Cool with Charlie and Androids ;) chapter 3

"You gotta admit, they were pretty cute." I said once we were back in my room.

Chris rolled his eyes and said, "That's none of our business. We weren't supposed to be there."

I smirked, "You know it was adorable.... In a heartbreaker sort of way."

Chris glared at me and said, "I feel terrible. We invaded their privacy."

"Good morning, kids." Mom said cheerily, entering from the kitchen.

"Mom!" Chris whirled around and fell off his chair.

Mom gasped and said, "Um... Is everything alright, Honey?"

"He's fine," I said, "Just low blood sugar. He's twitchy because he needs food."

Wow, could I possibly have come up with a lamer excuse?

Mom nodded like she was going to pretend she believed.

Charlie and James came into the room, half asleep. James leaned against Charlie's shoulder and I whispered Aww! to Chris.

"Morning, you two." Mom said, smiling.

Charlie startled and elbowed James, who snorted sleepily and stood up straighter. Hehe, straighter. Get it? Hahaha.... Never mind.

"Be polite," Charlie hissed at James, sticking a smile on his face.

Chris and I exchanged a look and bowed our heads over our cereal at the same time.

Charlie and James looked at each other, blinked, and smiled at Mom..

"Here, sit, sit!" She said, pulling out two chairs across the table from Chris and I.

"Do you boys want breakfast? We have cereal." Mom said in that cheery Mom way she had.

Charlie and James nodded politely and Mom set two bowls of cereal in front of them within about three seconds.

"So," I said, smiling tightly, "Did you guys sleep well?"

Chris kicked me under the table and I said, "Ow! What the hell, Chris?"

"Language!" Mom called from the kitchen.

"Sorry!" I said, totally not meaning it.

"Yes, we did." James said.

Charlie's jaw tightened and I think he kicked James too, because James said, "Ow! Charlie..."

Charlie smiled tightly and said, "Oh, what about you kids? Er, pardon me, young adults, teens, whatever you want to be called."

He laughed and I laughed with him, but his laugh was sweet and perfect, mine was more of a nervous 'you're hot why are you gay' laugh.

"I slept really good." I said, "Like a baby in the night.... When it sleeps."

Chris gave me an 'are you serious' look.

Charlie smiled uneasily and said, "Oh, good."

"You know, guys." I said, leaning in toward the table, "If there's anything you want to tell us, you can just say it."

"Shut up, Angie!" Chris said, kicking me again.

"Stop that!" I said, punching his shoulder.

"No hitting!" Chris cried, kicking me again.

"No kicking, either!" I said, kicking him.

Soon we were pulling each other's hair and yelling like little kids.

Mom came in and said, "Hey, stop that! You two are way to old for that!"

At the same time, Chris and I froze, looked at Charlie and James, and let go of each other's hair.

We sat up straight and smiled cheesily.

Charlie and James stared at us for a second, but then they both smiled.

"Ah, I used to fight with my sisters all the time when I was younger." Charlie laughed, "It's part of growing up."

I laughed a loud fake laugh.

"Ha ha ha, couldn't agree more, Charlie." I said, punching my brother's arm hard.

Chris glared at me, but smiled at James, who smiled back weakly.

We all sat their smiling for a long time and, as if on cue, all four of us looked down at our cereal awkwardly.


