Chapter 1: chapter 1: from before
Summary:
2 days before.
Notes:
hi, i haven't written in so long. so. here's a fic with a lot going on.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The loud beeping of an alarm filled the air, as Charli woke up. She quickly turned it off, reading the time. 6 o'clock. Good, she whispers to herself. For a second, she looks at her partner, lightly grasping a stuffed animal as she's snoring softly. As she gets out of bed slowly not to wake her. Charli smiles to herself, giving her a small kiss on her forehead, whispering a soft“ I love you. “ She walks to the bathroom, letting out a sigh before brushing her teeth and cleaning her face, getting ready to start her day.
She then quickly makes her way to the kitchen, and opens the fridge. She grabs eggs, flour, sugar, and other ingredients and places them on the counter. The dark haired woman then looks through the cabinets, finding the different bowls and other utensils she needed.
Thinking to herself, Charli decides to grab her phone, deciding to play a song at a low volume as she places her phone on the table. Charli begins by cracking eggs, mixing flour, and adding in sugar. She finds herself singing along quietly to the song, quietly as she mixes the contents of the bowl until she was done.
Charli then begins the baking process, pouring the mixture into a pan. She also begins preparing breakfast for the two of them, as she sighs, feeling overwhelmed with love for her partner.
...
“ Babe, wake up! “ Charli whispers.
She then kisses the woman beneath her, placing kisses on her face. “ It's your birthday, baby, and I'm finishing breakfast! “ She says softly. Charli smiles as she watches her partner's eyes slowly open.
“ W-what? “ The other woman mumbles, rubbing her eyes.
“ Today's your birthday! Happy birthday, my love. “ Charli says excitedly, giving her partner a small kiss on her lips. “ I'm going to finish up breakfast, see you in the kitchen? “
“ Yeah! “ The other woman replies, a growing smile on her face. Charli gives her a wink, walking out of the room.
She rubs her eyes again, running her fingers through her long, curly hair that went down her back. She looks down at her hands, staring at the ring on her finger. Not only that, but she smiles as she stands up and heads to the bathroom.
...
Setting the plate down in front of her wife, Charli sits across from her. She smiles softly, saying:” happy birthday, Melanie. “ The other woman felt flustered at her words, her mouth slightly open, then turns into a smile.
Melanie looks at Charli briefly, who starts to eat. She's wearing an oversized t-shirt and shorts, with her hair up. She then looks down at her own plate. Three pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon sat neatly arranged on the plate. Melanie nearly drooled at the site, grabbing the bottle of maple syrup and pouring the contents on the pancakes. She then grabbed the fork and knife, and began to eat.
“ How is it? “ Charli asks, slightly raising an eyebrow.
Melanie nods, wiping her mouth. “ Amazing. Great. “ She says with a mouth full of food.
“ I'm glad,” she says with a slight chuckle. Her partner then looks up slightly, seeing the glow on her wife's face as her grin turns into a smile, admiring her partner. “ I love that you love my cooking. “ Charli starts to eat, feeling happy at Melanie's comment.
“ And Mel,” she says. The other woman looks up at her partner, feeling slightly confused. “ Don't forget we're going out to lunch with our friends in a few hours, party back at our place, our dinner date tonight and your party! “
Melanie nodded with a smile on her face. She feels slightly nervous at the mention of her party, not that she hates it. “ Can't wait. “ She moved some of her hair out of her face.
“ And there's something else I wanted us to do. “
“ What is it? “
A devilish smirk grows on Charli's face, making her wife nearly choke. Melanie's eyes widen. “ shit! This early? “ She questions.
Charli's face fell slightly, now looking a bit more serious. “ We don't have to if you don't want to. “
“Oh, I want to! “ Melanie giggles, covering her mouth.
“Then it's settled. After breakfast, let's go back to our room. “
“ Got it. “
...
“ Fuck, “Charli moans.
She grinds quickly against her partner. Melanie's arms are wrapped against Charli's body, keeping her closer. Melanie's groans at the feeling of her wife's breasts against her skin. Her hands move down to her ass, squeezing her ass cheeks, which makes Charli moan louder.
The sounds of a random pop song plays on top of their moans. Melanie finds herself moving hair from her wife's face so she can kiss her. Charli adds her tongue, deepening the kiss.
“ I'm going to go a bit faster, is that okay? “ She asks, panting.
