Heart Attack (a HeartStopper story)

Nick. Innocence.

Song recomendation for the chapter: I think he knows. - Lover. - Taylor swift.
———————————

"Hello?" Charlie's sleepy voice invaded Nick's heart with tenderness, and he couldn't help but smile and blush as Elle teased him about that very fact.

The two of them were leaving a strange but entertaining Thruman teachers' dinner, to which Elle was luckily invited by Master Ajayi. Nick, if he hadn't had her to cling to and her effervescent personality throughout the evening, wouldn't have known what to do among so many of his former teachers. The evening turned out to be a lot more fun than they both thought it would be, since they spent it with Ajayi and Farrouk, who luckily had been an official couple for quite some time, and Coach Singh, who had traveled from London for the occasion.

"I'm so glad to hear that you and Charlie are back!" Ajayi congratulated him.

"I KNEW IT" Coach Singh couldn't hide her excitement. Nick just smiled, nodded and blushed.

"It was a matter of time I think." He said happily.

"And you and Tao too?" Farrouk asked Elle. She nodded and Farrouk couldn't hide a smile as he took a swig of his beer and grabbed Ajayi's hand. "I'm glad, you are for each other...that Tao was a pain in the ass at school."

Amidst funny teacher stories the night went by. Elle and Nick were thoroughly entertained with anecdotes from their teenage years told from the perspective of their teachers. Another reason both Elle and Nick were interested in going to the dinner was the chance to meet academics from other schools and universities, since many Thruman faculty had connections to many institutions in Europe. In addition to gossiping with colleagues, Nick had managed to talk to a German coach interested in Thruman's rugby team, and Elle to a French painter, a teacher at a university in Paris whom she admired.

Eventually the night was over, and after saying goodbye to everyone Elle and Nick went out into the cold night with intentions of hanging out with Isaac, Tao and Tara. Darcy was still busy so they would see her later, and Nick doubted if Charlie would stay with Karina and Matias. As he walked to his car with Elle in one of his arms he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his boyfriend.

"Hi love, did you fall asleep at Karina's?"

"Do you hear it in my voice?" Nick let out a laugh, they both had a distinctive voice when they woke up and Charlie's was adorable and very particular. "Yeah, we didn't even see the end of the movie, how did your dinner at work go?"

"Good! It was funny. Luckily Elle came with the art department and we kept each other company. We're going with Tao, Isaac and Tara, do you want to come love?" Although Nick doubted if he was being intrusive about his day with Matias and Karina, he couldn't hide his desire to see him either.

"Sounds nice, but..." A slight silence on the other end of the line made Nick tense up a bit. Had something happened? "This is supposed to be a sleepover intended to cheer Matias up."

Sure...Matias depressed and drowning in his own mistakes. Nick couldn't help but roll his eyes, but said nothing. "How's that going, is it working?" Not that he didn't care about Matias, he was just a little fed up with the immaturity with which he treated his loved ones, but he knew how important he was to Charlie, and he would never try to push them away.

Besides, he had already hurt Charlie several times, and now Ben. The list of people Nick cared about couldn't take any more attacks from that boy.

"Well Karina is asleep and Mat is alone on the balcony watching the night...so I guess not. I'll have to step in. I'll tell you later. At least we got him to send her a message." At least. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Ben needed to talk to Matias. Whatever had happened, even if Nick didn't entirely approve of that relationship anymore, Ben needed closure.