Chris, Charlie, James, and I were sitting in the living room when "Telephone" by Lady Gaga started playing.
Chris smiled awkwardly and said, "Excuse me, guys."
I rolled my eyes when he answered his cell phone and went into the hallway.
"Oh, hi, Alice!... Yeah... Of course!.... What?.... Oh..." Chris blushed and glanced at James, "Um... Okay, but then I can't invite Geoffry... Are you sure?... Well, you've got a point- Wait, what?... Okay... Yeah, sure, I'll invite them."
Chris closed his phone and smiled widely, "Hey, do you three want to come to the mall with me and Alice?"
"Sure! I'm in!" I said, beaming.
Charlie and James exchanged a look and James said, "Really? You want us to come?"
Chris blushed and said, smiling, "Of course, James. After all, you are practically part of the family."
The way he smiled at James and his 'part of the family' comment was so creepy that I had to turn away and blink for a second.
Charlie and James smiled and James said, "Sure, we'll come."
Chris smiled widely and said, "Really? Oh, how awesome! And, er, would you guys mind if I invited Geoffry? I mean, I don't have to, but I might..."
"Of course you can. I mean, he is your boyfriend." James said, smiling politely.
Chris gritted his teeth and said, "Well, when I said boyfriend I didn't mean boyfriend. I-I meant friend... Who's a boy... And, uh, we're not really like in a relationship or anything. H-he's not really my type, I have more of a thing for... Redheads."
"Hey, Chris!" I said loudly, getting up from the couch, "How about you go call Geoffry now!"
Chris stared at me for a second and nodded slowly. 
"Okay, I can do that." He said quietly, turning to leave.
Chris flashed a smile at James before leaving and I pushed him into the hallway.
I turned and smiled at Charlie and James, "Please excuse my brother, he's not feeling the best today. He's so silly, falling off of chairs and babbling nonsense and stuff."
I laughed a loud, nervous laugh.
Charlie and James both smiled tightly.
I stood there in silence for a long time before I saved myself by saying, "I'll be right back."
I left the room and sat on the floor, next to the wall behind the living room, in the hallway.
They didn't talk about anything good.


Alice, Chris, Charlie, James, Geoffry, Leo (Who I dragged along), and I all went to the mall by our house.
"So, there's this park building a few blocks away from Withrow, you know?" Alice said, pulling some papers out of her purse.
Chris nodded and Alice said, "Well, I was wondering if you guys would like to sign up for jobs as-"
"Count me in!" Leo said, "Anything that'll get me paid!"
Alice grinned and said, "As park program counselors."
Leo's face fell and Alice said, "Still wanna sign up?"
"No." Leo said, sighing.
"I'll sign up." I said, glancing at Leo.
Leo groaned and said, "Fiiiiiiine."
Alice turned to Charlie and James, "I'm guessing you two don't want to? You don't have ot, it's just for fun."
Charlie shrugged and said, "Well, we still have some papers we need to file... You know, for college... We're both getting PHDs, that's why we're going to college longer."
He smiled uneasily and I nodded, "Fun."
Chris beamed at Alice and said, "Of course I'll sign up! Geoffry?"
"No thanks, Honey. Not my thing." Geoffry said, smiling.
Chris glanced at James and wrote his name on the sign up sheet Alice had in her bag.
So Alice, Leo, Chris, and I all signed up.
"Are you gonna try to get Mouse to sigh up?" I joked, laughing.
Alice nodded, "Yes."
We all stared at her and she said, "Mouse has a hard outer shell, unlike me and Leo and Chris. Sorry, Chris."
Chris shrugged, "I'm used to it."
Leo sighed and Alice continued, "So, I'm thinking Mouse might be able to handle the situation better than us."
"The... Situation?" I asked.
Alice nodded, "These kids can be pretty scary, Ange."
There was a long silence before everyone except for Alice started laughing, even Charlie and James.
Alice looked at me questioningly and I said, putting my hand on her shoulder and still laughing, "I'm sorry, Alice, but how old are these kids?"
"It's a pretty big range." Alice sighed, looking kind of annoyed with us, "You know, ages seven to fourteen."
Chris, Leo, and I paled.
"I'm sorry?" Leo said, "Did you say... Ages seven to fourteen?"
Alice nodded and Leo looked like he was going to faint.
"Don't be such a baby, Leo." Chris said, rolling his eyes, "They're just kids."
Leo put his hand on Chris' mouth and said, looking around nervously, "Shh! Never say that! They can hear you..."
Leo gestured to his ears and Chris raised an eyebrow at him. He peeled Leo's fingers away from his mouth and said, "You're nuts, Leo."
"So, who wants to go to the food court?" I asked, smiling.
So, we went to the food court and Leo explained his crazy theory about little kids.


