Nick & Charlie - A Neverending Story || Heartstopper

Chapter 5: Best gal pals

My name is Tara Jones, and I'm completely stuck in a relationship with Darcy Olsson. I constantly wonder how I can bear her day by day, but the truth is that I can no longer imagine myself without being with her.

Darcy and I were friends from school, we were always very close, and that's how we continue to this day. Our friendly relationship has not changed at all. But now we are more than that.

I really don't know how it all started, one day she began to see me differently, and she confessed to me that she liked me. In a romantic way, not just a friend way. At first I didn't know what to say. I was confused, surprised, out of the loop, but on the other hand something in me told me that I was feeling things for her, incomprehensible but real things.

I took my time to digest it all, and she never pressured or conditioned me. I finally found out. I knew I wanted to stay close to her, but closer than I was before. Our first kiss was incredibly awkward for both of us, I had never really kissed anyone. Well, except for Nick Nelson, when I was thirteen. From here I thank him for making me discover that I don't like boys, even if it was unintentionally.

You may have heard Darcy say that I didn't know I was a lesbian until we kissed like six times. But I repeat, IT WAS TWO TIMES. In any case, since then we have done it many more times.

I still remember the day Elle caught us holding hands and ended up becoming our third wheeler. I hope that she finally decides to take the step and confess her feelings to Tao, they both deserve a chance to be together.

Coming out of the closet, THE BIG MOMENT. I think we just overrate the importance of making a big reveal, as if your life depends inevitably on it. But I think that is part of the individual journey, and each person should be able to feel free to express themselves and show themselves as they are when they feel it is the right time. No one should have to suffer the way Charlie Spring suffered when he was the laughingstock of all Truham.

Hate and intolerance is something we learn to live with on a daily basis, but Darcy always has a way of making me smile and shine a little light when I feel like darkness is almost all around me.

We are so different that sometimes I wonder how we can be girlfriends. But they say that opposites attract, and it seems that's just what happens to me with Darcy Olsson.

[...]

My name is Darcy Olsson, and I am proudly in a relationship with Tara Jones. She was my childhood best friend, and she still is, but now she is much more important in my life than just that.

I've always had a terrible coexistence with my family, I have never felt like I had a real home, until I discovered that my home could possible be her. I was terrified, but I decided to take the step of confessing my feelings to her, knowing that it could change everything between us. And it did, but fortunately, for good.

Jonesy, as I affectionately call her, was what I call a "hidden lesbian." There's nothing wrong with that, but I hope she feels grateful, cause thanks to me she discovered she likes girls. I know she hasn't always felt this way, because at the age of thirteen she thought she would forever be the girlfriend of Truham's popular boy, the rubgy lad many of my classmates sighed for, Nicholas Nelson.

But what was my surprise when it turned out that Nick is bisexual and he's a relationship with Charlie Spring, the boy who inadvertently came out and was constantly teased and hated for months. Right now I'm the president of the CharNick fan club, and I think I'm more up to date on the local gays.

The fact that two apparently opposite poles like Nick and Charlie are boyfriends seems to me one of the least casual coincidences I have ever seen. I would call it gay karma. I really think there is a certain resemblance between our relationships. Nick and Tara have struggled a lot in order to find themselves while Charlie and I were already sure of who we were, but I also think that our own experiences have made us mature before our time. Although Jonesy would say that's a lie, because I haven't grown up yet and I'm still behaving like a five-year-old girl.

I admit that sometimes, well fine, often, I do, but that's me. Yes I am, I admit it, and I love it. Besides, how boring it would be if it wasn't like that. Let's say I am chaos and Tara is order. I am madness and she is calmness. I'm the impulsive and she the rational. But there is something that I think I'm very good at, and that she knows even though she sometimes refuses to admit it.

I have a tender facet that gives her the peace she needs. I don't know very well where that comes from, because my family is the opposite, they are really suffocating. That's why I would like Tara's family to adopt me as their daughter.

Wait a minute, that would be a problem for our relationship...

Anyway, the important thing is that I'm happy and I feel safe and free with her. When we made it Insta official, she had a slump under the pressure of having the whole world comment on us. But we're good now. We cannot change the world overnight, but we can do little things to make it a little more tolerant.

I have a motto, and I proudly carry it as my flag: "Sounds gay, I'm in." And if someone tries to make me see that I am wrong and that what I think and feel is not valid, I am always equipped with anti-homophobia cheese. It is quite effective for desperate situations.

[...]

Tara: I love you.

Darcy: I you more, my Jonesy.

The two of them were sitting in the park, and Tara rested her head on Darcy's shoulder.

Tara: Remember when Imogen came up to me asking about Nick?

Darcy: And you congratulated her on not being homophobic but an ally.

Tara: And you thanked her for her service.

Darcy: HAHAHA, that was great, but it would've been even better if you had told her straight: "I'M A LESBIAN".

Tara: Since when is something I do straight?

Darcy: Oh yeah, good one, that's my girl.

Tara: Darcy Olsson, what would I do without you.

Darcy: Don't even ask yourself, it's not like you can get rid of this pretty lady that easily.

Tara sighed. But deep down she loved this tug-of-war in which they were both constantly.

Darcy pulled out her headphones and handed one to his girlfriend. They both held hands as they listened to the song, their song, and knew that somehow they were made for each other.

"𝘕𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦

𝘖𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘦

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴

𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 '𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 '𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯-𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘴

'𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦

𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦..."