Archive of Our Own

20:15 | Nick

“Come on Charlie, do it!”

“Yeah, you said you came to uni to try new things, right?”

Charlie scoffed from his place on the sofa, where he was currently squashed between his standoffish housemate Tao, who seemed to actively dislike Nick just for existing, and Nick himself. Charlie folded his arms protectively over his chest, glaring at Darcy as a rosy blush spread over his cheekbones.

“Yeah, new things like drinking and learning how to cook eggs properly. Not handcuffing myself to…” he trailed off, making eye contact with Nick for the first time that night, “...random rugby lads.” Nick could swear there was a flicker of panic behind his steely gaze, but then Charlie looked away, his eyebrows scrunching together again in a way that indicated how unhappy he was with tonight’s turn of events.

Nick felt his ears grow hot under everyone’s stares, and shifted uncomfortably in the little space he had in his tiny part of the sofa. “It does seem like a bit much,” he agreed, looking at everyone but Charlie. “What if one of us needs the loo?”

Darcy sniggered. “Well, that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?”

“It’s not much of a dare if it’s easy,” Otis piped up from the floor. Nick shot him a withering look. Fuck off Otis, it said. You’re supposed to be on my side. Otis just shrugged and hid his amused smirk behind his beer bottle.

“Come on Charles, live a little ,” Darcy teased, her eyes glittering with mirth.

“Can’t it be Tao?”

Ouch. Nick rubbed the back of his neck, feeling like a giant rugby idiot. He knew he and Charlie had never officially spoken before tonight, but still. Was the thought of being permanently anchored to him for the rest of the night really that abhorrent?

“Of course not. You and Tao are already pretty much attached at the hip. It’s just until midnight, and you get to spend the evening with Nick Nelson, who is so much more than just a rugby lad by the way.”

Blushing at Tara’s unexpected compliment, Nick felt the tension in his shoulders ease as he smiled shyly at her. Even if his two best friends were actively encouraging this, at least one of them knew how to be nice about it.

Charlie seemed to mull it over for a second, nibbling on his bottom lip. Then he turned to Nick, knocking their knees together accidentally as he did so.

“Are you okay with this?”

Good question. Nick took a moment to consider his potential fellow confinee: wide blue eyes, thick eyebrows drawn together and sharp features; his mouth currently twisted into a nervous frown. Nick wasn’t known to back out of a dare, he’d been given enough of them since joining the rugby team. But he didn’t want to do anything Charlie didn’t want to do, and this looked like it might fall into that category.

He knew a little bit about Charlie already, from Tara - highly strung, an overthinker, super smart and dedicated. He played the drums and was, in Tara’s words, “the sweetest”. Nick wasn’t sure on that last one, based on the face he was currently giving him. In all senses of the word, Charlie Spring was the complete opposite of him.

This whole thing was absurd. Darcy had probably only picked him because he was the most logical choice. He was sure he would’ve remained a bit more inconspicuous if he hadn’t been sitting to Charlie’s left when his turn came, but it had sort of just happened when they all came together to play. He’d been on the arm of the sofa and someone had budged him up so they could all fit. Suddenly he was almost in Charlie’s lap, mumbling apologies and trying to put a modicum of distance between them. Charlie made an unintelligible noise that sounded more like a squeak, and then turned his back on him, continuing his conversation with Tao like he wanted nothing to do with him.

Nick could’ve said no to the dare. The word was ready to come out of his mouth, in fact. But there was something else behind those blue eyes now, as they stared each other down. A determination that Nick admired. It stirred the daring part of his personality awake. Besides, if he said no, there was a good chance Darcy would just pick someone else. And it was a fucking party. All they realistically had to do was get through the next couple of hours with minimal trips to the toilet.

“Yeah, I’m game if you are.”

For a split second, the corner of Charlie’s mouth twitched upwards in a smirk, but then his face was neutral again, leaving Nick wondering if he’d imagined it.

“Fine, I’ll do the fucking dare. Give them here.”

The first hour of being handcuffed to Charlie was awkward, full of uncomfortable silences and stilted small talk as Nick tried desperately to get some conversation out of him. Charlie was clearly embarrassed about the level of attention they were drawing. Their mutual friends were having an absolute whale of a time snapchatting the two of them trying to pour drinks and take part in the rest of the drinking games with only one hand each. In a moment of stupidity, they’d both forgotten to keep their dominant hands free, Charlie cuffing his left to Nick’s right because that was how they’d been sitting together. This mistake meant beer pong was borderline impossible for them, both of their aims absolutely shot.

“Fucksake,” Charlie groaned when he missed, again. “I’m not even good at this game under normal circumstances, let alone like this.”

Nick, whose ears had pricked up at the possibility of an actual conversation with the person who had been forced to hang out with him, turned and offered a supportive smile as he handed him his ball. “Here, I’m right handed so maybe I can control yours.”

Charlie just looked at him, dumbfounded. “What?”

“Look, let me show you-”

Nick had no idea what he was doing. Seriously. One second they were barely talking, the next he was reaching around Charlie’s front and curling the fingers of his left hand around his wrist, feeling his pulse jump under his skin. Charlie made that squeaky noise again, but didn’t move away. Instead, he tilted his head back and looked up at Nick, his forehead rather close to Nick’s chin.

“Okay…um, now what?”

Taking a deep breath in through his nose to calm his erratic heartbeat, Nick focused his attention on Otis and Kieran’s cups at the other side of the table. “Now we pray. Let go when I tell you to.” He pushed Charlie’s arm back just the right amount, angling his elbow, and then pulled it sharply forward. “Now!”

