Work Text:
I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!
Rainbow Vibes
“Are we ready yet?”
“Not yet!”
“What is taking so long?”
“Stop fidgeting.”
“This is all really weird.”
“Char, wanna sneak away?”
“Yeah—”
“No sneaking away. Makeup!”
“Give me my book back!”
“No books right now.”
“I wouldn’t have come if I’d known that.”
“It’s not like we had a choice anyway, they just plucked us from our beds!”
“Okay, going live in 20 seconds!”
“Put that drink down!”
“Calm down, Princess.”
“And in 5…4…3…”
The woman with the poufy blonde hair, bright clothes and makeup smiled into the camera. She was beautiful despite her over-the-top bright clothes and make-up and she was clearly comfortable in front of the camera.
“Welcome, Welcome! Welcome Back to Rainbow Vibes, your favorite inter-dimensional TV show coming live from Dimension 0401. I am your hostess Effie Trinket.” She placed a hand on her chest, giving everyone a winning smile, then waited a beat before continuing. “Now if you are new to our show, let me explain how everything works. Some worlds, like Dimensions 5397, can see into other dimensions but think they are watching TV shows or Films. So here on Rainbow Vibes we pluck those people from their dimensions and allow a select few people from the dimension that watches them to ask their favorite ‘Character’ different questions!”
“Um, I have questions?”
“Not yet,” Effie said waving a hand. “Today we are talking to the core 9 ‘Characters’ of what the people of Dimension 5397 call ‘Heartstopper’. To them, it is a TV show based on a lovely romance between two boys, plus their friends of course. Our Main boys are these two lovely boys, Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson. Say Hi boys.”
“Uh, Hi,” Charlie said, a boy of 16 with dark curly hair said as he glanced around. “Are we safe here?” he asked Effie.
“Of course, Darling, I promise,” she assured him. “Nick, say Hi.”
Nick, a boy of 17, had a protective arm around Charlie’s waist. “Hi,” he said politely.
“Now, we also have 7 others. There is Tao Xu, Isaac Henderson, Elle Argent, Tara Jones, Darcy Olssen, Sahar Zahid, and Imogen Heaney.” After the rest of them said hi, Effie turned back to the camera. “Now, as you know we can only hold onto our guests for a limited time before it is impossible to return them to their dimension, so we should definitely get on with any questions you might have for them. Remember, your questions are instant!”
Charlie watched in fascination as within seconds hundreds of questions appeared on the screen.
“Well, let's see,” Effie said pressing a finger to the screen. “Oh, a double question, one for Nick and one for Charlie. Echowren asks ‘Charlie, what is your favorite song to play on the drums, and Nick, what is your favorite song for Charlie to play?’”
Charlie blinked when Effie looked at him. He was definitely feeling a little overwhelmed with all the bright lights and cameras, but he also heard her warning and didn’t want to be stuck there. He’s heard that was how most of the people who worked behind the cameras in this dimension had gotten their jobs, they were all ‘Characters’ that weren’t returned to their time.
“Well,” He said taking a deep breath. “I think it depends on my mental health. Uh, do I need to expand on that?”
“Of course not sweetheart,” Effie assured him. “Those that are watching your life already know and you don’t owe anyone an explanation for anything.”
He smiled at her. Okay, she was a little overbearing, but she also seemed sweet enough. “Well, drums then. Right now my favorite song to play right now is ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica.”
“Lovely,” Effie said. “And Nick, what is your favorite song from Charlie.”
“Well, honestly anything,” Nick said. “He’s so hot when he’s playing the drums.” Nick's voice was a little breathless as he looked at Charlie, the image of Charlie drumming the night before without a shirt replaying in his mind. “Last night he played me ‘Blinding Lights’ by the Weekend. I guess that’s my favorite.”
“I thought you liked ‘Love me like you do’” Charlie murmured softly, leaning into Nick.
Nick smiled and stared into his eyes. “Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do…” he murmured softly before leaning forward, his lips capturing Charlie’s in a soft but deep kiss, his hand sliding up along Charlie’s cheek and into his hair, a soft moan escaping him as he kissed his boyfriend thoroughly, momentarily forgetting they were in front of cameras.
Effie coughed. “Um… okay boys,” she said looking like she was trying not to fan herself. “Remember, we are on a schedule.” She turned back to the cameras and gave it her winning smile again. “Okay, next question then.” She once again tapped the screen and smiled. “This one is for Tao.”
