"People change, Dawson." She said cold heartedly. "They don't have to." Dawson Leery responded. "Yes, they do. People die, and they move away... and they grow up. Everything changes eventually" Joey Potter rebutted to Dawson's not so subtle movie life.

Dawson Leery never wanted change to come around. He couldn't handle it when his girlfriend changed, and slowly moved away from him emotionally, he couldn't comprehend why his friend was living in a drunken world or how his best friend went from a mischief making slacker to a boy head over heels in love. These were all changed around him yet he stopped and slowed down, staying the same.

And it wasn't that Charlie Radin feared change, she just didn't believe in it. She couldn't comprehend that such a thing could run through a person. She didn't believe that a person could go from being one whole thing to another whole thing, not with out a major objection, a major event in life.

"Sorry about the ride." Lauren Manning said crawling into the back of Charlie's car sitting in front of the school, later that day. "My brother's care is a piece of shit, as is he." She smirked. "Anyway..." Lauren continued leaning forward in her seat leaning both of her elbows on the front two seats. Charlie still sat quiet looking forward and out of the front window shield of her car, unable to comprehend this day.

"I heard about you and my brother." Lauren winked in a sarcastic yet happy way as Charlie quickly flipped her ahead around sending her blonde hair into the hair; instinctively Lauren leaned back out of fright. "Who told you?" Charlie asked speaking her first word. "…I'm not supposed to say."

Charlie gritted her and teeth and was about to speak vindictively to a girl who never did anything to her except respect, probably the only person who did but the front car door soon opened. "Hey." Kale spoke softly, closing the door behind him.

Charlie looked out of her window, pretending as if they were just sitting waiting for the traffic of the student parking lot to pass. But soon she saw her brother Radin, walking and still smiling like a fool , talking to Amanda Hilfiger. Before a word could be spoken a fourth door slammed and the car shook softly. Radin didn't say a word, but Charlie could see his blonde head shaking slightly, out of nerves she didn't know.

"Are we going anytime soon?" Radin barked sarcastically. Charlie bit her bottom lip and slowly turned around only looking at her brother. "Get out of the car." She said angrily. "What?" He asked arching his left eyebrow. "Get out of the car, Radin." She said again. He got out slamming the door as Charlie slowly moved after him.

"So I was right the other night." Lauren whispered to her brother as Charlie moved. Kale turned around forcing his arm at his sister pushing her into her seat. "Jesus, Charlie. What's your problem?" He said angrily as he leaned against the car.

"Were you at Nicholas Westerfelds party on Saturday?" Radin grunted and immediately smirked. "Yeah so?" He asked forcing himself to bit his nail, in order to hide the obvious smile. Fire burned in her eyes looking at her twin brother. And sudden his mischievous, happy smile turned to a pure blank face with a hint of terror rushing through him.

And suddenly Charlie's feet began to move and like in a slow motion Radin turned around and sprang to his feet raising them as quickly as he could as his sister came racing after him. Charlie kept up a quick pace chasing after her brother through the Strathmore Academy parking lot. She saw quick faces peering out at them running quickly around the cars, but by the end of this day, Charlie was use to it.

Radin continued, running across the front gate, followed by Charlie and an alarm of cars beeping after coming to a sudden stop. Although Charlie wasn't far behind her brother, she was loosing breath and came to a stop. Radin turned his head slightly for the tenth time and stopped as well, turning to face his sister.

"What that's… it?" He called taking deep breaths. "Walk home." She muttered under her breath. "Huh?" He called back. Charlie turned around once more to face Radin and yelled: "you can fucking walk home, bastard!" And she began walking back towards her car, the cars in line to leave the student parking beeped louder as she slowly trickled across the slow road and continued until her door slammed shut.

No one said a word as she got into the car and sped off, basically to make the sight of her brother walking down the long road unable to happen, Charlie Radin only slowed down once she plowed into the Manning's driveway. "Are you coming Kale?" Lauren asked as she swung her car door open but Kale Manning stayed still looking at Charlie from the corner of his eyes. "Go Lauren." She said softly. "But..." "Go inside!" he cried as she slammed the door shut.

