Heartstopper oneshots/ requests

Nick watching his diet

Hi everyone! As requested by besty3ars this is a take on if Nick was being conscious about what he eats. It's not super angsty but I wanted to make it tie in to Nick's character. Lemme know what you think. I want to try to update this at least once a week as there's now so many more of you! Welcome to our little community - please comment or message me any requests, I'm working my way through them :)

Being conscious of what he eats isn't something that Nick thought he would be. He had always loved his food, even eaten too much of it really. He was always the one to finish other people's meals and choose the extra large portion of anything when he went out with his friends.

Yet recently he had been more conscious of his choices. He had been taking rugby more seriously so made sure that he was training hard and eating all the right things.

Which all started with the best intentions, but even he had to admit he was getting a bit obsessed over it. He couldn't help it though, he just kept thinking about the end result.

How if he kept on with what he was doing that he would get to where he wanted to be. A well built rugby player with all the skills to get a scholarship for Loughborough University. If he could be the best he could be, they might offer him a scholarship.

It would be a big change, Nick knew that, but he felt stuck where he was. The same people, the same thing every day. This could be his ticket out. So he kept working at it, which meant sticking to his strict diet.

"You love pizza on Fridays" His mum said as they were flicking through a takeaway menu. It was a bit of a tradition to get a takeaway at the end of the week and usually Nick would get the biggest pizza he could.

These last few weeks though, he had opted for something with chicken. As that was high in protein, which - if he had to have a takeaway - would be the best option.

"I know, I'm just loving chicken at the moment" Nick said, looking through the menus.

They were sat on the sofa with Netflix loaded up. Nelli was sat in front of them tentatively. Knowing that takeaway menus meant food. If she sat there long enough, she might get some of it.

"Okay, well you pick - I'm just going to top up my drink" His mum said, taking her wine glass through to the kitchen.

Nick chose chicken nuggets and chips. It meant deep fried food, but he shared it with his mum he knew he could just eat a few and she wouldn't notice.

Once the food was ordered, they flicked through the film options and settled on The Conjuring 2 since it was almost Halloween.

All in all it was a good evening although the fact that his mum had made a comment about his food choice was on his mind. Maybe he was being obsessive, but he had to be. If he was going to stand a chance against everyone else, the least he could do was to eat the right things.

The next week, he was at lunch with his friends and they also commented on what he had.

"Are you on some sort of diet or something?" Christian laughed, gesturing to the salad Nick had in his lunchbox
"Just thought I'd try something else - need to keep this figure" He laughed, trying to make a joke out of it.

It did bother him though, he thought about it a lot. Maybe he was making the wrong decision. People were noticing the change in his diet, but they were bound to.

He told himself that they just weren't used to the change, that it wasn't a problem. He was doing the right thing.

The difference came though, when Charlie brought it up when the two of them snuck away to the art classroom at lunch.

"Are you watching your weight or something?" Charlie asked innocently, looking down at the Nick's salad
"I'm just trying to eat better" Nick dismissed, taking a mouthful of leaves
"But it's not like you're out of shape"
"I know, but-" Nick hesitated, "This helps me stay in shape" He watched Nick's unsure expression, "Plus I want to get a scholarship next year" He added, trying to justify himself further
"Really?"

Charlie was a bit taken back. A scholarship would mean that Nick would be away. It was good for Nick, if that's what he really wanted and he would never stop him from doing something he really wanted.

"Well yeah, it's the next step" Nick shot back, but regretted how strongly he said it
"Okay" Is all Charlie said
"It's not that I don't want to stay here with you I just- there's nothing here" Nick started explaining himself, "A scholarship is the only realistic option I have to get away from here - not from you" He added quickly and Charlie just smiled sympathetically, "It's not you, it's everything else - everyone else" He reiterated
"Couldn't you just pick a university away from here?" Charlie asked, he could feel how adamant Nick was about this scholarship which worried him a bit.

Usually when someone was defensive about something, they were questioning it and just trying to convince others that it was the best decision. He knew Nick wasn't sure about this scholarship, there was more to it.

"Yeah" Nick thought for a second, "But I like playing rugby - imagine if I could play it for a university!"
"You play it for the school now - it would basically be the same"
"But a scholarship would mean they pay for my studies - no student debt" Nick countered
"Has Coach Singh said you could get one?" Charlie asked, adding a shot of practicality to the conversation
"No" Nick furrowed his eyebrows, "Don't you think I could do this on my own?" He asked, seemingly offended by Charlie's potential scepticism
"Of course!" Charlie shifted in his chair and put his hand on Nick's on the table, "I just worry that you're pushing yourself too hard for something you've put in your head"

Nick pulled away from Charlie's hand and folded his arms, "No - no, this isn't what this is" He said, looking down at the table in thought.

Charlie felt himself want to retreat but he carried on, "Nick" He started and at the sound of Charlie saying his name, Nick's eyes shot to Charlie's, "I know what it's like to put all this pressure on yourself - all this diet stuff - that's not like you and for what? Just for this chance that someone might notice you and offer you a scholarship?"
Nick stayed silent so Charlie carried on, "I want the best for you - if a scholarship was really there for you, I would want you to go for it, but I think that this is a cover for something else" Nick's eyes dropped from Charlie's.

Maybe it was, but he hadn't thought of it that way until now. He just thought he was doing something good for himself.

"I want the best for you" Charlie continued, still looking at Nick intently - he really wanted Nick to understand what he was saying.

"It's okay to want to better yourself, but-" Charlie hesitated now, "I don't want you to fall into the same trap I did"

Nick looked at him again, wanting him to elaborate, but he didn't get a chance because Mr Ajayi came in.

"And what are you two doing in here?" He asked with a small smirk on his face
"Getting some peace and quiet" Charlie said, leaning back in his chair

Mr Ajayi walked over to his desk to get some paperwork, "Well as long you're gone before next lesson, I've got year 8's last"
"Lucky you" Charlie smiled and Mr Ajayi returned it before leaving again.

"I suppose I have been a bit obsessed with this scholarship thing" Nick admitted, pushing the box of salad away from him, "I just- I wanna be better, y'know"
"And you will" Charlie reached out for Nick's hand and Nick gave it to him, "Going to university is going to be a new challenge and I'm sure you'll get on the rugby team there but you don't need to change yourself  - you're good enough as you are"
Nick squeezed Charlie's hand in response.

Charlie was right, like he always is. Sometimes it just takes someone to care enough to say something.

🥺

What's your star sign?? I'm a Pisces ♓️💕

Also, I'm obsessed with Vampire atm by Olivia Rodrigo - it fits so perfectly with Charlie and Ben

Don't forget to vote if you liked this, it helps get this little book to more people :)) and thank you so much for all the love, I appreciate it <3