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Nick leaves the Uber quicker than the driver can say ‘Happy New Year’ and makes his way to the building, almost tripping over his shoelaces. He immediately feels guilty for running out on his driver, so he drops his bags at the entrance and power walks back to the car, flustered.
“I’m so sorry for ignoring you, I am in such a rush to—to get to my friend’s house, and I still have to check in and change out of this dirty shirt”, Nick starts to mumble. The driver stares at him with an expression of a lost puppy. “And… and I should probably shower before I go but I’m already late and there’s no time aaaaand I’m clearly over-explaining myself again. Damn it, Nelson.” Nick rolls his eyes at himself while leaning on the open car window to catch a breath.
“Don’t worry, lad! It’s the way of life, isn’t it?” the woman says in a lively manner, giving him a reassuring smile. “You still have plenty of time to make it before midnight.”
Nick reciprocates the smile and gives the driver a small nod. “With my luck today, I might get there by tomorrow morning. Anyway, I don’t mean to keep you here. I hope you have a wonderful beginning to the new year!” After he says that, he pushes himself away from the window.
“And you too, dear!” she replies, starting the car and making her way to the next customer.
Nick stands there for a second, disoriented and overwhelmed because this day just keeps on getting better.
“Right, check in! Let’s do this,” he says to himself. He claps his hands together as he makes his way to thebags he left by the entrance door of what must be the oldest hotel in all of London. Nick didn’t pay attention to the details when booking a room, perks of constantly living in a rush. He promised himself he would work on balancing out his life in the new year and give more time to things he likes doing: gym, long walks with Nellie and watching rom-coms curled up on his couch accompanied by a perfectly normal amount of ice cream. He wants to spend more time taking care of himself, or as Darcy calls it, ‘fighting the capitalistic vulture with vibes’. But it’s hard to do when he’s only been at his new job for a little under a year. ‘Dedication will get you far here, Nelson,’ his boss said on his first day.
Nick’s tendency to look for hidden meaning in people’s words and fear of authority resulted in these words being ingrained permanently in his brain as he spent the year people-pleasing, working overtime, and eating takeaway.
‘At least I still go to the gym a few times a week,’ he thinks as he makes his way into the hotel lobby. The lobby is a massive rectangular space filled with various shades of gold and red. It features a deep red carpet spreading across the whole space with the same burgundy velvet couches filling the otherwise empty area. The walls, accompanied by large columns, are decorated with a mixture of gold and brass, creating a heavy, aged look. Massive chandeliers hanging from the golden ceiling are the only light source in the lobby, adding to the spooky aroma circulating the space.
‘Jesus, where am I,’ Nick says to himself looking around. It takes a moment to absorb the weight of the lobby and he feels shivers run down his spine. Finally, he makes his way to the reception situated to the left behind a set of couches, almost hidden by one of the columns.
“Hi,” Nick hears behind himself and almost jumps back from the unexpected greeting.
“Holy sh–” he starts as he turns around to look at the person behind him. He is met with a relatively short woman, dressed in all black looking at him from under her thick fridge with an expression that gives Wednesday Addams a run for her money.
“Um…hi, I’m here to check-in. Do you work here?”
“Yes,” is all she says back as she makes her way to the door next to them which leads to the reception desk.
“Ok.. okay. My name is Nick Nelson. I have a single room booked,” Nick says, turning around and plastering an awkward smile hoping to relieve the tension.
The woman opens an enormous book placed in front of her which looks like a grimoire if nothing else. She scans through a few pages, looking for something, before grabbing a key from the wall behind her.
“You are in room 414 on the 4th floor. The lift is behind you, and the stairs are to your right,” she says and slides the key across the counter.
“Thank you. And um… Happy New Year,” Nick offers a small smile to her while grabbing the key.
He is met with the same expression before the woman leaves the booth disappearing somewhere in the back.
