One fateful day

While Sam had obtained his long-time crush after a night of stargazing, Charlie and Eva's story took a simpler turn down romance lane and they took it much later. With Eva being four years younger than him and the same age as his little sister, Charlie had dismissed what he had been feeling as affection for someone he considered a sister as well. For the longest time he had convinced himself that there was nothing more there and in the case of her sister, his initial thoughts held true. But not too long after Sam got together with Fiona, Charlie started to realize that he too had a girl that crossed his mind more often than others and he could no longer keep the 'sister'-act up. Because one of the girls he had dubbed a sister had now become the one that he looked differently at.

However, after he realized the feelings inside his heart, he still didn't act on them. In fact, he buried them deep inside. He had a list of reasons and excuses that he told himself for why he hadn't voiced his feelings, why he couldn't. Since he hadn't told anyone about his feelings yet, he was the only one he needed to convince. But there was one thing all his reasons had in common, they all boiled down to a certain fear, the fear of losing Eva. He told himself that he didn't want to ruin the bond they had for something messy like love. That he needed to be absolutely certain that she felt the same way, that he had to make sure that his feelings were what he thought they were, before he would risk what they had now. That he shouldn't rush and should at the very least wait until she was a bit older before he would bring a topic like this up. Telling himself that for now he was content with just having their little inside jokes going back and forth and that he simply enjoyed her company. He kept this up and held strong in his resolve until one fateful day.

It was a warm summery day and Charlie was reading some book or other on the veranda. Leaning against one of the beams, shielding from the sun while at the same time enjoying its warmth, when a familiar shadow approached him. "Hey stranger." Charlie didn't need to look up to know who that voice belonged to and continued to read what was in front of him. "What are you reading on such a lovely day?" Without waiting for his answer, Eva lifted the cover of his book and snuck a glance. "My my. Even the title is complex. How about you take a break and join me and Eva in the other living room." Continuing her never tiring game of Anna or Eva. Today she was Anna yet again. In an effort to tempt him to join them she added, "We brought ice cream."

But nonchalantly, without looking up from his book, Charlie replied, "Why are you referring to yourself in the third person." Not wanting to give herself away just yet Eva said, "What do you mean. I am Anna. Eva is back in the other wing with Amira and Lidia." But without a shred of doubt Charlie replied, "No, you aren't and no she isn't. You are Eva." Eva looked at him with a baffled expression. Even almost ten years later, he was still the only person that she couldn't fool. The only one she couldn't make doubt himself. Even their parents couldn't tell her and Anna apart all the time. So, how was he able to do it so effortlessly and so nonchalantly? This age old question was one she couldn't seem to answer. With narrowed eyes Eva asked, "How can you be so sure?"

Without wasting a single breath or a single second Charlie listed how he could be so certain. "Very simple. You have a very tiny mole just above your hairline and Anna doesn't have that. Plus, your earrings have a green stone and you love green, while Anna likes blue. When you put your hands behind your back, you pull your arms up to the right while Anna pulls her arms up straight." He finally looked up from his book to ask Eva, "Do you want me to keep going? Because the list goes on and on." Eva mind was blown by Charlie knowing all of this when he barely looked up from his book. In a perplexed and heated tone of voice she asked, "How were you able to see all that in that fraction of a second that you looked at me?!"

But Charlie didn't let her tone affect him and continued to answer in the same cool and collected voice, one that bordered on boredom. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Even if I hadn't looked up, I still would have known you are you." Eva narrowed her eyes once more as she came closer to the guy who had obtained her heart ever since they were a little boy and girl. The guy who was either oblivious to all her unsubtle hints or simply uninterested. An answer she was scared to find. So, she continued to play a game of chicken with herself while changing her focus on the other question that had currently entered her mind. "How could you possibly tell me apart from Anna without looking at us?"