Charlie agrees to a gathering with a group of friends. His close friend Grizzly-knowing how severe Charlie's social anxiety is-makes Charlie promise to tell him if he needs to bail, and assuming he won't need to, Charlie makes the promise. Things change a bit upon arrival, however.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Severe social anxiety, panic attacks, swearing, claustrophobia, crowds, feeling ignored and insecure
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"Hey. I'm gonna head out and pick up Grizz." Charlie knocked on the office door. Grace turned around from her schoolwork on the computer and stood up.

"I love you." Charlie said as the couple walked closer and hugged.

"I love you too. You gonna be okay?" Grace asked him.

"I'm gonna be fine. It's only five of us." Charlie said. He was going out with a group of friends for a couple hours, and Grizzly had suggested the two of them carpool. Grace looked at him seriously.

"You know you can back out if you're not up for it." Grace told him.

"I know. Grizz will be there, so I'll be okay." Charlie said.

"You'll tell him if you need to leave?"

"Yes, I promise." Charlie kissed her reassuringly. She kissed him back. They said their goodbyes and Charlie left the apartment.

If he was being honest, he was a bit nervous for tonight. Despite it only being four people-five total counting him-the group was very loud and rambunctious. Charlie had had a particularly stressful day with trying to film and get technology to work in his favor for once and failing miserably, so interacting with multiple people wasn't exactly at the top of his 'Things I Want To Do' list. But he felt better that his best friend Nate, better known as Grizzlyplays on YouTube, was gonna be there with him to act as a filibuster and include him in conversations when he slipped out of them.

Charlie walked to the car and got in. He plugged Grizzly's address into his nav system and headed to his house.

Upon arriving, Grizzly was waiting outside. He walked right up and got in the car.

"Heyyy Charlie! How are you doing man?" He asked.

"Good, bro! How are you doing? How's your night been?" Charlie returned the question as he entered the name of the restaurant into his nav next.

"Good, good. All the roommates were out today so I had the place to myself." Grizzly said.

"Oh sick! So you either got a shit ton of recording done or you were just walking around in your underwear belting out song lyrics at the top of your lungs." Charlie poked fun. Grizzly looked at him in fake offense.

"A; How dare you! B; I did both. And C; Who's to say I don't already do both of those things when the roommates are all home?" He said. Charlie laughed.

"Also, are you up for this? Cause you don't have to go if you don't want to. Nobody's gonna be home for, like, four more hours. So I'd be down to just chill with you and play video games or something." Grizzly asked quickly as Charlie was about to put the car in drive.

"Nah, I should be cool." Charlie said slightly unconvincingly.

"Are you sure? It's okay if you're not, man."

"I know. I got the same lecture from Grace. I'll be fine." Charlie said as he began driving.

"Okay. Just promise you'll tell me if things go south okay? Just like, tap on my shoulder and say 'Do you know the name of this song?' That'll be our code." Grizzly said. Charlie chuckled.

"We don't need a code, Grizz. I'm gonna be fine." He said.

"Just promise me, okay bro? It makes me feel better." Grizzly looked at him.

"Okay, fine. I promise." Charlie said just to stop the conversation, internally rolling his eyes. He appreciated Grizzly's concern for his anxiety, but he also hated feeling like he was helpless. He couldn't stand it when people worried about him, it made him feel like a burden. They drove for some of the way in silence, occasionally making casual conversation here and there.

Charlie hated to admit it, but the closer they were getting, the more he could feel his anxiety rising.

It's five people. I'll be fine. He kept repeating this to himself over and over again, but it wasn't helping much.

They arrived at the restaurant on time and got out of the car. Parking had been a challenge, as the place appeared to be packed. This of course caused a spike in Charlie's BPM.

"You alright?" Grizzly asked when he noticed Charlie had gone silent. Charlie nodded.

"Yeah. It's fucking hot out." Charlie said casually. Grizzly agreed.

They walked up to the door and opened them. Immediately, the boys were hit with a wall of loud noise. Shouting, yelling, talking, glasses and plates clattering, and footsteps pounded in Charlie's ears.

"Jesus is loud in here." He mumbled. Grizzly closed the doors and looked at him. "I'm fine. Just caught me off guard. It's 3:00pm, I wasn't expecting it to be this crowded." Charlie assured him.

"Okay. We can go in whenever you're ready." Grizzly said. Charlie took a deep breath and nodded. They walked in.

