Narlie

"Why are we like this?"

- Nick and Charlie on multiple occasions

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

Chapter 1
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 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.

Nick sensing something was awry, follows Charlie, and witnesses Ben sexually harassing Charlie. Nick intervenes pushes Ben away with anger who promptly leaves. Nick checks to see if Charlie was okay and teases him for always saying sorry. They leave school and head their separate directions. Nick begins to start having feelings for Charlie.

Chapter 2
Nick searches up Charlie on social media and sends him a short message checking to see if he's okay. At his home, Nick smiles upon seeing the message and says he's okay. Nick presses on asking if he's sure and wants to talk about it. Charlie agrees and tells the whole story of Ben's abusive behaviour to Nick. Immediately after, Nick responds by saying how much he hates Ben and saying he 'will kick his ass' if he tries to come near Charlie.

Initially, Charlie is anxious after telling Nick the whole story, wondering if he wouldn't want to be friends. The exact opposite is true and in the new few weeks, Charlie and Nick grow even closer: texting constantly, spending lunch together and playing rugby. During rugby, Nick picks Charlie up and carries him around, with Charlie refusing to drop him down. Both are holding obvious crushes on each other, but Charlie is anxious about his crush since Nick is "straight".

Now it's March. Nick tells Charlie about a cheesecake he made, and tries to show Charlie a picture of it, but instead finds a picture of his dog Nellie. Nick invites Charlie around his house on Saturday to meet Nellie. They surprisingly live only 10 minutes away from each other. On Saturday, Charlie dresses up and worries about his haircut, likely wanting to impress Nick. Charlie arrives and meets Nick's gran and of course, Nellie. They play Mario Kart and Charlie wins at every match. Nick insists Charlie is good at everything and makes a list of all the things to prove his point, but Charlie refuses to agree and playfully shuts up him up by putting his hand over Nick's mouth until Charlie notices it's snowing.

The two boys decide to go and play in the snow. Nick gives Charlie one of his jumpers, though it is little too big in size. They walk around in the snow with Nellie and have a mini-snow fight. Charlie makes a snow-angel in the snow and Nick takes photos. They return inside and Charlie is shivering and freezing from the cold, so Nick fetches him a towel. Eventually, Charlie has to return home. Nick tells him Nellie will miss him and tells him not to 'slip and die on the ice'. Both Charlie and Nick now have more apparent crushes on each other, with Charlie crying over falling for a straight boy and Nick beginning to question his sexuality.

The next Saturday, Nick arrives at Charlie's house and Charlie tries to teach him on how to use the drums. Charlie grabs onto his hands to guide him, making them both blush. Later, they start doing homework, but Nick gets bored and takes Charlie's homework. They playfight and Nick pins Charlie to the ground. Charlie teases Nick for being strong as he's a 'rugby lad', and Nick imitates a stereotypical British lad. Nick admits defeat and they decide to next play Mario Kart. Afterwards, they get a drink, and Nick meets Charlie's family. Later in the evening, they watch a movie together and Charlie falls asleep. Nick reaches to hold his hand but gets flustered and retracts his hand. Nick eventually has to go home. Before leaving, Nick tells Charlie he looks cuddly and gives Charlie a surprise hug. Once he leaves, Tori, Charlie's sister comments that she doesn't think he's straight.

Once he gets home, Nick begins to get emotional and spends the next hours searching for 'gay tests' on Google and questioning his sexuality. During the next two weeks of the Easter Holiday, Nick and Charlie spend every day with each other and begin to become more physical and hug more. They visit the arcade and get rather close in the photobooth. Nick visits Charlie and helps make a birthday cake for Charlie's sister, Tori. They have a mini dough fight. One evening they take Nellie out for a walk and they almost kissed. Charlie is suspecting that Nick might like him back, but Tao tells him this isn't true as Nick has a crush on a girl from Higgs called Tara Jones.

