bachelor party || the boys
𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: summer’s home // summer 2021.
𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: charlie, marshall, cody, nathaniel, ross.
𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: none.
𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: charlie’s bachelor party! the guys all get together for a fun night out, but not before nathaniel can grill cody about dating his sister.
Charlie went to go and pick up Cody for the big night, "No moping and texting Bella all night. Have fun with me and the boys. Let me see your fake" said Charlie as they left the car to head to Marshall's. Cody handed it over, "No phone moping. But I think I deserve at least one drunk call" he said as he committed to the bit. Honestly, Bella would not want to hear from him intoxicated. Cody should probably warn her that Charlie will insist on saying hello at some point during the party. That was gonna be fun. He could see the disaster now. Charlie looked over the fake and handed it back in approval, "it's not like we're out of town anyways. I'm sure that it will work. People love us" said Charlie confidently. He had never had any problem getting in anywhere as an underaged person. "People love you" Cody corrected, and he knew it was true. Everybody loved Charlie, Cody was just a footnote of the Summers experience. "At least look like you're having fun" said Charlie as he knocked on the door, "you'll be drunk before you know it" he added with an exhale. Being out with his little brother was a new experience, but he didn't want to miss it. Cody would be his friend, like his actual friend, in a few years. It was just going to take a little bit of growing and time. Charlie was sure of it.
Marshall opened the door with two shots in his hand and a big smile on his face. Charlie was the first friend in the group to get married, and honestly, it didn't seem like him or Katie were going to be married anytime soon... So he wanted to make sure everyone had a great night. Charlie had been particularly stressed with all the wedding planning, but now that everything was set, all that needed to be done was to have a fun time. "My boys!" Marshall passed the shot glasses to both Charlie and Cody, "Just to start the night off on a high note. Oh, Katie told me that Daniel and Milly are gonna be hopping around. Not sure when we'll see them, but we don't have to pick them up. So that'll just leave Ross and Nate." He then patted Cody on the shoulder, holding in a laugh. "You tell him about Nate?" he asked Charlie before looking back at Cody. "Dude's probably got a whole ass interview waiting for you."
Charlie laughed, "you know if you told young me I was popular in high school and college, and then you told me how many people were coming to my bachelor party. I don't think I'd believe the first thing". He was very happy keeping things small, in fact he had asked Marshall to. A lot of his friends were girls, but at the end of the day Charlie and Alice shared the majority of their friends. They would be at the wedding, but for now it was nice to be with just the boys. "Oh shit dude, I meant to tell you I invited Nathaniel Langston even though it's small" said Charlie. He had mentioned to Cody that not a lot of people were invited period, but he had forgotten that one of those select few was his girlfriend's brother. "He's a peach. I'm sure he's not going to interview you. You've seen him since he talked to me, Alice, and Katie about you ... right?" Charlie asked innocently as he poured some drinks.
Cody had not heard one of the people who was witnessing him underage drink tonight was Bella's uptight much older brother. Now he couldn't get wasted. This was upsetting. This was the only family bachelor party he was ever going to go to unless he was invited to Claire, Channing, or Courtney's husbands thing. And that was different. Tonight was the night he could get shitty litty no questions asked. Cody already knew he had to be moderately sober at the wedding itself. "Dude, I haven't seen Nathaniel since the dinner. What the hell did the three of you tell him? Tryna get me in the dog house with her family?" said Cody as he took a sip, "I guess I'll be on my best behavior".
"Quality over quantity, my friend. No need for any extras." Marshall said with a smile. They didn't need to be apart of some big group to have a good time, they were the fun. Maybe that's why people loved them so much, they were just a joy to be around. "Nah he'll definitely interview you." He was just trying to mess with Cody a bit. That whole relationship was really out of the blue, but he wasn't judging. Marshall didn't know what was actually said when Charlie, Alice, and Katie were with Nathaniel, but it probably wasn't too bad. No one was actually out to sabotage Cody's relationship, but then again, Nathaniel didn't seem like the type to really get a joke. "I'm sure everything will be fine," he grabbed a glass and took a sip, "and if anything happens, Ross will mediate. It's what he does best."
"My ears are burning" said Ross with a laugh as he walked into the room, hearing people talking about him. "It's been a minute guys" he said as he gave Charlie and then Marshall a hug. Ross had been living his best life, dating Julie, working at the school. Even Bryce had been on his best behavior recently. Life was going really well for him because no one had a hand in making it worse. "Lane and Nor sent pastries" he said as he put the goodies down on the counter. "Cody, Savannah and Sloane wanted me to tell you that they're going to college in the fall and to dump Bella. I do not recommend it" said Ross, laughing as he took a drink from the counter. It was nice to be back with everyone from high school.