‘Well, if that wasn’t creepy… Do people still use books to navigate bookings?’ he thinks to himself as he turns around to make his way to the room. Nick stops in his tracks as he carefully considers his options - lift or stairs. Because yes, Nick is terrified of lifts. He has been, ever since he and his brother David wanted to find out who could make it down quicker when they were at a museum many years ago. 7-year-old Nick claimed that there was no way David could run faster than the lift to get to the ground floor. He happily took David’s bet and used the lift while David ran down the stairs, only to find himself stuck in the lift for two hours due to some mechanical error.
Nick shakes off the memory and quickly decides he has the time for the stairs. He rushes towards them, mentally making a plan of action. ‘I need to shower, sort out my hair, change into clean clothes, and book an Uber. I have to text Tara too.” He pushes the heavy, old door to the staircase and makes his way up the stairs to the 4th floor in half a sprint.
He pushes the door to the corridor filled with rooms and searches for the right number. “408…409…410.”
He looks between the doors when he suddenly spots the woman from the reception walking past on the other side of the hallway at the intersection (?). “Wha-, how, umm, excuse me.” He stops in his tracks, confused to see the woman here so quickly after their encounter downstairs, but she is already out of sight. Nick speeds up to catch up with her.
“Sorry, I just wanted to—“ he starts as he reaches the end and looks around the corner only to be met with another hallway full of doors, but the woman is nowhere in sight. Nick looks around, stunned at the situation, maybe even creeped out. He shakes his head and reminds himself he is on a tight schedule. He spots his room number right at the end of the wall, so he pushes the door open using his key.
The room certainly matches the extravagant feel of the whole establishment, with its muffled light, big, heavy bed and wooden interior. Nick cannot help but feel intimidated when he looks around. It feels like he entered a space that… Belongs to someone? After a short moment of looking around, he shakes off the feeling and places his bags on the bed, quickly taking out his spare clothes. Nick withdraws his phone from his pocket and looks at the time. ‘21:55, shit, I need to hurry up. It will take me about 30 minutes to get to Tara and Darcy’s flat, so if I leave by 22:30, I can make it for 23:00.’
Nick did not want to fly as late as he did. His flight was supposed to land at 18:30, but it was delayed two hours, leaving Nick fighting an anxiety attack while eating Pret-A-Manger crisps at the airport. Nick wanted to leave in the morning, which would allow him plenty of time to get ready for the party and maybe even catch up with his lifelong friends ahead of the bigger gathering at their flat. But Nick found himself working until the early morning hours again, on a project that he knew he would otherwise have to finish hangover on New Year’s Day. Capitalism . He passed out from exhaustion right after changing his flight to the afternoon one, calculating his trip schedule to the last second before dozing off.
And so here he is, running around a hotel room like a drag queen backstage whose wig disappeared two minutes before her time to get on stage.
He grabs his toiletries and clothes and makes his way into the en-suite bathroom, equally intimidating (?) with its marble walls and golden tap.
Nick shakes off his feelings of slight discomfort and proceeds to get himself refreshed.
After a quick shower, Nick dresses himself up. The outfit he packed for the party consisted of a pair of blue denim jeans, one of Nick’s favourites, a light, creamy shirt with a 70s pattern, and a pair of Vans as usual. The shirt choice might have been inspired by Darcy since she always tells him to add some ‘funk’ to his wardrobe. Once dressed, Nick looks at his phone again to check the time. It’s 22:10. ‘Perfect’, he lies to himself and allows time to dry his hair before he books an Uber.
It’s 22:20 when Nick feels put together enough to book an Uber and make his way to the party. He grabs his phone from the bed and opens the Uber app, only to be met with a connection error. He notices the signal bars on his phone, or rather the lack of them. ‘Weird. I’m literally in the city.’ He thinks to himself as he starts to wander around the room in an attempt to get signal. He moves towards the window at the room’s back and pulls the wooden frame open. It is then that he realises the windows have bars on them. Actual, metal bars. Nick frowns at the sight, feeling even more uneasy than before but tries to focus on the task at hand. Getting an Uber.
