It really wasn't his kind of scene.

For one, it was loud. From the outside, he could feel vibrations, and could hear muffled noise. But as soon as Gia pulled open the door, it became much worse, booming across the dancefloor through the speakers.

At this rate, he'd go deaf.

He slowly shuffled in behind the rest of the group, not wanting to go in further but he didn't have much of a choice either. Well, maybe he did. If Charlie resisted, Stephanie would probably feel guilty for dragging him here. He knew by now she wouldn't purposely try to put him in a position where he'd be uncomfortable the whole time but at the same time, despite wishing he could be elsewhere- quite literally anywhere else- this was also time she was spending with her friends so he wouldn't ruin tonight for her. He'd suck it up and deal with it.

At the front, they waited in line to pay a small fee and get neon colored wristbands- whatever those were for. It went fairly quickly, and all the while, the girls were chatting excitedly to themselves.

"Is this cool or what?" Stephanie exclaimed. He could've done without her voice getting shrilly so close to his ear.

"I told you," Gia said smugly from Charlie's other side. "Best of all, we can hangout without your uncle watching us the whole time."

"Because that most definitely doesn't give me the impression that you're going to do something irresponsible," Harry deadpanned. He was ahead of all of them, turning back to look straight at Gia.

"Shut up," she scoffed. Then, to Stephanie, she said, "We should've left him behind."

Stephanie said, all too used to their bickering, "But then who would you argue with?"

"Charlie's here," Gia said, shrugging.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.

They moved forward in the line, the music growing louder- if possible- the closer they got. Charlie folded his arms across his chest, feeling discomfort already. He'd give anything to turn back.

"Do you wanna dance with me?" Stephanie's voice was next to his ear again, and while he couldn't see it, her lips were tugged up into a wide grin.

Unable to help it, Charlie shivered involuntarily. She missed that part, so did everyone else.

"No," Charlie said without hesitation.

He had a feeling she was disappointed. "Oh," she said. "Are you sure?"

"This might come as a shock to you, Tanner, but I don't dance," he said just as Gia breezed past him.

"You don't or can't?" The girl said over her shoulder.

"You get used to it," Harry said in reference to Charlie's bluntly annoyed expression.

Finally, they were at the little podium the guy stood at. Once they were all paid for, he placed the neon wristbands on them and they were good to go.

Though, Charlie's legs felt enormously heavy whilst he had to drag himself past the entrance. Multi colored shadows fell over everyone, moving back and forth. It wasn't too badly crowded, surprisingly, since he heard from Gia that this place hadn't been open for long. Still, this wasn't the kind of thing he would've chosen to do.

He didn't even know why he told Stephanie he'd do this. He wasn't going to have fun, wasn't going to feel the tension leave him until he was out of here.

How was everyone else okay with it? Stephanie was fine; she was huddled close to Gia so they could be heard. "Let's go dance," she raised her voice so he and Harry could hear her as well. Looking at Charlie, she gave him a sort of pleading look. "You sure you don't wanna come?"

"I'm sure."

Harry interjected into the conversation, "I think I'll sit this one out too, Steph."

Gia didn't give her time to respond, she whisked Stephanie out to the dancefloor, pointing at some random guy that was on the other side with dark jeans and a ball cap.

They didn't hesitate to get out and start- well, Charlie wouldn't exactly call that dancing with the way they were wildly shaking their bodies but it was something along that line.

Charlie blew out a breath. Now what was he supposed to do? Stand here and wait for them to finish?

From his side, Harry glanced at him, and the two of them made eye contact. Charlie swiftly darted his eyes away. To anyone else watching, they would have noted how stiff and awkward Charlie was- and trust him, he felt it too.

His stomach growled. Prior to meeting Steph at her house, he didn't eat all that much.

"Are you okay?" Harry approached him, suddenly in his space, and for a split second, Charlie's heart skipped a beat out of fright. He didn't look like he was out of his element as much as Charlie.

"Why?"

