Time to have FUN! [Charles]

"Hey! Let's go to the theme park today, Maeee!" Mae was thrown back straight to reality when she heard Ayane's voice. The girl had been lost in thought, wondering how Charles was doing. Considering the last time they met they had been talking about a very heavy subject, so naturally Mae was worried about him. "Huh-wha?" Mae replied absentmindedly. "Were you daydreaming of that Julian again? Geez you're hopeless, you know that?" The black haired girl giggled. "Excuse me? I was not...!" The two laughed together in unison. Ever since Mae had told Ayane about her crush on Julian, her friend siezed every opportunity she got asking about him. Of course she was happy for Mae's sake, but she knew that a part of her friend was jealous.

"I'm just a little worried about a friend of mine here. Last time we saw eachother... he wasn't doing too well..." Mae sighed. "Anyway... You wanted to go to the Theme park? Sure. Seems like a great Idea!" Ayane smiled back. "Why don't you call this friend of yours then? We could all hang out!" As soon as Ayane had opened her mouth, Mae knew exactly where this was going... "Pfff, and you say I'm hopeless, geez..." Mae puffed up her cheeks, as she took up her phone, and called Charles.

"I don't know." Charles said for the tenth time. He wasn't sure how it actually got to this, but... it did, and so Charles sat in the manager's apartment with his head resting on the table as he examined the new wallpapers the old man was planning to put around his home. Apparently, he also wanted to put them all over Charles' apartment, while also redecorating it. That was why he was asking for Charles' opinion on them.

"Oh, what about these, then?" The old manager put down the flower patterned wallpapers onto the chair next to his and pulled out the sample of a regular, plain lime green wallpaper. "These would fit good with this ol' thing, dontcha think, Charlie?" He patted the android and pointed at an old looking beige lamp on a cupboard next to the brown sofa. "Oh, yesyes, these are perfect!" He nodded happily. "I'll go call the contractors right away so we can get out apartments arranged." Before Charles could even process what the manager had just said (yeah, even androids doze off when they get exposed to old people for longer periods of time), the manager had already grabbed the phone and began dialing. However, just as he was about to press the call button, the phone rang, making the old man jump in his slippers. "Ohoho, what's this?"

"Huh?" Charles raised his head lazily as the man answered the phone with a smile. His smile grew wider as he recognized a girl's voice on the other end of the line. He gave Charles a meaningful glance (which he could not interpret) and smirked.

"Well, hello hello, young missy." The man answered the phone. "And who might you be?"

Mae did not expect an old man to answer. "Umm... Excuse me... I'm Mae Iharu. Have I come to Charles Everton?" She asked meekly. Had she called the wrong number? Mae wasn't sure... Ayane looked at Mae with a raised eyebrow, apparently just as confused as the pinkette herself. "He's... there right?"

"Oh, so Charlie is who you're after, eh? Hehe." The old man laughed, while Charles raised an eyebrow. Who was calling? "Oh, I know! Could you be that lil' lass that's come to visit Charlie that one time? Yesyes, I remember now. Well, Charlie is here." He jumped up and practically waltzed over to the table with a huge grin on his face. "It's for you, Charlie? ~"

Charles curiously took the phone out of the manager's hands and put it on his ear. "Yes?" He still had no idea who was even calling him now... The old man sure was a handful. He glanced at the sparkling old manager who was eyeing Charles intently with his hands crossed behind his back and a smile still everpresent on his lips. D-did he have to do that? It really made Charles feel weird as he waited for the reply...

"Hey Charles!" Mae was delighted to hear his voice again. He seemed to feel a bit better judging by his voice. "How are you holding up? Say... You don't happen to have anything important going on right now? I would like to hang out. Have you ever been to the Galaxy Amusement Park in Penecia before?" She could see Ayane smiling in the corner of her eye. "Oh yeah... I'm bringing a friend of mine along, if you don't mind?"

"So... What's he like? This... Charles?" Ayane asked while Mae was still talking. The pinkette gave her a glare. "Not now, Ayane..." That girl seriously needed some manners when it came to this stuff...

Mae? And she was asking him out? Hell yeah! "Oh, hi. I'm fine, thanks." He replied, tension swelling up inside him. It was weird, really. He hadn't felt this way since... uhm... never. "O-of course not! I'm not busy at all." He mumbled and stumbled over the sentence. His thoughts, however, immediately wavered over to the grinning old man standing behind him as he tightened the grip on the phone. Ugh... He didn't want to leave him! But, on the other hand... it was Mae, dammit! Well, at least it wasn't a tough choice, right? "Galaxy... amusement park?" First time he heard the name... Or... was it the place Jack was working at? Well... as long as it was Mae. "Yeah, okay, I'll be right over. And don't worry! What do people say... Right, the more, the merrier?" Honestly, he didn't mind it at all. Mae could bring anyone she wanted, as long as it was sure she was gonna be there as well. Wait, what was he even saying? MaeMaeMae? "Huh? You okay?" He asked curiously when he heard Mae's reprimand. In fact, it sounded more like a hiss to him through the lousy speakers of the phone, but eh. "Wait a moment, please." He lowered the phone and turned to the manager. "Uhm, can I go?"

