Never Be The Same - A Charlie and Nick Story

Chapter 7 - Jealousy

Nick's POV

As we walk to the Downtown area, I walk between Imogen and Tara and Darcy, who are walking arm-in arm. Just ahead of us is Imogen and Sahar and Charlie and Elle. Imogen is kind of walking a little crooked while Sahar holds her hand. They can't stop laughing though which is cute.  Everyone is a little tipsy, except me. My buzz went away right as we were leaving.

"You alright Nick?" Tara asks, nudging me with her shoulder. I look ahead at Charlie and Elle, who are laughing really loud just a few paces ahead. They look like they are enjoying each others company. "Yeah, fine." I respond a little too quickly for my own liking. "You know you can talk to us, right?" Tara adds. Darcy swings around Tara and wraps her arm in my arm. "Yeah you can talk to us about anything." Darcy chuckles.

"I am normal. Guess I just need to loosen up a little." I shrug my shoulders and try to give a convincing chuckle. "Thank you both." I add.

We get to the first bar, Bar Piazzo. It was the first bar we went to when we started Uni last year. They have an arcade at the center of the building and a karaoke room in the back. There are two bar stations on the sides of the room. There is a little bit of everything for everyone. "If we are doing karaoke, I need some shots." Imogen says as does a small excited dance at the front door. Sahar kisses her cheek quickly and holds the door for everyone to enter. We are carded quickly and we all head to the bar on the left.

Darcy orders a group of shots for everyone and we take them quickly. I order a beer and down it quickly before ordering another one. I walk away from the group with my second drink and walk to one of the pinball section. I watch a couple compete against each other, cracking small jokes at each other. "Nick." I turn around and see Elle. Her hands wrapped around a short glass full of a bright blue mixed drink.

"Hey Elle. What's up?" I unintentionally wrap my arms close to my body. My index finger on my hand that's holding my beer bottle, softly traces circles on my biceps. "You doing okay? You seem a little off." She tilts her head a little and smiles softly. "Yeah, I'm fine." I smile a little back but she just raises her eyebrows at me.

"I don't know what's up with me, Elle. I do feel off but I don't know why. I just feel like a switch flipped before we started walking." She wraps her arms across her chest before I continue. "You were just being really weird with Charlie and I." This causes her eyes to widen. "And Charlie is just my friend. When you said what you said with your weird tone, you obviously were saying it with intention behind it. So, yeah. I have just been off since you said it. It's fine though. It will pass but he is just my friend. Best friend probably."

She just nods her head and smiles. "I didn't really mean anything by what I said. I know he is your friend Nick. I really like Charlie too. We just clicked, you know?" I smile at her and give her a tight hug. "We are going to do some karaoke, you coming? Sahar already has our group song planned out with the DJ." She says while laughing. Her cheeks getting a little more flushed with each sip she takes of her drink. I chug my beer quickly and nod my head. "I'll meet you there. I am just getting another one."

When I walk back up to the bar everyone is about to do another shot. I walk over next to Charlie, who hands me a shot glass. His smile is so genuine. It immediately changes my mood. His cheeks are also bright red from alcohol. He must be a little tipsy. "Thanks Charlie." I say, a large smile across my lips. Our hands brush quickly as I take the glass from his hand. He noticeably blushes and shy looks at the ground. I feel my cheeks get slightly warmer. "You all better get ready. We got an amazing song lined up." Sahar shouts over the live music that just started near the entrance of the bar. We take the shot, everyone gets another round of  their drink, and walk to the back to the karaoke section.

We sit at a round table towards the front stage and watch individuals and groups to sing while we wait our turn. Charlie taps my shoulder and I lean closer to him so I can hear him. When he gets closer, I can feel his breath against my skin and I feel a rush run through my body. "I can't sing Nick." I close my eyes for a second before I lean back to look at him. He looks nervous, anxious even. "Do you want to go back to the arcade?" I ask with a soft smile. He nods his head as a response.

We get up without anyone noticing. Maybe because they are too drunk or they are too into the singer that's on stage. Either way, we leave and head to the arcade. Even though there is live music, it is less chaotic than the karaoke section. We walk towards the claw machines and stand at the high top table. "I am sorry. I just was getting a little overwhelmed. I also really can't sing." He says and adds a small chuckle at the end of his sentence. "I thought we banned the 's-word'?" A small giggle escapes so I add, "Remember, Char? You literally apologized to me when I said I failed one of my maths homework assignments." He looks at me and a grin slowly grows on his lips. "I do remember now that you mentioned it again." He giggles and looks at the ground.

We talk for a few minutes before we are interrupted by Darcy coming and wrapping her arms around Charlie's shoulders. "Want to go to The Volt next?" She asks while looking at me. "What's Volt?" Charlie asks. "It's a really fun gay club a few blocks away." Before. I can add, Tara comes up behind me and adds, "And they pour really heavy drinks!"

We all pay our bar tab and walk to The Volt. We walk inside and we are blasted with EDM music and large groups of people. We make our way through the dance floor and order a few drinks. We take a quick round of shots and as we are ordering our own drinks we hear. "Charlie!" Everyone in our group looks up and sees a tall boy with almost boy band, brown hair come strutting up to us. "Oh, hey Ben. How are you?" Charlie says, his face blushing and a small smile plastered on his lips. Ben gives him a tight hug and slowly lets go. I get a burning sensation in my stomach and I excuse myself to go to the loo.

I get into the men's room and splash water on my face. I look in the mirror and take a deep breath before walking out of the bathroom. When I start to walk back to the bar, I see everyone but Charlie on the dance floor. As I get closer to the bar, I look at the corner of the bar and see something that leaves a tight pit in my stomach.

Charlie and Ben are kissing. I stop in my tracks just a few steps from the front of the bar. Why didn't he tell me he had a boyfriend or even a crush. I thought we were closer than that.

He doesn't have to tell me that stuff but I thought we were friends. Best friends.... Why am I so upset about this?

I order a mixed drink and go to sit at one of the tables in the back. I watch my friends dance on the dance floor while I try and not look at Charlie flirting with Ben. I drink about 5 mixed drinks before Imogen comes running up to the table. "Nicholas! We have been looking for you. Are you ready to go back to your flat? We are all staying there tonight right?" She shouts over the music. "Yeah, sure." I say flatly. I chug the last bit of my drink before standing up and I immediately am shaken by the amount of alcohol I have drank.

I brace the table and close my eyes to try to stop the room from shaking. "Nick, you alright?" Imogen asks, placing her hands on my shoulders. I nod my head and before I can say anything, Imogen takes my one arm and wraps it around her shoulders. We start to walk to the door and Tara takes my other arm, wrapping it around her shoulders. Everyone is laughing and talking about the night, except Charlie and I. Darcy asked him about Ben but he said he didn't want to talk about it. Everyone, including Charlie, asked if I was okay. To which I just let out a small grunt and noodled my head.

We finally get back to my flat and I see my flat mates are still at the Ruby House. Elle wraps her arm around my arm and takes me to my bedroom. "I will get everyone their sleeping stuff. You just get some rest, okay?" She says as she places my comforter over my body. I turn to my side, gripping the pillow in my arms. "Elle." I say, only a little louder than a whisper.

She squats down to my eye level and brushes the few strands of hair from my eyes. "What's wrong Nick?" I close my eyes and hold my pillow tighter.

The words come out in an almost inaudible whisper...

"Elle..." I take a deep breath before I turning my face into my pillow. "I think I like Charlie."