great escape [ben]

[charlie]

They deserved this. After everything that they had gone through recently, Charlie and Ben deserved this vacation, a place where they could go and forget about everything even if it was only for a moment in time. She was so glad that she had booked this trip, and once all of the crap had hit the proverbial fan, Charlie knew that it was meant to be that she had. The stress was enough to warrant the trip, but add in the insane amounts of snow that New Jersey had gotten this year, Charlie couldn’t wait to get away. The flight out of Newark hadn’t been bad at all, having to sit still for four hours was the hardest part for Charlie. Most normal people could handle a flight that short, but she was just too hyper. Of course she was excited to go, to be alone with Ben away from it all, but she was just that hyper to begin with. The longer she had sat in her seat, the worse the butterflies in her stomach had gotten. Charlie wasn’t sure if it was the anticipation of the vacation itself or being this alone with Ben. Of course they had been alone before, but this was different. They were no longer in New Jersey, there was no one they knew around them. Or maybe it was that she had no idea what to expect or were there no expectations at all?

When their plane had landed in St. Lucia, Charlie had a car set up to meet them at the airport and take them to Rendezvous, where they had their reservations. Charlie had booked them one of the ocean front cottages so they didn’t have to deal with the other people staying at the resort, but they would still be close enough for the full amenities that they had to offer their guests. Anything Ben wanted to do while they were there Charlie was more than happy to make happen. It had taken her a bit of time to realize that this whole mess hadn’t been her fault, and at times it was hard for her to remember, but Ben deserved this, he deserved to be pampered. She had grown up afforded everything and she wanted to be able to share that with him before she could offer Ben nothing more than her love, though she suspected that would be more than enough for him. Ben had never brought up the fact that Charlie was just another rich kid at Jackson, but she knew that he knew, how could he not? Soon enough that would all be gone. She had some time to sort things out before graduation, but she could feel the anxiety and pressure of what she would do next and where she was going to go.

After they had checked in and had been escorted to their suite, Charlie could feel the butterflies again, unsure if they were from excitement or nervousness. Everything was going so perfectly that it all seemed surreal, but it was real. She and Ben were on vacation in St. Lucia away from it all. No Mr. X or gossip blogs, no drama, nothing but rest and relaxation. Placing her bags in the corner of the room, Charlie would knew she would have plenty of time later to put all of her things away, now it was time for her to enjoy herself with Ben. Spinning around, a small giggle left her lips, her blue eyes wide with excitement. Definite excitement. She couldn’t help herself, it was all starting to sink in. The weather was perfect, the resort seemed perfect, Ben was perfect. Charlie was in heaven and nothing was going to ruin this. Crossing the room, Charlie threw her arms around Ben’s neck, kissing him softly. ”Do you like it so far baby doll? I totally hope that you do.” Charlie smiled, her eyes looking deep into Ben’s flawless green eyes. She loved him so much, more than she ever thought she could love anyone. ”What do you want to do? Anything, you just name it and we can totally do it. If you want to go swimming we can swim. If you want to go snorkeling we can do that, though I guess that’s like swimming, isn’t it, just it’s like a little more than that but we can do that if you want. Or if you want to just relax on the beach or golf or whatever you want. If you want to do nothing we can so do that too.” One of her hands snapped away from Ben’s neck, quickly covering over her mouth as she let out a giggle. They hadn’t been in St. Lucia for more than a couple hours and already she was over the top excited, her words running a mile a minute. Sometimes Charlie wondered exactly how Ben could put up with her oddness, but he did and she loved him a million times more because of it.

[/justify]

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STATUS: done
TAGGED: ben
WORDS: 835
OUTFIT: charlie loves ben
THE LUGGAGE: too much stuff
LYRICS: falling down by ben jelen
NOTES: eeek because you're back!
CREDIT: header credit to ♥ fireh ♥
the rest belongs to me, jericka! kthanks!

[benjaminlocke]

St. Lucia. Wow. He hadn't really believed it until the night before they'd left, when he was packing his things. Even then, there was still that flicker of doubt in his mind. It wasn't that he didn't believe Charlie - he'd seen the tickets, after all, they existed - it was just that he'd never been anywhere or done anything like this, and he couldn't really fathom what the heck a beach vacation would be like. Growing up, his family had not been the kind to take summer vacations out of country - or even the state, maybe, save an occasional family reunion - and he didn't know what to expect if he ever did go on a vacation. Hell, Jacksonville was about as far from home as he'd ever been in his life, let alone St. Lucia. Still, he couldn't help but let those doubts leave his mind when they left checked in their luggage and boarded the plane. Charlie, he knew, was having a difficult time sitting still, and he was, too. Though he handled it a little better than she did, he still had the same excitement welled up in his stomach. Though a crappy paperback mystery novel he'd bought at the airport helped him quell it just a little, he found himself unable to pay much attention to the printed page when the view outside the window was just so much better than that.

They got off the plane in the same fashion as everyone else, and Ben couldn't help but be a little dumbstruck by the whole thing. St. Lucia was beautiful, and he couldn't deny that even if he wanted to. It really was too much of Charlie to take him on a vacation, although he could not argue that he did not appreciate it, because he did. After the drama with Mr. X and the school and, essentially, losing his job, he welcomed the idea of a vacation. At least he could stop thinking about getting a new job, and feeding his hamster - who was being looked after, of course, although Ben had probably stuffed so much food in that rodent's cage that Faulkner was likely to be diabetic by the time he got home - and start thinking about the better aspects of life. Like spending time with Charlie, and maybe s'mores. Finally, a food he could burn where it was appropriate to burned!

