Charlie's POV

I wake up before my 7:00 alarm. I grunt as I turn over to check my phone.

I see all the notifications I missed from the night before. My family. The Dweebs Group. Tori specifically. Ben... and Nick

Instagram: nick_nzzzz
Hey you haven't been answering anyone's messages. You okay?

Charlie, did you fall asleep?

It's been like a few hours. It's only 19:45. Maybe you did sleep but still... can you please message me when you get up?

Charlie, this really isn't funny. It's 3:03. I'm sorry I have been so distant. Is it me? Is that why you're not answering me...

The messages keep going until about 20 minutes ago. He has been messaging me all night. From like 17:00 until this morning at 6:45. I quickly message back.

Instagram:
Charlie: Hey Nick. I am really sorry. I just wasn't feeling that good and I went to sleep right when I got back from lunch
-About a minute passes-
Nick: Charlie, I was so nervous. No one heard from you. I messaged Tao and he said you were in your room when he got back from his night classes. So I messaged Isaac later that night and he said you were still in your room when he and Tao got back from dinner with his parents
Charlie: I am really sorry for stressing you out. I'm fine now. I really didn't mean to make you nervous
Nick: I am a lot better now that I am hearing from you. I miss talking to you.
I look over that message specifically about 10 times before responding back.
Charlie: I miss talking to you too Nick. You are my closest friend and I am really sorry for not telling you about Ben.
There is a long pause before he responds.
Nick: You have no reason to be sorry. I am the shitty friend here. Do not apologize, Char. We can just move on from it and we can have a good Parents Weekend.

I roll my eyes at the sight of "parents weekend" before messaging him back. My 7:00am pings on my phone and I quickly turn it off before climbing out of bed to get ready for the day.

I lay my clothes out for the day on my bed before going to my bathroom. I try to be quick and not look in the mirror above the sink but I see my reflection for a second and I am filled with self-hatred. I push the thoughts to the furthest part of my mind before wrapping the towel around my waist and walking into my bedroom to change. I change pretty quickly and do my hair before going to the common room. I check the time before going into the kitchen, 7:45. I make myself a cup of tea and sit down at the kitchen table.

I look at my notifications and I am immediately taken back by one of my Instagram DM's.

Instagram: ben_h_999
Ben: If you didn't want to talk to me, you could have just said so Charlie. Not just ghost me like you are doing.

My hand immediately goes to the crook of my elbow and my fingers scratch at the thick cardigan fabric. How do I even respond to that...

"Charlie, how are you feeling?"

I am broken out of my slight panic to see Tao come into the kitchen, his hair all ruffled around with bed-head.

"Do you want a cup?" I ask instead of answering the question. He nods his head and with a loud moan, he plops into one of the wooden chairs. I lock my phone, flipping it upside down, before going back to the kettle. I make the tea in silence before handing it to him and taking my seat again. I wrap both hands around the cup, enjoy the warmth. "You missed a really good Italian restaurant with our families. It was so good I made a reservation for the three of us to go the weekend before Halloween. I think you'd really like their red sauce." He says enthusiastically. I give a small smile and sip my tea. "That sounds nice. I feel fine now. I was just really tired." I try to sound a little more upbeat than how I feel.

He goes on to talk for about 20 minutes before we get a ring on the doorbell. "That's probably Tori. I will get it. Do you want to shower in my bathroom? You can since Isaac should be getting ready soon too." He laughs and chugs his tea. "I can't believe you won that challenge to get that room." He laughs again before heading towards the back bedrooms.

I walk to the front door and open it to see Tori. "Hey Tori." I say before she walks a few steps into the flat and hugs me tightly. We stay like this for what feels like minutes. She lets go of our embrace and rubs her hand on my shoulder softly. "Did you have breakfast?" She asks. "Yeah." I lie. She smiles and walks to the common room to sit on the sofa.

"Mum and Dad should be here soon. When I was walking over they said they were just a few blocks away. I nod my head and sit on the other side of the sofa. We talk for a little about classes and grades before Tori's phone goes off. She answers and with barely any responses before she hangs up. "They are here." She says as she stands up. "You ready to go?" She asks, her hand outstretched to pull me off the sofa. Again, I just nod my head. "I will see you guys later!" I shout to Tao and Isaac before we walk out of the flat and down the stairs.

When we get downstairs, our parents are parked in a spot and standing outside the car. When they spot us, they start to head our way. We exchange small embraces before anyone speaks. "We ready for a fun day!" Our Mother asks. "Your Mum planned all these fun things for us to do on campus." Dad says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

________________________________

We are currently on our way to some "famous" fish and chip place a few towns over. Elle's Mum made the reservation for all of our parents. I guess Elle's Dad knows the owners so we have this whole back room to ourselves.