Grizzly immediately stepped forward to talk to the waiter. He gave them the reservation name, and he led them to the table.

Charlie stopped dead in his tracks when a huge table of thirteen people all started cheering when they walked up. Grizzly stopped next to him.

"What happened to the party of five?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know. Do you wanna bail?"

"They already saw us. Hey!" Charlie quickly smiled as people got up and started greeting them. He was loudly informed that a few people had brought significant others and a few other people brought their friends and someone else just so happened to be in town today and on and on until the party of five became a party of fifteen.

Charlie and Grizzly were dragged to the table. Charlie was forced into a seat, and Grizzly was being dragged towards another seat. However, taking one look at Charlie's panicked eyes, Grizzly pulled his arm away and looked around.

"I was gonna sit next to Charlie." He said. The people around him looked at one another, and then at the person sitting next to Charlie. Charlie looked down, embarrassed.

"Can I sit next to Charlie?" Grizzly asked again. The person sitting next to him smiled and moved graciously. Grizzly sat down and moved his chair next to the other male. "Deep breaths. It's okay." He whispered immediately. Charlie nodded slightly. Everyone that had gotten up to greet the boys sat back down, and the conversations continued. Grizzly and Charlie were bombarded with questions and thrust into random conversations.

Charlie tried hard to pay attention to everything everyone was saying, but voices were running together. The sheer volume of the restaurant alone was enough to make his heart race. That combined with the volume at just his table alone was overwhelming. He was struggling to respond normally.

Someone asked him a question, but he couldn't hear exactly what they had said. He had to ask them to repeat it twice. In the middle of Charlie's answer, they turned away as the person sitting across from them asked them something, and those two began a separate conversation. Charlie was caught off guard by this. He knew the person fairly well, and knew they weren't meaning to be rude. But Charlie felt himself beginning to shut down.

The volume of all the voices around him seemed to be increasing rapidly. Somewhere across the restaurant, a group of servers began singing the restaurant's rendition of Happy Birthday to a guest. Everyone around them clapped loudly, and Charlie jumped.

"Easy. It's okay. Drink some water." Grizzly said to him quietly. He slid Charlie's water cup closer to him. Charlie grabbed it and took a few sips. It did nothing but make him choke. He started coughing.

"Easy, easy, Charlie. Slow down." Grizzly said.

"I'm okay." Charlie lied. A few of the nearest people to Charlie and Grizzly started laughing as Charlie coughed.

"You good there man?" One of them asked sarcastically. Charlie forced a smile as he calmed down.

"You're supposed to drink water, not inhale it." Someone else made fun of him. Charlie could feel his face growing hot as he faked a laugh.

The sounds of his friends laughing at him echoed in his mind as he tried to continue making conversations. Every time a loud noise occurred, he would jump. Immediately following this, he'd be laughed at by the people sitting around him. He could feel his chest twisting painfully, tightening. His hands trembled lightly as he grabbed his water cup and took a few more sips, finishing it. Grizzly immediately moved his over in front of Charlie without saying a word, barely even looking away from the conversation he was having.

"I'm okay." Charlie lied again, but Grizzly saw right through him. They both knew he was creeping dangerously close to panicking. At this moment, it was nothing more than an anxiety attack. His breathing was a bit shallow, he was shaky and jumpy, and bouncing his leg quickly. But his condition was worsening, and it was getting harder to fight it.

And harder to hide it. He finished Grizzly's water all too quickly.

The conversations around him began melting together with the words of his racing thoughts.

What the hell are you even doing here?

Why aren't you talking?

What's wrong with you?

Are you okay?

You're a joke.

Are you ignoring me?

You're such a baby.

As the voices in his head grew almost as loud as the restaurant's sounds, Charlie felt himself snap. He tried to announce that he was going to the bathroom, but he knew it hadn't come out right because his throat was closing and he was struggling to talk without giving away that he was panicking.

"I'm-Gonna go...Tothe bathroom." He slurred out. He stood up abruptly and walked quickly away. Grizzly, who'd been engaged in a conversation with the person on his right, didn't hear this. When he turned around and saw Charlie gone, his heart dropped.

"Where did Charlie go?" He asked.

No one heard him. He stood up and tapped the shoulder of the person who was sitting on Charlie's other side.

"Where did Charlie go?" He asked again.