They unloaded their luggage in their room and he, like Charlie, left his alone. He was just as content with living out of a suitcase as he was with actually unpacking it, so he'd deal with that decision later. A smile slid across his lips as Charlie's arms wrapped around his neck, and he leaned his face in just a little to meet her lips as they kissed. It was such a strange feeling, that little electric spark that seemed to transmute his blood into electricity every time he kissed her. He couldn't say he didn't like it, though, because he did. He liked it a lot. "Anything you want to do is fine," He said, not meaning to dodge the question or be indecisive. "It's your vacation, too, I'd hate to be picky and hijack the thing." He smiled down at her as her hand slapped itself over her mouth, as if she had to physically stop it from speaking. He wrapped his arms around her in a huge hug and just held her there for a second. God, she was so cute sometimes. "Swimming might be pretty cool, though, or just hanging out on the beach. I could use a tan." He laughed light-heartedly, pulling an arm back to mock-admire his lack of a tan. "Yeah, I think pasty, New Jersey white clashes with the beach, just a little. So something outdoors, probably."

---
words! thar be hurr
outfit! clickk
luggage! holy shit he packed more than charlie xD
tagged! charlie
notes! alalaalaaaa vacaaaaaaaaatttion's alll i ever wanteeeeeeeeeed

[/blockquote][/justify]

[charlie]

Looking at all of their luggage, Charlie couldn’t help but let a giggle escape her lips. She wasn’t sure who had brought more, but she was certain that Ben’s bags looked equally stuffed as hers had. Charlie was far too excited to be in St. Lucia, away from everything and while she felt bad for leaving everyone behind, she and Ben deserved this. She just wanted Ben to be happy. Charlie knew that once they returned back to New Jersey, reality would set back in and they would have to face everything, but at least they could do it together. Charlie would do whatever she could to help Ben find a new job or fight for his teaching job, whatever he wanted to do she fully planned on standing beside him, supporting him. She knew that he would do the exact same thing for her. As their lips touched, Charlie’s heart began to race. She was never going to get used to kissing Ben, she just knew it. Her head tilted slightly, a smirk on her lips when Ben said anything was fine. Part of her expected that answer simply because Ben wasn’t demanding, he always was fair and considered what Charlie would want to do. She loved that about him, he really was selfless. ”Babydoll, I want you to just be happy and do things that you want to do.” Charlie ran her fingers through his silky hair, twirling a few strands around her fingers. ”I know it is, but as long as you’re happy then I’m happy. You know if there’s something that I want to do I’ll totally tell you, but for now let’s do what you want to do, okay?” Charlie nodded, smiling.

Feeling his arms wrapping around her body, she felt so safe, she always felt safe when Ben held her. It was like that was where she belonged. It was where she belonged and nothing was going to change that. Resting her head against his chest as he pulled her into a hug, Charlie couldn’t help but breathe in Ben’s familiar scent. It always brought her back to the first night she had slept over his house. Somehow in their awkwardness she had managed to fall asleep snuggled up to him, the last thing she remembered before slipping into slumber was his scent. It gave her butterflies just thinking about that night. Never in a million years would Charlie have thought that they would be here, comfortable with each other, let alone on vacation in St. Lucia. How things change. Looking up into his green eyes, Charlie let out a laugh. ”Swimming sounds good. I like to swim. Although I totally don’t know if I can get a tan, but I’ll try. I’m like Charlie the friendly neighborhood ghost.” She giggled. Charlie was always pale. Underneath her black and neon pink hair Charlie was just another blonde hair, blue eyed girl with pasty skin. She kissed Ben quickly before reluctantly letting go of him.

Bouncing towards her Hello Kitty suitcase, Charlie rolled it over to the bed. A small blush colored her cheeks at the thought of them sleeping in the same bed. She was so silly. It wasn’t like it was their first time sleeping in the same bed, just this was a little different, this was St. Lucia. Shaking her head, Charlie giggled at herself as she unzipped the black suitcase, moving her clothes around in search of her bikini’s. Dresses flowing over onto the bed, Charlie started tossing shoes around in hopes that one of the two bathing suits she’d brought would suddenly appear. Finally. Her Dolce and Gabanna leopard print bikini managed to poke its head through her sea of clothes. ”Got it.” Charlie spun around, bathing suit in hand, waving it like she had achieved some great feat. ”I’ll be right back, okay. I’m just gonna totally get changed.” Charlie disappeared into the bathroom, unzipping her dress allowing it to fall to the floor before slipping her bikini bottoms on, then tying her top around her torso. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, nervousness began to take over her. Charlie knew that she was yet again being silly, but this was the most Ben had ever seen of her body. It’s only a bathing suit Charlie, get over it. People do this all the time, it’s not a big deal. Nodding at her reflection, Charlie grabbed her clothes and headed back into the bedroom.

With a soft smile on her lips, Charlie looked at Ben a sigh escaping. She felt slightly self conscious being so, well half naked. Even living so close to the beaches in Jersey, Charlie didn’t frequent the beaches. Between school work and her jobs she didn’t have the time to go. Noticing her flip flops on the floor next to the bed, Charlie walked over, slipping them onto her feet. Hopping up onto it, her feet dangling over the edge, her blue eyes focused on her boyfriend. Just looking at him took her breath away. ”I love you.” Charlie’s voice was soft. Her eyes diverted away from Ben, her cheeks turning pink. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed, it was just that she loved him that much that it overwhelmed her sometimes. ”Thank you for everything Ben. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have you. I’ve never been so happy and now that we’re here, together, away from all of this crap. Well…I just…I love you.” Charlie lifted her head up, her eyes looking into Ben’s gorgeous green eyes. She never wanted this feeling to end, something told her it never would.

