The Unicorn's Forest

In the end, Beth's mother gave Charlie, Hannah, and Amelia a ride to their homes. Though, as soon as Charlie got home, the first thing she did was change clothing. She didn't mind the clothes she'd borrowed from Beth, but she wanted to make sure she got them returned as soon as possible. Maybe she didn't need to worry so much about it, but it would at least be one thing off of her mind.

Charlie was so caught up in her thoughts that when she heard a knock on her door when she was putting on a green and white dress that was close to needing to be recycled due to the fabric getting rather thin, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Charlie?" her mother's voice came through the closed door. "Would you have time to talk? Your father and I were wanting to hear how the dance went."

Charlie shook her head in amusement as she chuckled. Of course they would want to talk about that. For a moment she thought it was going to be something else. Especially with the topics her mind had been going over.

"Sure, just let me finish getting dressed," Charlie called back.

"Dressed? Didn't you come back dressed?"

"Mom, those were Beth's clothes I had to borrow. I'll be returning them to her later today."

"Well, anyway, we'll be downstairs when you're ready."

Charlie sighed. While she wasn't surprised at this, it still put a damper on her morning so far. She didn't mind having toast for breakfast or the fact that she'd have to return Beth's clothes she'd borrowed, but she had no idea what her parents would want to know. Then there was also the part that she wasn't sure how to let them know about how she blacked out and needed the help of some of the chaperones to get off of the dance floor.

While she'd be happy to not have that come up, she also wasn't sure if she shouldn't let them know anyway. After all, maybe there was some sort of medical condition that was treatable that this would fall under. She seriously doubted it, but she really had no idea what might be the cause of it anyway.

She also found that after she had the dress on, she suddenly didn't want to leave her room because she knew that she'd need to talk with her parents. However, she also knew that she couldn't stay in there forever, no matter how much she might want to.

Sighing, she opened the door and made her way downstairs, partly wondering if she should have delayed coming downstairs by putting some socks on if not a pair of shoes as well. Not that she could do that now, since her parents were likely already aware of her having left her room.

As Charlie entered the dining room, she saw her parents at the table, waiting patiently for her. A mug of coffee in front of both of them.

"So, how was the dance?" her father asked, as soon as she came into the room.

"It was fun," Charlie replied, hoping they wouldn't push for more, but unsure if the would or not.

"Anything happen?" her mother asked.

"Well…" Charlie said as she sat down at the table across from them, unsure exactly how to start telling them about her blackout. However, she suddenly remembered the kiss she and Alex had towards the end of the dance. Much better than her blacking out.

"Ah, so something did happen," her mother said, her smile almost cutting her face in half.

"What?" Charlie asked, uncertain about what her mother was basing that on.

"You're blushing," her father informed her.

Great, Charlie thought to herself. Probably happened when I thought about that kiss.

Her father stared laughing. "Now you're beet red."

"Scott," her mother scolded. "Don;'t tease her so much. Let her tell us as she's ready."

"Um, well, Alex kissed me," Charlie said, unsure what her parents' reaction would be. It wasn't until the words were out that she suddenly worried about their reaction.

"I thought she was into you," her mother mused.

"Were you okay with that," her father asked.

"Yeah, it was fine," Charlie replied, not sure what her father meant, but didn't care enough to think too much about.

"When did it happen?" her mother asked, her eyes gleaming to the point that Charlie was wondering if her mother was trying to live through her at the moment.

"During the last dance," Charlie said. "It was a slow dance, since I only seem to be able to handle those."

"Wait, what do you mean that you can 'only seem to be able to handle those?'" her father asked.

Charlie felt like she'd just shot herself in her foot verbally. "Um, let's just ignore that?" Charlie tried, not really wanting to get into the details.

"Did something happen?" her mother asked, her tone suddenly the tone she always gave Charlie or Cherie when she was warning them about something.

"Well…" Charlie trailed off, not sure what to expect as a reaction from them, unable to get her volume louder than just above a whisper. "You see… Um… Well, I kinda blacked out when I was trying to dance early on during the dance."

"Are you okay?" her mother asked, suddenly in 'doctor' mode.'

"I'm fine, two chaperones helped me to the chairs on the side of the dance floor," Charlie said. "Alex kept me company through the dance, and when I tried a slow dance, I didn't have the same problems."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about how you blacked out?" her mother pressed.

Charlie shifted in her chair. "If we're done talking about the dance, can I leave? I don't really want to talk about that," Charlie said, wishing she hadn't made that slip.

"Why?" her mother asked.

