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As the six of them walked from the milkshake tent to the concert, they naturally fell into couples. Nick looked over at Charlie and smiled. It was nice to be able to think of them as a couple for once.
Most of the other musicians were already in the gym when they arrived, and the chairs for the audience were still being set up. The music teacher from Higgs rushed Tara and Darcy to their seats while Charlie started inspecting the drum set-up.
"So what are you playing tonight?" Nick asked.
"Let me show you." There was a second chair nearby, and Charlie pulled it up, showing Nick where to put his foot on the pedal and handing him the drumsticks.
"Okay."
Charlie put his hands over Nick's. Remembering the last time they did this, the way Nick had felt with Charlie sitting so close, the way he now understood, he looked over at Charlie, who smiled at him and proceeded to lead him in a simple rhythm. Nick still couldn't follow it, but he appreciated Charlie wanting to share with him this part of who he was.
Letting go of Nick's hands, Charlie leaned closer to him. "I'm glad you came."
"It seemed like you didn't want me to."
"No, I did. I just … I thought you were trying not to be rude."
"No. I just … I like being with you." He didn't just like it; he loved it. He wanted to be with Charlie all the time.
Charlie laughed happily and looked away, blushing a little bit, and Nick decided he was going to make that point more firmly after the concert, so Charlie would believe it was true.
"Also," Charlie said hesitantly, "we've been hanging out a lot and … If people guessed we were together, if they started saying stuff about you, then … Well, I really don't want you to have to deal with that."
Since Charlie already dealt with that more than anyone should have to, Nick thought it was generous of him to want to spare Nick from it, and he regretted that he had been so scared. It felt like the right time to tell Charlie what he had been thinking.
"I, um … I've been researching about … being bisexual. Uh … I think that might be me. But I … I'm not sure."
Charlie smiled at him, and Nick felt a tension inside him ease that he hadn't even known was there. It occurred to him that he had been worried that Charlie wouldn't accept him if he wasn't fully gay, just as he had been worried that his friends and his mum wouldn't accept him if he wasn't fully straight. Being neither and both felt like something of a no-man's-land.
Before either of them could say more, they heard the teacher asking about Tara and Darcy, who had apparently left the gym at some point. "I'm about to open the doors for the audience," she exclaimed.
Getting to their feet, Nick and Charlie gestured for Tao and Elle to help them look for their friends. They ran down the hall, knocking on doors and calling the girls' names.
Eventually, they found them locked in the instruments room. "Hey," Nick said as he burst through the door. "You guys are supposed to be on stage, like, right now."
They ran back down the hall, separating into couples again, Tara and Darcy and Nick and Charlie holding hands, with Elle and Tao lagging behind.
"Come help me," Tara said urgently to Nick, so he followed her to her chair, holding her instrument case as she hastily fit her clarinet together. "Thanks, 'boy I kissed one time'."
"No problem, 'girl I kissed one time'." He looked down at her in concern. "Are you going to be okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I'll be okay. You?"
"Yeah."
She took her seat and he hurried into the now-full audience, surprised and pleased to see that Elle and Tao had saved a seat for him. As soon as he was seated, his eyes immediately went to Charlie, who smiled so broadly Nick could feel an answering smile instantly spreading across his face. Throughout the rest of the concert, he tried to pay attention to the other musicians, but he couldn't take his eyes off Charlie. His Charlie. The most beautiful, amazing person in the world.
After the concert, Nick helped out, closing up chairs and carrying the instruments back down the corridor. He didn't mind doing it at all—it was nice to be able to contribute something to what his friends had done.
Charlie met him afterward and they walked together toward the bus stop. "You didn't have to stay and help."
"I know I didn't. I wanted to." He smiled. "Besides, this was a date, remember? We haven't had the best part yet."
"Oh?"
"The good-night kiss at your door."
"Oh. Good point."
"I thought so." He bumped Charlie's shoulder lightly.
They took the bus back to Charlie's neighborhood and walked down the street together. It was nearly dark now, and it was nice to be out. Nick reached for Charlie's hand. "I meant what I said earlier."
"Which part?"
"I like being with you. I like it a lot." He tugged Charlie to a stop so he could look into his eyes. "You know that, right?"
"I … guess so." Charlie added shyly, "I like being with you, too."
"Good. Was it a nice first date?"
"Yes, definitely. I can't believe you came out to Elle!"
Nick blushed. "I just—I thought you should be there when she found out. Was that okay?"
"So incredibly okay," Charlie assured him. "Was it a nice first date for you?"
"It was. One of my favourite days ever." He smiled. "I'm gathering quite a collection of those since I met you."
"So am I." Charlie moved closer to him so that they were nearly touching. "Sometimes I still can't believe this is really happening. I didn't think it ever could, much as I wanted it to."
Nick laughed softly. "What was it Elle said about months of intense pining?"
Charlie blushed and looked away. "I couldn't help it. You kept sending me mixed signals."
"I suppose I did. I just couldn't seem to stop looking at you."
Grasping his jacket, Charlie stood up on his toes. "Nick."
Something about that particular whisper of his name, little more than a breath, always melted him from the inside out. "Charlie." He wrapped his arms around Charlie and kissed him. Soft and sweet at first, but then here in the darkness the kiss deepened, Nick's hands moving restlessly across Charlie's back, pulling him closer. The world was spinning around him. He held on more tightly, anchoring himself to Charlie.
At last he pulled away, remembering that they were still in public. He didn't let go just yet, though, holding on and resting his forehead against Charlie's until they both had their breathing under control.
"I should go," Charlie said at last. "My mum will be wondering where I am."
"Okay." Reluctantly, Nick let him go, watching him walk the rest of the way to his house, before turning round to head back home. He texted "Miss you already" before he'd even reached the corner, and had Charlie's "me, too" before he got across the street.
On the way, he read his texts, seeing messages from Tara and Darcy about the triple date, analysing how it had gone from the standpoint of Elle and Tao. Nick joined in, suggesting that he didn't think they'd made any progress, but Darcy, apparently a big believer in getting people together, disagreed.
Once he reached his house, said good-night to his mum, and got in bed, Nick texted Tara privately. "Hey, just wanted to check you're okay. You seemed to have a rough day."
"Thanks. I just didn't expect people to have so many opinions. Why do they care?"
Nick thought about his issues with his own friends. "I don't know. I wish they didn't so much."
"Same. At least I have Darcy. She'll get me through."
"You can always talk to me, too," Nick told her.
"Thank you! Good to be able to talk to someone going through the same thing."
"Yeah."
On the group chat, he added, "Thanks for the date idea, Darcy."
"yeah! Let's do it again sometime"
Then Charlie chimed in. "it was great, definitely"
And Tara. "Anytime."
Darcy put the cap on before they all went to sleep. "let's hear it for the meddling gays!"
Just as Nick put the phone down, it chimed again. He picked it up to see a final message from Charlie, to him privately. "and the bis. good-night!" With a heart emoji.
Nick went to sleep smiling.