Heartstopper stories

Real love (part 2)

Content warnings: mention of eating disorder, violence

Charlie's POV

I waited on a bench near a cafe in town. My phone was almost out of battery and I had no idea what time Nick was going to arrive. While I was waiting I looked around to see if Ben had followed me, but luckily he didn't. That's a relief at least. An hour later Nick pulled up and got out of the car. He awkwardly walked toward me. "Hey, are you okay?" He said. I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry to be a burden, but I didn't know who else to call." I said. "You don't have to apologize. I'm glad you called me." We stayed silent for a while. "Have you eaten yet?" Nick finally asked. I shook my head. "No, not yet." "Wanna buy something at the cafe? Maybe you could tell me what happened. If you're comfortable with that of course." "Yeah sure."

We bought breakfast and cups of coffee at the cafe and sat down near the window. Nick already started eating his breakfast while I was staring at mine. "Are you not hungry?" Nick asked. I looked up at him. "No... I mean yes. I just.." I couldn't get it out of my throat, but Nick waited patiently for me to finish. I took a deep breath. "I have an eating disorder. Anorexia to be exact. Which means that eating can be very difficult for me." Nick took a moment to take in what I just said. "Is there anything I can help you with?" He said eventually. I looked at him in surprise. "No I don't think so, but I'll probably take a while." I said. "That's okay. There's no need to rush. Take your time." I smiled at him. He was so polite. He wasn't what I thought he would be. 

It took me an hour to finish my breakfast and I felt very guilty to be wasting Nick's time. He didn't say anything, but I know that he has better things to do. We mostly sat in silence, but I could feel that Nick wanted to say something. I looked at him and smiled at him. It took him by surprise, but he smiled back. "Can I ask you something?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah of course." "Who was that guy you walked out at the party with yesterday? Was he your ex?" I looked down. "Yeah, that was my ex. He was looking for me apparently." "Why?" Nick asked concerned. "He said he wanted to talk. That's not what he actually wanted though, but I was too drunk and I fell for it." "Did he do something to you?" Nick asked. "No... Well, not anything without my consent. Well, except for this morning I guess, but I ran away as soon as it happened. God, I'm such an idiot. I should have known this would happen." I said and I put my head in my hands.

"I fucking regret even being with him in the first place. I can't believe I let him treat me like that for years." Tears started to well up in my eyes, but I refused to let them out. Not in front of Nick. Suddenly, Nick took my hand in his. I looked up to find his reassuring smile. "It's okay. You don't have to see him ever again." He said. "I don't know. Knowing him he will probably come to find me again in a month or so." "If he does then you call me instantly. I'll let him know that he can't mess with you again." Nick said in a deep and manly voice. I laughed. "That'll teach him." I said. Nick laughed as well. I stared at the hand that Nick was still holding. He followed my gaze and realized it as well. He pulled away. "I'm sorry." "No, it's fine." I said reassuringly 

We drove back to campus and walked back to our room. Nick was going to practice for his next rugby game. He's really committed to rugby. I had no idea what I was going to do, so I just went to see him practice. He didn't notice me at first, but after a while, he spotted me on the benches. He ran up to me. "Hey, do you want to join?" Nick asked. I looked at him in surprise. "I'm not a rugby player." I said with a chuckle. "You don't need to be. We're just practicing for fun. You can just join us if you want to." "Nah I'll stay here. You'll have a better practice without me getting in your way." I said. Nick frowned but nodded. He ran back to the field. I stared at him for a while until I decided to go back to my dorm. 

-A few weeks later-

Classes started the week after the party and I have been loving all of them so far. I know that's weird, cause it's still school, but I'm studying stuff that I actually want to study. Stuff I need to know if I want to become a music teacher. I've been talking with my parents and Tori a lot and me and Nick we're getting pretty close too. I've been hanging around with him and his friends who are actually really nice. They're intimidating too, but mostly really nice. Nick's rugby games were starting too and Nick has asked me to come to them. I've been refusing to go to them, but I couldn't get out of the one he had today. It was actually pretty fun to watch. Nick did great and I got a lot of energy from the audience. I don't know if Nick saw me cheering. I hope he didn't.