It was said somewhat harshly. Unintentionally, but Charlie couldn't help but feel embarrassed by his reaction. Harry had to have seen it.

If Harry was surprised by his tone, he didn't show it. "You look uncomfortable," he said calmly.

Yeah, well. He felt it.

A part of Charlie wanted to lash out, taking Harry's observation as a personal attack. But he ultimately knew that was unfair and so, tried to take in a deep breath to calm himself down.

"I'm fine," he lied.

Harry frowned. Charlie anticipated him arguing further but then he said, "I can't hear you that well," he raised his voice- and it was still hard to hear over the drowning music. "Let's go outside-" He trailed off upon seeing that the crowd of people waiting to enter had doubled since they arrived. It really wasn't worth the effort to get past them. "Follow me."

He started walking in the opposite direction. Charlie's eyes shifted to where Stephanie and Gia were, briefly wondering if they should let the girls know but figured not. They'd be alright for the time being.

He ended up following Harry to the bathroom. The noise was much more muffled, though the floor seemed to vibrate. He breathed out a sigh of relief now that his ears weren't ringing anymore. It was relatively empty in there except for one guy washing his hands but he ignored them both.

"It's way too loud here," Harry said. "My ears were starting to hurt."

"Yeah."

They lapsed into silence after that. Charlie hadn't spent too much time with Harry, not alone. They were usually in the company of the girls so this was kind of awkward.

Charlie's eyes flickered away to look at the wall, to have something else to do besides stare at Harry. "Uh, thanks," he tacked on.

"Sure. No problem."

Charlie breathed through his nose, teeth raking over his lower lip. He honestly didn't know what to do, what to say or how to act in front of Harry. What should he do? He'd never formally apologized for the crap that had happened back in elementary school, not really knowing how to bring it up.

"You know," Harry said casually, unaware of the thoughts swirling around in Charlie's head, "I didn't really want to come tonight but Gia was insistent."

"I didn't want to either," Charlie was kind of relieved that he wasn't alone in that feeling.

"We usually switch off who picks what," Harry added. "Unfortunately, it was Gia's turn, but I'm sure Steph will be fine if you pick next time."

It was such a small, insignificant thing to say. Harry probably hadn't realized that all of a sudden, all of the air was taken out of Charlie's lungs from sheer shock.

By all rights, Harry should hate him. Should want nothing to do with him after the way he acted towards him and everyone else back in grade school.

And yet, there was none of the hostility that Charlie expected to encounter. It was like it'd never happened.

"-Yeah," Charlie managed to say, "I guess."

Harry leaned back against the wall, ankles crossed. "Are you coming with us to get food afterwards?"

"Oh, uh. Yeah, I'm coming."

Harry nodded, and if he were to guess, Charlie might not be the only one who wasn't sure of how to proceed. The door to the restroom swung open, a couple guys here and there coming in and out. They disregarded the two of them completely. It really wasn't the place to linger, but it was fairly spacious so there was no harm in it, really.

Charlie cracked his knuckles absentmindedly, needing something to do with his hands. His eyes flickered back to Harry, a sort of questioning gleam in them as he licked his lips, contemplating on his next move.

It was impulsive and stupid and not the thing to ask in a freakin' public restroom but-

"Why did you bring back that candy for me?"

The question startled Harry. He blinked rapidly for a second or two, mouth opening then closed. With furrowed eyebrows, he said, "What?"

"When you came back," Charlie said uncomfortably, "you brought back candy for everyone."

"Yeah...?" Harry said slowly, still not understanding. "What about it?"

"You brought some back for me," Charlie was regretting that he broached the subject at all. His face felt warm, and he wanted nothing more than to escape, even if that meant going back out there. "Why?"

Both of them flinched a little at the sound of the sink abruptly turning on. Some guy was washing his hands, chewing obnoxiously on a piece of gum.

"I don't know..." Harry fidgeted. "I just thought you'd want some too. I didn't think it was fair for you to be left out."

But he deserved it. Would have deserved it.

