A Memory Forgotten Chapter 2 & 3

Chapter 2: " Growing Up"


Charles Remy was an orphan as a child. His birth parents gave him up at age 2, knowing they'd never be able to give him the life they wanted him to have. He was put in a foster home in Pittsburg, Pa. At age 4, he was adopted by the Harrisons. They were a good couple who couldn't have children themselves. After careful consideration, they opted to adopt. After filling out countless forms from the adoption agency, they finally got the child they wanted.


Charlie was told at age 5 that he didn't have to change his last name because his new parents wanted him to be the person he was born as, name and all. "We don't want you to forget who you are, ever. We're just gone be the people here to love and support you no matter what," Mitch Harrison, the man of the house stated to Charlie as he sat there at the dinner table eating his mashed potatoes. "We love you very much Charlie, and soon you'll be able to go to public school and make new friends and be loved by others almost as much as us," Debbie Harrison explained to Charlie.

Charlie didn't really seem to soak in much of what was being explained to him. He was more interested in playing with his action figures or reading his comic books. His favorite was always Uncanny X-Men so he could see what his favorite character, Gambit, was up to.

When Charlie started going to school, he was very quiet. He didn't try very hard to make friends or to have school crushes on any of the girls. He was always more focused on getting his school work done early so he could go to his room and read more his comic books.

After grade school was done with, Charlie attended junior high school where he met a guy named Will Carter. Will was a Pittsburg native and lived a few blocks away from Charlie. Will was always in Charlie's grade, but Charlie never paid attention to him because the two were in different classes.

On a walk home from school, Will caught up to Charlie. "Hey, man," Will said to Charlie.

Charlie turned around and noticed Will and replied, "Hey."

"Wanna hang out at my house?" Will asked.

Charlie answered, "Why?"

Will got a bit of a confused look from the response he just received. "So we can like, I don't know, do stuff," Will answered.
"Like what?" Charlie asked.

Will shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I don't know. What do you like to do?" Will was curious to find out.

"I like comic books." Charlie replied. "Dude! That's cool! I got tons at my house! Which ones are your favorites?" Will said.

"Uncanny X-Men is all I read," Charlie explained.

As the boys walked further towards their homes, they got into friendly debates over which X-men was better, Gambit or Wolverine. After the discussion, Charlie agreed to go to Will's house to see what comics he had.

Years went past and Will and Charlie had become best of friends. They were in high school now and made sure they were in the same classes together. After each day of school, they would always go to the local comic book store and scope out the latest stuff. Charlie still stuck to his infatuation with Gambit even though Will tried his hardest to get Charlie to sway to the Wolverine stories.

"Bro, did you see Becky Sanders checkin' you out at lunch today?" Will asked.

Charlie started turning a bit red as he blushed a for a few seconds. "Whatever man, you're insane. We're part of the outcast of the school and she's one of the head cheerleaders. There's no way she'd be interested in me." Charlie declared.

"Dude, I saw her, she was checkin you out big time! This is no joke man, I think she's got the hots for you," Will said as he was flipping through a magazine.

Charlie's self-esteem wasn't all that great. He was grasping the concept of being adopted silently. The thought of his birth parents not wanting him and growing up with people that had to go through an agency to get legal rights to him. Even though Mitch and Debbie claimed to love him as their own, he wasn't really their own. They just owned him in his mind. …Plus he wasn't all that interested in girls. He figured if his own birth mother didn't want him, why would any other woman want him? So he tried his hardest to avoid talking to them on anything more than a classmate or friend level.

"Will, talking to her would be a lost cause. Besides, even if I was interested, which I'm not, the football guys would just make fun of me and I'd rather save myself from the shame they would inflict upon me," Charlie explained.

"Your loss man, and besides, screw those jocks. They usually just talk about who's dick is bigger and who has the faster car. Sad they have to use wheels to compensate for what they really don't have," Will said.

Charlie snickered at the comment and then went to the front counter to purchase the newest edition of Uncanny X-Men.

"Your obsession with this story is sickening you know that?" Will said to Charlie who just rolled his eyes in response as he reached for his wallet to pay for the book.

"Not as much as your playgirl collection, sicko." Charlie said.

Will growled and responded, "Those are not mine dude! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Yeah sure, whatever." Charlie responded sarcastically.