“Yes, yes! Okay,” he says as he catches the signal with his phone out the window. He quickly manages to book a ride, arriving in 4 minutes. Nick pulls himself back inside the room and closes the window. ‘Shit, I have to go.’ He grabs his jacket from the bed and takes the last look at himself in the mirror. ‘Presentable’, he thinks and makes his way to the door. He locks the room with his key and peeks out the corner into the corridor where the woman disappeared. ‘The lift is there’, he thinks. Looking to his right, he sees the door to the staircase at the far end of the corridor, much further than the lift right in front of him.
“It’s fine, Nicholas. You can take the lift this one time. Nothing is going to happen,” Nick tellshimself, nodding as to reassure himself and breathing in and out. “Conquering your fears is a good way to start the new year. Just distract yourself and do it. Yes, I will do it. I will text Tara that I’m on my way while I take the lift. Shit, but there’s no signal again… Ugh. It’ll still send when I’m downstairs. I can still type it out and then look at photos of Nellie.” Nick mumbles to himself, a common occurrence when he’s feeling anxious.
He starts walking towards the lift, phone in hand, as he starts to type out his message to Tara. He takes a quick peek at the buttons on the side, not lifting his head away from his phone and takes a big breath before shakily pressing one of them. ‘Yeah, it’s fine. I’m fine,’ Nick preaches to himself as to make himself believe his own words. He finishes his text to Tara, apologising again for messing up so badly and being so late. He promises to make it up to them by taking them out to dinner while he’s still in London.
The lift arrives just as he presses ‘send’, and Nick takes another deep breath walking inside without looking up from his phone. He positions himself as close to the door as possible and presses the ground floor button repeatedly, scrolling through his phone camera to focus on anything but the situation he is in currently. The lift takes off, and Nick feels weak in his knees, so he grips the railing tightly, making his knuckles go white. He breathes in and out, trying to focus on the photos he took at the last drag show he went to with his friend from work, Imogen. He scrolls through the pictures stopping at a selfie of the two of them smiling at the camera while sipping their colourful cocktails. He remembers that selfie, he took it before they got tipsy enough to dance along to Don’t Start Now and right when the crowd of—
Nick is withdrawn from his thoughts with a sudden bang followed by the lift stopping abruptly. He loses his balance and stumbles back, dropping his phone. He grabs the railing with his other hand and manages to prevent himself from falling.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” Nick starts chanting, realising his worst nightmare just came true. “Oh my god, I’m about to shit my pants.”
“Please don’t. We might be in here fo-.”
“ Arghhhhh ”, Nick shrieks at the sound of another voice from behind him, loud enough to alert the whole city. “Where the fuck did you come from?” He says as he turns around, throwing himself at the front right corner of the lift, spreading his hands on the surfaces to steady himself.
Nick is met with a sight he did not anticipate. In front of him stands a man of such beauty, Nick only gets weaker in his knees. The man is a head shorter than him, but he looks unprecedentedly small with his shoulders tensed and his arms close to his body as he plays with his fingers, visibly anxious. The man’s face is a collection of beautiful parts complementing each other perfectly. His deep red lips form a tight smile, which create a small outline of the most perfect dimples Nick has ever seen. His jaw and cheekbones have the structure worthy of a Greek god, sharp and refined. But it is not until Nick looks into the man’s eyes that he feels like he is about to pass out, unsure of the exact contribution of who is in front of him and the whole situation. Nick is met with eyes with a blue tint that can be matched only by lapis lazuli. They are certainly bluer than his previous favourite shade of blue, swiftly dethroned. Nick fights the urge to step closer and look at all the detail in them and instead focuses on the bush of curls on the man’s head, not that it helps Nick stay calm.
“I was here the whole time. Are you okay?” the man says.
