Fic: All the While it Was You - Part Three (Charlie/Claire)
Title: All the While it Was You - Part Three
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Ever since he had found out about Libby’s friendship with Shannon, Charlie had wanted to ask question after question. What did she like? What were her favorite bands, movies, books? Did she remember him? But there was something stopping him. Maybe he too afraid to know the answers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lost. At all. I wish but alas...
Author's Note: This is AU based on Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg. Claire is a barista at a coffee shop and Charlie is a musician who plays there. This is a Charlie/Claire story, but it's gonna take a bit to get there, so bear with me. There are also some other pairings sprinkled through here as well.
Previous Parts: Part One | Part Two
Three simple words had him panicking.
“Shannon’s coming too.”
Shannon was going to Claire’s party. Suddenly his hair was all wrong, what he was wearing wasn’t nearly impressive enough, why did all his clothes have to be so stained, with so many holes? Nothing he owned is right. Nothing was going to make him anyone other than that annoying guy covered in coffee. He sighed.
“Dude, if you don’t come out in the next ten seconds, we’re leaving and you’re gonna have to walk!”
His head hung violently. This was gonna have to do. A pair of jeans and an old Beatles t-shirt was fine, right? He didn’t need to dress any nicer than that? It was a regular old party, not, like, a dinner party where he would be so massively underdressed it was all he would think about the whole time, right?
“Charlie! Seriously! On our way out the door!”
“Hurley, stop!”
Good old Libby. He could always count on her. She would never leave without Charlie, and Hurley would never leave without her. Despite the fact that he knew he could stall for a bit longer, he decided not to push his luck.
“Okay, honestly, how do I look?” Charlie asked as he walked out the door.
“Did you seriously just ask that question?” Hurley raised an eyebrow and looked at him like he couldn’t believe him. Charlie rolled his eyes and looked to Libby, who smiled kindly.
“You look great, Charlie,” she replied. Ever since he had found out about Libby’s friendship with Shannon, Charlie had wanted to ask question after question. What did she like? What were her favorite bands, movies, books? Did she remember him? But there was something stopping him. Maybe he too afraid to know the answers.
Hurley sighed and shook his head. “You look fine, dude, can we go now?” Libby hit Hurley on the arm, but Charlie supposed he had a point.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Charlie said, grabbing his wallet and keys off of the table, and following Hurley and Libby out the door.
He drummed his fingers on the window nervously as he stared out the window into the evening. He ordered himself to stop being so nervous, but he wasn’t listening to himself. So he just kept tapping on the window until Hurley told him to knock it off.
“You’re worrying for nothing, dude,” he assured. “You’ll do fine. All you’ve gotta do is be yourself. If something happens, it happens, and you’ll go from there.” Easy for him to say. “That’s how I got her.”
Libby chuckled and rolled her eyes. She turned to him and said, “He’s right, Charlie. You’re a great guy. And if Shannon doesn’t like you, well, that’s her loss.”
He honestly couldn’t help himself. He needed to ask. He needed to know what he was getting himself into. “Libby…what is Shannon like?”
She took a long pause. Charlie couldn’t place the look her eye, but it seemed to him like she was trying to come up with an answer. She eventually shrugged and smiled. “Why don’t you ask her and find out?” she suggested. It was such a Libby answer. Strange but somehow reassuring.
“We’re here, dudes,” Hurley said, pulling to a stop in front of an apartment complex. There were quite a few cars on the street and a bright light shining from the window of a room upstairs. Charlie took a deep breath and climbed out of the back seat of the car.
Libby wrapped an arm around his shoulder as they waked up the stairs. “You’ll be fine,” she told him.
Charlie smiled anxiously. “At least one of us thinks so.”
He was so distracted by the butterflies trying to murder each other in his stomach that he didn’t even notice Hurley had knocked on the door until he heard Claire’s unmistakable, enthusiastic voice shouting, “Oh my god, you came! That’s fantastic! Come in!”
She hugged Hurley, then Libby, then Charlie, who, for whatever reason, was surprised. He gave her a brief hug in return and she smiled brightly at him. The apartment, he noticed, was a bit crowded. Not so much that people couldn’t move around, but not so little that it was awkward.
“Let me introduce you to my brother,” Claire said, grabbing Charlie’s hand and pulling him through a small cluster of people. “Jack!” Charlie turned around to look at Hurley and Libby, who only smiled.
“I like her,” Libby whispered.
“Of course you do,” Hurley quietly replied. “She’s could be your peppy little sister.”