“ Y-yeah. Please do. “ Melanie moans, grasping on to Charli tighter.
Melanie gasps as Charli speeds up slightly, whispering,” god, you're so hot. “
Charli smirks, kissing Melanie's lips. “ I know I am, but fuck, I think I'm going to come, babe. “
“ Me too,” Melanie groans. Their bed squeaks loudly as Charli speeds up her thrusts. The wetness between them grows as they both reach their orgasms.
The pair moan loudly as they come together. The two breathe heavily as Charli collapses on top of her. “ I love you. “ She says softly.
“ Love you too. “ Melanie replies with a smile. Charli kisses her cheek, laying her head near Melanie'.
They rest in that position, feeling the cool air in the room, taking in each other's presence. Charli's warm brown eyes stare into Melanie's dark brown eyes. Charli feels her gaze deeply, feeling nothing but love at the moment.
Time passes, and Charli grabs her phone, checking the time. 11:05. “ We should probably start getting ready. “ Charli says as she lifts herself from Melanie's body. “ We've been here for a while now. “ Charli said. She starts to stand up. Melanie smirks as she watches her partner stretch, looking at her ass specifically. Her long, wavy hair flows down her back as she heads toward the bathroom.
“ You're right,” Melanie replies with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Charli notices her tone and turns around, stopping in her tracks.
“ Oh, our fun definitely isn't over love. But let's enjoy the rest of your day first. And come join me in the shower! “ Charli says happily.
“ Coming right behind you! “ Melanie says, getting out of bed quickly.
Notes:
i haven't written a fic in so long, and since my last upload here, I've become multifandom. don't get me wrong, i LOVE billie, but I've expanded. i originally was gonna write this but with rachel sennott as the lead, but charli sparked something in me. she fits the concept so well. i was inspired specifically by: https://x.com/xcxsource/status/1851310388752855129/
also came up with this before i found out she's playing wlw lmaooo BUT.. i have most of this fic plotted out with some details that could change. again, I'll revise this if needed. if there's weird inconsistencies with this ( or the plot, PLEASE let me know because i swear i have majority of this story plotted out!!! ). anyways, hope yall enjoyed this!!
Chapter 2: chapter 2
Summary:
the rest of the birthday celebration + a small look into melanie's head
Chapter Text
Loud music and flashing lights made its way through the home. Melanie doesn't exactly hate it, but she feels overwhelmed. She's sitting on the couch, sitting next to two of her friends, who are engaged in their own conversations.
Melanie gives the occasional “yeah” and chuckles, but her mind is too clouded to pay attention. She sees her wife and other friends dancing with each other, drinking, eating or whatever. She smiles at the scene, though she doesn't feel the need to join in. she looks down at the ring on her finger, watching the lights make it sparkle and dim sometimes.
An uneasy feeling grows within her.
She makes the decision to go into the bathroom, flicking on the light and looking at herself in the mirror. She feels herself relax only slightly. Not enough to feel fine, but enough to go out and not worry anyone. The music could be heard even when she's in another room, making her sigh. So she steps out, feeling a few eyes on her.
“ Oh, there you are! “ She hears from afar.
A brunette walks up to her with Charli next to her, the two happy and the other woman just a bit drunk. “ Baby, Rachel says she wants you to dance with us! “ Charli exclaims.
“ Um, yeah uh, sure! “ She replies, giving a small smile. She's thankful that Charli didn't notice anything being wrong-- or she hoped.
Charli took her hand, as the three danced together, though Charli found herself being closer to Melanie. Her hips swayed as she placed her hands on her partner's waist. After their dance is finished, Charli kisses her cheek, and she removes her hands from her body.
“ We'll be singing ‘happy birthday' and cutting the cake soon, love,” Charli says, walking back to Rachel. “ Just waiting for one guest, “
“ yeah! “ Melanie says in response. She walked back to the couch she was sitting on, but her spot was occupied by another before she had a chance to sit.
“ SEE! I told you she'd be back! “ Her friend yells as her curly hair falls in front of her face.
“ My bad, Mel! “ She hears from the other woman, also laughing. Her eyes are a striking blue color as she stands up to hug Melanie.
“ It's fine, “she replies softly as she gives a small smile.
She watches the three as they laugh together. Melanie doesn't feel left out or anything-- just weirdly out of place.
