begin again - charlie gillespie

chapter 27

the concert comes to an end and everyone is buzzing with energy. we all start heading towards the exits, charlie's hand never leaving mine. 

i notice owen having a hard time walking, he's had too much to drink. his eyes having trouble staying open. 

"we should help owen" i say pulling charlie's hand, he looks towards owen and widens his eyes.

"come on" he leads me towards owen. 

"hey man, come on let's go" charlie says throwing owens arm around him for support.

"im fineee" he drags out, clearly not fine. i bite my lip to hold back a laugh, throwing owen's other arm around me to help. 

"how much did you drink?" i asked him, making him focus on me

"olivia! when did you get here?" he says while leaning into me a little. "i missed you" he whispers loudly. i smile at him as we keep walking.

"i only had 8" owen slurs loudly shaking his head

"8 what?" charlie asks furrowing his brows, owen boops charlie's nose before answering. 

"i have no idea" he laughs loudly, making us laugh with him. 

we say our goodbyes to everyone as our uber pulls up. we all settle in the car, me in between both charlie and owen. the uber driver looks back at owen, then gives both charile and i a dirty look. 

"if he pukes, you guys are cleaning." he says in an angry tone. 

"yes sir, ill puke out the window. dont worry" owen salutes him then throws his head back laughing. charlie and i look at each other with worried eyes. 

"i hope he doesn't puke" we both say at the same time. 

we get home fairly quickly, the driver almost speeding to get us out of the car. charlie and i trying our best to get owen into the apartment before he throws up. 

charlie unlocks their apartment door and owen runs towards the bathroom instantly emptying his stomach into the toilet. 

"can you make sure he's okay? im going to the store across the street to buy him things so he wont hate himself tomorrow." charlie asks me and i nod. 

"dont take too long" i say pulling him by his shirt to get him closer to me, leaving a soft kiss on his lips. 

"i wont" he smirks, giving me another kiss before leaving.  i sigh as i walk over towards the bathroom. 

"owen, are you okay?" i say knocking on the door

"when did i eat pizza?" he says as i hear the toilet flush one more time. i open the door and see him now laying on the floor. 

"come on owen, lets get you ready for bed" i grab his hand and pull him up. i help him sit on the toilet and i help him brush his teeth. 

i help him walk into his room and he throws himself on his bed. there's piles of clothes all over the floor, i start moving them all into one big pile so he wont trip when he gets up again. 

"dont clean for me olivia, i like my mess" he says jokingly and i laugh at his words.

"how are you feeling o?" i ask taking a seat on the edge of his bed. he sits up now and crosses his legs, he stares at his hands as he plays with his rings.

"i still feel drunk but not too bad. i do think im going to puke more though" he says sticking out his tongue and doing a peace sign. 

"lucky for you, the bathroom is right across the hall" i smile at him and he finally looks up at me.

"you-um. you look beautiful liv." he slurs blushing furiously red. 

"thank you owen. you look nice too, you know, before the vomiting occurred." i tease him and he laughs. his smile fades and his expression changes.

"this is going to be harder than i thought" he shakes his head and i furrow my eyebrows in confusion. 

"what is?" 

owen sighs deeply before continuing. 

"im really happy for you and charlie, i really am. you guys are great together. it's just, i dont know. its hard for me, because well. i have a crush on you." 

i gasp lightly as owen looks around the room trying to avoid my eyes. 

"oh" i say softly, unsure of how to respond.

"i told charlie about it but i always saw the ways your eyes brighten when he walked into the room. how you guys are drawn to one another. i knew you guys were bound to be together, even without knowing your back story. i thought i can just push it aside. but when you're standing there looking like a goddess and making me laugh the way you do, i- its just its hard for me. as much as i love being around you, i think i should distance myself a bit." 

he gives me a tight small smile, his eyes sad. 

so he wasnt angry the other day, he was hurt.

"i understand, im sorry." i look down at my hands, trying to not cry. 

owen is my best friend, i get why he wants to distance himself but the thought of not having him around as much hurts. 

"dont be sorry for your happiness olivia. you deserve to be happy." 

"thank you, i'll miss you but take as long as you need. okay?" he nods his head.

"im home!" we hear charlie yell from the living room. 

i grab owen's hand and give it a squeeze, as if to let him know it'll be okay, before walking out and finding charlie. 

"he's in his room" i say to him as he comes up to me, pulling me into him and kissing me. 

"good, now wait for me in mine" he whispers into my ear, leaving another kiss on my cheek before heading towards owen's room.

a shiver runs down my spine as he walks away. i try and hide my smile as i walk into his room. his room is clean, unlike owen's. he has his instruments and some photos hanging up. there's a polaroid of me smiling at him. my heart melts at the sight of it. 

"i love you charlie!" owen screams as charlie walks in shutting and locking the door behind him. 

"where were we?" he says coming to where i am, kissing me before i can respond. 

i smile into the kiss, my hands finding their way into his hair. he pulls us onto his bed, his eyes now wider and darker than before as i climb on top of him. i straddle him and my dress bunches up at my waist. his hands rest on my thighs as he sits up to kiss me. 

"so beautiful" he says now kissing down my neck. 

i pull away a little and start lifting his shirt over his head, he smiles ripping it off and kissing me again. he starts to pull up my dress but stops when we hear a loud thud and owen throwing up again. 

"charlie...... i didnt make it to the bathroom" owen's sad voice echos through the whole apartment, instantly killing the mood.