now or never - charlie gillespie

chapter forty

"The reason we called you over is because Kenny wants your opinion on something," Owen explained, avoiding eye contact.

"My opinion? Why would my opinion matter?" I asked, giving them a confused look.

Why would they possibly want my opinion?

"Well, your opinion matters because.. Because..." Owen was struggling to finish his sentence.

Kenny let out a deep breath. "Listen, we thought you should know before it gets out of hand."

"Before what gets out of hand?" I said slowly, getting more terrified by what they were talking about. It couldn't possibly be that bad, could it?

I glanced over and Charlie had his eyes glued to us. He was just as curious as I was. I gave him a weak smile but he didn't budge. Jeremy and Carolynn were trying their best to distract him.

Why was I called here before Charlie? That didn't make any sense. Surely they would want to tell him before me.

I turned my head back to face Kenny and Owen. I was starting to panic and they noticed.

"There's no need to be worried. About you at least..." Kenny mumbled.

What did that mean?

I started nervously picking at the skin around my fingers.

"I'm honestly really confused..." I said, biting my lip.

"Some photos were leaked of you with the boys," Kenny said quickly, like he was trying to rip off a bandaid.

I nodded my head waiting to hear the bad part, but they just stared at me. Was that it?

"Is that it?" I asked out loud this time. "Phew! You guys really gave me a scare there," I laughed, lightly shoving Owens arm but he just looked down at the ground.

Something told me that wasn't all.

"So a couple pictures got leaked of me with the boys," I repeated just to make sure we were on the same page. They nodded their heads, looking like they weren;t sure how to get themselves out of a really bad mess.

I had to hold my laugh back. What a real pickle we're in, right guys? The voice inside my head teased, making it even harder to control my face. I was trying hard to keep it straight and serious.

"What's the big deal?" I finally said after a few seconds. I really didn't see what the problem was. So a few pictures got leaked, what's the worst that could happen?

"No, Lake you don't understand. You haven't seen the pictures," Kenny said handing me his phone.

I looked at him and he nodded his head encouraging me to take the phone. I grabbed the phone and slowly looked down at the screen.

It was a picture of us laughing on the beach. I smiled at the picture and looked up at Owen who gave me a small smile in return.

I analyzed the picture, trying to find the problem. There wasn't one. No one was doing or wearing anything inappropriate. I was completely fine with it. Why were they so worried? It's not like this wasn't going to happen eventually, right? And it's not like anyone really cared about who I was. Right?

Boy was I in for a rude awakening...

I looked over my shoulder to check up on Charlie. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he was bouncing up and down impatiently.

"I don't see the problem here," I said honestly.

"Scroll through the pictures. There were several," Kenny emphasized.

Man they were really milking it, weren't they?

To my surprise there really were several pictures. More than a hundred. Pictures of me with Carolynn, me with Charlie, me with all three boys, with Kenny, with Owen and a lot of just me on my own.

They weren't just pictures from this past week, but pictures from when Ava, Sawyer and I were in Canada.

Woah. How did anyone get these pictures?

My fingers rapidly scrolled from one picture to the next. Some of these pictures didn't even have anything to do with the boys. They were just of me on my own or with Ava and Sawyer.

Suddenly I shivered and looked around, making sure no one was secretly taking pictures.

This was really creepy.

Okay.. so maybe they had a point.

"The big deal is that my assistant just sent these over, but there are more," Kenny said, taking the phone from my hands. "Way more. We just don't know how Charlie is going to react."

"Why would you be worried about Charlie's reaction?" I asked.

"Because, Lake... they think you're dating. That's why there are so many pictures," Kenny explained.

"Can I see them again?" I asked. I wanted to see what everyone was seeing.

Kenny handed back his phone and I started scrolling through the pictures again. There were barely any of just me and Charlie. If anything, he should be relieved. The pictures we are together in look strictly platonic.

"I think you don't really have to worry about Charlie," I said holding out the phone to Kenny. "The pictures are innocent."

Why was Owen so silent?

"You don't get it Lake!" Owen exclaimed, getting frustrated. He snatched the phone from my hand and scrolled, stopping at a specific picture. "Look at it. What do you see?"

I smiled at the picture. It was the night Owen and I were on the balcony, after my dad stormed off. I hadn't realized how close we were. Or how intensely we were staring at each other.

I realized how bad the picture must have looked. On the outside looking in Owen and I looked pretty cozy. I had never realized the way he looked at me. And especially the way I looked back at him.

Did we always look at each other like that?

My stomach began doing cartwheels and I felt sick.

"So its one picture of me and you alone at night. So what? They don't know the context." I said trying to convince myself more than them that this wasn't what it seemed.

"Keep scrolling," I rolled my eyes at Owen. This was getting ridiculous. I reluctantly scrolled fast and then suddenly slowed down.

"Now do you see why we're so worried about Charlie's reaction?" Kenny asked and I just stared at the phone. "We just don't know how mad this will make him..." he said in a hushed voice, glancing at Charlie. I looked his way. He already looked pissed and he didn't even know half of it.

I hadn't realized it before but the majority of the pictures were just of Owen and I.

Okay.. maybe I see where they're coming from now. Maybe now is the time to panic.

"They don't think you're dating Charlie," Owen said, crossing his arms, finally looking me straight in the eyes. "They think you're dating me."

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Ahh!! How do you guys think Charlie will react??