Unbound

“Charlie!” Jo shouted, knocking furiously on the hotel room door the next morning. “Charlie come on open up! Don’t make me-”

But she was cut short by the door being wrenched open to reveal an irritable looking Lisa.

“What?” She spat.

“Oh,” Jo said, taken aback by her harsh tone. “Mrs. Smithson…I’m sorry I was looking for-”

“I think the whole hallway knows who you were looking for.” Lisa snapped. “Who are you?”

“My name is Joanne Green ma’am.” Jo said. “Miss Kansas.”

“Well Charlie’s not here.”

“She’s not? Where is she?”

“She’s in the gym.” Lisa said coldly. “Working off God knows how many calories she must have consumed while I wasn’t watching her yesterday.”

“Oh.” Jo said quietly. “Well when she gets back will you tell her I really need to talk to her?”

“What about?” Lisa asked.

“Well she didn’t return my phone call last night.” Jo said. “I heard some guy talking to her and was-”

“Guy?” Lisa asked, interrupting her. “She was with some guy last night?”

Jo winced, realizing she must have said too much.

“Thank you very much miss Green.” Lisa said. “You’ve been most helpful.”

“Wait I-” Jo started but Lisa ignored her and snapped the door shut sharply.

“Who was that?” Charlie asked, running her fingers through her damp hair as she walked out of the bathroom.

“The maid.” Lisa lied smoothly. “I told her to come back later.”

“Oh.” Charlie said as she started slipping on her flats.

“Where are you going?” Lisa asked.

“I’m just going down to tell my friend Jo something.” Charlie said walking towards the door. “I’ll be right back.”

“No you’re going to the gym.” Lisa said stepping in front of her. “Now change your shoes.”

“But it’ll just take a-”

“No!” Lisa said angrily. “You’re never going to fit into your clothes weighing what you do now so change your shoes. You need to work out.”

“Fine I’ll just talk to her later in practice.” Charlie shrugged before exchanging her ballet flats for a pair of running shoes.

“Where were you?” Jo demanded from a worn out looking Charlie two hours later at their practice.

“Oh, hey Jo.” Charlie said weakly. “I was at the gym.”

“Are you alright?” Jo asked, changing her tone immediately.

“Yeah.” Charlie said, walking over to where a small table with food on it was set up backstage for the contestants. “Just need some food.”

“Ladies! Chop, chop every one!” Dwayne, the pageant choreographer said, weaving in and out of various girls as he made his way to the stage.

Charlie sighed and put the apple she took back to follow Dwayne and the rest of the pageant girls onstage.

“So where were you last night?” Jo asked as she and Charlie started stretching onstage.

“Well,” Charlie said, pulling her leg up behind her. “I met this guy.”

Jo’s eyes widened and she released her right arm that she was pulling across her body. “Spill!”

“Nothing happened.” Charlie said rolling her eyes. “I just passed out and he helped me that’s all.”

“You passed out?” Jo asked worriedly.

“I’m fine.” Charlie said reassuringly. “Really I-”

“You there!” Dwayne’s voice said interrupting them. “New York and Kansas, would you care to pay attention?”

“Sorry.” Jo and Charlie chorused, stepping away from each other to their spots on the stage.

“Now,” Dwayne said, clapping his hands together brightly. “As tradition, you all will participate in the opening number tomorrow dressed as Lady Liberty. You will hold a torch in your right hand and in the other, your tablet which will be in the shape and say the name of your respective state. And you all will enter both sides of the stage singing the National Anthem. So I suggest you learn the lyrics if you don’t know them all.”

“That’s the one that goes ‘God bless the USA’ right?” Miss Alabama asked Jo.

“No you twat.” Jo hissed. “The one that goes ‘Oh say can you see.’”

“Oh.” Miss Alabama said quietly.

Jo rolled her eyes before turning to face Dwayne again.

“Alright ladies.” Dwayne sighed. “Lets take it from the top.”

“So tell me more about this guy.” Jo said as she and Charlie walked back to her hotel room an hour later after practice.

“What about him?” Charlie asked, stepping onto the elevator.

“What’s his name? What’s he look like? How good is he in bed? How big is his-”

“JO!” Charlie exclaimed. “I told you, nothing happened.”

“That’s what they all say.” Jo said rolling her eyes.

“We didn’t!” Charlie insisted.

“Well come on then.” Jo sighed as the elevator ascended. “Tell me at least something.”

“Well…his name’s Gerard.” Charlie started. “He has dark hair…he…”

“He’s hot, isn’t he?”

“Jo!” Charlie shouted.

“Well isn’t he?”

“Unbelievably.” Charlie admitted.