"Oh. I think the bathroom? I don't know, he said it so quietly it was impossible to hear
him-" The person was explaining, but Grizzly had taken off after hearing the word 'bathroom.'

Meanwhile, Charlie threw the bathroom door open. It was empty, thank God. He leaned against the sink as his throat continued to close. His breaths came in short, desperate gasps. He turned on the sink and ran his hands under the cold water, a sensation that sometimes helped him come back to reality. It helped his body to realize he wasn't in danger.

This time, however, it did nothing.

"Fuck...F...Fuck..." he choked out. Tears stung his eyes as his mind continued racing.

Why do you even try?

You shouldn't even bother.

You're such a waste of space.

You're a joke.

You can't even hang out with friends.

Such a loser.

You're weak.

You're nothing.

You're dying.

There's no air here.

You're gonna die.

You're a burden.

As the voice in his head screamed these and more insults at him, Charlie's whole body trembled. He gripped the sink harder, trying to steady himself as a wave of dizziness washed over him, followed by a wave of nausea. He pinched his eyes shut as his chest tightened painfully. His throat felt like it was swelling shut, and he coughed as he struggled to breathe. He tried to blink the tears out of his eyes, but they wouldn't go away. He haphazardly swiped at his eyes in a second attempt at clearing them. It worked for a moment, but his vision was blurred again quickly.

"Goddamnit. Goddamnit!" He choked out, massaging his chest as he tried to stop the pain that was spreading across it now.

The bathroom door suddenly burst open, and Charlie jumped a mile.

"Oh fuck. Hey, Charlie? Can you hear me bro? It's okay. Fuck. Can you walk? Let's get you out of here." Grizzly's voice started saying a million different things as he approached Charlie. Charlie blinked rapidly, trying to process his words, but his mind was far too loud. He shook his head, unsure of what he was even trying to communicate to Grizzly, but Grizzly seemed to somehow understand.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. It's okay. It's okay, just...Just focus on your breathing right now, okay?"

It wasn't until Charlie covered his ears with his hands as the speakers jolted to life with the next very loud song that Grizzly realized the music of the restaurant was playing in the bathrooms as well. He looked around.

"Really? Why the fuck-Whatever, nevermind. Hey, let's get you out of here, okay? Come on." Grizzly motioned for Charlie to move towards him.

Normally, Charlie would've been paralyzed in the panic attack. But his desperation to get the hell out of this place won over that instinct, and he rushed towards Grizzly. The two walked out of the bathroom. Suddenly enveloped by the loud noise of the restaurant again, Charlie jumped.

"It's okay. We're getting out of here. It's okay." Grizzly told him as he put his hand on Charlie's shoulder and steered him away. He stopped Charlie in a random place and told him to wait there. Charlie frowned, but couldn't ask why or what he was doing. He understood, however, when he saw Grizzly approach the table they'd been at with their friends.

"Hey guys? Charlie is kind of sick so I'm gonna take him home. This was really fun though! We'll text you!" Grizzly said quickly. He stayed for a few seconds after finishing talking to echo goodbyes back to people who had heard him. He then quickly left and returned to Charlie, who had started crying now out of overwhelming guilt.

"Charlie, hey. It's okay! Come on, let's get out of here. It's okay." Grizzly's concern jumped to a much higher level as he steered and directed Charlie towards the exit. Charlie kept his head ducked down. He felt like the entire restaurant was staring at him judgmentally.

They quickly walked out the door and Grizzly moved Charlie to the car. He asked for the keys, and Charlie surrendered them without hesitation. Grizzly unlocked the car and opened the passenger door. He turned Charlie around and slowly lowered him onto the seat facing outward. Charlie stumbled a bit, and grabbed Grizzly's shoulder in reaction.

"I got you! I got you. You're okay, man. You're good. It's okay. We're outside now. We're outside, you can breathe. Look, we're right next to a tree. This dude is giving off oxygen now right as we speak. There's plenty of air to breathe. You can breathe." Grizzly said calmly. Charlie squeezed his eyes shut as his chest somehow tightened even more. His hand that wasn't on Grizzly's shoulder scratched at his chest, trying to counter the pain.

"Hey, hey, don't do that. Stop." Grizzly said gently. He very carefully grabbed Charlie's other hand.

"Squeeze my hand instead." He said. Charlie did. "Good. I'm gonna squeeze back okay? Tell me if you can feel it." Grizzly looked him right in the eyes as he spoke. He squeezed Charlie's hand. Charlie shook his head. He squeezed again, and Charlie hesitated a moment before nodding.

