Over the next two weeks, Charming got to know Aurora and her band better. Every morning Aurora would pick him up at the apartment on her motorcycle and take him over to her house where they would practice the set until Charming was able to recite it in his sleep. During breaks, he hung out with Aurora and her stepsiblings. Charming heard the slight teasing that came from the fellow bandmates about how cozy the two of them were becoming. Charming certainly could see Aurora slowly letting her walls down around him, but he figured that it was just because they were friends. When he realized that she was starting to reciprocate feelings, he felt himself starting to panic thinking back on what Alice had told him. He didn't like being deceptive and certainly didn't want to hurt Aurora in the long run, but he also couldn't help but to be scared to tell her now that his own feelings had started to grow stronger as well.

One night, Charming found himself up late and spiraling down the black hole known as Youtube's suggested. He had just started playing a video about how to make a carrot cake when he heard a bedroom door opening behind him. He didn't turn around because he knew who it was. After all, he still wasn't sleeping in his own apartment across the hall yet since Jungkook still hadn't moved in.

"You have fallen victim to Youtube I see," said Ame's voice from behind him, looking towards the television where a middle-aged woman with pink bunny ears on top of her grayish blonde hair was digging out a bowl. "Can't sleep?"

Charming shook his head, turning his head slightly to look at her standing behind him. She had her pink BT21 Cooky pajamas on that Jungkook had bought her as a gift a while ago. Normally Ame wore men's sweatpants and baggy t-shirts to bed, but ever since Jungkook got her those pajamas, she wore them every night. Charming never saw her at night without them now.

"Want some hot chocolate?" asked Ame as she instinctively ran fingers through his hair.

"Sure," he said with a small smile before turning his head to look back at the woman on the screen.

Ame withdrew her fingers from his hair to walk out into the kitchen. Charming could hear her making noises in the background while he watched the woman begin to teach him the process of making carrot cake. Without writing it down, Charming knew that he wouldn't remember one step of the process when the video was done. He supposed at this point he just needed someone's voice - anyone's voice - to drown out his own worries in the hopes of even catching a few hours of sleep before tomorrow morning's rehearsal.

Within a matter of minutes, Ame was back in the room with him with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate. She took a seat on the couch beside him, holding a mug out his way as he once more turned his eyes from the screen to look at her.

"Thank you," he said as he took the mug from her hand.

He brought it to his lips to blow it in an attempt to cool it down before taking a small sip. Ame watched him do so; a small frown coming over her face. She knew that something was bothering Charming without him saying a word.

"Okay, spill it."

"Spill it?" He asked as he brought the mug away from his lips; a small smile curling across them as he teasingly raised the mug in his hands, "You mean this?"

She chuckled, shaking her head as he chuckled too.

"No, silly! I mean spill whatever is worrying you. I can tell something is off."

"You know me too well," said Charming as the smile fell from his face with a sigh. "I just...how important is honesty to you? Like a hundred precent honesty?"

"It's extremely important," she said, "Why do you ask?"

Charming looked down at the hot chocolate mug in his hands for a second before looking at the television. For whatever reason - the longer the Youtube video went on - the more the woman on the screen dressed up like a bunny. Now - along with the ears on top of her head - she was now sporting a furry gray bunny suit.

"I think I'm really starting to develop feelings for Aurora," said Charming without looking over at Ame. She was his first love after all, and in a way, it still hurt to realize she would never be his. "I was told by her stepsister that Aurora values a hundred precent honesty in a relationship. Aurora wants to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. I just...I wonder if I should tell her about what I used to be. It feels wrong to hide that kind of thing, but I know I was warned not to tell anyone."

Ame didn't say anything after Charming stopped talking. The two of them just sat there not saying anything for a moment before Ame finally broke the silence as the Youtube baker hopped off to check the cake in the oven, shaking the cookie jars lining her shelves.

"Do you trust her?"

Charming nodded his head. Though he hadn't known her all that long, he knew that he could trust her. He turned his head down towards his knee when he felt Ame put one of her hands there.

"If you trust her, I trust your judgement," said Ame. "Just...be prepared for her not to believe you...okay?"

"I'm hoping she will believe me," Charming said as he moved to place a hand over the one Ame had on his knee, folding his fingers over the top of it. "I can't lose another person I love."

"Charming..."

"Sorry.  I didn't mean to say that out loud. That was out of line," he said without looking at her still, moving his hand off hers to grip his mug firmly to take another sip. "Thank you for trusting me to make this decision."