Our job at the park program started next week.

Cool with Charlie and Androids ;) chapter 2

JUNE.

It was June and I was at the airport with Mom, Chris, Leo, Alice, and Geoffry.

We waited by the baggage claim with a sign that said 'Charlie and James'. Those were the exchange students' names.

Soon enough, we saw two college-age boys. Maybe nineteen, twenty years old, even. They were dressed like they were from the 1800s. You know, earth-tone vests and white shirts, etc.

Chris started waving frantically to them and I tried to pretend I didn't know him.

Leo leaned over and whispered to me, "I didn't know they dressed like that in Ireland."

I shook my head and whispered, "Shh, don't be rude."

The exchange students came toward us and smiled warmly. 

One of them had brown, neatly brushed hair and blue eyes. The other, who was a bit taller, had wavy, bright red hair and brown eyes. To tell you the truth, they were both on the hot side. Yes, I just went there.

Leo whispered, "Do they speak English?"

I elbowed him and whispered, "They're Irish, not German or something."

I turned to the guy with brown hair and said kindly, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Angie, you'll be living with my Mom, my brother, and I."

The brown-haired guy smiled politely and shook my hand. He said, "It's nice to meet you, Angie. I'm Charlie."

Oh my gawdddd. Irish accent! 

I smiled stupidly and Leo eyed the exchange students suspiciously.

I shook the red-haired guy's hand and he introduced himself as "James."

Charlie shook Chris' hand and they both smiled politely.

When James shook Chris' hand, Chris smiled dreamily and looked like he was going to pass out. So, I wasn't the only one who noticed how freaking gorgeous they were!

We all shook hands with them, etc etc.

They shook hands with Geoffry and Chris said, "Charlie, James, this is my boyfriend, Geoffry."

Charlie and James exchanged a look and Chris looked like he regretted telling them he had a boyfriend. 

But, the exchange students just smiled sweetly and Charlie said, in his charming irish accent, "It's nice to meet you, Geoffry."

James nodded politely to Geoffry.

I exchanged a questioning glance with Alice and she shrugged.

Charlie turned and looked at the baggage claim. He said to James, "Oh, we should get our bags, Seamus."

James nodded and said, "Excuse us for just a moment."

We all nodded and they went to get their bags.

Seamus? I mouthed to Alice, who shrugged again.

We all went to a coffee shop on the way home and talked.

"So," I asked, "What's it like in Ireland?"

Charlie and James exchanged a look.

Leo eyed them suspiciously and Charlie said, smiling sweetly, "Um, it's not bad. Better... Than it was. We've been good lately.... It's nice to see America."

He and James smiled at each other and Leo narrowed his eyes.

I stood up, "H-hey, I'll be right back."

Everyone nodded and I grabbed Leo's sleeve, "Leo, can I talk to you for a minute?"

He nodded and I dragged him outside.

"What is your issue?" I asked Leo.

Leo shrugged and said, "N-nothing. I was just trying to figure out..."

I eyed him and he said, "Ange, I think they're gay."

"Aw, really?" I said, disappointed.

Leo looked at me weird and I said, "Oh."

I smacked Leo in the head and said, "You pig! That's why you've been so rude?"

"No, no, of course not!" Leo said, rubbing his head where I had hit him, ".... Well..... Yeah. That and the fact that they've been acting really weird."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," Leo said, "You asked them what it was like in Ireland and they looked like they were hiding something."

I eyed Leo curiously and said, "Like what?"

Leo shook his head, "I dunno."

I sighed and mumbled, "Well, that's helpful..."

"So, Leo." I said, crossing my arms, "Do you think their secretly gay serial killers that have come to murder us all?"

