can tell already," she purred. "I love it here and we've only just arrived!"

"Yeah," Pat forced a quick smile. As soon as he had gotten there and realized he went through with his sneaky, terrible plan he regretted it.

"What do you want to do first? Wanna grab something to eat?" Rose suggested as she opened her suitcase and looked for the outfit she'd picked out for the night.

"Whatever you want, sure." Pat looked down at his phone and saw Charlotte's name pop across the screen. He opened her text and felt the guilt eat at him even more. He'd text her to see how her trip went and if she was having fun and she'd finally responded that everything was great and she was having a blast. The fact that she was having so much fun without him stung until he realized it was all his own doing.

Miss you. he shot over to her hoping she'd tell him the same thing.

Miss you too. he read and curled his lips up ever so slightly at his screen.

"Are you ready to go downstairs?" Rose interrupted his thoughts and he turned to look at her.

"Yeah," he nodded. "You look hot," he complimented.

"Thanks," she smiled knowingly as she walked towards him and kissed him hard.

Pat tucked his phone in his back pocket and headed down to eat with Rose at one of the nice restaurants around. It didn't matter where they were, no one would recognize them for a change.

"Isn't it nice?" Rose asked as she grabbed Pat's hand. He almost pulled it away out of shock and was kind of taken aback because she'd never done that in the light of day before.

"What is?" Pat asked as he held hers back limply.

"We can be free with each other. We never get this kind of privacy, we always have to be so sneaky."

"Yeah," Pat said again not being able to fight what was going on in his head.

"Hey," Rose turned and looked at him. She could tell by how short his answers were that something was bothering him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he shrugged.

"I can tell you're lying. You feel guilty being here don't you?"

"Well," he shrugged clearly uncomfortable. "I mean, aren't you? At least a little?"

"Maybe a little," she responded hesitantly. "But they're at the wedding having a good time together. No reason we can't have a good time together."

"You're right. I just feel bad, you know?"

"This is a first Kane," Rose teased him. "I haven't seen you this conflicted. What's got into you?"

Pat couldn't tell her that he'd been feeling more and more guilt as the time flew by, so instead he put his arm around her waist and moved his hand down to her ass, giving it a little rub. "I'm okay."

After dinner and a couple drinks Rose and Pat went back to their hotel room and barely made it inside before ripping each other's clothes off. Pat threw her down on the mattress of their huge bed and kissed down her neck to her breasts, sucking on her nipples before running his tongue down her stomach. She arched her back and pushed her body up to him feeling his hard erection against her as he moved over her. Pat couldn't take it any longer and shoved his cock inside her as she cried out for more.

When the morning hit to start the second day of their time away together, Pat woke up a little hung over. When he opened his eyes he knew that his affair with Rose needed to end, and it would, he just didn't know if he'd be able to end it as soon as he wanted to.

***

"I love seeing your family. I haven't seen them in so long," Charlotte mused as she swayed on the dance floor in Jon's arms. They'd been having so much fun that when a slow one came on neither of them wanted to leave.

"They love seeing you too. It's been a lot more fun tonight then I expected it to be. I'm really glad you came Char. Thanks again for this."

"Please," she shrugged. "It's my pleasure. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you out when you're in need."

"You'd still be the best one I've ever had." Jon tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her a little closer to him. "I don't know. I'm just really happy tonight."

"I can tell. You haven't gotten awkward or anything yet."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he let out a laugh.

She glared up at him. "Come on. I know you. You, for one, hate formal pictures. You don't like when everyone 'looks at you'--which you have lucked out on since all eyes are on the bride and groom. Let's see, you have food, drinks, so you're good with that. But, oh! You hate dancing. You barely dance--even when we all go out. So the fact that I've got you out here now, well, it's an accomplishment."

"You think you know everything, don't you?" Secretly he loved that she knew so much about him. She sometimes knew him better than he knew himself.

"I know everything about you, so, yeah."

"I'm going to go get another drink at the bar," he pulled away as the song ended. "Want one?" Charlotte nodded her head and headed back to their table to wait for him.

"What's up man," Jon whipped his head around to see one of his cousins, Nick, standing beside him.

"Not much," he said as he gave him a quick hug. "I haven't seen you in forever."

"Yeah you went off and became a big shot," Nick teased. "What's new with you? I see you came with Charlotte. You guys finally made it official. Thank God."

"No," Jon shook his head and quickly corrected his cousin. "Nah man, it's not like that with her. It's never been like that."

"You sure?" he looked at Jon side-eyed. "I see the ring on her finger."

"Oh, that," Jon said relieved that this was the the core of the misunderstanding. "No, she's actually engaged to one of my teammates-- Patrick Kane. My girlfriend couldn't make it last minute so Charlotte offered to come in her place."