A few weeks later, Charlie was sitting by himself in the cafeteria of his high school; Will wasn't there as he was sick and decided to be absent all day. Charlie sat there eating his pizza slice and looking around. He looked towards the table of jocks who were picking on a school nerd and laughing like crazy about it. Charlie noticed Becky who was laughing too, but then glanced in Charlie's direction with a smile. Was Will right? Was Becky, one of the hottest cheerleaders in the whole school checking him out? How could she be interested in an outcast? It wasn't logically possible.

Bucky Davis, one of the football's team top guys, noticed Becky looking at Charlie and said "Becky, what's up with you lookin at that freak? Does he have booger hangin' out of his nose or something?"

Becky went from an innocent look to a disgusted look from the question Bucky asked. "You're gross, you know that?" Becky said as she knugged Bucky in the arm.

The next day, Will came back to school and met Charlie in a park across the street from the school before their first period class started. "Hey man, feeling better?" Charlie asked.

Will responded, "Yeah, had one of those stomach viruses. Being sick sucks man."

"Yeah, I know what you mean bro. You know what you said about Becky Sanders the other day?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Will wondered.

Charlie smirked and responded, "I think you're right. I caught her smiling at me yesterday during lunch time."

"Hate to say I told you so, but I told you so!" Will jokingly said.

"What should I do about it though? I've never liked a girl before." Charlie wondered.

Will laughed and replied, "And you call me gay. You mean to tell me you've never even thought about a girl at all?"

"Dude, shut up. I'm asking you this in all honesty!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Make a move bro. See if she'd like to go out on a date or something." Will said. "Just make sure you do it away from the jocks or they're gonna eat you for breakfast." Will added.

Charlie sat on top of the park bench and just stared into the lake in front of them. Thinking heavily about the situation and how exactly he should approach Becky was weighing heavily on his mind.



























Chapter 3: "First And Last"

As Charlie walked down the hallway to his locker, his breath started getting heavier. All he could think about was Becky Sanders. "This isn't like me" he said to himself. 'What's wrong with me?' he asked himself in his mind. He started thinking how he needed to get over those thoughts and just do it and get it over with. "What's the worst that could happen? So she says no, tells her jock buddies, they get a laugh, make fun of me for a couple of weeks, then everything goes back to normal." His mind kept battling the thought of rejection and the consequences of what would happen if she rejected him.

As Charlie turned around, Becky was walking down the hallway towards him. His heart started beating faster. His eyes got a bit wider. He inhaled deeply through his nose as he tried to keep from obviously staring at her. She started turning the combination to her locker which was just three away from his. He kept glancing her way, and then noticed she was doing the same thing towards him. He gathered up all the courage he needed and then shut his locker and turned to Becky and asked "Becky, are you doing anything this Saturday?"

"Not really. Why do you ask?" Becky questioned.

"I was wondering if you, well, umm, if you, uh, would like to, uh, do something that night." Charlie asked while stumbling for his words.

"Why Charlie Remy, are you asking me out on a date?" Becky asked.

"I know, sorry, it was stupid of me, sorry." Charlie said shamefully.

"Sorry for what? I'd love to go out with you." Becky responded.

"Look, I know you're probably just……..what? What did you say?" Charlie asked with a shocked look on his face.

Becky giggled for a second the replied, "I said I'd love to go out with you. You're cute."

Charlie started blushing like crazy. "Thanks, so I'll pick you up around 7?" He asked.

"Sure thing, I can't wait, see you later." Becky replied. She walked away as Charlie just stood there watching her. Little did he know that Bucky and his friends were watching from the other side of the hall, and had heard everything. Bucky was fuming with hatred for Charlie now, and one of his buds was about to make a move for Charlie but Bucky stopped him. "Not now, I got a better idea, we'll let Becky go out with this chump, then we'll crash the date and embarrass the hell out him." Bucky explained. The boys behind him started laughing as they agreed with the idea.

"Dude! NO WAY! You got a date with Becky Sanders?" Will asked while him and Charlie were at the patio in the back of the school.

"Sure do bro. I'm picking her up at 7 on Saturday." Charlie said with a big grin on his face.

"I swear, I'm either living in the twilight zone, or Becky Sanders has been hitting the crack pipe." Will said jokingly.

"You're just jealous that I'm going out with one of the hottest girls in the school and not you." Charlie joked.