Nick is brought back to reality as he hears the man’s voice addressing him. “I… I’m”, he finds himself unable to put together a response, too overwhelmed with the anxiety of being stuck in a lift and the sudden feeling of longing towards the man. He takes a deep breath and pushes himself off the walls to stand up. “I’m fine. Actually, you know what, I’m freaking out a bit because this is my worst nightmare come true. I’ve avoided lifts for 18 years exactly for this reason. I can’t believe the minute I choose to fight my fear or whatever, I get stuck in a lift again!” Nick spits out with overwhelm, trying to stop the upcoming panic attack from forming.
“Oh, I see. I’m sorry that’s the case. But hey, I’m sure they’ll fix it soon and you’ll be out of here in no time.” The man says softly as he offers Nick a small smile; a smile that could guide lost souls to redemption.
“You mean we will be out of here in no time. It’s the two of us that are stuck here.”
“Ah, yes,” the man says, taking his eyes off Nick and looking at the floor. “Both of us. I’ve never liked lifts either. There’s just too much that can happen and leave you stuck between floors.”
“That’s exactly it!” Nick replies, his hand gesturing his agreement with the smaller man. “Leave you stuck between floors… Like right now! Oh my god we’re stuck here forever. I’m never leaving this lift again.” Nick starts panicking as he turns around to the lift door and starts banging. “Help! Is anyone there?! Please help us!”
“No, hey, look, it’ll be fine. We’ll get out of here,” the man replies quickly, taking a step towards Nick before he stops himself from going any further. “It’s happened before, and they fixed it pretty quickly.”
Nick turns around to face the man. “It’s happened before, and you still decided to use this lift again? That’s some bravery.”
The man snorts in reply and smiles, wider this time. “I know. I’m still not sure why I did that.”
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
“Y-yeah?” The man says, almost inaudibly, as he runs his hand through that beautiful head of curls.
“I mean… Not like that! I’m not glad you’re stuck in a lift. I’m sorry. I just meant that I’d be here alone if you weren’t here.”
“No need to apologise. I understood.” A shy smile appears on the man’s face as he replies. “I know what it feels like to feel stuck. I usually use the grounding technique my sister taught me when I panic. I could share it with you?”
“Please! Anything to not make me break down right here and now.”
“I wouldn’t want that either.” The man says earnestly, piercing Nick with his mesmerising eyes. “Okay, so… The trick is to make direct skin contact with a surface. If I was... If I’m in a public space, I’d do it with my hands since it’s the most appropriate. But the most comforting method I found is to take my shoes off and touch a surface with my feet. I’m not going to ask you to take your shoes off, so hands will do just fi-.”
“I’ll do it.” Nick interrupts the man. “I… trust you.” He finds himself saying and proceeds to take his Vans off, followed by his socks.
“Okay then. Let’s do it.” The man replies and follows in Nick’s footsteps. “Let’s maybe sit down and use our hands too.”
Hands. The man’s hands. Hands Nick shifts his gaze to. Hands that make him feel strangely compelled to just grab them and start placing kisses on them, finger by finger.
“Okay”, is everything Nick manages to reply as he fights another blush from showing up on his cheeks. He’s unsure what’s causing more of his feelings at this point. The fact that he’s stuck in a lift with a stranger or the said stranger and his gentle presence. He lowers himself up against the lift wall across from the man.
“Now place your hands on the floor and close your eyes. We’ll take deep breaths as we try to focus on the sensations of our skin in contact with the floor. I usually ask myself: what do I feel? Is it cold? Is it dry? Anything you can sense is good enough. Take deep breaths as you do so.”
Nick nods along and follows the advice. He places his palms on either side of his body and tries to focus on the sensations. He feels the hard, cold floor under his skin. He senses light vibrations: barely there but still noticeable. He inhales deeply, slowly regulating his breathing tempo.
Minutes pass, both of them focusing on their breathing, only to bring their minds back to the room when the man clears his voice.
“Feel better?” he asks with a smile.