"Okay, good. That's good. Now you. As you're squeezing my hand, try counting with me, okay? Count to four as you breathe in, and count to four as you breathe out." Grizzly told him. Charlie looked down.

"Hey, hey. Stay with me, man. Right at me, look at me, bro. You're okay. I've got you. Count with me okay? Watch me." Grizzly got his attention. He began taking in deep breaths and letting them out slowly, counting to four as he did both. He adjusted the speed of his counting as Charlie tried to follow along desperately.

He continued talking to Charlie as soothingly as he could as they counted and breathed together.

Very slowly, Charlie's breathing began to match Grizzly's speed. He extended the count higher, to five seconds breathing in and five seconds breathing out. As Charlie's lungs began expanding, he implemented holding his breath after breathing in for four seconds and then breathing out. Charlie struggled with this part for a bit, but was finally able to match Grizzly's timing.

After what seemed like a long time, Charlie's breathing returned to normal aside from small hiccups and shakiness. Grizzly stayed in front of him, talking calmingly, for a bit even after Charlie had come down from the panic. He was still crying a little, and Grizzly was trying to calm him down. Charlie refused to meet his eyes now, he just stared at the ground in humiliation.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly for the eighth time in a few short minutes.

"Charlie you don't have to keep apologizing. You didn't even have to apologize once." Grizzly repeated himself as well.

"You were having fun though." Charlie mumbled, sniffling.

"To be honest, I wasn't. It was too loud in there and the place smelled weird. Too much stimuli happening all at once. It made me anxious, so I'm not surprised you were anxious at all." Grizzly told him. Charlie didn't respond. Grizzly sighed.

"Do you wanna go home? Get some rest?" He asked. Charlie shook his head. "You could just relax and lay down, maybe?" He added.

"No. I don't wanna worry Grace. She's got a school paper she's working on. I don't wanna stress her out." Charlie said.

"Charlie, you're her boyfriend. And you live there, it's your house too. You can lie down in the bedroom while she works in the office or the living room."

"No. She'd stop working to try to take care of me." Charlie kept shaking his head.

"Okay. You can lie down at my place, then." Grizzly said.

"I don't-It's okay. I'm okay." Charlie tried to say. He wiped at his eyes.

"Yeah, last time you said that you chugged my water and sprinted to the bathroom having a panic attack." Grizzly said jokingly. Charlie chuckled sadly.

"I'm sorry." He said again.

"Its okay, dude. I'm just messing with you."

"I know. Still, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be." Grizzly said seriously. Charlie took a deep breath. "Good. Keep doing that." Grizzly commented. Charlie nodded. He took another deep breath and exhaled very shakily.

"Okay. How about this? How about we go to my place and just chill? Maybe play some video games, watch a movie or something?" Grizzly suggested. Charlie swallowed painfully.

"I don't wanna impose." He said quietly.

"You wouldn't be! Like I said before, I have the place to myself. The roommates are out until way later tonight. It would just be us." Grizzly said. Charlie hesitated.

"My brain is stupid." He commented.

"What's it saying?"

"Stupid shit. I'm a burden, I'm dragging you down, keeping you from having fun with friends..." Charlie trailed off.

"Nah, dude, look at me." Grizzly said. Charlie didn't move, but Grizzly continued anyways. "First of all, you are not a burden. Okay? Don't ever think you're a burden for having anxiety. That shit fucking sucks. It's scary and it's hard and it sucks. You are not a burden Charlie. You never have been and you never will be. Second, I honestly didn't want to stay there much longer either. It was way too loud and weird and crazy. And third, you are my friend! And we have a ton of fun together just the two of us all the time! Don't we?" Grizzly asked.

Charlie didn't respond.

"Don't we?" Grizzly repeated, nudging his shoulder gently.

Charlie nodded.

"Okay, there you go. So if you want to, let's go back to my place and I'll kick your ass at Super Smash Bros." Grizzly finished. Charlie chuckled lightly. "Okay?" Grizzly crossed his fingers. Charlie nodded again.

"Okay, if you're sure." He said.

"Of course I'm sure. Okay. I'm gonna get in the car. Let's go." Grizzly assured him. Charlie moved so he was sitting forward in the car and closed the door as Grizzly walked around and got in the driver's side.

