"So this is it?" Sawyer questioned, eyes roaming aimlessly around the narrow hallway the three stood in.
"Yep. Didn't say it was a palace" Charlie confirmed, wondering if his guest were beginning to reconsider. He'd invited them to stay out of kindness. After all, Sawyer, in his own, strange way, had helped him a lot over the past two and a half years.
And although Desmond was a bit of an alcoholic back on the island, he was the only sign of familiarity on the island Charlie had to home. And besides, he'd been stuck in that hell for a very long time. Who could blame him for drinking?
But once they reached the dingy old building where Charlie's studio apartment was held, it seemed apparent the two were less then satisfied with their new surroundings.
Finally, after a few try's, Charlie managed to get the door open, revealing his messy old apartment, just the way he'd left it. "Here it is" He introduced with an almost genuine since of pride, looking over the disaster that was his home as if it actually were a palace.
The other two lingered in a door way for a moment, taking it all in. The beds, clothed in plain wight sheets and a single blue comforter, still unmade from the last time they'd been slept in.
To the right was a wall with a door leading to a walk in closet that no one had been able to walk in for years. A pair of dressed, cloths falling from open draws and piled on top, on either side of the doorway.
Across from the beds was a little night stand holding up a little TV that looked like it may have been the first colored addition ever made.
The floor had no carpet, just the battered wood you'd find beneath, scattered with cloths and old magazines. The parts of the walls that weren't covered by rock posters were a dull grey-green color, dry wall with no paint.
Over to the left was the kitchen, which consisted of a dwarfish refrigerator, a little stove, a sink, filled with dirty dishes, a washing machine, and small row of counters that divided the space off from the rest of the room.
There was a little table with two chairs near that corner and a door way that lead to the bathroom.
On the opposite wall stood a big wooden piano, and on top of it, Charlie's other guitar. Beside it sat a pair of speakers which were used like nights stands, their tops covered in random items including a goose-neck lamp and an ash tray. The only expensive looking items in the whole room.
All in all the place was a dump, but to Charlie, this was home. This was his paradise.
"Sorry for the mess. Nick's not exactly the neatest person on the planet. I'll have it cleaned up in a couple days" He assured, noting the worried look on their faces.
"Its fine. As long as I got a place to sleep, I'm a happy camper" Sawyer assured with a cheesy grin, dropping his luggage in the door way and marching in.
"Yep. Its better then a hotel" Desmond confirmed, stepping over Sawyer's bags and shutting the door behind him.
Charlie took a seat on the edge of his old bed, bouncing a few times to test it's strength. After all these years, it still didn't creak.
A smile crossed his face as he remembered the last time he'd slept in that bed. Well, maybe slept isn't the correct word.
"My,my, my. What do we have here?" Sawyer questioned, picking up a pile of magazines off the floor. The two on top were a pair of play boys from long before the crash.
By now the lovely ladies on the covers were probably respectable directors or gold diggers.
"They're not mine" Charlie noted, laying back and letting his head hit the pillow. It was nice to be in a real bed. Very nice.
He put his hands back behind his head and looked up at the ceiling, recognizing the stains that stared back down at him with a smile.
"Of course not. Your to much of a pussy" Sawyer confirmed playfully, flipping through the pages with an idle grin. Charlie just laughed and played along.
After living with Sawyer on the island for two and a half years, he'd gotten used to his teasing.
"Nick won't be back for three days, so we have her bed free. I don't know how that's gonna work with the three of us, but we'll manage" Charlie explained, continuing to relax in his own, comfy bed.
"Wait, hold up. Her bed?" Sawyer questioned, raising an eye brow.
"Your roommates a her?" He asked curiously, a look of confusion across his face.
"Yeah. Nick's a girl" Charlie confirmed, wondering why sawyer found that so long to believe.
"Oh, I see. So, these are her play boys, then?" He asked teasingly. Charlie smiled.
"Yeah, she's a lesbian. Is that alright with you?" Charlie asked in response, already knowing the answer.
"Hey, as long as doesn't mind me borrowing her magazines it's fine with me" Sawyer confirmed, plopping down on the bed.
"As long as you don't get anything on them I doubt she'll mind" Charlie confirmed playfully. The two laughed, both knowing very well what that 'anything' would be.
Their attention was turned at the sound of the refrigerator being opened, watching as Desmond retrieved a bottle of bear and popped the cap off, chugging it down as if it had been the first time he'd drank in years. They all knew that wasn't the case.
"You guys want one?" He questioned, once realizing he was being watched.
"Sure" Sawyer agreed willingly. Desmond grinned and tossed him a bear, surprisingly managing to make it across the room without breaking it.
"How about you Charlie?" He asked, already pulling out a second.
"No, thanks. I think I'm just gonna take a shower and get some sleep" Charlie confirmed, not in the mood to fall back into old habits on the first night home.
"Oh, come on. You just got back to civilization after two and a half years, and you ain't even gonna celebrate?" Sawyer questioned, staring at the brit as if he'd lost his mind completely.
"I am gonna celebrate. I'm celebrating my ability to take a shower and get a good nights sleep" Charlie confirmed, resting his head back against the pillow with a satisfied grin. The other two men just laughed in response.
"Well in that case, I'm going to celebrate my ability to drink your bear" Desmond confirmed bluntly, taking a seat on the piano bench and taking another long chug.
"And I'm gonna celebrate my ability to watch naked ladies dance at that strip club we passed on the way in" Sawyer confirmed, closing up the magazine he'd been looking at and hopping to his feet.
"That's an excellent idea, brother. Mind if I join you?" Desmond questioned, knowing very well he could get much more beer there.
"Sure, why not?" Sawyer confirmed, pulling on the coat he'd just removed a few moments ago.
"What about you, Charlie? Still want to sleep the night away?" Desmond asked playfully, finishing off the last sip before putting the bears back in the refrigerator for later.
"Yep. I doubt we'll get much attention what with the lack of cash and the wonderful castaway sent" Charlie reminded, watching as a look of realization crossed their faces.
"Man, Charlie. Why do you always have to be so negative?" Desmond questioned, bighting back up after deciding that they 'ed find someway to get in.
After all, they were victims of a horrible crash that had been all over the news. Someone would find sympathy.
"Yeah, Charlie. Why do you gotta be such a pussy?" Sawyer questioned teasingly. Once again, Charlie just laughed.
"Fine, if you want me to go that much then I'll go. But I'm taking a shower first" He confirmed, pushing himself back up.
"That's more like it!" Sawyer confirmed, cheering in response. Charlie shook his head as he slipped out of bed, reluctantly rising to his feet.
"I'll see you later" He replied, and disappeared into the bathroom. "If you can, bring us some cash!" Sawyer yelled in response before closing the door and heading out.