"Please, Jon, please will you come to the funeral." Charley begs. She pulls the last of her clothes out of the dryer and sticks them in the laundry basket and carries them to her room. She begins to fold the clothes, waiting for Jon's reply.

"Fine, I'll come. On one condition."

"What's that?"

"You come visit me in Winnipeg sometime during break." Charley lets out a sigh and throws down the oversized sweater she had been folding. Jon had been bugging her since she got back to go out to Winnipeg with him. Why shouldn't she go, I mean, her and Jon were just friends, right?

"Fine." Jon cheers which makes Charley laugh. She holds the phone against her ear with her shoulder and hangs up a couple shirts in her closet. She looks around her room as Jon rambles on about how much fun the trip is going to be.

She had finally found the time to fix her room after a hurricane had come through. The hurricane being hockey season. During the season she was too tired to do anything and usually just left everything on the floor.

Noah had helped her redo her room just under a year ago. They'd painted the walls red and white stripes. Her bed is pushed up against the northern wall facing the street and a Canadian Flag duvet covers the bed with white sheets and a decorative flag pillow. In the small cutout next to her closet and bathroom door on the east wall has a white chair pushed up against the wall and a bookshelf standing next to it. On the western wall was a desk that housed her laptop and school supplies. On the southern wall was covered in hockey memorabilia.

Her youth jerseys hung along the wall and pictures of her teams were posted next to them. A short tabled pushed against the bottom of the wall hold all the trophies that Charley had won in hockey tournaments. Medals hung around the top of the wall. Her high school had given Charley one of her high school jerseys which her mom had gotten framed while she was in Minnesota and Illinois and it hung in the center of the wall.

"Charley?"

"What?" Charley is pulled from her thoughts and realizes that she is still on the phone with Jon. "Sorry, Jon, I kind of zoned out."

"That's all good. I'm sure you've got a lot on your mind. We'll figure out your trip to Winnipeg when I come to Montreal. Where should I stay. Is there a hotel close by?"

"Just stay with me." It was out of Charley's mouth before she'd even thought about it. To her, I guess, it seemed fair. She was going to be spending some time with Jon in Winnipeg so she should return the favor and let him stay with her in Montreal.

"Okay, are you sure?"

"Yea, why not."

"Alright. Can you pick me up from the airport?"

"Sure, just text me your flight info when you get it."

"Alright, thanks Charley. I'll see you in a couple days."

***

She had told herself she wasn't going to cry. She was not going to break down in front of all these people. Her family, Jake's family, her high school, her hockey team. Yet, as she sat in the pew and watched everyone file in and saw the looming black casket sitting at the front of the church, she couldn't help her eyes beginning to tear up and her throat begin to tighten.

"You okay?" a hand rests on her elbow and she looks over to see Jon standing next to her with a concerned look on his face. She shook her head as a few tears escaped and Jon pulls her into a hug. "It'll be okay." he soothes her.

"I told myself I wasn't going to cry." she whispers to him.

"You have every right to cry, Charley. No one is going to judge you." Jon replies softly. The funeral begins. Charley basically zones out into her own world of pity until she's called up to speak.

Slowly, she rises and walks up to the podium. She pauses before beginning, looking at all the people there for Jake. She takes a breath and begins.

"I'm Charley. Jake was my best friend and as of a week and a half before the accident, my boyfriend. We met my freshman year of high school when he was a freshman too. I tried out for the boys hockey team and he was the first one that seemed to accept me as a girl. We were close ever since then. We played hockey on my rink in the backyard with my brother Noah and our other best friend Kyle most Friday and Saturday nights. We played so late that the neighbors would come outside and tell us to shut up because they were trying to sleep. To those neighbors, I'm sorry." the crowd chuckles and Charley cracks a smile.

"He was only my boyfriend for a week and a half, which is a very short period of time, which kills me every time I think about it because we liked each other for four years before he finally asked me out. If I ever see him up in heaven I might have to kick his ass for leaving me so soon, I mean, I wasn't that bad." the crowd chuckles again.

"Basically, Jake will be missed. It sounds cliché, but it's true. He was a great kid. Honest, loyal and caring. He always thought about everyone else before himself. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. I'm going to miss him so much. Hockey is going to seem weird without him around." Charley moves back to her seat as the crowd claps.

She seems to zone out the rest of the funeral and doesn't realize it's over until Jon shakes her lightly. She looks up at him with sad eyes. His eyes are soft and warm and he pulls her in for a hug. Jon's embrace is comforting and Charley is able to find the courage to stand from her seat and confidently leave the church without breaking down in tears.

They drive to the cemetery and circle around Jake's plot. The whole high school team is there, Jon included. The casket is lowered into the hole dug on Jake's plot next to his grandparents and a small pile of dirt waits at the foot of the casket. One by one each team member scoops up a handful of dirt and sprinkles it on top of Jake's casket, Charley being last. She lets a few tears slip from her eyes and Jon wraps an arm around Charley's waist and pulls her into his side in a comforting manner.

