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Nick didn’t really understand the point of the whole thing, but his teammates assured him it would be a hit on TikTok. And since he mostly kept off that app, except to watch the cute dog videos his mum sent him, he figured he had no reason to argue. It had been explained to him that boys at American universities were knocking on the doors of girls’ dorms and catching a football before asking how they are. No other context was given. But Nick wasn’t one to go against morale building so he had shrugged and scheduled a time to film his bit.
The few boys who had done it already had gotten mixed reactions, some people excitedly giggling, others awkwardly shutting their doors. If Nick had gotten a knock on his door only for some random guy to catch a rugby ball and ask if he was alright, he’d probably go along with the latter. It felt invasive in a way, to just surprise someone at their residence with such a gimmick. But what did he know?
When the day arrived, he met two of his teammates, Josh and Danny, in front of a residence hall after his morning class. Josh tossed him a rugby ball as he walked over, Nick easily catching it and stowing it under his arm.
“You ready, mate?” Danny clapped him on the back.
“Let’s just get this over with.”
“That’s the spirit!”
He’d purposely chosen Tara and Darcy’s room, not wanting to knock on a random door and be confronted with a gaggle of girls he didn’t know. The boys had fought back initially but gave in when Nick expressed his discomfort otherwise.
Once they got to their door, Nick realised the fatal flaw in his plan: he’d forgotten to actually tell Tara and Darcy about it. They had no reason to expect Nick at their door right now, let alone be prepared for the weirdness he would bring. Could he quickly text them? Shout through the door?
Just as Nick was about to get out his phone, Josh whispered: “Nick, get into position.” Too late now. He handed over the rugby ball and posted up in front of the door.
He took a deep breath and knocked. There was some shuffling behind the door and a muffled voice that Nick couldn’t make out. Oh god, hopefully he hadn’t caught them at a compromising time.
But then, the handle turned, and he raised his hands to catch the ball. The door opened just as the rugby ball sailed into his arms, and he turned, ready to say his cheesy line.
Instead, he forgot how to use words entirely. The person at the door wasn’t Tara or Darcy. No, this was someone else, someone Nick had never seen before; of that he was sure because he would not have forgotten this person. He would never be able to stop thinking about this person had he already been aware of his existence.
All Nick could do was stare at sharp cheekbones and stormy blue eyes and dark curls. The mystery man was staring back, pushing back a bashful smile, which highlighted the deep dimples on each cheek. Nick was slightly crouched in a catching position, putting them at an equal height, meaning this guy was tall; he must only have a couple inches on this boy.
They stared at each other until Nick was also fighting back a smile. It was honestly absurd, him standing at the door clutching a ball and not saying a word. He just couldn’t find any words beyond “oh my god, you’re gorgeous,” and he, thankfully, knew enough to not just blurt that out.
It was almost magnetic, the way their gazes locked. Something playful was dancing in the boy’s deep blue eyes, giving them a spark that pulled Nick in even further. Nick always thought it sounded too corny to get lost on someone’s eyes but he understood it now. He could feel himself beginning to drown in their depths, and nothing could pull him away.
He felt his smile go crooked, a look his teammates claimed made all the ladies go weak in the knees. Nick wasn’t even sure that’s what he was aiming for at the moment, he just couldn’t help it. The boy on the other side of the door blushed and ducked his head, slowly closing the door without a word.
Nick heard Tara yell out: “Charlie, who was it?” as the door closed, letting him know they had at least gotten the room right.
And giving him a name.
Charlie. Charlie. Nick and Charlie. Charlie and Nick.
“Um. Well, can’t say we’ve had one like that before.” At Danny’s voice, Nick came back to himself.
Nick raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck, cradling the ball at his hip. “Ha, yeah. Sorry. I, uh, sorry.”
“Of course Nick would go in with the least enthusiasm and have the most rizz.” Josh threw his hands up in defeat.
Suddenly, the door was wrenched open again, this time revealing Tara. “Ah, Charlie said there was a big rugby lad at the door so I just assumed.”
“I believe he said ‘there’s a really hot guy with a rugby ball’ at the door,” Darcy yelled from inside.
“Darcy!” Nick could only assume that was Charlie’s yell.
Nick felt himself flush bright red, cheeks hot at the implication.
“Oh, are you doing that weird TikTok thing?” Tara asked, realisation dawning as she took in the rugby ball and aloft phone.
Josh piped up, mirth in his tone, “We were trying to until Nicky here fell in love.”
“Feeling’s mutual!” Darcy yelled out.
“Darcy!”
Tara focused her attention on Josh and Danny. “You post that one, and you’ll go viral. People love a romcom moment. Trust me.” She then turned to Nick. “And you. I hope you’re free right now because it would seem that I need to make an introduction.”
“He’s free, we’re all done.” Danny pulled the ball from Nick’s hand. He gave an exaggerated wink before he and Josh hurried away.
“C’mon. There’s obviously someone you really need to meet.” Tara pulled Nick into the room, shutting the door behind him.
Darcy was sitting on her bed, a smug smile on her face. “What a lovely surprise, Nicky poo.”
“Don’t call me that,” Nick mumbled, too overcome with nerves and emotion to come up with a decent comeback.
Charlie was sat on the floor near Darcy’s feet, knees up to his chest as if trying to make himself as small as possible. Without even thinking, Nick sat down next to him and pulled his knees up too, giving him a tentative smile. Charlie physically relaxed, returning the smile and loosening up slightly. He rested the side of his head on his knees, which Nick mirrored.