“Me! Cool! Is it about films? Because I—”
“No!” Effie said quickly. They’d already lost time because Haymitch had made the mistake of asking what Donnie Darko was. There was no way she was going through that again. “This question is from PointyJellyFish, they want to know the real reason you didn’t let Nick and Charlie share a bed in Paris even though you knew they were a couple.”
“I thought they would be uncomfortable,” Tao said, his voice a bit defensive.
“Now, now, I think we know that’s not true,” Effie said. “Honesty is all we ask, darling Tao. Come now. I promise no one will judge you.”
For a moment Tao struggled with himself then he sighed. “Seriously? Fine, you all want to know why? Because I wanted to sleep,” he said a little waspishly. “I love Charlie and I like Nick and I’m glad they found each other, but seriously? None of your ‘viewers’ ever had to do a sleepover with them. Do you know how many times I woke up to them making out? We had a sleepover like a month before Paris and that’s exactly what happened! Three hours! Do you know how scarring it is to listen to your friends make out for three hours but know you can’t say anything because you don’t want to embarrass them? No! I wanted to sleep in Paris. I’d do it again too,” he added. “I still love you two.”
“We know,” Charlie said, though he was blushing bright red. “But next time say something.”
“I would if it went beyond kissing. I really don’t need to hear you two having sex.”
“Good to know,” Nick managed to mumble but he was now just as bright red as Charlie, neither of them looking at anyone, though they did slide their hands into each other’s, fingers tangling and stroking as they subconsciously assured the other that everything was fine.
“Okay, moving on,” Effie said. “Tara, Porche Grace wants to know if Nick was really that bad of a kisser.”
“Hey!”
“Look, I can’t really compare it,” Tara said. “He’s the only guy I’ve ever kissed. I don’t think he was a bad kisser though, I just didn’t like it. Boys lips are… gross.”
“I can confirm that feeling,” Imogen added.
“And I can confirm that Nick is a very good kisser,” Charlie said, more than willing to defend his boyfriend. “Like better than any other guy I’ve ever kissed.”
“ACK!” Tao teased. “Charlie, I thought we had something special.”
Charlie laughed and Nick smirked. “I kiss better than Tao, eh?”
“Not sure it counts with Tao though,” Charlie told him as his eyes met Nick and they just stared at each other, just losing themselves in each other’s eyes.
“Next question!” Effie half chirped, half snapped. Honestly, they were nearly as bad as the boys from Red, White, and Royal Blue! “So this one is for Imogen- from LilyoftheValley. She wants to know why you liked Nick and Ben if you are now identifying as a Lesbian, or if you really liked them at all and were just lying to everyone about that.”
“Well, I’m not just a Lesbian,” Imogen said confidently, having come to accept her sexuality. “I’m also demi-romantic, but my demi part isn’t only for the girls. I was never sexually attracted to Nick or Ben, but romantically… they were my friends so my feelings developed from there. I am beyond grateful that Nick was honest with me that he didn’t feel the same. We would have been a terrible couple.”
“Agreed,” Nick, Sahar, and Charlie all murmured at the same time.
“Wonderful, very straight and to the point. A girl after my own heart,” Effie teased.
“Really? And here I thought you loved me for always,” a man said cheekily.
“Enough, Haymitch,” Effie said, exasperation filling her voice but she was also giving the man behind the camera an affectionate smile. “Okay, Next question from… KiwiFanGirl, this is for Elle. She wants to know if you’re secretly a fan of romance like Isaac. She wanted to know for Mystic.”
“Who’s Mystic?” Darcy asked curiously.
“Mystic is the author who believes she is writing this show. Just like in some universes, they see your lives as a TV, some special people in these dimensions write what they see of your lives. It’s why the TV show is called Heartstopper, because in that dimension an Author named Alice Osman wrote about Nick and Charlie’s life. Mystic is someone who was inspired to continue on Alice Osman's work and writes what people call Fan Fiction. She thinks this is all from her mind, when in actuality she is seeing into another dimension.”
“Cool,” Darcy said. “Hi to all the writers who are seeing this!”
“I’m sure the Authors and readers will enjoy your hi,” Effie said brightly. “But Elle, tell me, do you secretly enjoy romance just as much as Isaac.”
Elle blushed and looked down at her nails. “Um… yeah, I guess.”
“You guess?” Effie pushed just a bit.
