Chapter Text
Nick Nelson wasn’t sure exactly when he started to realise that he wasn’t only attracted to girls. But at age seventeen and a half, and after many hours on google (on both educational sites, and sites that required waiting until his mum was definitely asleep, and then using incognito mode and headphones), he was confident in his sexuality.
He wasn’t openly out at school, but he was confident enough that when his three best friends started talking about the female lead in the latest blockbuster, Nick could happily mention that the male lead was pretty good looking too. Confident enough to tell his mum about the cute boy at school who didn’t know he existed. Confident enough that when Harry Greene pushed him into the path of Tara Jones at his leavers' party last year and Tara confessed she was a lesbian, Nick had blurted out‘Oh my god, me too! I mean… not a lesbian , obviously… but, um… like… queer? I’m bi!’. Confident enough that Tara and her girlfriend Darcy were now two of his best friends outside of Truham Grammar School. Confident enough that if he ever heard any homophobic slurs in the changing rooms before or after rugby practice, he would put on his best Team Captain Stare Down look, and give the offending player shit for it. Confident enough that any time rumours about him being ‘gay’ started circulating he could deliver his pre-rehearsed line: ‘ Gay and straight aren’t the only two options, and it’s rude to speculate about other people’s sexualities. Don’t be such a dick,’ in such a way that the offender usually shut up pretty quickly.
He hadn’t actually dated another guy, but then he hadn’t really dated a girl either. He had been asked out a few times by girls from Higgs, the all girls school next door to Truham, and had even gone on an awkward date with one of them, but the truth was this: Nick Nelson had a big, embarrassing crush on the cute drummer in the year below him, who had no idea that Nick even existed, and no one else, male or female, had yet been able to catch his attention the way Charlie Spring had.
///
“Oh, fuck off Otis.”
Otis snorted, “Come on Chris, you were shit and I’m telling you, it’s because Beth was watching.”
“Yeah, well, at least I have someone actually interested in me…” Christian mumbled as the four of them strode along the quiet street.
Nick laughed and slapped Christian on the back, “You actually going to ask her out this time, then?”
Christian straightened up, puffing his chest out slightly as he reached out to open the door for the rest of the group. “Gonna text her later,” he boasted, his cheeks turning red.
“Smooth…” Nick rolled his eyes and pushed his way into the small café, only a short walk from where he and some others from Truham played in a local rugby team most Saturdays.
The four friends headed to their normal table, Nick quickly taking his favourite seat that faced the small counter, as they carried on teasing Christian.
“Oh, fuck off the lot of you. You’re all just jealous because at least I have a chance of a date, you three couldn’t manage to get one girlfriend between the lot of you,” he scoffed.
“Or boyfriend,” Sai added.
Christian nodded his head towards Nick, “Well, yeah. Or boyfriend. But, come on, this is Nick we’re talking about.”
The others nodded as if this made total sense.
“What?!” Nick spluttered, “What’s that meant to mean?”
Otis laughed loudly, “It means you might look but… when have you ever even attempted to ask anyone out? Boy or girl?”
Nick felt his cheeks heat up, “I… if I really liked someone, I totally would… I just… there’s no one I like at the moment.”
Three pairs of eyes all stared at him disbelievingly, before both Christian and Sai turned in their seats to look behind them.
Nick kicked them, “What are you doing?! Turn around!”
“Riiiight,” Otis drawled, “yeah. Sure, there’s no one you like. Uh huh.”
His other two ‘friends’ snorted.
“Oh, fuck off. I’m going to get us drinks. Usual?”
They all nodded, and Nick fled their table as quickly as he could, before they could say anything else.
He had never specifically mentioned his crush on Charlie Spring - year eleven, insanely fast runner, drummer extraordinaire, curly haired beauty of a boy - to his friends. But they had maybe caught him staring in Charlie’s direction one too many times over the last year or so.
Maybe .
They also took great delight in mentioning that Nick had attended every orchestra concert and every school production in the last year. And while Nick had originally insisted that it was to support Tara and Darcy, that excuse hadn’t worked so well when Nick had turned up at the last two school productions as well, school productions that Tara and Darcy weren’t a part of.
Otis had helpfully pointed out that Charlie Spring was a part of these productions though; playing the drums with precision whenever a scene needed a little musical atmosphere.
Nick took a deep breath and approached the counter.
“Hey.”
Dimples and deep blue eyes.
Nick swallowed.
Fuck, he’s beautiful.
“Hi.” His voice came out an octave higher than he would have liked, and he coughed to try and cover his embarrassing delivery of the one syllable word.
