Charlotte's Theory of Evolution

Exes Past

Charlotte blinks one, two, three times. Either she's hallucinating or the ex she broke up with five years ago has magically appeared in front of her, dressed in biz-cas (a little more on the business side), talking to some intern.

"Jon?" The name slips out before Charlotte can stop herself.

He turns, and Charlotte realizes her mistake. Maybe this man is Jon, but he's not the boy who took Charlotte to Tuesday morning movies and didn't kiss her when she hesitated. Yes, he has the same brown eyes, but they've gone from making her melt to feeling frozen in place.

"Do I know you?" He stands stiffly, his jaw clenched, eyes cold and focused.

Something catches in the back of Charlotte's throat and she instinctively takes a step back. She finds herself saying, "Sorry, must've gotten the wrong person," even though she knows that has to be Jon Rauschenberg, so why is she apologizing?

Something flashes in his eyes - recognition? Guilt? - but it's gone in a split second and he's back to talking with the intern, as if that interaction wasn't the weirdest thing ever. Charlotte goes back to her desk, but she can't stop Thinking with a capital "T." Jon was the sweetest boy she ever knew, let alone dated, and they'd ended it on good terms, so what's up with this?

***

Charlotte manages to have a pretty good day even after her mind-boggling encounter with Jon. Then a text from an unknown number forces her into another reality. It's her parents, and they're coming to visit. Her parents, who decided a change in career plans was blasphemous enough for them to cut off communication for oh, four years? No big deal. Somehow, they've gotten her address, and there's no way they'll take no for an answer.

That night, she can't sleep, even when her girlfriend comes home after work and presses a tired kiss to her forehead. Actually, that makes it worse, because Charlotte's reminded of how she's definitely not out to her parents. Fuck.

Charlotte's not a master of subtlety, so she's honest, maybe too much. Her girlfriend sucks in a breath. Oh, God, this is too much. I'm a terrible girlfriend.

But she's understanding, as understanding as one can be when your girlfriend says she's breaking up with you for her parents. She offers to pack up her things and crash at a friend's, at least until Charlotte's parents are gone, and then they can decide what to do from there. She doesn't look at Charlotte when she says this, and gives her one last forehead kiss before texting said friend. Apparently her moving out date is today. When Charlotte finally processes, she feels like bashing her head against a wall. Who in their right mind let me have a girlfriend? This sucks, majorly.

Charlotte can't sleep, so she texts her best friend Noah. Realizing Noah's definitely asleep, she gets up, gets dressed, and goes for a walk. Her grumbling stomach reminds her she gets hungry when she stays up past midnight, so she heads to the nearest 7-Eleven. Only after she's paid for her "meal" is the numbness of hunger replaced by overwhelming sadness, and she bursts out crying. The cashier gives her a worried look but doesn't ask, probably because minimum wage doesn't cover dealing with this kind of bullshit. She wipes with her sleeve and gives him a mumbled apology before getting the hell out of there, embarrassment and tears coloring both her face and eyes.

***

Charlotte finds herself sitting on a swing set in an otherwise empty park. Until a hand holding a bottle of peach-flavored Mizone appears in front of her and she falls onto the mulch in panic.

"Sorry," Jon says, helping her up. "Forgot you were scared of the dark." There's a long pause and Jon must take note, because he adds, "You okay, Charmander?"