The day wasn't horrible. Our Mother didn't make Tori or I feel that bad. She did start a little when I brought up this elective class and traveling to Paris but Tori immediately shut her down for me. We made bowls, did the food truck festival, toured around the campus inside the lecture halls, and went to the campus store. It really wasn't too bad but I am getting a little nervous about this dinner. I don't know how she will react with all of my new friend's parents.

My Dad parks the car a few blocks from the restaurant and we make our way inside. Right when we get to the hostess, I hear my name being called.

"Elle!" I shout and wave my hand. She skips up to the front and pulls me into a tight hug. "Is this your family?" She asks when we pull apart. I nod my head. "Yeah, my Mum and Dad. Then this is my sister-" She cuts me off. "Tori! You are in my Interpretive Writing Class. I should have made the connection between you and Charlie." The three of us laugh. "Come this way, Isaac, Nick, and Tara are here." She takes my arm and wraps it in her's before guiding us to the back.

We take three steps down and enter the back, circular room. There is one really long row of tables strung together and my parents make their way to Isaac and his Mum. She grabs Tori's hand and we start to walk to Nick, Isaac, and Tara. As we get closer Elle says, "I made my Mum put all the parents next to each other and the kids can be at the other end. I thought it would be a little less awkward." This makes Tori and I laugh. "Charlie is this your sister?" Tara shouts and waves at us when we reach the table. "Yeah this is Tori," I say and laugh before adding "This is Tara and Nick." I gesture. Isaac and Tara start to ask Tori questions and I look at Nick.

"You don't look very good, Nick." I say, unable to hide the concern from my tone. He looks at me and smiles softly. "I just didn't sleep that well. My flatmates were being so loud when they got back from the Rugby House and I couldn't sleep after..." Instead of finishing his sentence, his voice just trails off and he looks at the ground. "I was too scared about you not answering me."

A few minutes later Tao shows up with his Mum, Imogen and Sahar show up with both sets of their parents, and Darcy comes in all alone. "Baby, where are your parents?" Tara asks, running to Darcy who is coming down the steps with this weird smile on their face. To me, the smile almost seems fake. Forced. "My Mum had to leave after lunch today. So I just came here alone. You know, meet everyone's families... And maybe your Mum-" Darcy is cut off by Tara. "Of course we can drop you back off at the house. Did you walk here or did you get a ride?" Tara asks but I unfocus from the conversation. A few minutes later Elle's Mum gets control of everyone and tells us to sit down in a seat.

Just like Elle said, the parents are down at one end and the kids are at the other. However, myself and Tori ended up being the connection between the parents and kids. I am sitting sit next to Dad and she is sitting next to our Mother. Thankfully, I am at least sitting next to Nick which calms my nerves a little. Since this is a "famous" fish and chip place, Elle's Mum ordered that for everyone so we just needed to place a drink order. I just stick with a hot tea and ice water. Shortly after the waiters and waitresses take our drink order, the food comes out.

When my food is placed in front of me, I just stab at and break the filet apart. I am too nervous to eat so I mostly sip my tea. "You okay?" Nick whispers, breaking me out of my train of thought. "I'm fine." I say, faking a smile to him before sipping my tea again. "Charlie, you can talk to me. You know that right?" He whispers again, this time placing his silverware on the table and softly placing a hand on my knee. This causes both of us to blush but he doesn't move his hand. So instead, I place my hand over his, confidently. This causes him to smile. I never want this moment to end. It feels so nice and calm. Just Nick and I having our own little world for a brief moment...

"Yeah, Charlie is having a hard time too at school." I hear my Mother say to the parent group. "Tara had a little struggle too but eventually she found this group of friends and really has stepped it up in school and work." Tara's Mum says. "Well, Charlie doesn't have that many friends and really doesn't stick with them for that long. He's lucky he still has Tao and Isaac. Those two lovely boys are so good for him." I let go of Nick's hand with that and place both of them over the crook of my elbows. I look up and see everyone's face. All of my friends look so shocked that a Mother could say something like that about their own kid.

"Jane." My Dad whispers as he presses his leg to mine, something he would do so I knew he was trying to help me and comfort me at the same time. He would do this a lot at home when he knew he couldn't control her comments and absolutely didn't agree. She rolls her eyes and sips at her wine glass. Her third already. I look back at my friends who now all have pity smiles, unsure of what to do or say. I look at Tori who looks enraged. She throws her napkin on the table and looks like she is about to flip her chair back before she stands fully up but I just shake my head slightly at her and widen my eyes. Instead she just grabs her phone and walks up the three steps and immediately to the right, to which I hope is the loo.

