Char&Nicky

You can let it go

Charlie's POV:

"God, how are you so good at this?" a yelp comes out of Nick's mouth.
"I told you to not underestimate me, I'm the king of Mario Kart!", I'm totally beating him in this game. He thinks I am some kind of nerd that can't play videogames. But, what he doesn't know is that I play Mario Kart with my little brother almost everyday. I'll wipe the floor with him.

...

[The following day]

Nick's POV:

This foggy afternoon Charlie and I made plans to go to the dog park. He said he really misses Nellie and It's obvious she misses him too. So how could I refuse?

We meet outside the park. There, we joke a bunch while laughing our asses off. I never thought my face could hurt from laughing until now. As the time passes, so does the day. It's becoming dark outside and I was supposed to be home an hour ago instead of freezing my ass outside with Charlie. But it doesn't matter, because we are having a good time and that's all that matters now. Not our past, not even worries about our future, just two of us enjoying the slow change of lighting from day to night. Since it is freezing outside, we are the only ones here. Not even our winter jackets could stop our teeth from chattering. I take this opportunity to ignore the benches on the sides of the park and lay down on the cold ground. I'm resting my head on my hands intertwined behid my ears as Nellie runs around the park happy to be free. Charlie follows my lead without any question. For a while we say nothing. We are both looking up at the sky lost in our thoughts, not really bothered to find out what the other is thinking about. This is until Charlie breaks the silence:

"You said the other day, at the smoothie place, that it was your safe space."

I smile at him suprised that he remembers such a small detail:

"Yeah!"

"Well, you never told me what from and I've been wondering since then."

I never thought much about this, until now it was only a figure of speech I just blurted out. Maybe it does have some depth to it?

"Oh, uhm, I didn't really think about that..."

"Oh, sorry, I just thought that meant something, I didn't mean to dig."

Silence lingers between us. It covers my deep thinking about what Charlie just asked. I'm looking up at the sky as if it hides the answer.

"Well, you know, it could be something."

Charlie's all ears now.

"I never really thought about it until now, but everytime I feel lonely, I go to that place."

For a moment my eyes meet his. I look at him and then back at the night sky.

"You know, that place is so warm and welcoming, I dont always feel like that when I'm with my friends."

His soft voice echoes between the muffled sounds of cars behind us:

"How come?"

I take a deep breath as I search for an answer:

"Being around people doesn't necessarily guarantee feeling accepted as their own."

I'm still staring at the sky not beliveing what's coming out of my mouth. Where did all that come from? I never even thought about it conciously, but it seems as if I knew it all along in my heart. I take a few deep breaths, still laying on the cold gorund. But I feel... relieved.

"I never told this to anyone."

I redirect my gaze from the sky to Charlie's face. He's giving me an understanding look, not saying anything. Which I adore... He's not judging me or forcing me to say anything, he's just here with me, listening. He knows I need that the most right now. I can feel his empathetic gaze warming my heart and spreading warmth across my body, as if I just drank a warm cup of tea. The silence continues, our eyes are telling their tales to eachother that don't need words. The right company sometimes needs quiet. And this is what it was: quiet, warm, understanding.

...

I walk up to my front door, not a sound around me but a wind howling. I know I am super late and my mum must be worried sick. I will make it up to her somehow, I really don't like it when she has to worry about me. I quietly turn the knob and sneak in. I let Nellie off of her leash and take my shoes off. Only a few steps in, the light flashes my eyes. My mum walks towards me in her yellow robe, rubbing the sleep off of her eyes: "Nicky, where were you?".
"I am so sorry mum!" I say pleading. She then quietly yells in her sleepy yet agitated voice: "You were never this late, or if you were, you would usually give me a call. I was worried sick!".
"I'm sorry mum, it won't happen again", I'm just glad she didn't ground me for a week. "It better not", she waddles to me and gives me a warm hug, "You must've been cold, my God". She pulls away and smiles at me: "Who were you with again?". I stop and think if I should tell her the truth. If I do, she'll asume it's Charlie's fault that I am so late, but I can't lie to my mum.

"I was out with Charlie."

Mum then stops to glare at me for a second and I can't discern if it's the look of suprise or if she's realized something. I get nervous so I give an excuse:

"He missed Nellie..."

Her shoulders relax and her eyes are radiating love. A smile melts on her face. She then walks away with her arms crossed, slightly hunched over.

"Charlie is not like your other friends", her voice softens. She looks at me once again letting me know she means what she said. I was left speechless for a moment not really sure what she means by this. After a few seconds of stuttering half words I manage to ask her:

"What do you mean by that?"

"You seem more like yourself around him", mum blows me a kiss and walks upstairs leaving me stunned, but mostly confused.

What does this mean for me?

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Author's note

The chapter is finally here.
I just wanted to say thank you for being patient with me while taking a break. And thank you all for your support, it means a lot!!

Take care <3