Heartstopper oneshots <3

5: coming out

tw: mention of anxiety attack
words: 779

Nick ran his hand up and down Charlie's back, soothing him from his anxiety. He had just had an anxiety attack, which lead to their current situation. Charlie was laying with his head against Nick's chest and Nick had his arms tightly wrapped around him. He placed a few kisses on Charlie's forehead.

"Are you okay love?" Nick asked softly. Charlie just shrugged. "I promise you that coming out isn't going to change anything for us."

"All of your friends will hate you," Charlie croaked.

"That's fine, I don't even like them anyway. They're so mean for no reason. You're my best friend Char, so your opinion is the only one that matters."

"But they'll think differently of you and everyone else in your life will see you as a whole new person."

"Charlie, I don't care what other people think of me, okay? If they think that me coming out changes everything, then that's my sign that I don't need them in my life. Okay? Just trust me."

"So you're sure you want to?"

"Yes, I'm positive."

"Okay," Charlie sighed. He was so worried about Nick's life after they come out. He didn't want what happened to him to happen to Nick.

*the next day at school*

Charlie and Nick walked onto the school grounds together, caught up in a conversation about nothing in particular.

"No I'm telling you, bubblegum is-," Nick got cut off by Harry.

"Aye mate, why are you hanging out with that nerdy little year ten?" Harry shouted. All of his friends laughed. Nick turned to face Harry, and Charlie hid behind him slightly.

"Because I enjoy hanging out with him, he's much more interesting than you," Nick blurted out. A chorus of 'ooh's sounded from the rugby boys.

"He's gay mate, how the hell is he more interesting?"

"So what he's gay? Why does that even matter? It doesn't change who he is," Nick argued. Harry took a step closer to Nick, and Nick looked back to check on Charlie, who just nodded to confirm that he was okay.

"Why are you protecting him?" Harry teased. "Is he your boyfriend or something?

Nick took a deep breath before smiling widely.

"Yeah, he is," Nick confirmed. Harry was speechless, and so were his friends. Nick pulled Charlie out from behind him and smiled down at him. Charlie stared at him with a shocked expression.

"Well that was straight forward," Charlie mentioned.

"Yeah, it was wasn't it?" Nick said with a small chuckle.

"There's no way someone like you is dating a nerd like him, you probably don't even-."

Before Harry could finish his sentence, Nick pulled Charlie in for a kiss. He placed one hand on his waist and the other cupped his face. Both of Charlie's hands cupped Nick's face gently. They both smiled into the kiss before pulling away. Nick looked over at Harry and saw his jaw was dropped.

"What were you saying?" Nick asked tauntingly. When Harry didn't reply, Nick took Charlie's hand into his and began walking into the school. They noticed almost everyone around had their phones and eyes on them, but in that moment, they didn't care.

The two boys looked at each other and Nick sent Charlie a soft smile, immediately receiving one back. Nick squeezed the younger boy's hand gently before looking ahead again and leading Charlie to form.

As they sat down, they heard whispers from everyone around them. Other students were also staring at them.

"That news spread quickly," Charlie said, anxiety dripping out with his voice. Nick noticed his leg was bouncing and quickly placed his hand on Charlie's knee to calm him.

"It'll be okay. We'll be okay," he whispered. "I promise."

Charlie nodded with a sad smile. "What's wrong?"

"I just, your name is going to be used in some not nice conversations and some people might even say something right to your face. I just, I don't want you to have to go through that," Charlie explained.

"Well we're already out, so whatever happens, happens. I promise I'll be able to handle it, okay? And if I feel like it's too much I'll tell you immediately and we can figure it out from there," Nick comforted. He lifted Charlie's hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. "We'll be okay."

"Okay," Charlie agreed. He rested his head on Nick's shoulder while they waited for the bell to ring. He noticed a couple of people take photos of them but he didn't care anymore. He and Nick were happy, and that was all that mattered. No matter what was thrown their way, they would always have each other.