"I just don't like thinking about it," Charlie wasn't sure if they'd buy that. While it was true, it wasn't the biggest reason.

"I'm just-" her mother began, but was stopped by her father.

"Jackie, lets let her be on that. She might need time to figure a few things about it herself," her father said gently.

Her mother mulled over that for a minute before sighing. "Well, aside from that then, what else can you tell us about the dance?" her mother then asked.

Charlie sighed in her mind. Talking with her parents about this wasn't what she'd had in mind at this time of day, but couldn't think of a way out of this.

So, she told them about what refreshments she liked, as well as how her friends and Alex's friends took turns keeping them company during the times slow dance songs weren't being played. As well as how Wes hadn't been able to go to the dance because he'd gotten pulled for dog sitting duty.

When Charlie finished, her mother smiled at her in a way that let Charlie know the topic of her blackout was about to come up again. "That sounds wonderful, dear. Though, if you'd like to talk more about what happened when you blacked out, feel free to talk to your father or me. We're only concerned about you and would just want to know what might have caused that," her mother said gently.

Charlie felt relieved. She was afraid her mother would start in again on wanting to know more about her blacking out right then.

"I know, mom," Charlie said, starting to get up from the table.

"Just remember," her father said. "If there's anything that you want to talk to us about, no matter what it is, we're always ready to listen. Even when it might not seem like it."

"Thanks, dad," Charlie said as she started to make her way out of the room.

"Anything you got planned for today?" he asked as she was about to leave the room.

"Well, I at least have to return Beth's clothing to her, but otherwise I was going to hang out with my friends," Charlie said. Even though she'd had friends for about six months now, every so often it felt weird saying that. This was definitely one of those times for her.

"Well, have fun, dear," her mother said. "Your father and I will be here through the day, so if you need anything, just let us know."

"I will, mom," Charlie called as she hurried up to her room to get Beth's clothing as well as her purse and phone. "I love you guys!"

Beth sighed as she saw Charlie at her front door, returning the clothing she'd loaned her mere hours earlier. She wasn't sure if she should really be surprised. Especially with how she had been about her underwear and the push-up bras, in addition to being uneasy about not having any kind of pajamas.

"Thanks," Beth said as she accepted the bag with her clothes in it.

"So, when will we be discussing the issue that came up last night with the others?" Charlie asked.

Beth sighed. It was earlier than she'd have liked, but this was clearly not going to go away, and as she thought about it, it might be better to deal with it now rather than later.

"You might as well come in then," Beth said. "I'll see if I can get the others on the phone. They might be available now, but I can't be sure."

"I understand," Charlie said. "I just thought it'd be good to get it out of the way sooner rather than possibly not being able to get to it."

Beth smirked as she walked to her room, knowing Charlie couldn't see her face. The 'not being able to get to it' was pretty much what she had been hoping would happen. That way the whole issue could potentially just blow over.

After all, she knew her sister. Stacie would likely forget about it before they went to school Monday, so it wouldn't likely create a problem. Though, if Charlie kept pushing it, there was a chance that Stacie would be allowed to see Petals and her forest. Though, Beth hoped that if that occurred, she wouldn't be allowed to have her magic unsealed, but if they let her know about unicorns and magic then Beth probably wouldn't be able to stop her from getting her magic unsealed in general.

"So, should I get my phone out and have all of us in on the same call, or are you going to call the others and have them meet us somewhere?" Charlie asked Beth as they reached her room.

"Depends. If one of them is unable to meet with us, then I'll look at getting everyone on the same call. Otherwise, I was thinking we could go to your place and have everyone meet us there."

"Wait, why my house?" Charlie asked, surprised.

"Simple, you won the bet when we went to Arachnia's world, so you get to pick what movie we watch. I'm just more interested in seeing what movie you pick more than anything else about the movie," Beth replied, .

"Great," Charlie said unenthusiastically.

"I knew you'd be stoked for it," Beth commented cheerfully.

"I thought we were going to have a break in watching movies," Charlie said.

"Yeah, that was the plan," Beth remarked. "But if we're getting together today, then we might as well make the most of the day."

"Well, lets find out, okay?" Charlie said, pulling her phone out.

"Calm down, Charlie," Beth said. "I'll make the calls. Unless we have everyone on the line, I won't need to have more than one person on the line."

Charlie sighed, sitting on Beth's bed. "Then could you do that? I'd really like to get this moving."

Beth smiled at Charlie. "Alright, I'll do that. Just remember that you're liable for picking the movie if we don't get everyone on the line."

"I understand," Charlie replied.