Charlie watches Nick play rugby, albeit a little sad after finding out Nick likes Tara. Truham wins the match and Nick runs over to Charlie, picks him up and hugs him in victory. They talk and Charlie affectionately brushes the mud from Nick's face. Later, Nick invites Charlie to Harry Greene's birthday party. Nick admits all his friends are 'assholes' and would rather spend the night with Charlie. Charlie reluctantly agrees and attends the party. He and Nick are excited to see each other and decide to get drinks in a quieter part of the hotel. However, they are interrupted by Harry Greene, who forcibly takes Nick to see his old crush Tara Jones. Charlie watches them with a clear look of heartbreak. Nick eventually leaves Tara to try and find Charlie, however, is stopped by Harry's taunts and insults against Charlie and their friendship. Nick yells out in protest against Harry, calling him 'homophobic self-obsessed dick', and essentially choosing Charlie's company over Harry. He finds Charlie on a table by himself and sits beside him. Charlie tells him about how he ran into Ben during the party. Nick immediately gets worried, but Charlie tells him he dealt with it, prompting Nick to hold his hand and tells him he's proud. Charlie is immediately feeling more happy with Nick around. They decide to go somewhere quieter and hold hands, though Nick drops his hand in embarrassment. Charlie decides to race him around the party and they reach a large empty room. Charlie asks if his crush 'on that girl' is true and Nick tells him it isn't. Charlie continues and asks if he has crush on anyone and Nick suggests he does. Charlie presumes it's a girl, but Nick corrects that it might not be. Charlie asks if he'd kiss a boy and Nick is still hesitant and unsure, as he still questioning his sexuality. Charlie asks if he would kiss him and Nick responds 'yeah'. The two boys finally have their first kiss.

They kiss again, more passionately, until they are interrupted by sounds of Nick's friend calling for him. Nick leaves, rather abruptly, still rather flustered and embarrassed from the kiss. Charlie is left alone guilty from the kiss.

Chapter 3
The next morning, Nick visits Charlie's house drenched in the morning rain. They both go to Charlie's room for privacy and to talk about what happened. Charlie immediately goes into a long apology about the previous night and their kiss. Nick interrupts him by kissing him back. They have a passionate kiss, before breaks away and they start laughing with Charlie saying "you've been sending a lot of mixed signals". Nick apologies and goes into his own rant about being confused about his sexuality. Nick gives him a long hug and offers to make tea. They spend the rest of the morning together, acting very touchy and close. They sit in Charlie's conservation and Nick asks Charlie about how he knew he was gay. Afterwards, Nick is still confused about his own feelings but admits he likes Charlie. Charlie seems shocked by that, prompting them both to laugh, since Nick said it was obvious. The vice-versa occurs again when Charlie admits he likes Nick too. They both talk have a conversation about what happens. Nick apologies for leaving and Charlie tells him he could be bisexual.

They kiss again in the conservatory but are caught by Olly, Charlie's younger brother who teases them for kissing. They agree to keep what happened a secret and Nick tells Charlie that he looks really cute. Nick then leaves in the rain, but Charlie runs up to him then gives him a kiss in the rain before running away.

They decide to keep their relationship a secret. During a text conversation, Nick replies with the message 'why are you so great' when Charlie is acting all supportive. Nick sends a selfie of him with his dog, Nellie, causing Charlie to get all flustered. In the next week, they spend every day with each other, in class, on the rugby field and together. Charlie is hurt during a rugby game and Nick carries him, nurses his knee and they make out in the empty locker room.

The week after it is Charlie's birthday. He invites Nick to a bowling match with his friends, though Nick hasn't yet met Charlie's friends before. They hug when they meet each other and Charlie introduces him to his friends. They play bowling. Nick wins the first round and they flirt about Nick's rugby arms. Tao lectures Charlie in private about how he should stop getting close to Nick since he's straight. Nick overhears the conversation and after Charlie exits the bathroom, Nick gives him a big hug and says he'll explain later. Eventually, all of Charlie's friends leave to go home, leaving Nick and Charlie alone. Nick give Charlie his birthday present, a framed photo of both of them during the snow day. They kiss, using a restaurant menu to give them privacy. Afterwards, Nick brings up the topic of Tao and mentions he overheard the conversation. He worries he may become like Ben and said he wishes he knew Charlie back before they met so he could have protected Charlie from the bullying.

