Charlie and Nick: A Heartstopper FanFic

Lost

At first, Charlie was mildly concerned when he arrived at the flat and there was no sign of Nick. He assumed his boyfriend was out buying him some cheesy present that Charlie would find adorable. Nick had an aptitude for romantic gestures.

When Nick wouldn’t answer his calls or texts, Charlie could feel a growing pit of dread in his stomach. Naturally, he reached out to friends to see if they’d heard from Nick. It was too soon to call Nick's mum. With no information to offer, he would only cause her to worry. If, by the off-chance Nick was with his mum, Charlie could discover that in time.

Two hours later, Charlie was in full panic mode. His friends had offered to call different hospitals or even jails to see if maybe Nick was there. Elle was the one who managed to pry Nick's location from a tightlipped nurse.

“Hospital?” Charlie parroted back to Elle in shock. “Did they say why he’s there?”

Elle gave him the address of the right hospital. He rushed there and to the emergency room's help desk. Out of breath, he told the man behind the desk, “I'm looking for information on a patient. Nicholas Nelson.”

With indifference, the clerk typed the name into his computer and asked, “relation?”

“Boyfriend.”

“Family only.”

Charlie balled his fists and tried to maintain a civil tone. “I am family.”

“Are you married?”

Charlie hesitated.

“Sorry, sir. Family only.”

“Just tell him I’m here!” Charlie demanded, fear overriding any desire to be polite. “He wants me here.”

The clerk sighed. “Why don’t you get in touch with his family? His file says we’ve called already.”

His muscles felt like they would snap from the tension coming in waves over him. Dissatisfied, Charlie walked back outside, away from the ER's waiting room and called Nick's mother.

“Oh, Charlie. You poor thing. Have you got any news?” Nick's mum said the moment she picked up the phone.

“They won’t let me see him,” Charlie told her, his voice trembling before he burst into tears. “They won’t even tell me what’s happened.”

With a heavy heart, she told Charlie what happened to Nick earlier that day.

Traffic had been awful, causing a gridlock that reached onto the highway. That was where Nick's driver had rear-ended another car. At the very same time, a tractor trailer had a failure with its brake system. In an attempt to avoid the traffic built up in the truck’s lane, it swerved. The car Nick was sitting in was directly in its path when the truck toppled at the sudden swerve. The car had been crushed between the transport trailer and the tall wall that worked as a sound barrier for the surrounding houses.

Somehow, no one died. Nick's driver was in rough shape, but apparently Nick was doing a little better in comparison. He was hurt with a couple of broken bones and a bad bump to the head. His rib had dug into something, his mum couldn’t remember the name, so they were operating on him. But, she assured him Nick would be okay.

Nick's mum called the help desk and told them Charlie was family. She must have added a few threats or something because it worked. A nurse led Charlie to Nick's room, leaving Charlie bitter of how difficult they had made this for him.

In the hospital bed was Nick, asleep from the pain medication they’d given him for surgery. The right side of his body was covered in various sizes of gauze and bandages to cover where the glass had cut into him. His right arm was in a cast up to his elbow, but otherwise, he was alive and well. Charlie was relieved. He’d expected Nick to be in far worse condition.

Settling into the chair next to the hospital bed, Charlie reached out and held Nick's left hand. He kept finding himself in disbelief at how lucky they really were.