Grizzly drove Charlie's car back to his place. Sure enough, the driveway was empty. The boys got out of the car and walked inside the house. Charlie texted Grace that he and Grizzly were at his house and were gonna hang out for a few hours. Grizzly got Charlie a water bottle as they went to his office and grabbed controllers. Grizzly opened Super Smash Bros and they picked their characters and began playing.

Charlie remained almost silent for the first two rounds. Grizzly didn't pressure him to talk or say anything either, which Charlie greatly appreciated. He completely understood how Charlie was feeling and knew that what he needed was to just take it easy. He was concerned about Charlie shutting down, but he didn't want to make him even more anxious by making him talk.

They just focused on the game and played in silence, aside from cursing or laughing every once in a while when something happened on the screen.

Charlie won both games, and Grizzly looked at him.

"Dude, how are you so fucking good at video games?" He asked rhetorically. Charlie laughed a little.

"I don't know." He said quietly. Grizzly noticed he'd finished the water bottle and he stood up.

"Hang on." He said. Charlie noticed his eyes had wandered to his water, and he instantly felt guilty.

"No, I'm okay." He tried.

"It's fine." Grizzly said, already walking towards the kitchen.

"Grizz, I'm fine. I'm-" Charlie sighed.

"It's fine!" Grizzly called back. He returned quickly with another water bottle, grabbing the empty one and walking quickly back to the kitchen to toss it into the recycling bin.

"You didn't have to do that." Charlie said as he sat back down.

"I know. I wanted to." Grizzly said, looking at him. Charlie avoided eye-contact, glancing away from him.

"How are you feeling?" Grizzly decided to ask while Charlie was talking. He shrugged.

"I'm fine." He said.

"Are you still feeling nauseous?"

"No."

"Dizzy?"

Charlie shook his head.

"That's good. You're still shaking a little." Grizzly noticed. Charlie shrugged again. "Are you cold?"

"I said I'm fine, Grizz, stop. Please." Charlie said, looking down.

"Okay. I'm just making sure. I'm not trying to harass you."

Charlie sighed, rubbing his eyes and picking up the controller again. "I know you're not. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, bro. I know you don't like when people fuss over you. I just wanna make sure you're okay." Grizzly acknowledged. Charlie nodded.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

"It's okay. You're okay, Charlie, really. It's just me." Grizzly said. Charlie ran a hand through his hair.

"I know. You're a really good friend. I'm sorry you have to deal with my bullshit." Charlie said. He grinned as if he was joking around, but Grizzly could see his eyes shining.

"You don't have to apologize for existing with me, Charlie. You have anxiety. That isn't your fault. It's not your fault, it's not your choice. And it seriously fucking sucks ass. You're worn out, you're tired. It's exhausting." Grizzly said.

"It's really fucking exhausting." Charlie admitted, looking away.

"I know it is. I'm really sorry you have to deal with it. But you will never have to apologize to me for having to go through anxiety, man. I don't want you to apologize to me for having anxiety, ever. Plus, I'm always down to just chill and have some bro time with you. You're fun to hang out with." Grizzly said. Charlie smiled.

"Even when I'm like this?" He asked.

"You're not 'like' anything. You're tired, bro. It's okay. It's okay to be tired and it's okay to admit it. Nobody's strong all the time. You don't have to act like that around me. We're brothers, man. It's us. How many times have I fallen apart on the phone with you?" Grizzly asked. Charlie nodded.

"How many?" Grizzly repeated.

"A few." Charlie said.

"A lot. You can trust me, dude." Grizzly said. Charlie smiled at him fully.

"Thank you, Nate. I really appreciate you, man." He said.

"I appreciate you too, dude. Now come on, pick a character and let's battle." Grizzly said. Charlie laughed.

"Okay. I'm gonna be Minecraft Zombie again." Charlie selected.

"Again? You're too good with that character." Grizzly said as he selected Donkey Kong.

"You're too good with Donkey Kong." Charlie challenged him.

"Whatever." Grizzly said, and Charlie laughed.

They selected a map and the round began.

They played for another two hours. Charlie found that the more they played, the more he relaxed, and casual conversation began to come a little easier to him as the games passed. They began their usual back and forth with banter and joking and making random comments and going off on tangents.

Grizzly's roommates had come home at some point during their games. Charlie had expected his anxiety to spike when they got home, but he didn't notice they were there until someone knocked on the office door.