Two and a half weeks later. Nick bumps into Charlie in the hallway as he's trying to complete his homework. He was going to complete the homework the day before, but Charlie came round his house and they made out instead. Charlie helps Nick with his homework and Nick watches as Charlie's takes part in the orchestra. Nick talks to Tara and Darcy privately and he admits he's dating Charlie; the first to officially known about their relationship.

Later, Charlie and Nick are studying together. Nick stares at Charlie since he thinks he's cute. Nick admits to him that he told Tara and Darcy about their relationship. Charlie immediately hugs him in support, proud of him for coming out, and they kiss. While kissing, Tori enters the room, interrupting them. Nick is instantly nervous after she finds out about them, but Charlie is supportive, understanding how difficult coming out is. Next Saturday, Nick invites Charlie to meet up with his friends at the cinema. Charlie is nervous, but Nick promises to look after him and that Harry won't be there. But to their surprise, Harry has turned up, uninvited. Nick introduces Charlie to his friends and they get popcorn. Nick checks to see if Charlie's okay, and calls him 'Char', something that Charlie finds cute. They sit next to each in the cinema and hold hands during the film. They exit the film together and Harry starts asking invasive questions about Nick's sexuality, including whenever he thinks Nick is hot and teasing him about having a crush. Nick is apologetic about Harry, but Charlie dismisses it saying it's fine. Nick refuses to believe that and after Charlie leaves, he and Harry get in an argument and a fight over Charlie, leaving Nick bruised. At first, he keeps the fight a secret from Charlie and texts him to apologise again and ask him formally for a date.

The next morning, Charlie meets Nick for their date. Charlie notices his bruises and Nick admits the truth, earning a long hug from Nick. They go on their date, bringing Nellie with them, but at first, Nick keeps their destination a secret, until they reach the beach. They play in the water, have fish and chips together, and take photos and kiss in a photo booth. Then they relax on the beach, listen to music, and Nick admits that he would like to come out. Nick proceeds to yell 'I like Charlie Spring' to the beach, followed by 'In a romantic way not a friend way'. Charlie gets emotional and cries since he's so happy and thought this would never happen. They officially start calling each other boyfriends and in the excitement, Nick carries Charlie into the sea and they have fun on their date.

Chapter 4
At school, Nick tells Charlie that he's come as bisexual to his mother and they make out against a locker, surprisingly not getting caught. Charlie also tells his parents about dating Nick and they ban him from sleepovers. Nick helps Charlie with revising for his Chemistry exam and after the exam asks how it went and they joke about hugs and energy flow.

One week later, they play rugby. Nick is annoyed at himself for not coming out to his friends yet, and Charlie admits that he struggles with the idea of being out as a couple. They support each other and are caught kissing by the sports teacher, Mrs Singh-Stevens. They travel home together and return to their houses.

The next morning, Nick walks into school exhausted from his brother and falls onto Charlie shoulder. Charlie invites him to join the school's Paris trip with him and they agree. During an information evening for the trip, Nick and Charlie come out as a couple to Aled, who admits he already knew, and Elle too but not Tao. Aled tells them to keep it a secret from Tao since Tao had accidentally outed Charlie previously. Afterward, Charlie is upset after learning about Tao and is dismissive of talking about it to Nick. On Monday, Nick and Charlie meet and play with Nelle. They talk about Tao, and Charlie admits that he used to self-harm because of the bullying. Nick acts a supportive boyfriend, gives him a tight hug, and he falls asleep on Nick as they watch Iron Man. Nick makes Charlie tea and toast since he hasn't eaten much.

But as Nick approaches his room, he hears Charlie and his brother, David, who came back from university, talking. David teases Nick about the fact he wanted to meet the guy who "turned his brother gay", completely ignoring how Nick tells him he's actually bisexual. The two start loudly fighting, and as David leaves the house, Nick notices Charlie has been standing there, awkwardly listening to them. Charlie decides to go home, kissing Nick goodbye, but they keep communicating via text once he gets home. They talk about the hardships of coming out, and Charlie tells Nick he wishes it wasn't so complicated and apologizes to Nick telling him it was all his fault. As Nick tells him that none of this is, and tells him about the complexity of coming out, Charlie starts typing "I love you" as a response, but then ends up deleting it, and as he blushes he writes he wishes they could just cuddle and watch movies in peace.

