Charlie and Nick Oneshots

Twelve: Fire Drill.

Trigger warnings: anxiety, panic, swearing.

1163 Words.

Charlie:

"And you can start your assessment...now."

I pick up my pen and start writing. I'm in English and we're doing a quick end of topic assessment worth twenty marks when suddenly, the fire bell goes off. Everyone starts to whisper to one another, I'm next to Aled and he looks just as concerned as I'm feeling.

"Stay calm everyone, please get into a single file line and proceed to the playing fields where you need to line up in your forms. No talking on the way, you can take your coats as it's the middle of winter and I'm not a complete monster but leave all of your other belongings here."

I start to panic as we get into a line. We're meant to be having an assessment today. What if it gets knocked back a lesson, we will then need a catch up lesson, or a lesson that we will never do and we will never be in perfect curriculum again. We'll be behind a lesson, I'll have to get Nick to catch me up. He had this lesson a year ago and he has a horrid memory. I'm in year eleven, I can't afford to be missing out on my learning. I start to fiddle with my blazer and trouser pockets. Then my hands go to my hair and I start pulling at it but after a few weird stares I stop and start pinching my arm. I'm so stuck in my world that I hear someone calling my name from in front of me and asking id I'm alright but I can't figure out who it is. I don't want to be a rude ass and ignore them so I look up, or  try to. I go to look up from the ground to the person talking to me but I bump into someone. 

Nick:

It's period four and I'm in a year twelve assembly and their trying to make us think about our futures...again. I hate thinking about my future, I have no clue what I want to do with my life but no teacher seems to care. I'm hit with relief when the fire bell suddenly goes off. No more future talk. Get in. Now, I know we are twenty minutes into a fifty-five minute lesson and fire drills take about fifteen to twenty minutes to do but I'm hoping it's long enough for the assembly to be suspended so I can have a little idea of what the fuck I want to do with my life before the next one comes around. Then my thoughts turn to Charlie, he's meant to be having an assessment this lesson, he's going to be freaking out so much over this. He's going to worry that he's going to be behind, which he won't. I had the same thing last year, they do the assessment the next lesson and then cram in the introduction lesson for the next topic in after. We're meant to be going to the playing fields but I go in the opposite direction towards Charlie's classrooms direction. I finally see him, he's got one hand pinching his arm and he's staring at the ground like he's trying to drill a hole into it. Classic stressed Charlie symptoms. I start calling out to him then asking if he's okay but he doesn't hear me. He's locked in a trance. He's overthinking. He goes to move his head up when he crashes into me. I snake my arms around his body and rest my head on his. I start to take obvious breaths for him to follow and he does.

"Ocean." I whisper into his ear.

Ever since Charlie had his first panic attack in my presence, we've had a safe word so that Charlie can tell me that something is wrong without other people knowing. I also use it to ask him if he's feeling stressed or anything like that, again so other people don't know. He's worried that if people know that he's stressed they'll start making fun of him and that just stresses him out more. He nods his head in the slightest, if you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't have known he had done it. After following my breaths for two minuets he starts to calm down, enough foe me to take his hand and lead him to the playing fields. Luckily, there are still people fleeing the school so it doesn't look like anything has happened. It's quite clear that Charlie is still stressed so I pay attention to the fire bell and start squeezing his hand when the noise comes on and stop squeezing when the noise subsides. It seems to calm him down a bit more so I keep doing it. 

Charlie:

We get to where we need to line up and head to our form line. Right before we get into line Nick swivels me round and hugs me again. 

"Thank you." I whisper into his ear.

He pulls back from the hug and gives me a look. A look that I'm too familiar to. It's him basically saying: I'm your boyfriend, it's my job to keep you calm. Don't go thanking me young man. He pulls me towards him again but this time for a kiss. We don't kiss a lot at school because, well, it's not really an appropriate setting and we don't really need to. The kiss is a bit longer than a peck. After we pull away we get a few sarcastic woops from some boys looking at us. Normally I would take it to heart but right now, 'm in Nick's arms and that's all that matters.

"Boys, I get that you are all in love and all that but this is a fire drill, we have no time to be kissing each other. get into your spaces in alphabetical order. Thank you." Mr Farouk instructs.

How does he know we're dating?

"Wait for me when this is all over, yeah?" Nick says as I go to walk to my space in line.

I give him a nod and walk to my place. What a turn around of events it has been.

Authors note:

I got this idea when my school had a fire drill earlier today and I was like, what if Truham had a fire drill and either Charlie or Nick got unsettled about it? You know what to do if you want to see one of your suggestions in my work. Please tell me if there are any mistakes. I hope you have an amazing rest of your day/night and I'll see you in the next one!