#god i've been thinking about this concept for SO LONG i'm so excited ahfdakfj

[futurecharlies]

Charlie is thirty-one and lives in London, England. He is a footballer-turned-businessman. Commitment issues have him unmarried. He has brought his almost two-year-old daughter Grace and his nanny Evie with him to the reunion.

In ten years, Charlie’s life has taken a dramatically different direction than he had originally thought it would.

Moving back to England after graduation, Charlie found a place in a League One team of the English Football League. It wasn’t the top competition he was dreaming of, but it was definitely a good stepping stone to get him where he wanted. After two years, he switched clubs as he was given an opportunity to move up into the Championship league and things seemed to be progressing well – until they weren’t.

Charlie’s dream of playing in the EPL well into his thirties was crushed in a mere few moments in the middle of a match. One aggressive tackle tore the ligaments in his right knee, and despite multiple operations and physical therapy, he never regained the competitive edge he had had before the injury.

Charlie did not take it well. He was forced to watch other younger players take his place as he was sidelined, and he was pissed. He had been sure he had so much left in him, but his career was ended before it had the chance to truly take off.

After much deliberation, he somewhat put his degree to use when he signed on as a coaching assistant. It wasn’t terribly satisfying, though, when he still longed to be out on the pitch himself.

His new direction came from the most unexpected person: his father. Since having returned to England, he made more of an effort to see his parents, and their relationship had improved over the years. Charlie had been expressing his discontent at dinner with his parents one night when his father suggested that he get into the behind the scenes business aspect of the industry. Charlie had scoffed – he had always been convinced he was not businessman material – and yet his father had connections, and when he set up a meeting for him with a rival club, Charlie was tempted with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

As it turned out, Charlie had a flair for bullshitting his way up the ranks, his charm and charisma going a long way. His father had his people give him a crash course in the corporate world, and before he knew it, he had faked his way up the ladder, his designer suits and charming smile, coupled with the Styles name, getting him further than he could’ve imagined. There were rumours he was up for a promotion next season, too. The most surprising thing of all was that he actually liked it. He had always been adamant that he didn’t want to be like his father, and yet he had become the kind of son it had always been assumed he would be.

Just as things were going so well, though, Charlie had his life turned upside down again. What he hadn’t known when he had taken a flight to Rome for a holiday was that he should never have gotten involved with the pretty flight attendant. His ensuing ‘relationship’ with Flight Attendant Crystal was purely physical – they hooked up whenever he was on one of her flights and whenever she had a stop in London. It was fun, he thought it wasn’t serious, until he fucked everything up for her.

Crystal was forced to take leave when she found out she was pregnant and she blamed Charlie for everything. They quickly realised that they didn’t really know each other. Charlie realised that, while he enjoyed the sex, it wasn’t worth it when he learnt she was kind of nuts. She constantly picked fights, easy when he was hardly an excited father-to-be, and they could never agree what the fuck they were going to do. Neither of them wanted to be in a relationship together, let alone raise a child.

After a gruelling nine months, Crystal gave birth to a daughter. Charlie was letting them stay with him, since he had some sense of duty, but after another screaming match between the two of them, where she reminded him that he had ruined her life and he declared he didn’t even want a baby in the first place, Crystal left. He woke up one morning and she was gone. He had found a note on the kitchen table reiterating that he could go fuck himself, and her sim card was snapped in half, floating in a glass of water, so he couldn’t call her again. He didn’t know her family, or whether she would return to her work. He didn’t know how to contact her. He was stuck with an unnamed newborn baby, and minus his favourite Rolex, which she had pettily stolen on her way out.

Way out of his depth, Charlie didn’t know the first thing about parenting. He reconnected with the nanny who had essentially raised him, and while she had retired long ago, she was more than willing to help him out until he could find someone permanent. Charlie might’ve been a dick, but he had enough heart to feel for the baby, his baby. He was not going to abandon her like Crystal had.

Charlie named her Grace. Ella had always been the one that got away, and while it wasn’t her he was settling down with, giving his daughter Ella’s middle name was a small comfort to him.

It took a few duds before Charlie finally found a nanny that it actually worked out with. Evie was the youngest of the women he had gone through – she was ten years younger than Charlie, and despite her not having as much experience as all the others, she was by far the best fit. Evie adored Grace, and the feeling appeared to be mutual. Charlie never had any problems with her, and in turn, he treated her well.

Coming from a modest beginning, Evie was thrown into Charlie’s life of luxury. He welcomed her into his flashy new apartment, gave her a credit card for anything she needed to get for Grace, and paid her generously, significantly more than she had been expecting to earn when she went for a job as a nanny.

Charlie enjoyed having her around. For lack of better judgment, he had slept with all of the previous nannies (which was perhaps partly why things hadn’t worked out), but it hadn’t happened right away with Evie. Of course, he was attracted to her: she was a gorgeous young brunette, who could’ve been spending her evenings doing something far more interesting than watching a rich man’s daughter while he was out for work commitments. And yet Evie was more interested in staying in with Grace. One night he had come home late from a meeting, he had asked her to stay a little longer for a drink, and he had ended up kissing her. He had (surprisingly) come to his senses mid-make out session that Evie was much younger than the girls he usually fooled around with these days, and that it could very well have been seen as him taking advantage of her, that maybe she thought she’d risk her job if she said no. But Evie had assured him it wasn’t like that at all.

Things are complicated between them. Primarily, Evie works for him, and aside from the discreet casual sex, she’s professional in every other aspect. Charlie always makes sure to give her days off, and sometimes gives her little (expensive) gifts as an extra thank you. He’ll find someone else to watch Grace when he wants to take Evie out somewhere. Evie’s family thinks it’s all a bit weird, but Evie only sees the good in him.

While Grace was certainly a curve ball, it was the reality check that Charlie hadn’t known he needed. He can still be an ass, but he’s settled more now that he has the responsibility of being a single father. He committed to being present more than his own father was when he was growing up; he tries to spend as much time as he can with Grace when he’s not working. Whenever anyone asks who her mother is, he explains it with a carefully worded, “She’s no longer with us,” and never corrects anyone who takes it to mean she’s passed on. Having not heard from Crystal in coming on two years, for all he knows, it’s true anyway. It’s better for everyone if they don’t mention her.

TL;DR: Charlie moved back to London after graduation, where he put in a few years as a footballer until a knee injury ended his career. He now works the business side of a Championship League EFL club. After accidentally getting a flight attendant he was fooling around with pregnant, she left him with their daughter and he is raising her on his own. He named her Grace and he’s more grounded now that he has her to look after. His young nanny, Evie, takes care of Grace while he’s working. He’s also sleeping with Evie. Charlie is, obviously, still rather stupid.