Evermore :||: Nick & Charlie

Chapter 10: Speak to Me

Nick's POV

When Charlie and I arrive back at my house, he grabs the gift he got me and we head upstairs and into my room. I take off my jumper and toss it to the floor before sitting down on my bed in front of Charlie.

"Here, happy birthday." He says, sliding the bag closer to me. I look inside and remove the tissue paper that's covering the actual gift. When I see what's in there, I start laughing.

"Oh my god, Charlie! Are these all the jumpers you stole from me?" I ask as I pull out three of my own jumpers. "Are you sure you want to give these back?" I ask, looking up at him to see him smiling.

"Well, I mean, they don't really smell like you anymore so-"

"You like my smell?" I tease.

"You're making it weird."

"Well, if you want something that smells like me," I reach over and grab the jumper that I was wearing today, "you can have this one." He smiles.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." He starts to put on the jumper that's clearly too big for him.

"Do you like me wearing your clothes or something?" Charlie teases.

"Yeah...kind of." I say, instantly feeling heat rise to my cheeks. Charlie leans over and presses his lips to mine, stunning me.

"Your actual present is at the bottom of the bag." He says when he pulls away. I grab the bag and see a poorly wrapped gift at the bottom. I pull it out and look at Charlie. "Don't judge my wrapping skills. I know they aren't as good as Imogen's." He says jokingly.

"Hey, at least I'll actually be able to open this one." He chuckles as I start removing the wrapping paper. When all the wrapping paper's removed, I'm holding a photo album in my hands. I open it and see a picture of me and Charlie at the beach. I look down and see a little note written in Charlie's handwriting.

You gave me a picture of us in the snow, so here's one of us in the sun. Happy birthday, love Charlie XXX

I look up at Charlie as tears of happiness start to form in my eyes. I close the book and he scratches the back of his head.

"I know it's sort of, well, cheesy, but the rest of the album is blank, so you can fill it with-" I cut him off by lunging forward and pulling him into a tight hug, knocking him backward so he's now laying on his back and I'm slightly on top of him. "You like it then?" He asks. I don't say anything and press my lips to his. I can hear him try to say something, so I pull away, breathless.

"I love you." I tell him before leaning down and kissing him again.

-

After our little makeout session, I start scrolling on my phone. I look over and see Charlie yawning, struggling to keep his eyes open. "If you're tired, you can take a nap." I tell him.

"I don't wanna nap the whole time."

"Char, really, it's okay. It's been a long day." He smiles before turning to his side and tucking his arms under his chin.

"Can you wake me up at eight?" He asks.

"Of course."

"Thank you." He smiles before his eyes slowly close. I grab my computer and start looking up ways to talk to people about getting help. I have to do this today, or who knows what will happen? All of our friends are worried, I'm worried, and I'm sure his family is worried too. Every single one of us can tell that Charlie isn't okay, but I'm the only one that knows what's really going on, or at least the parts that he tells me.