"So where are you taking her?" Will asked.

Charlie got a pondering look on his face and replied, "I'm not sure yet. Where do you think I should take her?"

"Bro, come on, you have to have a game plan for this date. This is big! This is BECKY SANDERS! Come on!" Will exclaimed.

"I know, but I don't know her well enough to know what she likes. All I know is she does cheerleading and likes sports." Charlie said.

"Well, maybe you could impress her with your obsession of Gambit, Mr. Uncanny X-Man." Will said sarcastically while laughing.

Charlie responded by throwing a waded up sheet of paper at him.

"Hey!" Will said, and then both young men got up and started walking towards the doors leading back into the cafeteria.

Finally it was the big day; Charlie started the engine of his 1997 Chevy Monte Carlo that his parents bought him for his 16th birthday. He turned to his cd collection, putting in a mix of songs he burned on to a cd using his pc. He cranked up "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters. As he started backing up from the driveway, he started singing along with the song. The night was fair and warm. No cloud in the sky. Charlie kept thinking to himself how perfect a night it was for this date. He arrived at Becky's house and pulled up to the side of the curb in front of the house. He cut the engine off and was starting to undo his seatbelt when he noticed Becky walking out of the front door of her house.

She was dressed in a blue casual dress and white heels. Her hair was curled. Charlie smiled at the thought of how beautiful she looked. She walked around his car to open the passenger door and get in the seat next to him, As she shut the door, Charlie said to her, "You know I was gonna open the door for you but you're so fast that you didn't give me a chance."

She smiled and replied, "It's ok Charlie, I'm not expecting you to be a perfect gentleman with me."

He smiled back and then turned the engine back on. As he turned the gear into drive, Becky said to him, "Oh you got the new Foo Fighters cd? I love them!"

Charlie was shocked for a second and replied, "Really? I didn't know you were into this kind of music."

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me Charlie." She replied.

"I guess not, but I hope I can get to know as much as I can." Charlie said.

"What would you like to know?" Becky asked.

Charlie glanced at her and responded, "Well, lots of things. Like what do you like to do besides cheerleading? What are your plans after high school? Other things too."

Becky replied, "Well, I love swimming, volleyball, fishing, a lot of outdoors stuff. I'm the tomboy of the family. My older sister is the bookworm and my younger sister who is in junior high is the punk rocker style. What about you? What are your hobbies?"

Charlie hesitated for a second and replied, "Well, you're probably gonna laugh at me if I tell you."

"Come on, it can't be that bad, can it? It's not like you're collecting peoples' thumbnails or watching porn on the internet are you?" Becky replied.

Charlie laughed at the question and responded, "No, nothing that extreme. No, I collect comic books."

"Awww, that's cute." Becky stated.

"Collecting comic books isn't cute, it's manly, ya goof." Charlie responded.

"You're the one who collects comic books and you call me a goof? Becky laughed as she said that.

"Well, other than that, I collect dvds and music as well as go to concerts and festivals." Charlie stated.

"So where exactly are we going? You haven't even told me what we're doing on this date." Becky asked.

"Well, I figured we go grab a bite to eat so we can talk, then after that we could go to the theme park around here." Charlie answered.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Charlie." Becky responded.

They pulled into the parking lot of a local Italian restaurant. Charlie opened the door for Becky and they were seated by the hostess. They ordered drinks and looked at the menus while conversing some more.

"So, how many girlfriends have you had?" Becky asked.

Charlie started blushing again. "Well, to be honest, I've never even been on a date till now."

"Are you serious?" Becky asked.

Charlie's face stopped blushing and went to a more shameful look. "I wish I wasn't, but yes." He responded.

"Wow Charlie, well, I'm glad and honored to be your first date ever." Becky replied with a smile.

Charlie stopped feeling shamed and started feeling more appreciated. They ordered their meals and conversed more about themselves as the night went .. dinner, they drove to a theme park with roller-coasters, live shows, and tons of junk food and other things. They went on every coaster, went to the live show, bought some popcorn and cotton candy and stared walking around and taking more.

"So you're telling me that you have no idea who your birth parents are?" Becky asked.

"That's right, and I've had no desire to even find out. I figured if they didn't want me in their lives, why should I want them in mine now?" Charlie explained.

