Nick & Charlie (TV WORLD)

Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

Nick:
As we walk out of school I see Ms. Singh waving over to me.

"I'll be right back," I say as I walk over to her. "Sorry, Ms. Singh! I forgot you said you wanted me to come by your office."
"That's okay Nick," she says. "I wanted to talk to you about the upcoming season and how I want to make you Captain."
"Me? Captain?" I ask excitedly. 
"Well, Co-Captain."

The best news I could possibly hear about this Rugby season turned into the worst very quickly. Why? Because if anyone is going to be Co-Captain with me, it's going to be Harry.

"With Harry?" I ask.
"Yes, with Harry. I wanted to talk to you about it first because I know you both didn't end the last school year on great terms."

I'll say.

"Can I think about it today and give you an answer Monday?" I ask.

Ms. Singh looked a little disappointed.

"Okay Nick. Just remember, it'll look really good to Universities if you are captain."
"I know. I just don't know if it'll be good for the team, or even good for me, if I agree to do this with him."
"Do you want to tell me what happened between the two of you? You use to be really good friends."

If I tell her, there's a good chance Harry wouldn't be a Co-Captain with me. On the other hand, I'd really like to forget all about the things that happened.

"It's nothing, really. I just realized that he is not the kind of person I want to associate myself with. I'll think about being Co-Captain and I'll come by your office on Monday."
"Okay Nick. And if you need anything, you just ask, okay?"
"I will Ms. Singh, thank you," I say as I start walking to Charlie.
"Oh, Nick?"

I turn around to face her.

"If anyone, especially the boys on the team, gives you a hard time about your relationship with Charlie, you let me know and we will handle it accordingly."

I smile at her.

"Thanks again Ms. Singh, it means a lot. Have a great weekend!"
"What was that about?" Charlie asked.
"Ms. Singh wants me to be captain this year."
"Nick!! That's amazing!"
"Co-Captain. With Harry."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
"So what did you say?" He asks.
"I told her I needed to think about it and would let her know on Monday," I say as we make our way back to Issac and Tao.
"Think about what?" Issac asks.
"Ms. Singh asked Nick to be Co-Captain for Rugby this year. With Harry."
"HARRY?!" Tao exclaims. 
"Ugh why," Charlie adds.
"Because even though he sucks, he's a good Rugby player," I say with a shrug.
"I don't think you should not be Co-Captain just because Harry is the other one. I wouldn't let him jeopardize my future like that. He already thinks he has all this power, imagine if you give that up," Tao says.
"As much as I know it's going to suck; I think Tao's right," Charlie says. "You worked so hard at Rugby and you shouldn't let him interfere with that."
"Any chance you can just tell Ms. Singh that Harry is a homophobic jackass?" Issac adds.

I let out a small laugh.

"I don't really want to rehash everything that happened. Also, if I get Harry kicked off the team, there is no way this year will be peaceful," I say. 
"Nothing involving Harry is ever peaceful," Tao adds.
"Ugh, you guys are right," I groaned. "I'm going to tell Ms. Singh on Monday that I accept. I think I'm also going to text Harry to meet up this weekend and try to bury the hatchet -- "
"Physically or metaphorically? Into his back? Do you need help hiding the body?" Tao says.

We all erupt into laughter.

"METAPHORICALLY TAO," Charlie says. "You meant metaphorically, right?"
"Yes, dummy," I say with a smile. "And not necessarily bury the hatchet; I don't want to be his friend; I just want to be civil for the team."
"I still think my plan is better," Tao says.

Charlie:
We all meet up with Tara, Darcy and Elle and start walking to Tao's.

"How was everyone's first week?" Tara asks.
"More eventful than I thought it would be," I say.
"What happened?" Elle asks, concerned.
"Don't tell me anyone was giving you shit now that you're officially a couple," Darcy says.

I shake my head.

"I ran into Ben a little while ago."

Everyone except Nick stops in their tracks. Over the summer, Nick had told everyone in our group what happened between Ben and I so they could better understand what I was going through.

"BEN?!" They all scream in unison.
"We had a whole conversation earlier about Nick when you ran into Ben?! What happened?" Tao asks.
"Tao! Nick needed our advice," I say.
"But that is not nearly as important as you running into Ben," Tao insists. "No offense, Nick."
"None taken," Nick says. "It was actually pretty brilliant; you would have been proud of him, Tao."

Tao looks at me curiously.

"Well?!"
"He just, he just was the same as he always is. Trying to put fault on everyone but himself."
"But Charlie didn't let him do that. He flipped out at him and it was amazing," Nick says.
"YOU SHOULD HAVE RECORDED IT," Tao screams.
"Tao, the proud Dad over here," Elle jokes.
"Proud of you, my guy!" Darcy says as she puts her arm around me.
"So what was the conversation with you about?" Tara asks as she looks at Nick.
"Ms. Singh wants him to be Co-Captain of the Rugby team --" Issac starts to say before Tara cuts him off.
"THAT'S GREAT!" She says as she hugs Nick.
"With Harry," Nick adds.

Tara slowly pulls out of the hug.

"Oh.."
"Yup. That was my reaction," he says.
"You're still going to do it though, right? I mean, it must look good to Universities if you're the captain of the team," Elle says.
"Yeah. That's what I decided on," he says with a sigh. "I'm going to talk to Harry this weekend to see if we can be civil for the team."
"Civil," Darcy scoffs. "He doesn't know how to be civil."
"I told him I'd help him bury the body but he was not interested," Tao says.
"I don't think murdering him will help the situation either," Issac jokes.
"Better than seeing his smug face after the way he treated Charlie."
"And you," Elle adds.
"And you too, I'm sure," I say.
"Are we all trying to justify murder right now?" Nick asks, jokingly.

We all get to Tao's and head to his backyard where he sets up his projector. Issac and Elle bring out snacks and drinks. I grab Nick's hand and smile at him.

"I know you're probably really bummed to have to share this with Harry but, I just wanted to let you know that I am so proud of you. You worked so hard for this and you earned it," I say, looking into his eyes.
"I know, but --"

I cut him off.

"No, no buts. Harry has done enough to you, to me, Tao, Elle and who knows who else. He doesn't get to put a dark cloud on this either. All of your hard work and dedication paid off. It's also pretty awesome that I'll be dating the Rugby Captain," I say with a smirk.
"Who? Me or Harry?" Nick teases.

I lightly push him and laugh.

"Harry obviously. Those homophobic comments really get me going," I say sarcastically.

Nick pulls me closer to him and wraps his arms without me.

"Thank you for being my voice of reason. I don't know if I would be saying yes if it wasn't for you."

I look up at him, and kiss him quickly.

"I just want you to have every opportunity that you deserve; I don't want anyone to take that away from you."
"I love you," he says as he runs his hand through my hair.
"I love you too."
"CAN WE PLEASE START THE MOVIE?!" Tao begs.

Nick and I turn around and see that everyone is sitting down and waiting for us so Tao can play the movie.

"Sorry!" I say.
"Don't be. In in a weird way, it's like we were watching a movie right now," Elle says with a smile.
"A five minute movie?" Darcy jokes.
"A TRAILER!" Issac says.
"Who would watch a love movie about Nick and Charlie? No offense," Tao says.

We all laugh as Nick and I sit down.

"Pretty sure I'd watch that movie," Nick whispers to me.
"Definitely," I say as I take his hand in mine.