all my flowers grew back as thorns

charlie levin charlotte . 24 . witch. baker at a fresh tart bakery

[charliexlevin]

alexander-evanss​:

Alex couldn’t help the smile that pulled onto his lips as she spoke. He hadn’t reminisced about their old neighborhood in ages- often tried his best not to think about his childhood at all. Surprisingly, he thought it was kind of… nice. It was nice to finally be able to think about it without feeling so devasted for losing it, and he wondered if that meant he was finally beginning to heal from it, though he knew he owed that to Charlie. Alex was sure he wouldn’t be where he was now without her- not as happy, not as confident, and not even on the island at all because he’d stayed just for her. 

“We should. I don’t know much about flowers, but Esme had me plant a vegetable garden on my own when we moved to the states.” Alex gave a little shrug in an attempt to do what he always did; sell himself short for how knowledgeable he was in so many different things. 

And as Alex spoke, he led her to the kitchen. White walls, and white cabinets beneath the counters, with birch counter tops. Nearly every room in the house, including the kitchen had large windows, and these were placed behind the sink with a view of the little patio in the backyard with the shifter woods in view behind. The kitchen was still pretty empty like the rest of the house, but he knew it wouldn’t be for long- at least, he hoped it wouldn’t. Alex had never been materialistic considering how many times his life had been uprooted, and he’d noticed Charlie was the same. However, he hoped that since they had a house to share now, they could make it a home together. “I hope you like it. I figured I can make dinner if you make the desserts.” Alex gave her hand a little squeeze, hoping she liked every aspect of the house.

.

“Well, my mom had a rose bush. And you have to plant lavender of course. Azaleas, daisies...” As Charlie rambled off flowers the smile on her lips grew, her expression softening as she thought more about the garden her mother had had- something she hadn’t allowed herself to think about for years...and yet now was easily flowing through her memories. “An herb garden too. Might as well attempt to be a better witch.” She wrinkled her nose as she said it, knocking herself. “And yes to a vegetable garden. If Esme could get you to make one, then it should be no problem for me to get you to do it too.” Her smile turned into an all out grin as she said it, immediately lacing her fingers through his again and giving it a squeeze as she let him lead her into the next (and most important, in her opinion) room: the kitchen.

As they walked into the kitchen though Charlie’s smile sort of faded, her expression turning into one of awe as she looked around at the large kitchen, how beautiful it was, how expansive...and all for them. She looked around the room for a few more moments, staring out the beautiful windows over the sink and overlooking outside and she let out a soft breath as she shook her head and just turned towards him again, lifting up on her tip toes to hug Alex close. “It’s perfect..” she breathed, keeping her arms around his neck as she pulled back again, just enough to look up at him. “So perfect. I....I still can’t believe you did all this for us..” Her other hand moved then, keeping one arm around him as the other moved up to cup his face, her fingers stroking over his cheek. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’re real either. Cause I definitely don’t deserve how good you are to me.”

[alliecathayes]

[charliexlevin]

@alexander-evanss

[thesoldiersminute]

[charliexlevin]

alexander-evanss​:

Alex finally stopped his rambling when she kissed him, finding a bit of relief in the fact that she didn’t seem to care, that she wanted to be with him even if it was a bit soon. It all just felt so… right. He was glad she seemed to want it as badly as he did.

“Yeah..” Alex spoke softly, cupping her cheek and gently stroking his thumb against her skin before continuing, “If you’re okay. If you need more time, we can take it.” He moved to press his forehead against hers for a moment. “You can tell me anything. Anytime.” 

They sat there for a moment longer before Alex gave her a little nudge so they could both stand. He immediately leaned down and scooped up her hand in his, lacing their fingers together as he gave her hand a little tug. “It kind of reminds me of our houses back in England. From what I can remember of them, anyway.” Alex shrugged a bit before leading her towards the kitchen since she’d already (sort of) seen the living room area. 