"...Did you not like it?"

"No, it wasn't that," Charlie said awkwardly, hurriedly. "I just didn't expect it."

"Oh." The word was completely drowned out by the hand dryer that same guy was using. But Charlie was able to read Harry's lips and caught it.

Heart beating faster, Charlie ran a hand through his hair, wondering how to word this.

"Steph told me...what you said," he braced himself for the response he'd get.

Only, Harry was more confused than anything. "What did I say?"

"That you said I was a jerk."

Eyes widening a little in recognition, Harry breathed out another, "Oh."

Charlie said nothing, just waiting to hear what else he'd have to say.

Harry's cheeks went pink, and he coughed to clear his throat. "I didn't know she'd tell you."

He dragged a hand down his face, lightly groaning.

"Okay, yeah, I did. But I was wrong. I can see that now."

"You can?"

He couldn't keep the mild surprise out of his voice.

"Yeah," Harry said, looking embarrassed. "I shouldn't have said that."

Unable to do much of anything other than rub the back of his neck, Charlie swallowed dryly. "It's fine."

A part of him meant it. The other part of him didn't know what sort of response he should give.

"Yeah?" Harry said, sounding a bit doubtful that he was going to be so accepting of it- as if Charlie couldn't say the same about him.

"Yeah."

It was enough talking. Enough of this touchy-feely territory they'd entered. Charlie really needed to get out of it and onto something else that wasn't making his skin crawl with discomfort.

Harry must have been thinking along the same lines; he blew out a long breath. "We're probably going to be here a while," he said, "knowing them."

"Yeah, probably."

"They might not notice us for a while," Harry said. "We could sneak outside when the crowd dies down. I'm starting to get a headache."

"Sure," Charlie agreed.

"I would've brought my walkman if I knew we weren't going to be dancing," Harry said. "Do you have one?"

"Nah. I just use my stereo." Although he had a fairly decent amount of CD's to listen to.

"I've been wanting one for a while but my parents wanted me to buy it on my own. But without a job, it took me longer to save up so," he shrugged as if it were no big deal.

Charlie probably could have gotten one if he asked. But the idea just made him feel...uncomfortable. Sure, they could say yes and buy him one but it felt too much like he was indebted to them and that was the last thing he wanted.

/

They eventually came out of the bathroom. No sooner did they do that did Charlie lift his eyes, spotting Stephanie across the large room dancing pretty close to some guy he'd never seen before.

It wasn't a slow dance by any means, Charlie couldn't pinpoint what song was playing, but Gia was no longer with her, leaving her with this new guy by herself.

Was she seriously that stupid?

"Who is that guy?" Charlie said out loud. Harry was a little behind, having had someone cut in front of him on the way out.

"What?"

"Who's that guy?" Charlie repeated, pointing.

"I don't know," Harry paused, taking in the guy's appearance. "He can't be from school. He probably lives around here. Why?"

"Gia's not with her."

Harry frowned, not understanding. "Okay...?"

Huffing, Charlie crossed his arms. "Some friend she is. Aren't we supposed to stick together or something?" It was what they were told before leaving, anyway.

Much to his annoyance, Harry was completely calm about the matter, not at all concerned like Charlie expected him to be. "Gia wouldn't just leave her," he said mildly.

"Well, she did."

"She's right there," Harry nodded his head in her direction. Charlie turned, seeing Gia saunter over to them. Her hair was slightly disheveled, makeup smudged and her skin glistening with sweat. All the while, she looked like she was having the time of her life.

"Are you weirdos talking about me?" She said, deliberately putting an edge to her voice.

"Charlie got worried because you left Steph alone," Harry said dismissively. A smirk grew on Gia's lips.

"Really?"

"I wasn't worried," Charlie grumbled, his cheeks warming.

"I told him she's fine and you wouldn't just leave her."

"I didn't. I was nearby," she shrugged, but she didn't lose the smug attitude. "Besides, Steph wanted me to leave her."

