"Nick?" It remains silent on the other end of the line. 'It's probably the shitty uni wifi', Charlie thought and called Nick's name again. This time Nick did respond. He was a little startled. "What? Sorry, I was just-." Even through the pixelated screen, Charlie could see something was off about Nick. "Is everything okay? You know we promised to always tell each other when something is going on"
"Char, it's fine." Nick's response sounded dull. Even the pixelated screen and shitty audio couldn't make up for this. In fact, they might've even made it sound worse.
"Okay. Are you still coming round on Friday? If you get here at 4:00 we still have a couple of hours left, before we have to catch the last train home."
"Yes! Of course." Nick responded. He sounded excited and happy, but Charlie could tell that he was just playing pretend.
A small smile appeared on Charlie's lips. It's one of those forced smiles. The ones you pull when someone gives you a backhanded compliment or those you pull when you're deeply hurt, but don't want anyone to notice so you pretend to be okay. "Cool. Can't wait! Love you."
"Love you too."
When they hang up, Charlie keeps looking at his phone screen. It switched off right after they ended the call, but he didn't notice. He has this bittersweet feeling. He's excited about seeing Nick and going home for the Easter break, but at the same time, he feels sad because he knows there's something wrong with Nick.
-
"Charlie, you're not eating. What's up?" Charlie looks up from his sandwich, which has been crumbled into small pieces because he kept picking at it. "Uhm...I think there's something wrong with Nick. I called him yesterday after class and he sounded down. And when I asked him if he was okay he gave a blunt answer." Tao looks at Charlie. He can hear the concern in Charlie's voice. On one side he thinks it's lovely to see that Nick and Charlie care so deeply about each other. On the other hand, he knows that things like this affect Charlie. And, when Nick isn't there to help, things can spiral down very quickly. Just like they did a couple of months ago. It was a horrible time for Charlie, him, Nick and everyone involved. Charlie's luckily doing a lot better now.
"Maybe he's just nervous for an exam or something?" "You think?" Charlie asked, still with slight concern in his voice. "Yeah, he's graduating this year so it completely makes sense that he's stressing out about stuff like that."
"Yeah, I guess so." Charlie didn't really mean what he said. He knew that he'd be in his room later this evening overthinking everything he's ever said and making himself believe that he caused Nick to feel this way. He can't help it, it's just the way his brain works.
YOU ARE READING
When I Look Into Your Eyes (An AU Heartstopper Story)
RomanceNick and Charlie are both in university. Nick is in his last year and is about to graduate, while Charlie still has 1,5 years of uni left. Even though they're attending different schools in different cities, their relationship is still as strong as...
