As Charlie walked with Nick by his side, his stomach couldn't help but flutter.
Nick's confession of his feelings was one of the most unexpected events of Charlie's life. There was something about him showing up at his door, hair wet from the rain, that made Charlie's heart pound. Just a few days ago, he thought Nick was straight as an arrow and believed that they would remain friends forever. But now, he had no idea what could happen between them.
"Charlie?" Nick asked suddenly, making Charlie jump, and removing him from his thoughts.
"Sorry," Charlie mumbled. "Yeah?"
"Can I—" Nick hesitated, and Charlie could see he was thinking over his words carefully. "Can I hold your hand?"
Charlie immediately felt colour rise to his cheeks, and he unconsciously turned away, covering it. After a second, he turned back, smiling. "Okay."
Nick flashed one of his usual heartfelt grins, then slowly slid his hand into Charlie's. They giggled and blushed at each other and kept walking quietly, hyper-aware of every breath and every movement.
As they walked around a street corner, another couple came into view. Nick ripped his hand out of Charlie's and shoved it in his pocket. Charlie peered up at him, but Nick was looking away, with guilt written all over his face. When the people were out of sight, Nick turned back to Charlie.
"I'm so sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about. I don't expect you to... show anything in public. You want us to be a secret, and that's fine."
Nick smiled lightly, but he still looked sad. He glanced around one more time, then carefully grabbed Charlie's hand again.
They continued walking until the cloudy sky turned back into rain, and they both got soaked for the second time of the day, Nick especially.
They returned to Nick's house, and he was quick to invite Charlie inside.
"I have to go home soon," Charlie said, his tone flat.
"Oh," Nick said, frowning. He looked around for a second, then his face lit up and he opened the closet by the front door. He pulled out an umbrella—his own umbrella, Charlie realized when he saw the blue and yellow stripes.
Charlie grinned at him, taking the umbrella. "It was fun hanging out with you," he said, smiling and grabbing Nick's arm.
"Yeah," Nick said, curling into Charlie's touch. After a second of staring, Charlie pulled away, stepping outside.
"Bye," he said, opening his umbrella.
Except instead of saying goodbye back, Nick stepped outside, ducked under the umbrella and pressed his lips to his.
Charlie hesitated for a second, wondering how this could be real, but he came to his senses and kissed him back, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer. Nick's arms snuck around his body, resting firmly on his hips, giving Charlie butterflies.
When Nick pulled away, all he said was, "Bye."
Charlie laughed and stepped away, waving. "Bye," he repeated.
Then, he walked away, awaiting tomorrow, when he would see him again.