Charlie was tired of driving finally. He pulled the van in at the car wash, it was filthy, and covered in sap from driving around out in the woods. It also had several dents from him punching it off and on during the last 24 hours. Not good, since technically he didn't own the van. It could be worse though, he was a handy guy. He'd stopped and bought a plunger when the hard ware store opened and he pulled it out of the passenger seat now so he could use it. He got some odd looks from of the people at the car wash as he used the plunger to pull the dents out of the sides of the van.

Once he finished with the dents he pulled round to the vacuum and cleaned the van out, all the trash got almost ripped from the van in a frenzy. Charlie was clearly in a very bad mood. He vacuumed the van out with equall agression.

Damn Erik, bastard hadn't even let him touch Callie. All that to help rescue her and he hadn't even been able to get close enough to reasssure her. He'd always been able to sooth her and take care fo her before Erik. It wasn't right, it pissed him off. It wasn't that he wanted the girl to be grateful, but he loved her like a sister and she was his only family. His parents wanted to be his family, but they just couldn't get over treating him like a mental patient. Callie had never treated him like he was crazy. And then along came this needy Erik bastard, who Callie needed to stay with for a while. Maybe Callie and Erik couldn't see it, but Charlie could, they were more than just friends. So yes, Charlie was jealous, jealous that for starters Callie was with Erik. Jealous also, that Callie had someone and what did he have? Snarling he closed the back of the van. Amazing he doesn't break any of the doors as hard as he slams them.

He gets in the van and drives it up to the car wash. He pulls in and drives through it. While he's in there letting the suddsers sud, and the brushes brush all the grime from the van, he cries. Who's going to see him cry in the carwash right? Right. The van is rinsed and he reaches the end. He pulls out into the parking lot rather than onto the road. He's crying so hard he can't see through his own tears to drive.

He sits parked there for a while before he rolls down the window, hoping the breeze will dry away his tears. Of coarse it won't if the tears don't stop falling, and they don't for quite a while in spite of him closing his eyes.

((Hope you don't mind me joining you with my new charrie :)))


It was her day off from work today. Her boss had told her to take the entire day off since she’d been working so hard the past week. She was grateful for being given the day off but she wasn’t really sure what to do with her extra time now. She’s the type of girl who volunteers to work even on her days off. Her boss had been insistent that she not come into work today. It had really been hard for her to agree to not going in today but she had finally, reluctantly, agreed. Her boss told her to enjoy the day. Okay. Whatever.

She had already gone and done all her shopping. Her fridge once again had food in it. She was usually always so busy with work that she would forget to go shopping. She always ended up eating at work anyway so it never really mattered much to her if there was food at home or not. She lived by herself in the one room apartment and has lived alone for well over 2 years now.

She decides to go for a walk. She’s wearing dark grey shorts that go down to her knees, a light grey shirt with white vertical stripes and white tennis shoes. Through the car wash parking lot she’s heading when she sees a van parked there. She stops walking for a moment as she studies the parked van. She can see the man behind the steering wheel. He looks upset or something. She’s not yet close enough to really tell.

Without any hesitation in her steps, she walks towards the van. “Sir? Are you ok sir?”

"Go away, If I wanted to plea for attention I wouldn't be at the carwash." he says. If he weren't hoarse from crying it would have been a snap, but as he is right now it's rather pathetic sounding.

She raises an eyebrow slightly. Jasmyne isn't one who's easily offended nor easily put off. Especially when there's someone obviously upset about something. She doesn't go away. Not yet anyway. Her persistance could be considered her fault at times.

"Are you sure? You look like you could use someone to talk to or something."

He Pulls his glasses off and sets them on the dashboard and buries his face in his hands, both in frustraion and to rub at his forehead. He has a splitting headache. He's been awake for more than 24 hours now. He sits there slumped like that for auite a bit not speaking and slumped over holding his face in his hands. At least he doesn't seem to be sobbing silently anymore.