“The usual?” Charlie smiled at him, graciously ignoring Nick’s flushed cheeks and squeaky voice.
Nick’s mouth dropped open slightly.
Wow, so attractive. Close your mouth!
“Oh… you… you know my order? Our order I mean?” His voice’s pitch seemed to have regressed back to year 7, and his already flushed cheeks burned hot with embarrassment.
Charlie laughed softly as he turned away from the counter to start the order.
“Well, you’re in here every Saturday and always order the same thing. And, if you hadn’t noticed, we’re not exactly heaving with customers.”
Charlie’s laugh was melodic and caused Nick’s heart to flutter behind his rib cage.
“Oh.”
Well done. At least that one syllable was spoken at my normal vocal pitch.
Charlie chuckled, throwing a smile over his shoulder as he carried on making the drinks that he, apparently, knew off by heart.
That was the other thing that Sai, Otis and Christian had apparently noticed: Nick’s new obsession with getting weekly milkshakes.
At the café that, previously, they had maybe visited once a month at most.
The fact that Charlie Spring now worked at said café was a complete coincidence.
Nick watched Charlie work in silence, not trusting himself to say anything more to the curly haired boy, for fear of embarrassing himself further. Plus, the fact that the milkshake blender was really quite loud.
I wonder what his curls feel like.
Charlie placed the fourth and final milkshake on the counter a few minutes later with a smile, and Nick smiled back shyly.
“One strawberries and cream, one cookies and cream, one double choc and one… bubblegum.” Charlie scrunched his nose up at the last word.
Nick thought he looked adorable, and he had to stop himself from melting into a puddle.
“Yeah, that’s us… tha-thanks.”
Say something!
“You uh… not a fan of bubblegum then?”
Charlie laughed, “Ugh, no. Too sweet.”
“Oh.”
Say something else!
“So what do you like?”
Please say blonde haired bumbling idiots!
Charlie shrugged as his long, elegant fingers tapped the till screen. “I dunno… just the normal. Chocolate I suppose.”
“Cool,” Nick nodded.
Excellent use of the English language.
“Do you like working here?”
Charlie looked up at him with a surprised, guarded expression on his face. It softened to a smile after a moment, the corners of his lips curled up to expose two beautiful dimples on his perfect, kissable cheeks, as he went back to tapping away on the till.
“Uh, yeah. It’s OK. It’s a job, pays alright and it’s not like… hard work really, so… yeah.”
Oh my god, this is a conversation, right? We’re having a conversation… this has to be the most he’s ever said to me! Say something… something smart… witty… or… just… anything.
God, he’s gorgeous.
“Cool.”
For fuck's sake, can you actually form a sentence?! Or even just a word that’s more than a single fucking syllable?!
Charlie chuckled quietly, “Anyway, that’s £18 please.”
Nick cleared his throat and held his card out to tap the card machine. “Thank you,” he whispered, not trusting his voice.
“Enjoy.”
Nick nodded. “Th-thank you…” he repeated. Like an idiot with a restricted vocabulary.
A truly excellent exchange that showed off your personality brilliantly. Seriously, well done.
He picked up the small round tray that held the milkshakes and headed back to his friends, keeping his eyes down as he approached them. After passing the glasses out he finally looked up and was met with three pairs of eyes assessing him, smirks on their faces.
He dropped his gaze again as he sat back down and pulled his own milkshake towards himself.
“What?” he mumbled a moment later when no one said anything.
“Apparently he’s single…” Otis grinned as he placed his straw between his lips.
Nick was certain his cheeks could cook an egg; they were on fire.
He actually spoke to you, and all you managed to say was ‘oh’ and ‘cool'?!
“Hmm?” he asked, focusing on the bright blue substance in his glass. It suddenly tasted far too sweet, and he had a craving for a chocolate milkshake… maybe with two straws that he could share with a certain blue eyed boy.
Nick let his eyes drift up and he smiled when he saw Charlie, elbows resting on the counter, reading a book that was open in front of him.
He’s hot and smart.
Christian lightly punched him in the arm, “You’re ridiculous.”
That wiped the smile from his face quickly. “Fuck off,” he mumbled.
The guys jeered quietly and then burst into laughter.
Nick rolled his eyes and forced them to stay focused on the edge of the table, where the grey laminate was chipped and starting to peel, and to not drift back towards the till.
They were a group of seventeen year old boys, and so, luckily for Nick, conversation soon steered clear of feelings and emotions. He relaxed as they started to dissect the match they had just played, before turning the talk to the upcoming maths exam that they were all dreading.
A phone buzzed a while later and they all pulled theirs out to check for messages.