Though Jon gave the honest truth to what was going on, his cousin still didn't back off. "Wow, I mean good for you but I always thought you two would..." he trailed off realizing he might be overstepping his boundaries. "I don't know. I've seen the way you've always looked at her."

"What's that mean?" Jon asked slightly taken aback. He didn't expect to get called out like that about Charlotte.

"Come on," Nick gave Jon a sarcastic look. "You know how you look at her, right? It's some fairy tale shit. I always assumed you would end up with her, in fact I'm not the only one."

"Woah, who else has been talking shit behind my back?" Jon asked clearly pissed off. Though he didn't know why he was so angry. He couldn't tell in that moment if he was angry that people were noticing it, or if he was angry because it was true.

"It's not like that," his cousin tried to calm him down but Jon had already tuned him out. "You mean to tell me, honestly, that you're okay with her marrying this other guy?"

"No, I think you and the rest of the family should just mind your own fucking business. Charlotte's my friend. I have a girlfriend. Don't go theorizing and fucking my shit up. If Charlotte wants to marry Pat then of course I'm perfectly happy for her." Jon turned towards the bar and got his and Charlotte's drink before storming away. He felt his mood swing completely from where it was and instead of enjoying the rest of the evening he slammed Charlotte's drink down in front of her at the table and walked out of the room without even looking back at her.

Charlotte tried to get his attention but she knew he wouldn't listen. She sat back at her seat and sipped her drink slowly. When Jon's brother saw the look on Charlotte's face he went over and politely asked her to dance, she'd always been like a sister to him anyway.

Jon sat outside, alone, at a table sipping his drink. How dare his cousin try and tell him how he felt about Charlotte. And the fact that his whole family apparently agreed with Nick behind Jon's back pissed him off even more. They didn't know what they were talking about. They never understood how Jon could be such good friends with Charlotte without anything ever happening between them. To him it was simple, she was his best friend, and he wouldn't risk losing her friendship to satisfy one night of stupidity. She was marrying his friend and there wasn't anything he could do about it even if he wanted to. His life was complete with Charlotte in it, even if it wasn't in that way.

The longer he thought about it, Nick's words echoed through his mind. Did he really look at her that way? Was it really so obvious to other people? Jon had never really allowed himself to go there. He thought about it on occasion but he never acted on it. The problem was...maybe Nick was right. Jon thought about it harder and realized he needed to back off on his friendship with Charlotte. Her wedding was kind of a sore spot for him though he'd never admit it to anyone. It was eating him alive-- she was eating him alive. He realized that his feelings for her weren't as platonic as he tried to force himself to believe and it wouldn't benefit anyone at this point.

He sat out there thinking, his heart hurting, for close to an hour realizing what he had to do-- and he wasn't even considering going back inside when he heard someone approaching him from behind. "Jon?" Charlotte's voice came from behind him softly.

"What?" he asked not turning around. He needed to push her away as much as he could in order to work out his emotions.

"Are you alright? You just left me in there...what's wrong?" she came closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing," he said as he aggressively rolled his shoulder in attempt to push her hand away from him.

She felt her stomach drop when he reacted so negatively to her touch but instead of pulling away she squatted down in front of his sitting form and put her hand gently on his cheek forcing him to look her in the eyes. "Jon what's wrong?"

He couldn't stand how she made him felt. Rose never got to him like this and here he was away with his friend's fiancee, feeling so much towards her that he knew he couldn't feel. "Charlotte," he said harshly trying his damnedest to push her away. He shoved her hand off his face and looked away from her again. "Just leave me alone and mind your own fucking business."

She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. "Is that what we're doing now?" Her tone was more defiant as she pulled up a seat next to him.

Jon hoped she'd just leave him alone but after a few minutes he knew that she wasn't going to leave him. When he finally lifted his head and looked at her he cursed to himself. He did look at her differently than everyone else. He needed to figure out how to stop doing that, how to stop caring the way he did. "Let's go," he said coldly as he got up and made his way back inside. Charlotte shook her head and fought back tears as she stood up and followed him inside.

Jon didn't say a word to her the entire way back to the hotel and didn't even look at her when he crawled in his bed. Charlotte didn't try to talk to him the whole ride back to their hotel and went to sleep in her bed confused and hurt. He'd never been so cold, so distant with her before and she had no idea why. She didn't know what she'd done for him to turn on her so abruptly.

Jon hated that he was treating her so harshly. He felt his blood race through his veins as he thought about just crawling into the bed with her and feeling her against him but he needed to work out whatever was going on in his head. He didn't know what to expect when they got back to Chicago but he was hoping that the hold that she unknowingly had on him would drop once they were back to their normal lives at home.

Charlotte was his friend. His best friend. He reminded himself that so many times before and he couldn't let himself go there again. Though deep down he knew the reason he was so angry was because it was becoming harder and harder to shake it. He would do his best to push her away but he didn't know how successful he'd be at it.