Chapter Text
Charlie looked out the window, watching the rain fall as he desperately tried to ignore the Christmas music his mum was playing. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the car. He hated Christmas. It was a time filled with joy and happiness but he just didn't feel happy and every annoyingly positive Christmas song, every blinding set of Christmas lights was just another reminder that he wasn't happy even though he should be. "Don't sulk Charlie." His mum said. Jane Spring wasn't the most maternal person out there, she was always a little bit distant, always a bit impatient. Of course Charlie knew that she loved him but he didn't always feel it.
"I'm not sulking." He mumbled, still keeping his attention to the window, Christmas decorating had already begun, even though it was the middle of November.
Jane seemed to disregard his argument. In her mind she was right and he knew there would be no changing it. "You'll be doing a good thing, helping children in need, it will look good when you start looking for jobs too." She was really trying to put a positive spin on it. Charlie only sighed. The one thing more depressing than being forced to enjoy Christmas was being forced to enjoy Christmas in front of sick or worse, dying children. If this was his mum's way of cheering him up she had the wrong idea. Maybe she just wanted him out of the house and out of her way or maybe she wanted to show him that 'other kids have it worse' as if he didn't already know and feel guilty about that.
She pulled up outside the hospital, the sudden stop of the car seemed to snap Charlie out of his thoughts. "Do you remember where you're going?" She asked, doing her best to sound excited for him. Somehow that annoyed him more.
"Yeah." He said and got out of the car before she could say anything else, stepping into the cold and the rain. He didn't even take an umbrella with him. He slammed the door shut and headed towards the large double doors of the hospital.
"Have a good day!" He heard his mum call after him but he didn't turn back.
Walking into the hospital was like walking into a Christmas wonderland, as if the North Pole had crammed itself inside the building. Christmas music played quietly over the speakers, it was almost inaudible but Charlie had managed to hear it. He walked to the front desk, his heart pounding with anxiety. "Hi…I'm here to volunteer." He said awkwardly. He internally cringed at the sound of his own voice. Why did he sound so weird talking to strangers?
The receptionist looked up from her computer, she looked as fed up as he felt. "What's your name?" She asked in a monotone voice.
"Charlie Spring…?" Why did his name sound like a question when he said it? He wanted to curl up and die.
The receptionist typed his name into the system then rummaged beneath her desk, retrieving a special pass on a lanyard, handing it to him. He looked down at it. VOLUNTEER PASS was written in big bold letters beneath a shockingly terrible picture of him. His mum had clearly just sent in an old passport photo. How did this keep getting worse? It looked like a mugshot. "You'll be assigned to the paediatric floor. Go down the hall to the lifts, it's on the 5th floor. One of the nurses there will tell you what to do."
"Thanks." He mumbled and shuffled off towards the elevators. The closer he got to the fifth floor, the more nervous he felt. What if the kids didn't like him? Or worst case scenario, what if he had to see someone die? He shuddered at the thought.
The doors opened and he stepped into the hallway. Christmas lights were strung up everywhere, music played softly over the speakers. He could see a large Christmas tree at the end of the hallway with presents wrapped underneath it. They were most likely fake or donations. It was hard to tell. He made his way down the hallway and then he was properly on the ward. It seemed much quieter, the sounds of machines beeping and nurses hustling and bustling about the place were the only sounds to be heard. He looked around, hoping to find someone official to talk to. He just wanted to get to work so he didn't have to overthink anything. He looked from room to room, some children were sleeping or so sick they seemed barely alive, others were with their families, some were watching TV or sitting around getting treatments. He came to one of the final rooms. Kids were all sitting on cushions on the floor in a circle. At the centre of it was a boy who must have been close to Charlie's age, reading them a story. He came closer to get a better look. His breath hitched slightly as he saw him, it felt like his heart almost stopped completely. He was handsome, with chocolate brown eyes and dark blond hair. He was wearing a hideously festive Christmas jumper and had a santa hat on that looked like it was one wrong move away from falling off but he made it work.
Charlie found himself just watching him. He could probably stand there all day. He almost died when the boy had finished the story, shutting the book and looking up at him. Their eyes met, Charlie blushed and looked away. Before he knew it the boy was standing in front of him. Charlie had to look up at him, he was so tall. "I-I'm Charlie." He stammered.
"I know."
"You know…? How?" He asked, somehow making him blush.
The boy smiled. "It's on your ID thing." He pointed to the ID badge that was around his neck, he'd almost forgotten he'd been wearing it. He quickly turned it over. Just hoping he hadn't caught sight of that awful picture.
"I'm Nick, by the way." He said. He seemed to notice Charlie had hidden his picture but he spared him the embarrassment of pointing it out.
"Where's your ID thingy?" Charlie asked, maybe if Nick had an equally embarrassing picture he wouldn't feel so bad.