“Yes, I do. Thank you… for doing that with me. Normally these techniques don’t work on me, but this time it worked wonders.”
“You should’ve led with that fact.” The man says with a chuckle. A chuckle that melts Nick’s heart and turns it into vapour. “What usually works for you?”
“Well, my mind is on like all the time, so trying to fight it with nothing usually ends up with me thinking about negative stuff. I much prefer talking. And listening. Anything really to distract myself.”
“I can do that. What would you like to talk about?”
“Maybe we could start with our names,” Nick says, bursting with laughter. “I just realised we didn’t even share our names.”
“Oh! You’re right.” The man replies with a giggle that transports Nick to another dimension. “My name is Charlie.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Charlie. I’m Nick,” he says with a grin.
Nick’s gaze temporarily leaves Charlie’s face as he spots his phone in the corner to Charlie’s left. “Oh shit, I need to text my friend and tell her I’m stuck here,” Nick says as he starts putting his socks and shoes back on. “Could you pass me my phone, Charlie?”
Charlie’s expression suddenly changes into a frown as the man curls up by the wall, looking at Nick’s hands. “I…I”
Nick cannot help but look confused, thinking whether his question was anything out of the ordinary. “Ummm… it’s okay, I’ll get it.”
“No! No… it’s okay. I’m sorry. I’ll get it for you.” Charlie suddenly states and reaches for the device. He stands up, supporting himself with his right hand, while Nick does the same. They look at each other carefully, Nick seeing some discomfort on Charlie’s face as he tucks his free hand into the pocket of his oversized winter shirt and Charlie trying to appear casual. Nick reaches for the phone and waits for Charlie to pass it to him. He smiles at the shorter man, who smiles back and carefully lifts his shaking hand to give the phone to Nick, holding it with the tips of his two fingers. Just as Nick is about to grab his phone, Charlie withdraws his hand a fraction of a second too quickly, sending the device flying down. Their instincts kick in as they try to catch the falling device, ultimately hitting each other’s hands. They manage to catch the phone between the two of them while also finding themselves holding each other’s hand.
Nick swears this is something he has never experienced before. At the touch of Charlie’s hand, Nick suddenly feels like his whole body comes to life at once. It feels like every cell in his body reacts to the touch, like every hair stands up as if he was electrified. Nick feels the energy passing through him, making him shiver all over. Nick wants to pull back because this is a bizarre feeling, but he finds himself unable to let go of Charlie’s hand. He is relieved from making the decision, however, as Charlie removes his hand from Nick’s sharply.
“I’m so sorry. I almost dropped your phone. I’m so clumsy. I’m sorry,” Charlie says as he steps back. He looks shocked as he frantically massages the hand that Nick just held in his with his other one.
“Hey, no s-word needed. The phone is fine,” Nick replies with a smile, holding the device up to gesture it’s still in his hand.
Although still visibly shocked, Charlie nods at Nick and puts his socks and shoes back on. Nick looks at the screen and sees it is already 22:55. “Great, I’m definitely not making it to my friends’ party now. They’ll be so mad at me. I can’t even get any signal in here, what’s up with this place”, he says with frustration as he tries to catch a signal.
“Yes, this place is notorious for having no reception. But I’m sure your friends will understand when you explain what happened.”
“Yeah, I know they will. It just sucks so much because I’ve not seen them in months, and I was really looking forward to spending time together.”
“I get that. I live kind of…separated from my close friends, and I always look forward to them visiting me.” Charlie says, biting his bottom lip.
Nick offers a half smile to Charlie as he lowers himself to sit by the wall.
“Well, I guess we’re stuck here together, an hour until the new year.”
“I guess we are.”
“I’m happy I’m here with you, though. I can’t quite explain it, but it feels… right. Normally, I’d be freaking out right now, but thanks to your presence, I feel much better”, Nick says with a smile, painfully aware of the blush on his face. ‘Are you seriously flirting with this guy, Nicholas? Get a grip’, he thinks.