Quickly, the Paris trip comes and Nick and Charlie share a room at the hotel with Aled and Tao. Since both Aled and Tao end up choosing the two beds that are in the room, Charlie and Nick see their illusion of sharing a bed crushed, although they end up holding hands in the dark from bed to bed. The next day, before their tour through the city, Nick notices once again during breakfast that Charlie barely ate. And once in the tour, when he asks Charlie if he wants some ice cream, he gets even more worried when Charlie tells him that he's full. So Nick ends up asking Aled later on for advice on this and Aled just tells him to ask Charlie. Meanwhile, Charlie and Tara talk just the two of them, and Charlie asks her for some advice about coming out, and being out. Tara shares her story with Darcy, and tells Charlie that he just has to "let it happen", and to not be worried since they have each other if something goes wrong. At night, back at their hotel room, while Tao and Aled go to the vending machine, Charlie and Nick take the opportunity to cuddle in the bed, and Nick starts kissing Charlie's neck. Charlie sees the door and gets worried someone might caught them, so they stop, blushing intensely. But in the morning, Charlie realizes Nick left him with a hickey on his neck, which deeply worries Nick because since he's not out, people will start gossiping about Charlie. Which unfortunately ends up being the case as the next day Charlie notices everyone gossiping about him and making fun of him for the hickey. Later in the day they go visit the Eiffel Tower and while Nick and Charlie are taking selfies, Harry's group of friends start bullying Charlie once again asking Nick if he was the one who gave Charlie the hickey. Nick responds "so what if it was? Are you jealous", and when the guys start getting defensive with homophobic comments, Harry sticks up for them and tells his friends to stop, which surprises Nick and Charlie both.

Afterwards, Nick and Charlie talk about how nice it'd be to be out, and Charlie tells Nick about her talk with Tara. Then, Charlie decides to tell Tao that he's dating Nick. Which ends up completely not how Charlie imagined it since Tao starts questioning why Charlie didn't tell him earlier. Charlie tells him he was terrified since when he came out as gay to him, someone ended up overhearing him talk about it, and that's how he was forcibly outed to the whole school. So he was terrified the same could happen again and forcibly out Nick. This upsets Tao, who tells Nick he's a terrible friend, leaving a crying Charlie behind. The next day, Tao starts avoiding Charlie and Nick notices that Charlie is barely eating again. So he tells him he'll pack a croissant with him in case Charlie gets hungry on the way. Overwhelmed with emotions, and tired, Charlie buries his face on Nick's shoulder and tells him "you're the best". Later, they go to the museum, and Charlie starts feeling dizzy and passes out, leaving Nick deeply worried, calling for the teachers. After the teachers aid Charlie and he starts feeling better, he goes to the cafeteria with Nick and Nick offers him the croissant he had saved earlier. And there, Nick asks Charlie about why he's barely eaten, since he's worried for him and wants to understand. Charlie opens himself to Nick about his eating disorder and tells him that he feels like eating is the only thing he can control sometimes. Immediately after Nick tells him he can always trust him with things like these, Charlie tells him he doesn't want to make him feel like he's a burden, or broken. And Nick assures him he doesn't feel like that, that he is his boyfriend and that he... When he was about to say "I love you", both of them start blushing terribly and Nick ends up uttering "I care about you".

Then they go outside the museum, and Nick gets a call from his dad. They start talking in French, and Charlie gets completely awestruck hearing him, so after hanging up, Nick teases him romantically by calling him "mon amour". They have a talk again about how this probably has been keeping Nick worried and Nick tells him that he guesses both of them have been keeping stuff to themselves. So Charlie asks him to make a promise to share whenever they have stuff in their life conflicting them. And as the both of them walk around the museum and hug each other, the word "I love you" echoes through both of their heads. The next day, after Tao and Charlie make up in the bus, after Tao apologize to Charlie, he realizes the hickey he had was made by Nick so he suggests them to go to the girls so they can cover it with make-up, which both Nick and Charlie didn't thought about, and that ends up making the both of them laugh alongside their friends. The next night, the both of them go to Tara's birthday party, after an intense make out session, and try some vodka together in the balcony, which they end up not liking. After coming back inside, they hear Tara saying she doesn't want homophobes in her party, and Charlie and Nick realize Harry came to the party. He snarkily tells them both that he wants to apologize for the homophobic things he said, since "he grew up with a homophobic family". At that moment, Charlie tells him he doesn't have to forgive Harry or anyone who caused him tremendous harm just because he just realized "gay people have feelings", so he just tells Harry off with a "have a good life". Closing the door, he's met with loud cheers from all his friends and Nick tells him how proud he is of him.

