#01 - Walking
Michael thinks of Charlotte every time he walks, eyes half closed as he relives what muscle moves where or how her chest heaves for air as she runs, and can't help but feel just a
little proud at how much faster she is than he is at his snail's pace ... especially when she has never, not once, used her speed to escape his gaze.
#02 - Waltz
It is a favourite fantasy of his to imagine them waltzing -- one hand lightly clasping hers while his other sits on her hip, guiding her delightfully innocent body into the right steps -- but whenever he thinks of the way her chin would tilt slightly
(her lids just a little hooded her lips just slightly parted, her --) to meet his eyes, he has to stop before the despair that it is
not happening destroys him.
#03 - Wishes
It is her birthday, all her friends gathered around her figure as the cake comes out -- and when she scrunches her eyes shut and takes a deep breath, he knows
exactly what she is wishing for when the candle's flame winks out into nothing.
#04 - Wonder
He watches as she opens his latest gift, and he knows that it is not fear that causes her eyes to widen and her breath to hitch -- no, it is nothing less than awe and wonder at how attentive he has been to her secret desires, to have bought her what she wanted more than anything else in the world but never breathed aloud.
#05 - Worry
He almost tears himself apart with worry and panic when she disappears from the city, off his radar and out of his life -- but only until he realizes that this is just another hurdle, just another obstacle to overcome before they can prove to the universe that they are ready to be together.
#06 - Whimsy
Some told him -- in the privacy of their expressions buried deep under their agreements and solemn nods where they thought he couldn't see -- that his fantasy of being with her
(whoever she is why don't you tell us) was just that
(a fantasy that's what they all think why can't they see) and Michael hated every time he had to laugh awkwardly and agree it was just his own brand of foolishness, just to keep them from interfering.
#07 - Waste/Wasteland
There is an obituary in the paper one morning -- a young girl, named Charlotte, struck down in a hit and run ... and he feels his entire life become nothing more than a pointless wasteland with no reprieve in sight -- at least, until he reads the next line, and realizes it is not
his Charlotte that has been killed.
#08 - Whiskey and rum
The whiskey and the rum are the only way he can sleep the night before he goes to see her -- so much time has passed, that his stomach is in knots and his nerves are frayed and he is
so excited that even with the alcohol, he can barely bring himself to close his eyes long enough to rest.
#09 - War
Her tears
(so innocent so unassuming so gentle so sweet) are enough to cause a war in his very soul as he paces back and forth and tears at his hair, trying to decide if
now is the right time to reveal himself and if she is ready and old enough ... or if he should just step back, wait, and pray that she does not cry herself to sleep too many nights over such a callous lover.
#10 - Weddings
His desk is covered in bridal magazines, pages marked with little post its and notes scribbled down to obtain some sort of order in the chaos of photos and prices and catalogues -- after all, it would hardly be fair to expect his dear Charlotte to be able to make enough sense of the mess on her own to plan their ceremony.
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