Leo shook his head, "No, but-"

"Then we're fine," I said, patting his shoulder, "Good work, detective."

Leo sighed and we went back to the table where our friends were sitting.

We sat down and stuck cheesy smiles on our faces.

After that, Mom, Chris, and I took Charlie and James home.

We showed them their room, which was separated by a room divider. Mom apologized that they had to share a room.

I glanced at Charlie and thought about what Leo had said at the coffee shop.

Charlie bowed his head and I could've sworn I saw him smile. 

James cleared his throat and said politely, "It's no problem, Mrs. Harper."

He shot a quick smile at Charlie and I glanced at Chris.

Chris gave me a confused look and I mouthed, I'll talk to you later.

Chris and I smiled at the exchange students and we all said goodnight.

Charlie and James went to their separate beds and Chris, Mom, and I left the room.

Chris and I rushed to my room and we closed the door. We sat down on my bed and I said, "Okay, so, Leo was giving Charlie and James nasty looks today, so I pulled him aside when we were at the coffee shop..."

"Yeah?" Chris said anxiously.

I said in a hushed voice, "Well, I asked Leo what was up and he said he thinks Charlie and James are gay."

Chris' eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "What? Really?"

I raised an eyebrow at my brother and said, "Chris, you have a boyfriend."

Chris sighed wistfully, "And they're like six years older than me...."

We were both quiet for a second and I said, "Now, now, Chris, don't be ageist."

Chris eyed me and said, "You like them too, don't you?"

I shrugged, "James doesn't really appeal as much to me, but Charlie is hot."

"Really?" Chris said, "I think James is the cutest! With his red hair and his accent..."

"They both have accents, Chris." I said, a bit ticked off that Chris had a better chance with them than I did.

Chris looked at me, looking like he had an idea.

"What?" I said.

Chris said, "Ange, what if Charlie and James are boyfriends?"

Wow, I hadn't even thought of that.

I blinked stupidly and said, "You think so?"

Chris nodded, "Maybe."

"How will we find out?" I asked.

Chris cocked his head to the side, "Find out? What do you mean?"

I gave him a 'you know what I'm talking about' look and he said, "Oh, geez, Ange... You're not serious, are you?"

I gave Chris the look again and he sighed, "Fine, okay, I want to know too, I guess."
I grinned and said, "Okay, so here's what we're gonna do..."


At about 4 A.M., Chris and I crawled on our hands and knees to Charlie and James' room.
"Ange, we shouldn't be doing this." Chris hissed in a whisper, "We can't just go into their room."
"We're not gonna go in," I said, "We're going to open the door and peek in."
Chris shook his head, "Ange, we can not do this!"
"Yes, we can!" I whispered, "You want to know if they're gay or not, don't you?"
"How can we tell by looking in their room?" Chris asked.
I narrowed my eyes at him and opened Charlie and James' door a crack.
"Ange," Chris hissed as I crawled into the room a few inches, "Get back here!"
"Come on, you big baby." I said, gesturing for him to follow me.
Chris shook his head and crawled after me, "I can't believe I'm doing this. We'll get in so much trouble!"
"Shh!" I said, slowly standing up.
My jaw dropped.
"What?" Chris said, standing up next to me.
His jaw dropped too.
Charlie and James were sleeping in James' bed, all snuggled up. James had one arm draped over Charlie's side and Charlie's hand rested gently in his.
I gave Chris an 'I told you so' look and we got the hell out of there.

Cool with Charlie and Androids ;) chapter 1

"Now, class," Mrs. Green, the French teacher, said cheerily, "The sign-up sheets for exchange students is on the door. You can sign up after class."
Right on cue, the bell rang and Chris got up instantly, rushing to the classroom door.
The rest of the class left lazily and slowly.
Leo, Mouse, Alice, and I met Chris at the door.
"Hey, Buddy." I said, "Shouldn't we ask Mom before signing up to host exchange students?"
Without taking his attention away from the sign-up paper, in which he was reading, Chris handed me his phone and said, "Here, text her."
"Why me?" I said.
"I don't want to get it trouble for texting in school." Chris explained, "You're used to it."
I shrugged and Chris took his phone back. He said, "On second thought, use your phone. I don't want mine to get taken away."
I scowled at my brother and took my phone out.


