A Collection of Heartstopper Oneshots

You Ignore Me - 7ate9

Summary:

On Monday, Nick is thrilled to see Charlie in form. They'd just had their first kiss over the weekend, and now he had a full block to just spend with Charlie.

Nick says hi.

Charlie does not say hi back.
Notes:

This is something I've been thinking about for a long time and I restarted the series because what else do I have to do with my life and suddenly Needed to write it
(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:
Nick felt a bit jittery walking into school. He was anxious to see Charlie, and excited to be so close to him. Even if they weren't able to talk or do much, they already agreed to meet in the art room for lunch, and that alone time was more than enough to get Nick through the whole day.

He got to form early. His knee bounced as he watched the door, waiting for Charlie. His. . . friend? Boyfriend? Nick wasn't sure. He'd have to ask Charlie about it.

As the clock ticked closer to the first bell, Nick started to get concerned. Charlie still wasn't there. Surely he would let Nick know if he wasn't attending school, right? Or if something was holding him up from getting to form on time.

Nick was about to pull out his phone a few seconds before the bell when Charlie whizzed inside, speedwalking to his seat.

"Hi," Nick started, voice low as Mr. Lange called the group to attention for attendance.

Charlie's face did a weird thing that Nick couldn't quite decipher before his eyes darted away. He gave Nick a strange, curt nod, then turned his body so he was angled away from Nick.

Nick very nearly began to cry, but he held it back. Sure, yesterday Charlie had agreed to keeping their new relationship a secret, but he was always allowed to change his mind. Clearly, something had changed in the last twenty-four hours.

As much as it hurt, Nick understood. It was a lot to ask of Charlie, and after the way Nick had treated him over the weekend, he may have decided it wasn't worth it. It was more than understandable. Charlie deserved to be treated like a god, not left alone to spiral after being kissed.

Nick bit his lip as he leaned away from Charlie. Maybe he could convince him to forget about their kiss, forget about what they'd talked about, and they could just go back to being friends. Nick wasn't sure how he felt about that, seeing as he knew now what it was like to kiss Charlie, to hold his hand, to feel Charlie's pulse flutter in time with his own.

Form was painful. They'd not been so quiet since before the exploded pen incident. Maybe Nick should break another pen over himself to give them an opening, clear the air. Sure, his hands were blue for two days and they had to eventually trash his school shirt, but it would all be worth a repeat if it meant getting Charlie's attention.

Nick left for his first course of the day, downtrodden. He'd been so looking forward to seeing Charlie, making him smile, maybe even holding his hand underneath the table. But clearly, none of that would be happening. Maybe it would never happen. It would all be Nick's fault anyway.

Just before they broke for lunch, Nick's phone buzzed with a notification.

are we still meeting in the art room for lunch?

Nick blinked at his phone but eagerly typed out a yes. He added four exclamation points and sent the message before he could overthink his blatant enthusiasm.

With a new spring in his step, Nick made his way to the art room, hands shaking with anticipation. Surely, Charlie was going to tell him that they couldn't do this, that the pressure of hiding was too much. Nick wouldn't argue. He couldn't. This was his own burden to bear, and he couldn't force Charlie to carry it with him.