Charlie yelped and let go, the ball sailing through the air in a perfect arc. They both watched as it bounced off the edge of one cup, then another, then landed in the one in the middle.

Charlie let out a cry of elated surprise, his eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree. “Oh my God!”

Stunned, Nick just blinked at the opposite end of the table, where Otis currently looked like someone had hit him over the head with a shovel.

“I’ve never got one in before! Nick!” Charlie’s hand was on Nick’s shoulder now, as he jumped up and down with excitement.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Nick laughed, Charlie’s infectious happiness seeping into his skin. He felt his jaw starting to ache as his face split open with a grin.

Charlie seemed to catch himself suddenly, stopping in his tracks with a wide-eyed expression on his face. He snatched his hand away from Nick, averting his eyes as he let out another breathy, slightly embarrassed giggle. “God, that was such a rush.”

“We haven’t won, you know that right?” Nick asked, raising one eyebrow. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. Finally, the ice had been broken and they could actually talk. Thank fuck. The awkwardness had been slowly killing him.

“Don’t care, it was worth it for the look on your friends’ faces,” Charlie shot back, pointing at the boys’ matching bewildered expressions.

Nick snorted. “Wanna try that again next round?”

When Charlie glanced up at him again, Nick could see the frostiness behind his eyes starting to thaw, just slightly. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, let’s try to at least lose with a bit of self respect.”

Despite their new found technique they still lost spectacularly, as was expected, and at some point Nick started to feel all the beer making its way to his bladder with alarming speed.

“Uh, so I need a wee, like, desperately,” Nick announced with a pleading half-smile, once they’d lost twice in a row and he couldn’t ignore the urge any longer. He braced himself for a bristly reply but Charlie just looked at him, head cocked to the side, sighing defeatedly.

“Well, I suppose I signed up for this. Lead the way, rugby lad.”

They weaved their way through the crowd of people in the hallway, but the queue for the little downstairs toilet was huge, and there was no way Nick could last until they were at the front. He’d been holding it in for long enough already, too scared to ask Charlie if it was okay for him to go. Now he had a genuine fear that he might actually piss himself while handcuffed to another human being if he didn’t relieve the urge in the next two minutes.

“Tara has an ensuite she said I could use anytime,” Nick suggested, feeling his ears go hot. “But it’s too big to stand outside. You’d have to come in with me.”

Charlie gave him a funny look. “Oh, okay.” He bit his lip. “Disappearing upstairs to a private bathroom with the uni’s rugby captain is gonna do wonders for my reputation.” A blush instantly bloomed in his cheeks as he registered what he’d just said. “Not that…obviously, I didn’t mean-”

Nick wasn’t sure how he felt about being the leading man in a sordid rumour about Charlie Spring’s love life, but he didn’t let that show on his face. He was grateful that Charlie finally seemed to be opening up, so he just shrugged and started up the stairs to Tara’s room, pausing to check Charlie was definitely okay with it.

“We don’t have to, but I’m about thirty seconds from pissing my pants, so it’s up to you,” he said, giving him a look that said I’m kidding, but I’m also really not.

Surprised, Charlie just laughed to himself, only hesitating for a split second before he brushed past him and started to climb the stairs. “God, if Ben finds out he’ll have a cow.”

“Ben?” Nick asked, his arm in front of him as Charlie pulled him gently by their restraints.

“My ex,” Charlie replied, letting Nick catch up so they could walk side by side. “He’s kind of…well, he’s not the most sane person I’ve ever gone out with. We were barely even together and it only lasted a few months before I saw the light, but he’s still a bit obsessed with me.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully with his free hand as they reached the landing. “Maybe hearing that I’ve moved on might be enough to finally scare him off, actually.”

“Glad to be of assistance,” Nick said cautiously, pointing out Tara’s room. He made a mental note to find out who this Ben person was and keep an eye on him. He sounded like he was a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

“Don’t look,” Nick said stupidly once they were in the ensuite, trying to undo the zipper of his jeans and sort himself out with one hand as Charlie stood as far away as possible, looking like he would rather be anywhere else.

“What? Why would I look?” came Charlie’s shocked and slightly offended voice. Nick couldn’t see him, but he imagined him crossing his free arm over his chest in irritation.

He made a fair point, and Nick felt his cheeks flush in response. What a weird thing to say, actually. What was wrong with him?

“I - I dunno, that just came out, sorry.”

“The gay boy isn’t going to try to take a peek, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“God, no, that’s - I’m not!” Nick spluttered at Charlie’s back. “I’m just - this is the first time I’ve ever…” he gestured wildly with the hand that was cuffed to Charlie’s, hoping it was enough to get his point across. “So this is all new to me.”

He could practically feel the eye roll Charlie was directing at the wall. “Right.”

Nick bristled slightly at the sharp way Charlie enunciated the ‘T’ in the word. He was trying his best, given the circumstances, and sometimes it felt a bit like Charlie wasn’t willing to meet him halfway.

“Forgive me for not reading the handbook on urinating while handcuffed to another person. It wasn’t on the reading list this year.”

That seemed to shut Charlie up, and another strained silence settled over them. Nick squinted in concentration and tried very hard to aim at the sides of the toilet bowl, but it was no use. He’d consumed a lot of beer and there was nothing he could do to stop the steady stream that was currently making enough noise to actually bounce off the tiled walls. Honestly, Niagara Falls seemed like a measly trickle compared to this mammoth piss. It was the only sound in the room, and it seemed to go on forever. He wanted to die.

Then out of nowhere Charlie’s shoulders started to shake, his free hand coming up to cover his mouth. Nick could tell instantly from the way their outstretched arms started practically vibrating that he was trying and failing to hold in a laugh.

“Are you laughing?”