“Mum,” Christian sighed.
The three others nodded as Christian pushed his chair back, “Thanks for the milkshake, mate.”
Nick’s eyes flickered to the counter, but there was a small queue, and all he could really see was Charlie's long fingers tapping on the till’s screen.
“No worries. See you Monday,” Nick said, staring at Charlie’s elbow.
Christian headed out, and a few minutes later Otis followed suit, needing to get back to look after his younger sister.
“Another?” Nick asked Sai hopefully, his eyes only darting past his friend to look at Charlie for a moment.
Sai groaned, “Two milkshakes, mate I’ll be sick… just ask him out!”
“What?!” Nick dropped the straw he had been playing with.
“Come on, everyone knows he’s gay!”
Nick glared, “Shhh!” His eyes darted to Charlie, but he didn’t seem to have heard. “And what’s that meant to mean?!”
Sai tutted and rolled his eyes. “It means, Charlie likes boys. And you like Charlie, so… ask him out!”
It was pointless to deny it. He slouched down in his chair. “Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he might say yes to going on a date with me,” he grumbled.
Sai sighed, “Well, you’ll never know if you never ask him…”
Nick didn’t respond, but he crossed his arms and allowed himself a moment to look back at the counter. Charlie had his back to them now as he made someone’s order. Nick happily took the opportunity to admire his slim, tall frame and dark hair without risk of being caught looking.
He groaned without meaning to.
Sai leant across the table and spoke in a hushed, exasperated tone. “Fine, we can get a second milkshake… but only if you go up and actually speak to him this time.”
Nick still didn’t say anything.
“Just ask him for his number!”
Nick scoffed, “Right, as if it’s that simple.”
“Come on, captain! Where’s your confidence?!” Sai grinned at him.
“You’re enjoying this far too much…” Nick muttered, before standing up and striding back to the counter with as much confidence as he could muster.
He only had to wait a few minutes before he was at the front of the queue.
“Hi!” He tried his best to smile confidently.
“Hi,” Charlie smiled.
“Umm… so… um… another two milkshakes please.”
Wow, from a milkshake café, imagine.
Idiot.
Charlie chuckled softly, “OK, bubblegum and…?” He started to turn towards the blenders on the worktop behind him.
“Cookies and cream please.” Nick took a deep breath, “Actually I was thinking… thinking of trying something… new.”
Charlie turned back and looked at him in surprise. “Oh, OK. What were you thinking?”
“Um, maybe chocolate?”
Charlie smiled warily. “O-K… so one cookies and cream, and one double choc?” he asked hesitantly.
Nick nodded and Charlie turned around to start making up the order.
Say something.
“You started working here recently, then?”
Charlie had just switched the blender on, and he didn’t respond. Nick internally groaned.
“One cookies and cream…” Charlie placed the first milkshake on the side and turned back to make Nick’s.
“Have you worked here long?” Nick tried again.
Charlie looked over his shoulder with a slightly confused expression on his face as he poured the milk into the blender. “Oh, umm… about eight weeks now?”
Nick nodded, “Cool.”
Fucking hell, don’t start that again. Talk. In. Sentences. Preferably about something other than his job.
“You play the drums, right?”
Charlie stopped what he was doing and turned around to face Nick fully. “Ye-yeah?” It sounded more like a question than a confirmation.
Nick smiled at him, already bringing his favourite memory of Charlie to the front of his mind: the first time he had noticed him. Nick had been rushing to get to practice after school, having been asked to stay behind to talk to his Geography teacher about his coursework. He had taken a shortcut through the school’s music block to get to the PE block, and then he had seen him; eyes closed, headphones on as he played the drums with so much speed and power that Nick couldn’t help but stop to watch him. Curls had been flying around as Charlie, not that Nick knew his name at that point, clearly lost himself in whatever he had been playing.
Nick was mesmerised.
And then Charlie had stopped and opened his eyes, and for a split second his sparkling blue eyes had met Nick’s boring brown ones. And Nick had run.
But after that, Nick noticed him everywhere: in the corridors, stepping off the bus, in the cafeteria, and even on the running track. Especially on the running track; Nick had taken a ball to the head the first time he had seen Charlie Spring run. It was also the day he learnt his name, as the PE teacher had yelled to the rest of his class that no one had even come close to Charlie’s time all year.
That was almost a year ago. And Nick knows this crush is ridiculous. And he knows it might be slightly stalkerish to go along to school productions just to watch the fit drummer play, but Nick is weak and the more he watched Charlie Spring and saw his smile, the more he wanted to know him.
He’s staring at you. SPEAK!