The man replied with a smile. "What kind of question is that, haha? Of course you can go. ~" He grinned and crossed his hands at his chest. "I'll be fine on my own. Ya know, I ain't so dumb not to realize you haven't been enjoying our time together today. Yesyes, it's surprising, but we ol' folk can also be- Huh? He's gone, haha!"

"Thank you, bye!" Charles brought the phone back to his ear the moment he heard the manager say the magic words of approval. "I'll be right there." And so he slammed the phone down, grabbed his scarf and ran through the door and down the hall, nearly crashing into one of his neighbours. It didn't matter, nothing mattered! Not even the fact he had no idea where exactly the amusement park even was! Haha, it was a minor setback, which he was definitely gonna be able to solve later on. Nono, what was important was that it was Mae, THE Mae! Nothing else mattered! Oh, except... Gao? Wasn't he supposed to do something for her today? Gah, it was too late now, he was already climbing into a subway train! ~

Charles arrived at Penecia island shortly after and asked around the city for some clues on the whereabouts of the amusement park. Wow, it was big... and colorful... Like Mae? No, Mae was small... But colorful nonetheless. Now, where to find the two? He began wandering aimlessly around the entrance to the fair. Mae had to be there somewhere... Or has she already entered? Ugh... why didn't he ask about the meeting place? Or, perhaps he just didn't listen carefully when Mae mentioned it... Yeah, his mind was pretty much spamming 'MaeMaeMaeMAE' at the time, so it was definitely difficult to focus on the conversation. Oh well... too late now.

"Ah, that's good to hear, Charles! I'm so glad you're back on your feet." Mae said with a sigh of relief. He WAS feeling better. That's what truly mattered in the end. Ayane gave Mae a raised eyebrow. "You sure? Haha, I dunno, you don't sound very convinced of that yourself, Charles." Yeah, there was a slight bit of hesitation in Charles voice. Maybe it had something to do with the old man who had answered? "Oh! Well, We'll see you there then!" Mae gave her friend a thumbs upm followed by Ayane giggling with joy. "Take ca-" But before she could finish that sentence, Charles had hung up. She sat there, blinking for a second. "Come on, don't just sit there, let's go~!" Ayane said, positively dragging the pinkette up on her feet. "Geez, slow down! Lemme get properly dressed first!"

It took a good 30 minutes for the two girls to get properly dressed, and another thirty to get the remaining things fixed. "Alright, can we go now?" Ayane asked with a half joking, half impatient tone to her voice. "Hehe, you really wanna go loose on Charles, don't you?" Mae chuckled. Ayane's neverending love for flirting with guys never seemed to die. There was always another 'hot stud' waiting to become her next prey. She could really be a handful to deal with sometimes, but that was something Mae had grown up with. Ayane had always been very... energetic... Mae was a happy girl, sure, and the two had been best friends for most of their lives, but still, to this day, Mae could not for the life of her find out where her best friend got all that energy from.

Mae and Ayane left the Dorms, after saying goodbye to some of her friends living at the dorms (Namely Eddie and Hyde), and they headed straight for San Malarus station.

"Well, here we are. Galaxy Amusement Park." Mae said, chuckling at the amazed expression on her friends face. "Subarashīīīīīīīīī~!" Ayane exclaimed from the top of her lungs. "Geez... There's no need to yell... And why the Japanese?" She noticed some of the people passing by giving them weird looks. At least... Charles would be able to hear it, right?

What was that? Charles froze in his tracks. Did he just hear someone shout something that sounded like Japanese? It wasn't Mae's voice, but still... No, he couldn't hear anything anymore. Too bad, and he just got his hopes u-

A flash of brilliant pink in the corner of his eye made the android flinch. "Mae?" He turned towards a pink haired girl in the distance. "M-Mae!" Would she even been able to hear him through the crowd? It had to be her, though. Nobody else could even dream of having that silky shade of yogurth pink as their natural hair color! He began waving at her... Perhaps a normal person would've been startled by the odd looks people around started giving him as he jumped up and waved both his hands above the crowd to get the girl's attention (with his usual straight face), but Charles wasn't really normal... He has his limits, though. Eh, hopefully she'd notice him sooner or later... Hopefully ~

When Mae heard that voice, she perked up, and turned around. "Ah, there you are Charles!" She smiled warmly at him. "So this is Charles, eh? Hai~! My name's Ayane Masuo! And you'r-OW!" Mae kicked Ayane on her ankle. "Behave yourself, geez..." Mae puffed out her cheeks slightly. "Sorry to bother you with all this... Ayane can be... a litte too much sometimes." Indeed... And Mae wasn't gonna let her get all lovey dovey with Charles... The two were getting pretty close. "So, how are you do-" But the pig-tailed girl interrupted Mae. "Are you ready to have some fuuuuun~?" With a wink in Charles direction... She wanted a war huh? How did they become such good friends to begin with? It's been so long that Mae... honestly forgot.