“That’s… very nice. Thanks. I feel good with you too”, is all Charlie manages to reply as he plays with the buttons of his shirt. He follows in Nick’s footsteps and sits by the opposite wall so they face each other.
They proceed to talk about everything and nothing. Nick tells Charlie about his friends whom he was meant to be spending New Year’s Eve with, and Charlie tells him about Tao and Elle, his closest friends who live on the other side of the city. Nick tells him about his job back in Edinburgh, where he moved a year prior, and Charlie tells Nick about his plans to become an editor at a magazine, but he doesn’t disclose much detail. He shows Charlie photos of Nellie and tells him the story of how he got to adopt her, and Charlie says he left his phone in his room, so he can’t show Nick photos of his cat, Gaia. Time flies by as the two continue to talk, laugh and share stories.
“I can’t believe you’d disrespect season 6 like that! It’s the superior season, and I won’t hear otherwise,” Nick says, unable to stop himself from laughing. It is something he has been struggling with since they started chatting, as he quickly finds out Charlie is quite the riot. Quite the riot and quite the charmer, actually.
“I’m sorry! I’ll do better, I promise”, Charlie says back with a grin.
Nick picks up his phone from the floor for the first time since they sat down and looks at the time. “Wow, it’s almost midnight already. We’ve been talking for 50 minutes. 10 more, and we’d have missed the beginning of the new year. Not that there’s much to miss in that regard since we’re stuck in this box on a cable.” They look at each other before bursting out laughing again.
“I don’t feel like I’m missing out,” Charlie says so quietly, looking down at the floor between his legs, that Nick can barely hear it. And Nick realises that he does not feel like he is missing out either. He feels comfortable in Charlie’s presence, comfortable enough to not think about their current situation. In fact, he has not thought about it since his initial panic attack, all thanks to Charlie. And maybe Charlie’s beautiful face. Nick might have been distracted by it as they were chatting. He might have been observing Charlie’s dimples and how they appear and disappear when he changes facial expressions. He might have been staring uncontrollably at Charlie’s full lips as he imagined what it feels like to kiss them. He might have been thinking about running his hands through Charlie’s curls as he lowers himself to kiss Charlie.
“You’re staring.”
Nick is suddenly brought out of his head.
“I am? Oh god, I’m sorry”, he replies. He runs his hand through the back of his hair in embarrassment, face warm.
“Hey, no s-word. It’s okay”, Charlie replies, looking up at Nick with his head still turned downward.
“I kind of… like what I see.” Nick dares to say, immediately joining Charlie in admiring the floor.
“Oh”, Charlie offers back, his cheeks getting redder.
“Oh god, here I go again, mumbling. I’m sorry, sometimes I just say things before I think properly.”
“You say sorry a lot.”
“So do you.”
“Hah, I guess I do. Why are we like this?”
“I don’t know, Charlie. But you know what I do know? That it’s almost midnight, and I feel like dancing”, Nick says brightly, clapping his hands together. “Yes, you heard me right! Up you go, we’re dancing. What should I play?” Nick stands up and offers his hand to Charlie.
“Oh…” Charlie looks visibly shocked and unsure. He thinks for a second before taking a deep breath as if to prepare himself and grabs Nick’s hand. This time the contact between their hands is not as charged as the first one, but Nick still feels warmth spreading across his whole body as he helps Charlie to stand up. ‘Why does it feel so good to hold his hand?’
“Dancing? You don’t even know if I like dancing!”
“Come on! Dancing is fun. It makes you feel good. It releases endorphins and whatnot”, Nick replies, visibly eager to get Charlie to agree. “I’m letting you choose music.”
“Fine, fine. But don’t you dare laugh at my lack of coordination. Music…hmm… I’m guessing we’re going for an upbeat sound here,” Charlie says with a questioning tone, only to see Nick nod enthusiastically. “How about Domino by Jessie J? That’s a hell of a banger.”
