Edge of Thorns 2- Pt 28

Part 28
No, I don't want to go, but...

"Sure," Nathan said with as much confidence as he could muster. "Sounds like fun. How far is it?"

Alton explained the directions as they began walking down the sidewalk. Apparently, the club he had in mind was only five minutes on foot from the restaurant, so there was no need for them to get Enya's car. Nathan was glad for the extra time as he tried to build up his courage. It was just a club. There was nothing to be nervous about, right? There'd be music, and dancing, and drinking, and just general merriment. Maybe there'd even be karaoke or a place to shoot pool. It was going to be great, he told himself. He was going to have fun.

The five minutes passed and they stood in front of what looked like the entrance to someone's cellar, the only giveaway that it was something more the loud music droning through the door and the neon sign above it: The Dungeon. Gloria squealed again, grabbing Alton's hand and dragging him forward. "I've been here before! This place is amazing! Let's go!" Before anyone could get a word in to the contrary, the model was already at the door, her date laughing at her side.

Enya rolled her eyes as she watched them disappear inside. She turned back to Nathan and jerked her thumb behind her. "Guess we'd better catch up, huh?"

The writer nodded quickly, but looked like he'd rather be doing just the opposite. Both of Nathan's hands were balled tightly into fists, his palms slicked with sweat. It's just a club, he reminded himself, but chills still ran down his arms. His face and neck started to turn red while he kept his eyes squinted closed, fighting against the tears that were threatening to break through. It's just a club...

"Nathan?"

He slowly opened one eye, then the other as he lifted his face to look at Enya. She had one eyebrow raised, her arms akimbo. "Are you sure you're alright? You're shaking."

Nathan pressed his lips together and tried to nod again, but instead shook his head. "I don't like... clubs..." He looked down at his feet. "Just... give me a few minutes..."

"Okay."

They waited. Nathan hoped his nerves didn't get worse, but every time he was about to relax, he'd think about stepping through those doors, and his anxiety would kick in again. It felt like hours, but those few minutes later he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Enya and was surprised she was giving him a gentle smile. "Let's get back to the car. I'll take you home."

Nathan couldn't stop himself from crying, his cheeks red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize," Enya said quietly, nudging him away from the entrance. "I popped in while you were freaking out and let the other two know what was going on. You didn't have to pretend you wanted to go."

"I feel stupid." He hadn't even noticed she'd left. Sniffling, slowly calming down as he realized he didn't have to go to the club, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his wrist. "It's such a dumb thing to be afraid of."

"Being afraid of crowds of people isn't dumb, Nathan. Irrational, but that's what phobias are: irrational fears." Enya gave him another smile. "You can be a really friendly and sociable person and still be dead terrified of having to interact with strangers. You're not the first social phobic I've met."

Her words weren't doing much to make him feel better. "I don't have social phobia. My therapist back home would have said something if I did."

"Did you ever tell him that crowds make you nervous?"

"No."

"Then how would he know?" Enya shrugged. "Look, there's no reason to beat yourself up over this, Nathan. Just, you know, tell us in the future if you're anxious about something. I can't speak for Alton (being who he is and all), but I know I won't make you do anything you don't want to." She paused and stopped walking for a moment, stepping in front of him so she could face him. "You want to hear something dumb to be afraid of? Water."

Nathan stared. The further they'd gotten from the club, the more at ease he'd become, but this abrupt topic threw him off so much he forgot he was anxious at all. "What?"

Enya sighed and shook her head, then held her hands up while she shrugged. "You're afraid of people; I'm afraid of water. Well, deep water at least. I don't like getting into anything above my waist (above my knees and I start getting antsy) and like hell will I ever get on a boat. Even some bridges over rivers make me nervous. According to my parents, I almost drowned when I was a toddler. Don't know if that's true, but that's all the explanation I've got." She gave him a smirk. "How's that for dumb things to be afraid of?"

He didn't want to -- because he wasn't sure if she wasn't being sarcastic -- but Nathan laughed. His effort to hold back made it come out as a snort, and he tried his hardest not to smile at her expense. That, however, made Enya giggle.

"What did I tell you?" she asked with a grin. "See? We're all a little screwed up."

Finally, Nathan relaxed. "Yeah, it seems like it." He sighed, looking at her. "So, um... what now?"

"Now?" Enya cocked her head to the side. "Now we find something else to do. I told Alton I would take you home, but if you just want to chill for a while, we can do that too. It is getting cool though, so if we could go somewhere warmer to chat, that'd be good. You still have that dream to tell me."

The dream. I'd totally forgotten about that. I did say I would tell her, and now's as good a time as any.

Though I do kind of want to go home and relax on my own after working myself up so much. What should I do?