Let me take care of you

Blame

(Totally didn't make myself cry while writing this.)

Charlie twiddled his thumbs in a nervous way. He could bearly sleep last night, the thought of Nick coming over to the hospital keeping him up. He was so worried about his reaction, what would he say to him, how would he look at him. According to Tori he was coming over in the morning and his other friends would come over in the late afternoon. Well, it was the early morning, and he waited for his doctor to come into the room to give him notice of visitors.

Charlie ran his fingers through his hair, but it only reminded him of what Nick would to when he was panicking. Finally the doctor came in,
"Charlie, someone's here to see you-" He stopped and looked at Charlie,
"Everything alright Charlie?" He asked, walking over to his bedside. Charlie nodded, his breath shaky. Suddenly the doctor knew why,
"You knew he was coming to the hospital, didn't you?" The doctor asked, sitting at the end of his bed. Charlie looked at Doctor Harris, he nodded slowly. The doctor nodded back,
"He must be someone really special to have you freaking out like this." Doctor Harris said, stating the obvious.

Charlie smiled sadly, nodding, he suddenly got a flash of being carried away, seeing a glimpse of Nick fighting someone, it got farther and farther, he then looked up and saw his teachers face. He took a deep breath,
"Yes... He... Saved me from the... Along with my teacher..." Charlie said quietly, looking down.

Doctor Harris suddenly knew who he was talking about,
"Oh! I think I know who your talking about. Yes, right when you were being admitted to your ward, he burst into the hospital. He was wounded, but didn't let anyone treat him, he was held back. He tried to get past the doctors, trying to see you. He was shouting 'Thats my boyfriend, let me see him! Please!' We felt bad shutting him out. But you were in terrible condition." Doctor Harris explained. Charlie put a hand to his mouth, of course he did that, that was a very Nick thing to do. He smiled, chuckling at Nick. Doctor Harris smiled softly,
"So, do I let him in?" He asked, knowing what Charlie was going to say. Charlie wiped his tears, not realising that he was crying, and nodded.

Doctor Harris stood up and left the room, his footsteps disappearing down the hallway. Charlie took deep breaths, trying to calm down, breathe in, breathe out, it's going to be fine. It's just Nick, he's harmless.

It didn't take long for him to hear the footsteps coming back towards his ward, he braced himself, but he didn't know why. The footsteps were fast and loud and he could hear the doctor chasing after him,
"Sir? Please be careful Sir!" Doctor Harris said as he heard a thump, like Nick had tripped over. He heard the footsteps once more and heavy breathing.

And suddenly he saw Nick, Nick stopped in his tracks as he stood at the door to his ward. He was breathing heavily, holding a bouquet, his hair was messed up and his face was covered in bruises, he had an almost shocked expression. Both boys were just staring at eachother, frozen. Nick then ran to his bed and engulfed him in a hug. Charlie didn't do anything back, he was in shock. Nick held him tight, it felt nice feeling safe around his arms once more.

And then he heard crying, Nick was crying, holding Charlie. Charlie saw Doctor Harris at the door, he just smiled at him, gave him a thumbs up and then left the ward. Charlie slowly hugged him back, his small thin arms wrapping around his larger body. Nick sniffed,
"I'm... So sorry." Nick ended up saying, Charlie was confused by that,
"What? What are you sorry for." Charlie asked, in a weak voice. Nick rested his head on Charlie's shoulder slightly, trying not to hurt him,
"Because... I should've... Should've been there. If I hadn't left, I should've left when I saw you were worried. But I didn't, why didn't I!? And that ended up getting you... In this... State. I'm so sorry."

Charlie shook his head, he moved back from Nick, so that his face was right in front of his, he held Nick's face in his hands,
"What have we said about saying sorry? None of this was your fault! I can't let you blame yourself, that's not how it works Nick. You couldn't know what they were going to do! Please, don't blame yourself." Charlie wiped Nick's tears away, smiling at him softly. Charlie coughed slightly, he usually didn't speak that much since the doctor's told him not to.

Nick sniffed once more,
"But I always said I would be there for you, I said no matter what, I would protect you. But I'd didn't. I could've protected you. But I didn't. I just-" Nick was spiralling in his own mind that Charlie had to cut him off. He pushed himself forward and kissed Nick on the lips, wrapping his arms around Nick's chest. He pulled away and looked into Nick's saddened eyes,
"Nick. Stop it. I love you, you love me. Right? Stop thinking about what you could've done, it's happened, you can't change that. And plus, I'm here, I'm alive, and it's thanks to you. Your my hero." Charlie chuckled, he always called Nick his knight in shining armour. Nick hugged back,
"Some hero." He scoffed, he ran his hands through Charlie's hair, Charlie smiled.

"You are my hero, you fought all of those boys, based on what I remember and all the bruises on your face. You defended me. Without you, Mr Ayaji wouldn't have been able to call the ambulance." Charlie stated, he ran his hand along Nick's bruised cheek, kissing him again. Nick stopped hugging Charlie, sitting right by his legs. He laughed, wiping his tears,
"I guess... I'm just... So glad your okay. I don't know what I would do without you." Nick said quietly, holding Charlie's hand tight. Charlie nodded,
"But luckily for you, no matter what. I am not leaving you." Charlie said, his voice serious and truthful. Nick nodded, smiling at Charlie once more. How did they both get so lucky?

After that they both spoke about what had been going on, Charlie could finally get some information about the whole situation at school and what was going on. Apparently the entire area around the shed was boarded off from students. The boys were in juvenile waiting for their court trail, which yes, Charlie would have to attend. The school is really quiet about the situation, students lockers were all checked for any other weapons or dangerous items and after-school security was up and you had to state your reason for being there past school hours. It was good to know the school was actually taking action in making sure it wouldn't happen again.

Mr Ayaji had been off school, apparently what he saw had really messed him up and he made statements for the school against the boys about what happened, along with Nick. They both had to recount to the news and police what had happened, which was harder for Nick than Mr Ayaji. And apparently Mr Ayaji had visited him a few times before while he was out, along with Nick, he actually cared about him, which Charlie really appreciated.

After a while Nick had to leave, but he would have his other friends come over soon anyway so he wouldn't be on his own for long. Both boys hugged one last time, Nick pulled him in for one last kiss,
"I'll visit you everyday till your better. Okay?" Nick said, Charlie chuckled and nodded,
"I don't doubt you will. See you later 'Rugby lad'." Charlie said with a smile. Nick laughed and waved goodbye, exiting the ward.

Charlie sighed happily, he was so glad Nick was there for him, and there in general. He really was an amazing golden retriever.