“No,” Charlie replied, his voice trembling with the effort of holding it together.

“Oh my God, you’re laughing at me.”

“Well can you blame me? You’re pissing like a horse.”

Nick snorted, quickly catching himself before his aim went awry. “Don’t set me off, I’ll get it on the floor.”

That seemed to rekindle Charlie’s mirth and he let out a peal of laughter, clutching his stomach and shaking violently.

“Charlie!” Nick laughed, desperately trying not to make a mess as Charlie bent over double and dragged Nick’s arm with him. He was grateful when he was finally done and could flush and move over to the sink. “You couldn’t just let a man relieve himself with dignity, could you?”

Charlie met his gaze in the small round mirror on the wall. He had tears in his eyes from giggling so much. “I think we both gave up our dignity when we agreed to this.”

They smiled at each other in the reflection, maintaining eye contact for more than a second for the first time that night. Before beer pong Charlie had seemed so closed off, uninterested in Nick’s conversation or his company even when he had no choice but to spend time with him. He didn’t know if it was nerves or embarrassment, but Charlie seemed pretty determined to deny Nick any of the sweetness he seemed perfectly happy to bestow upon everyone else. Now, however, there seemed to be a tiny chink in the armour, a little bit of soft light shining through in the form of a timid grin and prominent dimples.

“Yeah, maybe,” Nick replied, eventually tearing his eyes away and dropping his gaze to the sink. “It wasn’t even my dare and I’ve ended up with the other end of the short straw.”

“Wow, good to know you consider spending time with me the short straw, Nelson,” Charlie said, a playful glint in his eyes that made Nick’s insides twist.

“Well, with that attitude…” Nick trailed off, a teasing smirk playing at the corner of his mouth as Charlie rolled his eyes affectionately.

Because of their forced proximity it was easier for Charlie to just wash his hands too, so they stood shoulder to shoulder and ran their soapy hands under the hot tap. Charlie’s body was warm against Nick’s, and he felt the heat travel up his neck and into his cheeks. The backs of their knuckles brushed a few times as they rinsed off the soap, sending little tingles over his fingers and up his arms that didn’t go away even after they’d dried their hands and left the room. Well, he asked for this when he agreed to Charlie Spring attaching himself to his wrist. He should've known this was always gonna happen.

It was probably a good time to mention that Nick had, for a while now, harboured a huge, embarrassing and clearly completely unrequited crush on the boy he was currently handcuffed to.

It started a few months ago, the first time he saw him. Nick was in the library, trying to find a specific textbook, when he spotted a head of silky, dark curls tucked into a book in the corner. The owner of those curls was a tall, slender boy with dark eyelashes that tickled his cheeks as he blinked groggily, turning the page. He was folded into a beanbag chair on the floor, obviously trying to hide from the world, and Nick’s stomach had instantly tied itself in knots at the thought of approaching him. He wasn’t really out, per se, but had told a few of his friends and was feeling a little more confident about his sexuality. His teenage boy crushes were starting to make more sense, and he was easing into a life of bisexuality, slowly but surely.

But the day he laid eyes on him, Charlie had a different, deeper effect on Nick. He’d come to realise he definitely had a type, and this curly haired, dimpled and ridiculously cute boy was completely, unequivocally it.

He was captivating, stealing all of Nick’s attention in the coming months even though he seemed unaware of Nick’s existence. He saw him everywhere: the cafeteria (he was a coffee addict), the gym (Nick should’ve known he was a runner based on his lithe frame) and of course, at house parties (he had a preference for vodka lemonade). Nick often caught himself staring at the back of Charlie’s head at said parties, debating whether he should say hello and stop being weird about it. But Charlie seemed disinterested, keeping his distance from the rugby team in general. Nick wondered if his captain status might be putting him off. He seemed to leave the room not long after he and his teammates entered it, making it pretty much impossible to get him alone.

Tara had caught him staring once, leaning into him to whisper, “His name’s Charlie Spring, and he’s gay in case you’re wondering.”

“I - I wasn’t,” Nick had spluttered in response. Smooth. Convincing. Luckily Tara just poked her tongue against the inside of her cheek and said nothing, something Nick was extremely grateful for. Over the next few weeks she occasionally dropped the odd piece of information about Charlie into their conversations, but it was so casual that Nick genuinely couldn't tell if she was doing it on purpose or not. He wasn’t bothered either way. He’d take all the tidbits about Charlie he could get, filing them away for the day he’d finally pluck up the courage to talk to him.

So tonight, when he’d ended up squashed up against him and part of this ridiculous dare, he couldn’t say no. It was an opportunity to be around Charlie, to try and get to know him better, even if the scenario wasn’t exactly ideal for a romantic connection. What he wasn’t counting on was for his body to react so viscerally to being handcuffed to his crush that he would be burning with humiliation and tingling with fluttery feelings before it even got dark outside.

“You okay?” Charlie asked as they walked back to the kitchen, their damp wrists brushing against each other and sending Nick into a bit of a spiral.

“Hm? Uh, yeah, fine.” He scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, feeling antsy. “I was just thinking, I’m not sure I want another drink after that truly mortifying experience.”

Charlie grinned up at him. “Yeah, me neither.” He rested against the kitchen counter, their arms dangling awkwardly between them until Nick joined him, sidling up next to him until their hips were touching. Neither of them said anything, the steady thrum of music from the living room carrying through the walls. The heat was back in Nick’s cheeks again, enough to make him want to press a cold can of beer against his face. He was fighting a losing battle against his feelings, and he knew it.

“This is really fucking weird,” Charlie announced after a beat of silence.