Nick looked down as if he expected to find it there then sighed. "The nurses are going to kill me. I keep losing mine." He changed the subject. "Have you been assigned to do anything yet?" He asked.
Charlie shook his head. "I was kind of looking for someone official."
"I was about to do some more decorating, maybe wrap up some of the donated presents. You could help me with that?" He suggested.
Charlie felt weak in the knees, he nodded. "Okay." He said without hesitation.
"First, you need to get into the Christmas spirit." He said, taking the hat from his own head and gently placing it on Charlie's. His hair was sticking up at odd angles. It was so adorable, Charlie ached to reach out and fix it. Nick seemed to catch him staring and ruffled his own hair back into place. It was still slightly messy but it looked more intentional then.
He let Nick lead the way, they reached a small supply closet. He opened the door revealing piles of presents and almost endless rolls of wrapping paper. "Oh…wow…this might take awhile." Nick said and he actually seemed excited?? Charlie wished he was anywhere else although doing this with Nick would definitely make it easier. They got to work, moving presents so they could wrap them together in a bigger space. They sat on the floor cross legged in one of the empty waiting rooms.
Charlie watched Nick wrap the presents with ease. "Are you part elf or something?" He asked which earned him a laugh.
"I think we both know I'm too tall for that."
Charlie laughed too. "Okay, fair point." He was still on his first present and was struggling to wrap it right.
"Need a hand?" Nick asked.
"Please." Charlie blushed slightly. This was just embarrassing.
"I can teach you." He moved closer to him. Helping him figure out the right sizing for the paper. Their hands brushed against each other. Charlie shivered slightly. God I'm so hopeless . He thought to himself. He had a tendency to fall for straight boys and he had a feeling Nick would be no exception.
He let Nick help him even after he began to get the hang of it. Having him close was oddly comforting. Surprisingly he was enjoying his time there. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
The time went by all too quickly. Before he knew it, his volunteer shift was up and it was time for him to go home. "My mum's here." He said, setting one of the presents aside after checking his phone. "Do you want to walk down together?"
"No, that's alright. I'm gonna stay here and finish up, there's only a few things left to wrap anyway."
"Are you sure? We could finish those tomorrow?" Truthfully Charlie just wanted some more time with him.
He shook his head. "There'll still be plenty to do tomorrow, don't worry about it."
Charlie didn't want to be annoying so instead he just nodded. "Okay, see you tomorrow then."
He nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."
With that Charlie left, making his way out of the ward. He was still wearing the hat, he didn't even realise until he'd made it to the car and saw his mum staring at him. "Well it looks like someone got into the Christmas spirit." She said with as much enthusiasm as she could manage.
"Oh.." He quickly took the hat off. "It's not mine."
"Did you make a friend?" She asked hopefully. Was that what this was really about? He still couldn't piece together why she had been so hellbent on getting him to volunteer.
He shrugged. "Yeah…maybe…kind of."
"See, it wasn't so bad was it?" She asked in that typical, I-told-you-so tone.
"It was fine." He mumbled, looking out the window once again, just as he had on the way there. His mind drifted back to Nick and he couldn't contain his smile. The Christmas lights didn't seem so bright, the music didn't feel as torturous. He felt like he could survive the holidays if he just focused on his budding newfound crush. He shut his eyes, letting his mind wonder. He hoped the next day would be as good as the first. With any luck, volunteering with Nick would make this Christmas somewhat bearable. That's all he could hope for, because he knew his mum well enough to know there was no getting out of this.
As soon as he got home he headed straight to his room. He sat on his floor, his back leaned against his bed. He searched for Nick on social media, but without having a full name he was virtually impossible to find. He texted the group chat instead.
Charlie: I met this amazing guy when I was volunteering today
Tao: 20 pounds says he's straight. I'm calling it now .
Charlie: shut up you don't even know him
Tao: No but I know you
Elle: Ignore Tao. Give us more details :)
Tao: spare me
Charlie rolled his eyes but he couldn't help but smile. Tao was overprotective but he knew he had his best interests at heart. He did spare them the details for the meantime though. As much as he'd been excited to share the news with his friends, he wanted to keep these feelings all for himself just for a little while longer. He set his phone aside, he had homework to finish anyway. Now that he would be volunteering every day, he wouldn't have as much time after school. It had been one of the many reasons he'd dreaded it and with his excitement dying down that sense of dread was quickly returning. How did his mum expect him to keep up with all of this?
He was finishing up his maths homework when he heard his phone ding. He thought maybe it was just one of his friends trying to revive the group chat after he'd killed it but his curiosity got the best of him so he checked it anyway. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Nick's name appear in his notifications. He clicked on the message taking him to his Instagram DMs.
Nick: Hey thanks for helping out today. It was really lovely to meet you :)
Charlie stared at it for an insanely long time. He needed to reply since he'd opened it but he wasn't even sure what to say. Time for another emergency text to the group chat before settling down for the night to go to bed. He wanted to be well rested for the next day to come.