This Joint is a-Rockin'!: a Charles in Charge fanfic

[80schick]

Part One

Opening scene: the Pembroke living room. Lila is watching MTV with her schoolbooks open in front of her when Charles and Buddy walk in the front door.

“I’m telling you, Charles,” Buddy says, “She wanted me. I could feel it.”

Charles looked at his friend. “In your dreams, Buddy.”

“Yeah, in your dreams, goon-machine,” Lila pipes in.

“Hey, Lila, what are you doing?” Charles asks, sitting down next to her on the couch.

“Homework, Charles,” Lila tells him, indicating her books.

“Ah, then you don’t need this,” Charles tells her, picking up the remote control and zaps the TV off.

“Charles!” Lila protests, “I wanted to watch the new Suzy Donovan video!”

“Lila!” Charles imitates her protest, “I want you to finish your homework.”

Leaving Lila to her studies, Charles led Buddy into the kitchen, where he opened the refrigerator and took out two sodas. He tossed one to Buddy.

“What do you have planned tonight, Charles?” Buddy asked, as he opened the can.

“Oh, big plans,” Charles revealed, “I’m helping Douglas build a birdhouse for shop class.”

“On a Friday night?” Buddy was incredulous. Charles never ceased to amaze him. How he could choose to spend his free time with three kids was beyond Buddy. “Aren’t you going out with Gwendolyn this weekend?”

Gwendolyn Pearce was Charles’ on-again/off-again girlfriend; at the moment, they were off-again. “She went home to visit her parents this weekend,” Charles told Buddy.

Buddy’s eyes widened. “Really? You’re free to go cruising for chicks with me then?” He was excited. Buddy was always trying to get Charles to cut loose and have some fun.

Charles laughed. “I told you, Buddy, I promised Douglas I’d help him tonight,” Charles reminded him.

“All night?” Buddy slumped in his chair. “Come on, Charles.”

Music filtered from the living room. “Charles! Come quick!” Lila called.

Charles and Buddy walked out of the kitchen. Lila was dancing and singing in front of the TV.

“Lila, are you finished with your homework?” Charles asked.

Buddy was riveted to the TV. “Hey, she’s good,” he said, bopping his head to the music.

Just then, the front door opened. Stan Pembroke called upstairs to his wife. “Jill? You ready? Come on, we have to go now if we’re going to get to the party on time!” he reminded her. “Hi Charles, we won’t be out late. Just going to make an appearance and come home early. Then you can salvage the rest of your evening.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Pembroke,” Charles assured his boss, “I’m fine.”

Jill walked downstairs dressed in a green cocktail dress. Stan whistled. “Stan,” she blushed. “Okay, Lila, I’ve already talked to the boys upstairs. Charles is in charge. Bye sweetie,” she called out, blowing a kiss to Lila, as her husband whisked her out the door.

**********

[80schick]

Part Two

Later, Charles and Douglas are in the living room with woodworking tools spread out in front of them. A very crude looking birdhouse sits before them. Douglas picks it up. “Are you sure this is right, Charles?” he asks, skeptically.

“Of course, Douglas,” Charles insists, “I’ve made a million of these.”

“Yeah, but how many of them worked?” Douglas jokes.

Charles threw a wad of paper at him and Douglas laughed. Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Pembroke walked in. “Hi, you two,” Jill greets, “where’s Lila and Jason?”

“Lila’s on the phone with what she called a ‘fashion emergency’,” Charles informed them, “and Jason is---”

“Right here,” Jason interrupted, as he appeared at the top of the stairs. “I can’t find my baseball cap. I need it for tomorrow’s game,” he said dramatically, as he ran downstairs.

“Jason, I’m sure it’s somewhere,” his mother assured him, “come on, I’ll help you find it after I change out of this dress.” She led him back upstairs as Stan sat down on the couch.

Douglas held up his birdhouse proudly. “Look, Dad,” he beamed, “what do you think?”

Stan looked at it. It truly was the ugliest-looking birdhouse he had ever seen. “Uh, it looks like you worked hard on it, Douglas,” he said finally, “that’s all that counts.”

Just then, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” Stan called out, grateful to be out of the birdhouse discussion. “Hi Buddy, come in,” he greeted, as he opened the door.

“Good evening, Mr. Pembroke,” Buddy said, in his best adult-pleasing manner. “Is Charles free?”

