Heartstopper Oneshots

Coffee

The piercing beep of Charlie's alarm clock woke him up. He lay there, in his bed, for a solid fifteen minutes before mustering up the strength to swing his legs over the side. He stood up, his knee cracking so loudly he half expected it to glow in the dark tonight, and he walked to the kitchen to make breakfast. Charlie's breakfast usually consisted of a nice Snickers bar and a tall glass of milk since he didn't have time for much more. His neck hurt... must've slept weird. He brushed his teeth faster than he probably should have and headed to work by bus. It wasn't that far, and he'd bike there if it wasn't pouring down.

Charlie wore his usual sweater and skinny jeans and arrived at work soaked, despite taking the bus. That small walk from the bus stop to the coffee shop was apparently enough to send a chill running down his spine. He blew on his hands in an attempt to warm up. It worked for a moment, before the cold flooded his senses again. Why didn't he bring gloves? Oh. He didn't own gloves. That made sense then. When he entered the coffee shop, he was instantly overwhelmed by the loud, stuffy atmosphere of the building. It smelled of pumpkin spice lattes and week-old pastries. There was a long line to the cashier, causing Charlie to sigh heavily. It's gonna be a long day...

The coffee shop was severely understaffed. Customers were impatient, orders were gotten wrong, arguments broke out... Charlie was overwhelmed, to say the least. The line had just gotten longer and longer, and Charlie was beginning to wonder if going home to relax and watch a movie might be worth getting fired for. Just then, something caught Charlie's attention. A boy, not much older than him, albeit about an inch or two taller. Dirty blond hair, brown eyes, freckles. He seemed to be the only calm one in the entire store. Everyone else was tapping their feet impatiently or yelling at the cashiers to hurry it up. But not the boy. He seemed perfectly calm, like still water, waiting patiently for his turn to order. Charlie hadn't seen him in the store before, he thinks. No, he would've noticed. He's not difficult to recognize with his tall stature and brightly coloured clothing. he had a sort of... approachability that none of the other customers had. He seemed easy to talk to, if that made sense.

Charlie realized he had been looking at him a little longer than necessary. he looks back to what he was doing. what was he doing? Right, matcha latte, extra matcha, iced... fuck. too much coffee, too little matcha. Focus, Charlie. He poured out the drink and restarted. He handed the drink to the customer and they stomped off, grumbling something about the coffeeshop down the street having better customer service.

"Hello, what can i get for you?" Charlie says tiredly without looking up from the cash register, voice completely monotone. he just wants his shift to end so he can go home and watch Good Omens or something. it's what he spends most of his days doing. It's a repetitive life, but it is what it is.

"Java Chip Frappuccino, thanks!". The voice was kind. Wholesome, even. Charlie looked up, surprised by the friendliness. To his surprise, there stood the boy from before. he looked even kinder up close. Charlie looked up at him, taking in his features. he didn't know why he did that, but he felt like he wanted to. he looks back down at the register, entering in the order. Nick pays.

"can i get a name for that?" He asks, just like he always did. he looks back up at the boy once again. there was something different about the boys features, though. he seemed... redder. eyes wider by a fraction. his lips were parted slightly, as if he was surprised by something. he was staring straight at Charlie. He was kind of cute... The boy searched for words, but none came for a moment. Charlie asked again, and finally, the boy answered.

"N-...Nick.."

It rang a bell.

"Nelson?" Charlie asked curiously. Nick Nelson was the name of the Rugby Captain at the school Charlie went to, Truham Grammar School for boys. Nick's eyes lit up slightly.

"y-yeah, that's me, haha." Charlie looked at the boy, his face softer than it had been previously. Charlie had always kept his head down in school. he used to get bullied a lot, so now he prefers to keep a low profile. He would've expected the Rugby Captain, most popular guy in school, to be more... obnoxious. loud. mean. Nick seemed like none of those things. he seemed friendly. calm. gentle. Nick flashed a warm smile at him and Charlie tried to return the smile, only for it to come out more like a tired, half-assed grin. The kind of smile you have at on your passport. Charlie realized he'd been staring for longer than what is probably socially acceptable, and quickly looked back down at the register.

"alright, thank you, I'll call out your order when it's ready." Charlie says, back to Nick. The blond boy nods once and turns to go sit down at a table. Charlie begins with Nick's order. He loosely drizzles chocolate sauce inside of a coffee cup and sets it aside. He adds ice, coffee roast, milk, chocolate sauce, and chocolate chips into a blender, securing the lid and blending on low speed for about 30 seconds. He puts the blender up to max speed for about 10 seconds until the mixture is evenly smooth. He pours the mixture into the cup from before and tops it with whipped cream, drizzling it with chocolate sauce.

"Java Chip Frappuccino for... Nick?" Charlie call out over the chitter-chatter of the small store. he looks around the shop for Nick, spotting him sitting quietly at a table in the corner on his phone, earphones in. it seems he hadn't heard him. Charlie calls out Nick's name a little louder, this time getting his attention. Nick takes out his earphones and stands up, half jogging to the counter to take his drink.

"thanks!" Nick says, voice lower than before. He flashes that same, warm smile at Charlie, and once again, Charlie gives him his 'I'm-tired-and-cant-smile-properly-right-now' grin. for some reason, Nick's eyes dart to next to and above of Charlie's mouth. Right at his cheek, just about where his dimple should be. The boy catches himself and looks back up, looking a bit embarrassed. Charlie thought he could see a red hue creep up Nick's neck. Probably just wishful thinking, though.

Nick turns to leave, taking a sip of his drink. His eyes light up slightly. it seems like he liked it. Nick looks down at his drink. he has a habit of checking the label to see if the barista spelt his name correctly. Usually they spell it "Nic" or "Nik" or, even worse, "Nich". at this point, Nick is convinced they do it on purpose just to be annoying. Not this time though. Not only was his name spelt correctly (which shouldn't be that hard but whatever) but there something else on the label too... a number?

call me x

+44 XXX XXXXXXX

-Charlie