Nick laughed, grateful for a distraction. “At least it’s only until midnight. Darcy’s rules.”

“That’s still two and a half hours away.”

“Yeah.” Nick turned his head to look at Charlie, feeling a trickle of disappointment slide down his spine. “Sorry I’m not Tao. I know you wanted it to be him and not me.”

Charlie breathed a little laugh out through his nose, shaking his head. “That’s okay, I think I’d have actually murdered Tao by now if I’d been handcuffed to him anyway.” He looked up and shyly met Nick’s gaze. “I think I prefer you over him.”

Nick didn’t really know what to say to that, the cogs in his head whirring and scrambling for a decent response as he curled his fingers over the edge of the counter and tried not to add meaning to Charlie’s words where there wasn’t any. Come on, he instructed his brain impatiently. Make words that sound good. Words that make me sound cool, preferably.

“Well…thanks.”

Okay. Round of applause, you really outdid yourself there.

He winced, turning his face to the wall for a second to berate himself for botching the perfect moment to make Charlie laugh, or blush and bite his lip like he did earlier. 

“You’re not as scary as I imagined actually, rugby lad.”

Shocked, Nick whipped his head around. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Charlie shrugged, his own cheeks going pink as he fiddled with the cuff of his shirt. “You’re all quite…intimidating, as a group. But on your own, you’re pretty chill.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t be?”

“I thought maybe…the idea of being handcuffed to me was embarrassing for you.” Charlie was gazing up at him through those dark eyelashes now, a nervous expression on his sharp features.

Nick stared at him, the gears working overtime in his head. “Is that why you were so distant? Because you thought I was embarrassed?”

Chewing the inside of his mouth, Charlie nodded. “I guess I panicked at first, because you’re you and I’m - well I’m just me.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Nick said, and Charlie laughed.

“Nothing. It means nothing, I was being stupid.”

“I thought you were embarrassed of me,” Nick sighed, shaking his head. “Because you wouldn’t even look at me earlier. I was seriously considering saying no to the dare because you seemed so uncomfortable at the idea of being trapped with me-”

“God, no Nick! I wasn’t, I was worrying about you.”

“Well I was worrying about you!”

Charlie snorted, throwing his hands up in the air and taking Nick’s arm with him.

“Honestly. Why are we like this?”

21:35 | Charlie

Nick had a good laugh, the type that made his eyes crinkle at the edges and sounded like it came directly from his chest. He laughed like he meant it, like he didn’t know how to be fake around people. If you’d asked Charlie a couple of hours ago if he’d end up giggling uncontrollably with Rugby King Nick Nelson while also handcuffed to his wrist, he’d probably have asked how many jelly shots you’d consumed and suggested a taxi home. Now, taking the piss out of Nick in Tara’s dingy kitchen seemed like the most normal thing in the world.

“Charlie, what? You’ve never shotgunned a beer before?”

“What do I look like, a frat boy?”

Nick scoffed in mock offence. “Is that what I look like?”

Smirking, Charlie shrugged. “You look like you’ve seen a few too many American Pie movies.”

Nick scrunched up his face. “I’m genuinely devastated that that’s the vibe I’m giving off right now.”

Rolling his eyes, Charlie reached for a can. “I thought you didn’t want another drink anyway?”

“Maybe I just want you to understand the humiliation of being laughed at mid-wee.” Nick stuck his tongue out in concentration as he punctured a little opening in the bottom of his can with his house key. “Okay, so turn it on its side and do what I just did.”

Charlie followed his instructions, making a small hole and pushing the sharp edges into the can. “Done. Now what?”

“Now we brace ourselves,” Nick put his finger over the metal tab, indicating that Charlie should do the same, “and we get ready to race.”

“I have about as much hope of winning this as I do at being beer pong champion,” Charlie sighed, before placing his mouth over the opening. Nick smirked, squaring his shoulders in a move that looked an awful lot like showing off. He knew he had this in the bag, and Charlie would never admit it, but Nick’s confident attitude was doing weird things to his insides.

“Ready?”

Because they were handcuffed at the wrists, they were forced to put their heads together so they could both use two hands. There was a split second when their eyes met, and Charlie could see every strand of green and darker brown woven into the hazel of Nick’s irises. He felt his heart jump into his mouth.

“Three, two-”

Charlie cracked open his tab, ignoring Nick’s indignant cry and feeling the beer flood his mouth and throat at alarming speed. He managed one or two gulps before he gave up, coming up for air and spraying beer all over himself and Nick. Thrown off guard, Nick tried to turn away and accidentally pulled his own beer away from his mouth. It exploded in a fountain of hoppy liquid that shot out in all directions, soaking them, the floor, and the countertop. Tara was going to murder them.

Nick dragged them over to the sink, dropping his now empty can into it with a clatter and swivelling round to fix Charlie with a stunned look. Charlie suppressed a snort, clamping his mouth shut and feeling his grip around his own beer loosen. The can fell into the sink with a metallic clunk.

“You cheated!” Nick spluttered, beer dripping from the end of his nose. He looked down at the damp triangle on the front of his shirt, and then back up to what Charlie could only assume was his own dripping face. “And you - Oh my God, we’re covered in it!”

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking, I-” Charlie cut himself off, feeling the panic start to creep into the edges of his brain again. “I didn’t realise that would happen if I stopped, I’m sorry…I just wanted to beat you.” 

Nick shook his head in disbelief, and a couple of droplets flew from the hair flopping into his forehead. Charlie wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but he wasn’t sure how amusing Nick found it. He could see the funny side of this, right?

“Sorry,” Charlie said again, chewing his lip. He could taste the beer on it.

