The Other Side of Me – Part 28
by Lily Rasputin

As much as I might have preferred to sit on a bench and tongue wrestle with Mike all morning, both of us had classes and responsibilities that we couldn’t completely ignore. So, after another ten minutes of really wonderful public displays of affection, I peeled my face away from his and sighed.

“Guess we should take a break for now, huh?” He asked, sounding about as disappointed as I felt.

I nodded. “Probably. I have to meet with Shelly and talk about some stuff. But I could meet you for lunch if you wanted.”

His smile turned into an apologetic frown. “I’m meeting my dad for lunch today. It’s a Monday thing.” His fingers played across the back of my hand. “I can be back by around two, if you want to get an afternoon snack.”

I arched a brow and smirked. “Is that an innuendo?”

His face flushed and he let out a little laugh. “Not originally. But it could be, if you wanted.”

Now it was my turn to frown. “Unfortunately, I have cheer practice this afternoon. I won’t be done until around four.”

He seemed to ponder this for a moment, then shot me a hopeful look. “After practice? I’m sure all that jumping and flipping will make you work up a bit of an appetite. It could maybe an early dinner thing? I don’t mind waiting for you if you don’t mind me watching you practice.”

I laughed. “It’s not going to be like it is at games, Mike. We don’t practice in our uniforms.”

At least, that had been my experience so far.

“It’s not the uniform that tickles my fancy, Charlie. It’s you.” He punctuated the statement with another of those kisses that completely stripped my breath away.

Once we had said our momentary goodbyes, which included a couple more kisses, I strolled to the Quad feeling slightly better about the day. Granted, I’d woken up as a prisoner in Jackson’s lab, discovered that Charlene apparently didn’t actually hate Katie, despite what I believed, and nearly had my hand yanked off by Danny Morris.

Now, though, I hoped the worst was behind me. A sentiment that had a slight bout of backsliding as a real asshole of a cramp stabbed me at an agonizing pace … with a bastard sword.

I bought a large mocha with extra whipped from the student café and plopped my ass into a chair to wait for my friend to arrive. As I sipped the warm, chocolatey-flavored java, I turned my thoughts back to the birthday card.

It was Katie’s, given to her by Charlene. But why was it hidden in Charlene’s underwear drawer? Her keeping a card given to her would make more sense.

Just as I began to deduce that I needed more information if I intended to solve the mystery, an extremely familiar voice called out from just behind me.

“Hey, Charlie.”

I flinched as I turned to see Samantha heading toward me. In a second, vivid memories of the previous evening flooded my brain. Followed by a wave of guilt at the fact that less than twelve hours after having sex with my Sam, I’d been like a total smitten kitten under Mike’s kisses. Charlene might not have given a damn, but I suddenly felt like a common slut.

“Uh, hey Sam. What’s up?”

She stopped next to the table, hitching her bag up onto her shoulder as she shrugged. “Not much. Missed you in class.” She let out a little laugh. “Not that you missed anything remotely groundbreaking.”

I blinked. It would seem that I had Chemistry with Samantha in this universe as well.

“Got off to a bit of a crazy start this morning. By the time I got to campus, I already knew I wasn’t going to make it in time.” I flashed a strained smile. “Get your notes later?”

Her copper-tressed head bounced up and down as she flashed me a smile that I recognized as one of her flirtier ones. The guilt ball reformed. “Always,” she said.

Motion out of the corner of my eye made me glance over to see Shelly walking toward us. She gave me a smile and a wave, then gave Samantha a not-impolite nod. Courteous, but not exactly overflowing with friendliness.

“Hey, Michelle,” Sam said, her voice equally as neutral as Shelly’s head gesture.

Shelly looked at me for a moment, then sat down at the table. “Hey, Sam.”

As for me, I just looked back and forth between the two ladies. There didn’t seem to be anything resembling open hostilities between them. However, there was definitely a level of coolness. There was an issue there that Charlene might have been privy to. I, though, was completely clueless.

After a couple of seconds, Samantha smiled down at me. “Okay. Well, uh, guess I’ll catch you later, Charlie.” She started walking backward. “Hit me up if you want to swing by and get my notes.” She gave me a little wave and strolled away without looking back, vanishing around the corner in the direction of the cafeteria.

I turned back to Shelly. “What was that all about?”

She frowned. “You might want to be careful about being seen hanging around with Samantha, Charlie. Especially if you’re going to continue to pursue sisterhood with the Kappas.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

For a second, Shelly shot me a confused expression, then shook her head and laughed. “Sorry. After dealing with Charlene for hours yesterday, I sort of forgot that you don’t have her memories.” She gestured in the direction Samantha had departed. “Rachel really hates her. If she knows you two are friends, she might make you choose between Sam and being a Kappa.”

