Narlie

Narlie is the slash ship between Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson from the Osemanverse fandom.

Canon
Charlie and Nick attend Truham Grammer School for Boys. Charlie is one-year below Nick. Since it was school gossip, Nick already knew Charlie was gay and that he was bullied for it, but the two guys barely knew each other. That is, until January, when Charlie and Nick are placed in the same form group. In the seating plan, the teacher places Charlie next to Nick in the seating plan and they meet for the first time.

At first, they say very little to each other, though Nick makes the effort to say 'Hi' every day. One lesson, Nick's pen explodes and Mr. Lange sends both the boys out of the classroom to clean Nick up, who is covered in ink. They get caught up in conversation, talking about fountain pens and their mutual dislike for the science teacher. However, they talked for too long and inevitability passed first bell. Afterward, Charlie and Nick become friends and grow closer, with Charlie starting to harbour a crush for Nick.

In February, during a P.E. lesson, Nick watches Charlie from afar as he does laps around the track. Later, Nick interrupts Ben and Charlie, the former of whom was turning violent towards Charlie. He asks if everything is alright and Ben leaves. Charlie voices concern saying 'Ben is kinda a dick', but the conversation changes to rugby. Charlie asks if he wants to join the rugby team, though Nick is reluctant and embarrassed by his small size, but agrees to think about it. Charlie leaves for a drum lesson, leaving Nick a little in awe that he can play the drums.

One week later, Charlie turns up to the rugby club and Nick is absolutely elated to see him. He launches into the rugby rules, telling him all about tackling and penalties. Charlie spends the rest of the lesson teaching him how to pass the ball, score and finally tackling. Nick is constantly supportive and after a few weeks, Charlie is playing with the rest of the team. During one practice, Nick comments that Charlie's hair is sticking up and comforts him when bullying is mentioned by saying he likes him. Charlie leaves the lockerroom, but Nick follows.

Fanon
Narlie is the most popular Heartstopper ship and one of the most popular pairings in the Osemanverse. Ironically, the ship and comic series are especially popular with British and French readers. There are only a few fanfictions on AO3 for the pairing, however, fanart and fancomics are more prevalent.

The ship name, Narlie, is used by the author herself in various tumblr posts. In response to an ask on her Tumblr, Alice said the ship name is occasionally used by other characters 'because they’re always together'.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Nick/Charlie on Archive of Our Own

TUMBLR