“You say sorry a lot,” Nick replied, reaching up and running his free hand through his beer soaked fringe. It suddenly occurred to Charlie that he happened to be handcuffed to a very damp Nick Nelson, a position he knew plenty of girls would kill to be in. He kept his eyes firmly glued to a spot just past Nick’s shoulder, willing himself not to look at the way his shirt stuck to his chest.

Nick sighed and reached for the kitchen roll, soaking up as much of the beer as he could and wiping the stickiness from his face. Their fingers brushed when he handed it to Charlie and it sent a little tingle all the way up Charlie’s arm.

They were silent as they cleaned the worst of the beer off themselves, crouching down in unison to wipe the floor, and then Nick finally spoke.

“You’re not what I expected, Spring,” he said, glancing up at him as he mopped up a puddle. Was that mirth in his eyes? “This is definitely the most eventful house party I’ve ever been to.”

Charlie finally let the grin break out over his face, his dimples on show as he straightened up and helped Nick to his feet. “The most fun, too?” he asked cheekily, surprised by his own boldness as he took the used kitchen roll from him and chucked the wad in the bin.

Suddenly Nick was laughing again, the proper belly laugh that Charlie had grown to love over the course of the night. “Yeah, I think so. It’s been a weird one, but it’s been a lot of fun.” He seemed to hesitate, mulling over his words, and then he continued. “You’re a lot of fun.”

The way Charlie’s ears heated up from that one little compliment was embarrassing. He didn’t know how to respond to being called fun by the most popular rugby lad in the uni, so he just kept his mouth shut and combed his fingers through his curls, hoping they hadn’t frizzed up too much. Stinking of beer was bad enough. He didn’t want to look like shit too.

“D’you know what’s actually weird?” Charlie asked, once they were somewhat presentable and leaning against the counter again. “The fact that Darcy owns these in the first place. Where the fuck did she get them from?”

“Who summoned me?”

Darcy appeared with a flourish, her hair wild and her tongue stained blue as she stuck it out at Charlie.

“We’re just discussing the likelihood that you’re a serial killer,” Charlie replied casually, lifting their joined wrists and raising one eyebrow.

Darcy waved them off, going to the freezer to fill her glass with ice. “If I was, you’d never find the bodies.”

Nick shot Charlie a slightly panicked look, like he wasn’t sure if this was a joke or if the odds of this night ending in death had suddenly increased. Without really thinking about it, Charlie angled his hand to give Nick’s wrist a comforting squeeze. His heart immediately hammered against the inside of his chest as it fully registered that he’d just almost held Nick’s hand. Why the fuck did he think that was an acceptable thing to do?

“Do we even want to know where you got them?” Nick asked, shooting Charlie a toothy grin and thankfully ignoring his unhinged antics.

“I know people,” was all Darcy offered in return, eyebrows wiggling as she pulled a hideous turquoise concoction out of the fridge and filled her glass. “Anyway, are you coming to dance? It’s going off through there. Those speakers were worth every penny.”

“We can’t,” Charlie replied, gesturing at their hands. Darcy paused, giving him a funny look.

“Are you serious? Surely you’ve made friends by now, can’t you just dance together?”

God, did Darcy really have to say it like that? Now Nick looked like he was squirming with discomfort and Charlie was trying not to let the mortification show on his face.

“So, are you coming?” Darcy asked, turning to the door, holding her glass in the air.

Nick cleared his throat behind him, startling him. “Yeah, let’s go.”

“What?” The word was out of Charlie’s mouth before he could snatch it back. Nick had pushed himself off the edge of the counter and was currently standing in front of him, offering a one-shouldered shrug and a shy smile.

“It’s no different from normal dancing really, I’m sure we can work something out so it’s not…too weird.” And shit, how was he meant to say no to that face, with those puppy dog eyes peeking out from underneath floppy, beer-dampened hair?

He willed his heart rate to slow down as he followed Nick and Darcy silently through to the living room, where about twenty bodies were currently jumping around and writhing to music. He chewed his lip and watched the back of Nick’s head as he was led into the middle, where the rest of his friends were clinging to each other and singing loudly. He could smell a hint of Nick’s aftershave over the stench of beer and sweat in the room, and it made him lightheaded.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to dance. It was that, before tonight, dancing next to arguably the most attractive boy in the year above him (and let’s be honest, probably the whole uni), was his worst nightmare. Up until their conversation in the kitchen he’d been trying very hard to keep his distance from Nick, not wanting to risk making him uncomfortable and deliberately avoiding any situation that would end in tears. His tears, to be exact.

Because he’d been harbouring a ridiculous crush on the rugby captain ever since he’d first laid eyes on him, playing his heart out on the field and laughing with his teammates when they lifted him onto their shoulders afterwards.

He knew it was insane. The rugby captain, really? Could he get any more clichéd? But he couldn’t help it. There was just something about Nick. The way he carried himself; the crinkle of his eyes when he smiled; the softness in his voice when he spoke, which suggested that he might not be as brash or as intimidating as the rest of the team. Despite knowing very little about him, Charlie was immediately hooked, seeking him out with his eyes every time he was in a room and then abruptly leaving it before he embarrassed himself. If Nick and his friends found out some nerdy gay kid from the year below fancied him, well… Maybe he wasn’t at school anymore, but the pessimistic part of his brain still whispered all the cruel insults that used to be thrown at him in the corridors, and he wasn’t taking that risk.

But then Nick practically sat in his lap earlier tonight, and Charlie had let out this incredibly embarrassing noise and turned away in order to hide the full-body flush that overtook him at the realisation that he was now sitting next to Nick Nelson. And then this stupid fucking dare happened, and he couldn’t bring himself to back down and come across like a wimp, especially with Nick’s eyes on him. So he’d taken Darcy’s handcuffs and sealed his fate with a metallic click and a swoop of his stomach. He’d tried to adopt a prickly exterior in the hopes that it would keep some distance between them and not alert Nick to his simp status, and resigned himself to a night of extreme awkwardness and rejection.

