The Fortune Teller

“I hope you have a merry Christmas too, daddy. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Charlotte said.

A burst of noise that resembled pans clattering, on her dad’s end of the phone, caused him to pause before speaking. “Sorry Lucy’s mam was moaning about rubbish again. But yes, Charlie I will see yeh tomorrow sweet pea.” Her dad boomed on the phone.

Charlotte pulled the phone away slightly from her ear. “Love you!”

“Love you too! P.s Lucy said bring that boy of yours round!”

“Will do.” Charlotte hung up their phone call.

Charlotte lay still in her bed, staring at her ceiling unable to make the effort to move. She made the attempt to ring her mother to only receive the answering machine, saying that she was away on a cruise. Well, at least she tried. Charlotte managed to ignore all the calls and texts she received off Oliver, she heard what she needed to hear off Rosie and then later on, Rissa.

Rosie basically said that Robyn was a whore and always will be a whore. And that Oliver has the common sense to ignore her. Rissa said Robyn is a walking STI so Oliver wouldn’t dare go near her anymore. Worst pep talk she may have ever received, the amount of swearing was atrocious and would make Charlotte’s nana turn in her grave however, Charlotte was comforted by both her close friends uniting at once. It seemed like Rosie, forgot about whatever grudge she held against Charlotte for the past few days and jealousy she seemed to have with Rissa.

“You getting your arse out of bed or what?!” Rissa shouted.

“What?! Am I not gettin’ a Merry Christmas from you then?” Charlotte yelled back.

“No! I’d rather do that face to face not door to face!” Rissa hollered.

Charlotte grumbled as she finally rolled herself out of bed. Only to pull a thick blanket over her shoulders, and make her way down the stairs. Charlotte was sporting a Snowman onesie, whilst Rissa was still in her reindeer onesie.

“We will have to get ready to go to the Syke’s house soon but we can eat the breakfast I made and listen to corny Christmas songs that we will probably hate by the end of the day, or now.” Rissa grinned, enveloping Charlotte into a huge hug.

“Merry Christmas Riss!” Charlotte sang happily.

“And a happy new year!” Rissa sang, finishing off her sentence.

After eating their traditional English breakfasts, they exchanged gifts whilst sitting beside their Christmas tree. Charlotte had a cup of hot chocolate in both hands, letting it warm her hands up along with her face. She sipped it slowly as she watched Rissa open her Christmas presents she received off Charlotte.
Charlotte watched Rissa’s expression change dramatically within moments, her face was screwed up with concentration as she tore apart the wrapping paper then surprise along with squeals of joy. Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh at Rissa’s inner child combustion. She placed her lion onesie aside, then modelled her patient black leather (fur lined on the inside) doc martens.

“They are just what I want, thank you so much Charlie!” Rissa pulled Charlotte into a bear crushing hug.

It was time for Charlotte’s presents, she unwrapped them slowly, trying to preserve any spare wrapping paper, a old habit of hers. She came upon a box. Charlotte raised both her eyebrows as she opened the box, revealing a silver friendship charm bracelet, along with one singular charm that resembled a pair of ballet shoes.

Rissa took Charlotte’s hesitance as a bad sign. “If-f you don’t like it, I’ll take it back and get-t you something else...”

Charlotte rolled her eyes playfully. “Shut it Riss, its perfect. I love it.” She grinned, holding her wrist out for Rissa to place her bracelet on. Rissa connected so it fit snugly, not too lose nor too tight. It was perfect.

“C’mon then, we need to get ready to go to the mad house.” Rissa smiled softly.

Charlotte nodded her head, wondering how today would plan out. She hoped Oliver wasn’t pissed off with her ignoring his attempts to get in touch with her. But she knew how Oliver was by now, and he probably most likely was. What a great way to start Christmas?

***

Tempted, they were both tempted to go to the Syke’s house in their onesies. But remembering it was Christmas and they were guests, they decided against it. So Charlotte was snug in a soft pink cable knit oversized jumper and black jeans with her black high top converse on.

“Hey lovelies, Merry Christmas! C’mon in from that nasty chill, don’t want you to freeze before you try my homemade baileys cheesecake.” Carol crooned, hugging both Rissa and Charlotte as they walked through the door.