I held up one finger. “Are you serious? Why doesn’t Rachel like her? Besides the fact that she’s a stuck-up, entitled mega-bitch who thinks she’s the greatest thing to ever grace this school while Samantha’s a soccer nerd who thinks Chemistry is both fascinating and frustrating. Not sure what the connection is.”

Shelly shrugged. “No one knows for sure. There are rumors, really hush-hush rumors, that at the first kegger of the year, Rachel was really drunk at a party at Alpha House and started to majorly flirt with Samantha. Someone said that they went into an empty bedroom for some sexy shenanigans. Rachel, of course, denies it vehemently. She claims that it was Sam was the one coming onto her and was shot down.”

“What does Sam say?”

Shelly laughed. “She says that whatever took place was between the two of them and she’s not up for discussing it. However, Rachel’s worried that if she’s seen as the kind of person to have a drunken make-out session with another girl, it will ruin her reputation and status.”

“So, she’s a homophobe?”

“Not exactly. Like, there are Kappas who are gay. And some,” she gestured at me, “who are bi. Rachel doesn’t seem to give a damn about the orientation of others. It’s her own that she’s guarding like a dragon over treasure.”

“Sounds like Rachel’s got a few issues she needs to deal with.”

“Probably more than a few.” She reached over and grabbed my mocha, taking a sip before handing it back. “So, how was the trip back home? You were there for a while this time.”

I nodded and told her about swapping in during the middle of my mom grilling Charlene on not being me. How I explained what had happened and was continuing to happen.

“No wonder she was all freaked out at first,” Shelly said with a grin. “She actually looked relieved to see the three of us. At least, until we started in on her. I guess now your mom will know that if you’re acting like a bitch, it’s not really you, huh?”

I shrugged. “I just hope her knowing the truth will lead to her trying to help Charlene. Maybe get her to deal with some of the shit that’s making her act out.”

Shelly nodded. “Let’s hope. However, I’m not sure anything can change the way she is. She’s been like that as long as I’ve known her. It wasn’t until Jackson’s experiment that I realized just how bad it had gotten.” She flashed me a smile. “Well, did you have a good time hanging out with your other family?”

I started to tell her about the fact that in my universe, Samantha and I were more than just friends. Given her detachment to the redhead, I decided to keep that bit of over-there information to myself.

“I did. It was nice to tell my mom the truth and get her input.” I frowned. “Honestly, Shelly? I’ve missed her quite a bit, even though back home I only saw her for a little while on weekends. I think if I knew I’d never see her again, I might not be all that different than Charlene.”

“You would. Because you’re already different.”

I shrugged. “Maybe.” Though I had my doubts about the accuracy of Shelly’s statement. “Hey, I have a weird question. Do you know what happened between Charlene and Katie?”

“When? As far as I know, Charlene didn’t see or talk to her sister yesterday.”

I shook my head. “No. Before. Like, before the swap. Did they used to be close?”

“Oh. I dunno. Maybe. All I can say for certain is that as long as I’ve known Charlene, she’s been dumping on Katie. I guess she thinks her little sister isn’t good for anything other than being a pain. Why?”

I shrugged. “Something I found this morning makes me think that perhaps they weren’t always like this.”

“You could ask Jackson. I mean, you two have known each other since you were kids, right? If anyone would know if anything’s changed, it would be him.”

I sighed. “He’s not happy with me right now because I snapped at him when he suggested keeping me locked up, or at least immediately nearby, just in case Charlene came back.”

Shelly frowned. “I don’t know what she said to him yesterday. After I managed to get Josie to stop wanting to kill her, we left to take a little break. When we got back with food, the two of them were pretty much reduced to just glaring at each other.”

“Is that when it was decided to imprison her in the VR chamber?”

She frowned. “Sorry. Jackson said that we couldn’t just let her leave. That she might do something drastic here like she did over there. I didn’t feel great about it, Charlie. But I did agree to it.”

I opened my mouth, then simply closed it and nodded. “Fair enough.”

After second, she gave me a curious look. “Have you tried her diary?”

“Whose?”

“Charlie’s.”

I blinked, staring at her. “She keeps a diary?”

“She used to. At least, that’s what she told me at orientation camp.”

“Katie didn’t say anything about a diary. Which would have been extremely helpful those first few days.”

Shelly shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t know about it. That sounds like the sort of thing Charlie wouldn’t share with her.”

“Wonder where it is.” I mused aloud.

“Probably hidden somewhere in her room. Someplace where Katie either wouldn’t think to look or would be too afraid to look.”

