A Collection of Heartstopper Oneshots

Summer went away, still the yearning stays - allikatt

Summary:

Charlie is angry when his parents take away his phone due to his grades slipping. How else is he supposed to talk to his boyfriend? It's as if his parents don't want him to be happy.

Luckily, Tori has a solution.
Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:
"Give me your phone."

"What? Why?" Charlie asked, staring at his mother in horror. "I've done nothing wrong!"

"You said you haven't finished your homework today. Give it to me. You can have it back when you're done." His mum held out her hand expectantly.

"Tori isn't done with her homework either! Why does she get to keep her phone?"

"Because your sister understands that homework comes before gossiping with your friends all hours of the night."

"Nick and I don't talk on the phone all the time!"

"Ever since Nick and you got together, your grades started slipping. He's obviously a distraction for you." His mum sighed heavily. "I'm only doing this to help you, Charlie. I don't want you falling behind in your coursework."

"Fine," Charlie said, tossing his phone on the table and crossing his arms. "Should I unlock it so you can go through it too?" he sarcastically asked.

"That is no way to speak to your mother!" his dad replied.

"Your phone is yours, I'm not going to go through it." His mum appeared hurt that Charlie would believe such a thing. "That being said, due to your attitude, you will be losing phone privileges for the rest of the night. You can have it back tomorrow before school."

"May I be dismissed? I have homework to do," he impatiently inquired.

"Yes, go." His mum waved him off, and Charlie bounded out of the kitchen. His parents were already gearing up for an argument. He could hear the beginning of one of his mother's tirades about not being respected and always being a bad guy. He hurried up the stairs and closed the door to his room so he wouldn't have to hear it.

He flopped onto his bed, too annoyed to take his frustrations out on his drum kit. Why couldn't his mum realise Nick made him so incredibly happy. He never felt better than when his boyfriend was chatting with him. Yes, he knew that Nick and him talked a lot, but what couple didn't? Communication is an important aspect to any relationship, in Charlie's opinion.

Talking with Nick every evening before bed was a cherished part of his day, and now in the name of high marks, he was unable to do so. The whole thing was ridiculous. Charlie did his homework every day. Nick didn't distract him, in fact, most nights he served as a motivator of sorts. Who could finish Maths the quickest? (Charlie). What about foreign language? (Nick). Studying with Nick, despite being separated by blocks of housing, was one of the easiest things he did each day.

Sadly, Charlie knew if he even attempted to explain this to his parents, they would take it negatively. Claim that they were moving too fast in their relationship. Or maybe they were too codependent on each other. He could already hear his mum talking about how they were both just teenagers, as if age detracted from how they felt about each other.

He felt like he could never do anything right in his parents' eyes when it came to his relationship with Nick. The closer they got to each other, the more rules Charlie's mum put in place. Sometimes Charlie swore she would rather have him single and alone than happily in a relationship. He flipped over, laying down on his stomach, pressed his face into his pillow, and let out a long, muffled scream. His parents may have been teenagers once, but they definitely forgot how hard it was to be one.

It felt good, to let out his frustrations, and he yelled into his pillow again. The anger faded, replaced with anxiety. What if Nick texted him something important? Or time sensitive? Charlie would have no way of knowing about it until tomorrow morning. And then Nick would be mad at him. He didn't want Nick to be mad at him.

Maybe he should read for class. That could get his mind off things he can't control. Charlie blindly reached for Hamlet on his bedside table. His head was still in the pillow, but he felt around with his hand until he found the book. He loosely gripped one of the corners, and dragged it towards him. The book hit something else on the table (maybe the half glass of water he'd been meaning to take downstairs for the past two days) and fell to the floor with a slight thump. Or maybe he would suffocate in his misery instead. Even his coursework agreed it wasn't the time to work on it.

He laid on his bed, debating his options when suddenly someone sat down next to him on his bed. Based on the fact Charlie didn't hear who entered and they didn't announce themself, he knew it was Tori. Olly was at the stage where he ran everywhere, even from room to room.

"What do you want, Tori?" he asked into the pillow.

"I've distracted Olly with MarioKart and I thought you could use some company."

"Thanks, but I'm good." He could feel Tori's eyes boring into his back, so he sat up. "What?"

"I messaged Nick to let him know you lost phone privileges for the night. He told me he looks forward to seeing you tomorrow in form."

"Really?" Charlie asked. Tori was already handing him her phone. He glanced at the screen. Nick was not mad or annoyed at all. "How did you know?"

"That you were worried about not being able to talk with Nick? Older sister magic." Tori stated matter-of-factly.

"Thank you."

"It was no trouble." Tori stood up from the bed and grabbed something off the floor. "Here." She handed him Hamlet. "I think this one is actually worth the hype."

"I don't know about that." Not that Charlie actually knew. He was still on Act I while the rest of the class was reading Act VI.

Tori turned and exited the room, pausing next to the door to pick up her cup of diet lemonade. "It's only for tonight. You'll see Nick tomorrow. But if you find the need to send Nick a goodnight message, I still have my phone." Tori went to her room, closing the door before Charlie could say anything.

Maybe older sister magic really did exist.

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading! I love Tori Spring so much. Thank goodness I didn't know of Solitaire's existence when I was in high school/college or else that would've been my whole personality.

Yes, I know this is a day late, but never late than never!

Cultober Day 14 Prompt: Muffled Scream