Tara’s voice sounded from above them. “Charlie is a fresher. Our friend from Higgs, Elle, is one of his best friends and made sure we all met when Charlie started here. Nick’s our adopted rugby lad. I’ve known him since Year 7.”
“Did you go to Truham?” Nick asked softly.
“Mhm. You know Truham?” Charlie’s voice was sweet and melodic, like the most beautiful song Nick had ever heard. Or maybe Nick was just enamoured. He would bet on both.
“I went to a special school for rugby, but I would have gone to Truham if I hadn’t. Maybe we would’ve met there.”
“I was the weird gay nerd. We probably wouldn’t have been friends.” Charlie’s smile dimmed slightly.
“Yeah, I probably would have scared you off with how cute I think you are.” Nick wasn’t sure where this bravado had come from, but the bright blush his words inspired to blossom on Charlie’s cheeks only made that confidence grow.
Charlie turned his face into his knees to hide the blush, and Nick immediately missed his eyes. “You’re very charming.” It came out a bit muffled but clear enough for Nick to know he wasn’t scaring Charlie off.
“He isn’t normally.”
“Darcy!” Honestly, Nick had forgotten she was there.
“Here to keep you humble, my guy.”
Nick rolled his eyes and nudged Charlie’s knee lightly with his own. Charlie lifted his head back up to look at Nick. “Are you busy right now? Other than spending time with these two.”
Charlie shook his head. “No, I was here to waste time until my class this afternoon.”
“Wanna abandon them and get coffee or something? Get to know each other without our meddling friends watching?”
A devastatingly gorgeous smile spread across Charlie’s face. “Yes, I’d love to.”
Nick stood and extended a hand to help Charlie up as well. He kept holding Charlie’s hand as he led him out of the room, throwing off a quick wave to Tara and Darcy.
“Bye, I guess. You’re welcome!” Darcy shouted after them, followed by a gentle shushing from Tara. They dissolved into giggles as Nick closed the door.
🍂🏉🍂
Tara’s right, of course: the TikTok goes more viral than the team could have imagined. Thousands of people have commented, most of them eagerly awaiting some kind of update on the obvious chemistry between the rugby lad and the boy at the door. There had even been some stitches of people demanding a romcom based solely on the brief interaction between Nick and Charlie.
It’s a month later, the hype still very much present but died down some, that Nick and Charlie are blindsided by a follow-up. The rugby team were having a small, informal celebration after a particularly hard-won victory earlier that day. Nick had immediately claimed the comfiest chair in the flat some of the guys shared and pulled Charlie down onto his lap, burrowing his nose into the soft fabric of Charlie’s jumper, taking in the overwhelming scent that he had come to know as just Charlie. The game had been scrappy, and he’d come away with more bruises and scratches than usual; he had little interest in doing anything that required him to do more than simply sit and relax.
Charlie giggled, tinny and glorious, warming Nick to his bones. “You just gonna nuzzle me all night? No celebrating?”
“This is the only celebration I want.”
Charlie shifted slightly so he was able to face Nick, draping an arm over his shoulders to steady himself. “Boring.” There was no malice behind, only Charlie’s affectionate sarcasm and mirthful smile.
“If you don’t want to hang out with me, that’s fine. Off you go.” Nick indicated the rest of the room with a teasing smile.
“Nah, I’m good here.” Charlie punctuated his assertion with a small kiss to Nick’s lips, which he let linger for just a moment. Nick wondered when kisses with Charlie would stop leaving him breathless. He was beginning to suspect they never would.
They spent most of the party cuddled together, just talking and laughing and sneaking kisses, not worried about who may see them. Sometimes, people would wander over to chat, and they’d welcome them kindly, never dissuading anyone from interacting with them. But they stayed a unit the whole time, as had become customary of the two. It hadn’t even been a full month that Nick and Charlie had officially been dating and already, Nick couldn’t remember what life was like before Charlie.
At some point in the night, as it was winding down and people started to head home, Nick’s phone pinged with a message from Tara. He opened to find a text in his chat with her and Darcy with a link to a new video on the rugby team’s page.
“What’s that?” Charlie leaned his head against Nick’s to better look at the screen.
“I dunno.” He clicked the link and was met with a video of… them.
It was a reply to one of the many comments asking for an update on the original video of the two meeting. This video was about thirty seconds of grainy zoomed in footage of Nick and Charlie from that very night. Charlie was telling a story, and Nick was smiling wide, occasionally laughing as Charlie became more animated. The video ended with smitten looking Nick leaning up to kiss Charlie and cut off his tirade before looping back to the beginning.
Charlie leaned his head against Nick’s shoulder, nudging his jaw slightly. “The people were clamouring for it, it would seem.” There was a laugh in his voice, not taking the situation too seriously. Charlie had easily been able to find the humour in so many strangers on the internet inexplicably being invested in the development of their relationship. Nick had been petrified the very public nature of their first meeting would scare Charlie off, but Charlie had taken it in stride, not letting the noise get to him.
Nick pulled Charlie closer and rested his chin on his head “Okay, but who will play us in the romcom of our lives? I kind of think you have a Chalamet thing going on.”
“Not sure how I feel about that, honestly.” Nick snorted out a laugh. “They’d probably have some actor who could barely handle a rugby tackle play you. And I’d be recast as a girl.”
“Rude. I like our version much better.”
Charlie squeezed Nick’s hand. “Same.”