“Well… yeah. I mean, all you had to do was see Nick and Charlie together to realize they belonged together—”
“It wasn’t that obvious,” Tao argued.
“—And seeing something like that makes you root for romance. So yes, I love romance, okay? Don’t judge me for it."
“Why would we judge you for that?” Sahar asked. “I think we all love romance here.” Everyone agreed with her as she gave Elle a hug.
“And moving on,” Effie said, shaking her head. “KiwiFanGirl has another question- this one directed at Isaac. She asks ‘Issac- How do you do it! How do you balance your own needs while knowing exactly what is going on in the dynamics between your friends and then meddling just the right amount! We await your ‘self-help’ style book of instructions for life.’”
Isaac actually blushed. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think I meddle that much. I am observant though. I’ve learned to balance people watching and reading at the same time.”
“We had to tear your book out of your hands,” Effie said.
“Yeah, that wasn’t very cool,” Isaac said, a bit of annoyance in his voice. “But to KiwiFanGirl, I’m not planning a self-help book just yet. Maybe once I figure my own stuff out.”
“Sahar- Melody Pond wants to know if you like a show called Doctor Who.”
“Oh I love it. I’m not one for watching TV unless it’s a film, but I really like Doctor Who. The new doctor, Ncuti Gatwa is amazing.”
“Agreed,” Nick and Charlie said at the same time, and then they both giggled as they looked at each other and blushed. “He’s really hot,” Nick added. “And smart,” Charlie broke in. “Well, Hot guys are smart,” Nick murmured as he kissed Charlie again.
“And moving on again,” Effie said. Why did they always get couples obsessed with each other like this? On one hand, it was very sweet and the viewers loved it, but on the other couldn’t they have some self-control. She and Haymitch could certainly control themselves. “This one is for “Imogen, LadyByron asks ‘If you’re a true friend, why did you encourage James and Charlie to kiss during Tara’s party?'.”
Everyone frowned at the question and Imogen actually looked hurt. “What are they talking about?”
“I believe they were referring to when Charlie was dared to kiss James…”
“Oh, come on,” Tao protested. “I’d literally kissed Charlie like two minutes before.”
“Plus we were all drinking,” Darcy added defensively. “Imogen has always been the number one Nick and Charlie supporter. She liked them together before Tao did!”
“Hey,” Tao exclaimed. “I mean, you’re not wrong, but you don’t have to slander me.”
“Why would anyone be mad at Imogen over that?” Charlie asked. “We were all having fun. I didn’t want to kiss James because of the rumor and because I thought Isaac liked him and it would make him uncomfortable.”
“What about you, Nick? How did her actions make you feel?”
Nick frowned, he felt like Imogen was being attacked for doing something normal at a party and he didn’t like it. “I wasn’t upset. Like Charlie said, we were all having fun. I mean, I wouldn’t have liked it if it had happened,” Nick admitted. “It’s one thing with Tao because I know that he never liked Charlie like that, but James used to have a crush on him so—”
“Wait, what?” Charlie asked in shock.
Nick glanced around, seeing the shocked looks on everyone else's faces except for Isaac who looked a little guilty. “I mean…” He felt caught. “Just… Otis heard him talking to his friends after Charlie was outed, saying that he wanted to ask Charlie out but was afraid to because he didn’t want to be outed either. Otis told me and Christian and Sai but we kept it between us because we didn’t want him to go through what Charlie was going through then. Like, I know by the time Paris came around he didn’t feel that way towards Charlie anymore, but I still didn’t want him to kiss him. But… how was Imogen supposed to know all of that?”
“How could she know indeed? Sometimes, people will judge harshly even when it’s uncalled for. Moving on,” she said, though she noticed that Charlie had moved to hug Imogen and was whispering something to her, clearly giving her comfort since she still looked shaken by the question.
“Next question is from BillyElliotStan and is for Tara- ‘What is your favorite ballet for all time, one where you could be the lead, and why?’”
“Oh,” Tara said with surprise. She wasn’t sure why she wasn’t expecting a question, but she really wasn’t. “Well, I would have to say ‘La Sylphide’, It’s this gorgeous romantic ballet about a farmer who falls in love with a wood sprite. Even though the farmer is a boy, I always felt it had sapphic vibes and used to imagine that it was a female farmer falling in love with the wild woodland sprite… like my Darcy.”
Darcy smiled and kissed her at that. “You would be beautiful in either role,” they murmured. “You are stunning.”