“Well, well, well. I didn’t take you for a pop princess enthusiast, Charlie! You’re in luck because I have the whole album downloaded”, Nick replies teasingly as he unlocks his phone to find the song.
“What can I say… Everyone needs to feel themselves sometimes.”
“Isn’t that the truth!” Nick says enthusiastically as he bends down to place his phone on the floor by the wall. He presses play and quickly stands up, only to slide his leg towards Charlie as the beat of the song comes on. “May I?”
Charlie is surprised by the sudden proximity change between them and takes a small step back. He quickly relaxes, though, and matches Nick’s grin.
“Nick, this isn’t a slow song! How can we—“ he is interrupted by Nick, who swiftly grabs his hand and starts spinning him around.
“I’ll show you how. Do you feel like glitter’s raining on you yet?” Nick says with a grin and pulls Charlie closer to place his hand on his waist and straighten their arms up as if dancing to a slow rhythm.
They dance as the song plays, Nick spinning Charlie around and Charlie laughing at Nick’s attempts to do the worm. The song reaches the last chorus, Charlie covered by Nick’s arms again as they dance clearly out of rhythm when Charlie is sent tumbling down because Nick stepped on his shoelace. Charlie attempts to regain his balance, flipping his arms around to prevent falling down, but Nick swiftly grabs Charlie by his waist and pulls him forward. With Nick’s arm around his waist and his hand supported by Nick’s, Charlie finds himself saved from the fall. They stare at each other, neither attempting to move an inch, their proximity sending shivers down both of their bodies, daring them to make a move.
“Charlie…Can I—can I kiss you?”
Nick breaks the silence as the song stops playing, breathing heavily as he bites his bottom lip. Charlie looks up at Nick’s pleading expression, his breathing equally fast. He nods in agreement, unable to say anything. Nick lowers himself, wrapping Charlie tighter in his arms, and the rest is a blur.
Nick knows he is kissing Charlie. Nick knows he is kissing Charlie with passion, because he has been fighting the urge to do just that since their eyes met. But the sensations that come with the kiss are ten times stronger than when they touched their hands for the first time. Nick feels like his body is being transported across dimensions, each cell to a different one, discovering something he has been longing for but has not found the courage to admit to himself. He realises the kiss is so powerful because it is a kiss of love. A kiss of life. They continue the kiss until one of them notices that the light in the lift is flickering rapidly. They pull back, Nick gently lifting Charlie up to a standing position, both short of breath. The light stops flickering leaving the both of them in awe at what just happened.
“That was…” Nick starts.
“Amazing, yeah,” Charlie finishes.
He looks around as if trying to find something in the small space. He takes a step to the right and looks at the wall with mirrors. Nick follows him with his gaze and looks at Charlie’s reflection in the mirror, but it feels like Charlie is not looking at himself in the mirror, and instead, something behind, something hidden. Charlie takes a step towards the mirror and closes his eyes. He reaches his shaky hand towards the mirror and gasps when it touches the surface. He continues to touch it with both of his hands now.
“But—what—I—“is all Nick hears as he observes Charlie’s strange fascination with the reflective surface.
“Are you okay?” he asks. Charlie wakes up from his exploration at the sound of Nick’s voice. He turns around to face the taller man, “Nick…” is all he says before launching himself at Nick and burrowing his whole body in a hug. Nick stumbles back at the sudden hug and wraps his arms around Charlie.
“You’ve just changed my life”, Nick hears Charlie say into his chest.
“That makes two of us.”
They stand like that for what feels like hours but still not enough before Charlie pulls back to look at Nick.
“Nick?” he says hesitantly. Nick smiles at him with encouragement. “What if I told you that I’m a ghost?”
Nick takes a second to process if he heard it right before he chuckles and replies, “Well, I’d reply that some say ghosts are just angels we catch glimpses of.”
It is then that the lift resumes and the two stand looking at each other, lives changed forever.