[Charlotte Lewis]

tell me how you reach the moon — my thoughts err away tonight

❝

Charlotte had fallen into a deoressige episode and had seemed to hage disappeared from the world for a season or so. She had been rarely seen by anyone apart from her fee visits to the store. Miraculously, she hadn't been fired from her job, although she had barely showed up. She was grateful that she wasn't fired, but now she had to pick up double shifts to make up for the lack of income. Luckily that Sunday, she wasn't working. It was nice outside. The sun was shining and there were plenty of people enjoying the weather. The second the sun came out, the depressive episode seemed to have melted away.

The blonde had grabbed Jack's harness and leash and the beautiful dog had eagerly started wagging his tail. He could sense that Charlotte was feeling better and that it meant that they were going for a walk that wasn't just so he could do his business before heading inside again. She had felt bad about that. She knew Jack needed more exercise and outside time than she had been able to give him lately. So, with the intention of making up for that, she and Jack headed to a nearby park where they could enjoy the sunshine and the people.

There were couples who were having a picknick, children playing with each other and pushing each other on the swings, and a lot of people with their dogs. Charlotte and the owner of Misty, a dog Jack had played with before, had chatted for a bit while the dogs ran after each other in the dog park, but then she had put the leash on Jack again so they could walk through the regular park without bothering others. Charlotte didn't like people who let their dog roam free in parks. "He's such a good boy!", "He knows heel", and "he won't do anything!" were all nice until the dog did bite or until the dog ran up to another dog that wasn't as friendly. Jack was an absolute sweetheart, but she still kept him on the leash. 

After a couple minutes of walking, Jack suddenly started to pull on the leash heavily, which he normally didn't do, so Charlotte knew he had seen someone he knew and wanted to greet. She let her eyes wander over the people in the park and saw Cass Harlow playing the guitar a little further away. Her eyes lit up and a smile appeared on her face. She liked Cass. She had helped him find his van after they had woken up together after a night out, and had exchanged numbers as well. 

The woman and her dog walked over to him. "Booooo!" she said jokingly, while throwing some coins down like you did with musicians playing in public spaces. She winked and Jack would immediately try to push his nose against Cass, begging for pets.

Cass Harlow ● I LET HIM PLAY THE GUITAR BECAUSE YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT IT ON DISCORD, LET ME KNOW IF YOU'D LIKE ME TO CHANGE IT!

MADE BY MIZO

[Cass Harlow]

“Heya stranger! Longtime no see!” Cass said when he looked up from re-tuning his guitar to see who was booing him. A wide grin split his face at the sight of Charlotte and Jack.

He and Charlotte had exchanged a few texts after they’d parted ways, but his last text had gone unanswered for a while, and he wasn’t sure what had happened. If she had grown bored of him, or he had done something wrong. He’d texted her a funny gif a few days after his last reply had gone unanswered, thinking maybe she’d seen his text and had just forgotten to reply to it. But when she hadn’t replied to that, either, he’d left her alone, not wanting to push her or harass her.

It was genuinely nice to see her and Jack, though.

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that,” he said, snickering when she tossed some coins into the open guitar case on the ground in front of him. It was a good day for busking, and he’d already earned a few dollars in coins and the occasional dollar bill. He always pocketed the paper money immediately, not wanting to risk it blowing away in the wind, but usually left the coins on display to encourage people to add to the small pile.

Jack came up to him eagerly, wanting pets, and he couldn’t resist that adorable face. He slung his guitar around to his back and bent down to ruffle Jack’s ears and get some face licks. "Hey there buddy!" The couple of people who had been lingering nearby moved on when they saw that he wasn’t going to play any more at the moment.

Scraping up the coins, he pocketed the change and then looked up at Charlotte, still rubbing Jack’s ears.

“Mind if I join you two on your walk?”

--------------------------------------------------------------

TAG: Charlotte Lewis

[Charlotte Lewis]

tell me how you reach the moon — my thoughts err away tonight

❝

Charlotte had her phone on do not disturb a lot when she didn't feel good. It was true that she hadn't answered Cass' texts. If she had opened them, she hadn't had the energy to respond to them. She did feel bad about that, though. A few years back, she would message everyone back in one sitting once she felt better, to apologise, but she didn't do that anymore. She preferred to pop back into people's lives and explain herself when they asked where she had gone. It was less draining than writing those apologies.

"Yeah, it's been a while", she responded, playing with one of her braids with her free hand, which wasn't holding Jack's leash. "I wasn't in the best headspace. But I'm back now, baby!" She chuckled, mostly to hide the fact that she still didn't feel amazing. She never did. There was this sneaking, lurking, exhausting depression that latched on to her from time to time. She grinned at him when he said she didn't have to toss him coins, but of course she had to. A friend playing music deserved some money for it.

