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His first car. Just speaking those words made his heart sing as he flew down unfamiliar roads to an equally unfamiliar destination, but given it contained a familiar person, Nick Nelson couldn’t help but excitedly drum his fingers on the wheel of the small 2 door as he drove to Leeds Station to pick up his boyfriend of almost 2 years, Charlie Spring.
It was a brill day thankfully, as it was just turning to the summer holidays and Charlie was coming up not only to stay for a while, but also so they could apartment hunt for next year when Charlie got into university and Nick was far too excited to have him around permanently without parents around where they could do whatever they wanted when they wanted.
God, just thinking of Charlie made his heart hump almost like the radio, a song’s opening notes catching his attention and making him turn the volume up a faction as the band which was playing started singing.
When he was seeing her you could see he had his doubts
And now he's missing her because he knows he's missing out
And now it's haunting him, her memory's like a ghost
And he's so terrified 'cause no one else even comes close
The opening lyrics sounded way familiar, but then when they got to the chorus, Nick’s face puckered like a lemon as the singer kept going. It reminded him of Charlie and fucking Ben Hope. That’s why it sounded familiar. Nick could feel his blood boil from here as his mind turned to that fucking half-human weasel and what he put Charlie through.
Granted, he knew only a fraction of what Charlie had happen to him through their interaction when he pulled him off of him in the music hall, but the more he and Charlie got together, the more the other opened up and it almost made him cry just how much he’d gone through in almost 6 months of dating the other in secret.
He's the guy that you should feel sorry for
He had the world but he thought that he wanted more
I owe it all to the mistake he made back then
I owe it all to my girl's ex-boyfriend
Nick never felt sorry for Ben at all, but the nostalgia that comes creeping in makes him /almost/ feel sorry for him. He’s not since the guy in years since the Paris trip (and is honestly grateful) and he doubts he’ll ever see him again unless iot’s 20 years in the future at a school reunion, but he doesn’t care all that much really.
He had no idea what he had and he practically will never know.
So then along comes me, this undeserving mess
Who would believe my life would be so blessed?
Two years ago when he left all that debris
Who would have known he would leave everything I need?
He’ll never know how perfect Charlie is and has been since the moment the universe conceptualized him, or at least, that’s how Nick feels.
Everything Nick could say at that moment, he’s already said before, when they were first starting off what their relationship became in the middle of an empty school hallway in the height of the school year.
He's the guy that you should feel sorry for
He had the world but he thought that he wanted more
I owe it all to the mistake he made back then
I owe it all to my girl's ex-boyfriend
“I need you to know, my life is way better because I met you!”
“You don’t have to say that.”
“I do and I’ll keep on saying it until you believe me. I don’t care about getting into fights or pissing off my mates or anything like that.
It’s all worth it to be with you. You are…the kindest, most thoughtful and caring and amazing person in the whole world-”
“Nick-” “You’re my favorite person and you have to believe me-”
“Nick!” Charlie’s hands on his face are everything. “I believe you.”
If it wasn't for him, I would still be searching
If it wasn't for him I wouldn't know my best friend
If it wasn't for him. he would be able to see that
If it wasn't for him he'd be as happy as me
If it truly wasn’t for Benjamin fucking Hope, he really wouldn’t have found the person that he’d been dreaming about since he was a kid for so long, even if Charlie wasn’t exactly the person he imagined all those years ago.
With she and I settled down you can bet
That he is gonna have to settle for less
He's someone I would hate to be
I got the girl and he's left with just a memory
Ben Hope was just going to have to settle for someone that wasn’t Charlie. No, Charlie Spring is now officially Nick Nelson’s property and that fact is no more visual, not apparent when he pulls up at Leeds Station and sees the thin, lanky lad he’d come to love with his suitcase and a blinding smile that he can’t wait to kiss off his face, which he does.
He's the guy that you should feel sorry for
He had the world but he thought that he wanted more
I owe it all to the mistake he made back then
I owe it all to my girl's ex-boyfriend
He turns down the volume in the car as he leps load the other’s suitcase into the boot of the car along with his own. Screw Leeds for the summer holidays, he and Charlie are spending the Summer somewhere a bit warmer and gayer, so as soon as they buckle in, chirpsing and talking the day away like it’s about to end, they’re off to London on a flight to the Caribbean for most of them - because you know, pirates have influence and appeal.
Charlie’s face is fresh and bright and Nick can’t help but look at him and wonder just /how/ Ben Hope threw away all of this in Year 11 and gave him the best years of his life so far. He guesses he’ll never know the answer, but he also doesn’t really need it either.
If it wasn't for him, I would still be searching
If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't know my best friend
If it wasn't for him, he would be able to see that
If it wasn't for him he'd be as happy as me
Charlie Spring is just Nick Nelson’s and that’s all Nick Nelson cares about and it’s not too long before they are singing down the motorway to an 80’s megamix that takes over from the aggressive song before and like graduation, they leave Ben Hope in the dust with his money, his cockiness and his stupid little bubble that he lives in.
While if it wasn’t for him, he’d never have Charlie - Ben Hope also doesn’t have Charlie Spring and Nick can bet that it still stings even now. Good riddance.