No Pills

Like A Dog

*Charlie's P.O.V*

"Red hair?! Oh goodness, Sydney is gonna kill me. You look like, how did she say it, 'sex on a stick'!" Harry blasts.

"Guys, hurry up. We'll have to change," I chuckle as Leo also gawks. They turn to each other and then run.

I trail them into the boutique the designer led me to. For free, we pick out anything appropriate for the afterparty.

By anything appropriate, I mean suits, though Harry also picks them out, and - Does this boy think we are prototypes for his wild ideas or what?

At the dim-lit venue, champagne glasses cling as attendees converse about the latest trends, designers, and runway moments. Meanwhile, I'm talking about how excellent Leo is.

"Ma'am, he took the pictures you saw of me in a lake, and the tree, and the flowers -"

"Oh!" The prim lady gasps. "Those were lovely!"

"Yes, ma'am. He is the magic behind them!" I beam, nudging Leo. He returns the magazine editor's smile, then looks away shyly.

The lady commends me again and promises to help Leo once he enters her office. After she wishes us well while dancing into the star-studded crowd, I gush, "Oh my goodness!"

"Ok, no need to jubilate so early," he says.

Harry slaps his back. "Dude, you better stop this meh attitude! Smile!!"

Leo scowls.

"Takeru, Takeru, Ta Ta, Takeru, Smiiile!" I sing.

"Oh, not you too, Charlie -"

Harry joins in while I poke Leo's cheeks. Leo tries to dodge me, then realising our environment, he squeaks, "Ok! Ok! I'm grinning! Guys, let's behave."

Thirty minutes later, he forgets to behave himself when we end up on a dance floor. He teaches us some moves, though I'm confused, and Harry's legs are doing who knows what.

Leo nudges me to try, so I twirl my hands in the air, and they laugh in unison. "Wha-What are you doing? What are you? A butterfly?"

"Uh...huh!" I start to sway. The music picks up the tempo, and we bob until my sways turn to hair flips. The beats get louder, and Harry and Leo mutter some lyrics to a famous song. I grin as they shove my clueless self in the middle. Other models mingle with us, and everything is fun till we catch Harry kissing a lady behind a pillar.

"Hm." I look away. Leo chuckles, tugging me out by my shoulders.

The night air whistles through my shimmery blouse. I listen to it until Leo sits on a step and considers my face like a doctor. "Charlie?"

"Hm?"

"How do you feel about sex?"

"Why?"

"I get that you might wanna wait and all that, but then, it was like, ew, and now, you just seem sad -" Some chatter interrupts him. We wait for the folks to bypass us. When they are gone, Leo draws closer.

I mumble, "There's no point having thoughts like that anyway."

"What do you mean, Charlie?"

Dead air.

"Charlie?" He rises. "What is it?"

"Just ... chains."

Another bout of laughter echoes. Leo glares at the oblivious crowd and then pulls me into a hug.

I mumble into his suit, "I may never get to experience like ... romance stuff. Tha-that's fine, so long as everyone is happy. I want you all to be happy."