Later on in the night, all of the people at the party start playing "truth or dare" and when Charlie's turn comes, he gets dared to kiss a guy at the party, the guy starts getting nervous and tells Charlie he's not gay as he approaches to kiss him, but Charlie quickly gets away leaning against Nick, and refuses to kiss the guy. So he gets dared to tell the truth instead and he gets asked who gave him the hickey he has on his neck. His friends immediately get protective since Charlie rightfully has no obligation to answer that. Seeing Charlie getting overwhelmed, Nick interferes and says he knows who it was that gave Charlie that hickey. Then and there, he shares an intimate look with Charlie and when he nods, Nick decides to come out and tell everyone in the room that he and Charlie are dating. The both of them get filled with support, questions and overall positive reactions and one particular classmate asks them if they'd want them to keep this secret, to which they reply that they're okay being out. After the party is over, as they're heading to their room, Charlie starts lovingly nudging Nick, and Nick ends up lifting him up over his shoulder and carrying him to their room. Once inside, Charlie expresses how proud he is of Nick for coming out. They talk about the future now on, with everyone knowing they're dating now, and about the fears they had about coming out. Charlie tells him he was scared Nick would have to deal with homophobic attacks and that he was going to be in the spotlight again, but now, althought he's still scared, Nick finishes his sentence asking if they'll be okay. Pulling each other into a tight hug, Charlie replies "yeah". They stay like this for a while until they realise now they have the room for themselves and can share a bed like they couldn't before. So they plop down on the bed and start kissing, after some playful teasing. The kissing gets more and more passionate and Charlie decides to now give Nick a hickey as "payback". As they keep kissing, Charlie asks Nick if this is okay with him and when he seems hesitant, Nick ends up telling him that he doesn't feel ready to do more than kissing just yet, heavily blushing. Charlie adamantly tells him he wasn't thinking about that either and starts blushing a lot as well. So the both of them lie on their backs on the bed, in silence and blushing. After some seconds like that, the both of them turn around to face each other and, at the same time, they say "I do want to", although they say not now. So after talking about doing it when both of them are ready, they hug each other and Charlie asks him if kissing is still good, to which Nick replies wordlessly by kissing him deeply, as the both of them fall asleep together, cuddled up the whole night.

The next day, they come back home and meet with their families, promising to text each other later. On their way home, Charlie googles "how to tell someone I love you", while Nick goes through his phone gallery, seeing some pictures he took of Charlie, the both of them and the landscapes during the trip. One picture specially catches his eyes, one where Charlie has barely eaten his food in comparison to the empty plates of the people in the picture with him, which worries Nick, as he googles "eating disorders".

Chapter 5
Charlie is in his room, practicing how to say "I love you" to Nick, when he realizes his siblings heard it all, and so they start jokingly teasing him about it. His older sister approaches him and asks him about it directly and Charlie confesses that he doesn't want Nick to feel obligated to say "I love you too". His sister reassures him Nick is "obsessed" with him so then she asks when he is planning on telling Nick. Charlie informs her they're all going to the beach later in the day, and that after that, Nick is going on a three week holiday, and that he won't see him until they come back to school, which means this is the last chance he has to tell him this summer. So his sister bluntly tells him to just tell Nick today. Charlie covers his face, blushing a lot, and it's still unsure. So his little brother asks him if he says "I love you" to Nick if they'll be together forever, to which Nick replies "I hope so", getting a big hug from his brother, excited for Nick to join their family.