“Charles, it’s ‘Eddie Haskell’,” Stan joked to Charles. Turning to Douglas, he added, “Come on upstairs with that, Douglas, we can show your mom your birdhouse. Have a good night, Charles.”

As they went upstairs, Charles began cleaning up the mess on the coffee table. “What brings you here, Buddy?” he asked.

“I just thought you might be free now so we can go to ‘the Lamplight’,” Buddy told him, following Charles as he started carrying his tools into his room.

“Sure, why not,” Charles agreed.

**********

[80schick]

Part Three

At 9:30 pm, Charles and Buddy walked into ‘the Lamplight’, the local college hangout. “Wow, I’m so glad I let you talk me into going out, Buddy,” Charles joked, gesturing at the almost empty room, “think we can find a table?”

“It’s still early, Charles,” Buddy said, taking a seat at the bar. Charles sat down next to him.

The bartender, Robbie, left the glasses he was cleaning and appeared in front of them. “What can I get you guys?”

As the bartender fetched their drinks, a young woman ran inside. She headed straight to Charles and begged him, “you have to help me get out of here.”

Charles looked down at the girl. Dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, she looked like a regular Copeland College coed. With a baseball cap covering her long dark hair, Charles found her pretty and smiled down at her. “How come you want to get out of here so fast?”

Buddy gasped. He had been staring at the girl since she rushed in and had finally recognized her. “Charles! Do you know who she is? It’s Suzy Donovan!”

“Buddy, don’t be ridiculous,” Charles told him, “What would Suzy Donovan be doing here at Copeland College? And an even better question, what would she be doing talking to me?”

“Well, she could really, really need your help,” Suzy revealed a smile of her own. Looking around, she added, “listen, guys, I can explain everything to you but first, I really need your help getting out of here. My cover has been blown,” she told them, indicating her attire.

At that moment, a crowd of people came bustling in. Charles deftly stepped in front of Suzy, thus hiding her from their view. The leader of the group called out to the few patrons in the room. “Did anyone see Suzy Donovan the rock star come in here?”

Charles got an idea. “Yeah, she was in here a few minutes ago,” he began, “but I heard her mention something about going to ‘the Grotto’.”

When they left to follow Charles’ “tip”, he turned to Suzy. Grinning down at her, he asked, “now, are you ready to get out of here?”

Suzy laughed out loud. She took Charles’ arm as he led her safely out of the bar.

**********

“Thank you so much, Charles,” Suzy said as Charles led her and Buddy into the Pembroke house. “I can’t believe I couldn’t get into my hotel.”

“It’s okay,” Charles told her, leading her to the couch.

She took a seat next to Charles while Buddy took a seat next to her. Suzy was sandwiched between the two of them and laughed nervously. “Well, I feel like the middle of an Oreo.”

That broke the ice between the three of them. They spent the next hour talking. Suzy revealed that she was in town for a concert the next night. She happened to have a day off so she set out to explore the college campus but her disguise didn’t hide her identity very well and some of her fans recognized her. Once she was found out, it was pretty easy for others to realize her identity and before she knew it, there was a mob after her.

Pretty soon, the front door opened again and the three Pembroke children spilled in followed by their parents. Lila stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the person Charles was talking to. “Oh my gosh!” she shrieked. “It’s Suzy Donovan!”

After Charles introduced her to the Pembroke’s, Suzy asked to borrow their phone. As she went into the kitchen, Charles explained how Suzy came to be in their home.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Suzy talked to her manager. “I’m okay, Ron,” she assured him, “really. I had a little trouble earlier, but everything’s okay now. Is there still a crowd at the hotel?”

Ron relayed the news back at the hotel. The crowd had dissipated when they realized that Suzy was not in the hotel. Suzy hung up the phone promising that she would return to the hotel within a reasonable time frame and urged him not to worry.

When she reappeared in the living room, she graciously listened as Lila gushed over her. “I just saw your new video today,” Lila told her, adding, “do you think you can show me some of your dance moves?”

Lila led Suzy upstairs to begin her dance lesson in the privacy of her bedroom.

Thirty minutes later, Suzy walked downstairs. “Oh, to be young again,” she joked.

“I’m sorry about that,” Charles apologized, “Lila is a big fan.”

