heartstopper oneshots!

missing

hey friends! thank you for the request @TheMushroonWltch ! i hope i don't break your hearts too hard with this one, i promise it has a happy ending! hope you enjoy x

There were very few things in this world that Nick Nelson loved more than his dog Nellie. He couldn't compare her to his family or even Charlie, because he loved her so much that it would be impossible to choose. So, on a cloudy spring afternoon when Nellie was nowhere to be found, Nick was a wreck.

He checked under all the beds, behind all the furniture, in the yard, in the neighbors yards, even in the basement, but he just couldn't find her.

Frantically, Nick grabbed the car keys from their tray and ran into the kitchen where his mom was, checking her doorbell app to see if she could see when Nellie escaped. "I'm going round the neighborhood to look for her," he said breathlessly.

"Nick, let me drive. I'll come with you-"

"No, Mum," he said softly, tears brimming in his eyes, "you stay here in case she comes back. I don't want her to come here and then run off again."

Sarah brought Nick into a quick but comforting hug, kissing him on the forehead. "It's gonna be alright Nicky," she whispered, trying to believe it for herself. "Drive slowly, please."

"I will," Nick said, flicking a tear off of his cheek.

He sprinted out to the car and backed out of the driveway, immediately rolling all the windows down and shouting Nellie's name over and over.

He looked frantically down every side street, into every backyard, trying to find any sign of his best friend, but it was no use.

"Nellie, please come back," he whispered to himself as he came to a stop sign.

He kept driving for another half hour trying to find Nellie, and was really starting to worry that it was a lost cause. Nick didn't know what he would do without his best friend. The thought made him want to curl up into a ball and cry forever.

As he turned a corner and went to shout her name, he was startled by the sound of his phone ringing. He pulled over to the side of the road and prayed in his mind that it would be his mum calling to say that Nellie came back. But, for the first time in his life, he was disappointed to see Charlie's name on his screen. Still, he wanted to be a good boyfriend, so he answered.

"Hey," he said softly, trying to conceal the fact that he had been, and was still, crying.

"Nick, are you okay? You were supposed to come over almost an hour ago, and you haven't answered any of my texts," said Charlie on the phone, sounding very concerned.

"Shit, Charlie, I'm sorry... um..." he said, trying to continue his sentence without bursting into tears.

"Nick, what's going on? Are you crying?" asked Charlie.

Nick took a deep breath and let out a quiet sob. "Nellie's gone missing. My mum and I got home and she's just..." he cried, "she's just gone. We've been looking everywhere. She's never run off before."

"Nick, it's gonna be okay," said Charlie, trying to console Nick but knowing it likely wouldn't help. "I'm putting my shoes on now, I'll start looking near my house."

Nick cried even more. "Thank you, Char. I love you." He felt so grateful to have a boyfriend that would drop everything just to help him.

"I love you too, Nick. Do you want to stay on the phone?"

Nick nodded, even though Charlie couldn't see. "Yeah," he whispered, biting his lip.

"Okay. Here, put your phone on speaker and set it in the cup holder, that way you can keep driving. Just try to remember to take deep breaths, alright? It's gonna be okay."