“So are you… perfect exactly for who you are,” Tara murmured with a smile. “The love of my life.”
“Lovely,” Effie said, her voice breaking the moment. “We have another question for Elle,” she said, moving right along despite Darcy rolling their eyes. “Elle, Abdel Kaoolomocro wants to know what you think your greatest talent is, what do you want to achieve with your dreams?”
“Well, honestly I think my greatest talent is my art. I’m not prideful or anything but I’m good at it and I love it. Someday I want to live in Paris and become the modern-day Van Gogh or Da Vinci. I want to create something that will last hundreds of years, where someday a piece of my art hangs in a museum, like the Mona Lisa, and people will flock from all over the world to see it just because it's so beautiful.”
“You’re definitely going to do that,” Tao said, taking her hand and squeezing it. “You’re the most amazing person in the world.”
“I’m with Tao,” Nick agreed. “You’re amazing. Like… your work is on another level, Elle.”
After everyone murmured in agreement. Effie looked at the camera. “Isn’t friendship wonderful,” she said clapping her hands lightly. “Now, we only have time for a couple more questions. Lets see what we have next. This one is for Sahar- MercysRevenge wants to know if you want to take Queer Intentions on an international stage.”
“Well, I definitely want to stay in Music,” Sahar answered honestly. “Music has power, with music you can heal a person, You can save a life. I want to do that. I want to use music to heal. What do you think, Charlie?”
“I mean, you know I’d support you,” he said. “I couldn’t do it though. I just want to have a simple life, ya know. But Sahar is right. I can’t tell you how many times music has literally saved my life. It kept me grounded when I felt like everything was crumbling around me. If Sahar and Queer Intentions can save one person, then I consider it a success.”
“Same,” Sahar agreed.
“Lovely,” Effie said with a nod. “Just lovely. I remember when…” She shook her head for a moment, shaking away the nostalgia she felt. “Let's find out the second to last question." She looked at the screen in front of her. “Darcy- RoseWasBest wants to know to know what your dream job would be?”
“Sleeping?” Everyone laughed and Effie made a noise of impatience. “I don’t know,” Darcy said honestly. “I’m good at organizing and planning things, so whatever I end up doing, I’m sure it’ll have something to do with that. Effie, you mentioned that Fan Fiction writer, what does she say I end up doing?”
Effie smiled, delighted that Darcy wanted to know, though they would never remember. “In all of her future stories you become a wedding planner.”
Darcy raised an eyebrow and nodded a bit. “You know, I could see that.”
“Me too. You’re the best at planning parties, even when you are a chaos demon sometimes,” Tara teased.
“Oh, you love me being a chaos demon.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Alright,” Effie said. “Last question, then your quick visit with Jay and then you’ll be back in your beds. Nick, this one is for you- asked by many different people. ‘When did you actually fall for Charlie?’”
“Oh…” Nick blinked for a moment. “Um… well… I think it was the first time I met his eyes, to be honest. Like, I didn’t understand it at the time or anything but the moment our eyes met I knew I needed him in my life.” Nick looked at Charlie, his gaze soft. “Love at first sight,” he murmured.
“You’re such a sap, Nick.”
“Hmmmm, Seulement pour toi, mon amor,’ Nick murmured.
“Well, there you have it,” Effie said brightly to the camera. “Make sure to tune in the next time Rainbow Vibes is on- where we will meet those wonderful Characters from Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte! Rest well, my darlings.”
“And… we’re done.” Haymitch walked over. “So are all of you ready to go home?”
“God, Yes,” Darcy groaned.
“Can I have my book back now?”
“Of course. Thank you all for being so understanding,” Effie said. “I can tell you that some people simply refuse to understand what we’re doing here. It’s so important for people to be able to actually talk to those they see on their screens.”
“Well, we’re happy to help,” Charlie said, though he didn’t look confident in it.
“It’s almost time for you to go home. First, you’ll just need to follow Jay here,” she said, pointing to the tall, dark-skinned man in a black suit. “He’s going to give you an eye exam just to make sure that traveling between dimensions didn’t affect your vision.”
“I like your suit,” Tao told him as he got up with Elle.
“Thank you,” Jay said with a chuckle. “Like I told a friend of mine a long time ago… I make this look good. Follow me and we’ll get you all home.” Jay led them all to a room. He put on a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and smiled. “Now, if you could all just look at this red light right here, we’ll get you all taken care of. Thank you… for visiting Rainbow Vibes.”