"What's going on?" Kale asked once his sister was safely inside the house. "…just go inside Kale." Charlie said harshly looking down at her lap. "Charlie…" He pleaded. Charlie still looked down at her hands laying on her lap, twiddling her fingers around each other entertaining herself in hopes that he would go away, but didn't, he never did. That's why Kale was Kale and why Ian was never able to live up to him.

"It was my brother." She said finally in a little but strong voice. "That told everyone, he was at the party and he saw us." She stopped twiddling her fingers but still stared down at her empty lap. Kale still didn't say a word; he could tell there was more to say.

But as Charlie sat in the car thinking, knowing Kale was sitting her to listen she began to ramble saying the things she had been thinking about since Saturday night but now these thoughts and words only progressed throughout this Monday.

"Its likes…" Charlie spoke softly, and earnestly, but filled with emotion and strength. "When everyone was talking about me and Ian, I could grab his hand and walk through the school like they never matter because I knew he would protect me." Kale bit his tongue and forced himself not to asked random questions that he already knew the answers to, questions in which Charlie didn't think he would know to ask. Kale decided not to play his game.

"But when everyone is talking about you and me, I have no one to protect me." She still spoke but now turned her head and locked eyes with Kale. "I can't just grab you hand and pretend like were in a bubble, now can I Kale?" He was staring right back at her. "…why not Charlie?" he asked slowly moving his hand to hers on her laps and forced his fingers between hers and held her hand tightly in his still staring into her eyes intently.

In the last few days nothing was the same. When he was around Charlie, Kale could only think of what the had done of late and not the years of friendship but the events that usually led to something else, and he thought of what they could be and not what they were. In the presence of Charlie Radin, Kale became like any other boy in their school except he actually care for her in a profound and lovely way. Kale Manning was beginning to wind down a terrible and dangerous path of love.

Charlie hadn't done any of this, hadn't thought about relationships or boys or sex, since last year she couldn't. But even when she was drunk and boys through them at her she never let her guard down, she never slipped up or broke down. But then one night she was drunk just like any other and so easily, so easily, she let go and had sex. But how come it was so easy to just do it with her best friend even when she was sober?

And even now it was so easy for Charlie to just sit here with him and hold his hand, like nothing was strange or new about it. It was so simple for Charlie to sit here and look at Kale looking back at her and think these impure thoughts about the boy she had sleepovers with, and got drunk for the first time with, and taught her how to swim and the boy she had her first kiss with. But now Charlie could only think about now, and wondering if her parents would still permit a sleepover with Kale. And at this moment as Charlie thought these things unknowingly Kale Manning was thinking the same things.

But what Charlie hated most of all, besides cops, was uncertainty. She hated not knowing, which meant she hated sitting here with Kale not knowing what was coming next for her, or what was coming next for them. "We can be more then friends Charlie…" He finally said knowing from the look on her face that should was nervous about holding his hand even though it made her happy. "We can?" She questioned out loud. Kale gripped her hand harder. He nodded and her face was still aching still questioning all this.

Charlie Radin pulled her hand away from Kale's and sat back in her chair. "I'll see you in homeroom tomorrow." She said quietly. Kale was slightly annoyed but nodded and quickly kissed her cheek and opened the door. Leaving Charlie at the steering wheel, waiting to pull out of the driveway until Kale was safely in his house.

The real question wasn't if Charlie wanted to be with Kale. The question was could she change? Had she changed? Enough? Charlie had gone through many things in her life and many things have changed her because of the severity of these events. But had she changed enough as a person to be the person Kale needed, the person she needed to be for Kale to need her?

After all Charlie Radin didn't believe a person could change with out large circumstances. But she wanted him. She wanted him badly, and these impure thoughts continued as she drove home. Charlie Radin needed to change, but she already had unknowingly. But there was someone else who hadn't, who hadn't changed down deep. Sure he did on the outside, he presented a good provado, a good screen shielding his true scummy self form the world, but Charlie Radin didn't see that, yet.