Chapter 3

I don't own Team Starkid or their work.


Normal POV


"Char, it's okay." I feel Devin hug me closer.


    "Stop, you're way too gorgeous for this." I vaguely recognize the voice as Lauren's and I smile a little bit through my tears.


    "Joey's going to regret whatever he just did." I think Jaime said that.


    "Boys are stupid." Meredith put her hand on my shoulder.


    "We're here for you, Charlotte." Julia and Devin help me sit up as I stop crying. I swipe at my eyes to dry them. My eyes clear and I see the concerned faces of all my newest female friends.


    "What did that ungodly a** of a boy say to you?" Devin asked.


    "He asked me why I came to Michigan. I told him I didn't want to talk about it. He asked me why. I just got up and here we are." I gestured to my tear stained face.


    There's a silence. Everyone's kinda unsure what to say. Lauren moves next to me and puts her arm around me. She turned into super concerned friend from an avid jokester. "I know it's a sensitive topic for you, but if you tell us it'll help. We can help. Charlotte look at me," I turned to her. "We care about you."


    I sigh, struggling with whether or not I should really talk about it. "I guess I need to tell someone." The all nod and look at me earnestly. "Well here goes. First of all, I didn't choose to go NYU. My parents chose it. They said they'd only pay for the best. It was strange that they agreed for they hadn't done much of that recently. So I went to NYU. My roommate became my best friend. We were inseparable and one night in the second semester, we went into the city. We got really lost and we felt someone following us. We turned around a block and got caught in a dead end. The person following us shot and my friend fell to the ground. I managed to get myself out of there and I called the police. They pronounced her dead. I was a wreck. Doctors put me on all sorts of meds, some of which I'm still taking. About a week later, one guy I had always had my eye on came to my room. It started out as a harmless conversation but then he got a little... you know. So once again I called campus security. Afterwards, the guys were jack holes to me and the girls were prissy b*tches because I couldn't handle a guy. At the end of that traumatizing semester I went home. I told my parents I wasn't going back. They told me I was because my education was permanent and more friends could be made. We got into this huge fight and I just left. I haven't seen them since."


    I took a deep breath, realizing Lauren was right: I did feel a bit better. I looked back up at my friends to see them all crush me in a hug. We let go after a little bit.


    "Charlotte, I- I don't know what to say." Julia puts her hand on my knee. "But I know you're strong."


    "We're here for you. We're not going anywhere." Meredith puts her hands on my shoulders.


    Jaime puts her arm on my other knee. "Everyone here is a good person. They don't mean to upset you." I guess Jaime could tell that I was still a little edgy on the Joey part.


    Lauren rubs my back throughout the conversation. "We're your family, your friends and your classmates now. You've got nothing to worry about."


    Dev slinks her arm around my waist and squeezes me in a sisterly way. "Michigan is your home now. You've got all of us to help you out in every way. The boys can be helpful when they're not stupid doofuses." We all laugh and the tension is gone. "Well, let's text the guys that we're leaving." They all take out their phones and text some of the guys inside.


    "Can you also tell them my story?" They nod. "I don't want to really repeat myself a lot."


    Devin looks up. "But you have to tell Joey yourself tomorrow." I nod, reluctantly. He deserves to hear it from me.


    We divide up into the cars. Devin, Lauren, Julia and I pile into Devin's car. Jaime and Meredith head out together in Jaime's car. We leave the other cars that the boys took alone. The four of us in Devin's car ride in silence until I just turn on the radio. American Idiot by Green Day happened to be on the radio and without thinking, I'm belting along. The other three girls join in, realizing I'm fine now. When the song's over, I'm smiling from ear to ear.


    "That was awesome, Char!"


    "Seriously!"


    "Well, I'm looking forward to hearing this in class more often." Lauren poked my shoulder.


    We turn back into the parking lot by our dormitory. Each of us grabs our bag and trudged into the building. We climb the stairs making half-hearted jokes but we were all really tired. I learned that Lauren and Julia were in the room four doors down and Meredith and Jaime were in separate rooms in the dorm next door. When the four of us reach Dev and I's room, we embrace in a tight hug.


    "Feel better, Charlotte." Julia says.


    "We love you!" They wave and head a bit farther down the hallway.


    "See you tomorrow!" Devin and I shut the door to our room and collapse on our beds. We breathe heavy for a few minutes until I get up and change into my pajamas. Devin follows suit. The two of us crawl back into our respective beds.


    "Did you take your medicine?" Devin asks me in mid stride as she went to turn off the lights.


    "What?" I was taken slightly aback.


    "You mentioned you were on medicine earlier. I'm your sister." She put her hands on her hips. "Sisters take care of each other." I nod and grab my bottles of pills. I take my medicine for ADHD, my anti-depressant, my skin pill, and my joint pill. Devin stands there and watches me, making sure I swallowed every one.


    "Good night, Dev."


    "Good night, Char." I fall asleep quickly but it was a restless one.

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