You make my heart stop- Heartstopper Nick & Charlie

Meet me in the afterglow

TW: slight reference to ED, slur, cursing, suicidal thoughts, sexual and physical abuse!

Charlie's POV

Nick's at Uni now. I'm so proud of him. He's been doing so well in his rugby team and his grades were amazing. He had a group of friends that I met a few times and I actually like them very much. He was glowing and it made my heart full. I did miss him. I did get jealous. But we're already halfway through the term and soon enough I'll hopefully be joining him.

It was all going okay. I was studying and getting good marks. Nick and I managed to keep up with our FaceTime schedule as well as visiting each other for the weekends whenever we could.

It was all good, until things started to change.

Nick met a guy. His name was Alex and he was clearly desperate for Nick's attention and affection. They got along so well, maybe a bit too well for my liking. Alex was very touchy and he always seemed to be with Nick. Always. That didn't bother me much at first, but now I can see that Alex's actions were deliberate. He also knew that I was Nick's boyfriend. That didn't stop him or his advances. Nick seemed clueless though.

I hated being jealous. I was also worried about mentioning anything to Nick. I still remember our fight before he went to Uni. He was finally so happy and he was practically beaming that he was in Leeds and living his new life. I couldn't have a repeat of last year. I was truly happy for him. I just wasn't happy about some parts of his life. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want him to feel like I was controlling him or who he could hang out with. The other thing, we hardly had any alone time. Alex was usually in Nick's room when I called. Either he was just leaving or just arriving at his. It bugged the hell out of me. I couldn't even get proper alone time with my fucking boyfriend.

'Char?' asked Nick worriedly

I snapped out of my intrusive thoughts and I realized that I zoned out during our call. One of the rare ones where Alex wasn't present.

'Sorry. I'm back' I said with a small chuckle

He studied me for a bit, before saying

'Are you okay?'

'Yeah. I just... the revisions for the exams are vile and I'm tired' I said heavily, not wanting to lie to him, so I went with the not whole truth instead

I was stressed about the exams and the revisions were just getting to me.

'You need to take time to recharge. Don't spread yourself thin, love. And eat' he said sadly

'Well you're a bit too far away for me to recharge often' I said with a small smile

His face fell at that

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that this was your fault' I said anxiously

'No. It's alright. I get what you mean. I'm sorry I'm not there' he said sadly

'It's okay. I'm doing okay. Next year I'll have you close by and I'll be able to recharge more often' I said with a small smile, anxious about what next year will bring

'Where are you applying to?' asked Nick cautiously

We've fought about that topic too many times.

'We'll see soon enough' I said quietly

He just nodded.

He then proceeded to tell me about his classes and his rugby practice. What new things he learned and how he got a lot of praise during his last practice. He was beaming with happiness and I loved seeing him like that.