“ Hey, sit next to me, “the blue-eyed girl offers.
“ No, thanks, I'm fine, Billie,” Melanie responds.
“ You sure? Odessa and Quen over here might miss you! “ Billie approaches, a playful pout forming on her face.
“ Yeah, I'm good, “she says with a small smile.
Melanie makes the decision to walk over to the kitchen, getting a glass of water. She chugs it down quickly, placing the glass in the sink.
She stares blankly at the others who joined Charli and Rachel, and as much as she would like to join in-- she doesn't. Not only that, but she doesn't know what to say. Melanie heads out of the kitchen, thinking about going into the bedroom, just for a while, until she hears a voice yell out her name.
“ Hey birthday girl! “ She hears from the kitchen. She feels their eyes on her, from her wife, from Rachel, and from the other two. From there, the uneasiness grows.
She walks back into the kitchen, seeing how happy they are to see her. “ I got you something! “ The dark-haired woman in front of her says, a small smile appears on her face. “ I know you'll probably open it later, but it was me and Rachel's idea, “
“ oh wow um, thanks,” Melanie replies. She's handed the wrapped present, which she holds tightly.
“ I'm gonna put this in my room, then I'll come back,” she says.
“ Cool, see you when you come back. We barely even spoke earlier! “ The woman says as Melanie walks off.
She quickly walks into her room, turns on the light. She squints at the brightness, realizing this was making her situation her than before, so she places it in the center of the bed for now and turns the light back off.
Melanie lets out a sigh, now sitting on the bed. She feels a few tears form but wipes them away. It was just a few more hours, and she could stay in here, and sleep.
As she leaves, she walks back over to the living room-- the center of the party, where most of her friends are. She watches from afar, grinning as she finds her way back, Charli. She feels her arm around her, finding herself more relaxed.
“ And you're back! “ The other woman says, facing Melanie.
“ Haha, yeah, “she lightly chuckles.
“ Me, Charli, and Troye here were talking about this song Charli's playing,” she says.
Melanie smiles, nodding her head. “ Oh, cool, “.
“ Hey Ayo, you think we should order this? “ Rachel asks, showing Ayo her phone.
“ Wait, let me get in on this,” she says, walking over to them.
Melanie finds herself walking back to Odessa, seeing the empty spots. She's now sitting next to her, seeing Billie and Quen talking to each other.
“ I knew you'd come back! “ Odessa says, sitting closely to Melanie.
“ Dude, I gotta tell you this story about me and my sister and how we- “
A knock at the door.
“ I'll get it! “ Charli says, quickly making her way to the door. She opens it, a large smile appears on her face.
“ Told ya' I'd make it! “ The woman in front of her says.
“ Hi Jenna! “ Charli says excitedly.
“ Where's Melanie? “ She asks as Charli closes the door behind her.
“ She should be with Odessa,” Charli replies. She points to the living room, where the two sit together and share a laugh. Jenna nods as she walks towards them.
Jenna sits beside Melanie. Odessa notices who it is quickly as her eyes widened. “ Jenna? “ She shouts. “ fuck, you're here! “
“ In the flesh! “ She shouts back with wide arms, hugging the other woman.
Melanie turns her head and gives a small wave as she smiles lightly. “ Hi, “
“ Hi, Mel,” Jenna responds. “ Can I hug you? “ She asks.
“ Yeah,” she said as Jenna gave her a quick hug.
Charli opens the fridge, lifting the cake from the top. She places it on the kitchen counter, removing it from its container. She grabs the candles and lighter from one of the drawers,” Hey Rachel, can you help me with this? “
“ Sure, what's up? “ Rachel replies, walking towards Charli.
“ Need help with placing the candles on the cake, you wanna help? “ She asks, eyeing Rachel.
“ Of course, I will,” Rachel replies, a smile forming on her face.
...
“ Mel baby, it's time! “ Charli says loudly.
Melanie stands up as all eyes are on her. Jenna and Odessa follow behind her as they walk to the kitchen. Her heart accelerates as she walks, a familiar feeling turning her stomach just slightly. She feels Charli's arm around her as she presses her lips against her cheek.
Her eyes wander to the blue two-tower cake, decorated in pink icing. Candles sat on top, with 32 brightly burning away. “ You guys ready? “ Charli asks.
