Never Be The Same - A Charlie and Nick Story

Chapter 23 - Dancing Queens

❗️Tiggers: OCD

Nick's POV

I drive my flatmates back to our apartment where we all get changed into more casual clothes. It's the first night of the crazy weekend and The Squad decided we were going to go to go to the Volt tonight and the guys were really excited to go out in a larger group than their normal trio. We are not dressing up tonight, we are saving that for the large bonfire party we are going to tomorrow night.

Once we're ready, I drive the four of us to Charlie's apartment. I see Elle's car in a spot so I hurry my way upstairs, the guys right on my heels. We get to the door and I knock lightly. A few moments later, Charlie opens the door. He has ripped white jeans on with a black shirt and flannel. He has on a pair of new black converse since the old ones were ruined last time we went out to the Volt. I give him a quick hug and kiss his cheek before I step to the side. "So now I can formally introduce you to my flatmates... This is Otis... Sai... and Christian. I know I have talked about them but you never really interacted." I say and nervously laugh. Charlie gives a small wave before waving us in. "I will introduce you to everyone." He says, a bright smile on his face. I stand at the door, admiring him as he walks in and towards the common room.

I skip my way into the common room once Charlie introduces everyone and immediately the guys start mingling with everyone. "So let's order the cars so we can get going." Elle says and, with no fail, Imogen comes in from the kitchen with a large textbook with small shot glasses on it. She really likes to make sure everyone is ready to go before we actually go out. We all take the shot before Imogen pours everyone one more. "Better?" Imogen asks the group and everyone yells and claps in excitement.

I take Charlie's hand in mine as we are the last ones to walk out of the apartment. He locks the door with his key and we start to walk away and once we get to the staircase, he stops in his tracks. "Did I lock the door?" Charlie asks midway down the stairs. "Yes you did." I say. I am about to take the next step down but he lets go of my hand first. "Are you sure?" He asks, his arms wrap around his elbows. I look at him for a second and smile. "I am absolutely certain but why don't we check again?" I suggest. He nods his head and quickly sprints up the stairs. I chase after him. When he gets to the door, he tugs on the knob lightly. He unlocks it, opens the door, shuts it, and locks the door again. He lets out a relieved sigh and smiles. "Better?" I ask, my smile growing. He nods his head. "Much better. I would not have stopped thinking about it until I came back here."

He takes my hand in his and starts to run down the staircase. I can't help but laugh. When we get to the parking lot, two cars are pulling up and Elle is pointing and directing people to cars. "Finally!" Elle says and comes up to Charlie and I. "You guys are going with your flatmates. Otis is tracking that car now so we will see you at the bar!" She hugs Charlie tightly before taking Tao's hand as he guides her into the vehicle. The two cars drive away while we wait on the curb outside the apartment building doors. Charlie makes small talk with them while I just stand there and kind of trail off. My body is starting to ache a little from the rugby match from today so I am starting to get a little drained.

"You okay?" Charlie asks, breaking me from my thoughts. I clear my throat before speaking. "Yeah, I'm okay. A little sore." I say and shrug my shoulders. "Let me give you is good old shoulder massage buddy." Christian says as he walks over to rub my shoulders. "Damn dude, you're tight." He says. I let out a small sigh before laughing. It actually felt really nice, even though it was only a few squeezes. He lets go after a few more squeezes, just in time for the car to pull up in front of us. We all hop in and Charlie tells them all about the bar since they have never been there before. I just look out the window until we get there.

We make our way inside and see our friends at the back bar. Charlie takes my hand as he drags me to the group, I can hear him giggling a little while we jog. "I got you a vodka lemonade!" Tori says handing him a tall glass, the liquid shimmering slightly. "Nick, here." Imogen says, handing me a bottle of beer. I take a slow sip and smile. Elle hands my flatmates shots and smiles at them. They laugh before taking the shot quickly. "I got us a table in the karaoke bar!" Isaac says, skipping in from the side room. Good because I just want to sit down.