𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐯

What. A. Joke. Jack and I have played at least 4 different games in the last hour we've been here and in every game I've lost. It's almost laughable how much I suck at this. I know I said I was going to try my best at kicking Jack's ass, but my definition of trying is non-existent. "You want to try shooting some hoops next?" I just shrug my shoulders since at this point I'm frustrated with how much I suck at these games. Jack just laughs at my lack of response and grabs my hand to lead me to the area where the basketball games are.

In the moment that Jack grabbed my hand to lead me over to the game, all I felt was electricity move through my body and I can only wonder if he feels the same. Once we make it there we stand side by side and he takes the player one side while I take player two. As I turn towards the game to press the button, Jack stops me holds both of my shoulders, and turns me to face him. "Lotte, you got this. Let's just have a good time okay?" He looks into my eyes with what looks like an endless amount of care. I can only nod my head and give him a soft smile, slightly embarrassed for getting frustrated over stupid arcade games.

I'm in no way athletic whatsoever. Throughout my time in school, I've never once played a sport unless it was required in gym class. My only tactic to try to win this is to just shoot the basketballs as best as I can and hope that it goes into the hoop. Turns out my tactic was enough to help me outscore Jack by some sort of miracle. "Yes! I won! Woooo." I can't help but jump up and down at my single victory in just one of the many games we've played so far. Something takes over me and I go straight up to Jack and hug him. "Jack I won! I won!" Jack hugs me back and I feel his breath near my ear, "See Lotte I knew you could do it." Shivers shot through my spine once I realized what we were doing.

Once I came back to my senses I took a step back from the hug. I shoot Jack a sheepish smile and he shoots one right back at me. "Uh... you wanna go try air hockey?" He lifts his arm to scratch behind his neck trying to move past our hug. "Yeah sure, let's do it." He starts to walk over to the nearest air hockey table and I follow. God everything was going so well and I just had to catch him off guard with my stupid excited hug.

𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐨𝐯

After about two hours at Dave & Busters, Lotte and I agree that it's time for me to take her back to her house. Hanging out with Lotte today went way better than I could've ever imagined. When we further talked about the idea of hanging out over text, Lotte said that she might be a little shy at first, but asked that I give her some time to open up and be her usual self. From the moment we left her house it didn't even seem like she had a hard time opening up.

When she opened her front door this morning I just couldn't help but look at her. She was absolutely beautiful, just as she did when I spotted her at the game. I couldn't help, but look into her eyes every time she looked back at me with the biggest smile plastering her face. Whenever she laughed or won any of the games we played her eyes shined brighter than any star I've seen at night, it was almost hypnotic. If only Luke and Quinn could hear me now. They'd say I was whipped and I probably wouldn't even have been able to deny it without heat rushing to my cheeks.

The whole drive back to her house consists of Lotte and I doing some Taylor Swift karaoke singing to the entirety of her discography. Once 'Out of the Woods' came on, it was almost like Lotte became a completely different person. "Remember when you hit the brakes too soon? Twenty stitches in the hospital room when you started crying, baby I do too..." The whole time this verse is on, she's screaming at the top of her lungs pointing over at me. I can't help, but laugh at her passionate delivery of the lyrics. One thing I know is to never stand between a woman and her passion for Taylor Swift.

About ten minutes later I pull onto her driveway and turn off my car to go walk her to the front door. I quickly hop out of my seat and jog over to her door and open it waiting for her to hop out before we start our walk to the door. Walking behind her, I can't help but think of how I wouldn't mind spending time with her again. It was a much-needed change from my usual rotation of going out with Luke and hockey.

Overall, this whole day felt like a breath of fresh air being around Lotte. There was something about her aura that radiated warmth and happiness. It's almost indescribable the pull that her warmth and happiness have on me. I've never felt more drawn to a person than in the moment I met eyes with Lotte.