.

Charlie was endlessly glad that Alex didn’t want to push her for more--it was one of the reasons she’d found it so easy to talk to him in the first place, because she knew she could stop at any point and he wouldn’t pressure her to continue. But Charlie didn’t want to continue and be negative, not with how much effort Alex had put into all of this as a surprise for her. So when he nudged her she stood, finally taking a look around the living room they were sitting in, listening as he spoke.

Lacing her fingers through his, she smiled at the comment, humming softly. She could see it, with the way the front already looked like the cottages that lined the road they used to live on. “We should plant flowers out front, like my mom had. Or fruits and veggies in the back like Esme.”

[alexander-evanss]

charliexlevin​:

While Charlie didn’t allow herself to breakdown completely, she still let some of it out, crying silently against his neck as she clung to him, her fingers gripped into his shirt all the while. And thankfully Alex didn’t press her for more or say anything else, instead he just held her and gave her the time (and comfort) she needed- something she was endlessly thankful for. Eventually though, she did let out a long, shaky breath and she pulled back when he did, letting him prop her chin up and she sniffled softly, giving him a weak little smile. “Yeah.” She agreed quietly, moving one of her hands off from around his neck so she could wipe roughly at her eyes, trying to scrub away the last remnants of her tears and trying to just suck it all up and get a grip.

“I-I uh…I’m sorry..I didn’t mean to just…blurt all that out. And ruin your surprise.” The same sad little smile stayed on her face as she met his eyes for a moment more before she looked away from him to look around the future-living room instead. It really was nice… “When….–when did you even do this..? Get this place?”

-

Alex moved his hand out from under her chin and gently tugged at her wrist as she tried to roughly wipe at her face, moving her hand so he could then gently wipe at her tears. He didn’t like to see her so upset but he was thankful she was willing to be so open and vulnerable with him. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t ruin anything. I’m glad you told me.” His voice was soft as he spoke, moving a comforting hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. “A few weeks ago. I’d started looking before the attack and I found this place. I wasn’t sure if it was too soon or not so I didn’t really say or do anything but after we were practically living together anyway, I figured we might as well, right?” He gave her a little playful nudge. “I hope you like it. You can tell me if you don’t… or if this is too soon or-…” Alex cut himself off, realizing he was beginning to ramble.

[charliexlevin]

.

Charlie exhaled shakily as Alex pulled her hands down away from her face and replaced them with her own, taking over wiping away her tears. And all the while she listened to him speak, sniffling softly as she met his eyes. A few weeks ago... “Look at you, keeping secrets.” Her voice was quiet, still slightly thick with tears, but she had a little smile on her face, trying to lighten the mood she’d singlehandedly brought down. When Alex started to ramble though Charlie just moved her hand to his face, cupping his cheek so she could lean in and kiss him softly. “It’s not too soon. Or rather...I don’t care if it is.” She leaned her forehead against his, closing her eyes as she leaned against him. “It’s what we both want.”

Charlie stayed leaning against him for a moment longer before she let out a breath and pulled back. “Show me around?” She asked softly, stroking her thumb along his cheek before letting her hand drop to her lap. “I...I want to see our house.”

[demoncity]

[charliexlevin]

@alexander-evanss​

[charliexlevin]

lucillexhart​

Lucille walked into the bakery, more so out of boredom than anything else but she’d heard that the witch there made the best sweets on the island. And as Lucille looked over the pastries in the case, she heard the woman’s voice form behind the counter. Lucille looked up at her and let out a soft hum. “What do you think the baker would recommend?” Frankly, she hoped she would meet the witch she’d heard chatted about around town. Most witches didn’t take too kindly to vampires, which Lucille supposed she could understand but she couldn’t decide if it was more amusing or annoying when they would get all fidgety around her. She’d heard this witch was a bit cold though, so she was curious if she’d be any different. 

.

