Never Be The Same - A Charlie and Nick Story

Chapter 14 - Band Jams and Boyfriends

"Ooh! Who is it Charlie?" "Come on tell us!" They start getting closer and looking at me goofy. I can't help but laugh. "I can't say." I say while I laugh. "Do we know them?" "We definitely know them!" They keep going back and forth for a moment so I grab my phone out to check the time. "I have to get back to campus. Sahara's music club is starting in a half an hour." I say as I stand up. They start to put their things in their bags as I move my things from the common room, to my room. When I walk back out they start laughing. "Tara and I decided you are leading our presentation next Friday. Especially because you just will not tell us your crush." Darcy says and chuckles. Tara takes her hand and walks to the front door. I grab my keys and wallet before meeting them at the front door. "Thanks for coming over guys and getting this done." I open the door for them to leave and walk quickly behind them, shutting and locking the door behind me. "Me too. Darcy always forgets her homework." Darcy laughs. "Just like when we were at Higgs."

We walk down to the parking lot and I wave at them as they walk a the opposite direction I go. I quickly walk to campus and to the Music Building. When I get to the room I am overwhelmed with the large group that is inside. There are maybe 45 people in the room and I do not recognize a single one of them. I try to move around the room to find Sahar but it's difficult to move around in this small room. I feel my heart rate start to raise as I get a little nervous. "Charlie!" I hear so I turn around until I see Sahar. She gives me a quick hug before her eyes widen in excitement. "I can't believe the turnout. Last year we were only 12 of us!" I smile at her happiness. "That's really amazing Sahar." I hear someone call her name so she takes my hand and drags me through the crowd until we are at the very front of the room. Facing everyone.

Sahar starts to get everyone attention and she starts to take a seat at the front table. I awkwardly take the seat next to her as she starts to talk about the club, the goals, the rules, etc. We will have a concert once month, a battle of the bands towards the end of the year, we will have fundraisers, go to concerts/music halls. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun though. If I get into a band, that is. She hands out a papers and thanks everyone for coming. We have a meeting next Friday where we will organize into our bands and come up with a theme for our first concert. Even establish chair positions for the concerts.

I check my phone for the time and see a message from Nick.

Instagram:
Nick: I finish ruby practice at 20:00, do you want to get some dinner together?

I check the time, it's only 19:30. Maybe I will go watch him practice for a little.

"Charlie, you got a second?" Sahar says as I start to walk to the door. I turn around and smile. "What's up?" She waves for a few people to come over. "This is Charlie. Charlie, this is Matt, Robin and Erika." I wave at them all. "So this is the drummer you were talking about!" He enthusiastically. "I am Matt by the way." He adds, reaching out to shake my hand. "I am Erika." The girl with rainbow, long hair says and gives a small wave. "And I am Robin. I go by they/them pronouns, just a heads up." Robin says and fist pumps me which causes me to laugh. "It's nice to meet you all." I say.

"So, the point of us coming over here is to ask if you wanted to be in our band?" Sahar says and places her hand on my shoulders. I place a hand awkwardly behind my neck. "I have never been in a band. I have only been playing for fun really." Sahar laughs a little. "We want to snatch you up before anyone else did. There are only 2 drummers this year." Matt says and punches my shoulder. "I would love to be in your band." I say while I laugh. They all come closer and do a round of high fives and fist bumps. "So we can hammer out the details next week on Friday, sounds good?" Sahar asks. I shake my head. "I'll make a group chat for us one I get back home. Right now I have a date to get to with Imogen."

We all start to leave the Music Building and I head to the fields. When I start walking up the ramp from the parking lot, I hear my phone ping.

Instagram: Queer Intentions
Sahar: Imogen is still getting ready but our group chat is ready!

I make my way past the changing rooms and start to hear shouting and whistles. I make it to the stands and see lots of people surprisingly watching a random Friday practice. I sit far enough away from the group so no one bothers me but close enough that if Nick wanted to, he could see me. I watch them run a few drills before they start to clear the field. I play on my phone until I hear my name.

"Hi." Nick says as walks up to the row right in front to me in the stands. "Hi." I say back, smiling. "How was the music club?" He asks, his smile getting bigger and bigger. "It was really good. I joined a band." I say, shrugging my shoulders. Nick steps up to my row and hugs me tightly, lifting me off the ground a little. I can't help but giggle as he places me down. "It's not a big deal, Nick." I say, almost embarrassed. "It is a big deal! Are you joking? You're like the cool kid now." He says, his voice filling with pride. He hugs me tightly again, his cheek resting against the top of my head. God, I love that he is taller than me. "I'm dating the cool kid now." He whispers.

His body instantly tenses but and he pulls away from our embrace, his arms immediately crossing his chest. His index finger traces his bicep. "Sorry. I am really sorry." He says, his eyes filling with a small amount of panic before he looks at the ground. I bend down a little to make eye contact with him. "It's okay, Nick. Do not apologize." I say, my smile never faltering. He looks back at me, a very small smile on his face. "I know we aren't official or anything, it's okay." I add.

He turns around and looks around. I look around too and see no one is near. He takes my hand in his, our fingers intertwining. "We could be." He whispers. It takes a second for what he said to process and my eyebrows raise. "We could be..." I say, trying to get him to fully say what he wants. "Um, you know. Uh..." His free hand moves behind his neck. "Nicholas Nelson... Are you trying to official ask me out?" I say jokingly, trying to lighten the mood so he does not feel as nervous. He shakes his head slightly. "I just can't say it." He whispers embarrassed.

I pull his hand from his neck so I am holding both of his hands now. He doesn't look up at me, rather our hands. "Nick, would you like to be my boyfriend?"

As he lifts his head slowly, I see a bright smile spread across every inch of his face. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes!" Each 'yes' getting louder until on his last one, he lift me off my feet again. I can't help but giggle as he does this. He places me down and hugs me tightly before pulling away completely. "I need to go back to my apartment before we go on this date." He says as his eyes widen with his realization. "Date?" I ask, my eyebrows raised jokingly. "Yes. Our first." He clarifies, his tone full of seriousness which makes me laugh a little more.

"Do you want to come back to my house while I change?" A smile spreads across my face with his question.