(Untitled)

[teenagerenegade]

Routine is important; Charlie Bartlett's known that since he was just a kid. At home with his Mom, they keep really tightly to a routine because it keeps her calm, keeps her quiet. They understand each other better that way. Organised and neat isn't really Charlie's default setting. It's something he has to work hard on. Being in the Psych

Comments

[sluttylyingliar]

It's probably fucked up that Rachel gets counseling from her barely grown friend, but fucked up tends to work for her. "Hey," she huffs, fidgeting with her maternity corset as she sits. "I need you to tell me I'm being hysterical."

[teenagerenegade]

"Fine - you're being hysterical." He shifts his weight, sole of his boot scuffling against the wooden cubicle wall. "What've you done now?"

[sluttylyingliar]

"Okay, this time it's more alternate version me," she says with a sigh. "I got married back home. To a murderer. A seriously, seriously bad guy. And the only reason has got to be either drugs or money to get them and I'm just so...fucking disappointed and embarrassed."

[teenagerenegade]

"Okay," says Charlie, straightening up slightly, head tipped back against the cubicle wall. "But...that wasn't you, right? Yeah, it's you...it's future you, but you if you didn't come here, didn't meet Raylan, all of that. You're different, Rach. You're changed by being here."

[not_for_ages]

There is a lot that is very strange about the last few days, but apparently there's always room for a bit more oddness, as Freddie's just walked into the loo to try and adjust his bloody annoying trousers and found Charlie sitting there as if he's expected him. Freddie glances over his shoulder to ensure the greeting hasn't been directed to someone else and then then slowly looks back to the boy perched pluckily in his stall. It's as if he's the world's cheeriest bathroom pervert.

"Hi?" Freddie offers, clearly a bit confused.

[teenagerenegade]

"Oh, hey, Freddie," says Charlie, with a broad grin. He swivels, both boots hitting the floor and pushes up from his perch. "This is...sort of... impromptu office hours? Did it back home and some people find it easier to talk outside the office."

He clears his throat.

"I'm...totally aware how it looks."

[not_for_ages]

"Are you a psychologist?" Freddie asks, and even now just the word is enough to make his stomach lurch a bit to the left. Rationally, he can recognise that it isn't a fair reaction, not when there are presumably loads of mental health professionals in the world who legitimately help people. That Charlie's turned out to be one throws him, though, whether Freddie likes it or not.

[teenagerenegade]

"I wrote my thesis here," says Charlie, shifting his position slightly and tilting his head as he looks up at Freddie. "Mostly, I see kids. I've got a couple of regular patients but I don't do an awful lot." His eyebrows draw together. "Why?"

[teenagerenegade]

"Therapy," says Charlie, glancing up from his copy of the play. He tilts his head and looks at her for a long moment, taking in all the brass and buckles. "That is a fucking great dress, Helena."

[teenagerenegade]

Grinning, he straightens the edge of his waistcoat and tips her a wink. He shrugs.

"I don't know, you know? People need to talk. They need to know that someone's listening."

[sugarandbite]

Caroline's pretty certain that she's seen this sort of thing before in the movies. Actually Caroline's pretty sure that most of what she stumbles across lately in the movies or on teevee or even read it once. It's fine. It's par for the island course. Even this insane skirt that was starting to make her regret that she had wished to live in the days of Gone with the Wind.

With a swish and some mild muttering under her breath, Caroline adjusted her clothes in the confined space before sitting dramatically down. "Hey," she said in answer. It seemed like the best place to start. "Do this often?"

[teenagerenegade]

"Not as often as I ought to," says Charlie with a little smile as he loses his notebook and shifts his position on the toilet seat. "What do you want to talk about?"

[sugarandbite]

"Um..." Caroline trailed off not entirely certain where she wanted to start. Part of her was tempted to just jump in somewhere in the middle, complete with full on ramble mode and see how quick he caught up. It would have been a little mean and she would have totally lost her train of thought but that didn't make the idea any less appealing.

Pressing her lips together for a moment, she fidgeted slightly. "I don't know, everything. Like how strange this change is or if I should just suck it up and be happy cause it could be worse. It could be so much worse. How I like this guy but it feels like cheating cause I was seeing someone at home. I don't know, I'd even give talking about the weather a try."

[teenagerenegade]

He gets himself comfortable while he listens, soles of his boots flat against the wall of the cubicle.

"So you're pretty new, huh?" he says, head tilted on one side. "It's a tight learning curve."