“OOOH! More, more, more!” Jo said excitedly. “Are you going out again?”

“He’s taking me to dinner tonight.” Charlie said irritably.

“You don’t sound too happy about that.” Jo said, sounding a little deflated as the elevator stopped.

“That’s because I’m not.” Charlie said, stepping off. “

“Why not?” Jo asked curiously. “I thought you said he was hot.”

“And an enormous asshole.” Charlie said. “He stole my phone to make me go on a date with him.

“Well that’s not that bad.” Jo shrugged, pulling out her keycard and inserting it into the lock to open the door. “I wouldn’t mind that.”

“You would if he pestered you about your weight every five seconds.” Charlie said bitterly as she followed Jo into the room.

“He said something to you about your weight?” Jo asked, kicking off her shoes.
“Yeah, he said it’s stupid and unhealthy to be eating the way I do and that I needed his help or something like that.” Charlie said rolling her eyes.

“He did?” Jo asked surprised. “I love this guy already.”

“Oh Jo not you too.” Charlie groaned, collapsing into the couch.

“Charlie he’s right.” Jo said. “Seriously, when’s the last time you ate anything?”

“This morning.” Charlie lied quickly.

“Charlie.” Jo said in a warning tone.

“Alright fine, last night.”

Jo rolled her eyes and went to the kitchen area of the hotel room.

“Eat.” She commanded a minute later, handing Charlie a sandwich and a bag of chips.

“No Jo I-”

“Eat.” Jo said again, more forcibly.

Charlie sighed and took the food from her. Jo sat down on in the armchair next to the couch and put her feet up onto the coffee table in front of them.

“So that’s it?” Jo asked after a minute.

“What’s it?” Charlie asked through a mouthful of sandwich.

“That’s all I get?” She asked. “That he’s hot and that he likes you?”

“Likes to annoy the shit outta me is more like it.” Charlie grumbled.

“If he asked about your weight, then he cares.” Jo said. “Ergo, he likes you.”

“Whatever.” Charlie said rolling her eyes. “And yes, that’s it.”

“Well that’s not good enough.” Jo said before reaching to the side of the armchair and pulling out a laptop.

“What are you doing?” Charlie asked.

“Googling him.” Jo replied as she opened the lid of the laptop.

“What?” Charlie asked laughing. “Are you serious?”

“Of course I am.” Jo said as she started typing. “He got a last name?”

“Um…” Charlie trailed off. “I don’t think I ever got it.”

“Oh well.” Jo sighed before hitting the enter key. “There are…72,900,000 hits for the name Gerard.”

“Well that sounds promising.” Charlie said sarcastically.

“Got anymore info on him?”

“No I don’t think- wait. I know he’s from New Jersey.”

“New Jersey.” Jo said slowly as she typed it in next to his name in the search box.

“There are…2,380,000 hits for Gerard from Jersey.” Jo said as her eyes scanned the page. “That’s a little better.”

“Not really.” Charlie said.

“Well come here and help me.”

Charlie rolled her eyes and moved to look over Jo’s shoulder at the computer screen.

“I don’t suppose this is Gerard Butler we’re talking about, is it?” Jo asked as she looked at the screen.

“Definitely not.” Charlie said. “Unfortunately.”

“Is he in construction?”

“I doubt it.” Charlie answered. “He didn’t look the type.”

“You’re not exactly helping me here.” Jo said. “Don’t you know anything else about him?”

“Uh-uh.” Charlie said. “Jo this is stupid, you’re never going to find him.

“Oh ye of little faith.” Jo scowled. “What about this one?”

“Which one?”

“Here, Gerard Way. Lead singer of New Jersey punk band My Chemical Romance…” Jo said, reading the short description under the link.

“Come on Jo, be serious.” Charlie said. “A celebrity? No. Next.”

“Whoa, almost all of these links are for this guy.” Jo said as she continued to scan the page. “Gerard Way releases new comic book…Gerard Way and MCR…MCR fan fiction…Gerard Way fan fiction…what’s a fan fiction?” She asked, pausing.

“Got me.” Charlie shrugged. “Come on, next page.”

“No hang on a minute, I want to see what this guy looks like.” Jo said moving the curser over the link.

Charlie rolled her eyes and looked away as Jo let out a low whistle.

“Damn!” Jo said, looking at the picture on the page.

“What, is he that good looking?” Charlie laughed.

“See for yourself.” Jo said, turning the screen so Charlie could see.

Charlie glanced at the screen and gasped. It was him. It was the same Gerard.

“That’s him.” Charlie whispered.

“What? Really?” Jo asked, looking at the screen. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Charlie!” Jo shouted excitedly. “Don’t you know what this means?”