She watched as Cass put his guitar away and ruffled Jack's ears. The dog was happy that his friend recognised him and could barely contain his happy tail and tongue that was trying to give Cass all the kisses.

"Of course I don't! she responded cheerfully, more than happy to walk with Cass for a bit. She would wait for him to get up and get ready before starting to move again. She would start walking towards an open field, a bit up ahead, where she could let Jack off the leash again so she could play ball with him.

"How have you been?" She looked at Cass from the side, a small smile on her face. She genuinely liked Cass. He had been super kind and nice to her when they first met, and she had enjoyed their time together in the shower. She wondered if there would ever be a second time... But she didn't let her mind linger on that for too long. Developing a crush might not be the best thing for her right now, unless...? "I've missed you, you know", Charlotte added with a chuckle. "The house felt empty and dull once you left. Your energy is contagious." Did she perhaps start to feel bad because her time with Cass had ended, and she hadn't been able to fill that energy and joy in the house with something else? It sounded and reminded her of her addictive tendencies. Once she got hooked on something, it was difficult to live without it.

Cass Harlow

MADE BY MIZO

[Cass Harlow]

Cass nodded when Charlotte said she hadn’t been in the best headspace, shooting her a sympathetic look. “I get that. Glad you’re feeling better now, though!” Even if her cheerfulness seemed a bit forced. She was out of the house, walking Jack in the park, so that was something, at least.

She agreed to him tagging along on her walk, so he lifted his guitar over his head and placed it back in its soft zip-up case, which he slung over his chest and onto his back in the same manner his guitar had been sitting a moment before.

They headed toward a field, trading smiles and darting glances.

Charlotte eventually asked him how he’d been, and he shrugged. “Same old same old, to be honest.” He knew she didn’t know a lot about him, and what she did know hadn’t changed in the least, so he saw no point in expanding on her knowledge at the moment and oversharing about things that didn’t really matter to her or to their friendship. He didn’t want to overstep any boundaries in imagining that they were closer than they were and pretending as such.

Then she said she’d missed him, and a few other nice things, and he chuckled and gave her a warm smile. “You’re just as sweet as I remember.” He reached out and tucked a lock of hair that had blown across her face behind her ear. Just the tiniest bit of contact before withdrawing, so as not to overwhelm or push too far. He’d enjoyed their time together, too, and had thought about her more than once since they’d parted ways.

She’d already said she hadn’t been well, so he didn’t bother turning the question back on her. Instead he asked, “How about you? How are you today?” Sometimes taking things a day at a time was all you could do, he knew that very well.

Jack romped around off his leash under Charlotte’s watchful eye, and they took turns throwing the ball for him. Cass took care not to throw it too far, not wanting Jack too far from his owner’s sight.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

TAG: Charlotte Lewis

OOC: let me know if you need more to work with!

[Charlotte Lewis]

tell me how you reach the moon — my thoughts err away tonight

❝

She smiled at Cass, and appreciated his words, although it was something everyone said when you said you felt better. She could sense that it was genuine. They walked together, and she asked him how he had been. The shrugging wasn't very reassuring, but she was able to understand. Sometimes a shrug said more than words. She didn't know him very well, but she did care about how he felt. It was a strange feeling. She wasn't used to caring much. 'Same old' indeed didn't tell her much, but to her it meant he was the same guy she had met a while ago, which was nice.

She doubled down on that nice feeling by saying some nice things to Cass. It was an attempt to flirt, a bit, which she wasn't good at, but Cass seemed to appreciate what she said. Charlotte felt her cheeks redden when he pushed a strand of hair out of her face. She hadn't noticed the strand, but now she wished the wind would blow another one in her face. "Thank you", she said softly, with a smile.

She appreciated that Cass focused on the here and now instead of asking her how she had been. It made her smile a genuine, big smile. "I'm good, I'm alright." Just like him, she didn't want to over share or trauma dump. They would have to get to know each other a little better for that. "I've been picking up more shifts to make up for me being holed up for a while, so I'm keeping busy." She let Jack off the leash and they started taking turns throwing the ball. "Being outside is nice, though."

While he threw the ball, she glanced at his guitar. "Have you been playing in the park a lot?" she asked. "If I had known I'd see you here, I would have brought my own guitar!" Playing together could be fun. Perhaps they would need to do that sometimes. "You ever play together?"