Oh, she saw him! Cool. "Hello!" He shouted when he noticed the black haired girl. Wait... so that's her friend? Why is she wearing a bunny outfit? Was she one of those inappropriately dressed girls Charles noticed on magazine covers while he was working part time at stores? Yeah, she lacked the pants, like they did. But what was Mae doing wi- Whoa, too quick, too close, too... weird?!

Hands in front of his face in defense, Charles stared confusedly at the girls. First this new girl interrupts Mae and then they start quarreling and now she was winking at him? W-was this how they behaved usually? What was that even? "U-uhm... Fun?" He turned to Mae with an expression that screamed for help: 'What do I do?'.

Oh boy... This was going to be interesting... "You don't know what fun is?" Ayane giggled. "Ayane... Behave yourself please. You're scaring him." The two girls laughed in unison. "Charles. Just act natural okay? And if she's a bit too much, just tell me, okay? I'll make sure she behaves." This was immedietly followed by Ayane pouting. "Gee, you're no fun..."

"Since you two haven't been here before, why don't you two pick the first ride?" Mae asked her two friends. "And Ayane, don't go for anything too... wild, okay? It's Charles first time at an amusement park..." Ayane tended to go a... little overboard with this kind of stuff. She loved the thrill, which Mae also did to an extent. "Oh! Oh! What about that one!" the pigtailed girl pointed at the large swing. Not sure if it was a good start, but... Mae had enjoyed it when she was here with Julian. Now, they were just awaiting Charles response...

"I know what fun is! It is the short-term sensation humans experience during times of enjoyment." He frowned and crossed his hands. And she now said Mae wasn't fun! What was with that girl? Mae was super fun and nobody can say otherwise! He turned to Mae and nodded, letting his hands unravel from his chest.

Huh, Mae! No need to get so worked up over him, nyah. He would've gone on whatever park ride if it was with her! He glanced at the swing in the distance before directing the stare back at the bunny girl. "I could do that." He said and frowned at her.

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The three of them entered the amusement park. It was... loud. Louder than he expected. Also, busier. There were children everywhere... and, of course, their parents were present as well. The result was a stream of people even he could barely push his way through to keep up with Mae and not lose track of her. Once they finally made their way over to the swing, Charles looked up at it. "Huh..." It was bigger than he imagined. But, no matter what, he was gonna go on the ride! For Mae, yep. What kind of a friend would he be if he stood down here while they weren't able to have fun 'cause they'd miss him? Besides, Mae seemed eager enough to go. Or... has he already mentioned that part of his reasoning?

"Mae... Why is he so weird?" Ayane whispered. "Hehe, let's just say... He's special. In a good way, mind you. We're pretty close friends, I'll have you know, so behave!" The pinkette gave Ayane a look, which caused the pigtailed girl to whince. "Eeehehehe... Fine..." That went smoother than expected. Now it was just matter of time before she went into flirt mode again.

"Alright, just so you know, you sit reaaaalllly close to eachoth-OW!" Mae stepped Ayane on her foot. "BE-HAVE!" Mae meant buissness. "Alright, alright! I get it! I'll stop!" She smiled sheepishly. "Good. Now then, let's go." And thus, Mae lead the way over to the giant swing.

"Sooo... You wanna sit next to Mae, right?" The pinkette didn't even bother with it this time. She was truly un-curable. She whispered in his ear. "Real close, right?" As she giggled mischeviously. Mae didn't hear what her friend told Charles, but she assumed her friend was up to her usual shennanigans...

"S-sit next to her?" Charles stuttered at the black haired girl. What was her name again...? He was just gonna refer to her as Bunny Girl from now on... That way it was easier. Back on track, though, what was the ultimate purpose of the Bunny Girl's teasing? She had been doing so ever since they met like... 5 minutes ago and she wasn't showing any signs of stopping any time soon. "Well... Wasn't she going to sit in the middle anywa-" He said in an unsure voice, when she suddenly neared him. An odd, tingling sensation crawled up his spine as the girl move closer and whispered into his ear. "W-what do you me- Whoa!" He practically tripped over his own foot when he tried backing off in shock and fell, flailing his arms around, landing straight onto his back down the skewed lane that led to the swing, nearly squashing several passerbies. Somewhat dizzy from losing balance again, he sat down and rubbed his eyes, not paying much attention to the people avoiding him like an obstacle on the road. He was still kinda too confused and boggled by the situation to think straight...

"I can see it in the way you look at her. You love Mae, don't you, Charles-kun?" Ayane whispered in his ear. "Hey, I'm just trying to help you out, you know. And don't worry... Your secret is safe with me." She turned back to Mae. "So, who's sitting where?"

"I can sit pretty much anywhere. Does not matter to me much, as long as we have fun, right, Charles?" Mae tilted her head slightly to her left, smiling innocently at Charles. "I mean, that's the sole reason why we got here in the first place."

"Yeah, FUN. Right, Charles?"

"Charles! Are you okay?!" Mae ran over to his side, Ayane looking partway confused, partway amused and partway concerned. "What happened? Geez, you should be more careful. I don't want you end up getting hurt."