A slight frown crept onto her face and she took a step closer to the van. She took a tissue out of her purse and held out her hand towards the open window. "Here," she says to him with her hand held out. "My names Jasmyne."

He doesn't move, not at all. At this point though, he isn't being standoffish, he's simply exhausted. So he's fallen asleep. If you get tired enough you can sleep anywhere. Shallow snores begin to emanate from him after a few minutes.

The frown on her face deepens slightly as she realizes the guy has fallen asleep. She looks around the parking lot and notices that there are a couple of people staring at the van. She decides that she's going to stick around while the guy sleeps. That way no one can come along and disturb him or something. He's obviously tired or something.

Charlie sleeps for about two hours like that. then he wakes up invariably with a horribly dry mouth. HE rubs the sleep from his eyes and fumbles for his glasses on the dashboard. Then he looks around to see where exactly he's been sleeping, the last thing he remembers is the car wash and someone talking to him. Sure enough he is still in the carwash parking lot.

Jasmyne had stood outside his van for the entire time that he slept. People kept staring as they walked past. But she didn't budge. Just as she was getting ready to turn around to check to see if the guy was still sleeping, someone else came walking right on over.

Erik was wearing a pair of loose black jeans and a light blue t-shirt. He totally disregarded the woman standing there and went right over to the open drivers window. Erik had spent the last two hours walking around through the city trying to figure out just how he was going to find who he was looking for. He was surprised to see the van parked in a car wash parking lot.

"Charlie we need to talk," he states.

Jasmyne just stands there for a few minutes before it sinks in that this guy 'knows' the guy in the van and finally leaves.

"Then talk." he states in a surly tone. He still looks extremely tired. He also looks extremely irritated.

He shakes his head slightly. "Not here. Too many nosey people. Is there somewhere we can go to talk without so many stopping to gawk? It's about Callie."

"Get in the damned van then, and pick someplace." came the irritated reply. If it weren't about Callie it's likely the Hi-Power would be getting waved around. Yes, he's that aggitated and exhausted. For once it might actually be better off if the crazy man were in control of his own body.

Erik walks around the back of the van and heads for the passenger door. It opens, he gets in, shuts the door and buckles his seatbelt. He gives directions to an empty park that no one hardly goes to anymore since most go to the big city park. He sits silently through the drive and waits till they arrive and park before saying anything.

"Why did you leave like that?" he asks straight out.

"YOU had everything under control, I was practically just a damned get away driver. That's why. What the hell do you need a third wheel for?" he snarls.

Erik frowns and shakes his head. "You've got it all wrong man. Really you do," he states calmly. "All I could think about at that moment was Callie." He sighs and glances out the window. "She asked where you went. I didn't know what to tell her."

He turned his head back around to look at the man before he continued. "She told me something," he stated. "She told me that she had been nearly ready to give up but it was the thoughts of us that kept her from doing so. Us as in you and I both."

"Hhmm. I'm sure, I'm tired." he says slumping on the steering wheel. "What do you want from me, If she asks me for something I'll do it. She knows that, I'm there for her if she asks, but this doesn't make you and I pals, or something. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight, I knew that psycho would find a way to lash out at her." he says, as his head rests on the steering wheel.

"I don't want anything from you," he states point blankly. "I'm not asking for us to be pals or anything of the sort. I came looking for you because of Callie."

He shakes his head slightly. "I'm going to tell you like she told me, it's not your fault. You can't blame yourself. None of us knew it this would happen. Besides, do you really think you'd have been able to keep her under your watch forever?"

He sighed. "She told me something before she fell asleep this last time." He paused, unsure of if he should say anything or not and then decides to go ahead. "She said she loves me. I love her, too. I really do. I'd do anything for her. Anything at all. That's why I'm here, Charlie. I came looking for you for her. She was upset that you weren't there."

