Charlie and Nick: A Heartstopper FanFic

One Week Later

Nick lazed around on the couch, the light from his phone casting a dull glow across his face as he scrolled through Charlie and Tara's Instagram accounts. It seemed that Charlie was enjoying himself. There were more photographs of him hanging out, drinking than there were of him performing.

Nick was doing his best not to worry, but he and Charlie weren’t in as close contact as he’d hoped. They talked on the phone a little, but it seemed the Charlie didn’t have time to respond to most of Nick’s texts. The lack of communication was daunting. It had been naïve to assume there would be nothing to worry about. Nick's mind was swimming with questions he couldn’t find answers to. Was Charlie having fun? Was he eating regularly? Was he safe? Around a million of these wonderings spun around in his head like a tornado, obliterating any confidence Nick once held. He had been so sure this tour would be a good thing. Now he didn’t have a real way to confirm if he'd been right.

He put his phone down at the sound of a knock at the door. He stood from the couch, leaving the unlit plush cat behind on the middle cushion. It hadn’t lit up once since Charlie left.

When he opened the door he found Tao, Elle, and Darcy on his front step.

“Move aside,” Tao instructed. “We're having a film night and I will hear nothing to the contrary. Understood?”

Without the energy to object, Nick let his friends into the flat.

Darcy trailed a few feet behind Elle and Tao with a crooked grin on her face.

“You’re coping well,” Nick observed.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as though she only just recalled why she was grinning. “No. Not at all. I’m actually quite drunk. Do you have wine?”

“Y-yes?” Nick stuttered, unsure if it was wise to share this information with her.

“Where?” Darcy wondered with impatience.

“Cupboard next to the fridge. Maybe--"

“Elle!” Darcy interrupted. “Onward to the kitchen,” she said, pulling poor Elle with her to find the wine.

“Glasses?” Elle wondered, trying to be helpful in keeping Darcy away from the majority of Nick and Charlie's glassware.

“Found ‘em!” Darcy announced before Nick could answer.

When he turned back to Tao, Nick almost jumped out if his skin to find him standing only a foot away.

Tao looked him over with suspicion. “Why are you so jumpy?”

“I'm not.”

“You are,” Tao told him with his arms crossed over his chest. “I made a list.”

“Sorry?”

“Of films. On most occasions, I wouldn’t be caught dead viewing some of the titles on this list. I just want that to be established.”

Nick adored Tao's quirkiness. He could see why Charlie still valued him as a great friend. “Alright. It’s established.”

Tao handed Nick his phone. On the screen was a list of movie titles Tao hated. Anxious to begin, he said, “pick one.”

“Darcy picked Sky High,” Elle chimed in as she and Darcy made themselves comfortable on the couch with four wine glasses and a bottle of red.

Darcy sat down on the plush cat and hopped back to her feet again in surprise. She picked it up, sat down, and smiled at the stuffed animal. “Is it just me, or does this cat look exactly like Charlie?”

Elle chuckled. “You know, it really does.”

“Right?” Darcy laughed heartily. “Look at its little face.”

“Nick, focus,” Tao requested. “I need to know your choice so I can better arrange tonight’s marathon.”

“Marathon?”

“Tao, we said we would play it by ear, remember?” Elle sighed with exasperation.

“Yes, of course,” Tao said before addressing Nick again. “Your choice?”

Nick thought about it for a moment, his gaze shifting from Tao over to Darcy holding the plush cat that hadn’t lit up in days. “Endgame.” He loved Cap, but right now, he felt like sad Thor in Marvel’s Endgame.

Darcy inspected the stuffed cat more closely, discovering the battery port for the LED light inside.

Tao tried to remain calm. “That isn’t on the list. What about,” he gulped as to not vomit, “The Avengers?”

“Tao,” Elle gently scolded. “It’s Nick’s decision.”

“Endgame is a sequel,” Tao protested. “We might as well watch every bloody movie and TV show while we’re at it.”

Elle thought for a moment. "Isn't The Avengers sort of a sequel, too?"

“Does anyone have batteries?” Darcy wondered, completely changing the subject.

“What for?” Nick wondered, his interest peaked.

“I’m curious to see what this cat does when it has some juice.”

Nick’s heart dropped into his stomach. “There aren’t batteries in it?”

“I think they’re dead,” Darcy replied. “Was this the floor model? You didn’t change the batteries?”

Nick rushed into the kitchen and dug into the junk drawer for any sized battery he could find before returning with his loot to the living room. His friends watched him as he manically stuffed batteries into the back of a stuffed cat.

The cat lit up instantly.

Tao, Darcy, and Elle quietly looked to each other in confusion as Nick hugged the plush cat and blinked away tears of joy.