Chapter Text
Spring had finally sprung, despite Charlie’s grim resolution to accept that this was the year when it just wouldn’t come at all. The school year had been brutal and seemed to go on forever, and just as you started to hope the end was near, it suddenly accelerated towards exam season and things became even more busy and downright hellish. It was more than welcome to take a little break from studying and go watch the Hanami with his friends. After all, they did it every spring, and it was usually the highlight of their year. The promise of the summer was in the air, all the warmth and freedom looming just around the corner, just out of reach, with limitless possibilities enticing their minds.
Of course, in reality, it was just a nice picnic in the park with hundreds of other people and a bunch of obnoxious wannabe influencers taking picture after picture among the pink cherry blossoms making duck faces and posting them with captions like “I’m sweet like cherry wine” or “Blooming and blossoming”, hoping desperately for someone to find their accounts and slide into their DMs with propositions about commercial collaborations on shitty cheap copies of high end clothing brands and questionable cosmetics sure to give you a rash, or worse. Taking the mickey out of them was Charlie’s favourite thing about Hanami.
Isaac’s book choice of the day was Haruki Murakami, in honour of the Japanese of it all. He laid on the blanket, seemingly blind and deaf to the world, turning the pages leisurely from time to time. Elle had picked cheap sushi from the nearest Tesco, but they had mostly filled their stomachs with crisps and Monster Munch, as teenagers tended to do. Tao was channelling his inner Jim Jarmusch and trying to find the best angle for catching the light just right on Elle’s cheekbones while she posed clutching cherry branches in both hands (still attached to the trees, obviously, she was no monster) in her best imitation of an over-the-top wannabe influencer gazing longingly to the horizon. She had told him that she was going to caption it “I can’t wait for the cherries to ripen so I can make jam out of them and smear it all over me”, and she was hoping for Shein to slide in her DMs so she could rip them a new one.
All in all, it was a lovely Hanami and Charlie felt happy lying on his back, the sun on his face, the smell of cherry blossoms permeating in the air, exams and moronic rugby lads forgotten, if only for one fleeting moment. Life really was goo- OUCH, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?
The attack was fast and twofold. The first thing that hit him was something hard, only narrowly missing his head, scraping his left ear, and landing on his shoulder with a loud thud. He instantly recognized the smell, associating it with bruises, fear, harsh words, and ridicule. Despite his total bafflement over what was happening, he noticed himself getting alert, frantically looking around him, scouting the direction of where the danger was coming from. Despite the lookout, he only noticed the second attack when it was about to hit him in the face.
To the culprit’s defence, the second attack didn’t hurt and the associations that filled Charlie’s mind this time were not unpleasant, quite the contrary. He got a face full of slobber, as something warm and furry ran square into him and tried apparently to literally kill him with kindness. Charlie couldn’t help the giggle that escaped him as he tried to wrestle the adorable attacker off him.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I’m so so so sorry. Did it hurt you, where did it hit you? – Nellie, get off, for fuck’s sakes – I’m sorry, you have to forgive me, I was just throwing the ball to her, and it slipped and oh god it shouldn’t slip like that, right, they’re gonna revoke my captain card for having such shit aim, and – Nellie, leave him be, get down! – and I’m sure it hurt a lot and I’m so sorry, do you need like ice or something or – Nellie, stop drooling on him, you embarrassing idiot – I’m so sorry, now you’re hurt and covered in dog saliva, oh my god.”
Charlie was indeed covered in dog saliva and still a bit dizzy after things had escalated in the last 20 seconds, so he just assumed that he was dreaming. There was no way Truham’s Rugby King himself, Nick Nelson, was kneeling next to him on the picnic blanket and wrestling the most beautiful border collie Charlie had ever laid his eyes on off Charlie’s torso. Charlie blinked and wondered if the rugby ball had hit him in the head after all. This must be what a concussion felt like, right? But wasn’t there supposed to be vomiting also? He didn’t feel like vomiting. And was he seeing double? He didn’t think so. But he was hallucinating, right? None of this was real, surely. Suddenly he realised that it had become quiet. He saw Isaac’s eyebrows shot up quizzically, a small smirk forming on his lips. But then his focus returned to the auburn-haired wall of muscle in front of him. Ten centimetres from his face, in fact, looking at him with such worry in his hazel eyes that Charlie couldn’t help but blink again. He realised Nick had asked him a question and waited for an answer. Oh god, he was making an arse of himself, wasn’t he? It was time to be eloquent and suave.