@cassidyharloe ● same goes for you! Let me know if I need to add or change something

MADE BY MIZO

[Cass Harlow]

Cass nodded as Charlotte filled him in. “Good. Keeping busy is good.”

She asked about his playing, and he grinned again, meeting her eyes. “Oh, yeah, I’m usually in the park on the weekends, but I’m always playing somewhere. A guy’s gotta eat, you know?” he chuckled, making something seriously true into a lighthearted joke.

She went on to ask him about dueting and he nodded. “Yeah, I’ve played with friends, been in a few bands. I usually busk by myself, though, so there’s no confusion about who gets what money; I’ve had dudes in the past who want more than half because they thought they did more than me, or whatever.” He snickered. “But I don’t think that would be a problem with you. I’d love to play with you.” He winked, making the statement into an innuendo as well as an invitation to play music together.

Jack ran up panting and dropped the slimy ball onto his foot just as he was meeting Charlotte’s eyes, going for a heated gaze, but the dog pulled his attention away. He laughed as he picked up the ball, and then wiped his hand off on his jeans after he threw it again. It figured that her dog would be a cock block. Any dog belonging to a pretty girl tended to be one, in his experience.

“Maybe we could make plans to see each other again,” he suggested lightly, not wanting to push her, or make her feel like she had to make any sort of commitment to him. He also didn’t want to get his own hopes up about seeing her again, after she had sort of ghosted him last time. For all he knew, Charlotte was just humoring him at the moment to avoid an awkward moment upon seeing each other again at the park.

Then again, she had approached him, first. If she wanted to avoid awkwardness she could have ducked away before he’d noticed. Unless Jack had pulled her over, he hadn’t noticed until she was standing there.

Being ghosted wasn’t anything new for Cass. What was unusual was seeing someone again afterward and having them do the opposite of avoid him. Two people he had considered the love of his life had more or less ghosted him in the past, as well as plenty more since then. He had learned from experience that it was very easy to leave him behind, especially for women. And he didn’t blame them! He didn’t blame any of them. He knew he just lacked something inside of him, whatever it was that made people want to stay, or want him to stay.

His smile didn’t falter, though. It never did. He did his best to let go of that old hurt, to live in the moment, to see where things went and not guard his heart. If it got broken again, then so be it. It was fragile and easy to break, after all, and it would be no ones fault but his own.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAG: Charlotte Lewis

OOC: sorry it took so long! been super busy lately

[Charlotte Lewis]

tell me how you reach the moon — my thoughts err away tonight

❝

She could tell that he wasn't just joking, and that there was a truth to his words. Charlotte smiled nevertheless, not wanting to make this awkward for either of them. It wouldn't have been awkward, necessarily, but the truth was sometimes uncomfortable. Having to busk so you could eat wasn't the ideal life, and Charlotte knew what it was like. Before she managed to land a job at the record store, she had loved a similar life. Whatever could get her some money, was something she was willing to consider. Except prostitution. That was a bridge too far for her. She almost chuckled at the thought, but managed to not do that. Chuckling to yourself about an unspoken thought wasn't generally accepted, and it made you look creepy. For some reason, she felt a need to take care of Cass. She wanted to invite him over for dinner so he could eat without having to spend money, but she didn't want to come off to strong.

She then asked about playing together with people, and Cass went on to explain his experiences with bands and busking together. Before she could make a remark about how toxic those dudes sounded, he told her he would love to play with her. She blushes again, unsure whether he had meant it in a suggestive way or not. "You definitely know how to pluck my strings", she said, and before she had even reached the last word, her hand moved to her face and she covered it, laughing. "That was horrible, I'm sorry." She wasn't as subtle as she had hoped to be, but at least she got a good laugh out of it. She made herself cringe all the time, and this was no exception.

Although her last sentence had been a horrible joke, she didn't feel too embarrassed, so when he suggested they could meet up again some time, she glanced over at him with a cheeky smile on her face. She placed a hand on her hip and turned to him. "Cass Harlow, are you asking me out on a date?" She raised her eyebrows, as if she was unpleasantly surprised, but her smile would show that that was far from what she was feeling. Now would be the time to feel embarrassed if he were to say no. Was she reading him all wrong? Was there something here, or was it her imagination?

Jack ran over whole she awaited his response, and sat down near their feet, looking from Cass to Charlotte as if he too was waiting to hear what Cass said.

