Espresso Hearts: a Nick and Charlie fanfic

Coffee

~Nick~

I stare absentmindedly out the window of the small café, the heavy rain is now violently lashing against the glass and several people are complaining that they're going to be stuck in here for a while.

Slowly sipping my coffee I look around the cosy café with it's warm toned wooden floors and matching beams across the ceiling. Dark brown tables with comfortable turquoise armchairs scattered around in a seemingly haphazard manor.

As my eyes scan the room, they fall on a man in his late teens to early twenties with dark curly hair, thick eyebrows, blue eyes and a jaw line that would make most supermodels jealous. He's sitting at the table closest to me and I notice how we're the only two people who aren't complaining about the rain.

I watch as he furiously types on his laptop and occasionally bites his bottom lip as he concentrates.

"Fuck!" He suddenly shouts, and slams his fists on table, startling everyone in the café, including me. He looks around and starts to turn a little pink and goes back to his laptop, a panicked expression on his face.
"No, no, no, no!" He whispers under his breath and buries his face in his hands.

"Are you okay?" I ask, leaning forward slightly. He looks up at me and his mouth drops open slightly.
"Erm, my stupid laptop... It keeps doing this. I've lost about an hour's worth of work." He says, his voice shaking a little as he stares at me.
"Do you want me to take a look?" I ask gently.
"Erm..." He looks at his laptop then back at me.
"I happen to work in IT, I hate it but it definitely comes in handy in moments like this." I chuckle.
"Are you sure you don't mind?" He asks nervously.
"Looks like we're gonna be stuck in here in a while anyway..." I say, glacing at the window and then back at him. The rain has become even heavier now.

I pick up my coffee and stand up, shuffling over to his table and sit down in the armchair next to him, he seems to be watching my every movement.
"What seems to be the problem then?" I ask, smiling at him.
"I... Um... Don't actually know..." He says quietly.
"May I?" I nod towards his laptop.
"Yeah... Yeah, sure." He says quickly, turning his laptop to face me.

I feel his eyes on me as I get to work trying to fix the problem with his laptop. Every so often I hear him gulp and shuffle awkwardly in his chair.
"I'm Nick, by the way." I say, glacing up at him quickly before turning my attention back to his laptop.
"Charlie..."
"Nice to meet you, Charlie." I say warmly, looking up at him and smiling.

"Is this it?" I ask, turning his laptop to face him, after about twenty minutes of silence.
"Oh my god, yes!" He shrieks happily.
"I've fixed the issue so it shouldn't happen again, but I can show you what to do if it does?" I say, smiling at him.
"Thank you so much! You're an absolute life saver!" He says, beaming at me with twinkly eyes.
"Ah, it's fine! You're welcome." I laugh, waving my hand dismissively at him and sitting back in my chair.

I look out the window, it's still raining heavily and the wind is really picking up.
"Can I get you another coffee?" I ask, looking at him.
"I should be getting you a coffee as a thank you!" He giggles.
"How about..." I lean forward. "I'll get this one, and you can get the next one?"
"Okay..." He says quietly, a grin spreading across his face, showing off his dimples.
"Good." I say softly, nodding my head once, smiling and we hold eye contact for a few seconds.

"What would you like?" I ask, standing up.
"Erm, espresso please." Charlie responds.
"A fine choice!" I laugh and turn to walk over to the counter.

I walk back over to Charlie with two espressos and place them on the table.
"Thank you." He says, smiling at me as I sit down.
"Do you not have more work to do?" I ask, glancing at his closed laptop.
"Nah, it can wait." He laughs, sipping his drink. 

"So, what is it you do?" I ask.
"Oh, I work in publishing, it's only an apprenticeship though." He says, seeming a little more comfortable now.
"That's so cool!" I say, enthusiastically.
"It's alright..." He giggles.
"Much more interesting than IT!"
"What would you rather be doing?"
"Well, when I was at school I wanted to do something rugby related..."
"You play rugby?!" Charlie interjects.
"Not so much now, but I did a lot in school and university. Then when I left uni I struggled to find work that was even remotely close to what I actually wanted to do so I just kind of fell into IT and apparently I'm good at it, so..."
"You didn't answer my question..." Charlie says, a slightly cheeky tone in his voice.
"What?"
"I asked what you'd rather be doing... You just said what you wanted to do in school. If you could have any job, right now, what would you be doing?"
"Oh, wow..." I say, I lean forward and place my elbows on the table, interlocking my fingers and resting my chin on my fist. "I'd like to do something that makes a difference... Teaching maybe..."
"You could coach a children's rugby team."
"I like that!" I laugh.

"Is publishing what you wanted to get into?" I ask, sipping my espresso.
"Not really..." He shrugs and laughs.
"Well then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you the same question." I say and he giggles.
"I guess... I'd love to be a writer... I don't know what, but I just love the notion of putting words on paper and bringing my visions to life."
"Why don't you then?" I ask, leaning forward.
"I don't know... I've never really been the type to... Put myself out there, I suppose."
"But if you don't you're just going to be stuck doing a job that you don't really want to do."
"Okay, Mr. 'I work in IT but I hate it'". He laughs.
"Fair point..." I chuckle. "But I'm serious Charlie, you clearly know what it is that you want to do, so make it happen." I say, softening my face and looking into his eyes. He's silent for a moment and just looks at me as if he's forgotten what words are.
"I think you might be right..." He says softly.
"I am." I say smugly, winking at him.

Charlie insists on buying us another espresso each and we continue chatting and laughing long after we've finished our drinks and long after the rain has stopped.
"I swear, no one has ever beaten me at Mario Kart!" Charlie laughs.
"Rubbish!" I scoff, laughing.
"It's true!" He giggles.

His eyes drift past me, over to the window.
"It's finally stopped raining."
"Oh, so it has..." I say, turning my head slightly towards the window then looking back at Charlie.
"God, how long have we been sat here." He laughs.
"About an hour!" I say, looking at my watch.
"I should probably get going..." He says quietly.
"Yeah, I suppose we can't sit in here all day."
"Can I..." He starts but pauses, suddenly looking nervous again.
"What?" I ask gently.
"Can I get your number... You know... If my laptop plays up again?" He asks, nervously fiddling with his fingers.
"Sure!" I say, smiling

He passes me his phone which is open on the dialing screen. I type in my number and add it to his contacts.
"Thank you, again." He says smiling as I hand his phone back to him.
"It's no problem at all, I've enjoyed talking to you."
"Me too." He grins, as he gets up and starts collecting his things.
"Bye, Charlie." I say softly.
"Bye Nick." He smiles as he picks up his laptop and looks at me for a few seconds before walking towards the door.

I watch him leave before I pull out my phone to see a text from Tara.

Tara: Halloween party at mine next weekend! Bring people! Xx
Nick: who? 😂
Tara: I don't know... Anyone who's not a weirdo! Guest list is looking pretty thin! Xx
Nick: I'll see what I can do... Xx

I put my phone back in my pocket as I stand up to leave, a single earpod on the floor catches my eye and I remembered that Charlie had earpods in while I was watching him work. I put it in my pocket for safe keeping as I have a feeling I'll be seeing him again.