𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐣. 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

𝟏𝟎 | 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞

It's been four days. Four days since Jack and I last talked and saw each other. That night, everything seemed like it was fine after we almost kissed. We texted for a while and said goodnight to each other, but it's been silent ever since. I know that Jack is a busy guy, trust me I understand. He has a game tonight in Detroit and in the days leading up to the game, it was more than likely all practice.

I haven't had much time to think about the lack of Jack on my phone since I've been busy editing, filming, and planning my twelve-day bookmas series for my channel. Right from the moment I wake up, I get myself water downstairs and come straight back into my room to get to work. Usually the next thing I know my room is in utter darkness, the light from my laptop screen being the only source of light. Em hasn't said anything yet, but I know she's probably worried about me.

She knows that when I pull long hours, it's because of something. Overworking myself is usually my response when I'm anxious or overthinking something. It helps keep my mind busy and away from thinking too much about what's worrying me. Today somehow managed to be different. Emilie barged into my room, woke me up, and got me up and ready in an hour. The next thing I know I'm being dragged out of my house by my arm straight into the passenger seat of Em's car. Not a single word was spoken by Emilie since she told me to get up and ready, which made me a little nervous. Emilie is a very extroverted person who can sometimes never know when to shut up, so you can see why I'm a little nervous.

We're pulling into a little coffee shop about ten minutes from our house, and being led to a small table in the back corner of the coffee shop, I see Gabi's bright smile, a drink in hand. Now wait a minute. Is this what I think it is?

"Charlotte Mitchell, sit your ass in that chair and I'll go get you a hot chocolate." Em points her finger at me looking at me like a mother would look at her child when they want them to behave. She walks away towards the barista leaving me confused and a laughing Gabi across from me. If anyone saw how Emilie and I treated each other sometimes they'd think I was younger than Em when it's the other way around.

"Why are we here? Em hasn't told me anything." I shot a glance over to where Em stood waiting for our orders turning back to face Gabi. "I'm not sure. She just texted me asking if I was free to meet up here and I said I'd be more than happy to come." I slightly nod my head, not too convinced by what Gabi says.

Em makes her way back to the table placing hot chocolate in front of me before taking a seat next to Gabi. "Charlotte, do you know why we're here?" Confusion makes its way to the surface of my face. I try to think of why Em dragged me out of bed to come here, but nothing seems to stick. Gabi and Em look at me, at each other, smiles slowly rising at their faces, then back at me with creepy smiles plastered on their faces. "No, why are you guys looking at me like that?" I was starting to squirm in my seat uncomfortably. Something was going on and I was being left out of the loop.

"Well the last few days you've been holed up in your room working like a madwoman and Gabi and I have an idea as to why this is happening, but we decided we wanted to hear it from you." Both girls lean in closer to me waiting for me to spill my guts. For a brief moment, my mind has a battle with itself wondering if I should or shouldn't fess up to why I've barely left my room recently. One con is that if I tell them, they might tell Nico, Luke, or even Jack himself about what's been going on. I don't want Jack to know because either he won't care at all or he'll be worried for me too. It would feel like a stab to the heart if they did tell him and he just doesn't care, that's when they'd see me become a madwoman. The only pro I could think of is that if I tell the girls, they might be able to help me shut down the nagging voice in the back of my mind that's been bothering me for the last four days.

Taking a deep breath, "It's Jack, well not really. Maybe? I don't know," I sigh frustrated because I can't seem to put into words what I'm feeling. After another breath, I decided to try again, "I've had this nagging voice in the back of my mind that has been working overtime trying to convince me that the kiss was a figment of my imagination, something that just happened in my head." I look at both girls and see that their faces are full of sorry for me. I feel myself let out a slightly shaky breath.