Charlotte felt her eyes practically lit up at the mention of baileys cheesecake. She pushed it aside and focused on finding Oliver. She knew she better talk to him and get it over and done with. But first, listening to Carol explain how she battled with a woman in the local supermarket over the turkey sounded much more appealing.

“...I came to the conclusion that people have no more manners-”

“Yeh better not be talkin about me there ma.” Oliver interrupted as he strolled into the room.

Charlotte avoided looking at him, feeling his gaze on her. She was along with Carol in the kitchen, happily listening to her bitch about people in general. She could smell his cologne, the musky scent fill her nostrils, warning her that he was closer to her than she thought. Carol was clearly oblivious to this as she rustled around a bit more with potatoes.

“Yes, you’re the poster child for bad manners.” Carol retorted.

Charlotte sniggered at that, she even forgot about not looking at Oliver and looked at him. He caught her gaze, clearly surprised she was looking at him. Oliver tickled her sides, she squirmed, trying but failing at keeping a poker face.

“Stoo-appppp.” Charlotte squealed, jumping away from him.

“Leave her along Oliver.” Carol chided.

“No, she’s my girlfriend.” Oliver stuck his tongue out at his mother childishly.

“It’s surprising you actually have one with the way you act.” Carol narrowed her eyes at her eldest son, a small smile on her face, let it known that she was not serious. Carol’s eyes surveyed the room, no doubt checking everything in her head, if she’s done it all. Her mouth fell open as she slapped her forehead softly. “Why don’t you two help with the setting up of the dining table? I completely forgot about it.”

Oliver was about to complain but Charlotte put her hand over his mouth. “In any way we can help you, of course.” Oliver licked her hand. Charlotte removed it quickly, wiping it on her jeans, her nose scrunching in disgust. “Eeeww. Now you’re doing all the work and I supervise.”

Carol’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she watched them both. “Yes, Oliver now get the box and take her to the dining room now.”

Oliver nodded his head with defeat, grabbing the box that was shoved in the corner. He ambled off into the direction of the dining room, hearing the soft steps of Charlotte following him. Charlotte shut the dining room door behind her.

They both quietly went along with setting the table, organising the cloths and cutlery. Charlotte really hoped that Oliver has forgotten that he wanted to speak with her or that she needed to. But she knew he hasn’t, and that it was most likely, he was giving her the cold shoulder.

“Are you going to actually speak to me?” Charlotte spoke up, not able to deal with the silence any longer.

Oliver glanced at her, his expression unreadable. He shrugged.

“Fuck, Oliver just get over it and tell me already. I don’t want this to be a horrible Christmas.” Charlotte whispered, her eyes drooping sadly.

Oliver’s face contorted into a mix of a sneer slash smirk. “So yeh don’t like to be ignored either?”

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him. A burst of mix emotions cursed through her body, she wanted to voice her anger but she couldn’t so instead she opted for flipping him the bird before turning her attention back to the crackers.

“Real mature Charlie.” Oliver smirked.

“Wipe that smirk off your face now.” Charlotte glared at him, crossing her arms tightly. Trying to look intimidating, but in front of Oliver, that is useless.

“Why? What are yeh gonna do about it?” Oliver countered, as he took a step closer to Charlotte.

Charlotte faltered, unsure of what to say next. Her whole intimidating act was falling through the drain. She had to work at a new angle. She smirked as she stared at Oliver, he looked startled but covered it up quickly with a smirk of his own.

“Er, I don’t know really...” Charlotte trailed off softly, looking through her eyelashes at Oliver, fluttering them.

Oliver stared at her, his lips falling open slightly. Charlotte certainly was not dumb, so she took this as a good sign. Charlotte trailed her fingers lightly down his arm. Oliver leaned closer to her, Charlotte’s lips twitched as she leaned in close to him, so that their noses were brushing. Oliver’s eyes were solidly focused on Charlotte, falling into her trap as he closed them. She trailed both her hands up his torso gently up to his neck where she drew him in for a-almost-there-kiss. He could lean in and kiss her but he didn’t, either not that stupid to fall for her trick or stunned, Charlotte went for the latter. Her lips gently pressed the corner of his lips, he leaned closer to her, ready to kiss her back.

But she wasn’t there.

Charlotte back tracked away from him, with a mischievous smirk on her rosy lips.

Oliver opened his eyes, they darted towards Charlotte automatically. His gaze was a mixture of surprise and frustration. Charlotte couldn’t help but giggle girlishly.

