When I Look Into Your Eyes (An AU Heartstopper Story)

34 - thank you, Charlie

Well, that was really fucking weird!

Nick stared at his phone, puzzled by the strange silence on the other end of the call.

He was hovering his thumb over the call button as he replayed the odd encounter in his mind. He tried to shake off the unease, telling himself the weird silence would've probably just been caused by a bad connection.

He decided to try again, hoping his call would go through properly this time.

After hearing the phone ring for what felt like an eternity, the call finally connected. And this time, he was greeted by Sarah's familiar voice.

"Thank you, Charlie." He heard her say. Her voice soft and warm, like always.

Wait, what? Nick's breath caught in his throat. Charlie? Why was she with Charlie?

His chest tightened with a sudden surge of jealousy and confusion. How could she do that?

But then slowly, reality hit him—he had never told Sarah the truth about him and Charlie. He had never had the guts to explain that they were... well, what exactly were they? Were they still friends? Or maybe something more? He wasn't sure anymore.

"Nicky, how are you, love?"

Sarah's voice brought him back to the present, but his thoughts were still tangled up with Charlie. The conversation he had intended to have with Sarah had completely slipped his mind, and was replaced by a whirlwind of emotions that he didn't know how to deal with.

"Uh, yeah... I'm good," Nick mumbled, trying to pull himself together. "Just, uh, wanted to check in."

His words felt hollow, and he knew Sarah could sense something was off. But how could he explain it? How could he tell her that just hearing her say that one specific name had flipped his whole world upside down?

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Nick could hear the faint hum of the radio in the background, and for a moment, he imagined Charlie there, standing just out of reach, but still close enough to feel his presence.

"You sound distracted. Is everything okay?" Sarah said, sounding worried.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Nick lied, forcing himself to focus. "I've just been thinking a lot lately...with graduation coming up and all."

"I know, honey. I know," she said. "How about this: I could come to Leeds this Wednesday. We could go to Roundhay Park, get something to drink and we could talk about it."

He nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Yeah, that would be nice."

But as he said it, Nick knew that the conversation he needed to have wasn't just with Sarah—it was with Charlie. The boy he had pushed away, the boy he couldn't forget, and the boy who had just unexpectedly resurfaced in his life.

As they wrapped up the call, Nick couldn't shake the feeling that everything between him and Charlie wasn't over.

And for the first time in a long time, Nick felt a glimmer of hope mixed with the fear that maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance to get Charlie back.