[/justify]

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STATUS: done
TAGGED: ben
WORDS: 940
OUTFIT: BIKINI
THE LUGGAGE: too much stuff
LYRICS: falling down by ben jelen
NOTES: half naked!
CREDIT: header credit to ♥ fireh ♥
the rest belongs to me, jericka! kthanks!

[benjaminlocke]

God, he could not help but realize how much he needed this vacation. It seemed that St. Lucia was some sort of magic entity that instantly took the stress away from him. Gone were the thoughts of Jacksonville, of Jackson High, of all the shit that was going down that - really - could continue going on without him. His life inside of Jacksonville wasn't exceptionally consequential, notwithstanding Charlie. But he was in St. Lucia with her, so there were few ties to Jacksonville that couldn't wait. Braeydon was the most immediate, followed maybe then by Draven, and after that? He'd met up with all of his friends from high school it would seem, and over half of them were teachers. Since he'd been 'let go,' which was the nice term for being fired, he hadn't spoken to any of them. Some of them knew, he was pretty sure, but it wasn't like it mattered anyway. They could think whatever they wanted and he wouldn't really care about it. His only concern with his relationship with Charlie had been being fired - and now that he was, he had nothing to worry about. Except Charlie being happy, of course.

He glanced sheepishly at his luggage as she did and grinned, just a little embarrassed. "I didn't realize I owned so much crap." He said, laughing lightly. "Especially beach stuff, considering we live in Jersey." And it wasn't like the weather was great for heading to any nearby body of water anytime soon. Though the weather in St. Lucia was an amazing contrast to the uncharacteristically chilly March in Jacksonville. Charlie mentioned that she only wanted him to be happy, and he grinned. They weren't going to get anywhere with that mindset, now were they? If they both just wanted the other one to be happy, then they'd just probably sit there, continuing to want each other to be happy and not deciding on anything. Though, swimming did sound like an interesting idea, and he hadn't had the chance to get into any kind of water - outside of showering, naturally - in a while. He laughed at her ghost comment. "I don't tan well either, so you can be the friendly neighborhood ghost, and I'll be the crabby neighborhood lobster."

He kissed her as she did him, and she retreated off to her suitcase. He followed suit, hefting his own ugly suitcase - bland in comparison to Hello Kitty, he had to admit - to the other side of the bed that wasn't being overrun by Charlie's clothes. He unzipped his own suitcase and rummaged through it in a more collected, organized fashion, until he could slip some swimming trunks and the sunscreen out of it. Charlie was already halfway to the bathroom by the time he finally managed to get the sunscreen out of his own suitcase. He waited, glancing outside of the large window of their room, as he waited for Charlie to vacate the restroom so he could change, too. It was so strange, being in a relationship like he was. It didn't bother him much, especially now that he wasn't teaching any more. Although it wasn't like it had bothered him much in that aspect, anyway - it wasn't like Charlie had been in any of his classes, and it wasn't like she was too young. Charlie was nineteen now, really, she was only five years younger than he was. Which, maybe if they were younger, would be a big deal. But in the long run, it really wasn't. He'd known people whose parents were ten years apart, so five? Not a big deal. Not at all.

Especially since Charlie would be graduating soon anyway, and then everything would be great. He paused as he heard the door of the bathroom open, and he glanced up for a moment. Ben wasn't a dog, by any means - he wasn't typically the kind of guy who hounded over a girl's body at all. And Charlie was no exception to the rule. Except, well, damn, she did look good. Though he tried not to focus on that, because, well, he had too much respect for Charlie just to think of her as a walking piece of meat and nothing more than that. He smiled at her, checking his eyes to make sure he wasn't staring at her or anything, and headed into the bathroom himself to change quickly, and when he had, he wadded up his used clothes into a not-so-neat, but manageable, bundle in his hand. Organization wasn't exactly one of his strongest suits, and a living testament existed in his apartment, which was partially over-run by Chinese food cartons. Well, it was all he could really afford to eat - that and pizza - and, well, he'd just live off of it. He'd probably regret the smell of his apartment when he got home, though. He threw the clothes haphazardly into his suitcase when he'd left the bathroom, so he could deal with them later, and pulled threw his flip flops on the ground. He shoved his feet into them, less than gracefully, as Charlie slipped her own on.

He started just a little, but smiled at her words. "I love you too," He said, still smiling even as she went to thank him. He honestly had not done anything, but he had become to used to Charlie's ways, and just nodded. "Thank you, too, really. Just, you know, for being you and stuff." He had never been good at really vocalizing things, except when Charlie seemed to be out of her mind with worry or something - like she had been at the recording studio after X's blog - but he imagined that his collectiveness of words had something to do with the fact that Charlie, when beating herself up verbally, was not very coherent and therefore made his attempts to calm her down look much more thought-out. It wasn't like he was very awkward with her anymore, either, it was just that emotions weren't his forte, and he doubted he'd ever be particularly good at expressing them. He turned his head from where it had been downcast, looking at his flip flops, to her face where he could only hope that she'd realize what he meant, and just how much he did mean it.