“Seriously? Oli, do you really take me for a fool?” Charlotte asked him rhetorically. She gave him one last glance before moving towards the door.

She took a step outside the door, forgetting about Oliver until his familiar tattooed arms were wrapped around her waist. Charlotte gasped in shock. Oliver dragged her back into the dining room, shutting the door behind them.

“What?” Charlotte managed to mumble out just before Oliver forcibly pressed his lips onto hers. Of course, she didn’t complain, why would she? So she melted into his arms as he pushed her towards the nearest wall, her back meeting it. Oliver’s lips moulded with hers, frantic breaths escaping as they tried to inhale as much of each other as possible. Oliver hoisted her up slightly, so she could easily snake her legs round his waist. Oliver moved his lips from hers, trailing down her jaw and neck sloppily, whilst pressing kisses. Charlotte stifled a moan. She put her hands on his face, directing his lips back to hers. She toyed with his lips, biting down on them softly. Oliver groaned, pulling away from her, a wicked smile on his red lips.

“I could never ignore yeh.” Oliver muttered huskily.

Charlotte was overwhelmed with emotions. She completely forgot about ignoring him. But was still hurt over the Robyn thing, as it was Christmas, she chose for forgive and to forget. She didn’t want to bring it up again, so she focused her eyes on Oliver again, pressing her lips against his lightly before pulling away, moving her legs from his waist swiftly.

“Glad to know, I’ll hold you to that now.” Charlotte grinned.

Oliver returned her grin, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “C’mon let’s make an appearance.”

Charlotte nodded her head, as she leaned against his shoulder. She was feeling happily content in his arms once again. That was a good feeling, the ability to be automatically comfortable in his arms, free of any doubt about whether they would make it through that day or the rest of the year and more. Maybe she was falling in love with him, or maybe she was falling in love with the security, that she swore she never felt before or will.

Christmas dinner ran smoothly, the only mishap was the ‘fussy beggars’ meals, meaning Oliver and Jona’s meals were forgotten about by Carol. But in the end, it ran smoothly once again. Ian cracked jokes and recalled embarrassing stories of both Oliver and Tom at Christmas, it had everyone at the table in stitches. Charlotte couldn’t even look at Oliver without sniggering for the rest of the meal. Rissa and Tom were going through another rough patch, since their affection was rather limited. Charlotte wondered whether they broke up and were acting couplely so they didn’t kill the Christmas spirit, Charlotte also knew that Rissa did not have anywhere to go for Christmas, her family were simply out of the question, so that might explain why Tom didn't revoke her invitation.

Just as the clock was ticking away to eleven pm, and the sound of Its a Wonderful Life echoed the living room, presents were passed round. Carol received clothes, jewellery and loved the cooking book she got off Charlotte. Then Ian got socks and a grumpy git mug, quite fitting. Ian, Oliver and Tom enjoyed their present off Charlotte. Jona got a plane ticket to Australia from everyone, for New Year. Rissa received every single box set to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then Charlotte received charms for her bracelet, a elephant as a good luck charm, a guardian angel charm which Charlotte found awfully ironic, since she wasn’t much for religion nor any beliefs like that. Oliver was saving his present for her when they went to hers later on.

“I have loved having you all round tonight, and feel blessed to have you all in my life.” Carol smiled, as she kissed the top of everyone’s heads apart from her husbands, who she pecked on the lips. “Christmas reminds you how important family is. Friends are family, so it’s unquestionable.”

“You are too wise for your age Carol.” Rissa smiled happily.

“Remind my boys of that before they moan that I am an embarrassing mother, when I get sentimental.” Carol narrowed her eyes at her sons, who both rolled their eyes.

Charlotte chuckled drowsily, her eyes slowly fluttering closed and open. She willed herself to stay awake but it just would not happen. Her head was resting on Oliver’s chest, soothed by his regular breathing pattern, up and down with his chest. She was full on red wine, felt bubbly with glee. The soft glow of the twinkling Christmas lights was sure to hypnotise her to sleep.

“I think I am gonna get this girl home and at rest before she sleeps on me.” Oliver smiled fondly at Charlotte, who mumbled incoherently in response. “Yeh comin’ Riss?”

Rissa shook her head in reply. “No, Jona is taking me to meet up with the guys at the pub.”