"Wow, that's heavy. At least you're with parents that care for you though. Do you have any siblings from your adopted parents?" Becky wondered.

Charlie looked at her and replied, "Nope, I'm an only child in this family. Which in a way is good 'cause I get all the attention and get spoiled too. I don't brag about it to a lot of people, though, 'cause I don't want the attention." Charlie said.

"Well you know being with me is going to get you a lot of attention at school now," Becky stated.

Charlie thought for a second and replied, "Well, I don't care, I'm having fun being with you, and that's all that matters."

"Awww, that's sweet Charlie. I'm having fun too." Becky replied. They smiled at each other.

Little did either of them know that Bucky and his football teammates were waiting at Charlie's car, drinking cans of beer and keying the sides of Charlie's car while one of them slashed his tires. Bucky had nothing but malice on his mind, and he was going to make sure that Charlie never thought of talking or even looking at Becky ever again. "Hurry up you guys. I want to see the look on Charlie's face when he sees what we did to his car. Maybe next time he'll think twice before going out with my girl." Bucky said to his mates.

"Well, we better call it a night handsome," Becky said to Charlie who responded, "Handsome? Why Ms. Sanders, was that a flirtatious compliment?"

"Don't get a big head now Charlie," Becky responded.

As the laughed a little bit, they walked out of the exit gates towards Charlie's car. Bucky saw them coming and shouted to his friends, "Hurry up, here they come!"

Charlie started saying something to Becky but then stopped all of a sudden and froze in his tracks.

"What is it Charlie?" Becky asked as she noticed he'd stopped walking. She turned her head to the direction that Charlie was staring at, and looked in shock of the sight of his car. The tires were flat, the sides were keyed, the headlights and tail lights smashed. The trunk had been bashed in, the hood as well.

"What the fuck man?" Charlie said in a shocked voice.

Becky stood there in disbelief. Charlie walked around his car to survey the damage while holding his hands on his head. "What the fuck!" he said again.

"Charlie, I am so sorry. I have no idea who did this; do you?" Becky said to Charlie who was first looking at her and then past her with an upset look. She turned around to see Bucky and his friends pointing and laughing at Charlie.

"What did you expect loser? You think you were gonna end the night with a fairytale ending? Think you were gonna get the goodnight kiss to brag about at school on Monday? Sorry to burst your bubble, or should I say, your car, but that ain't happening punk!" Bucky stated as he was staggering a little bit, apparently he had been drinking a tad bit and it was showing.

"Bucky, why did you do this? What did he ever do to you?" Becky asked in a scolding tone.

"Oh come on Becky, you can't be seriously standing up for this freak. He's nothing but a loser and that's what he always will be. Right loser?" Bucky stated and then turned his attention back to Charlie.

"Go screw yourself man." Charlie said to Bucky who looked a bit surprised at the ballsy statement.

"Go screw myself? Nah, I think I'll screw your little girlfriend here instead. Come on Becky, we're leaving." Bucky stated.

Becky looked at Bucky in disgust and replied "I'm not screwing you or doing anything with you Bucky. You're drunk and what you did to Charlie's car is i
inexcusable"

"Look, you're coming with me, and that's that." Bucky said as he grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards him.

As she screamed and struggled to get away from him, Charlie started running towards Bucky but was cut off by his friends. "Where do you think you're going there, punk? Gonna be there hero? Not this time," One of Bucky's friends said right before he swung at Charlie and knocked him to the ground.

Charlie opened his eyes and felt pain throbbing through his head. He rubbed his hand over his mouth, and noticed blood. His nose was bleeding from the blow. As he tried to get up from being knocked down, he saw Bucky push Becky into his truck and shut the door and lock her in. He then got in the driver seat and closed the door behind him. The truck started and the tires were peeling as he pulled out of the parking space.

Bucky's friends had left now, too; Charlie was alone and in pain. He reached for his cell phone and called his parents. "Dad, I need you to pick me up. It's a long story, just hurry up please." Charlie hung up the phone and put his hands covering his face in shame. He started crying at what had happened. His car was ruined and he hadn't the money to fix it. His girl was taken by the drunk jock and he was beaten up. He couldn't believe his first date, a date that was going so well, had ended in tragedy. To make matters worse, he had to explain this all to his father who wasn't going to be one bit happy about the car.