What he wasn’t counting on was Nick being so bloody lovely, and soft, and easy to be around. He laughed with him, taught him how to do all the ridiculous things the cool people did at parties, and he didn’t flinch away when Charlie touched him like he thought he would. In fact he seemed to actively want to be close to him, already feeling comfortable enough to hold his wrist and touch his fingers and go for a bloody piss in front of him, for God’s sake. He was kind, thoughtful, and funny. All the things Charlie wanted in a person, the things he’d been looking for in Ben, and various other exes and uni flings. And he thought Charlie was fun. Nick Nelson enjoyed his company, and he was tall and hot and God help him . He was a fucking goner.

And now Nick was dancing - badly, Charlie affectionately noted - and their fingers were inadvertently brushing against each other and Charlie wanted to die. Please, let him be consumed by the earth beneath his feet so he didn’t have to deal with the humiliation of accidentally holding the popular straight boy’s hand.

“You okay?” Tao asked, leaning into him. “He’s not being a prick, is he?”

“No!” Charlie shot back, his eyes wide. He didn’t need Tao whipping out his white knight act tonight either. He’d never recover from the mortification. “He’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

They both glanced over at Nick, who was listening while Otis shouted in his ear. He turned his head and smiled at Charlie, causing an eruption of tickly butterflies in his stomach. Charlie smiled back, and in that moment he could swear Nick was looking at his dimples. Hmm. Maybe he was imagining things. Or maybe Nick was just really fascinated by dimples?

They danced as a group for a bit, and it wasn’t as bad as Charlie was expecting. Most of the songs played were the types to just sing and throw your hands up to, and that was easy enough even with his and Nick’s wrists bound together. Charlie started to relax, letting the vibe take him over and even accepting a beer from Tara when she offered it to him. He laughed and bobbed with the crowd, arms above his head and sweat trickling down his spine.

He didn’t know how the next sequence of events happened. One second they were all dancing, the next, someone had stumbled into Charlie and propelled him sideways. The only thing stopping him from absolutely stacking it, was the fact that he was handcuffed to another person. He felt a tug on his arm and then suddenly Nick’s chest was pressed against his back, and his hand had wrapped around Charlie’s waist, resting on his stomach as he steadied him.

“Woah,” was all Nick said, very close to Charlie’s ear. With every cell in his body, Charlie willed an asteroid to swiftly crash into Earth and destroy humanity, so he wouldn’t have to turn around and face his crush after whatever the fuck had just happened.

“S-sorry,” Charlie stuttered out, bright red in the face as he put as much distance between them as he could. Otis was watching them, a knowing look on his face. Oh God. Oh fuck. The whole rugby team would know about this before the song was even over. This was the exact opposite of what he wanted to happen. Where the fuck was that extinction-inducing asteroid?!

There was a split second when they just stared sheepishly at each other, and then Nick seemed to relax, letting out a breathy laugh as he pulled Charlie closer. “You’re not allowed to say the S word anymore,” he murmured, raising their handcuffed arms over his head and looking expectantly at him. Charlie realised with a jerk of his insides that he was being twirled. Nick was twirling him. Nick was dancing with him. With him. Charlie Spring, gay nerd from the year below.

Holy shit.

He ducked under Nick’s arm and turned his body into the twirl, his brain blank. Wait, what was happening? Did Nick…not mind this? Straight boys usually didn’t respond well to gay boys pressing themselves up against them, especially at house parties after copious amounts of beer. But Nick seemed unfazed, doing his own little twirl under Charlie’s arm and grinning at him, like this was the most normal thing in the world. His smile was infectious and Charlie found his own cheeks splitting open as he laughed and linked his fingers through Nick’s. Honestly, Charlie had no idea what was going on right now, but did he care? Not one bit. Maybe I really have died in a mass extinction event and this is heaven, he thought to himself as Nick reached for his free hand and they started dancing in earnest.

To be fair, Charlie danced like this with Tao sometimes, or Isaac. It could definitely be classed as platonic, the way they were just holding hands and jumping up and down to the music with everyone else. There was no need to read into it in any way. No need to project his own feelings onto this moment. Charlie was one hundred percent sure Nick was straight, and therefore not interested. At all.

But.

He became slightly less convinced when a more bassy song came on, vibrating through the floor. The smile slipped from Nick’s face as they each took a tiny step closer to each other, and Charlie felt his heart thunder to life, kick drumming against the inside of his ribcage. Suddenly his palms were clammy and the air felt thick and syrupy, like trying to inhale honey.

How many drinks had he consumed? Five, maybe six? Was he drunk enough to have the courage to take another step? Oh, apparently he was. Nick’s eyes widened as Charlie closed the space between them even more, and before he could register the potential ramifications of his actions he felt warm fingers on his waist, sliding round to rest on his lower back. His brain malfunctioned for a second, nothing but static roaring in his head.

Holy shit.

Wait. Was Nick straight? He’d never actually explicitly stated that he was. Charlie tried to imagine dancing like this with Tao, all up in his personal space, and it immediately felt wrong. It wouldn’t feel platonic doing that. And he’d never seen Nick pushed up against Otis, that was for sure. So what the hell was going on? 