Everyone in the room cheers loudly as Charli stops the music, she kisses her wife and hugs her.
Melanie keeps a smile on her face as everyone begins to sing. Charli plants kisses all over her face until the song ends. “ Make your wish, baby girl," her wife softly says.
She closes her eyes, then blows out the candles as everyone else cheers for her.
Charli starts removing the candles as she begins cutting the cake. She gives a large slice to her wife, who thanks her in return. As she takes a bite, Melanie smiles at the chocolate and vanilla flavors. “ fuck, this is so good,” she says while eating.
“ Aww, you're welcome! Had to make a great cake for my baby! “ Charli exclaims while handing out cake. She kisses Melanie again, making her giggle while eating.
“ You wanna dance with me again? “ Charli offers. “ Just you and me, “
“ of course I do. “. Melanie responds without hesitation, as she feels a hint of nostalgia at the question. She almost feels as if she’s at prom again.
After they're finished eating, Charli takes Melanie's hand to the center of the living room, and wraps her arms around her waist. She does the same as the two share a laugh, but the feeling inside Melanie remains.
Charli stares into the eyes of her wife, whose dark skin glows beautifully in the low lights of the house. Melanie hopes deep down that her wife didn’t see or notice how she truly felt underneath. “ You're so beautiful,” Charli says in a soft voice.
Melanie giggles, placing her hands on Charli's face. She ignores the noise in her head to appreciate her wife. “ I think you're beautiful, too. Thank you so much for this, “.
“ You're welcome, my love," she replies. Their heads are pressed against each other as they move while the song is playing.
Their dance ends with a deep kiss, but Charli stops to hold her closer to her. “ Happy birthday, Mel," she whispers against her.
A high-pitched ringing sound slowly starts growing in Melanie's ears, and the need to go to the bedroom grows. She hopes Charli doesn't notice as she opens her mouth. “ Hey, um Charlotte… I'm gonna go to my room to quickly grab something, “.
“ Go ahead, baby! i'll be waiting for you of course, or your probably tired and want to sleep so i understand completely, " Charli says. melanie nods, as she nearly sprints toward their room.
She closes the door behind her, feeling herself breathe in and out quickly as she climbs into bed. The loud music outside wasn't as loud from within the bedroom. She could feel herself breaking, needing to step away from everything.
Melanie feels hot tears run down her eyes as the high-pitched sound grows louder and louder. she holds her knees to her chest as she breaks out into a sob.
Her sobs turn into screams, grateful no one could hear her.
Melanie feels herself become exhausted as the sound in her ears fades away, and her breathing is somewhat normal.
She sees her phone light up, shakily grabbing it from the nightstand. She squints at the harsh brightness, unlocking it. She looks through her messages, eyeing one specific one, as a small smile forms on her face. “ See you soon, " it reads.
Melanie then shuts her phone off, and rests her head on her pillow. She inhales the cool air in the room and falls asleep.
Notes:
next chapter coming soon..
Chapter 3: chapter 3
Summary:
the day charli's world changed.
Chapter Text
Charli drives slowly into the parking lot, choosing a space near the building. She stops the car, letting out a sigh. Grabbing her phone, and decides to make a call.
It goes to voicemail, and every she sends text is left on delivered. While Charli isn't too concerned, she has the idea in her mind to go inside and check on her.
She stares at the tall office building, feeling the bright lights hit her face. She sees other people exit the building, and starts to get out of the car. Taking her phone with her, a sinking feeling grows in her stomach, but she passes it off as her being too worried.
Maybe she's sick? Charli thinks to herself.
Charli calls again, hearing her phone again go to voicemail. She feels the sinking feeling grow even more as she hears the beep. “ Hey, I'm outside waiting for you, baby,” she says, hanging up.
Charli leaves her car and enters the building, passing the different faces as they head the opposite direction of her. She walks slowly towards the elevator, looking around for her wife.
She chooses the third floor, hearing the elevator move upwards. She begins to play with the end of her shirt, as the door begins to open.
As she walks out, she walks towards the cubicles, finding the one Melanie usually sits at. Her chair's empty, seemingly as if wasn't moved, and she wasn't there to begin with and the only thing at her desk-- the backpack she often takes with her.
Charli's mouth slightly opens, feeling her heart drop. Something was off. She picks it up, unzipping it. She sees everything being untouched from earlier. Her lunch was uneaten, her chair looks as if it barely moved, and it seemed like nothing was done at her desk.