I nodded, thinking if there were such a place in the house, it was likely to be somewhere in Charlie’s bedroom. I made a note to hunt high and low as soon as I got home this evening.

After Shelly and I split up, I found myself a frustrated passenger on the Struggle Bus as I attempted to pay attention in my next two classes. The problem being that not only did I not have these subjects as Charles, but my brain was also too focused on Charlene’s personal past to worry about cellular mitosis or Chaucer.

Luckily, both professors reminded their classes that these lectures and accompanying notes would be available online later that day. So, I didn’t have to worry about falling too far behind while I slacked off academically.

When I met Shelly again at noon outside the cafeteria, she arrived with a dour expression on her face.

“Just me and thee today, Charlie.” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

“I thought … I mean, Josie knows that I’m the one that’s here now, right? Charlene’s back in my universe.”

She nodded. “She does. And she knows the truth about what really happened and who was actually responsible.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling a pang of hurt in my heart. “But she’s going to still blame me, right?” I shook my head. “Charlene fucks her over and I’m the one that she snubs. Just great.”

Shelly put her hand on my arm. “Charlie, you have to understand that she’s dealing with really conflicting emotions. One of her best friends turned out to be someone completely different than she thought she was.”

“Welcome to my world,” I said, adding an exaggerated huff.

Shelly’s eyes hardened, but her hand remained on my arm. “Look, you’ve been constantly in the shit since you arrived. All of it due to Charlene. I’m not saying that it’s not fair, because it’s not. I’m saying that you have to give Josie a bit of time to reconcile everything.”

I shrugged, looking away. “It didn’t take you that long to reconcile, though. Did it?”

“No. It didn’t. But I also wasn’t the one whose boyfriend Charlene was fucking.”

“Youch,” I said, pouting. “That was a bit rough.”

“Sorry,” she said without sound the least bit contrite. “I’m just saying that it’s going to take Josie some time to forgive you for what Charlene did. It’s not fair, but it just what it is.”

I was even less attentive in my one o’clock Econ class than I was in my morning ones, I left Daniels Hall and trudged slowly toward the athletic complex. My desire to bounce around and hurl ‘rah-rahs’ had trickled down to nearly nothing, but I knew another no-show would only serve to increase my problems. On top of everything else, I didn’t need the Charlie Haters Club to gain Coach as a member.

My funk vanished, mostly, when I spotted Mike standing next to the entrance. He had his phone in his hand, thumb brushing across the screen, but he glanced up as I approached and that brilliant, pulse quickening, smile spread across his face.

“Hey, Charlie.” He nodded his head in the direction of the field. “You are okay if I hang out in the stands and watch, right? I mean, if you’d rather I didn’t, I can chill in the library or something until four.”

I returned his smile as I walked right up to him and placed my cheek against his chest, basking momentarily in the warm of his personality. And body heat. Then I turned my face to look up at him.

“I’m actually glad you’re going to be there. I really, really, could use the moral support today.”
He smiled wider, as if that was even possible, and leaned his head down to let his lips lightly brush across mine. He pulled back, however, before we could start a repeat performance of the morning’s actions.

“I would be honored to be your moral support.”

“Even if I’m not out there in a short skirt?” I asked, playfully poking him in the chest.

“Even if you’re out there in one of those deep diving suits.”

He gave me another small kiss before I forced myself to leave and walk into the building. I was practically floating all the way into the locker room. However, the second I stepped through the door, I felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees.

Danny had said that he was the one getting blamed for cheating on Josie, but it seemed the I wasn’t going to get to play the innocent card. While no one actually came out and called me a “slut” or a “whore” aloud, there was plenty of enough animosity in their glares to blast away all the positive vibes Mike had just instilled in me.

The only person who actually flashed me any sort of pleased greeting was Shelly, and even hers didn’t break any enthusiasm records.

I dropped my bag on the bench and went about changing into more exercise-appropriate clothing.

“Should I even bother?” I asked Shelly as I stripped off the larger PMS bra and squeezed into a green and black sports bra. Everyone else had already departed through the doors leading to the field, leaving just the two of us alone. “I mean, what’s the use of being a base if no one wants you to spot them?”

She sighed. “I really didn’t think it would be this bad.”

I snorted. “You mean, that everyone wouldn’t think me the worst friend in the world for sleeping with Josie’s boyfriend?”

“We thought we’d lessened your role in the situation.”

“How?”

Shelly shrugged. “Josie and I told everyone that Danny came onto you. That he got you drunk, told you he’d broken up with Josie, and that you weren’t thinking clearly when he got you into bed. That way, you’re sort of blameless. At least, that was the plan.”