By that time they had all come to rest behind a man and a woman holding hands, their backs to them. Claire tapped the guy’s shoulder and he turned. “Jack,” she said. “This is Charlie, Hurley, and Libby. Charlie sings at my work, and Hurley and Libby are his friends. This is my brother Jack.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jack looked like he would have shook Charlie’s hand if he didn’t have a Dixie cup full of beer in his hand, and Charlie would have shook back if Claire wasn’t still holding onto his.
“And this is Kate, Jack’s girlfriend,” Claire supplied. Kate smiled and waved, also with a cup of beer in her hand. She was pretty, brunette, about his height. Jack was significantly taller than them both and pretty much the kind of good looking guy Charlie had always secretly resented. The kind he was sure Shannon went for. But Jack appeared to be pretty into Kate, so he seemed safe.
“So you’re a musician? That must be fun,” Jack said.
Charlie had to think. Was he really a musician? Or was he just a guy who got mediocre pay for singing songs in a coffee shop? “In theory, I guess,” he answered. “I’m sort of…still trying to find my own voice. My brother and I had a band but it didn’t work out, so…” He was vaguely aware he was babbling so he just shut his mouth. God, why did he let every stupid thought he had just come out of his mouth?
“He’s being modest,” Claire said. Charlie looked at her sideways.
“He totally is,” Hurley agreed. Charlie turned on him, and saw Libby was nodding. He was suddenly horribly embarrassed.
“We’ll have to see you play sometime then,” Kate said, smiling. Jack nodded and Charlie’s mortification only intensified. It had been nerve-wracking enough knowing Claire was going to be coming in on her day off to see him. Having her family taking time out of their lives when they’d only just met him was a little too much. Okay, a lot too much.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Charlie assured.
Hurley reached out and shoved him and he turned back to glare. “He plays on Thursday next week. Stop by, we’ll save you space at our table,” he told them. If there hadn’t been people around, Charlie would have kicked him.
“We’ll be there,” Jack replied, nodding. Hurley smiled triumphantly as Charlie wondered exactly how red his face was at the moment. The second Jack, Kate, and Claire were distracted, Charlie turned on Hurley and Libby and shoved them aside.
“What did you do that for?” he hissed. “I barely know these people and you’re inviting them to see me play? Are you trying to mortify me?”
Hurley rolled his eyes and pulled Charlie away until they were in a mostly deserted corner of the living room. “First of all, dude, you’re full of crap,” he said, lowering his voice. “You play for strangers all the time. This isn’t about Claire or Jack or Kate. This is about the fact that your stupid, moron brother told you you were a loser and you freaking believe him! You’re a damn good song writer, and you can sing. And you’re not a loser. You gotta get that jerk out of your head and start thinking you’re worth something. ‘Cause you are. I think so.” He pointed to his girlfriend. “Libby thinks so. So does Claire. And Jack and Kate think so too, and you just met them.”
Hurley sighed, shook his head, and lightly punched Charlie on the shoulder. “Wake up, dude,” he said.
For the first time in a very long time, he had no idea what to say. He didn’t even know what to say to himself. In his head, there was nothing but silence.
“You want a beer, babe?” Hurley asked. Libby nodded, and then Hurley was gone through the crowd while Charlie waded in the middle of his words, still reeling and letting it all soak in.
“He’s right you know,” Libby said. Yeah. Yeah, he did know. “It’s not just the music. It’s everything. It’s Shannon.” She sighed and reached out, holding his hand reassuringly. “If you want her, Charlie, go talk to her. Stop holding back because you think you don’t deserve her or whatever. You could have anything you wanted, because you’re a good guy. But you’ve gotta believe that. And you’ve gotta try.”
“Here dude,” Hurley said, handing Charlie a cup, then Libby, then taking a drink of his. “Just…think about it, and try to have some fun.” He knocked Charlie on the shoulder one last time before taking Libby’s hand and returning to the rest of the party.
Charlie leaned heavily against the wall and looked out into the crowd. In a moment straight out of the movies, a few people parted and he could see Shannon through the crowd, her perfect blonde hair tossing in the middle of a laugh. She looked so amazing, so perfectly light up by the table lamp behind her. She almost glowed.
Hurley and Libby’s words floated through his head. Were they right? Could he really do it? Could he talk to her after all this time in the shadows, content to look at her from afar? Did he have it in him all the while?
He set his beer on a table, took a deep breath, looked at her through the crowd, and then ducked into the first open room and closed the door behind him.