Nathaniel wasn't intending on being the last one to arrive, it was so unlike him, but he got caught up in a lot of work. He made sure to not let it ruin his mood though, this night was about Charlie and he wanted to make sure he had a fun time. He had been to quite a few of his pals' bachelor parties, and the more he went, the more self conscious he became. Nate was only 29, there was no age limit on getting married, but sometimes it would get to him. But for the sake of Charlie, he would not sulk around. He walked into the house with a polite smile on his face, "Sorry, I hope I didn't have you all waiting too long." Nathaniel shook everyone's hands and gave Cody any extra nod of the head. He was still a bit suspicious of that one, especially after what Katie said. Katherine Hastings was no liar. "Congrats again." he told Charlie with a smile.
"Girls after my own heart. I'll definitely have to hit the gym tomorrow. Gotta look slim for the dress" Charlie joked, even though he and Alice would definitely be working off the hangover tomorrow at the gym. It was their typical routine. Charlie picked up an eclair and drank more of his drink. Once Nathaniel was there, Charlie could see the anxiety wash over Cody's face. He must be really concerned about saying the right things. Maybe Cody was actually legit about this one. But it was his bachelor party, so Charlie didn't want to meddle too much. The boys were all here, and life was good. It was going to be a great night, "Thanks man. I'm glad you're here. Office wasn't too bad with me taking off early today?" said Charlie, he always felt guilty for taking time off but it was final details with Katie day. She'd shown up to the office to get him, and he'd let them know two weeks in advance. He was just a really hard worker, overworked himself even. It was all about showing Bryce up at the end of the day.
Nathaniel shook his head, "Not at all, I had made sure to put a reminder that you were leaving early. I appreciate the notice in advance, by the way." Nathaniel liked to make sure everything was in order, he had always been like that. Spontaneous decisions were not frequent for him. "You've been doing great, no need to worry about anything." he added with a friendly smile. Playing favorites wasn't exactly something Nathaniel did often, but he did really like Charlie, though there wasn't much to compare. The only source of competition for Charlie was Bryce, and well ... Nate quickly understood why people in town didn't like him very much. "But enough about work, this is your night. We're here to have a good time." He then turned to Cody, keeping the smile on his face, "I'm glad you're here too. I've been meaning to reach out. Get to know each other better, you know?"
Cody was naturally really nervous around Nathaniel, but he didn't show it. This was the time to be confident. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Bella and I have been meaning to do more with you guys" said Cody, lying because why not. He was sure they would do more stuff with the families soon. Now that school was out, it was a necessity. They had their trip next week, "she's coming out to the lake house with us really soon" Cody added, "there'll be plenty of time for her to work on her art. Get to know my parents. Things are getting pretty serious". Cody needed to sell that he wasn't some sort of romantic jackass like his reputation showed. Nathaniel probably didn't listen to gossip, but then again everyone in town did. It made it hard to do anything in Hastings.
"We're on different schedules most of the time, which is pretty unfortunate. Veronica is usually with Eleanor, and Fiona is such a mystery. She'll go off to who knows where from time to time." Nathaniel said, followed by a small chuckle. "But we come together more during the summer, probably because Founders Day is so close. Our parents like us all to be together when they host their events. So I'm sure we'll see each other more." Nathaniel wanted to make sure Cody had good intentions with this relationship. Bella was devastated after her breakup with Landon. She had pretty much shut down and stopped talking to everyone. He didn't want to see her like that again. "Is that what you want?" he asked, referring to Cody's comment about things getting serious. "Casual relationships are always fine, it's just being on the same page with one another is what matters most."
Cody was holding on strong. If he could get out of this he would, but here they were. Committing to the bit. "Yeah, it's what I want with her. She's different. Good for me. I'd like to think I'm good for her too" said Cody kindly with a shrug, "I don't express much, so this is a lot for me". Cody wanted him to back off about everything, the less focus there was on Cody and Bella the better the lie would look. Put a microscope up to it and everything would fall apart, "but she's got me opening up for sure. Slow and steady though" he assured.
Nathaniel listened with a friendly smile on his face, "Well that's very nice. I'm happy for you both." Though everything seemed fine so far, Nate was aware that Cody wouldn't say something dumb in front of him either. He was literally Bella's brother after all. But there was no reason to push any further, if this was someone that his sister was serious about, he wanted to develop some kind of relationship with him. Be optimistic until Cody gave a reason not to be, that was the plan. "I'm sorry if I'm being too pushy, especially right now of all times." he let out a laugh. Sometimes Nathaniel didn't know when to just have a good time. He really needed to loosen up. "I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of you anyways, so there's more than enough time to get to know each other. But tonight is about Charlie." he said as he patted Charlie's back.
Cody shook his head when Nathaniel said he was being too pushy. For Cody, he absolutely was. But towards the guy his youngest sister was dating? Absolutely called for. Cody got it. "Not at all" he lied. "We will definitely be around" Cody said, knowing that was the crux of their agreement. "Tonight is all about Charlie" he repeated. It was important to keep the focus off of him, and he was going to be good tonight just to appease Nathaniel. They had a great night, all of them. Eventually meeting up with Alice and her girls. Cody felt almost normal hanging out with his brother and his friends. //END