❛ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞. 𝗌𝗄𝗓 𝖺𝖽𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋

❛ :: 𝖻𝖺𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗆 𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗌

•─────── september 2023.

HERE LIES CHARLIE BAE: died on the spot after making an absolute fool of himself in front of Sabrina Carpenter.

Buried beneath an avalanche of hotel blankets and towels, Charlie had been laying motionless since returning back to the room two and a half hours ago. The embarrassment burned his insides like acid, the moment replaying in his brain like a broken record. Returning to Korea never looked so appealing, and he resolved to stay cocooned in his blanket fortress of shame until it was time to do so.

"Still refusing to come out?" Minho's voice sounded muffled beneath the multiple layers of thick material. He felt a prod against the blankets.

"Yep," followed Felix's voice. "He won't even tell me what happened. Everything was fine at dinner."

Everything was fine at dinner. The dinner part wasn't the issue. It was all Changbin's fault, had he agreed to accompany Charlie to the bathroom he wouldn't have made an utter fool of himself.

Let me catch you up.

earlier ───────•

"I wonder what time she'll arrive? I hope we aren't underdressed," Chan stressed, sliding up his sleeve to check his watch. "Do you think she'll hate us for being too early?"

Charlie found himself sandwiched between Changbin and Jeongin, strategically positioned to face the only remaining seat where Sabrina would soon sit, flanked by Seungmin and Felix. Nervously toying with his napkin, he couldn't shake the butterflies wreaking havoc in his stomach, ruining his appetite.

Completely ignoring Chan's stress, Charlie rubbed his hand over his chest. "I actually feel sick. Someone pass me a margarita, I can't do this sober." He surveyed the restaurant, eagerly seeking out a waiter who could take his order and deliver a generous supply of alcohol to calm his jangled nerves.

They don't call it liquid courage for nothing.

"You are not drinking again, she'll think you're an alcoholic," Felix hissed.

"I'd take a reputation for being a raging drunk over sitting through dinner stone cold sober, possibly making a fool of myself!" Charlie fired back, raising his arm in an attempt to flag down the waiter only for Changbin to yank it back down.

"She's coming!" Jeongin almost whimpered, his face washing over with nervousness.

Golden locks cascaded beautifully over her shoulders, resembling a shampoo advert. Her ocean eyes shimmered with nervousness, accentuated by long lashes that cast shadows against her rosy cheeks, a sweet blush adorning the apples. She looked truly magnificent—so much so that each member seemed spellbound, glued to their seats in awe.

Chan stood up abruptly, promoting the others to do the same. Charlie caught her eye for a moment, watching as she ducked her gaze away almost shyly.

"I really hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long, LA traffic gets bad around this time."

"We just got here actually," Chan assured her, fibbing. They had been sitting there for thirty minutes, but they were the early ones. She was only eight minutes late.

"Oh good. I didn't want to come across as tardy on our first official meeting."

She slipped into her seat between Seungmin and Felix, greeting both of them politely before the rest of the boys individually. Charlie was the last to shake her hand, her soft fingers brushing against his own for a second longer than the rest as he introduced himself.