She quickly makes her way to the bathroom, hoping she'd be there, maybe. “ Mel? “ She says out loud.
“ Is everything alright? “ She asks, hoping she was in one of the stalls. But she didn't get a reply back.
Charli checks her phone again, seeing no calls from her, and her texts still on delivered. So she calls again, this time, leaving a voicemail.
“ Melanie? I'm looking for you everywhere, where are you, babe? “ Her voice shaky.
She quickly walks up to a woman as they're walking away. “ Hey, have you seen Melanie? Aitchison? “ The woman shakes her head, walking off, as Charli stops and lets out a frustrated groan.
She goes back to grab the backpack and throws it on her shoulder. She looks through the rest of the floor, checking the other cubicles and calling her name, but no luck.
She quickly walks out the building, looking around. “ Melanie? “ She shouts. “ Mel baby? “
Charli begins to walk around the building, feeling tears streaming down her face. She ignores the various eyes on her as she calls her name. She finds herself away from the office, hoping she was nearby.
She slowly makes her way to her car, opening the door and sitting in the seat. Charli places Melanie's backpack on the opposite seat as then she lays her head on the wheel, letting out a frustrated cry. Through her tears, she shakily grabs her phone, finding herself calling Rachel. She hears her phone ring loudly as she puts it on speaker.
“ Charli? “ She hears, holding in a sob.
“ I have a fucking emergency, have you seen Mel? “ Charli asks as her voice shakes.
“ Wait, what's wrong? “ Rachel asks.
“ Melanie's fucking missing, and she wasn't there when I came to pick her up,” Charli replies as she runs her fingers through her hair.
“ Where are you? Do you need me to-” she interrupted.
“ Yes, I'm going home, I looked everywhere for her at her fucking work, and she's not there,” Charli says in a low voice as she starts up her car.
“ Okay, I'll be there, " Rachel says softly.
“ Please,” she cries.
Charli hangs up her phone, letting out a sigh as she begins to drive home. She cries softly while driving on the empty roads, turning and driving forward. She eventually pulls into the driveway as she sees her friend's car parked close by. She lets out a dry chuckle at how quickly her friend made it that fast to her home.
Charli opens the door, walking inside with Rachel behind her. Closing the door behind her, she pulls her into a tight hug, feeling herself sob uncontrollably as they embrace. The pair found themselves sitting on the couch, Rachel hugging her tightly as Charli wipes her tears.
“ Fuck Charli, what happened to Melanie? “ Rachel asks her, breaking the hug.
“ I don't know! She wasn't answering my phone calls, and everywhere I looked, she wasn't there! “ Charli exclaims. “ I texted her so many fucking times, and they're all on delivered, “
“ What the fuck? “ Rachel says, feeling confused.
“ I walked into the office thinking she was sick, but she wasn't there! She wasn't in the bathroom, or somewhere outside,” Charli explains, nervously playing with her fingers.
“ Where the fuck could she be, then? “ Rachel replies. She watches Charli grab her phone again, seeing nothing from Melanie.
“ I don't know, this is unlike her,” Charli exhales.
“ Have you told anyone yet? Text the groupchat so everyone knows,” Rachel suggests. She wraps her arm around her, feeling Charli's body relax just a little.
“ Fuck, you're right,” Charli sighs, now frantically typing away at her phone.
Rachel then rests her head on Charli's shoulder, watching her. The message reads:
“ Has anyone seen Melanie? I'm very worried about her. She wasn't at work, and she's not answering my calls or texts. “
Charli hits send as she places her phone down next to her. She wipes more of her tears as she rests her head on Rachel's. The two sit for what feels like hours, as Charli stares blankly at the bedroom door.
“ I think I'll lay in bed for a bit,” Charli says. Rachel moves her head and arm as she watches her friend stand up. She follows behind her, stopping her before she could open the door.
“ Oh! Um, did you eat anything yet? “ She asks.
“ No, I'll do that later,” Charli says in a low voice, just low enough for Rachel to hear her.
“ I'll stay in here for a while, but you know I'm here, Charli,” Rachel says, looking deep into her eyes. Charli nods. Rachel sits back down, looking at Charli as she enters the room.