Charlie eyed the woman for a moment as she finished putting everything away. She wasn’t the best when it came to telling who was who (or rather, who was what) but it was safe to assume this one wasn’t human just by the way she carried herself--which at least was one good thing. When she heard the question she hummed, “I think she’d say anything since the baker made everything.” She quipped back, dusting her hands on her thighs as she moved to stand up straight and walked over to stand in front of the other girl, motioning to the display case. “So why don’t you narrow it down a bit? Are you in the mood for sweet? Savory? A cake, a cookie, something with fruit...” She trailed off, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the girl expectantly. “There’s many variables.”

[charliexlevin]

alexander-evanss​:

Alex worried for a moment as she pulled her hands away, afraid that she’d pull away from him entirely but instead she moved to wrap her arms around him and hug him. He did the same, holding her close as she buried her face into his neck. His heart ached for her, having no idea she’d gone through all that she had, nor did he think she would react to the house in this way. But he hoped this was something he could give her that no one else would- a home and a safe place to stay. 

Alex held her for a while as he waited for her to calm down, he could hear her heartbeat slowly returning to normal, but he held her for a bit longer before saying anything. If she needed to cry, he’d let her cry. He simply rubbed a comforting hand on her back as he held her in his arms. Finally, he felt her calm once more and he slowly pulled away enough to hook a finger underneath her chin so she would look up at him. “You okay?” His voice was soft, hoping she would understand that he wasn’t going anywhere. She was his present and his future.

.

While Charlie didn’t allow herself to breakdown completely, she still let some of it out, crying silently against his neck as she clung to him, her fingers gripped into his shirt all the while. And thankfully Alex didn’t press her for more or say anything else, instead he just held her and gave her the time (and comfort) she needed- something she was endlessly thankful for. Eventually though, she did let out a long, shaky breath and she pulled back when he did, letting him prop her chin up and she sniffled softly, giving him a weak little smile. “Yeah.” She agreed quietly, moving one of her hands off from around his neck so she could wipe roughly at her eyes, trying to scrub away the last remnants of her tears and trying to just suck it all up and get a grip.

“I-I uh...I’m sorry..I didn’t mean to just...blurt all that out. And ruin your surprise.” The same sad little smile stayed on her face as she met his eyes for a moment more before she looked away from him to look around the future-living room instead. It really was nice... “When....--when did you even do this..? Get this place?”

[charliexlevin]

alexander-evanss​:

Alex watched her carefully as she spoke, his eyes trailing down to her hands as she began to wring them, and he almost instantly moved his hand to rest on top of hers. He didn’t want her to be upset or this anxious about the way he felt about her. “No. I don’t think less of you… and I don’t think your parents would be ashamed either.” He moved his hand to gently cup her chin, directing her to look at him. “I don’t think less of you. I could never.”

.

Charlie let out a shaky breath when his hands moved on top of hers, stopping her nervous movements and she immediately shifted her hands, turning them enough to lace their fingers together, gripping at him as she finally looked up at him, meeting his gaze as he spoke about his own feelings...and how her parents (hopefully) felt. She held onto his hands for a moment more before she finally let go of them- but only so she could wrap her arms around his neck, twisting enough on his lap so she could hug him, immediately burrowing her face into his neck as she closed her eyes, feeling a few tears starting to well up at the relief she felt coursing through her.

[dawsonscreekdaily]

[charliexlevin]

@alexander-evanss

[charliexlevin]

alexander-evanss​:

Alex didn’t want to do anything that would make her feel overwhelmed more than she already was, but he could hear the way her heart was racing, so he brought his free hand up to rest on her chest, the way she had done to him in the past to try to calm him down. He hoped it worked just as well for her. “That’s okay.” His voice was soft as he spoke, though he felt her heart pounding underneath the palm of his hand. “Do you want to sit down?” Before she could answer, he was gently tugging on her wrist and leading her to the couch set in front of the windows in the living room. He took a seat first, tugging on her wrist once more, wanting her to sit in his lap. 