"Of course," said Ame.

Charming dared to turn his head to look at her, noticing that she was zoning off now as she stared at a wall where Jungkook had hung a photo of him and Ame on a date at an amusement park.

"I hope you know that I am happy for you, Ame," said Charming. "I don't want you ruining your happiness because you're worried about me. I'm going to be okay."

"I know," said Ame as she turned to look at Charming. "I just...I wish you could get the ending you deserve."

"Who says I won't?" he asked.

She nodded, looking at him for a moment. An awkwardness settled between them that hadn't been present since Charming had been told by Taehyung and Ruby the truth about Jungkook that year or so ago. Charming set the mug down on the coffee table before holding up one of his arms.

"Come here," he said. "It's time for you to shut your mind off."

Ame gave him a thin smile as she leaned forward to put her mug down on the coffee table next to his. Ame then moved to cuddle in close to him, leaning her head against his shoulder as Charming draped an arm about her; his fingers gently playing with the ends of her hair.

"I'm starting to get creeped out by this baking tutorial," said Charming as he felt Ame laugh against him. "How about you choose something else for us to watch?"

"That's dangerous, you know," said Ame as Charming used his free hand to give her the remote.

"Can't be more dangerous than me worrying if this woman will catch that ridiculous outfit on fire while she cooks."

Ame laughed again as she navigated back to the Youtube home page, flicking through the videos there. The two of them sat in that position for the next hour or so. As another video came to a close, Charming looked down to see that Ame had fallen to sleep with her head still against him.

'I know I can't hold onto you, but I also can't let you go,' thought Charming as his mind continued to churn long into the night.

- - -

The next afternoon Charming was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the living room at Aurora's family home coloring with Arthur. The sitter had once more had to leave early and Charming - since he was waiting for Aurora to finish up making whatever phone call it was she had to make - had offered to watch Arthur and Alice so she could finish in peace. Arthur had been excited by the prospect, immediately sharing one of his coloring books with him when Charming had sat down on the floor beside him. Alice had meanwhile wandered off to her room in search of another book to read.

Just as Charming was finishing his coloring of the house on the coloring book page in front of him, Aurora entered the room. He lifted his head to see that she still had her cell phone in one hand as she looked towards him on the floor.

"I see Arthur has roped you into coloring."

"I don't mind," said Charming with a smile as he looked over at Arthur, "He's quite the artist."

Aurora nodded her head as she moved to sit down on the floor beside him. Their knees touched as they sat beside each other; Arthur excitedly looking through his messy pile of coloring books for one for Aurora to color.

"Did everything work out alright with your call?" asked Charming as Aurora nodded her head.

"It did," said Aurora. "I secured a good rental van for our equipment for Friday's big audition."

"That's good," said Charming as he looked over at her.

Aurora turned her head to look at him, locking her eyes on his. Charming noticed they had been doing that more often lately. Each time they locked eyes, Charming felt more and more like everything in the world became background noise and they were momentarily left in a world of their own.

"Charming, I have something to ask you," said Aurora, breaking the trance they found themselves in.

"Yeah?" asked Charming as he turned back to Arthur who was holding up a blue crayon for him to use.

"Can you stay for supper tonight? I'd like you to meet my parents."

Charming felt his chest constrict with panic then. From what he knew of relationships, meeting the parents was a pretty big deal. However, he and Aurora weren't actually in a romantic relationship at the moment. He wondered why she would want him to meet her parents prior to that. His thoughts wandered so much that he realized that a minute or two passed without him giving any sort of answer.

"You don't have to," said Aurora quickly, "I just..."

"Yes," said Charming, interrupting Aurora's babbling. "Yes, I'll stay for supper."

"Really?" asked Aurora; surprise filling her voice.

"Really," he said.

This was it. Charming knew that this was their first step out of the friendship zone. He wanted it but was terrified about it at the same time. He knew that - before they would go any further - he would have to tell her the truth about himself. He told himself though that he'd wait to see how supper went first though, hoping against all hopes that things would go smoothly.

- - -

AN: With this chapter, I have pulled something Charming has thought from some lyrics of a song that has been on repeat for - I kid you not - at least two months or so while I work towards trying to finish this novella up. I have changed the lyrics minimally to fit the sentence better. I will be posting the Youtube video link to the song later in this book when the song in its entirety comes into play.

I'll be interested if anyone has any guesses as to what the song is though before I reveal it. If anyone does know the right answer, I will be impressed and very happy. 😂

Until the next update!