Summary:
"Tell Tori, 'm sorry."
Charlie freezes. He looks over his shoulder in confusion.
"What?"
OR
Charlie learns exactly why Nick's worried about keeping his "promise."
Notes:
*Charlie Spring voice* Hi!
I'm back with another Heartstopper fic. It's a short story, but I decided to split it into chapters to make it more straightforward since there are alternating POVs. My plan is to post one chapter per day for the rest of the week.
As an aside, I just returned from the U.K. this past weekend and it hit different doing part of a rewatch in London. I'm about halfway through season 2 now and I just love these characters so much.
Title - "Sweet Creature" by Harry Styles
Chapter 1: Chapter One
Chapter Text
Charlie's mind is spinning after the GCSE bonfire, but he still feels a sense of calm.
That's Nick, he thinks. Charlie looks down at the sleeping form on his chest.
Nick's head rests right above Charlie's heart, which feels appropriate. Charlie soothingly runs his fingers through the golden locks of hair at the base of Nick's neck. The latter hums in his sleep contentedly — Charlie knows Nick's asleep based on the evenness of his breathing — and it puts a smile on Charlie's face.
Charlie knows that he needs to leave now if he wants to arrive home before his curfew. He finds it almost impossible to muster the energy to leave the boy beside him.
For Sarah's sake, Charlie encourages himself.
"Do you mind if I stay for a bit? Just to make sure he's okay."
"Of course, darling. Not past your curfew, though, I don't want to get you in trouble with your parents."
Charlie wouldn't put it past his mother to hold his lateness against Nick's mother.
No sooner does Charlie begin shifting does Nick release a discontented moan.
"Nooo," Nick slurs. "Don' g', Char."
Charlie purses his lips. He fails to fight a smile.
"Rest," Charlie encourages him. "It's almost my curfew."
"Bu' I'll miss yeh," Nick pouts. He makes grabby hands and cracks open one sleepy eye.
"I'll see you soon, yeah? Rest," Charlie repeats.
He brushes aside Nick's fringe and presses a kiss onto his forehead. Nick smiles sleepily, which makes Charlie's stomach swoop.
I cannot believe Nick Nelson is my boyfriend.
"M'kay," Nick says, and Charlie chuckles. Charlie is halfway to the door when Nick speaks again to him. "Tell Tori, 'm sorry."
Charlie freezes. He looks over his shoulder in confusion.
"What?" Nick is rapidly fading. "Why are you apologizing to Tori?"
Nick rolls over, but Charlie still manages to catch his final words.
"Broke promise."
Charlie's mind is whirling once more. 'Broke promise'? What does that ...?
"Look after him or you die."
"Tori!"
"... Okay."
Nick can't have meant that, could he?
Charlie's mind goes next to the conversation that he and Nick had after he brought him tea.
"Tonight just wasn't the night."
"I promised."
"What do you mean?"
"When we went to the beach. I told you I was gonna come out. I've just been finding it so hard."
"You didn't promise anything."
Charlie truly believes that, too. But does Nick? Charlie sees the way his boyfriend's expression goes distant when he thinks that no one is paying attention to him. Charlie sees Nick's sadness and anxiety about not being able to hold hands without second-guessing themselves or kissing in the middle of the street. Charlie wants the world to know how much he and Nick mean to the other, but those specific things don't matter to him.
Nick's not like Ben. Nick doesn't make him feel bad about himself. Nick doesn't make him feel like a burden. And Nick's apprehension about telling the rugby lads or other people in his year about his identity isn't based on any shame that he feels toward Charlie or himself. Nick's just not ready to come out, and Charlie understands how that feels.
Charlie never got to "come out", period.
He turns on his heel and leaves Nick's bedroom. The usual ten-minute walk takes only five minutes given Charlie's one-track mind and desire to confront his sister.
"Charlie," Jane greets him as he walks into the house.
"Did you have a good evening?" Julio asks.
Absent-mindedly, Charlie replies, "Yeah. Is Tori home?"
"She's up in her room." Jane accompanies the last word with an eye roll. "I'm amazed she even went to the end-of-GSCEs gathering at all. She's such a hermit."
As riled up as Charlie has begun feeling toward his older sister on the walk home, he feels that aggravation redirect to their mother. Tori is his big sister, and he'll always try to defend her.
"Those parties are overwhelming," Charlie says.
Jane stares at him.
"Did something happen?" Julio asks.
Forget it, Charlie thinks. Instead, he settles for: "No. Goodnight."
He takes the stairs two at a time and knocks once before entering his sister's bedroom.
YOU ARE READING
A Collection of Heartstopper Oneshots
FanfictionThese are NOT my oneshots!! The amazing authors on AO3 has written and created these wonderful little stories about one of my favorite fictional couples of all time. I wanted to share them with you all and spread the feelings inducing love that Nic...