Hi mom. can we host 2 exchng stdnts frm irlnd? Chris wants 2. <3 Angie


I put my phone back in my pocket and Chris immediately said, "Did she text back?"
Just then, my phone buzzed and I checked it.


Well, I'll have to speak with your father. Tell Chris he can sign up later if Dad says yes. He's already at the sign-up sheet, isn't he? Tell him to wait. Love you, Sweetie. Put your phone away. Love, Mom. :)


"Yeah, she did." I said, putting my phone in my pocket (but not turning it off), "She said you need to wait and she's gonna ask Dad."
"Darn it!" Chris said, sighing, "I just think it would be so fun. And plus, extra credit!"
"Why are they from Ireland?" Mouse said, "This is French class."
We all looked at Mouse; That was a pretty good question. Good job, Mousey.
"Well, Ireland is in Europe." Chris said, "So is France. The students are from Ireland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Spain."
Mouse shrugged, "Shouldn't have asked."
There was a pause and Chris almost squealed, "Oh, I wonder what they'll be like! Do you think we'll get boys or girls? How old do you think they are? What do you-"
"Chris," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder, "You're getting way ahead of yourself. Mom didn't even O.K. it yet."
Chris sighed and said, "Ange, Dad is going to be on a business trip for the whole summer."
I shrugged, "So?"
Chris rolled his eyes like I was an idiot and said, "The exchange students only stay for the summer."
"Oohhhh..." I said, feeling stupid, "Should I text Mom?"
"Later," Chris said, "I have to go to math, you have to go to social studies. See you in study hall."
"Later," I said, waving him off and going to fifth hour.


On the bus, Chris would not stop texting Mom and asking about the exchange students. He pointed out the fact that Dad wouldn't be here for the summer and Mom said she had called Dad earlier and he had pointed that out to her as well.


Hi, Mom! So did u ask Dad about exchng stdnts yet? Well i remembrd Dad wont b here 4 the summr!


Yes, you're right, Sweetie. I think it would be just fine if the students came for the summer. Love you, Mom.


REALLY? thnk u mom <3 U!!!!!


We got off the bus and Chris was jumping up and down, saying, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I can't believe it! We can host exchange students for the summer! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited! I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait!"
"So, Chris," I said sarcastically, "Are you excited?"
Chris stopped jumping and said, "Well, duh, Angie!"
I got a text message from Leo.


LEO: So u guyz r doin the exchng stdnt thing?


ANGIE: Yea wanna come w/ us 2 the airport in June?


LEO: K. Guess what?


ANGIE: ?


LEO: Luv u.


ANGIE: Thats nice.


LEO: :)


I closed and put away my phone, "Leo's coming to pick them up at the airport with us in June."
Chris' face fell and he groaned, "Whyyyy?"
"I invited him." I said flatly.
Chris groaned and took out his phone, "Okay, I'm inviting Geoffry."
"What the hell? Whyyyyy?" I whined, trying to take his phone.
Chris texted Geoffry with one hand and put the other on my face, pushing me away.
We probably looked pretty stupid while I waved my arms around frantically, trying to get Chris' phone.


CHRIS: Hey Sweetie! Want 2 come 2 airport in June 2 pick up exchng stdnts?


GEOFFRY: Sure Honey. Sounds fun!


Chris smiled and put his phone away, "He's coming."
I groaned and said, "I'm inviting Alice! HA!"
Chris looked confused and said, "She's my friend too, how is that bad for me?"
I sighed and said, "Dang it."
So, we were getting exchange students in a month. Fun.


Let's see this last.