Hearstopper from the edit room floor

Date

Just a cute little short of what I think the boys would get up to on a half day in school 
This was originally a festive story but I have changed a few things 
Happy Saturday wonderful humans! Hope your all doing well - like most of the world I have gotten into AI and ChatGPT lately so some of this (with changes made by moi was written by that!! HOW COOL!) so lets call it a collaboration shall we - PS I won't be using it to write all my stories from now on don't worry they'll still be written by me I just wanted to give it a bash 

Hope you enjoy this part xx  

Nicks POV

It's the last day of the week - Friday, one of our favourite days. Charlie and I are in form, his head resting on my shoulder, neither of us paying attention to what is being said. Both of us are too tired to be bothered to pay attention to what's going on. It was a half-day because of mandatory teacher training this afternoon, which meant we finished at lunchtime and had even less to pay attention to than usual.

"Fancy going into town after school and grabbing a coffee or something?" He asks. It wasn't very often we had whole afternoons off from school that were spent alone without our friends. We usually spent time with the gang, but Isaac was helping out at homework club, Tori and Michael were in London, Tao and Elle were working, which completely left Charlie and me to our own devices. This didn't happen often, so I smile like an idiot at his suggestion. "That sounds like a great idea," I smile, and Charlie nuzzles in closer. "I was hoping you would say that," Charlie admits.

Mr. Lange clears his throat, casting his gaze in our direction, and Charlie sits up a bit to pay attention. "OK, boys, listen up, please. As you know, school ends at 1 pm today," the form room bursts into applause, whooping and cheering. Mr. Lange waves his hand, silencing everyone again, and those who were standing up sat down. "We will return as normal on Monday morning. Don't be late. I don't need any of you on report again. Sai Verma, that includes you!" he calls as boys leave the classroom heading towards their first lessons of the morning. Sai just laughs, scrunching his nose, making an excuse that he needed to be on time this morning.

"So I'll see you at one, then, yeah?" I ask Charlie as we walk to our first classes of the morning. "Um, better make it half-past one. I have a meeting with Geoff and Mr. Lange, remember?" Charlie prompts. Every few months, Charlie met with Lange and Geoff, his therapist, to talk about Charlie's progress at school and how things were going with Charlie more generally - a pupil review of sorts. Geoff had said it wasn't very common but thought it might benefit Charlie, especially as Charlie was heading off to sixth form or college in September, and that could be an especially daunting time. So they'd decided to start as early as possible, and so far, Charlie thought they had helped. It certainly gave them more to discuss in their sessions before and after the meetings. I knew Charlie still found them hard, so I always offered to come, but Charlie always said no, and I thought this showed resilience and determination.

I nod slowly, smiling, kissing his cheek. I was so proud of him for doing this by himself, and I loved hearing how much it was helping him. "No problem, love. And you're sure you don't want me to be there?" I ask, already knowing the answer as Charlie shakes his head, takes a deep breath, squeezes my hand, and confidently says, "Nah, I'm okay, honestly. But... I'd love it if you could wait outside till we're done?" I wasn't expecting him to ask me to wait outside, but I, of course, say yes. "No place I'd rather be," I assure him.

Time skip to Charlie's meeting

I made my way to the mentoring and counseling offices a few minutes past one and made myself comfortable in the waiting area of the building. It was a place where I had sat with Charlie for countless hours before now. Today was for more positive reasons. I was about to put my headphones on when my name was called. "Nick?" I recognized the voice and instantly smiled, standing up from my seat. Geoff Watson had been a lifeline to Charlie. We all had a lot to thank him for.

"Hiya Geoff, how are you?" I said, outstretching my hand. Geoff shook it warmly. "Good to see you Nick. I'm good, thanks. Bitterly cold, but always a pleasure to meet with one of my favorite clients and his boyfriend," Geoff smiled with a subtle wink. "Look, I'd better get going, but it was lovely to see you. Waiting for Charlie, I assume?" Geoff asked, the blush spreading on my cheeks giving everything away. "We're going shopping and maybe grabbing a coffee later, and he wanted me to wait," I smiled.

Geoff was about to reply as Mr. Lange walked up. "Mr. Watson, good to see you. Hello Nick," he smiled warmly, shaking both of our hands as though he hadn't seen me several times today. Mr. Lange ushered Geoff into the consultation room where I knew Charlie had been waiting. I'd received a text that had simply read, "Guess who's anxiety for lateness got him here 15 minutes... earlier xx." I knew that Charlie liked his space before the meetings, so I replied saying how much he'd smash it and the pride I had for him.

1:45 pm

I'd somehow found myself sitting on the floor of the waiting room when I felt something, or someone, nudging my foot with his own. I pulled out my earbud and looked up to see Charlie standing in front of me, a small smile on his face. "Hey," he said, his voice a little shaky. "How'd it go?" I asked, standing up and giving him a hug. Charlie leaned into me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "It went okay," he said, his breath warm against my neck. "I mean, those meetings are always a little nerve-wracking, but I think it went well."

I smiled, feeling proud of him. "I'm sure you did great," I said, running a hand through his hair, scooping up my bag and putting my headphones away so I could pay full attention to Charlie. "Do you want to grab that coffee now?" Charlie nodded, his eyes brightening. "Yeah, let's do it. I could do with the break," he said, taking my hand in his. We walked out of the building and into the crisp afternoon air. The sun was shining, casting a warm but sunny glow over everything. Charlie looked up at me, his eyes sparkling. "You know," he said, "I'm really glad you came today. It means a lot to me."

I squeezed his hand and wrapped an arm over his shoulder, pulling him in close and kissing his forehead. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," I said, feeling my heart swell with love for him. Charlie smiled, and we walked towards town to the coffee shop, still entangled in our walking hug. As we sat down with our drinks, Charlie leaned across the table and took my hand, kissing the back of it. "I love you," he said, his voice soft. "I know we say it all the time, but I just wanted to remind you."

I feel a rush of emotion, and I lean in to kiss him properly this time. "I love you too," I say, smiling. "And I'm so proud of you for facing your anxiety and doing that meeting by yourself. You're amazing, you know that?" Charlie blushes, looking down at his lap. "Thanks," he mumbles, but I can still see the pride in his eyes. We sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other's company making small talk every now and then.

Eventually, Charlie looks up at me, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Hey, I am supposed to have my session with Geoff tomorrow but he says I am making good enough progress to be able to go a few weeks in between sessions for a while and today's been a lot so shall I cancel and we go to the beach and spend the day together instead?" he asks, a grin spreading across his face. I laugh, feeling my heart swell with love for him. "Absolutely,  that sounds like the best start to a weekend ever" I say, and we clink our coffee cups together in celebration.