So this might not be the most well written of stories, but in the absence of any CTFxC fan fiction (minus the one Charles/Jeff story on here that has possibly scarred me for life) I had to do something!

This takes place when Alli was still in Spain, but after Charles proposed to her. I know she left Spain not long after Charles did, but for the sake of the story, let's pretend she stayed in Spain a little longer, so Charles came out for another visit

Chapter 1

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There was rain coming in the window. Allison Speed glanced up briefly, then judged it to be an insignificant amount of rain to warrant her getting up from her comfy spot on the couch. Spain had seen a lot of rain lately – making the trip from her dorm to class trickier than her normal mad dash. But there was a certain smell when it rained in Spain. It smelt like nature, like culture – like historic buildings that had seen hundreds of years of rain in their time. Alli loved it when it rained.

Entering her username into her laptop, she romanticised briefly about how quickly she would change all her usernames when her and Charles were finally married. Allison Trippy. Alli Trippy. Charles & Alli Trippy. She loved the sound of it. As she began sending her video files through to Charles for the vlog, she began to mentally count down the days until he would arrive in Spain, and they would move into the own place for a while. At her count, it was 2 days, 2 nights till she would see her man again. It had been almost 2 months, and yet 2 days still felt like the most enormous stretch of time she would ever encounter.

Yawning, she checked to see if the laptop was plugged in, then left the files transferring as she headed to bed. Inwardly groaning as she remembered how early her first lecture was tomorrow, she flopped on the bed and curled up, listening to the rain still falling outside.

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The steam from her coffee mixed with the rain and formed an odd steam cloud above her takeaway cup. Alli clutched it tightly, warming her hands as she made the short trip across campus to her class. She wasn't late, but there wasn't any cover, and too long in the rain was likely to do unkind things to her hair, which had a tendency to form a mind of its own in this weather. Finally making it to class, she settled her coffee on the desk and began to sort out her notes. They were 2 days away from an important exam, one that Alli was hoped would improve her current A- she was getting in the class. Students began trickling in, and she couldn't help notice the louder than usual buzz that surrounded them. Tally, a girl she knew from several of her language classes, sat down beside her and immediately began speaking very fast, something about protests and riots and bomb threats. Ally blinked rapidly.

'Sorry, Tally…what? I have no idea what you're talking about.'

Tally pulled a copy of the student newspaper out from her tote bag. 'Didn't you watch the news last night? The protests are getting closer to us, and apparently there was even a bomb scare on the land that borders campus!.' Tally did not exactly look suitably grim for someone who had learnt of a bomb scare on their own campus, and Alli took the paper from her with a slightly amused expression.

Scanning the article, she learnt little that she didn't already know. Workers from the manufacturing plant on the land next door to the college campus were protesting against their work conditions and cuts to their pay. Although new to her was that, as the protests gained in their intensity they were becoming downright riots, and someone had even phoned in a bomb scare late yesterday afternoon, although it had turned out to be a hoax.

As the Professor walked into the room and greeted the students, Alli quickly folded the paper and passed it back to Tally. She had other things on her mind than angry union workers. Such as how much she missed her fiancé.

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Alli had only just noticed that the sun was beginning to come out, when the crackle came over the loudspeaker.

'Attention university residents. There has been a safety breach on campus grounds. We require all students and faculty members to evacuate the campus grounds as quickly but as orderly as possible. Please meet at the designated evacuation spot by the High School football grounds. This is not a drill.'

There was a beat of silence, and Alli waited for panic to ensue. But nothing came. The students began to quietly pack up their belongings and file out into the corridor, where they met other nervous, but quiet students. The quiet almost made it worse. It was like the panic was a feeling, something hanging in the air rather than a noise. It wasn't until Alli and her classmates made it outside and began walking towards the High School that word began to get around. Bomb. Bomb threat. There was a bomb outside the cafeteria. No, it was in the gymnasium locker rooms. No, over by the caretaker's residence.

As they got closer to the High School, Alli began to notice the noise. Sirens racing from several directions. Then suddenly a helicopter appeared in the sky above the campus, and was soon joined by another, something that looked like it was from a news channel. Suddenly the noise of the crowd began to get a lot louder, and Alli's heart began to race. It was a little too close to home now.