Part Four
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Ever since he had found out about Libby’s friendship with Shannon, Charlie had wanted to ask question after question. What did she like? What were her favorite bands, movies, books? Did she remember him? But there was something stopping him. Maybe he too afraid to know the answers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lost. At all. I wish but alas...
Author's Note: This is AU based on Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg. Claire is a barista at a coffee shop and Charlie is a musician who plays there. This is a Charlie/Claire story, but it's gonna take a bit to get there, so bear with me. There are also some other pairings sprinkled through here as well.
Previous Parts: Part One | Part Two
Three simple words had him panicking.
“Shannon’s coming too.”
Shannon was going to Claire’s party. Suddenly his hair was all wrong, what he was wearing wasn’t nearly impressive enough, why did all his clothes have to be so stained, with so many holes? Nothing he owned is right. Nothing was going to make him anyone other than that annoying guy covered in coffee. He sighed.
“Dude, if you don’t come out in the next ten seconds, we’re leaving and you’re gonna have to walk!”
His head hung violently. This was gonna have to do. A pair of jeans and an old Beatles t-shirt was fine, right? He didn’t need to dress any nicer than that? It was a regular old party, not, like, a dinner party where he would be so massively underdressed it was all he would think about the whole time, right?
“Charlie! Seriously! On our way out the door!”
“Hurley, stop!”
Good old Libby. He could always count on her. She would never leave without Charlie, and Hurley would never leave without her. Despite the fact that he knew he could stall for a bit longer, he decided not to push his luck.
“Okay, honestly, how do I look?” Charlie asked as he walked out the door.
“Did you seriously just ask that question?” Hurley raised an eyebrow and looked at him like he couldn’t believe him. Charlie rolled his eyes and looked to Libby, who smiled kindly.
“You look great, Charlie,” she replied. Ever since he had found out about Libby’s friendship with Shannon, Charlie had wanted to ask question after question. What did she like? What were her favorite bands, movies, books? Did she remember him? But there was something stopping him. Maybe he too afraid to know the answers.
Hurley sighed and shook his head. “You look fine, dude, can we go now?” Libby hit Hurley on the arm, but Charlie supposed he had a point.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Charlie said, grabbing his wallet and keys off of the table, and following Hurley and Libby out the door.
He drummed his fingers on the window nervously as he stared out the window into the evening. He ordered himself to stop being so nervous, but he wasn’t listening to himself. So he just kept tapping on the window until Hurley told him to knock it off.
“You’re worrying for nothing, dude,” he assured. “You’ll do fine. All you’ve gotta do is be yourself. If something happens, it happens, and you’ll go from there.” Easy for him to say. “That’s how I got her.”
Libby chuckled and rolled her eyes. She turned to him and said, “He’s right, Charlie. You’re a great guy. And if Shannon doesn’t like you, well, that’s her loss.”
He honestly couldn’t help himself. He needed to ask. He needed to know what he was getting himself into. “Libby…what is Shannon like?”
She took a long pause. Charlie couldn’t place the look her eye, but it seemed to him like she was trying to come up with an answer. She eventually shrugged and smiled. “Why don’t you ask her and find out?” she suggested. It was such a Libby answer. Strange but somehow reassuring.
“We’re here, dudes,” Hurley said, pulling to a stop in front of an apartment complex. There were quite a few cars on the street and a bright light shining from the window of a room upstairs. Charlie took a deep breath and climbed out of the back seat of the car.
Libby wrapped an arm around his shoulder as they waked up the stairs. “You’ll be fine,” she told him.
Charlie smiled anxiously. “At least one of us thinks so.”
He was so distracted by the butterflies trying to murder each other in his stomach that he didn’t even notice Hurley had knocked on the door until he heard Claire’s unmistakable, enthusiastic voice shouting, “Oh my god, you came! That’s fantastic! Come in!”
She hugged Hurley, then Libby, then Charlie, who, for whatever reason, was surprised. He gave her a brief hug in return and she smiled brightly at him. The apartment, he noticed, was a bit crowded. Not so much that people couldn’t move around, but not so little that it was awkward.
“Let me introduce you to my brother,” Claire said, grabbing Charlie’s hand and pulling him through a small cluster of people. “Jack!” Charlie turned around to look at Hurley and Libby, who only smiled.
“I like her,” Libby whispered.
“Of course you do,” Hurley quietly replied. “She’s could be your peppy little sister.”
