Being Alive [Charlie Barber]

Chapter 23 : Fortune Cookies

(A/N: Last month was the one-year anniversary of writing this story! I can't believe that we've been following Y/N and Charlie's story for that long and I am so appreciative of everyone who's been along for the ride. Thank you!!! This story has about five chapters left before it wraps up. I will put a warning on the last chapter to let you know it is the end! <3 ALSO: At this point, the fic loosely follows the timeline of the film so some parts of the dialogue and plot will be the same but with a Being Alive twist. Enjoy!)

Charlie Barber was far from superstitious.

He was the only one at the theater who inwardly scoffed every time that someone insisted they leave a ghost light on as they exited the building. He opened umbrellas indoors if it was the most convenient method for him, he never watched for cracks as he went down the sidewalk, and if he spilled salt, the biggest inconvenience was the mess.

But, yet, as the two of you sat at the kitchen table and ate dinner, he felt suspicious and in a way, ready, to believe. Despite himself, as he stared down at the piece of paper in his hands that he'd just unfolded from his fortune cookie, he couldn't help but feel the connection, even if he were forcing it.

"You're supposed to eat the cookie so the fortune will come true," Charlie mumbled as his eyes searched over the tiny red words typed on the paper. "Or did I just make that up?"

"Um," You thought about it as you took a sip from your water. "Maybe. That sounds like it could be right." You shrugged, honestly not sure what the rules were.

Charlie shrugged. He was eating it, either way, he realized.

He popped a piece of the cookie in his mouth, still looking down at what was written inside.

"Why?" You asked, interested. "Did you get a good one?"

"Kind of," Charlie glanced up at you with a smile, "But I don't think I'm supposed to tell you what it is. Right? It ruins it that way."

You laughed out loud, shrugging, amused by his justifications. "Probably." You told him. If those weren't the rules, they might as well have been.

Charlie smiled at the ease of a conversation between the two of you. You were the only thing in his life right now that wasn't difficult. He appreciated your presence so much.

"I don't think I should take any chances," Charlie told you before he began eating the rest of the cookie. He folded the fortune up and placed it into his wallet, in between some cash and the letter he wrote about all of the reasons he loved you.

On the piece of paper, Charlie's fortune wrote: 'The middle of the process is no place to determine the end of it'.

He was hoping that was true.

Charlie's life had never been this chaotic. It was easy for him to get caught up in the turmoil and assume that it would always be this way. The thought that the light might be approaching at the end of the tunnel at some point was comforting.

"Let me see what mine is." You said, unwrapping it from the thin plastic.

Charlie leaned back in his seat and held his glass of water to his lips, watching you affectionately. Sharing these little moments with you reminded him of how much he loved you, not that it wasn't constantly on his mind otherwise.

You broke the cookie in half and pulled out the paper, turning it over so you were able to read it: 'Follow what you love'.

"Hm," You muttered, pleased by it but not thrilled.