---
words! there are some up there.
tagged! charlie
notes! ..oh boy xD

[/blockquote][/justify]

[charlie]

Looking at Ben, there was a peace about him that made Charlie smile, almost like just being so far away from New Jersey was making things better. Maybe it was and for the time being she would take it. He had been the strong one between the two of them, and while he always tried to make Charlie feel better about their situation, well his situation, she could tell that it had bothered him whether he wanted to admit it or not. She had grown up never having to want for anything but as she got older Charlie realized that sort of lifestyle wasn’t her thing. As soon as she had been old enough to get a job, Charlie worked, earning her own money. Now that graduation was so close she could feel the pressures of adulthood coming upon her at warp speed. The thought absolutely terrified her, not the adult part, Charlie was fully ready to embrace that part of her life, it was the fear of the unknown. She had no idea what she was going to do after graduation or where she was going to go. Charlie’s dreams had always been so focused on music and she had no intentions of giving up that dream, but the looming feeling of her parents words rang through her mind. What if she wasn’t good enough? What if music just couldn’t pay the bills? Then what? She already had three part time jobs, none of which made her enough money to survive on her own. Charlie knew that there was no way she could go back to Indiana and stay sane. She just didn’t know. And now with Ben being ‘let go’ from his job at Jackson, Charlie really didn’t know what to do. She wanted to help him but without her parents money she could barely help herself and she was so afraid to talk to Ben about it. He had real problems to deal with, she was just that ‘spoiled little rich girl’ who was about to be cut off from her parents endless supply of money. It killed her to think that if she had no leg to stand on that she would have to go back home to Indiana, being without Ben, without her friends, it was unfathomable.

Her hand covered her mouth as another giggle escaped her lips. Ben really was just too adorable and as awkward as she was. ”It totally is a lot of crap. I swear that you packed as much as I did and that’s sayin’ something right there cause I totally over pack all the time.” Charlie couldn’t resist teasing him a little. Ben really hadn’t gone overboard and even though it looked like she had, this was conservative for Charlie. ”But I imagine that back home you totally needed all this stuff, right? I mean I’m sure it’s like hot all the time there, well maybe not all the time but like lots of the time. Indiana is like the pits and we totally get okay weather and stuff, you know like in the summer and a little in the late spring and early fall, but nothing that makes you want to go out and buy all this epic beach stuff.” Charlie let out a small giggle. She was doing it again, nervous rambling was taking her over. For some reason it still embarrassed her when she did it around Ben. Charlie couldn’t help but fear that he would think she was a little kid or as her brother called her, immature. Charlie wasn’t immature, she just couldn’t let go of her inner kid and truthfully she never wanted to but she knew that the five year difference between her and Ben was already giving them enough problems, she didn’t want to add to it by rambling on like a ten year old. Charlie took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. ”I’m…I’m sorry. I’ll totally try to contain myself, okay?” Sometimes she wondered how Ben could put up with her quirkiness. She laughed at his lobster comment though she was grateful to have brought lots of sunblock. ”Let’s just hope that neither one of us burns to lobster status because then we’d be totally crabby and that’s a whole new level of crustacean I don’t want to achieve.” Charlie smirked, amused by her little joke. ”AND it would definitely suck if we had to stay inside and out of the sun like some crazy ole’ vampires and be all nocturnal and only come out at night.” She wanted Ben to be able to fully experience everything that the tropical island had to offer not just the night life.


Charlie had the potential to be like a whirlwind of disaster, throwing her clothes everywhere trying to find that bikini. Most of the time she tried to contain herself, but that hyper part of her sometimes took over and was like an F five tornado ripping through wherever she was. Somehow Braey managed to put up with her being such a disaster, though she did try and keep it to a minimum, just some days were harder than others to keep her things straight. Ben was so gentle about things, he was gentle about everything and that was one of the things she loved most about him. He was also so patient with her and Charlie knew that wasn’t always easy to do. She could go from zero to warp speed in a matter of seconds and she had a tendency to overdramatize and overanalyze things to the nth degree, add in her guilt level which was at maximum half the time. But for some reason he loved her regardless of it all, maybe he was a saint. Even her friends got frustrated with her when she was ‘off her rocker’. She was trying to change, to not be so, well like Charlie, it just wasn’t easy. After constant barrage of her parents telling her she wasn’t doing things the right way or behaving the right way or dressing or planning for her future or that no one could ever love her the way she is. They were wrong. Someone did love her just the way she was, flaws and all. Now all she wanted to do was spend the rest of her life making him happy and showing him how much she loved him and how grateful she was that he did love her for who she was. Charlie just hoped that Ben wanted the same thing. While she tended to wear her heart on her sleeve she knew that Ben wasn’t very good with expressing his emotions and she wasn’t going to sit there and try and force him to tell her what he wanted. She knew that in his own time he would reveal it to her, she just hoped that it was forever the way she wanted him.

Seeing the smile on Ben’s face as he looked at her in her bikini, Charlie blushed. She really hadn’t prepared herself to be so unclothed even though she knew that was what you did at a beach, you wore a bathing suit. Charlie and Ben had a different relationship than most people, it wasn’t lustful or based on physical attraction, it was more innocent than that. Charlie was innocent. And while she definitely was attracted to Ben, there was no doubt about that, she just didn’t have that sort of experience. Unlike her siblings, she fully believed that you should wait to be intimate with someone until you were in love, true love. She truly loved Ben with every fiber of her strange being. While Ben had gone into the bathroom, Charlie started picking up the spew of clothing that she had caused, throwing each item back into her suitcase not bothering to fold them since they had to be hung up at some point anyway. She was far from the obsessive compulsive type and while she harped on an idea over and over again once it was in her head, neat and orderly just wasn’t her thing. Turning her head to look over her shoulder, her blue eyes fixed on Ben as he walked towards her, she let out a tiny gasp. She was used to seeing Ben shirtless, that’s how he had slept, but again for some reason she hadn’t fully prepared herself for not sleep time half nakedness. Okay, so she was silly and she knew it, but that was part of who she was. Smiling, her eyes diverted from Ben’s tattooed chest, her head turned back around as she tried to zip up her overflowing suitcase. In her eyes everything about him was flawless, his body included. She just wanted to run her hands over his bare chest. No. She had to stop, she couldn’t think like that. Clearly the sea air was getting to her head.

