Never Be The Same - A Charlie and Nick Story

Chapter 10 - The First Move

We make it through the first two movies before everyone starts to get text messages and calls from their parents about making it home. Once that happens, everyone starts to talk instead of actually watching the movie which I am okay with. I have watched Harry Potter so many time. Maybe almost as much as some of my favorite Marvel movies. "Mum and Dad got home Charlie." Tori says from the other sofa. He nods his head slightly and goes to look at his phone for the first time since we all go here. I feel his leg start to bounce softly and he frantically places his phone down. Actually he almost drops it on the table with the popcorn buckets which makes his face flush red with embarrassment. "Uh, Nick. Where is your bathroom?" Charlie asks quickly. "I can show you." I whisper. We climb out of the pile of people and down to my bedroom. "You can use the one in my room. My flatmates do not keep their's very clean." I say laughing a little. He looks at me and gives a small, uncomfortable smile.

As he walks into my bedroom, I freeze at the doorway and I can't move. My hands start to get sweaty and I feel my heartbeat rising with nerves.

Just ask him what's wrong... Something is really off and you do not want to stress out the rest of the night. What if Ben hurt him? I'd kick his ass so hard. I never liked Ben. I thought he was a fake friend for Imogen in High School and especially now at Uni. But Charlie doesn't deserve to get hurt like he is. Not by Ben. Not by his Mum. No one. He is such a caring and amazing person.

"Nick?" I feel a familiar pair of hands on my biceps. I blink a few times and see Charlie in front of me. He has a soft smile. "You okay? You were really spaced out." He adds, his hands not moving. I nod my head. "Um, yeah. I just have been worried about you is all." His hands drop from my arms and he places them behind his back. "You don't have to worry about me Nick. I am fine." He tries to smile but I can see right through it. I grab his hand softly and look at our hands as our fingers intertwine together. "You say that when something is actually upsetting you." I whisper softly. I see him start to let go of my hand but I grip it softly, almost begging for him to not let go.

"I'm sorry. I don't want you or anyone to worry about me. I don't want my problems to be anyone else's." His voice cracks which causes me to slowly look up to meet his face. I can see his eyes starting to well up and I quickly pull him into a tight hug, my head resting against his. "Char. You are my best friend. I hate to see you like this." I whisper. There is a pause and I feel his body loosen against me. "I don't want to burden you Nick." He whispers back. My hands slide from behind his neck and down to the middle of his back as I lean back to look at him. "There is nothing you can tell me that would make me think you are a burden. I want to be here for you Charlie..." My voice begins to crack as I continue. "I really care about you and I need you to know that you can tell me anything."

He looks into my eyes for a second before pressing his face into my shoulder. I feel my shoulder get a little wet which makes me tighten my grip on him. A few minutes pass and I am the one to break our embrace. "Do you want to talk for a little and then we can go back out to our friends?" I ask softly. He lets a small smile spread across his lips before nodding. I shut my door quietly brokered I take his hand in mine and guide him to my bed that rests in the corner of the room. I climb in first and lean against the wall, my feet dangling off the side. He climbs in and rests his back against my bed frame, bringing his knees to his chest. "Is there something in particular you want to talk about?" I ask when neither of us say anything. He opens his mouth but no words make it out.

"Do you want to talk about Ben?" I suggest, my tone full of slight concern. His hands tighten around his knees as he brings them closer to his body, his chin resting softly on his knees.

"You know when I took that really long nap, I woke up and saw a message from him. He said that 'If I didn't want to talk to him, I should have told him.' Maybe I should have told him I was taking a nap but we aren't dating or anything. We just made out a few times so there is nothing official but he said that. I don't really know that much about him even. So I didn't know how to answer so I didn't which it seems like it made him angrier. He just sent me a message saying that 'I am being selfish by not telling him how I feel about him and what I want. Having the ability to ignore someone is one of the most disgusting qualities someone can have and he thought I was different.'" He goes quiet for a second and lean forward to grab his closest hand, wrapping it between both of mine. I both of my thumbs over the top of his knuckles as I wait for him to continue.

"Then there is this thing my Mother which has always been a problem but she's never did it in front of people. Especially my friends. I am not as weak as she makes people think I am. I can move away and dual major and make new friends and date any guy I want. Not the ones that she has to approve first. I just thought she'd be proud of me for going out of my comfort zone and doing this but she just keeps doing stuff like this." A tear falls down his cheek. I swing my legs over him and turn so my legs are next to his hip and I am looking at him. I place my hand to his cheek and softly wipe his tear away. "It's okay to talk to me Charlie. About anything." I whisper. I get on my knees and pull Charlie's entire body into mine. I feel his arms wrap around my shoulders. We stay like this for a few moments, just enjoying our embrace.

"We should get back to the group before they look for us." He whispers into my shoulder. My hand slides to the nap of his neck and I close my eyes as my head falls to rest against his. "Okay." I whisper back and slowly pull away from our embrace. When I look into his eyes, I watch as he genuinely smiles for the first time all day. We climb out of my bed and as my hand reaches for the doorknob and opens the door slightly. I feel Charlie's hand rest on my shoulder so I turn around to face him. "Thank you Nick." He says a little louder than a whisper. Before I can answer, he stands on his tip toes for a second and kisses me cheek softly. My heart skips a beat and I feel my face get warmer. He is also blushing when he pulls away.

We look into each other's eyes as I place my hand against his cheek. His hands rest softly against my hips. We both start to lean into each other. I start to feel his warm breath against my face and I instantly shut my eyes. I start to feel our lips brush when we are interrupted by someone calling our names. My eyes widen immediately and I truly see how close he and I are. His lips are just centimeters from mine. My breath gets shaky before we slowly pull away from each other and his hands move from my hips. Instead of his hands resting at his sides, he takes one hand to intertwine our fingers together. I look down at the touch and quickly back at him. He is smiling so confidently at me. "We should get back." He giggles as he leads me back to the group where he never lets go of my hand. Not in front of everyone and not even when we sit back down on the sofa.

The third Harry Potter starts to play and I do not pay attention at all. All I can do is watch as Charlie brushes his thumb across the top of my hand. Eventually his hand slows down and I look over at him. He is fast asleep with his head resting against the back pillow. I lean up a little to see the group and see that almost everyone else is asleep.

I take my free hand and brush a few stray curls from Charlie's face, smiling to myself. I tighten my grip on his hand slightly before I slowly lean forward and softly press my lips to his forehead. He does not stir but his lips twitch with a small smile before softly resting again which causes me to smile even more. I lower myself on the sofa and rest my head on his shoulder. Within a few seconds, I feel his check rest against the top of my head. I close my eyes slowly, my smile never leaving my lips as I drift off to sleep.