Nick’s breath was hot on his face, and smelled like beer and taking chances. Charlie tilted his face up, biting his lip as he looked into deep brown eyes. Something about the way Nick was gazing so intensely at him encouraged the brave part of him to just lean into whatever this was. So he held his breath and skimmed his free hand up Nick’s chest and over his shoulder, curling it around the back of his neck and letting his fingers rest over the soft, slightly damp hairs there. If he woke up tomorrow and this turned out to be a dream, he at least wanted to know he made the absolute most of it. And this whole night did feel a bit like a dream. Like the best dream Charlie had ever had.

“Hey,” Nick breathed, tightening his hold around Charlie’s waist. They were chest to chest now, and Charlie’s heart was beating so fast he was sure it probably sounded like it was humming.

“Hey,” Charlie murmured, the fear and excitement sloshing around in his belly as he tried to keep a relatively neutral expression on his face.

“Wanna get some air?”

Charlie swallowed down the ball of nerves making its way up his throat. “Um, yeah.”

It felt like a loss when Nick moved away from him, but he kept the fingers of their handcuffed hands linked together as he led them away from their friends and through the kitchen, to the back door. There was no one out there, so they wandered out into the garden and Nick dropped down, pulling Charlie with him.

Charlie’s head was spinning as he stretched his body out next to Nick’s on the cool grass and willed his heart rate to chill out. Their hands lay between them, little fingers just touching. This was so, so far from where he thought he’d end up tonight after accepting the dare from Darcy. It still felt a little bit like it wasn’t really happening, but real or not, Charlie was floating as he turned his head to find Nick already looking at him.

“I’m bisexual,” Nick stated simply, before catching his bottom lip with his teeth and pulling it into his mouth. He looked unusually nervous, and Charlie realised that he’d got him all wrong, letting the bullies of his past wrestle their way into his brain and cloud his judgement. Tara was right, he wasn’t just a rugby lad. The real Nick Nelson was the person he’d been hanging out with all night; the person who cracked jokes in an attempt to break the ice and who put himself in an uncomfortable position just to make Charlie feel better. The person who was willing to dance with Charlie like no one was watching and lie with him in the grass until the music faded to nothing and they both forgot the world. Charlie was an idiot for ever seeing him as anything else.

“Okay,” Charlie replied, smiling softly as he felt himself finally, fully giving in to the pull towards the boy lying next to him. “I’m gay, but I think you already knew that.”

The smile Nick returned lit up his whole face. “Did you know? That I was bi?”

Charlie couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head. “I thought you were straight. Well, until about ten minutes ago.” He blushed at the memory of being pushed up against Nick in the sweaty living room.

Nick chuckled bashfully, turning his gaze back to the sky. “Not everyone knows. But…I want you to know.”

A little swoop of tingly feelings travelled from Charlie’s chest to his stomach. He inched his finger further over Nick’s, feeling brave. “Why?”

“Because…” Nick’s voice was shaky. “Because I think you’re interesting.”

“I am?”

“Yeah. You’re smart, you read a lot, and you play the drums, which is so cool.”

Charlie felt his breath catch in his throat. How did Nick know all this? Had…had he asked about him?

“I didn’t even know you knew who I was before tonight.”

Their fingers curled over each other. “I’ve seen you around,” Nick said, barely above a whisper. He looked at him again, his eyes wide. “I noticed you. I’ve known about you for a while.”

“Oh.” It was finally starting to dawn on Charlie what Nick was trying to say. Despite the inky darkness that surrounded them, he felt like the sun was rising, bathing them in a warm glow as they stared at each other.

“I noticed you too,” he whispered, clinging to Nick’s hand. “But maybe not properly, until now.”

“I wish I knew what that meant,” Nick chuckled softly, his eyes glittering in the low light.

“Just that…I had an idea of you in my head, and you’re not like that. And I kept my distance because I was trying to protect myself, but I didn’t need to.” He cringed at his garbled sentence. “That sounded better in my head.”

Nick turned on his side to face him and let out a shaky breath, like he was psyching himself up for something.

“I…I don’t want you to keep your distance from me Charlie.”

There it was again, that flurry of butterfly wings caressing the lining of his stomach. “Yeah, um…I’d rather not do that either.” He mirrored Nick’s position, and now there was nowhere to look but into Nick’s eyes, or at his mouth. He wanted to kiss that mouth so badly. He’d never allowed himself to get this far with his fantasies, always stopping himself with a firm reminder that it was pointless. Now he let the feeling consume him, his lips tingling with the idea of it.

“It kind of feels like I’ve known you for ages, is that an odd thing to say?” Nick asked, his ears pink. “Like, it feels like we could talk about anything and it wouldn’t be weird.”

“Yeah, I feel that way too,” Charlie whispered. He felt like the moment was calling for him to just put it all out there, so he did. “Hanging out with you tonight has just made my crush on you even bigger.”

He felt his breath still in his lungs as the words sunk in for Nick, watching him process his confession with wide eyes and parted lips. Please, he thought. Please let that be the right thing to say. Please let me have read this situation correctly, please-

“Fuck, I’m an idiot,” Nick finally said, laughing to himself. “I’ve wanted to say hi for months.” He shook his head, his eyes flickering to Charlie’s lips in a way that made his insides somersault. “I should’ve spoken to you the first time I saw you, instead of wasting all this time crushing on you from the other side of the room.”

Charlie sucked in a quiet breath, his gaze falling to Nick’s mouth almost instinctively. He didn’t know words could have such an effect on him, but those ones had every hair on his forearms standing up, every nerve ending in his body on fire. His senses were heightened and he could feel the crisp summer breeze against his neck, the grass tickling their intertwined fingers, the buzz of anticipation just under his skin.