When they return home, Charley strips out of the funeral clothes and into a pair of pajamas. She makes her way down to the kitchen where she finds Jon standing with a glass of water. He gives her a small smile which she does the best to return.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing alright. It wasn't easy burying Jake, I'll miss him."

"I don't doubt it." the conversation drops off and they slip into silence. Jon sips at his water, swirling the glass around in his hand absentmindedly.

"So, Winnipeg?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. Charley gives him a genuine smile, one that reaches all the way up to her eyes. It had to be the first real smile she doled out in weeks. Noah enters the kitchen, grabs a glass of water and announces he's going to bed but is soon distracted by Charley's cheery mood.

"What's got you so happy?" he questions, downing the glass of water and discarding it in the sink.

"Nothing." Noah shrugs and exits the kitchen, they hear his footsteps up the stairs and his bedroom door open and close.

"You really that excited to go to Winnipeg?" Jon chuckles.

"Honestly, yes. It'll be nice to get away from here. With all the hockey I've done, I've never really gotten a chance to travel and right now I just really want to get out of here. Everyone in this town knows that Jake and I were close friends and that I was his girlfriend for a little while and I get sick of the pity looks I keep getting from everyone. I'm not weak, or fragile. Yes, sometimes I cry, but I'm not weak." Jon steps forward so he's less than a foot away from Charley and cups her face with his hands.

"You are not weak, you are the strongest person I know. And I'm so glad you're one of my friends." Jon leans forward and presses his lips softly to Charley's forehead then tells her he's going to head to bed.

"We'll talk about your plans to go to Winnipeg in the morning." Jon exits the room as Ann enters.

"He's an attractive fellow." she comments once Jon is out of hearing distance. Charley blushes a deep red and covers her face with her hands in attempts to hide it, but she can't help but let a smile tug at her lips.

"Mom, he's just a friend."

"Are you sure?"

"Mom, he can't be anything more than a friend."

"And why not?"

"You know why." Charley says quietly. Her mother pulls her lips into a tight line and takes a breath. The look on her face tells Charley that she's carefully thinking about what to say next.

"Charley, you're allowed to be happy. Yes, you were with Jake and I know he meant a lot to you and I know your relationship with him ended when neither of you were ready for it to, but unfortunately it did. And now you have this lovely boy here, wanting to support and comfort you. He's interested in you, he likes you, his feeling may even be stronger than that. I'm a mother and I can tell. I know you may not be ready for another relationship right now, but if you have a slight interest in him, tell him, because if he feels strongly about you, he'll wait. Don't let him get away. Goodnight Charley, I'll see you in the morning." Ann kisses Charley goodnight and leaves the kitchen, leaving Charley to chew on what Ann had said to her.

She climbs the stairs to her bedroom, pausing outside of Jon's door as she turns over what Ann said again and again in her head. She passes the door and enters her own room. She flips off the light and climbs into her bed, staring at the blank ceiling.

Three hours later, she hasn't moved a muscle and is still wide awake. The words from her conversation with her mother still float through her mind. She glances at the clock and realizes it's one in the morning.

"Don't let him get away." the words of Ann echo through her mind.

She rips off the covers and stumbles out of bed and into the hallway. She approaches Jon's door and debates whether or not to go in. She's not sure how long she stood there, but in the end, she reaches out, turns the door knob and enters the room.

In the faint light cast on the room from the window, she can just barely make out the silhouette of a sleeping Jon and a faint snore sounds through the room. She moves over to the bedside, moving the covers out of the way. Gingerly, she climbs into bed next to Jon and pulls the covers up. She freezes when she hears Jon begin to stir. He rolls over so he's facing her and squints his eyes, trying to focus in his sleepy state.

"Charley?" he asks in a groggy voice. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was, uh, I was just, I mean. Sorry, I shouldn't be here, I mean, sorry. I'll leave." she quickly scurries out of bed and makes a beeline for the door, but Jon is quicker and catches her wrist.

"No, stay." wordlessly, he pulls her back down onto the bed, pulling the covers over both of them. He wraps a protective arm around her waist and pulls her to him. She lays her head against his toned chest and inhales his musky scent. Feeling comfortable and calm in Jon's presence, she begins to feel drowsy. Jon rubs circles with his hand along her back and presses sweet kisses onto the top of her head as Charley's eyelids fall closed.

"I love you." he whispers as Charley slips off to sleep.

Notes

Sorry it's been so long since I updated! I'm on vacation and I started work last week so I'm pretty busy! I hope you enjoyed the update, nonetheless! Comment/Vote/Subscribe! Thanks!

Charley's Funeral Outfit: http://www.polyvore.com/goodbye/set?id=87150716