Falsettos College AU

Getting Back

Charlotte

When we finally get back from Mendel's cottage late Saturday evening, all I want to do is sleep. The two-and-a-half-hour car ride was somehow even more cramped than the last, and my body aches everywhere. We drop Mendel off at his dorm first, then Trina, and it feels like forever before we make it to Cordelia and Whizzer's apartment. As we come in through the door, I collapse on the couch, exhausted.

"Someone's tired," Cordelia remarks. I open my eyes long enough to give her a look, like yeah, no shit.

Whizzer hangs up his coat and glances at us. "How are you guys even tired? We literally slept in all day."

"You did," Marvin tells him. "The rest of us actually helped pack up the car. Slacker." He glares at his boyfriend.

"And proud." Whizzer runs a hand through his hair and walks into the kitchen.

Cordelia sits next to me on the couch, tucking her feet under her. She reaches out and rubs my back, which usually annoys me a bit but it's relaxing when she does it. "Hey, Charlotte, remember when your friendship with Caroline ended and you totally overreacted?" she brings up unnecessarily.

"I can't hear you. I'm asleep," I say, my eyes closed once again. I hear her laugh a little and can tell she's probably rolling her eyes.

Whizzer has come out of the kitchen by the time I open my eyes back up. "There's nothing good to eat," he huffs. "I'm ordering pizza."

"Well, of course there's nothing to eat," Cordelia tells him. "We just came back from a week-long trip."

Marvin looks at her curiously. "That's right. What did you guys do with all your food before we left, anyway?"

"We ate it all," Whizzer answers. "We had a big midnight feast."

Cordelia glares at him. "We threw most of it out," she explains to Marvin.

I close my eyes again and try to go to sleep. There's nothing interesting happening right now. It's cozy, being curled up in the couch with all of us chilling in here, and I'm starting to drift off, until Whizzer's pizza has to get here and ruin it.

I sit up as he's paying for it and taking the food back into the apartment. "Who wants some?" he asks us.

"I don't," I reply. "I just want to get some rest."

"You can go lie down in my bed," Cordelia offers, nodding toward her room. I stand up and head toward the door.

"Wait!" Whizzer stops me. "Are you sure you don't want pizza?"

"I want pizza," says Marvin.

"I'm asking her, Marvin. Charlotte, are you absolutely sure? This is your last chance." He waves the pizza box under my nose like he did with the bagels.

Again, I push it away. "I'm absolutely sure. I still feel sick from the car ride, and I'm too tired to digest anything, so just eat it yourself."

"Can I have some?" Marvin cuts in.

Whizzer sighs. "Yeah, Marvin, you can have some."

-

The next morning, I wake up next to Cordelia, which is nice. I actually forget for a moment that I have my own dorm, since we've shared a room for the past week. I wonder how I'll get used to sleeping alone again. I probably did for most of last night, so it's not that big a deal.

When I leave the bedroom, Whizzer's on the couch with a cup of coffee. He looks up at me and raises his eyebrows. "You stayed over last night?" he asks.