Sitting on the bed, her feet dangling over the edge, Charlie nervously played with the cord to her headphones, wrapping it around her tiny fingers. She could feel her breath falter, her stomach flutter at Ben’s words. I love you too. It always seemed surreal when he told her that he loved her, like at any moment she would wake up and it would all be a dream. Being in St. Lucia wasn’t helping matters, everything was so perfect. But it wasn’t a dream, this was real, all of it. They were alone together, far away from the insanity in New Jersey and they were in love. Somehow they had managed to get past their awkwardness and fell in love and even though they were still slightly awkward it all worked for them. Charlie looked up at Ben and smiled softly, she could see so clearly in his green eyes that he had meant it wholeheartedly. The fact that he tried to express his feelings meant more than he could ever realize to her. ”How about you come over here and totally kiss my face before we go out with our pale selves and brave that big ole sun out there.” She smirked. Lifting her hand, Charlie flipped it over, palm side up making a fist, motioning for Ben to come to her with her index finger. She wanted to kiss those perfect lips, she couldn’t deny it. Charlie loved the feeling when they kissed, loved the way her heart skipped a beat before racing at the speed of light. She loved the way Ben wrapped his arms around her and held her. All she wanted was one kiss before they went swimming. The beach and ocean could wait just one more second, Charlie wasn’t quite so sure that she could.

[/justify]

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STATUS: done
TAGGED: ben
WORDS: rambling like miss charlotte north
OUTFIT: BIKINI
THE LUGGAGE: too much stuff
LYRICS: warmness on the soul by avenged sevenfold
NOTES: half naked!
CREDIT: header credit to ♥ fireh ♥
the rest belongs to me, jericka! kthanks!

[benjaminlocke]

Maybe the vacation was better for him that he initially anticipated. It seemed like everything was in a constant state of decay in Jacksonville. Happiness was something fleeting, some constantly elusive state of being that, when presented, was as potent and toxic as any drug on the market - black or otherwise - and when it was gone, that horrible feeling of deprivation and hollowness set in. And it was that withdraw from happiness that seemed to lurk like a black cloud over the heads of everyone he knew in Jacksonville. They were like ticking time bombs, waiting to go off at any conceivable moment and release themselves into the fissure of darkness. He hated that most. Ben was never a particularly depressed person, and preferred to stick at some sort of emotional middle ground rather than experience the slings and arrows of extreme highs and extreme lows. It was a defense mechanism, maybe, and perhaps the deep routed source of his inability to accurately portray emotions. He'd never been able to be horribly angry - or at least express that anger - when Draven had screwed things up so long ago, and he hadn't been able to express his happiness when Draven straightened himself out. Even with Charlie, it seemed like he was never quite happy enough for her, even though he was. He was so happy, though he felt like, maybe, he didn't tell her that enough.

But St. Lucia was a good thing, and he was away from the toxicity that was molded into the fibers of Jacksonville's very being like the thread in a cloth. He was away from the poison of everyone else's drama, and with that blanket lifted from over his head and that weight taken from his heavy shoulders, he could finally sit back and relax, if only for a few days. Maybe he could prepare Charlie, emotionally, for what was going to be happening in the next few months. He knew she was worried about graduation, what was going to happen afterwards, and the likes - and him. He knew she probably worried much more than she let on about him. It was in Charlie's nature to worry like that. So maybe the vacation could brace them both, let them sit back and relax and not think about Jackson High and the associated denizens of the town it resided within.

He grinned as Charlie spoke up about the packing. "Well, you know, I had to pack the most perfect outfits." He said jokingly, changing his voice a little in jest. He sorted through his suitcase for a moment in attempts to wrestle some sunscreen and similarly related beach paraphernalia to the surface. "I guess. I mean, I didn't go out to the beach much anyway in California. Air conditioning is much less annoying than running into your parents while you're out and about. I dunno if Braey has ever mentioned it to you, but our parents..." Are controlling, conniving, crazy people. That was what he wanted to say, along with a few other choice, colorful words. Although he didn't, he didn't say much. "They aren't exactly, um, fun to be around, y'know? They're not bad people or anything, mostly, they're just... Set in their ways, very old-fashioned, the likes." He said, fumbling around with his beach supplies. He was regretting not bringing a smaller bag, something he could just tote around with him instead of having to carry everything. But then again, Charlie was a girl, so maybe he could pawn it off on whatever bag she had. If she was going to bring one.

He peered up through his lashes at her, his face still angled toward his suitcase as he, too, fumbled with the zipper. "Don't worry, it's fine, Charlie. Really. You don't need to apologize for being yourself. Not to me, and you shouldn't have to to anyone else, either." He tilted his head up enough to give her a mildly stern look - but nothing too serious to bring the mood down or anything - and pursed his lips as he gave the zipper of his case one good, final tug shut. He laughed at her joke though, a light, comfortable sound. It was so odd, being comfortable enough to joke around with her. He still wasn't a huge fan of most girls, though with Charlie, he was fine. Aside from the natural Benjamin Allen-brand awkwardness, he was probably as comfortable with her as he could be with anyone, ever. "Oh, jeez, vampire lobsters. Those are pretty scary, you know. I hear Brazil got some, not too long ago. Scary buggers they are, I hope we don't contract the lobster vampirism." He grinned a little goofily, the kind that spread across his face and made him look more like a little kid than a grow man. "It's a really good thing we brought the only weakness to the lobster vampires. Sunscreen." As if to make the point he raised it up into the air before he had set it on the bed to change.