Sure enough, his heart rate jumped through the roof. Not necessarily because they were home now, more so because neither of the two had heard them come in, and to hear a random knock on a door when you think you're home alone is terrifying.

At that point it was almost 10:00pm. The post-panic attack exhaustion was really starting to set in. Grizzly noticed Charlie slowing down in the game, and he paused it.

"You should probably head home and get some sleep." He said. Charlie hesitated as if he were about to argue, but he didn't. Instead he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm kind of tired." He under-exaggerated how wiped out he really was. Grizzly could tell, though. The boys stood up, and Grizzly walked Charlie to his car. They spoke for a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes, and Charlie got in his car. He texted Grace that he was headed back, waited to make sure Grizzly got inside okay, and drove away.

Upon arriving home, Grace asked him how the night went, as Charlie had been expecting her to. He knew she would ask, but he hadn't thought of how to respond.

"Um, it was okay." He said. Grace froze in place and cocked her head at him. Charlie laughed. "Yeah I wouldn't have believed that either." He admitted.

"Yeah." Grace smiled knowingly.

"I kind of had a panic attack." Charlie came clean. "But Grizz helped me down. I ran off to the bathroom and he followed me. He got me out and helped me calm down and then we went over to his place and played video games for a while. So I'm okay now, just kinda tired." He explained.

"I'm so sorry Love! You're okay now?" Grace said, approaching him slowly. Charlie nodded. "Can I hug you?" She asked. Charlie couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he nodded again. Grace smiled too, and she approached him fully and pulled him in. She hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry you had a panic attack. I'm glad you're okay now, though. We'll just take it easy for the rest of the night. I'm actually really tired too so we can go to bed early if you want. I wouldn't mind." She said. Charlie took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind an early night." He agreed.

"Are you hungry?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, we didn't manage to eat anything." He said.

"Wanna order a pizza? Or do you wanna make something?" Grace pulled away from ye hug, grabbed his hand, and walked him into the kitchen.

"I don't have the energy to make anything." Charlie laughed.

"That is fair, neither do I. Pizza it is?" Grace laughed with him.

"Pizza it is." Charlie nodded.

The couple took to the couch after Grace called their local pizza place.

The rest of the night was exactly what Charlie needed. He and Grace watched a few movies while they waited for their pizza to arrive and while they ate it, and they went to bed early.

Before Charlie fell asleep, though, he texted Grizzly and asked if he could call him. Grizzly responded quickly, saying he could. Charlie stepped into his office and closed the door so Grace could get in bed and his call wouldn't disturb her if she fell asleep.

He called Grizzly, and the latter answered quickly.

"Hey Charlie. Is everything okay?" Grizzly asked immediately.

"Hey man. Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to say thank you again for helping me earlier." Charlie said, putting his free hand in his pocket as he paced around his office.

"Oh, dude you don't need to thank me. I'm glad I was there to help you! And anyways, I'm always down to chill with you. Anytime you need some bro time, come over and we can just vibe." Grizzly waved him off verbally.

"Thank you Grizz, genuinely. I'm glad you were there too." Charlie repeated.

"Of course, bro! Always! And hey, why aren't you asleep by now?" Grizzly asked. Charlie laughed.

"We were just going to bed, but I wanted to call you first to let you know I'm okay and to thank you again." He explained.

"Uh-Huh." Grizzly said sarcastically. Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Whatever man." He shook his head, chuckling.

"Go get some sleep, Charlie." Grizzly broke out of his fake-serious tone as he giggled.

"Okay. You too."

"I will, man. I'm tired."

"Okay good. I'll talk to you later okay? Thanks again. Night Grizz." Charlie said.

"Night bro." Grizzly responded. The two friends hung up, and Charlie smiled at his phone. He turned the screen off and left his office, venturing into the bedroom. Sure enough, Grace was already asleep. Charlie, as quietly as he could, closed the door and crept over to the bed an scrawled in. He lied down carefully, watching Grace to make sure he didn't wake her.

He opened his phone again and turned the brightness down as he shut off the light on his nightstand, which Grace had left on for him. He only managed to play a few minutes worth of a game on his phone before he couldn't keep his eyes open, and he fell asleep too.

A/N: As always, thank you so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this part! I hope you have a great rest of your day, whatever time it is for you! Thanks again, and stay safe! 😊✌🏻♥️