She truly hadn't meant to ghost him, but maybe the radio silence had been good for them. Charlotte had known from that morning she had woken up next to Cass that he was special, in a way. He wasn't just any man. Now, she wasn't one to fall head over heels in love with someone, and she didn't even realise at this time, that they were standing there in the park, that she maybe had a little crush on him. Charlotte had always been very bad at identifying her feelings. All she currently knew was that spending time with Cass was pleasant, and that she didn't have to pretend to me someone else, and that he didn't seem to mind who she was. She had had some relationships, but in most of them, she had been emotionally detached. Sometimes she just became too close to people and when they asked her out, she thought she liked them, but in reality, she had just gotten used to being around them. This was different though, but again, she didn't even realise that herself. She had been genuinely happy to see him in the park, and she had been genuinely happy when he had texted her, back when they had just exchanged numbers.

While she was waiting for his response, she realised that what she had asked would change their friendship, if you could call it a friendship at this point. If he said yes, it was a sign that there was definitely some interest in each other, and if he said no, would he look at her differently for having asked that question? Her eyes drifted towards Jack, finding comfort in his presence. If he said no, and didn't want to persuade a friendship, well then at least shr would still have Jack.

Cass Harlow ● no worries! Apparently there was a typo in my last tag so it's also my fault haha! Let me know if I need to change something, or if Charlotte wouldn't know his last name

MADE BY MIZO

[Cass Harlow]

Cass couldn’t help but grin at Charlotte’s flirting attempt and was about to reply with an equally cheesy quip when she covered her face, seeming flustered, and apologized. He chuckled.

“Don’t be sorry, you’re adorable. I’d pluck your strings anytime, all you gotta do is ask.” He wasn’t just playing around, either, he meant it, in whatever context of innuendo she was implying. Their brief hookup had been fun and easy and he would definitely do it again if she wanted it. He’d be willing to get on his knees for her behind a tree in that very park if she wanted him to. If he weren’t concerned with getting caught in the middle of the day. If she didn’t have her dog with her.

When he proposed they make plans to see each other again—in whatever manner she wanted to, really—she reacted with mixed signals at first. Then he noticed the pleased tilt of the grin on her face as she suggested he was asking her on a date, and he realized she was, in fact, receptive to the idea. He grinned back, relieved that he hadn’t pushed too far. With a snicker down at Jack, who had just run up to them, he reached down to pick up his ball again, throwing it for the eager dog before replying to his owner.

“I was just suggesting we hang out and jam together, but if you wanna call it a date I’m not gonna complain. And if you want me to play something besides music, I won’t complain about that, either.” See? His grin and raised eyebrows seemed to say. I can make cheesy innuendos, too. It’s all good, sweetheart.

He was a bit surprised at how receptive she seemed to be to the idea of a date with him, after their brief fling and then not hearing from her. He was also a little bit nervous at the prospect, since he hadn’t been on a lot of “dates”. At least not ones that had been explicitly called that. What was expected of him? He couldn’t pay for a nice dinner, that was for sure. Flowers? He could always just pick some for her. Or was that some kind of date faux pas?

Hopefully she just wanted to play music together, and she was being flirty by calling it a date. Still, the formal word made him flighty in a strange way. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint.

He shot her another grin, trying to cover up his nervousness and hoping it didn’t show through.

----------------------------------------------------------------

TAG: Charlotte Lewis

OOC: sorry it's a little short, was trying to get it posted before my shift got too active!

[Charlotte Lewis]

tell me how you reach the moon — my thoughts err away tonight

❝

Thankfully, Cas saved her from embarrassment by playing along and making a horrible joke as well. She laughed, although her cheeks were still a bit red. They were beating around the bush with horrible innuendos, and Charlotte was starting to wondering whether they were just joking or if he meant what he said as much as she had meant it.

It seemed that he had only meant to hang out. Shit. But they could call it a date. It wasn't... What she had expected. It had the same energy as telling someone "you can come to the party if you want to" instead of "I want you to come to the party". Especially because he also joked about playing something else. Did she read the signals wrong? Did he just want to hook up? Charlotte felt a bit disappointed, and it would show on her face, but she wouldn't say anything about it. They weren't so close that she'd communicate those feelings yet. It would seem too demanding. "Oh, yeah, for sure", she said, trying to seem as excited as she wished she would have been. She had hoped he would have called it a date, without everything that had surrounded the words.

She looked away, and crouched down to pet Jack. She needed some of his comfort. She felt... Upset? This wasn't a feeling she was used to, at least not in this context. "We'll get together sometime then, and see if it feels date-worthy, I guess." Shit. She really wasn't as good at covering up her disappointment the way she had hoped. Jack jumped up a bit, leaning his paws on her knees and licking her cheek. He noticed that something was the matter.

Cass Harlow ● a little short, let me know if you need more!

MADE BY MIZO