“No…what?”

“You’re dating a rockstar!”

“I’m not dating him.” Charlie scowled.

“You’re going to dinner with him tonight aren’t you?”

“Well yes but just to get-”

“It’s still a date.” Jo said as she turned back to the laptop. “Hey look he’s got a brother. Dammit he’s already married. He’s in the band too. Hang on…My Chemical Romance…” She said typing the name in the search box. “Ooh! Look at the guitarist!”

“The short one?” Charlie asked, looking at the picture Jo was showing her with five guys in it. Gerard stood in the center and the guy who had answered the door yesterday stood on the far left. The shorter man with a white guitar stood in between them.

“No the other one.” Jo said pointing to the other guitarist on Gerard’s left. She vaguely remembered seeing him and the other blonde man in the hotel room too.

“They were all in the hotel room with Gerard.” Charlie said after a minute.

“Really?” Jo asked excitedly. “Which room?”

“Across the hall from mine.” Charlie said automatically. “Why?”

“Be right back.” Jo said setting the laptop on the coffee table and sprinting to the door.

“Jo!” Charlie exclaimed, jumping up from the couch to follow her. “Where are you going?”

“Where do you think?”

“No!” Charlie shouted, stepping in front of the door. “You can’t go down there!”

“Why not?” Jo asked innocently.

“Because.” Charlie said. “…you just can’t.”

“Ugh.” Jo groaned. “Alright fine. But you’d better introduce us later.”

“There won’t be a later.” Charlie said. “I’m just going on the date to get my phone back.”

“You’re not going to see him again after that?”

“I thought we already had this discussion.” Charlie said. “No because he’s an annoying asshole.”

“But a very cute annoying asshole.” Jo said.

“Jo! Is that all you think about?”

“No.” Jo said. “But him asking you about your weight is not him being annoying. It’s him trying to help. He cares. Don’t you roll your eyes at me. A caring guy is hard to come by these days.”

“Easy for you to say.” Charlie scoffed. “You could get any guy you wanted.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jo asked. “So could you.”

“Yeah.” Charlie laughed. “Right.”

“I’m serious.” Jo said. “What makes you think you couldn’t?”

“Well look at you!” Charlie said. “You’ve got the perfect hair, the perfect body, and you can eat whatever the hell you want. Me…well I’m just…not like you. I can’t do that. I’m not beautiful like you.”

“What is wrong with you?!” Jo shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her slightly. “You are beautiful! Why on earth would you think otherwise? You wouldn’t be in this pageant if you weren’t beautiful. I’m sorry that’s the hard truth but that’s just how these pageants work. What happened to you to make you think you’re not beautiful?”

“Jo…really I’m not-”

“Say you’re not beautiful and I’ll smack you.” Jo said darkly. “Didn’t you see all of those guys at the bar gawking at you last night?”

“They weren’t looking at-”

“Yes they were!” Jo shouted. “You’re gorgeous you don’t need to starve yourself to be that way. I don’t know who it was that told you that you weren’t pretty enough or thin enough, but I’m going to kill them. I don’t even car if it was your own moth-” But she stopped in mid sentence as she thought. “It was your mother, wasn’t it?”

Charlie didn’t say anything but the picture on the wall just suddenly became a lot more interesting.

“Charlie look at me.” Jo said.

Charlie bit her lip to keep it from trembling as tears started pricking at her eyes.

“Look at me!” Jo shouted. “Charlie was it her?”

Charlie blinked away a tear and slowly nodded.

“I’m never good enough.” She whispered.

“Oh Charlie!” Jo exclaimed, pulling her into a hug as tears started rolling quietly down her face.

Jo held Charlie for a few minutes as she cried and finally held her back by the shoulders to make Charlie look at her.

“You’re perfect. And beautiful.” Jo said. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Charlie nodded and wiped away a stray tear on the back of her hand.

“Feel better?” Jo asked after a minute.

“Yes.” Charlie sad quietly. “Thank you.”

“Good.” Jo said firmly. “Because now I’m gonna go beat your mom’s ass.”

Charlie let out an uncontrollable laugh and shook her head.

“What, you don’t think I’m serious?”

“Thanks Jo.” Charlie said. “But I think I’d better be getting back. Alone.”

“Oh hell no.” Jo said, rolling up her sleeves. “That old hag is getting a whooping.”

“Goodbye Jo.” Charlie laughed as she walked out the door.

“Later?” Jo asked hopefully.

“Maybe.” Charlie smiled. “We’ll see.”

“Great.” Jo said sarcastically as she threw her hands up in defeat. “That means no.”

“Bye Jo.” Charlie called as she walked down the hall to her room.