Off To Uni! (Written after Nick & Charlie by Alice Osmen)

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

Nick:
Every time I've seen Charlie lately, I've tried to memorize his features; the way his hair moves in the wind; the way he looks into my eyes; his perfect lips; the way we fit into each other so perfectly. I try to take mental pictures of every moment as I know once I leave for Uni, everyday will not be as perfect as it is here. I grab Charlie's hand and pull him inside with Nellie following close behind.

"I missed you," I say as we walk upstairs to my room, still holding his hand.
"If you already miss me when we're apart for less than 24 hours, how are you going to handle being away from me for days at a time?" Charlie asks with a small smirk on his face.

I threw myself onto my bed and sighed.

"I might just have to take you with me," I say half-jokingly.

He walks closer to me.

"Oh yeah? Going to pack me in your suitcase then?" He laughs.

I pull him onto the bed with me and give him a quick kiss before looking into his eyes.

"Don't tempt me, Char. It's the only solution that has come to my mind so far," I say laughing back.
"I missed you too, by the way," Charlie says as he quickly kisses my nose. "I'm going to miss this room while you're away. There are just so many memories..."

His voice starts to trail off as he looks through all of our pictures together.

I get off my bed and walk over to my dresser. I take the stack of photos and walk back over to him.

"Here, I made sure that I took enough pictures of us so that you could have some too," I say as he quickly grabs the photos from my hand.
"Jeez, how many pictures do you take in a day?" He asks while shuffling through the pictures, smiling.
"Not nearly enough," I say as I wrap my arms around him from behind, looking through the pictures with him.

Before our fight the other week, I'd been so excited about going to Uni. However, now that it's finally here, I think I'm freaking out more about it than Charlie. That's probably not true, but he has been so great these past few weeks. He finishes looking through the photos and puts them on my nightstand.

"I love you, you know," he says, turning around so we are facing each other.

I brush away some of his hair from his eyes. I still get that pit in my stomach and my knees feel weak when I hear those words from his mouth. I always wonder if it'll ever go away but I know it won't.

"I know. I love you too," I say as I pull him into a kiss.

Charlie:
I deepen the kiss and run my fingers through his hair; down his back. We start moving towards the bed but naturally, I trip on one of his suitcases causing us both to collapse on the floor.

"Why are we like this?" Nick asks while laughing.

God, I love him. I often wonder how I got so lucky. He is just... perfect. Mine. I push the suitcase that is separating us and make my way under his arm.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't have it any other way," I say, wishing time would stop.
"Me either," He says, holding me tighter. "Did you bring some things with you for me to take up to Uni?"

I nodded as I reach over and hand him a small bag of things. He took the bag and put it in one of his suitcases.

"So do you want to go out and do something? Stay here and watch a movie?" I ask.
"Do you mind if we just stay in today? I just want to be with you," Nick says with a soft smile.

I felt my cheeks turn red. Even after two years, the simplest things make me blush. I get up from the floor and lay on his bed.

"That's fine with me, I need all the cuddles for the next six days," I say as he joins me on the bed.

He wraps his arm around me and I cuddle up to him. He puts on a movie and my mind can't help but wander. The rational side of me knows that Nick and I are going to be fine. This distance isn't going to ruin us; if anything, it'll make our love stronger. But even still, the thoughts in my head are screaming that this is the beginning of the end. How could he not meet someone that is interested in him at Uni? Look at him. I stare at him watching the movie; the lights are off but the sun is shining through the curtain as it sets; a golden line illuminates Nick's freckles. He is so perfect simply existing. I continue to watch him instead of the movie; words can't express how much I'll miss this being part of my daily routine. He looks down at me.

"You okay?" He asks.
"I'm fine," I say.
"Char, look at me."

My eyes meet his.

"You think I don't know you after all this time?"
I sigh. "Look, I know things have been so great with us. I really appreciate how you constantly reassure me that everything is going to be okay. But still, I can't help but think that this could potentially not go how we planned. You're going to meet all these new people, we're not going to be around each other as much as we are now; you're perfect and I know everyone there is going to think the same exact ---"

Nick puts his hands on either side of my face.

"Charlie -- "
"I know, I know. We've had this talk so many --"
"Char -- ""I'm just nervous that you're going to find someone better --"

Nick now has his hand on my mouth which obviously keeps me quiet.

"Charlie, I will say this as many times as I need to. You are literally the most amazing, caring, funniest, sexiest person I've ever laid eyes on. You really have no idea how much you've impacted my life simply by existing. I always felt like I wasn't myself; like a part of me was missing and I couldn't figure out what it was. When I met you, I found that part and finally I felt like I was completely myself. You opened my world to completely new feelings. The sky was bluer, the sun was brighter. I started living a whole new life; a better life the day I met you."

I feel the tears trying to escape my eyes with every word he says. I am so beyond in love with him. I pull him into a hug and we just stay there for awhile; knowing that this isn't going to be easy for either of us. I pull away from the hug just enough to look at him.

"I know you just said a lot; and you know that I love you more than anything, but me, sexy?" I say with a small chuckle trying to break the silence.

He places his forehead against mine.

"The sexiest," he says, matter of factly.

If I could stop time and live in a moment forever; it would be here, with him.