Nick & Charlie (TV WORLD)

Chapter Twenty Three

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

Nick:
Charlie and Tori leave and I look at Mum and David.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE NICE FOR ONE NIGHT?!" She exclaims.

Mum is never one to raise her voice, but honestly, he deserves it. David stands up.

"I didn't even do anything!"
"You have been nothing but rude to your brother since he got here, and NOW you were rude to his boyfriend and his sister. David, I've given you so many chances. I have tried to not put myself in the middle but now you are giving me no choice. I think you should stay at a hotel for the rest of the week."

I smile.

"You can't be serious," he says.
"I thought you would at least pull it together for tonight. I told you that Nick was bringing his boyfriend and asked you to be respectful but you just couldn't. I can't defend you anymore. You need to pack your things. Please don't come back to visit until you learn to be respectful to your brother. You owe him an apology."

David scoffs and heads upstairs to pack his things. I walk over to Mum and sigh.

"I'm sorry this happened," I say.
"It's not your fault, Nick. I'm sorry that he acted that way in front of Charlie and even Tori. I'm so embarrassed."
"Mum, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. They know what an amazing person you are. I mean, you raised me and I turned out okay I think," I say with a slight smile.

She wraps her arms around me.

"You turned out amazing."

David walks down the stairs with his suitcase and leaves without even saying goodbye to either of us. Honestly, good riddance. I take out my phone and text Charlie.

Nick: THE DRAGON HAS BEEN SLAYED
Charlie: .....?
Nick: THE HOMOPHOBE HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
Charlie: OHHHH
Charlie: He left?!
Nick: Mum just kicked him out
Charlie: WHAT?!
Charlie: Did she really?! That's amazing!
Charlie: I mean, it sucks because he's a jackass
Charlie: but AMAZING that you don't have to deal with him
Nick: LOL
Nick: I know, I actually won't have to avoid coming home for the rest of the week
Nick: I'm sorry for how he talked to you.
Charlie: Don't be sorry, it's not your fault xxx
Nick: Thank Tori for me too, she was an absolute rock star today
Charlie: I will (:

[THE NEXT DAY]

Waking up today, I'm in a much better mood. It feels really great to not have David here, worrying about what he'll say at breakfast just so he can make sure I start my day on a bad note. Or worrying about what will happen when I get home. It's nice to have everything like it was, only having to worry about Harry potentially saying something that would make me want to punch him in the face during school. I finish getting ready and as I'm walking into school, I see Charlie. I walk over to him and smile.

"Hi."
"Hi," he says, smiling back. "You seem way happier today."
"It's so crazy how one person can really affect your mood. But yes, I am much happier today," I say as I kiss his cheek.
"You might take my rep as a nerd if you continue to look this happy while walking into school," he teases.
"Haha, very funny. Even with the smile on my face, no one could ever surpass you as the school nerd," I say with a chuckle.
"Hey! Rude," he says laughing.
"The cutest nerd in school though, that's for sure," I say as I see Charlie blush.
"Fine, but only because you called me cute," he says.

Charlie:
I walk into class and sit down next to Isaac and Tao.

"How was dinner at Nick's yesterday?"

I let out a small laugh.

"It was pretty awful. He was not lying about how terrible his brother is. He was rude to him and me pretty much all night."
"I will crush him," Tao says with a straight face.
"Actually, Tori came and kicked him in the shin. It was pretty fantastic," I say.
"What?! Tori kicked him?!" Isaac says.
"Did you record it?!" Tao adds.

I laugh and shake my head.

"Yeah, it was awesome. She literally kicked him and then listed all the ways he was an asshole. But no Tao, I did not record it."
"Lame," Tao says. "I didn't get to see Nick punch Harry and now I didn't get to see this. Not fair."
"You're ridiculous," Isaac says.
"I agree," I add.
"Thanks you guys," Tao says sarcastically.

I'm really happy that me putting myself out there and deciding to go to dinner at Nick's even though I was absolutely nervous about how it would play out; ended up being a really good thing for Nick. It went from me being there for strictly emotional support to me being the reason (well, if I'm being honest, I'm sure Tori's reaction had a huge part in it) that David got kicked out and Nick can finally breathe in his own home again. The bell rings and as I'm walking to my locker I feel Nick's arm around me.

"Can I walk you home?"

I look up at him and smile.

"I guess. If you really want to," I tease.

We grab our books and walk out of school. As we are walking to my house, Nick grabs my hand and intertwines our fingers. We walk down a quiet street and Nick quickly pulls me to the side of a building where no one can really see us. He pushes me against the wall and kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck and deepen it. Once he pulls away he smiles.

"I just realized I didn't properly thank you for yesterday."
"Me? What did I do? Also, is that how you properly thank everyone? Should I be worried?"

He rolls his eyes at me but smiles.

"I know spending dinner with my asshole brother was probably the last thing you wanted to do. You've dealt with so much bullying at school and then to top it all off, he could have potentially said something about your eating disorder, and I... I just want you to know that I don't take you offering to come lightly. It actually meant the world to me."

I run my hand through his hair as I place my forehead against his.

"Nick, you don't need to thank me for that. I wanted to be there. You have been there for me in the last year, but more specifically in these last few months more than I can even count. I want to be that person for you. I'm going to be that person for you."

He kisses my nose and sighs in relief.

"But also, if you want to continue thanking me in that way, feel free to do so," I say as Nick's cheeks turn red.
"Charlie!" He exclaims with a smile.

He then proceeds to kiss me again and I just know, it's never going to get better than this.