.

Charlie’s exhale stuttered as Alex’s hand moved over her heart, mimicking a move she always did to try and calm him down and she felt herself deflating a bit more, her fight or flight slowly ebbing out of her and admittedly leaving her feeling a bit drained-- especially given the whiplash of all the emotions she’d felt in the last ten minutes. She was glad then that he answered for her and made her move before she could even fully register his question, her steps slow as he moved towards the couch and when he sat and tugged on her Charlie only hesitated a second before she moved, sitting across his lap and leaning slightly into him.

“I...I’m sorry I..hadn’t told you.” Even sitting on top of him, Charlie managed to not meet his eyes, looking down at her own legs instead, wringing her hands in her lap slightly. “I just...I..I didn’t want you to..think less of me. I never finished school. I stole. I hurt people. I...wasn’t a good person.” Not like I’m much better now. “I always feel like..my parents..they probably would. Think less. Be ashamed. If..If they knew how I’d been.”

[charliexlevin]

chvndlr​:

✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

“Okay, so….what you’re telling me is if I decide not to stay on the island, leave before February. Got it.” Chandler half-joked. Admittedly, whenever he was in a relationship he went all out on Valentine’s Day. He had grown up with wealthy, emotionally unavailable parents and was better at showing affection through gifts than things like talking or showing actual human feeling. But he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in a long time, so the last few years he had grown to hate the holiday. He shook his head as she offered to add the cookies to his order. “Not actually a big fan of pistachio. I was more into the idea of being a Disney princess for a few hours.”

.

Charlie surprised herself even by letting out a laugh, scrunching up her nose a bit as she nodded, “Yeah, pretty much. Although Christmas wasn’t much better when it comes to extravagance. So looks like you have a solid like...three months to get your affairs in order if you want to avoid all that.” Ironically, last year she’d been dreading every single holiday. But now.....now Charlie had a reason to want to celebrate, a reason to be excited. She was actually looking forward to silly things like Christmas and Valentine’s Day because she finally had someone to share in it all with...  She shook off the thought, snapping out of it as she realized she’d gone quiet for a moment and she cleared her throat softly, turning away to finish tallying up his purchases. “If that’s all you want you could always head to the costume shop, pick out a poofy dress and a tiara. Live your dreams.”

[charliexlevin]

alexander-evanss​:

As Charlie let her arms down, Alex stepped even closer as he let his hand slip down from her wrist to her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Change anything?” Alex shook his head, almost finding it ridiculous that she would think that anything could possibly change the way he felt about her or saw her, although he supposed this is how she felt about him when he told her how scared he was that she’d see him differently once she found out why his birthmother sent him away. “I don’t care what you did, just what you do.” His voice was soft as he spoke. “Nothing has changed. Nothing ever will.” Alex gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as he hoped his words were just as comforting. He thought for a moment, considering how she said no one else knew. “You know… you can tell me anything. Anytime.” His eyes searched her face for a moment before adding, “How does it feel… to get it off your chest?” Alex knew what it was like to carry the weight of something around for so long, but he also knew that once he finally told Charlie the relief he felt was indescribable. 

.

Charlie hadn’t felt like this in months. Completely tensed and ready to close off completely. The walls and defenses she’d had up her whole life to keep herself alive coming back with a vengeance, fully prepared to face some sort of....she wasn’t even sure. Disdain? Pity? Rationally she of course knew Alex wouldn’t think of her like that-- but she’d also been looked down on her entire life, so she just couldn’t rule it out completely, no matter how much she wanted to. It was when Alex finally spoke though that Charlie felt like she could breathe for the first time since the conversation began, the exhale that left her coming out slow and shaky as he squeezed her hand.

How does it feel?