Oliver nodded. He pulled Charlotte up with him, encircling her in his arms as he walked with her towards the door. She yawned, waving goodbye to everyone before closing her eyes, almost falling asleep on her feet.

“Ian, go out and open the doors for Oliver now.” Carol ordered with motherly concern.

Ian opened both the front door and Charlotte’s car doors for them. As Oliver gathered Charlotte into arms with ease, her head fitting into the crook of his neck almost perfectly once again, her soft breathing let him know that she was asleep. He watched her as he walked out of the house, the way her blonde hair framed her face like a halo, and even in her sleep she had this elegant ballet stature about her. Ian nodded his farewell to Oliver, who grumbled in reply as he woke from his trance of adoration for his girlfriend.

When they arrived at Charlotte’s flat, she finally woke from her slumber. Her eyes groggy as she tried to recollect what happened and how she got to her house and in bed, fully clothed, with Oliver. He was asleep now, Charlotte’s lips curved into a smile. She pressed a kiss to his temple, to which he opened his eyes automatically.

“Sorry for wakin’ you.” Charlotte mumbled.

“It’s okay, I am glad you did. Want to see what I got you for Christmas now?” Oliver asked.

Charlotte yawned, nodding her head sleepily. Oliver stretched one arm down to the floor where are badly wrapped present was, he placed it on Charlotte’s crossed legs. She picked it up in her hands, feeling the weight before opening it. She pulled the paper slowly, looking at Oliver’s excited expression.

It was a photo album. The front was plain brown with gold swirls like a fairy tale front cover. Charlotte gasped. Her mouth fell open, in shock over the beauty of the cover. She kissed Oliver’s cheek before opening the front cover slowly. There were a few photos from before Oliver was in her life, Charlotte noted how she looked completely different, it was a photograph of Charlotte and Rosie pretending to pout in front of the mirror, both wearing outdated Blink 182 t shirts, Charlotte’s blonde hair had horrendous black streaks along with a choppy ‘scene kid’ fringe, big black eyeliner and black lipstick. Charlotte squealed in terror, covering the picture with her hand.

“Don’t look at it!” Charlotte commanded, her voice rising in pitch. Oliver had already seen it so he was in a fit of laughter. “Stop laughing, it was like two years ago so shut up. Everyone has had a scene phase, if you haven’t your lying.” Charlotte cracked a small smile.

“Whatever, sure. I just love the hair and the makeup.” Oliver grinned.

“Piss off.” Charlotte laughed, flicking through the pages, getting pass all of the cringy photographs. She ended up on a familiar setting. It was the ‘Cock’ or The Cockerel pub. Charlotte smiled slowly as she reminisced, the first time she met everyone apart from Rissa. The photograph was of a grimacing Charlotte as she is shrugging a messy Rosie off her shoulder. “Who took that photograph?”

“I think it was Tom. He’s the one with the camera.” Oliver smiled. “I remember that day.”

“I do too.” Charlotte grinned back at him. “Unless you have bloody amnesia I am glad you remember it.”

“Shut it, and stop bein’ hard face.” Oliver kissed her cheek, trailing kisses down her jaw.

Charlotte noticed a few more pictures, ones of when they were in Lake Windermere. She smiled at Oliver, happy with her present.

“I love it Oli, may be my second best present.” Charlotte winked at him.

“Whose present is bloody first?” Oliver asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Tom’s.” Charlotte giggled. “I mean c’mon who can say no to a How I Met Your Mother t shirt.”

“Me.” Oliver groaned, leaning back against the pillows.

“Grinch. Guess I won’t tell you what your present is.” Charlotte leaned across Oliver, staring at his closed eyes, waiting for his hazel ones to make an appearance.

Oliver flicked one eye open with curiosity. “What is it?”

Charlotte pressed a kiss on his lips. “You are coming to Paris with me.”

“Oh am I now?”

“Well you can fuck off then, if you don’t.” Charlotte giggled, her cheeks flushing red underneath the intensity of his stare.

Oliver joined in with her laughter, cracking a toothy grin. “I suppose I can come.”

“Merrr-rrrrrry Christmas then Olivvvv-er.” Charlotte sang happily as she cuddled further into Oliver’s chest.

It would be soppy to say that she hasn’t had a good Christmas in a long time, maybe just being with Oliver made it that much better. But she had to give herself some credit, being away from her mother and Brian, has made her a better person. And being curled in Oliver’s arms was the icing on the cake.