Right when we reach her door, Charlotte turns around to face me as I stand a little ways back. "I had a great time Jack. This has probably been the best day I've had in quite a while." She sends me a shy smile that causes something in me to flutter. "I'm glad you had a great time because I did too. We need to do this again sometime. I want a basketball rematch because I think you won out of pure luck." Charlotte does a little playful pout to tease me.

"Aww is little Jacky upset that I beat him by 10 points in a silly little arcade basketball game?" I play along and let my pout act as my response. We look at each other's pouty faces for a few seconds trying to stay serious before we both end up breaking out into, what feels like, never-ending laughter. "Well, I'm gonna head out since I have to make sure Luke didn't burn the house down while I was gone." Charlotte couldn't help but giggle as I walked backward to my car.

"Yeah, you should probably do that. Wouldn't want the Jack Hughes to have an amazing day only for him to pull up to his house turned to ashes. Please text me once you get home safe." I nod my head and let out a little laugh, "I'll let you know right when I pull up to my house and I'll even let you know if the house is still standing." We finish exchanging waves with each other and right as I pull out of her driveway, Lotte waves a final time and closes the door once I'm on the street. I shoot Luke a quick text letting him know that I'll be home in about thirty-ish minutes.

Fifteen minutes into my drive home I get a Facetime call from both Quinn and Luke. "Hey huggy, hey lukey what's up?" They both try to talk at the same time and it ends up sounding like a jumbled mess that I couldn't even decipher a single word either of them said. "I have no idea if that was even English. Now can one of you go first and repeat what you just said." Right as Quinn opens his mouth to speak, Luke beats him to it and Quinn gives Luke the finger.

"So how was your little date with Charlotte? Is she nice? Is she just as pretty up close as she is in her pictures?" Luke wiggles his eyebrows when he refers to my hangout with Charlotte as a "little date" and it feels like I involuntarily stepped into an interrogation. "Luke well first off, this wasn't a date we just hung out. Yes, she's nice. Her pictures don't do her any justice because she's even more beautiful up close." I look away briefly from my phone so my brothers won't see the smile creeping up on my face with a little blush just imagining how beautiful Charlotte looked the whole time we were together.

"Rowdy, why did you move your handsome little face from the camera?" Quinn knows me better than I think, which should be expected, but I was dumb enough to think I would get away without being caught. With a sheepish smile on my face, I position my face back into view of the camera. "Look you see? What did I tell you, Quinn? Our Jacky boy is whipped for a girl that he met less than a week ago." The remaining twenty minutes of the ride home are spent with Quinn and Luke making fun of me.

When I make it home, I turn off the car and shoot a text to Charlotte to let her know that I made it home and that the house is thankfully still in one piece. Right when I hit the send button, I got a notification that I was tagged in a post by Charlotte.

Instagram

liked by jackhughes, emiliegavin, and 10,554 others
charlottemitchell spent half of my day with a new friend and some of y'all might know him @jackhughes
↪️jackhughes now why would you use that picture of me? this is an embarassing introduction🤦🏻‍♂️
↪️charlottemitchell @jackhughes that's for being a waffle lover you loser 🖕🏻

emiliegavin char please don't tell me you're replacing me with this whimp
↪️charlottemitchell i would never replace you babe 😘🫶🏻
↪️emiliegavin you better not cause if you do i might just fight the guy

user1 ariana what are you doing here?? 😂
user3 wait how are my two worlds colliding rn??
lhughes_06 @_quinnhughes now would you look at this quinny 😏
↪️user2 LUKEEEE I LOVE YOU
↪️_quinnhughes @lhughes_96 aww look at our rowdy ☺️ he's 🔛🔝

user4 how did she manage to be friends with @jackhughes
↪️user5 ikr like last time I checked she doesn't even watch sports

view all 415 comments

Edited: 11/14/24

~

melissa speaks 

happy thanksgiving everyone!! i hope you all get the chance to stuff your faces and go into a food coma. i don't want to sound like a broken record, but thank you so much for almost 500 reads. it means the world to me to see you guys reading what i write and it just motivates me to be a better writer and update as much as i can.

love you all endlessly 🤍