When he'd come out of the restroom, he caught Charlie's gaze on him briefly, although he didn't mind it much. After all, he'd done the same thing, right? It wasn't like it was even bad. They were dating, for Christ's sake. Hell, most couples had probably seen the other one completely naked at this point, which meant they were probably a little ways behind the norm. But what they had worked. He glanced over at her as she spoke and called him over to her with her single, motioning finger and smirked a little. It was a light gesture on his face, hardly anything sinister. He crossed the room to her and wrapped his arms around her, his face craning down just slightly to kiss her lips. His fingers found a lock of her hair, and he wrapped the soft strand around them, playing with it as he kissed her. Ben loved her hair; he loved how smooth it was, how shiny it was, how silky it felt between his fingers. He loved not knowing what color it might be the next time he saw it, too. He pulled his face away from her and smiled just a little, a playful look on his face. "Psst, I think the sunscreen might be a little jealous." He gestured over her shoulder to where he'd left his sunscreen, lonesome, by his suitcase. "Look how sad he looks, all by himself. He's probably just saying, 'Let's go to the oceaaan, Charlie and Ben, let's go to the ocean where I can fight off the vampire lobsters and not be boreddd.' Bit of a shrill voice, that sunscreen has. No wonder the lobsters are scared of it." He chuckled a little at the higher-pitched, whiny voice he had bestowed upon the sunscreen, before he glanced back at Charlie's eyes. He loved her eyes, those pretty, pretty eyes.

---
words! words be hurr
tagged! charlie
notes! this took 83409584350934 years. sorry!

[/blockquote][/justify]

[charlie]

They had just gotten to St. Lucia but already Charlie never wanted to leave. Maybe not all of her, but at least part of her wished they didn’t have to go back to Jacksonville. It seemed to be the pit of hell for everyone she loved and each day was something new that had caused heartache for one of them. Charlie wanted to help them, but it seemed like the second she helped her friends another problem arose and even larger than the one they made it through. If they could all move to the island maybe things would be better. Of course it was unrealistic but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t wish it to come true. Charlie tended to over thinks which lead to her unrealistic solutions to problems. It didn’t take her long to grasp reality again and know that whatever she had come up with just wouldn’t work and she would have to find another solution. Sometimes she wished she could just live in a fairytale land where everyone she loved was happy all the time. Again, totally unrealistic. It was just so beautiful and peaceful in St. Lucia that she wanted everyone to experience it if even for a short period of time especially after everything they were all going through. Charlie was just glad she could bring this sort of peace and happiness to Ben.

She wanted to talk to Ben, be able to tell him what was one her mind. It wasn’t that she was afraid to, it wasn’t that at all it was just her problems were so minuscule in comparison to what he was going through. She still had a few months to figure things out, Ben on the other hand had to figure his out as soon as they returned to Jacksonville. Another reason to never go home. If he had asked her about things she wouldn’t avoid the topic, but Charlie wasn’t going to come right out and tell Ben that she was terrified to graduate, that she had no real plan and no place to go once that diploma was in her hand. No that wasn’t entirely true, she could always go back home to Indiana but that scared her even more than graduating, being so far away from everything that was important to her. Charlie knew if she worked hard enough she could make it, she knew once she really put time into her music it would pay the bills but until then she had to keep her three jobs. She never thought about being famous like other people, she didn’t whore out her music or try to get on tours, Charlie was way too modest for any of that. Music was her life and maybe it defined who she was but she wasn’t in it for the excessive fame and money she was in it for the love of it all.

Charlie loved Ben, she loved everything about him, especially his silly side. Not many people could be silly and she fully appreciated the fact that she wasn’t the only silly heart in the relationship. Charlie knew some of her friends looked sat her strange when she behaved that way but she didn’t care, it was who she was. A smile formed on her lips. ”Don’t tell me that you’re totally gonna be my new favorite shopping partner Ben Allen cause I totally don’t think I’d know what to do what that.” Charlie laughed. The thought of Ben shopping amused her. She could picture it, the sheer look of confusion on his face just picking out any old thing that looked good just to get out of the store as quickly as possible. Nothing about him screamed I love shopping. Her head tilted slightly as she heard Ben say he didn’t spend much time at the beach. It almost made no sense to live in California and not go to the beach although Charlie wasn’t totally convinced she would have gone either. ”Well you’re totally gonna have to enjoy the beach here because there’s lots of it.” For a moment Charlie wondered if Ben didn’t like the beach period, but he would have said something if he had hated it. At least she hoped that he would have. Her eyes diverted from her boyfriend, the disgust for his parents was probably written all over her face. Charlie didn’t want to speak ill of them, they were Ben’s parents but what they were putting Braeydon through was absolutely horrific. ”Yeah…he mentioned them.” A sigh escaped her lips, tears began to form in her eyes. She hated the thought of what her best friend was going through. ”Honestly babydoll, Braey told me everything and I just don’t think that we should talk about them because I don’t want to say something that might not sit right with you. Besides if they could do that to their own son for loving someone…” Charlie shook her head. ”I’m sorry. I will totally stop talking now.” It worried her what Ben’s parents would do if they found out that she was a student or if Ben had even told them that he had been ‘let go’ from teaching because of her. None of it seemed fair.


