Nick's POV

We all get back to my flat and I see that Sai, Otis, and Christian are not at the apartment. They must still be out with their parents or they went to the Rugby House with the team. Either way, I send our group chat a quick message telling them about the Gang spending the night before I open the front door. Everyone piles inside and we gather on the floor and the sofas in the common room. Everyone is talking and trying to figure out what to do.

"We can do a movie marathon?" I suggest when there is a pause in the conversation. "As long as it's not a Marvel marathon, I will be happy." Tao says and crosses his arms confidently. Everyone turns to face me, my jaw slightly dropped. "Marvel is Nick's favorite, Tao." Elle says while giggling. "And I think because we are doing a movie marathon at Nick's, we can watch what he wants." Imogen adds. Again, everyone looks at me. "I guess we can watch the Harry Potters?" I say very uncertainly but everyone jumps on the idea.

"Can Ben come?" Imogen asks as we set up blankets and pillows for everyone on the ground. I quickly scan the room and notice Charlie tense up and look at the ground. "Maybe next time, Imogen. We can just keep it to us?" I suggest. My mind races to the sight of Charlie and him kissing. I do not want to make him uncomfortable. "Plus no one really knows him besides you, Imogen." Darcy remarks, adding a small chuckle which causes everyone to laugh. He was an orientation leader and Imogen's longest friend... and Charlie's crush? But besides that, know one knows him. He sometimes hangs out with Harry even though he's not on the Rugby team.

Her eyes get sad but Sahar kisses her cheek softly and pulls her into a tight hug. I look at Charlie who is still looking at the ground, nervously. He looks like he is almost lost in thought. I walk over to him which breaks his trance. "You alright Charlie?" I whisper, placing my arm on the outside of his bicep. His eyes squint slightly and a small groan escapes his lips. I remove my hand and nervously wrap my arms tightly to my chest. "Sorry. I'm fine. Just cold actually." He says and shyly laughs. "Come with me." I say with a small smile.

He follows me to my bedroom and waits just inside the entryway. I open my closet door and grab the first jumper I see. I turn around and see him looking at the decorations around my room. I watch him for a few moments as his gaze bounces from trophies to posters to pictures until his eyes meet mine. He blushes and places a hand awkwardly behind his neck. I laugh a little before walking up to him, handing him the jumper. He places his arms in the sleeves and before he slings it over his shoulders, he says, "It's a bit big." This causes us both to laugh. His hair gets a little ruffled so I gently fluff his beautiful dark curls, bringing a little life back to them. My hand moves from the front and top of his hair to the back. My fingers running through the strands softly until my palm is lightly holding the side of his head, my thumb just behind his right ear. I unintentionally wiggle my fingers, feeling the softness of this hair which causes me to smile.

I feel myself lose my breath when I look into his watercolor blue eyes. I get lost in them as I softly play with his hair. Neither of us break this moment. I feel his right hand slip perfectly into mine, our fingers naturally intertwining. My head slowly falls and our forehands rest against each other softly. My eyes softly close, just taking in this heartwarming moment with Charlie. What feels like minutes pass when I hear my name being called. Charlie quickly lets my hand go and takes a step back from me. "Uh," He clears his throat. "Thanks Nick." He quickly walks back to the common room. I lean my head against my doorframe and run my hand through my hair, taking a deep breath. I close my eyes quickly, trying to relive that perfect moment before I head back to the common room.

"I have it ready to go. I also made everyone a little drink to relax and-" Tara says but is interrupted by Elle coming in from the kitchen. "We found your popcorn so we made some bowls for everyone to share." She says, placing about four large bowls on the common room table. I smile and look for the closest, open spot to sit. It's actually next to Charlie which makes my heart skip a beat and I can't help but smile. He raises the blanket, inaudibly asking if he wanted to be under it as well. I smile and take the offered end, placing it on my lap. I look over to him right as the movie starts and we smile at each other brightly. Lovingly even.

We make it through the first two movies before everyone starts to get text messages and calls from their parents about making it home. Once that happens, everyone starts to talk instead of actually watching the movie which I am okay with. I have watched Harry Potter so many times. Maybe almost as much as some of my favorite Marvel movies. "Mum and Dad got home, Charlie." Tori says from the other sofa. He nods his head slightly and goes to look at his phone for the first time since we all go here. I feel his leg start to bounce softly and he frantically places his phone down. Actually he almost drops it on the table with the popcorn bowls which makes his face flush red with embarrassment. "Uh, Nick. Where is your bathroom?" Charlie asks quickly. "I can show you." I whisper. We climb out of the pile of people and down to my bedroom. "You can use the one in my room. My flatmates do not keep their's very clean." I say laughing a little. He looks at me and gives a small, uncomfortable smile.

As he walks into my bedroom, I freeze at the doorway and I can't move. My hands start to get sweaty and I feel my heartbeat rising with nerves.

Just ask him what's wrong... Something is really off and you do not want to stress out the rest of the night. What if Ben hurt him? I'd kick his ass so hard. I never liked Ben. I thought he was a fake friend for Imogen in High School and especially now at Uni. But Charlie doesn't deserve to get hurt like he is. Not by Ben. Not by his Mum. No one. He is such a caring and amazing person.