She hadn’t really fully registered that she’d told him all that. Charlie was ashamed of her past, embarrassed that she’d slept on dirty sidewalks and ate scraps and hurt people and stole their food and money and belongings just to survive. All her life she had to run and had to fight and she was still struggling with accepting that she could finally settle and breathe. 

Charlie let out another breath, even shakier than the last as she shook her head, finally giving him some sort of response almost a full minute later. “I-I...I don’t...” she swallowed, still feeling her heart beating faster, her head reeling from the fact that she was finally letting it all out and...he wasn’t rejecting her, “I’m not sure.”

[charliexlevin]

meenaxkhatri​:

Meena worried she’d hit a nerve so she decided she would pull back herself. She hadn’t meant anything by it, other than wanting to offer some form of comfort to the young woman. But despite all the terrible things Meena had seen in her life, none of it was directly against her. She was always helping others out of their tragedies, never dealing with her own. “I want you to know I’m here if you need anything. Both of you.” She added softly, getting that sense that she may be overstepping.

.

Charlie grumbled under her breath, fighting between telling her to just fuck off and to stop being so pitying and patronizing...and wanting to thank her and take her up on it. She just closed her eyes and nodded for a moment, hesitating before letting out a slow breath, “H-How....how long did it..take you. To learn to....to heal.”

[charliexlevin]

alexander-evanss​:

Charlie and Alex often understood each other on a level others couldn’t. They shared most of their traumas but the more he learned about Charlie, the more he realized she’d been through far more than he had, although Alex recalled the short period, he’d been on his own, but he always knew he could go to Esmeralda’s cousins, which is exactly what he ended up doing. But Alex couldn’t imagine how hard it must of been for her to live on the streets so young and for so long. 

Alex took a step closer as she let go of his hand, not wanting to put too much of a distance between them. He could tell the shift in the mood, but he couldn’t tell if he’d somehow insulted her or if she was simply sharing a piece of her past with him, although rationally, he believed it to be the latter. Alex didn’t want to make her think he was changing anything to be about himself, but in a way, he understood what it was like to constantly be afraid of having your life uprooted again. It was exactly why he had few possessions himself. But he didn’t say anything.

Instead, Alex reached for her again, gently wrapping his hand around her wrist as she kept her arms folded at her chest. “I- I had no idea.” He gently shook his head as he spoke, his voice was quiet. “I- I’m so sorry.” He added, gently tugging at her wrist in hopes she would let her arms fall so he could pull her close again. 

.

Charlie had to fight the bone-deep urge she suddenly felt to run. She was overexposed, said too much. Yet again she felt like she’d let her emotions run away with her when it came to Alex. Like when she was with him...it was impossible to not bare herself to him. She’d kept everything in her whole life, so now that she had someone she could talk to and trust..it was like her brain just..wanted to blurt everything out. To finally unload over a decade’s worth of trauma. And she kind of hated herself for it. Especially now that she knew there’d been times over the last few months that she did it too much and unconsciously drew the focal point away from him.

Just the same though, as Alex took a step closer, she tensed up, also resisting the urge to take a step back. She didn’t want to run from him, no matter what fight or flight instincts she had running through her veins. So when he reached out and wrapped his fingers around her wrist she let out a shaky breath, frowning still as she hesitantly looked up at him. “Nobody does.” Not that she thought he needed to be told that, but she figured she’d drill it home just the same that this was the first time she’d ever said any of this to anyone. Nobody knew that she had to steal from people and hurt people and slept in alleyways to get by.

When he apologized she just shrugged, not really sure of what to say in response. She stayed quiet as well too when she felt him tugging at him wrist, trying to dislodge her arms and she sighed softly again before hesitantly unwrapping her arms from around herself, just looking up at him as she did so, trying to look for...something in his eyes, trying to see if he maybe thought of her differently now. “Does that....change anything?”

