A Collection of Heartstopper Oneshots

somewhere else, just like magic - thetomkatwholived P2

Summary:

"I figured it's my duty as an outsider to properly critique the coffee." A joke felt easy. It felt like the best way to ignore the swoop in his stomach for just a bit longer.

Nick let out a soft chuckle. "I'm not sure it'll satisfy your big city standards, but I hope you'll still like it. This way." He pointed a bit down the street, and they began their short trek chatting about the cold and the early morning.

Or, Charlie starts to find his place in this strange town, and Tori and Michael lend a hand.
Notes:

Here's chapter two! Thank you to everyone who read chapter one, I hope you enjoy how this story continues to progress.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter 2

Nick was bouncing on the balls of his feet, glancing every which way as Charlie approached him. He hadn't seen him yet, but it was only a matter of time with the erratic nature of his browsing. He looked nervous, as if this rendezvous was something important that he didn't want to mess up. Or maybe Charlie was just projecting.

"Charlie!" The exclamation brought him back to the moment. Nick was waving excitedly, smile wide as Charlie approached. "I wasn't sure if you'd actually come. I'm sorry it's so early."

Charlie wasn't used to such blatant joy at his mere presence, at least not from someone he was (maybe?) going on a date with. Ben had perfected a casual indifference towards Charlie that had seemed suave at first and slowly morphed into borderline insulting over time. And Charlie began to wonder if that's just what he elicited from men who liked him. Tao and Michael were both so openly happy to see their partners, so it couldn't be the way all love was. Which meant it had to be Charlie-specific, right?

Except Nick was practically beaming as Charlie stopped in front of him. His cheeks were too pink to only be from the cold, and his eyes seemed to almost shine. It was very close to overwhelming, but Charlie wondered how easy it would be to get addicted to this kind of reaction.

"I figured it's my duty as an outsider to properly critique the coffee." A joke felt easy. It felt like the best way to ignore the swoop in his stomach for just a bit longer.

Nick let out a soft chuckle. "I'm not sure it'll satisfy your big city standards, but I hope you'll still like it. This way." He pointed a bit down the street, and they began their short trek chatting about the cold and the early morning.

Once they got their drinks, caramel latte for Charlie and chai latte for Nick, they found a small table in the back. Nick took a sip before clearing his throat and asking: "So how was exploring yesterday?"

"It was fun, yeah. Not a lot here, but I liked it. I spent a lot of time at The Book Nook, actually."

"Oh, I love it there! I take my class there for a monthly visit. We do story time and then they all get to browse for books. They love it. And Isaac's a saint for putting up with us." Nick chuckled, boyish and carefree. Charlie wanted to live in the sound.

"He seems great. We talked a bit yesterday. It was nice."

Nick straightened across from him. "Yeah, uh, he's cool. Is that... are you into bookish guys? Because if that's what you're saying, I should let you know that Isaac doesn't really date. So..."

Whenever Ben got jealous, it was always over something stupid and out of Charlie's control. Oh, a guy smiled at him on the street? How dare he make that guy think that was okay! Charlie never understood why people would sometimes like their partner getting jealous. It was never fun for him.

But Nick... he was jealous, right? That was him trying to dissuade Charlie from potentially pursuing someone else, wasn't it?

It was nothing like Ben. Nick was almost adorable in his stuttered explanation and stiffened posture. He was definitely trying to be nonchalant in his reaction but failing miserably.