Chapter Text
Sweat and the heat from the lamps filled the air with a familiar stuffy atmosphere, Warren had convinced him yet again to come here, something about an event. Charles hadn't actually listened to what he had said, he was convinced the moment he'd asked. Warren had asked a few of his friends to join, ones Charles didn't recognise much, due to the others builds he guessed they were on the same rugby team as his best friend. He'd never cared much for sports, nothing could change that not for a lack of Warren trying, he just found it boring and it always required a certain amount of socialisation Charles wasn't willing to put in. Charles brought the glass up to his lips, sipping on the drink that his friend had recommended he try, his nose scrunched for a moment as he held the liquor in his mouth not wanting to swallow. He looked up and bit the bullet, it burnt the back of his throat in a familiar way, he saw Warren looking over, unable to gauge whether he was enjoying it or not. He squinted his eyes under the flashing lights and moved his hand to a thumbs up. Warrens face lit up and the confusion fading completely.
The ambient lighting dimming down as the stage filled with floodlights. Music blared through the speakers, playing an upbeat song he didn't recognise, the crowd seemed to love it along with some of the boys sitting with him, the ones who were clearly lightweights sang along a little. Suddenly someone passed through the wings and walked on stage, thigh high heels clanging along the floor as they lip synced to the song playing. Their outfit was a tight latex bodysuit adorned with crystals that glittered under the harsh lighting, they had fishnet tights on under the high cut suit and the black velvet boots. That wasn't what caught Charles' attention however, rather the huge wig decorated with feathers and what he could only guess to be several cans of hairspray and bold makeup was what made him look. This was a drag event. Charles tensed his body as the boy next to him hit his shoulder in what was supposed to be a friendly gesture."Don't get to excited mate, that's still a man underneath!" The stranger exclaimed with a burst of laughter, could he even be called a stranger if they were drinking together? Charles put an awkward smile on and nodded, not wanting to talk to him. Luckily the drag queen on stage saved him as they finished the song and spoke up, addressing the audience about the night.
"Hello Catherwood! And thank you for inviting me to host tonight's event! My name is Sapphire but all you cuties in the audience can call me later." Various people laughed at the cheesy joke, amusing many of the rugby boys who whistled and howled. The queen smiled and continued, "Now we have a lot of activities planned for tonight, including some drinking ones, but before we get to all that we have to get out the way all the boring things. Fire exits are to the left of the stage and at the back, in the event of a fire..." Sapphire continued on with some safety warning and rules, Charles tuned most of it out glancing over to Warren for a moment, looking over his face coated in the colourful lights bouncing off the stage.
"Now all that's out of the way, I'm sure everyone saw the flyers. Who will be our lucky man tonight?" The drag queen walked off the stage and started wandering around, eventually ending up at the tables full of buff rugby boys. Charles started to rub his arm as his heart pounded just from the queen walking towards them all. He looked over at Warren who had a big grin on his face, their eyes met and Charles looked away. Warren had probably told him about the event when Charles zoned out. He had thought it was just like a normal drinking night like it usually was, he felt a bit guilty but his emotions were interrupted as the queen placed their hand on Warrens shoulder. "How about you, young man?"
All of Warrens friends were cheering and egging him on as he nodded, still with the same goofy grin on his face. The queen led him onto the stage and handed him a microphone. "And what's your name?" Sapphire asked with a hand on his shoulder. Charles suddenly couldn't take his eyes off him. He didn't know what was going on and his only support was now on stage with the drag queen. "Warren." His voice going through the speakers filling the whole club, Charles shivered involuntary from how loud his friends voice now was. "Oo, love a good Aussie accent, how old are you Warren?"
"I'm eighteen" The boys cheered on, very entertained by what was happening. "Fresh blood, love it. I'll need you to go backstage for your transformation. In the meantime, here's another song!" Sapphire started lip syncing again as Warren wandered off stage.
Charles finally snapped out of his trance and lifted his drink again, he traced the top before starting to drink. He finished it in a few seconds wanting to get rid of it as soon as possible before standing up and wandering back to the bar. He ordered a cider and the bartender quickly slid one over, after paying he got back in his seat with the boys making a ruckus chatting about something. After a few more songs Sapphire started talking again, talking about another queen coming on stage. A moment later another drag queen came on stage... it was Warren.
He seemed to be having the time of his life chatting with Sapphire and posing with way too much confidence. Charles couldn't hear the conversation, he couldn't focus on anything other than Warren, his eyes wandering over the tight outfit and his heart racing he thought it was going to escape his chest. He moved his legs awkwardly and pulled out his phone, hands shaking as he quickly typed a message to his childhood friend Lilia. Charles stood up after a quick conversation, shoving his phone back in his pocket before rushing to the bathroom.