Nick & Charlie - A Neverending Story || Heartstopper

Chapter 14: Last school day

It was already middle of June, with the trip to Paris just around the corner, and all of Truham and Higgs were in anticipation. It was, in fact, the last school day.

Nick and Charlie had arranged to go together that morning, after Nick had picked Charlie up from his house. But it turned out that for a change...

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Charlie: Nicholas Nelson, may I know where r u?

Nick: First of all, good morning, I love u. Nellie just woke me up. Right now I'm in bed, do u wanna see me like this?

Charlie: I definitely don't know what I'm going 2 do with u

Nick: As long as it's not abandoning me, it's fine, Char

Charlie: Should I wait for u?

Nick: Please 🥺

Charlie: But before class I have to go 2 the library 2 return a book and see Mr. Ajayi. So I'm walking with Tori, see u later 😉

Nick: Nooo Char, I wanted to go with u on the last school day

Charlie: Tell that to your alarm clock, you dork. See you later 💛

Nick: See ya, darling 💙

And Charlie ended up going to class alone. He thought it would be an ordinary day, like any other. But to his surprise, everyone looked at him with the face of wanting to ask him something, and they didn't dare to. He returned the book and went to see Mr. Ajayi. Then he went to his class, to his desk, the desk that when he was assigned to the Hamlet House ranks he would have to share with a rugby boy. "Let the ordeal begin", he thought back then. "And now look at me", he said to himself.

There was a certain similarity in the way he walked into class that first day, as if he had déjà vu. But with a small big difference. That he was not invisible like then, and people did seem to be aware that he was there.

He didn't know very well why, or how they knew, but all the classmates began to harass him with questions. "Are you and Nick Nelson dating?", "Is Nick gay?", "Is it really true that you're together?", "When did the rugby captain hook up with you?", "May I know what you have done to make him homosexual?".

But Charlie wasn't the same as before, and he spoke. As he spoke to Harry Greene on Sports Day. As he spoke to Ben Hope when he tried to apologize to him at the party. He spoke decisively, because he knew he could be strong too, and he was no longer the same outcast that everyone thought was stupid.

But since he was a good person, he did it as politely as possible.

"I wish I could sit at my desk and be calm without this looking like courthouse doors or Diana Spencer's front door, thank you very much."

The hubbub died down, and Charlie sat in his seat as usual. He knew that Nick was gonna have to deal with the same thing when he got there, and he wasn't as patient as he was, so he was surely going to be confronting someone. "I hope I don't continue to feel like Lady Di when she first got involved with Prince Charles", he spoke to himself.

And then Nick arrived. He walked in as beaming as ever, but his face changed noticeably by the second. And Charlie lost sight of him in the crowd. He literally had a circle of guys around him, blocking his way. "Trouble is coming", Charlie thought.

But to his surprise, Nick emerged from the crowd with a face as smiling or even more so than usual. He walked over to him, and Charlie waved shyly at him while the crowd watched them with dozens of eyes.