As she walks in, she turns on one of the lamps and looks around. She had hoped her wife somehow made it back home, wasn't. Charli sits at the front of the bed, and unbuttons the shirt she has on. She lets out a sigh, and begins to undress. She removes her shoes, and she grabs an oversized t-shirt and shorts, and starts to wear them. Charli then tosses her work clothes near the bed, deciding to deal with that later.
She walks over to her wife's side of the bed, and before she could sit, she notices something out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes widen as she notices Melanie's phone still sitting on the nightstand, and on top, what makes her gasp loudly: her wedding ring.
Charli nearly stumbles as she lets out a loud cry. She could recognize that ring anywhere- it was definitely hers, just on top of her phone. She doesn't notice Rachel running in, seeing Charli on the bed, her hand covers her mouth with tears streaming down her face.
“ What happened? “ Rachel questions, seeing the distraught look on Charli's face.
“ H-her phone is still here, a-a-and her fucking wedding ring! She fucking took it off! “ Charli stutters, as she plays with her fingers.
“ What do we d-” Charli interrupts her friend.
“ I- I don't know,”
Rachel sits close to Charli. She embraces her as she kisses the top of her head.
Notes:
apologies if i havent uploaded in a while. i wanted to post before the grammys, but I've been figuring out some plot points in this story, some of which im still unsure of. im so happy that charli won!!! she rlly got her flowers im so proud of her.
act 1 will begin soon, where everything begins to unravel. see you soon!
Chapter 4: chapter 4
Summary:
charli gets a text
Chapter Text
Hand on her cheek, Charli sits on Melanie's side of the bed. She stares at the phone, and wedding ring that was sitting on it. The vague sunlight that was beaming through the window, making the jewel on the ring shine. She watches the phone turn on momentarily, seeing whatever notifications pop up. The temptation to read through her wife's phone to see if there's a trace of her grows, yet she doesn't bring herself to do it.
She grabs her own phone, turning it on. She reads through her own messages, seeing many from her friends, and family. Charli looks down, feeling herself let out a sigh at one of the messages. One being from Melanie's mother. She hesitates before tapping the message to read it, and sees the unread messages that were there. She rarely responds to the messages and photos to her to begin with, so that was a surprise. Charli let's out a brief chuckle, before laying down, with the phone close to her face.
“ I told the investigators your number, can you send me your address? “ She reads. “ Whenever you're free, can you come over so we can talk about this? “
Charli replies to the messages, and ends with a simple” sure, “.
She puts her phone down, laying it next to her. She stares at the ceiling, looking up at the ceiling lights. Charli feels the cold air of the air conditioner that ran through the house.
She feels her eyes swell up with tears. Charli nearly forgot how many days it's been since Melanie went missing, and she wished nothing more than to have her besides her.
As she wipes her tears, Rachel walks in. “ Hey, is everything okay? “ She asks, sitting next to Charli.
“ No, I fucking miss her, her mom has cops involved, and she wants to meet up with me,“ Charli groans, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.
“ God, she wants to see you? After ignoring you all this time? She hates that you two are married and didn't want to go to you guys' wedding! “ Rachel replies with a hint of annoyance in her tone.
“ Yeah, it's a mess,” Charli sighs. She places a hand on her cheek. “ I'm just… worried about how this is all gonna be handled. The cops can easily fuck this up, and I don't even know where to start with all of this. I've been looking everywhere I could, “
“ this is all just fucked,” Rachel says.
Charli for a second eyes her wife's phone as it turns on briefly. She grabbed the ring on top of it, placing it on the nightstand. She sees the notification pop up from a spam message and watches it shut off again. Charli places a finger on the side, tempted to go through it to see if she could find anything, but decides against it.
She feels Rachel's eyes on her as she places the phone, and the ring, to where they were moments ago. “ Have you looked through it? “ She asks, sitting slightly closer to Charli.
“ No, " Charli responds, her voice low.
“ Why not? And what about her journals? I don't think she'd mind, especially if it means finding some answer to finding her,” Rachel adds. “ And did her boss ever text you back? “
“ Scott? “ Charli responds and Rachel nods.
“ Oh yeah, him! “
“ No, I can't bring myself to just go through her stuff like that,” Charli's voice trails off.
“ But I think you should. She may be angry at you for doing that, I don't think we should worry about that now,” Rachel replies.