I feel a hand back on my knee and I look over to Nick who has a straight face. Not a pity smile or a shocked face. Just a his beautiful one. I take my arms and let go of my bicep to hold onto his one hand. I intertwine our fingers and he rubs small circles on the top of my hand with his thumb. Elle makes an almost inaudible noise and I look up to her at the end of the table. She gestures her head in the direction Tori went and I nod slightly, unable to get up myself to check on my sister. Elle places her napkin down on the table and all the girls stand up in sync, but either no one notices or no one decides to make a remark. The girls just walk up the steps and go to the right.

I do not even pay attention to anyone or anything the rest of the night. Only on Nick's touch, my only distraction from the horrible events of this dinner. Eventually Elle's Dad is the one to get everyone rolling with paying their bill and getting ready to leave. Nick and I are the last to stand up, finally letting each other go when we are both on our feet. I try to not make eye contact with him. I have a sudden wave of anxiousness rush over me now that I have to go back with my Mother and Dad and I am so scared that I am going to cry if I look Nick in his eyes.

As we start to walk out of the back room and up the steps, I catch the girls and Tori from the corner of my eye. Tori comes running up to me and grabs my hand to hold, squeezing slightly. We all circle up outside the front door of the restaurant to exchange goodbyes. "Tori, Charlie? You ready to go?" My Dad asks, getting our attention from saying goodbye to our friends. "We have to drop you off before driving the 5 hours home." Our Mother adds, irritation in her tone.

"Actually we are having a sleepover tonight at our house!" Imogen says and comes up to Tori and I. She wraps her arm in Tori's and places her other hand on her bicep. "Girls night and all." Darcy adds.

"And I am having a game night with my flatmates if you boys want to come?" Nick quickly says. So quickly that I know he just made that up on the spot. "Everyone can come if they want and then you can do your girls night." He adds smoothly. "That would be fun!" Sahar and Tao say at the exact same time. The group, except Tori and I, chuckle. "We can take the tube to the station. It will be faster than walking all the way back to my flat." He suggests. With everyone trying to help Tori and I, I start to get incredibly overwhelmed.

Why are you making your problems everyone else's Charlie? What is wrong with you?

Before anyone objects, Elle places her hand on both mine and Tori's shoulders from behind and tugs us slightly. "It was so lovely to see you all. We will see you guys next time." And with that, our whole group walks the other way from the parking lot and to the tube. I let go of Tori's arm and grip my elbows tightly with my hands. We continue to walk in this really uncomfortable silence until we head underground to the tube. Everyone starts to talk a little which lightens the mood slightly.

I stand offset from everyone else while Tori talks and apologizes on behalf of our "shitty" Mother. I try not to listen, and instead I listen to the buzz of the electricity around me. I feel my fingers pinch at the skin under my cardigan and I am about to pull up my sleeve when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see Nick, a small frown on his face that he really is trying to hide.

"I am so sorry Char. I am so sorry your Mum would say something like that." He says, wrapping his hands around his biceps. His index finger tracing small shapes on his skin just below his t-shirt sleeve. A nervous habit I have picked up on. "It's fine, Nick. I am fine. I am sor-" Before I finish to apologize, he steps towards me and wraps his arms tightly around my shoulders. His hug is much tighter than I expected and it's surprisingly calming. I feel his breath against my shoulder as he mumbles into my cardigan. "Please do not apologize Char. You have nothing to be sorry about."

I wrap my arms around him, my hands naturally laying to a little above his waist. I rest my head on his shoulder, my head slightly tilting to rest against his. Again, it feels like everything else around us fades and we are left in our own world. I close my eyes as a stray tear escapes. I take a deep breath, fighting the urge to cry before Nick pulls away. He looks at me, his arms still around my shoulders. He lifts his right hand to cup my cheek in his hand, his thumb brushing the one tear from my cheek. He opens his mouth, about to say something but he stops and bites his lip nervously. He brushes his thumb against my cheek one more time before slowly letting me go all together

"When we get to the station, we can all stay at my flat again." Nick says loud enough as the tube comes screeching to a holt in front of us. He never breaks eye contact with me as he speaks. "Yes please." All the girls say, including Tori which shocks me a little since she likes to be alone. I break eye contact with Nick to look at Tori. She looks at me and she smiles and jerk's her head to the open tube doors. I give a small nod before taking Nick's hand in mine and dragging him on the train behind me.