The Barrister Boy (COMPLETED)

Hug

Nick

"Don't over-focus on the negatives and under-focus on the positives..."

-Lalah Delia

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     Nick was slightly taken aback by the blunt and serious tone in Charlie's voice when he asked what he wanted. He had half expected a 'how are you' or 'nice to see you'. But no, just a normal barrister boy taking his order. 

     He pushed back the mild shock in him and played along. "Um, I'll just have a decaf latte please." Nick said, briefly looking at the chalk board menu above. 

     "Ok," Charlie confirmed, tapping on the screen in front of him, "Do you want coco powder on top?" He looked up at Nick, but didn't making eye contact. 

     "Y-yes please. Thanks." Nick cringed at the embarrassing stutter he involuntarily made.

     Just as before, when he'd first met Charlie, he sat on one of the high stools in front of the counter. The wait for his latte was quiet, he didn't know what to say. It was clear to him that Charlie wasn't in a very talkative mood, so neither was he. 

     "Here you are." Charlie mumbled, passing the steaming mug over to him. He looked up and gave Nick a small smile, though it was obvious how rehearsed it was and that he gave that same smile to every customer.

     "Thanks." He was about to walk away, when a sudden burst of words from Charlie's mouth stopped him in his tracks.

     "I'm really sorry about not texting you!" Charlie rushed, and Nick turned to look at him. 

     His brows furrowed slightly in confusion, "Don't be, I completely understand," Charlie nodded, and looked down at his shoes, "Are you okay though? Generally I mean?" Nick asked, genuinely concerned for him. 

     "Yeah... I'm," Nick worried that he was about to say 'I'm fine, everything's fine ', because he knew it wasn't, but a gentle wave of relief washed over him as Charlie continued to open up, "It's just hard, ya know? Like, I feel lost without him, and I still can't wrap my head around the fact he's actually gone." Charlie voice was quiet, shaky and breaking on every few words. Nick could see the tears pooling in his eyes, waiting to fall. Like a dam by a river, breaking and getting rid of all that pressure and emotion. 

     Nick placed down his coffee and slipped through the little gap in the counter where the folding door was lifted up. As Charlie slowly looked up, wiping his tears, Nick wrapped his arms around his shoulders, and held him tightly. 

     Charlie didn't hesitate to do the same, and now the two were embracing each other in a hug full of so much emotion, it was overwhelming. Charlie's body shook as a cry let loose from his lips, Nick only pulled him in closer. 

     "It's okay, it's alright. Get them tears out." He didn't necessarily know if he was helping or not, but Charlie was listening. Nick felt his shirt soak with tears, and he frowned sympathetically down at the boy. Sob after sob overtook Charlie, and Nick just held him supportingly. 

     He wanted to cry himself, he hated seeing anyone this upset and broken, especially Charlie. A tear slipped down his cheek as he rubbed Charlie's back. He didn't know what else to do. He felt helpless.

* * * * * * *

     The two boys were now sitting next to each other on one of the couch-benches at the end of the café. After fifteen long minutes of crying, from the both of them, they had migrated to a comfier position. There was a comfortable silence between them as they cuddled up together. The weird thing to Nick, was that it didn't feel weird. Charlie was resting his head on Nick's shoulder, and Nick had his arm loosely slung around Charlie's waist. He found it quite comforting, and could only hope Charlie did too.

     "Thank you." Nick heard a small voice whisper and he looked down. 

     "For what?"

     "For being here.. and letting me," He paused, taking a shuddering breath, "Open up. Just let everything out that I've been holding in." Charlie breathed out, and shuffled slightly on Nick's shoulder before settling again.

     "That's okay, 's what best friends are for, right?" Nick continued to stare at Charlie's curls, hoping he would at least agree they were best friends. Charlie lifted his head and locked eyes with Nick, a small smile playing on his lips. 

     "Yeah." he murmured, flashing a wider grin. He then sat up and looked around, before checking his phone screen for the time. "Umm, my shifts over, and there's no more people here anyway, do you wanna go hangout at the park or something?" Charlie had a shimmer of hope in his eyes, and Nick would never say no to being with Charlie. 

     "Yeah course," He beamed in reply, sitting up from his slightly slouched position. "Lemme just call my mum real quick and let her know." He hadn't even told his mum where he was going in the first place, just shouted a quick 'I'm goin' out ' before briskly leaving.

     "Okay, Ima go let my dad know real quick then." He watched as Charlie walked behind the wooden counter, waiting for his mum to answer. 

     After two rings, a sweet, "Hello Nicky, you coming home soon?" ran through his ear.

     "Hi mum, I was actually wondering if I could hang out with Charlie for a bit? I'm in Truham right now." He had only briefly mentioned Charlie to his mum when they first met, and she already seemed fairly fond of him.

     "Ah yes, of course. Just be home by seven please," She ordered, in a contrastingly kind tone, "Have fun baby!"

     "Thank you, bye mum!" Nick chirped as he pulled his phone away from his ear, looking at the already ended call. Now he just had to wait for Charlie to come back, and then he could finally hang out with him. He desperately hoped for a not-so-tragic ending this time.

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a/n

Anyway... It's late. I'm tired. Hope you like it.

Good night 🫡

-Ollie