Looking up at him through her neon pink bangs, a soft smile formed on her lips before she giggled more out of nervousness than anything else. ”I just don’t want you to totally think that I’m some lame kid who can’t ever be serious because I can totally be serious but you know that. I just get so overwhelmed and it’s like I can’t seem to stop myself, you know? Of course you know cause it happens like way more than it doesn’t happen. Sometimes I just wish I could be calm like other people, you know? I mean I don’t know anyone else who talks like I do at like absolute warp sp…” Charlie shook her head before running her hands over her face and through her multi-colored hair. ”There I go again.” Charlie smirked. Even though she felt silly for talking like a complete loon, the fact that Ben loved her anyway made her happy. Having someone accept her for who she was, well it was something she thought would never happen especially when her parents had told her for so many hears that it could never happen. ”I know right? Those are probably the creepiest things you could possibly be turned into. I mean they’re like all red and have those big claws and vampire teeth. Now if that doesn’t scare you, well I totally don’t know what on earth would. I’m down for not turning into one of those things so let’s totally be on the lookout in case they swam to St. Lucia okay?” Charlie tried to look completely serious for a moment but that only lasted a few seconds before she burst into laughter. ”Well good thing we brought the secret weapon.” She grabbed a hold of her own sunscreen and held it up to show Ben she had her own weapon against the lobster vampires. If anyone had overheard their conversation they would have probably thought the two of them were insane, far beyond the odd that they really were.

The look on Ben’s face made Charlie’s heart skip a beat. Even though it wasn’t sexual in any way, there was something behind it that made her face flush. The closer he got to her the more the butterflies seemed to fly around in her stomach but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Charlie’s tongue slid over her bottom lip before she bit down. It had to be the air in St. Lucia that was getting to her, she had to get a grip on her feelings. As Ben’s arms wrapped around her, his lips touching hers, a small gasp escaped. Charlie wrapped her own arms around her boyfriend’s neck pulling herself closer to him, her bare midsection touching his tattooed flesh. A surge of electricity went through her body causing Charlie to shiver slightly. Her blue eyes fluttered open as Ben pulled away from her, a smile forming on her lips, Charlie tried to catch the breath that he had taken from her or at least the breath that had been taken from her as their bodies touched. Of course they had been that close before but never with so much bare skin. Charlie’s cheeks began to turn pink at the thought. Her blue eyes widened playfully at his joke. ”Oh the poor, poor sunscreen. We’d totally better give it some love or it won’t protect us from the lobster vampires.” Charlie leaned across the bed to pick up the two bottles of sunscreen. ”We’re so sorry sunscreen, we’ll definitely do a better job paying attention to you. Please don’t let us get attacked by the evil crustacean.” She giggled, before hopping off the bed, picking up her bag that she had brought to go to the beach. ”Come on silly, throw your stuff in and let’s go swimming.” She threw the two bottles of sunscreen in with her iPod, sunglasses and towel. Now it was time to venture out into the sun, hoping that neither of them burned.

[/justify]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

STATUS: done
TAGGED: ben
WORDS: still rambling like miss charlotte north
OUTFIT: BIKINI
THE LUGGAGE: too much stuff
LYRICS: warmness on the soul by avenged sevenfold
NOTES: boy gets to swim >.<
CREDIT: header credit to ♥ fireh ♥
the rest belongs to me, jericka! kthanks!

[benjaminlocke]

He cracked a smile at the shopping comment and put his hands on his hips jokingly, making his voice a little higher. "Girlfriend, please." He laughed, but paused momentarily afterward and let his arms fall slack at his sides. "Never let me do that again." He said, still joking but mostly still pretty serious. He'd already had enough accusations about his sexuality when he'd decided girls - for the most part and the exception of Charlie - scared the crap out of him, and he didn't need anymore debate on the subject. He shook his head a little and turned to grab his sunblock. "Yeah, no, shopping and I don't get along. I don't know how the heck I accumulated all of this crap." He paused a little thoughtfully, his eyes on his suitcase. Well, there was one thing in there that wasn't crap at all. Not clothes, not shoes, nothing like that - it was something important. More important than his iPod, which meant that it was really, really very important. He pursed his lips and glanced back at Charlie, not quite uneasily but a little warily. He wasn't entirely sure he had the guts to do it yet, but it was going to happen in St. Lucia. New Jersey had less grace, less perfection, than the beaches they were on. St. Lucia was much too perfect to ignore this chance.

He frowned slightly at the mention of his parents. "I'm not fond of them, especially with Braeydon. But we don't need to talk about them, we're on vacation, after all." He smiled as if the issue had deflected from his shoulders like water, then shrugged. "Besides, look at this place. Well, not the hotel room, I mean, St. Lucia." He paused, glancing about the room for a moment. It wasn't a bad room at all - probably expensive. He wouldn't ever be able to do anything like this for her in return, and that ate him up a little inside, but he didn't let himself focus on the thought. Instead, he threw another goofy grin on his face. Charlie was talking a mile a minute again, the way she did that made him have to screw up his face a little in thought as he picked the words out from one another. This time it wasn't as bad, but sometimes Charlie could be so quick winded that he had to sit and translate. But he didn't mind, he never minded. And she was going on about how she could be serious. He knew that, he just preferred when she wasn't serious. He liked the happy-go-lucky Charlie, and while he still loved the serious one, too, he liked to see her smile more than he liked to see her frown. "Charlie." He said, a tone to halt her rambling, though not a stern tone in the least. "I know, I know you can. Don't worry." He smiled, still grinning. "But those lobster vampires, they've got something coming with that sun block. They won't know what hit 'em."