Suzy laughed. “It’s okay, really,” she assured him, “I had fun with her.” She looked at her watch.

“It’s getting pretty late,” Charles acknowledged, “I’ll drive you back to your hotel.”

“Yeah, Ron, my manager is probably going out of his mind right now,” Suzy told him.

**********

[80schick]

Part four (and final)

The next day, Charles awoke at 9:00 am when he heard Lila pounding on his door. “Charles, wake up!”

Charles stumbled out of bed and opened the door. “What is it, Lila? Where’s the fire?”

“You got this today,” she told him, handing him an envelope, “it’s from Suzy!”

Charles opened it up and found a note from Suzy, accompanied by seven tickets to her concert that night. Lila squealed with joy when she spotted the tickets.

“I don’t believe it! We’re going to the concert!” she shouted as she ran upstairs to tell her parents.

Charles picked up the phone in his room. “Suzy Donovan’s room, please,” he asked when the operator answered, “this is Charles.”

When Suzy came on the line, she greeted him cheerfully. “Good morning, Charles, did you get my surprise?”

“Yes, I did, that’s why I’m calling,” Charles told her. “Thank you, you’ve made a teenage girl very happy, you know that, right?”

Suzy laughed. “Well, I’m glad to do it,” she said, “I wanted to do something to thank you all for your kindness yesterday.”

They stayed on the phone for a few more minutes before Suzy was called away to rehearsal for the night’s show.

The day at the Pembroke’s was hectic. Charles called Buddy to fill him in on the free tickets. Lila spent the day frantically trying to find something to wear. Jason was so excited, he almost forgot about his big game.

Finally, the night came. At 6:00 pm, Buddy arrived at the house. “Ready to go?” he asked, excitedly.

It was a night full of fun and good music. Suzy had gotten them great seats on the floor and had pointed to them a few times. Charles gained a new admiration for Suzy for the show she put on. Her stage presence blew him away. At one point, he leaned over to Buddy and whispered, “I think I’m in love.”

After the show, one of the security guards came up to Charles and escorted them backstage. They found Suzy in her dressing room wrapped in a fluffy white robe. Her skin was glistening from perspiration but she showed no sign of exhaustion.

“Hey you guys! How did you like the show?” she asked as they walked in the room.

“It was amazing, Suzy,” Charles answered, and everyone nodded in agreement.

The Pembroke’s left soon afterward, since it was very late. Charles and Buddy were invited to an after-party at the hotel. While Buddy mingled with the others, Charles and Suzy found a quiet corner and got to know each other more personally.

“You’re so normal, but special,” Charles told her. She smiled at him and he leaned forward to kiss her.

They didn’t leave the hotel until almost 3:00 am. After dropping off Buddy at his dorm room, Charles headed home. As he lay in his bed, Charles replayed the night in his head before he drifted off to sleep.

**********

The next day, Charles was working on a paper for his English lit class when there was a knock on the door. “Hey Suzy!” he greeted when he opened the door.

“Hi Charles,” she said, as she hugged him hello. Seeing his books open at the desk, she asked, “is this a bad time?”

Charles shook his head. “Nah, I need a break, come on in.”

“I can’t stay long,” Suzy revealed, “I’m on my way to the airport. Got another gig tomorrow night. My manager is waiting in the car. I just wanted to come by and say goodbye to you all.”

“Oh, the kids will be disappointed to have missed you,” Charles told her, “they’re all out with their friends.”

“Oh, I’m disappointed, but I’m glad I caught you,” she smiled at him. She hugged him again. “I am so glad I met you, Charles,” she added. She started to peck him on the cheek, but Charles wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the lips.

The kiss seemed to last forever, only ending when a car horn beeped. “That’s my ride,” Suzy told him, as she reluctantly pulled away. “Keep in touch, Charles,” she said, as she walked out the door.

Charles followed her out the door and watched her get into the car. “Bye, Suzy,” he called out, “have a great tour.”

When she was gone, Charles happily sighed. The weekend had been a full one, and one he would never forget. But now that it was over, it was time to get back to normal. He sat back down at his desk and continued his paper.


the end

A/N: what do you think? This is an idea I had years ago. I may continue it.

[The Modfather]

Awesome fan fic!!!

[jarri]

Nice work, 80schick! happyface

[Roaddawg71]

thats a great script...what do u plan on doing with it?