Charli then eyes the phone more, and looks down towards the shelves where her journals sat. She exhales, feeling bad for just the thought of going through her things. She hates the idea of invading her wife's privacy, but the current circumstances called for her to do something. Something that'll help her get closer to finding Melanie again.
The hours pass, the sun begins to set, and Charli and Rachel decide to make dinner. Charli agreed to cooking something, rather than eating very little like she has the past few days. They both agree on something simple. The two face opposite of each other as they eat silently.
“ Fuck, this is good,” Rachel says in between bites. “ God, you've always been good at cooking, “
“ well, thank you,” Charli says, her cheeks now having a hint of red to them. Playing with the fork in her hands, a small smile growing on her face. She then grabs a napkin and wipes her mouth.
Charli takes a slight look at her friend, then back to her plate. She zones out, feeling the moment to be familiar to her, remembering how her and Melanie would invite friends over for dinner, and other memories come to mind in her head. Just this time- it's without her, and it doesn't feel the same to her.
“ So,” Rachel interrupts, making Charli jump slightly at her voice. She stands up to take her plate to the sink as she looks back at Charli with a smile. “ Need any help with dishes? “
“ That'd be great, actually,” Charli says with a small smile at Rachel's question. The two begin to clean as Charli cleans the table. It doesn't take long to finish, as Rachel decides to go home for the night, promising her she'll be back tomorrow.
She yawns as she enters the bedroom, grabbing her phone on her nightstand that she placed there before dinner.
Her heart jumps at one of the texts, seeing it was from Melanie’s boss: Scott.
Charli had called him weeks ago, the day after Melanie went missing. She just knew that he'll ‘ try his hardest to find anything he could ', and he left it at that.
She quickly gets to the full message, reading it.
“ Come to my office 8 a.m. tomorrow, I think I have something important you should see,” Charli reads.
Her hands shake as she feels tears run down her face. She feels a tiny bit of hope rise in her, as she rubs her eyes. She puts her phone besides her, as she feels herself cry before she falls asleep.
Notes:
sorry if this feels...not good..sm irl stuff happened and this chapter may not be 100% what i had in mind but, ill add and edit some stuff later. ALSO critiques very much welcome!!!!
so happy charli got so many brits aaaaaa so proud of her!!!
Chapter 5: chapter 5
Summary:
a decision is made and charli does some research.
Chapter Text
As she walks into the building, Charli adjusts the coat she has on. It was still dark outside, but the sky was slowly changing from its almost pitch black color, to now having a hint of blue. The sounds of her converses walking through filled the empty office space as she headed to her destination. She walks towards the elevator doors, making sure she heads up when she goes in. this time, she chooses the fifth floor, knowing where her wife's boss was. As the door opens, she walks out. She walks left, heading towards an office door.
The door had an almost see-through glass, but it was obscured by a shutter. A light was on, meaning he was there. Charli lets out a soft sigh as she hears quiet footsteps. The door opens, as she sees the taller man in front of her. He’s wearing a bright yellow button-up shirt, accompanied by a tie, black pants and shoes. His hair is short, curly, and brown as he sports a mustache and short beard. “ Charli? Nice to see you,” He says as he welcomes her in.
“ Nice to see you… Too, Scott,“ Charli spoke quietly, but enough for him to hear.
Charli closes the door behind her as she steps in the office. She looks around the office, feeling surprised, seeing how spacious it is. The warm beige colors of the walls felt nearly blinding as the bright lights made the room seem like it was glowing. It was almost silent except for the quiet hum of the air conditioner, and Scott's loud typing against the buttons on his keyboard. She adjusts the small coat she has on, not exactly feeling cold, but rather fear creeping in the back of her mind at he possibly knows.
“ So I want to show you something,“ He says, now gesturing her towards his desktop. “ I got footage from our security camera, and it’s from the exact day Melanie disappeared, “.
A look of horror appears on her face, feeling afraid for what she might see. Charli nods, and she looks at the screen. Her heartbeat is fast, and her breathing is tense. He clicks play as the footage begins to play out.
She sees two blurry figures walking together, quickly. Charli instantly recognizes one as Melanie, making out some of her facial features, and the clothes she had that on that day. Next to her was someone she didn’t know, but they were walking together. The other figure was pale, with long hair. She watches as she sees Melanie place her backpack in the chair as the two walk out. The footage then cuts to the same pair outside, walking to a car. Charli feels her heart pounding loudly against her chest. The footage stops. Her mouth opened slightly, feeling tears swell up.
