Falling (a Heartstopper fanfiction)

Triple

Both Nick and Charlie were thoroughly distracted by now, and it was clear they weren't getting any more homework done if they stayed in the same room, so Nick reluctantly packed up his things to go home.

Charlie walked him to the door, watching as he put his shoes back on. Nick was even cute tying his shoes, he thought, which probably meant Charlie was way too into him for his own good.

"So, how about the concert tomorrow night?" Nick asked.

"You really don't have to come," Charlie told him. It was just a dumb school concert. It wasn't like the music was even hard. "It'll be boring."

Nick finished tying his shoes and stood up. "No, I want to support you."

Charlie laughed, to hide how much he was touched by the sentiment. "Um ... Okay, but if you change your mind, that's fine." He still thought Nick didn't quite know what he was getting himself into.

"And Tara and Darcy want us to go and get milkshakes with them before it starts." Nick hesitated. "Like a double date?"

A date? A real date? With Nick? Charlie smiled. "I've never been on a date."

"Me, neither." Nick hesitated again, and Charlie realised with some surprise that Nick was nervous about asking him out on a real date. "Want to go on one?"

"Yeah."

They laughed together. Standing this close in the hallway, it was so hard not to reach for him, this beautiful guy who had come out to their friends today, who had arranged a double date, who had been so sweetly nervous asking him. Charlie really couldn't believe this was his life. He kept expecting to wake up some morning on the first day of the new term, having dreamed the whole thing.

Nick tore himself away and reached for his bag. "Cool. Um ... Well ... I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." Charlie didn't want him to go. Then again, he never wanted Nick to go.

Pausing in the doorway, Nick looked back at him. Charlie wanted to kiss him, or hug him, or just keep him here forever. God, he couldn't believe how much he liked him. They exchanged reluctant "bye"s and Nick went down the steps to the gate, where he stopped to wave. Apparently he didn't want to leave any more than Charlie wanted him to.

At last he disappeared round the edge of the gate. Charlie closed the door, turning back into the hallway. In an excess of happiness, he found himself jumping up and down, flapping his arms, as the only way to properly express how he felt.

Silly though it was, he felt better after he'd done it, although he still floated his way distractedly through the rest of the afternoon. His essay was not going to be his best work, he could tell. The way he felt, he was a little surprised he hadn't just written "Nick" a thousand times.

That night, Darcy and Tara set up a group text with him and Nick to nail down the plans for the double date. They would meet at the milkshake café an hour before the concert, which should give them plenty of time.

Then Darcy texted "tao and elle should come to our double date"

"Wait, are they dating??" Nick asked.

"not YET they're not"

Charlie frowned at his phone. Tao and Elle? Since when were they a thing? Did they even like each other? He realised he hadn't spent much time with them at all recently because he'd been spending so much time with Nick. He'd have to do something about that—no matter how happy he was with Nick, his friends were important to him, too. He should find a way to let them know that.

Since Darcy seemed to know more about the current situation than he did, he texted "do tao and elle like each other???"

"Elle definitely likes Tao," Tara replied.

Darcy texted "and they'd make such a good couple!!!"

Charlie realised with some disappointment that if they asked Tao and Elle they'd be adding people who didn't know about him and Nick. Much as he liked his friends, he'd been looking forward to having the chance to be openly a couple. Still ... he liked the idea of trying to get Elle and Tao together. The more he thought about it, the more Tao's behaviour since she left Truham seemed like him having a crush. And they would make a good couple, Darcy was right about that.

"btw they don't know me and nick are together," he texted the group. He didn't want Darcy outing Nick when he wasn't ready.

"That's okay!!" Tara reassured him. "We won't say anything."

Then Nick texted "So now it's a triple date?"

Charlie smiled. "and tao and elle don't know it's a date at all ..."

Darcy's text capped off the conversation. "we are such meddling gays and I love it"

Everyone said "good-night" and "see you tomorrow" and the chat went quiet.

Charlie couldn't believe how much he loved this, being on a group text with Nick, being able to be a couple, seeing the way Nick was with the girls, so easy and open.

The word "Typing" appeared and disappeared several times, and Charlie lay back on his bed, smiling. He was usually the one who couldn't find the right thing to say, and Nick was rarely at a loss for words. It was nice to turn the tables on him occasionally, to imagine him blushing as he tried to duck the compliment.

"I wish I'd been able to do this weeks ago," Nick finally replied.

"you did it now" "i'm so proud of you" "good-night"

Nick typed and erased again another couple of times before sending back "Thank you x" and his own "Good-night".

Charlie hugged his phone to him, looking at the picture of them that Nick had given him for his birthday. He hadn't had any idea the day the picture was taken that this kind of happiness was even possible; his best dream at the time was that Nick might possibly have been flirting with him. And now look at them.

He went to sleep smiling.