I shot her a look. “Wait. So, to make me look like less of a boyfriend-fucking tramp, you made up a story that Danny … raped me? Basically?”

Her jaw dropped. “No! That’s not what we said.”

“If I was too drunk to say ‘no’, then it’s rape, Shelly.” I kept the leggings I was already wearing but pulled a tight Lycra top over my bra. “Danny’s a complete shit, no argument. But he didn’t coerce Charlene into anything. Or get her drunk to take advantage of her.” I sighed and zipped up the bag, slinging it over my shoulder. “Jesus, no wonder he was so pissed this morning.”

Shelly shook her head, looking surprised that I was taking Danny Morris’ side.

“Charlie, we had to do something. I mean, everyone knew he and you … Charlene … had slept together. I looked really bad for you, and we couldn’t just tell everyone that you weren’t the version of her who did that.” She held up an accusatory finger. “Besides, didn’t he record you without your knowledge and threaten to send it to everyone we know? Sounds like he got exactly what he deserved.”

“For all we know, Charlene enjoyed being recorded during sex.” I shot back, walking past her toward the door. I knew it was the height of stupidity to snipe at the remaining ally I had, but the thought of her and Josie deliberately making up a story that sounded like Danny was a date rapist just twisted my gut worse than my period.

“I doubt it,” Shelly said, unwilling to let me get in the last word. “Charlene wouldn’t risk something like that getting out.”

“Wouldn’t she?” I asked as I stepped out of the locker room and into the afternoon sunshine. I lifted my hand to shield my eyes and looked over at her. “Seems to me that worrying about the results of her actions isn’t exactly a Charlene-like trait.”

“Charlie …”

I waved her off and moved to the crowd of girls already working on their stretching and warm-ups. I ditched my bag on the side of the field, glanced up to see Mike hanging out halfway up the bleachers, and then joined them.

As expected, no one talked to or even acknowledged me. Shelly looked from me to Mike and back before moving to talk to a couple of the other girls. Josie met my eyes only once, and the look in them was equal parts anger and sympathy.

Coach put us through an extensive training routine. I managed to only get called out for sloppy form twice. Which, considering my mental and physical states, was nothing short of a miracle. Fortunately, all of our practice moves were non-flying, with only a couple of pyramids. I could tell the girls next to me didn’t want me there, but no one said anything.

Finally, after almost two hours of sweaty torture, the whistle to quit was blown.

“Line up, ladies,” Coach said before any of us could attempt to leave the field. “I have something to say.”

We all fell into place on one of the chalked lines, looking straight ahead while Coach walked back and forth like a movie drill sergeant.

“You all looked like complete crap out there. There was no cohesion and zero teamwork.” She paused and stared along the line of us before continuing. “I have heard some buzz about something that may or may not have happened between a couple of your squad mates.”

“Definitely happened,” someone a few spots down from me murmured.

“Shut it!” Coach yelled. “I don’t give a damn what’s going on between you ladies. You can hate each other’s guts as much as you want. Off. The. Field. When you are out here, I expect each of you to be a part of this team with every other girl. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, Coach!” several of us yelled in unison.

“If I find anyone treating anyone else on the squad like a pariah on my field, they will be the ones sitting on the sidelines.” She paused to look us over one last time. “Okay, go home and try to remember what I just told you.”

The line broke apart, but not without a few angry glares being thrown my way. However, Josie wasn’t one of them. Neither was Shelly, though she looked like someone had just kicked her favorite puppy. She gave me a small frown and turned her eyes away.

“And I thought our coach was a hard ass,” Mike said as he walked up to me. “I’m surprised your legs still work after all that.”

“They might not,” I said, sighing. “If they fail, will you carry me?”

“Anywhere and everywhere.”

I laughed and then let out a little scream of surprise when he just scooped me up into his arms. I draped an arm around his neck and smiled at him. “I didn’t mean now, goof.”

“Just getting in the practice,” he said as he placed a little kiss on the side of my neck. “Ready to go?”

I nodded. “I just have to get my stuff. It’s over there.” I pointed to the sidelines to see Shelly standing there with a look of terror on her face and a phone against her ear.

My phone.

No, no, no, no, no! Not now. Of the absolute worst possible times.

“Put me down,” I said to Mike, my stomach starting to drop with fear.

“Charlie?” He gave me a concerned look but didn’t release his hold on me. “What’s wrong?”

Shelly, phone still plastered against her cheek, began walking toward us at an accelerated pace.

“Mike, please. Please, put me down.” Even though I could hear the panic in my voice, it was already sounding so far away. “I have to … to …” My words died in my ears as the sound around me vanished.

Shelly managed to reach us just as the world faded into darkness.