Charlie just sits there for a while. He sits very still slumped against the steering wheel, Because George is withdrawing, hiding deeper inside. Strange for Charles, he's goten used to have to wrestle control from the other man. He looks up for a minute rubs his eyes and takes off his glasses to clean them onthe hem of his shirt.

He sighs, "You may make him crazier than I am in short time. he says, very sleepily. "He gets so very moody at times, but I have no excuses for him." he says. "I'm not exactly crazy about you, but you are right." the voice is more relaxed and his face is not as tense, the posture has gone form out right hostile and withdrawn to mild annoyance.

Whoa. What? A confused look flashed onto Erik's face. "Excuse me?" he says in a confused voice. "What are you talking about? Him?"

"George, he doesn't like you much at all. "Charles says putting his glasses on. "Dislike might be the best way to put it. Think of it like a man who's letting his daughter start dating, now Imagine that the man we're talking about adopted the child and has no experience in interpersonal relationships, and that's pretty close to the situation he's in. So I can see his point. Besides where the heck did you just appear from out of the past? Where were you all along, If Callie means so much to you?" Charles asks. He's not being snarly like George was, his tone is rather dry, not quite condescending.

"George? Who's George?" It was quite obvious that poor Erik was almost beyond confused. Here he is, sitting here talking to Charlie and Charlie starts talking about someone named George.

Erik sighed and slumped back in the seat. "I didn't realize how much she meant to me until I almost lost her. I'm sure you've heard the saying 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone'. As for where was I..." He paused and took a deep breath. "I had my own problems I had to deal with." To prove his point, Erik held out his arms, palms up. Deep scars would clearly show.

"Oh yes, very noble, leave the girl to be saved by a vitual stranger, while you fuck yourself up, mmmm, yes, I can see that makes you a good candiate to care for someone else. I can see why George doesn't entirely approve." He says. this is pure sarcasm, Charles has attempted to kill himself, yes, but not for reasons of self pity, he was delusional at the time and believed he was possesed, funny how upon actually possesion he no longer entertained such notions.

"George, is the person with the drivers license, I'll provide you an explanation and you can do with it what you will. "I'm Charles, this is actually my body, I was born in it and have been crazy in it for my entire life. George is a man who died a good number of years ago from polio, who decided to posses a crazy mean and try to live out the aspects of his life that remain unfullfilled. If that sounds so far fetched you simply can't wrap your brain around it, I will point out that I'm a paranoid schizophrenic. Now next question?"

Ouch. That hurt. That hurt a lot. He turned his head to look out the window again. "Don't judge me for things you have no clue about me," he stated blandly. "I didn't come looking for you to sit here and listen to you degrade me in any way. I came looking for you for Callie."

He listened to the explination as to who George was. Let's just say, Erik wasn't all that comfortable with the knowledge that he was now dealing with yet another possessed person. As long as he didn't end up with the shit beat out of him again, he'd be alright. Right?

Yes, it was meant to hurt. The psycho is very good at honing in for the psych down. " I don't need a clue either....and George doesn't even want one. He already has fifty reasons why you aren't good enough. Me personlly I don't care either way, I finally almost peacefully co-exist with the man though, so I see his point more than yours.....In fact I share a lot of his feelings. He's not mad at her, just you. I'm not entirely happy, I don't like complications, and you are one. At least to us.....but mind you, I've not gone and decided to die over it. Leaving was the best option for George and me you need to see that, because Callie certainly doesn't need to see the two of us(you/me) bickering. " he says.

"You can think what ever you want of me. I don't care. All I care about is Callie and her feelings. You're right. She doesn't need to see us bickering. That wouldn't do her any good at all. It wouldn't do anything but cause her extra unneeded stress." There still wasn't any anger in his voice at all. Sure, he's getting frustrated, but he's not letting it affect him. "Like I already said, I came looking for you because of Callie. I love her and don't want to see her any more upset than she already is. She was upset that you weren't there still. So I decided to do her a favor by coming to look for you."