[charliexlevin]

ignas-langston​:

Ignas nodded, a curiosity burning inside him as he listens to her speak, though he was trying not to be such a busy body anymore. “Yeah. Marina came into the bar. Met Nora the night of the attack.” He gave a little shrug as though it was no big deal. Obviously, Charlie had been through the worse parts of the attack, and he didn’t want to bring up anything that could be… too much. “And uh… he got anything like that?” He asked, nodding down at her arm as he finished up her drink and passed it to her.

.

Charlie nodded when he mentioned Alex’s sisters, glad they seemed to be okay since there were his siblings and they seemed to care about their brother at least. Plus she knew Alex had worried about them that night, so it was good to know they’d all been safe. When Ignas motioned to her arm and asked about Alex she stayed quiet for a moment, unsure of how to answer. Anything like that. If Ignas thought a single gunshot wound was bad... this didn’t even hokd a candle to what’d happened to Alex. But while she was...friends with Ignas, she didn’t exactly want to explain everything to him. “Worse.” was all she said, shifting on the spot before she grabbed for the drink he’d finished making for her, taking a long drink and welcoming the burn from the alcohol. “But we’ll be fine. He’s...pretty much healed.” Which explained enough too, she figured, given everyone knew creatures like shapeshifters could heal themselves, so if he was still healing...

[charliexlevin]

alexander-evanss​:

Alex’s eyes stayed fixed on her as he watched her, still waiting for her to say something, and when he saw the few tears slip down her cheeks, he couldn’t help but worry that maybe he’d upset her. “Hey..” his voice was soft as he brought his free hand to her cheek, gently coaxing her to look up at him once more before thumbing away a few tears. Before he could say anything else, though, she was speaking again. “What… what do you mean?” His brows furrowed slightly; afraid he knew exactly what she’d meant. There was fifteen years where they lived without each other, that gap of missing information had barely been filled by either of them, and he felt guilty that he hadn’t really stopped to think about exactly where Charlie and her brother had lived between their coven being destroyed and now on the island. 

.

Charlie felt guilt swirling through her because Alex had been so happy just moments ago-- maybe happier than she’d see him in a long while, and here she was, barreling it down with her own bullshit. She wanted to tell him to forget it, wanted to tell herself to forget it. This was important. This was a good thing. She shouldn’t be ruining it... But as Alex’s hand came up to her cheek and he made her look up at him, she let out a shaky breath, knowing that she’d already started speaking..so she couldn’t exactly turn back now.

“A-After....after the attack..my brother and I ran. We didn’t have any food or any money..we had no where to go, didn’t know what to do...” She swallowed, remembering that first night with stark clarity--but all the nights after kind of blurred into one. Years bleeding into the next. 

“Most nights over the years...we didn’t have anywhere to live. We’d sometimes scrounge enough money to rent motel rooms, eat shitty fast food or from vending machines..but other times..” She shrugged, pulling her hands away from him so she could cross her arms over her chest, more for self-comfort than anything else. “Park benches weren’t too bad. Or underpasses when it rained. And grass is soft and all, but it’s cold. Plus mud and dew in the mornings aren’t exactly worth it either..” Charlie sucked in a slow breath, meeting his eyes. “My being small and being young always came in handy with stealing from stores and such. My brother was better at pickpocketing, but I got pretty good at it.” As she continued, her voice went from stuttering and nervous to...almost robotic. Like some defense system was coming on, like she was unconsciously preparing for him to react to all this and suddenly change his mind about her. 

“We essentially lived on the streets my whole life, going from place to place whenever cops” or hunters “got too close. He wanted me to try school every now and then whenever we’d go to a new city but...” she shrugged again. “When we moved to America was the first time we stayed in one place for more than a couple weeks. But even then..it didn’t....feel like a home. Especially once he started dating his now-fiancé. So...I came here...and still.. I dunno. I’ve always just been ready to go again. To need to run. It’s why my apartment is as shitty as it is. I’ve never owned anything to put in it...and I’ve..never been sure if I maybe would have to leave again.”