“ Scott? W-who was that next to Melanie? “ Charli asks. She swallows as she awaits an answer.
“ Her name is Calypso. Calypso Everett to be exact,“ Scott said. “ She’s another person who went missing that worked here. Didn’t know she was with Melanie either, I’d assume you knew her too? “
“ No,“ Charli replies. “ I don’t even know who that is,“ Her voice raspy, and still trying to comprehend it all.
“ Well, I would see her and Melanie talk quite a bit,“ Scott says, adjusting his tie. “ They seem to be friends to me, “.
“ I never heard about this, “ Charli mumbles. She brushes hair from her face with her hands, eyes still on the computer in front of her. “ What the hell is even happening? “ She asks, trying her make sense of the current situation.
“ Haven’t you heard about people going missing in town? I’ve heard whispers about it all being connected,“ Scott says, turning towards Charli now. Her eyes widen, now thinking about all the missing posters she’s seen. She remembers all the missing posters Melanie’s family made of her the day she went missing, now the image is seared into her mind.
Charli feels confused at his words. She’s never seen that other woman before in her life, and now she’s learning that her wife and some woman she’s never seen are now missing. If anything, she had more questions in her mind that continued to grow, but now, something was clear to her.
She had to look into this further, and find Melanie.
“ Hey Scott, can you send me that video? “ Charli asks. She needed to dig into this, and she wants to do it immediately when she gets home.
“ Yeah sure! “ He exclaims. He then opens his email, now typing away at his computer.
“ Thank you,“ Charli replies, a small smile on her face, now with a clear goal in mind.
…
Walking out of the office, more people begin to fill in. The sun was up and shining compared to when she As Charli gets in her car, she sits for a while, looking through her phone. She sees various texts from friends, family, and the email Scott sent her. She’s almost surprised at how quick he sent it, which makes her chuckle quietly. Charli then sets down her phone, and starts her car up, now making her way home.
Once she’s back home, she grabs her phone and keys and opens the door. She sighs as she sees the familiar living room, feeling empty without her wife being there. She heads towards the bedroom, changing her clothes into something more relaxed and casual. Charli sits on the bed, grabbing her laptop from her nightstand, and turns it on. The bright screen makes her squint for a few seconds, making her slowly adjust to the light.
Her mind first goes to the people missing in town. She remembers hearing about people going missing, but never connected any of it together. Charli sees various news articles, some from last year, showing different faces. Her mind then run through the possibilities of what potentially happened to Melanie, which worries her again. But this time, there’s a new thought circling around her mind. She wonders about what she should do, and what she can do, rather than not doing.
Charli stops for a moment to recollect herself, and grabs her phone.
Her mind is now set: She needed to find Melanie, and she needed to find her fast. She begins by sending a text to their friends through their group chat.
“ Come to my house tonight. We all need to talk about this,“ It reads. Then, she hits send.
Notes:
sorry for the lack of updates. a lot of stuff has been happening in life, and i lost motivation to write. as i post this, there's still stuff happening, and idk how consistent updates will be, but i'll try to have it updated when i can.
i've been re-editing this fic, decided that lowercase only doesn't really fit with what i want for this. i also went back and added a few details and corrected a lot of the spelling and some grammatical errors. the overall tone of this story is different from what it was originally, but many plot details remain the same.
i do have an idea of how many chapters this will be, and it'll likely finish out around 15-20 chapters. i don't want this to be too long, but there's another fic in mind i want to start before this one finishes out.
i want to write another story about charli and melanie, a fic where they're both famous and still happily married lol, but not as plot heavy as this one lol. i've been thinking about this for a few months now, and i have SO MANY ideas for that fic lol. i already started writing chapters for it, and i have a title in mind. i just love what i have in mind for charli and melanie so im excited for that!!!
ALSO im so proud of charli, im excited for her film era!! specifically excited for erupcja hahaha
anyways i hope yall like this chapter!! see you soon!
bookssunshines on Chapter 4 Fri 06 Jun 2025 11:14AM UTC
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CatCollective on Chapter 4 Wed 11 Jun 2025 11:03AM UTC
Last Edited Sun 15 Jun 2025 05:03AM UTC
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