“Erm… what?” Great, good job, dumbass. He wanted to believe it was the concussion speaking. There had to be one.
“I… I just asked if you're okay, but obviously not, did it hit your head, do you want me to take you to the doctor or…?” Nick seemed nervous and… genuinely concerned? About him? Charlie still couldn’t understand a single thing going on. He did register the word “doctor” somewhere there, though, and immediately thought that yes, he would love for Nick to play doctor with him. Oh no. No, that was not it, what the hell, brain. He shook his head a little to try to recalibrate his brain like an Etch A Sketch.
“Errr, no, I don’t think a doctor is needed, it hit me in the shoulder, and I’m not allergic to dogs, so the saliva doesn’t bother me in a way that would require medical assistance, I guess. Haha. Umm. So. Yeah.” Smooth, very smooth. Idiot.
By that time Tao and Elle had also noticed something had happened and Tao was already taking long strides towards them, obviously ready to defend Charlie from whatever fuckery this laddest of all rugby lads was about to inflict on him. Elle looked concerned as well. Isaac was the only one who was apparently calm, his face firmly back in the book, the faintest hint of the smirk however still etched on his face.
Charlie was, for whatever reason, pretty sure Nick was not going to hit him or call him names, but he understood why Tao wasn’t so sure about that. After all, this was the Nick Nelson, the object of desire of half the girls of Higgs and one of the most popular boys ever to walk the halls of Truham, often in the company of that douchebag Harry Greene. And, as Elle had once put it, the straightest person she had ever seen. So, it was only natural to be wary. The straights couldn’t usually be trusted; Tao himself was the most notable exception to the rule.
The thing was, though, that at this moment Nick looked more afraid of Tao than the other way around, and Charlie had a gut feeling based on absolutely nothing that Nick wasn’t out to get him. Before Tao could burst into a very Tao-esque attack of yapping insults like a rabid poodle, Charlie silenced him with a stern look. It worked. Tao stood there, hovering and glaring ominously, puffing out thick clouds of irritation, but kept his mouth shut. Elle, always the calm in the storm, placed a placating hand on Tao’s arm.
For a while none of them said a word. Charlie kept staring at Nick’s eyes, unable to look away, even though his brain was silently screaming at him that it wasn’t a great idea to gay panic too close to the sun when the sun was a straight rugby lad.
After what seemed like forever but was most likely seconds, Nick seemed to manage to break the spell he was under, brought his other hand to the back of his neck in a nervous manner and looked down. He seemed to hesitate about what to say, but then took a deep breath and spoke in a gentle tone. “If you’re sure you’re okay, I’ll leave you to it, then. Once again, I’m so sorry, for the rugby ball and for Nellie, and if you later notice that you need to go the doctor after all or, I don’t know, want to take your jumper to the dry cleaner to get all the drool off it, please, just let me know and I promise I’ll pay for everything. And… yeah. Oh, my name is Nick. Nick Nelson. You can add me on insta and DM me to let me know if you need anything, okay?” Nick ventured one last quick look at Charlie, gave him a shy smile, and stood up to leave.
Charlie couldn’t prevent the incredulous little laugh that escaped him at the mere thought that he wouldn’t know who Nick was. It was ludicrous. Everybody and their mother knew who Nick was. Charlie opened his mouth and tried to form words. “Charlie,” he managed to squeak out. For fuck’s sake. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Charlie, my name is Charlie. Spring. We go to the same school. I think you’re a year above me. Thank you but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“You’re sure?”
Charlie nodded. Nick looked almost… disappointed? That couldn’t be. He was probably just relieved to put this awkward encounter behind him and get on with his… oh my god. That was when Charlie noticed a really pretty girl with huge blue eyes standing a few metres aways from them, clearly waiting for Nick. Of course. He was on a date. Hanami was a popular dating spot among the people of Rochester, so of course Nick was going to bring his flavour of the week there. Charlie felt stupid – Nick was probably just being nice to him to make a good impression on the pretty girl holding Nellie’s leash in one hand and a picnic basket in the other.
“I’m sure. Goodbye. Have a nice day, mate.” Charlie sat rigidly and didn’t look at Nick anymore. The sooner the straight boy would leave, the sooner Charlie and his friends could go on with their lovely day. After all, there was really no need for the borderline outcasts and the rugby captain ever to cross paths again.