"Fine, fine, but I really want as little to do with you as possible, which you must admit makes things difficult. I'm hardly a stable individual, usualy George is, but he's entirely too conflicted for the time being to even deal with you. "Charlie says, and he is frustrated, it's hard for him to even stay focused solely on this point in reality, let alone try to sort out his feelings and George's feelings. He already admitted at the beach that he loves her. Though I think it's quite clear that Erik find's Callie more important than any of Charlie's feelings at the moment.

"She doesn't need me around her while I'm like this, I'm not refusing you, but I may stay like this...."he throws his hands up in frustration because he's unable to articulate. "I'm bitter, and I'm going to be bitter, I'd rather keep her away from it than make her suffer through it! " he finally blurts, "Do you not get that?"

In all honesty, Callie is more important to Erik at the moment. He's worried about her. He loves her. He wants nothing more than for her to be happy. However, he is aware of Charlie's feelings for Callie. Erik wasn't such a dunce that he forgot Charlie talking to him at the beach.

"Look, I didn't want to start an arguement with you about this. I love Callie. Very much I love Callie. I told you on the beach that I cared a lot about her. I do. I don't want to do anything to hurt her. I don't want to see her hurting any more than she already is. That's why I came to find you. I know you love her. I'm not denying that. I just... I love her man. I really do."

He sighed and turned his gaze out the window yet again. "At some point, we're going to need to put our differences aside for her sake. I'm sure she's going to want to see you at some point. I won't ever keep her from you. I want you to know that. I... I don't have any problem with you. I don't fully understand why you have one with me. But whatever. Doesn't matter. Callie is what matters. At some point, will you please go see her?"

He just nods for a few minutes before finally speaking. "Yes, but not like this, with almost no sleep, and I don't even know when I last ate.....I can't go like this." he says quietly.

Erik nods in understanding. "Can I offer to buy you lunch or something?"

"No, just let me drop you off, I need to go home. " He says.

Erik nods and falls silent.

Charlie drives, not exactly badly, but nervously and slightly below the speed limit as he takes Erik back to Cecily's house in silence. Another sore point, It may only be a small attic room, but at least Charlie has a place of his own and space for Callie. Erik stays with Cecily, Charlie doesn't even dare ask.

Erik may not have a place of his own anymore but where he's staying now is a hell of a lot better than where he was staying. And hey, who can beat free rent? All he had to do was promise to eat. It wasn't like he had asked Cecily if he could stay there. She offered. He accepted. Besides, it's not like he's just going to be sitting around on his ass not doing anything. Help out around the house, help with buying groceries, and stuff like that.

As they're nearing Cecily's place, Erik remembers something else he had wanted to mention to Charlie. Unsure of if he should or not, he decides to go ahead. "She asked me how her mother was," he blurts out. "I told her we'd talk about it later. Truth is, I don't know what to tell her." He sighed and continued to look out the window. "I'm not going to tell her that she shot and killed her mother. Even through all the shit the woman put her through, she still loves her mother." A concept that was strange to Erik. He hated his own mother because of the things she allowed to happen to him. "What should I tell her?"

"That I put her back in the hospital. We can tell her she died there, a heart attack or something. She doesn't need to know she killed her though. Hopefully she'll never remember." he said tiredly. Yeah what should you tell her......hmmf.

Erik had continued to stare out the window as he listened to Charlie's suggestion. However, he turned his head around as he caught the thought through the mans head. "Alright. I'll tell her that." No need to 'hmmf' about it. I don't want her any more upset than she already is. Yep. He sent that back through his own mind.

"Here's my stop. Is there anything you want me to tell her when she wakes?"

"Tell her to call me if she needs anything." He says. Not like you'll let her need anything, now get out of my van.

Erik nods and starts to get out of the van. Unlike some, I won't even consider trying to keep her from others. I already told you that I'm not going to keep her from you. Believe it or not, but I meant it.

You already did it when it mattered.

All that mattered was her. Not you. Not me. Her. Quit trying to turn this into something that it's not.