"What?" Charlie couldn't help but say. "What do you mean?"

Gia brushed some hair off her shoulders. "That guy came up to Steph and asked if she wanted to dance. I would've stayed there but she said she was fine and that he was really cute."

Charlie didn't see it, but Harry shot Gia a warning look.

"She did?" He didn't know why those words fell from his lips. Why should he care?

"Mhm," Gia said slyly. "He looks older. He could be in college and in that case, way to go Steph."

"That's highly inappropriate-"

"Oh, shut up!"

Charlie didn't move a muscle, he stared at Stephanie with this unknown, possibly older guy. Her mouth was open, she was laughing. As this was happening, his stomach twisted until it physically hurt.

But why?

He didn't want to think about why that could be. "Good for her, I guess," he said nonchalantly, or so he hoped that was how he sounded to the other two. "Hope she doesn't talk his ear off."

"And you'd know all about that, huh?" Gia pretended to look over her nails.

Ignoring that, Charlie was going to let the subject rest. However, somethin within him just wouldn't. "I thought we were all supposed to hang out together. Why's she dancing with some other guy then?"

Gia's smirk widened but she didn't say anything.

"It's not really a big deal," Harry said with furrowed brows. "She's not going to be dancing with him the whole time."

"But she could," Gia butted in. At this, Harry rolled his eyes.

"She won't."

"But she could."

"Stop that!"

Charlie tuned them out the best he could, his focus stayed on Steph. By all rights, this shouldn't be eating at him. It hardly made any sense.

Ugh. He dragged a hand down his face, rubbing his eyes. This was so stupid.

"Come on," Gia's voice shattered his thoughts.

"Oh, no," Harry was shaking his head. "Not gonna happen."

"What do you plan to do? Stand here until we leave?"

"Yeah," Charlie spoke up.

"You can come too," Gia said to him.

"Where?"

"She wants me to dance," Harry answered for her. "And I'm not going to. I told you that I don't know how to dance."

"You don't have to know how," Gia argued. "You just have to move and have some rhythm."

"I have no rhythm!"

The song changed by then. Some people walked away from the dancefloor, breathless and in need of a break. Others stayed there and kept going as a new one started up.

Steph was one of those people.

"They're finally playing something good," Gia threw her head back, shaking her body. "It was dorky there for a while." She eyed Harry who had yet to start dancing. "Don't tell me you're just gonna stand there. Come on. Do something."

He looked between them, grimacing.

"Fine. But neither of you can laugh at me."

Gia snorted. "We'll see."

Harry glared at her briefly before his face scrunched up again, and he reluctantly moved his upper body back and forth, hands curled into fists. This went on while Gia looked completely bewildered.

"What are you doing?"

Charlie couldn't suppress his grin of amusement. He quickly stifled it a second later, though.

"What does it look like?" Harry said. "I'm dancing."

"That's not a dance. That looks illegal," she said, affronted.

"I told you I can't dance!"

"This is why your parents are embarrassed of you," she said matter of factly.

"What? My parents aren't embarrassed of me!" He exclaimed, offended.

"With moves like that, trust me, they are."

At that point, out of the corner of his eyes, Charlie saw that Stephanie was returning. That guy was in the midst of leaving with some friends, and they both waved at each other just as he was departing.

"Hey," she said to him, brightly. She was sweaty and beaming. "Are you having fun?"

He shrugged. "It's been interesting watching Harry try to dance."

"And humiliated," Harry added dryly.

"Makes me happy," Gia quipped.

"Why am I not surprised?" Harry said.

Stephanie leaned in closer. "Hope you didn't mind, that guy asked me to dance."

"Why would I mind?" Charlie said, while both Gia and Harry looked his way.

"But you-" Harry started to say, only to be harshly elbowed in the stomach by Gia.

Due to volume, Stephanie hadn't heard him.

"I just didn't want you to think I was abandoning you or anything."

"I'm not fragile, Tanner. I can be left alone."

She smiled. "Noted."