teenagerenegade

He likes that they still make time for each other like this. It's one of those nights that Sabrina has had to sleep over at the store, so Charlie had invited Rosie to come over and hang out - stay the night, if she wants to. Kavinsky had cooked dinner and they'd hung out, and then Kavinsky and Newt had gone to bed and left Rosie and Charlie hanging out on the sofa.

"I might go and change into pjs," says Charlie, sitting up and stretching his arms over his head. "Do you want to stay? I can lend you something."

It's too warm, too humid, to be in the house, so Charlie is sprawled on the grass in Newt's garden, just lying there and enjoying the way the place smells. Just listening to the world breathe. When his phone buzzes on his chest, he lifts his head and checks the message. It's from Sabrina, which makes sense - her and Rosie are really the only people he texts regularly.

come over, he texts her. i'm in the yard.

It's one of thos eplans that's come together over the course of the day, while the four of them have been in class or getting lunch or whatever. Movie night at Nick's. Charlie says that he'll swing by and get some snacks and some beer and that he'll see the girls when he gets there. The door's locked when he gets there, but that just means that Nick's not home yet. Charlie juggles the bag in his arms and drags his keys out of his pocket, fumbling until he finds the one for NIck's front door and lets himself in.

He'll just get things set up before the girls and Nick get home.

It's warm enough to have his car's roof folded back and Charlie is enjoying it while he waits for Sabrina, his head tilted back, shades in place, music playing. He'd promised to pick her up after practise so that they could hang out on their own for a little while before dinner with Nick and Rosie. He idly flicks through his phone, looking at a few photos of his mom, missing home in a way that feels both distant and bearable. He's not sure that he'd willingly give up what he's got in Darrow, not even if it meant going home. The way they spend their lives has found a rhythm and Charlie honestly wouldn't want it any other way.

They're spending a lot of time at Nick's at the moment, helping him do the things that he still can't do for himself with still healing stitches in his side. Charlie sat at Nick's dining table for an hour or so doing homework and then they'd all watched some bad TV and now he's getting ready to go to bed in Nick's spare room. Sabrina's going to crash with him tonight, though he knows he'll probably wake up to find that she's drifted to Nick's side. He's got no problem with that.

Already in his pajamas, he sends a quick text to Kavinsky's phone to let him know whree he's staying, and then he plugs in his phone and sprawls on the bed, waiting for Sabrina to finish in the bathroom.

His head throbs and, when he tries to move, nausea swims and, for a horrible moment, he thought he thinks he's going to be sick. He stays on his back, as still as he can be, on the cold floor. A tear squeezes out of his eye, rolling down the corner of his cheek.

He can't stop thinking about the look on Sabrina's face, the sound of her voice.
Her blood.

In the dark, Charlie falls apart.

It takes him a long moment to figure out that there's anything wrong at all. At night, they start off wrapped around each other and then drift slowly apart and, usually, Charlie wakes up with his arms around a pillow. He lets it go and rolls back towards Ed, slipping his arm around his waist and pulling him in close. He buries his nose into the short hair at the nape of Ed's neck.

He must he half dreaming.
Somewhere, he could swear that he can hear his mom singing.