He took his own objects to the beach up in his hands and prepared to offer them up to Charlie to put into her bag because he didn't have one. His eyes drifted back off to his suitcase, which was zipped and closed and a tornado on the inside, but otherwise demure and inconspicuous. Charlie had no idea, as far as he was concerned, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was the right time. But he'd never have a time like this, right? He turned away from Charlie toward the door, where they could leave to go swimming. "We should go out tonight, do something," He said. They were obviously out, but he meant that they should get something nice to eat, or go somewhere. "Maybe back down to the beach, or dinner or something." He threw the idea up in the air and wherever she wanted to go with it, she could. St. Lucia was beautiful enough that he didn't have to worry about a specific location - no matter where the ended up, except perhaps the hotel room, it would be amazing - and he'd let her pick that unconsciously.

---
words! alala
tagged! charlie
notes! ehheeee

[/blockquote][/justify]

[charlie]

If dying from laughter was a possibility, Charlie would have died right then and there in St. Lucia. Never in her life has she seen something so funny and so wrong at the same time. Ben had to have been the most adorable person she had ever known , and now he was probably the funniest. The fact that he had made that joke, the fact that he and Zach were the only two straight men in their group of friends, it made it a million times funnier. All Charlie could do was shake her head, her hand covering her face for a second as she tried to compose herself. ”You know if I didn’t know better Ben Allen…” Charlie winked at her boyfriend. Of course she didn’t think for one small second that there had been a possibility that he was gay or even bisexual but Charlie had to take the opportunity to tease him a little. He had set himself up for that. ”I can promise you that I’ll never let you do that again. It was hilarious though babydoll.” Charlie smiled. Sometimes it amazed her that they could be so comfortable around each other when in the beginning they were nothing but two awkward, odd people who could barely look at each other let alone talk without stumbling over their words. Love was a powerful thing. ”You totally must have a shopping fairy that comes in and evaluates your wardrobe and decides that you need tons more crap. They clearly made a visit before you packed for vacation.” If Charlie had to guess, she assumed that Ben just never purged his closets which would explain the accumulation of so much ‘crap’. Her head tilted slightly, a bit of confusion coming over Charlie as she noticed an off look on Ben’s face. ”Everything okay babydoll? Did I say something off?” The last thing she wanted to do was ruin their vacation by saying something silly to upset Ben.

Charlie felt awful for speaking ill of Ben’s parents. Talking about your own parents was one thing, but to talk about someone else’s parents was flat out rude. What they were doing to her best friend was too much. Charlie had always tried to see the good in everyone but it was very hard to think that there was any good in two people who could just cut their son off from their lives simply because of who he had fallen in love with. Braeydon wasn’t sick, there was nothing wrong with him and if they were too blind to see it, well then in Charlie’s eyes there was nothing good worth looking for in them. A soft smile formed on her lips. She loved that Ben could take such an awful situation and try and turn it into something wonderful. ”I agree. This is vacation and drama and sad stuff should be kept to a total minimum.” Charlie nodded matter of factly. ”It is beautiful here, isn’t it. I swear I like don’t ever want to leave.” In St. Lucia they didn’t have to worry about the crap that seemed to lie in wait for them in New Jersey. Hearing her name, Charlie immediately stopped talking. She knew that she had been rambling on and on and could have continued on even longer. Sighing, she looked into her boyfriend’s eyes. Most of the people in her life tended to stop her the exact same way, but Ben’s tone was always different. He wasn’t annoyed or upset, he simply just wanted her attention. ”I’m sorry, I just get so worried sometimes because I know how I am and I don’t want you to think that I’m like this total lame kid. I’m not a lame kid, I’m just…different than most people.” Charlie knew Ben knew all this. He was the only person that seemed to just get her and accept her for who she was. Clapping her hands together playfully, Charlie giggled at Ben’s comment. ”We are so gonna take them down Ben. They will totally not win this war. It’s me, you and the sunscreen against those evil beasts.” If by the off chance those lobster vampires were a real thing, they would totally be prepared, at least in Charlie’s silly mind.

Double checking that she had everything that she needed, Charlie took Ben’s things and put them into her bag with her own things. As long as they had towels, sun screen, sunglasses and iPods they would be perfect. No lobster vampires, no burning, minimal sand on their bodies and music. Perfect. Following Ben towards the door that lead to the outside world, Charlie was excited to get outside the hotel room. There were so many things that they could do while they were there that it seemed silly to stay inside. It had been such an awful winter in New Jersey that Charlie had, had enough inside to last her a very long time. ”Oh I totally agree, I mean we definitely should go out.” Charlie thought about it for a second. The beach sounded so nice, especially at night but they had to eat too. Charlie wasn’t quite sure that combining them would be a great idea. Sandy food wasn’t exactly something she thought Ben would have in mind. ”We could totally go out for dinner, but not so much on the beach unless I called and had them set a table up out there cause I’m not really sure that I want to eat gritty food because sand got all in it.” She wondered if that actually made any sense once it came out of her mouth. In her head it made much more sense. Charlie was more than willing to call the main desk and have them set up a table for the two of them on the beach so they could eat dinner under the moon and the stars, sand free of course. ”I’ve never been on the beach at night. I’ve seen pictures though and it’s definitely beautiful.” Charlie felt silly. What nineteen year old, who spent the last four years living in New Jersey, had never been on the beach at night? Charlotte Kaycee North, that was who.

[/justify]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

STATUS: done
TAGGED: ben
WORDS: less rambling
OUTFIT: BIKINI
THE LUGGAGE: too much stuff
LYRICS: warmness on the soul by avenged sevenfold
NOTES: all i can say is YAY!
CREDIT: header credit to ♥ fireh ♥
the rest belongs to me, jericka! kthanks!