Kaleidoscope (a Heartstopper fanfiction)

Party

Nick was fairly early to the party, and he knew Charlie wasn't going to be there for a while yet, so he hung out with his rugby mates on the edge of the dance floor. He didn't know how to dance, and he'd bet neither did they, but Harry had invited pretty much everyone in the world, as far as Nick could tell, and a lot of people were dancing.

He'd forgotten that his friends could also be a lot of fun, and he was actually enjoying himself when he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Imogen standing there. She hugged him, which was weird, but maybe that's what people did at parties. Nick hugged her back, briefly, trying not to think about how different it had felt to hug Charlie. How much better.

"How are you?"

"Okay."

"Yeah? Great! Do you like my dress?"

It was pink, and fussy, and he didn't know the first thing about girls' dresses. But he was also polite, and had been raised mostly by a single mum, so he knew the right answer. "Yeah!"

Imogen was called away by another of her friends, much to Nick's relief. He liked Imogen, but she had reminded him of ... everything, and now he mostly wanted to see Charlie.

He turned, scanning the crowd, lifting his head to see over them as best he could. There were so many people here by now, how would he ever find just one in the middle of all of them? He should have told Charlie to text him when he got here.

But there he was, standing across the room, looking so ... cool and handsome in his dark shirt and jeans, compared to all the overdressed partygoers around him. A smile lit Charlie's face when their eyes met. Nick felt so relieved, and so happy to see him, like somehow the party had just started because Charlie was here. He pushed his way through the dancers across the floor until he was standing in front of Charlie and could put his hands on Charlie's shoulders. "I've been looking for you," he said, just as Charlie was saying it, too.

Then Nick dropped his hands, sticking them in his pockets, and they stood there looking at each other, smiling. Nick didn't have the faintest idea what to say, or do, now that Charlie was really here. But he knew they had to get off the dance floor—or else they'd be trampled, he thought as another boy nearly trod on his foot.

"Come on," he said, clapping Charlie on the arm. He led the way toward a corner of the room where there was an empty sofa, and they both sank down on it with some relief.

Nick had forgotten, this week, how easy it was to talk to Charlie. He felt better than he had in days. At some point they got up for drinks, surveyed the dance floor and decided they preferred the sofa, and went back to it.

In the midst of the conversation, Nick reached for Charlie's hand without thinking, his heart pounding in either panic or excitement or both as he caught himself. He crossed his arm over his chest, holding on to his other arm just to keep himself from reaching for Charlie again, and with some difficulty caught up with the flow of the conversation.

They had gotten back around to MarioKart, and Nick's obsession with somehow winning at least one game against Charlie eventually, when Harry appeared in front of them. All the others were trailing behind him.

"Nicholas!"

"All right, mate."

"Why are you hanging out in here? It's a bit boring, innit?" Everyone else laughed, like somehow that was funny. Nick failed to see the joke.

"We just ... are."

Harry sat down on the sofa and put his arm around Nick's shoulders. "I've got some important news for you."