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The first thing Charles did when he woke up was make a coffee. Then sit down at his computer. Marley and Zoe lounged nearby as he waited for the login screen. He checked his phone to see if it was too early to Facetime Alli – they were a few hours ahead in Spain, so she'd probably be in class right now. He sent her a quick text to say good morning, then logged in an opened up his browser.

Yahoo was not going to break it easy to him this morning. Right there on the homepage, next to a picture of the university Alli was attending in Spain was the headline 'Students flee campus after bomb discovered.'

Shaking, Charles picked up his phone and checked to see if Alli had replied. Nothing. He hit call and waited. The phone rang. And rang. Then her voicemail clicked over and he hung up, frustrated. Staring at the photo of his Alli, smiling at him from his home screen, he felt panic rising. He couldn't think straight. Who could he call? What was going on? He saw images in his mind of students fleeing in a panicked mob, his fiancé being dragged along with the crowd. He rubbed his hands over his eyes, trying to get rid of the images, trying to clear his mind, but instead saw nothing but an almost comicaly cartoonish image of a bomb, sitting outside the university's main entrance. He picked up the phone, dialled again. He was practically hyperventilating. 'C'mon Al, pick up. Please pick up. C'mon baby, pick up. Please, please pick up.'

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The noise of the crowd was now deafening, as they gathered on the local high school's football field. Failing to hear the ring of her phone in her backpack, Alli craned her neck for some sort of authority figure, someone that knew what the hell was going in. Suddenly, though a megaphone, came a voice.

'Attention students and staff. There has been a bomb discovered on campus grounds. While we believe it to be in relation to the current riots, we have no confirmed information at this time. The university will remain closed tomorrow as an investigation is undertaken, however at this stage will reopen for classes by Wednesday, unless you are otherwise notified. The dormitory residences have been cleared and are safe to return to. For those who take public transport from the Lincoln Street stop, please use an alternative stop today. You are free to go.'

And that was it. Alli watched as the students around her exchanged confused, concerned glances, then simultaneously began hurrying from the site. Alli tried to think what time it was in Florida. It was still early, and she didn't want to wake Charles, but… she really wanted to hear his voice right not. She glanced in the direction of the dorms, which seemed far to close to the hovering helicopters for her liking. As she made the decision to wander around the streets for a little bit, making hang about a café for a while to avoid going back to her dorm, she heard the familiar trill of her iphone. Hurrying to pull it from her backpack, she was almost overwhelmed by the relief she felt as she saw Charles' name on the screen.

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The phone had rung several times already, and Charles knew he only had about 2 more rings before her voicemail clicked in again. Please, please pick up he willed her.

'Char?'

The moment he heard her voice, the lump dropped from his throat – right to his heart.

'Alli? Honey? Are you… are you okay? What's going on over there? I saw on the internet…' he trailed off, hearing a long, shaky sigh from the other end of the line.

'Baby, we had a… I don't even know . A bomb scare? Only I think it was an actual bomb this time.' Her voice went up unnaturally at the end of her sentence, which Charles knew she was fighting back tears.

'My god… I thought Spain was supposed to be safe!' He paused. 'I'm going to get an earlier flight.' As soon as he said it, he realised his flight was tonight anyway – there probably wasn't an earlier one.

'Char- that'll cost you a bomb. I'm fine, really… just a bit of shock.' She let out a breath. 'Its good to hear your voice.'

'Are you back at your dorm?' With all his might Charles wished that Spain wasn't so damn far away. It didn't matter how badly he wanted to be there with her right now – modern technology was just going to make him wait.

'They only just released us – I'm gonna head there in a little bit.' She hesitated. 'Babe, my battery's almost out. I'll charge it as soon as I get back to the dorm… might even get some Spanish 'policia' footage for the vlogs. Call me though, before you get on the plane okay?'

'Of course, babe. I love you… please be careful, okay? Don't worry about the vlogs – just stay safe – preferably indoors!'

She laughed at his cheeky tone, and he knew she was probably fishing for her camera at this very moment regardless.

'I love you, too. I'll talk to you soon, okay? Bye baby.'

'Bye honey.'

He hung up, and went straight to his room to finish packing, as if the sooner he was ready, the sooner the flight would leave. With one hand going through the hangers in his closet, he used the other to hold the phone to his ear as he dialled Mr. and Mrs. Speed

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Things might just be going to get a lot worse for these two before they get better! Stay tuned :D