Never Be The Same - A Charlie and Nick Story

Chapter 25 - Bar Hopping Halloween

Triggers: OCD Tendencies, Anxiety, Panic Attack
Nick's POV

Charlie and I are woken up by a crashing sound from the common room. He looks at me, his eyes wide, before quickly crawling over me and sprinting out of the room. I follow behind, not as fast though, until we are in the common room. "What happened?" Charlie asks as he turns to face into the kitchen. When I get to his side, I see glass and a shelf all over the floor. Elle and Tao are standing right init. They must have tried to get something from the cabinet and the shelf gave way and everything fell out.

"Are you two okay?" He asks frantically. "Yeah, thankfully we are wearing shoes or this would have really hurt." Tao says, chuckling a little. There is stirring coming from the common room and soon enough everyone piles in behind or next to Charlie and I. "What was that?" Isaac yells as he comes jogging in from his bedroom. "The cabinet shelf broke when I tried to get a mug for tea." Elle says. "I'll clean it up. Why doesn't everyone start to get ready." Charlie says, his arm wrapping around his bicep. "If anyone wants to shower, you can use the one in my room and the hallway one." He adds calmly before turning around to wiggle through everyone and heading to the front door.

Tao lifts Elle up and lightly tosses her to us so she's not standing in glass anymore. He jumps on the counter top and shakes his shoes, letting little shards fall on the ground before he jumps around the glass pile. "I am for sure going to shower." Imogen says, breaking the ice for a new focus. Everyone starts to head back into the common room, chit-chatting a little. I run back to Charlie's room and grab my shoes and a pair of his shoes. When I come back, Charlie is alone in the kitchen just staring at the floor just shy of the pile of glass, broom in hand. "Char, here." I say when I come up behind him, handing him his shoes. He doesn't say anything but just puts his shoes, shoving the laces in the high top. I put my shoes on while he starts to push the glass into a pile. I scoot around him to sit on a countertop, making my way to the front of the glass pile. I stretch my hand out for the dust pan and finally see his face. He looks like he's fighting back tears.

I jump off the counter as he hands me the dust pan. "Charlie?" I ask softly as I squat down. He tries to not look me in the eyes when he pushes the glass into the pan. "Char, are you okay?" I ask when he finishes scooping the last pit of visible glass into the pan. "Stay there." He says flatly before walking back to the front door closet. When he comes back, he has a few plastic bags in his hand. I stand back up, slowly pushing the pan into the bag. He ties the bag and puts it inside four other bags before throwing it in their trash bin. When I am about to step towards him, about to ask him what's wrong again. He finally looks me in the eyes and shakes his head before going back to the front closet. I stand still, crossing my arms across my chest. I trace small circles on my bicep until he comes back with a vacuum. He vacuums the floor for a few minutes before taking the vacuum back to the closet.

"Char."I say slightly defeated when he comes back into the kitchen. "Can you please talk to me?" He walks up to me, both hands wrapped around his elbows as he looks at the ground. "My favorite mug was in that cabinet. I know it's silly because it's no one's fault but I just felt something when I saw the pieces. I just felt like I couldn't do anything until I cleaned it up. Like I barely could talk." He whispers, slowing looking up at me. I nod my head and take a small step close to him, wrapping my arms under his shoulders to hug him tightly. I rub small circles on his back until he wraps his arms around my waist. We stand there for a few minutes until we hear Isaac clear his throat. Charlie lets go and takes a step back. "Sorry to... interrupt." Isaac laughs a little. "Um, I called maintenance and they said they can come in an hour to fix the cabinet. They also said they will check the other cabinets as well so it doesn't happen again." He adds. Charlie lets out big sigh. "Thanks Isaac." He says, a small smile on his face.