He was done wasting time. He reached out with his free arm just as Nick moved forward and twisted his fingers into the hem of Charlie’s shirt, closing the space between them. Charlie slid his hand over Nick’s jaw, his thumb brushing the soft stubble under his chin as Nick pulled him closer by the waist. Their lips met in a breathless kiss, sweet and shy and determined all at the same time.

Kissing Nick under the starry summer sky was like slipping under the surface of a warm bath, comforting and all-consuming. The smell of grass and beer clung to their clothes, assaulting Charlie’s senses as he used the fingers curled around the back of Nick’s neck as leverage to press himself closer. Nick let out a tiny, almost inaudible noise of approval, opening his mouth and meeting the tentative swipe of Charlie’s tongue with his own. That sent sparks down Charlie’s spine, pulling a half-sigh, half-moan from the back of his throat. They kissed without any sense of urgency, both spurred on by the sounds they were coaxing out of each other, each slow drag of lips and tongues and fingertips lifting Charlie further out of his body.

“You’re a really good kisser,” Nick panted once they’d broken apart to catch their breath, noses touching. “I don’t ever wanna stop.”

“God, same,” Charlie responded instantly, his hand trailing down to Nick’s chest so he could push him backwards and angle their bodies so he was half on top of him. Now that he knew how Nick felt about him, how he’d felt about him for months, the nerves that had previously paralysed him were gone. He just wanted more of the beautiful boy currently sprawled out underneath him, with eyes like amber and a voice like sweet caramel.

Nick reached up and covered Charlie’s cheek with his hand, meeting his kiss with fervour now, deepening it into something more intense. They were at a party, in full view of anyone who happened to look out of the window or stick their head out the back door, so there was a line neither of them were willing to cross. That didn’t, however, mean that they couldn’t toe that line like their lives depended on it, Nick sliding his hand into Charlie’s curls and rolling them over so he could pin Charlie’s torso down with his chest.

Unfortunately they were still handcuffed together, and it made the whole thing much more difficult than anticipated. Charlie growled impatiently as he tried to move their hands from their awkward position in between them, with no luck.

Nick pulled away from his mouth with a gasp. “Here, just-”

They struggled for a second, attempting to twist into a more comfortable arrangement without actually having to separate.

“No Nick, let me-”

“I think if you put your hand there, and then-”

“My wrist won’t bend that way!”

“Ugh, okay, this isn’t working-”

“Stupid fucking dare, I swear to God I’m gonna take these fucking things and handcuff Darcy to a fucking-”

“You’re gonna handcuff my girlfriend to a what now?”

They both froze. Charlie tilted his head back, an upside down image of Tara coming into view. She was smirking, a small silver key dangling from her index finger as she watched them roll around on the grass like horny idiots.

“Uh, hi,” Nick greeted, blushing crimson. “We were just…” they looked at each other, clearly lost for words. There was no way they were pretending this was anything other than exactly what it was.

“What’s going on? Where are - oh,” Darcy’s voice floated over as she appeared next to Tara. “Oh my God babe, they’re being even more gay than we expected.” She clapped her hands together gleefully, before slinging her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders.

“What?” Nick asked, indignant. He was looking at Tara. “Did you plan this?”

“Did you handcuff us together on purpose?!” Charlie snapped, glaring at Darcy.

“Hey, you guys agreed to it,” Darcy replied, holding up her hands and trying to school her face into an innocent expression. Well, as innocent as Darcy could look, anyway. “We just…facilitated.”

“Meddled,” Charlie corrected, still glaring, even if he was starting to see that maybe, possibly, there might be a funny side to this.

“It worked, did it not?” Darcy sighed, looking at them like they were the dumbest boys on the planet. “Honestly, we thought you guys were gonna make heart eyes at each other forever and never actually talk.” 

Charlie blushed at that, burying his face in Nick’s shirt and groaning. He felt Nick’s chest vibrate with a laugh under his cheek and smiled into the fabric before he could help himself. Okay, they both had a point.

“Anyway, it’s midnight,” Tara cut in, raising the key. “Would you like to get out of those cuffs so you can get back to being gay?”

Nick looked down at Charlie, grinning. “Yes please.”

They got to their feet and watched with relief as Tara unlocked the handcuffs and finally freed them. Charlie pulled his wrist to his chest, rubbing it and feeling suddenly shy now that Nick was no longer required to stay with him.

“Right, well. We’ll leave you to it,” Tara said, shooting Nick a knowing look. It was the same one Otis had given him. Charlie realised with a jolt that they both must have known about Nick’s sexuality already. Well, that made way more sense now.

Once they were alone again, the worries came back full force, stealing Charlie’s voice. He shuffled awkwardly on the grass, avoiding Nick’s eyes. He could leave now, if he wanted. Charlie wouldn’t blame him if he suddenly realised once they were no longer forced to spend time together that he could be with anyone else. One look at Nick and it was clear he could certainly have anyone else, if he wanted. Charlie pushed the thought down and waited with bated breath for whatever Nick had to say next.

“So.”

He clasped his fingers together, squeezing until his knuckles went white. “So.”

Nick’s hand appeared in Charlie’s vision, surprising him. He looked up, seeing the warmth in his eyes and the flush in his cheeks and realising that he put them there.

“Hi,” Nick said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled the smile that Charlie had fallen for the first time he laid eyes on him. “I’m Nick. I’ve seen you around and I think you’re cool. I’d like to take you on a date and get to know you better.”

Charlie blinked, taking a second to catch on. Then a laugh bubbled up from his stomach and out of his mouth.

“Yes,” he giggled, and then caught himself, blushing. He reached out and slid his hand into Nick’s. It fit perfectly into his palm, like it was meant to be there.

“I mean…hi, I’m Charlie. What did you have in mind?”