Charlie walked into the bowling alley and smiled as Elle approached him, tackling him into a hug. Hanging out with them and being there is cheering him up already. He sank into Elle's arms, saying, "I missed you so much." He told her. Elle smiled and watched as Tao and Isaac came bounding over, "Charlie, you little shit, you left us for too long!" Tao complained, snatching his best friend from Elle's arms. Charlie laughed and clung to Tao, "Wow, I missed you too." He snorted in amusement.

"Don't worry, Char, that's his way of saying he missed you." Isaac laughed and engulfed Charlie into a hug next. Charlie beamed, "You guys are making me feel so loved." He put a hand on his heart dramatically after letting go of Isaac. He felt at peace again for the first time all day.

Elle, Tao, and Isaac were his home. The friend group made the young man feel safe, loved, and always included. He never had to fake a smile around them; that was big for Charlie. The group of friends began the bowling, laughing about dumbass University stories and embarrassing encounters. Charlie didn't know if he should tell them he bumped into Nick earlier; he didn't want to ruin the mood or make things awkward.

Charlie sat down at one of the tables after his round and sipped on his soda, watching Tao attempt to bowl; it was very entertaining. Elle hummed as she sat with Charlie, "So Char, How are things going with Josh?" She quizzed, wiggling her eyebrows. Charlie giggled; he had always adored how caring she was.

"It's going good with him! He's so nice and caring. Also hot, so that's a plus." Charlie joked. Elle chuckled and leaned into Charlie softly. "Good, you deserve it. You were hung up on Nick for a long time." She teased.

"Oui!" Charlie laughed because it was true; he blushed in embarrassment.

"Uhm.." Isaac approached them with a panicked expression, "Tao just saw Nick Nelson walk in with Tara and Darcy..." He stammered. He knew how awkward it would be for Charlie to see his ex again and wanted to warn him about it so he didn't panic. Elle froze and glanced at Charlie in worry.

Charlie took a deep breath; he loved how his friends cared about him. But he didn't want to ruin the night over it because of his problems with his ex. "We should go say hi. I-I mean, I don't want things to be weird between the Paris squad anymore. I miss, uh, I miss Tara and Darcy." He stuttered, stopping himself from saying, Nick. Tao walked up to them; he had a protective look on his face. "Tao, it's fine," Charlie chuckled softly. Isaac snorted in amusement, "They're harmless."

"Let's go say hi." Charlie got up and fiddled with his hands. He didn't know how this would go but knew he'd feel bad if they blew them off and didn't say hi. Elle squeezed his hand in a comforting way as they began to make their over to the three of them. Wow, was he so grateful for his friends?

"Oh. My. GOD!!" Darcy squealed as she spotted the group and ran over, tackling everyone into a big group hug. "Oh, how have you guys been!?" Elle asked with big eyes.

Nick got up and gave hugs; he stopped at Charlie, unsure if he should give him a hug or not. Charlie forced a smile and looked down a bit. Nick decided to give Charlie's shoulder a friendly squeeze instead of a hug, not wanting to make things awkward for them.

Even though it still was...

"The Paris squad is all back together!" Darcy chirped, hugging Isaac, who nodded with a snort. "We should all join each other's hangouts!" Tara suggested. Everyone agreed eagerly, but Nick and Charlie tensed up and went quiet. "Is that okay with you guys?" Tao asked to make sure.

"Yeah!" Charlie managed to say. Nick nodded with a soft smile, "Totally! It's great to see you all again." Nick glanced at Charlie as he spoke.

Charlie nodded and fiddled with his phone as anxiety ached in his chest. He was excited to see everyone, but it was a lot too. He was about to follow the now bigger group to start their rounds when his phone went off, "Ah! Josh is calling me, but I had better take this." He rushed out and walked over to the bathroom for privacy. He could've sworn he heard Nick asking Tao who Josh was...Why would Nick care, though?

Charlie got into a stall and answered the call, "Hi, babe!" He squeaked.

"Hi luv, how are you? I just left work, so I thought I'd check in. Are you enjoying your visit home?" Josh asked.

Charlie smiled a bit, but he missed Josh a lot. "It's going perfectly! I went out to dinner last night with my family. Now I'm out with my friends bowling. Oh my god, babe! We even ran into Darcy, Tara, and Nick!" He rambled out excitedly.

There was a pause that caused Charlie's anxiety to tighten in his chest. "As in... Your Ex, Nick Nelson?" Jax quizzed, his jaw clenched in jealousy.

Charlie chewed his lip, "Yeah, but we're just hanging out as friends-" he tried to explain but froze in shock as Josh hung up the phone call.

Was he mad?....

****

"Charlie's taking a while. He missed the first round!" Tara noted with worried eyes. Elle nodded in agreement, looking at Tao.

"I'm going to go check in on him," Tao announced, getting up. Nick nodded; he felt like he had something to do with this...God, this was so awkward. He just wanted to have fun with his friends.

"You okay?" Elle wondered as she sat next to Nick. Nick smiled softly at Elle; he had missed her a lot. "Yes. I just missed you guys." He assured and chuckled as she hugged him and hugged back in return.

****

As Tao entered the bathroom, Charlie looked up from staring at his phone, "Hey, you alright? You missed the first round!" He raised an eyebrow. Charlie drew a sharp breath, "Yeah. Sorry, I'm coming back out. I was just on a call with Josh, and he got upset when I told him Nick was here." He ranted.

Tao had big eyes, "He sounds jealous, but he shouldn't ruin your time." He rubbed Charlie's arm comfortingly, "Let's go back out and enjoy the evening. To forget about Josh."

Charlie nodded with a weak smile; he knew Tao was right. This was the first time Josh had even gotten upset at him during their relationship. He had to focus on his time with his friends...

Tao pulled Charlie out of the bathroom, "Got the bathroom, man!" He joked, causing everyone to laugh. Charlie made a face, "My god, Tao."

Nick giggled and looked at Charlie with big eyes, "Popcorn?" He offered. Charlie smiled softly and took some, "Thanks... Nicky." He smirked and sat with Nick to watch their friends play the next round.

Nick groaned, "My god, is that nickname  back?" He joked with a smile. Charlie beamed, "Yes. Nicky is just so... Iconic. It has to!" He hummed.

Darcy glanced at Nick and Charlie as they played the round. "Do you think they can be friends again?" she asked, leaning into Tara when Tao took his turn. "I'm not sure..." Elle admitted with a sigh.

"Yeah. But they're Nick and Charlie! They have to be...maybe we can plan a hangout with all of us again." Tara said quietly.

"Maybe." Elle agreed.