“Oh, I… my friends, Tara and Darcy, they play in the orchestra, and sometimes,” (all the time, every single time), “I go and watch them play… and I’ve just… noticed you there. Too. Playing. The drums.”
Charlie chuckled awkwardly and turned back to the blender. Nick thought for a minute that Charlie wasn’t going to bother replying to him, having obviously already realised what a weird stalker Nick is. But then the blender turned off, the café went quiet, and Charlie spoke, quietly, still facing away from Nick, “Oh, yeah. I know Tara and Darcy. You’re… you’re friends with them?”
“Yeah, two of my best friends, actually. Like… outside of Truham anyway.”
Charlie placed Nick’s milkshake on the counter and looked at him with a strange expression. “You’re best friends… with Tara and Darcy?!” He sounded surprised. “I didn’t think… I mean…” Charlie took a deep breath and seemed to force a smile. “I like them, they’re nice. Really… cool.”
Nick nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, they really are.”
Charlie started tapping the till screen, and Nick knew his opportunity to talk to Charlie was rapidly dwindling, and there was now a small queue behind him.
“Do you work all day on a Saturday?” He rushed out just as Charlie opened his mouth, presumably to ask for payment.
Charlie closed his mouth and then opened it again with a shake of his head, “No, I only do four hours. My parents don’t want me working at all so…”
Interesting. Why does he work if his parents don’t want him to?
“Oh, cool… so… do you get off soon?”
Charlie frowned at him and stood up straighter. “Why?” he asked, his tone suspicious.
Nick swallowed.
Come on, you can do this.
“I just…” he swallowed again, “I thought… maybe… would you like… we could go get lunch? Together?”
“Lunch?” Charlie asked, clearly surprised.
“Yeah… or… whatever you like really?!”
Eager much?
Charlie continued to look at him suspiciously, “You… want to get lunch, today… with… me?”
Nick nodded eagerly, “Yes, whatever you fancy!”
Please fancy me, please fancy me.
Charlie looked confused, but then slowly his mouth turned up into the smallest, shyest smile and he nodded, “Sure, yeah OK. Why not.”
Nick beamed. He could feel his cheeks already starting to protest at how wide he was smiling.
“Really?!”
Charlie laughed softly, “Um, yeah. If you really want? I don’t have anything else… I finish at twelve thirty?”
Nick kept on smiling as he nodded vigorously, “Absolutely. OK, brilliant! I’ll… I’ll meet you here then? I uh, I better go get changed I suppose!”
He looked down at his grey joggers and the slightly muddy Truham rugby jersey he always changed into after a match.
“Oh, well… if you want?” Charlie frowned.
“Oh, shit… I’m Nick by the way!”
Charlie laughed, loudly and joyously, “Yes, Nick. I do know who you are.”
“You do?” he squeaked.
Charlie rolled his eyes, “Truham’s rugby king? Yeah, I do.” He held the payment terminal out without saying anything and Nick took that as a hint to move out of the way for the next customer.
“Right, sorry… OK, well, I’ll see you at half twelve?!”
Charlie smiled, but his eyebrows were raised and he looked confused. Or amused. Nick wasn’t sure. “Apparently so?”
“Great!”
Nick grabbed the two glasses and practically ran back to Sai.
Sai looked at him with wide eyes as he handed over his milkshake.
“So?! Did you actually talk to him?”
Nick fell into his seat with a grin. “Better! I asked him out… and he said yes!” he whisper-shouted, not even bothering to keep his excitement from his voice.
Sai’s eyebrows shot up, “Fucking hell mate, well done!”
Nick grinned at him from around his straw, as he tried to down his chocolate milkshake as quickly as possible. Charlie was right, chocolate was better than bubblegum.
“Slow down, what’s the rush?!”
“I need to get home and change! I can’t take him out looking like this when he looks like that!”
Charlie was wearing tight, black jeans with artfully placed rips, a tight black t-shirt and a red plaid shirt open over the top. His curls were styled to perfection, and he had a ring on his thumb that said ‘ I’m cool and I know it, but I don’t need to shout about it’.
Sai shook his head, “Sorry, you’re going on a date today?!”
Nick nodded excitedly, a mouthful of milkshake preventing him from talking.
Sai laughed, “Bloody hell, you don’t waste much time, do you!”
Only a year…
Nick grinned and finished his drink in record time. He had a slight headache from the cold by the time he had finished, and he felt just a little sick after drinking two thick, rich milkshakes one after the other. Maybe Sai had been right and the second one hadn’t been sensible.
But he had a date! With Charlie Spring! So, sensible or not, it was definitely worth it.