By that time they had all come to rest behind a man and a woman holding hands, their backs to them. Claire tapped the guy’s shoulder and he turned. “Jack,” she said. “This is Charlie, Hurley, and Libby. Charlie sings at my work, and Hurley and Libby are his friends. This is my brother Jack.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jack looked like he would have shook Charlie’s hand if he didn’t have a Dixie cup full of beer in his hand, and Charlie would have shook back if Claire wasn’t still holding onto his.
“And this is Kate, Jack’s girlfriend,” Claire supplied. Kate smiled and waved, also with a cup of beer in her hand. She was pretty, brunette, about his height. Jack was significantly taller than them both and pretty much the kind of good looking guy Charlie had always secretly resented. The kind he was sure Shannon went for. But Jack appeared to be pretty into Kate, so he seemed safe.
“So you’re a musician? That must be fun,” Jack said.
Charlie had to think. Was he really a musician? Or was he just a guy who got mediocre pay for singing songs in a coffee shop? “In theory, I guess,” he answered. “I’m sort of…still trying to find my own voice. My brother and I had a band but it didn’t work out, so…” He was vaguely aware he was babbling so he just shut his mouth. God, why did he let every stupid thought he had just come out of his mouth?
“He’s being modest,” Claire said. Charlie looked at her sideways.
“He totally is,” Hurley agreed. Charlie turned on him, and saw Libby was nodding. He was suddenly horribly embarrassed.
“We’ll have to see you play sometime then,” Kate said, smiling. Jack nodded and Charlie’s mortification only intensified. It had been nerve-wracking enough knowing Claire was going to be coming in on her day off to see him. Having her family taking time out of their lives when they’d only just met him was a little too much. Okay, a lot too much.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Charlie assured.
Hurley reached out and shoved him and he turned back to glare. “He plays on Thursday next week. Stop by, we’ll save you space at our table,” he told them. If there hadn’t been people around, Charlie would have kicked him.
“We’ll be there,” Jack replied, nodding. Hurley smiled triumphantly as Charlie wondered exactly how red his face was at the moment. The second Jack, Kate, and Claire were distracted, Charlie turned on Hurley and Libby and shoved them aside.
“What did you do that for?” he hissed. “I barely know these people and you’re inviting them to see me play? Are you trying to mortify me?”
Hurley rolled his eyes and pulled Charlie away until they were in a mostly deserted corner of the living room. “First of all, dude, you’re full of crap,” he said, lowering his voice. “You play for strangers all the time. This isn’t about Claire or Jack or Kate. This is about the fact that your stupid, moron brother told you you were a loser and you freaking believe him! You’re a damn good song writer, and you can sing. And you’re not a loser. You gotta get that jerk out of your head and start thinking you’re worth something. ‘Cause you are. I think so.” He pointed to his girlfriend. “Libby thinks so. So does Claire. And Jack and Kate think so too, and you just met them.”
Hurley sighed, shook his head, and lightly punched Charlie on the shoulder. “Wake up, dude,” he said.
For the first time in a very long time, he had no idea what to say. He didn’t even know what to say to himself. In his head, there was nothing but silence.
“You want a beer, babe?” Hurley asked. Libby nodded, and then Hurley was gone through the crowd while Charlie waded in the middle of his words, still reeling and letting it all soak in.
“He’s right you know,” Libby said. Yeah. Yeah, he did know. “It’s not just the music. It’s everything. It’s Shannon.” She sighed and reached out, holding his hand reassuringly. “If you want her, Charlie, go talk to her. Stop holding back because you think you don’t deserve her or whatever. You could have anything you wanted, because you’re a good guy. But you’ve gotta believe that. And you’ve gotta try.”
“Here dude,” Hurley said, handing Charlie a cup, then Libby, then taking a drink of his. “Just…think about it, and try to have some fun.” He knocked Charlie on the shoulder one last time before taking Libby’s hand and returning to the rest of the party.
Charlie leaned heavily against the wall and looked out into the crowd. In a moment straight out of the movies, a few people parted and he could see Shannon through the crowd, her perfect blonde hair tossing in the middle of a laugh. She looked so amazing, so perfectly light up by the table lamp behind her. She almost glowed.
Hurley and Libby’s words floated through his head. Were they right? Could he really do it? Could he talk to her after all this time in the shadows, content to look at her from afar? Did he have it in him all the while?
He set his beer on a table, took a deep breath, looked at her through the crowd, and then ducked into the first open room and closed the door behind him.
Part Four