"Nick?" I feel a familiar pair of hands on my biceps. I blink a few times and see Charlie in front of me. He has a soft smile. "You okay? You were really spaced out." He adds, his hands not moving. I nod my head. "Um, yeah. I just have been worried about you is all." His hands drop from my arms and he places them behind his back. "You don't have to worry about me Nick. I am fine." He tries to smile but I can see right through it. I grab his hand softly and look at our hands as our fingers intertwine together naturally. "You say that when something is actually upsetting you." I whisper softly. I see him start to let go of my hand but I grip it softly, almost begging for him to not let go.

"I'm sorry. I don't want you or anyone to worry about me. I don't want my problems to be anyone else's." His voice cracks which causes me to slowly look up to meet his face. I can see his eyes starting to well up and I quickly pull him into a tight hug, my head resting against his. "Char. You are my best friend. I hate to see you like this." I whisper. There is a pause and I feel his body relax against me. "I don't want to burden you Nick." He whispers back. My hands slide from behind his neck and down to the middle of his back as I lean back to look at him. "There is nothing you can tell me that would make me think you are a burden. I want to be here for you Charlie..." My voice begins to crack but I continue. "I really care about you and I need you to know that you can tell me anything."

He looks into my eyes for a second before pressing his face into my shoulder. I feel my shoulder get a little wet which makes me tighten my grip on him. A few minutes pass and I am the one to break our embrace. "Do you want to talk for a little and then we can go back out to our friends?" I ask softly. He lets a small smile spread across his lips before nodding. I shut my door quietly before I take his hand in mine so I can guide him to my bed which rests in the corner of the room. I climb in first and lean against the wall, my feet dangling off the side. He climbs in and rests his back against my bed frame, bringing his knees to his chest. "Is there something in particular you want to talk about?" I ask when neither of us say anything. He opens his mouth but no words make it out.

"Do you want to talk about Ben?" I suggest, my tone full of slight concern. His hands tighten around his knees as he brings them closer to his body, his chin resting softly on his knees.

"You know when I took that long nap, I woke up and saw a message from him. He said that 'If I didn't want to talk to him, I should have told him instead of ghosting him.' Maybe I should have told him I was taking a nap but we aren't dating or anything. We just made out a few times so we aren't official but he still said that. I don't really know that much about him even. So I didn't know how to answer so I didn't which it seems like it made him angrier. He just sent me a message saying that 'I am being selfish by not telling him how I feel about him and what I want. Having the ability to ignore someone is one of the most disgusting qualities someone can have and he thought I was different.'" Charlie goes silent for a second and I lean forward to grab his closest hand, holding it between both of mine. I move both of my thumbs over the top of his knuckles as I wait for him to continue.

"Then there is this thing with my Mother which has always been a problem but she's never did it in front of people. Especially my friends. I am not as weak as she makes people think I am. I can move away and dual major and make new friends and date any guy I want. Not the ones that she has to approve first. I just thought she'd be proud of me for going out of my comfort zone and doing this but she just keeps doing shit like this." A tear falls down his cheek. I swing my legs over him and turn so my legs are next to his hip and I am looking right at him. I place my hand to his cheek and softly wipe his tear away. "It's okay to talk to me Charlie. About anything." I whisper. I get on my knees and pull Charlie's entire body into mine. I feel his arms wrap around my shoulders. We stay like this for a few moments, just enjoying our embrace.

"We should get back to the group before they look for us." He whispers into my shoulder. My hand slides to the nap of his neck and I close my eyes as my head falls to rest against his. "Okay." I whisper back and slowly pull away from our embrace. When I look into his eyes, I watch as he genuinely smiles for the first time all day. We climb out of my bed and as my hand reaches for the doorknob. I feel Charlie's hand rest on my shoulder so I turn around to face him. "Thank you Nick." He says a little louder than a whisper. Before I can answer, he stands on his toes and kisses my cheek softly. My heart skips a beat and I feel my face get warmer. He is blushing when he pulls away.

We look into each other's eyes as I place my hand against his cheek. His hands rest softly against my hips. We both start to lean into each other. I start to feel his warm breath against my face and I instantly shut my eyes. I start to feel our lips brush when we are interrupted by someone calling our names. My eyes widen immediately and I truly see how close he and I are. His lips are just centimeters from mine. My breath gets shaky before we slowly pull away from each other and his hands move from my hips. Instead of his hands resting at his sides, he takes one hand to intertwine our fingers together. I look down at the touch and quickly look back up at him. He is smiling so confidently at me. "We should get back." He giggles as he leads me back to the group where he never lets go of my hand. Not in front of everyone and not even when we sit back down on the sofa.

The third Harry Potter starts to play and I do not pay attention at all. All I can do is watch as Charlie brushes his thumb across the top of my hand. Eventually his thumb slows down and I look over at him. He is fast asleep with his head resting against the back pillow. I lean up a little to see the group and see that everyone else is asleep.

I take my free hand and brush a few stray curls from Charlie's face as I smile to myself. I tighten my grip on his hand slightly before I slowly lean forward and softly press my lips to his forehead. He does not stir but his lips twitch with a small smile before softly resting again which causes me to smile even more. I lower myself on the sofa and rest my head on his shoulder. Within a few seconds, I feel his cheek rest against the top of my head. I close my eyes slowly, my smile never leaving my lips as I drift off to sleep.