Nick comes to pick Charlie up from his home, and they go with their friends, the self-proclaimed "Paris squad" to the beach. During the whole time there, Charlie is constantly worrying about Nick's possible response to his "I love you" confession and Nick realizes this so he asks Charlie if he's okay, since he seems stressed out. Charlie tells him he's okay, just hot, although he's super stressed. And after putting tons of sunscreen on Charlie to protect his skin, and kissing him deeply, Nick goes to the seashore. Charlie stays at the sand, with Elle, who echoes Nick's words and tells Charlie he does seem stressed. Charlie tells her about his anxiety over telling Nick he loves him and Elle holds his hand and offers him a snack, which Charlie declines with a nervous smile. Nick sees this from afar and is distant floating around the shore while the girls play in the water around him. His thoughts constantly come back to Charlie and how to help him if he's struggling with an eating disorder. So when Sahar approaches him and asks him if he's nervous about starting Sixth Form, he just tells her that he has been busy thinking about other things, which brings his thoughts back to Charlie. When lunch comes later and everyone eats all their plates, Nick instantly notices Charlie didn't touch his food at all and he asks him in what way can he help. So he sits behind him and hugs him from the back, embracing him fully. Their friends notice this and hurry them to help them eat the leftover snacks, but Nick just replies they're full, to which Charlie thanks him to his ear.

They later go to the seashore once again and Nick invites Charlie to join him in the water. Charlie tells Nick that he doesn't want to take his shirt off so Nick just holds his hand and tells him that he can keep it on. So the two of them laugh and have a great time in the water, until Nick sees Charlie smiling in the sun, and stares at him, blushing. So he hugs him tightly, pushing him further in the water and they start to kiss. As their kiss deepens and lasts longer, Charlie keeps thinking about telling Nick he loves him. So he decides to do so and tells Nick he has something to tell him and Nick tells him he does too. So Charlie asks him to go first. Nick tells him that he believes he has an eating disorder and as he starts explaining more and more, Charlie starts hearing his words fading out, getting more and more gloomy. Nick asks him what he wanted to ask him but Charlie just tells him it was that, so he decides not to tell Nick, and instead asks him what to do. So Nick, being fully supportive, tells Nick they can both talk to Charlie's parents, to show them articles about this that he has been researching about, so they can help and Charlie smiles and blushes at this, agreeing with Nick.

On their way back home from the beach, Charlie decides to go to Nick's house. They talk about how much they'll miss each other during Nick's three-weeks-holiday since it's the longest they've been apart from each other. Then, Nick goes to shower, and while he's gone, Charlie starts seeing all of the pictures Nick has pasted on the wall behind his bed head. All of them are of Charlie, of them together. And Charlie remembers Tara's words about how madly in love Nick is with him. His thoughts get interrupted by his mom's message telling him to go home before 9pm so he goes to stand outside the bathroom door where Nick is showering and he lets him know he has to leave, since they were planning on watching a movie afterwards. Nick offers to walk him home after showering, but Charlie tells him is fine, and that he lied. He finally confesses that what he really wanted to tell him at the beach was "I love you". Nick is completely shocked by this and almost trips down the stairs when he goes chasing after Charlie when he doesn't see him at his house anymore. He goes out of his house, with barely a few clothes on and completely drenched by the recent shower he got out of. So when he reaches Charlie he asks him to please say "I love you again". Charlie does so after some loving teasing and Nick says I love you back at him. So they kiss, while they're tightly wrapped in each other's arms, and then go back home together.

While Nick is away, he keeps texting back and forth with Charlie and asks Charlie if he will tell his family about his eating disorder. However, as soon as his mom sees him talking with Nick, she asks him to not go to his house anymore since she suspect they had sex and she thinks he's too young for that. Also, she reminds him about school work and to not lose focus on that over "a school romance". So after they break into a big fight, Charlie leaves to his room, screaming "leave me alone". While Nick is on his holiday dealing with his homophobic brother and the anxiety of how he still hasn't come out to his dad, Nick is drepressed and abscent-minded when he goes out with his friends. One day when Charlie's grandparents come to visit, the whole family has to greet them but Charlie barely eats during dinner and goes to his room for a while to talk with Nick, and tells him that he feels like he can't tell his parents about his eating disorder because his parents "are not like Nick's", and don't talk about emotional stuff with him. This deeply upsets Nick because he feels like he can't do anything to help Charlie, so he asks his mom for advice and she tells him that Charlie needs help from a doctor or therapist, and not from his sixteen-year-old boyfriend, because that's a lot to put on Nick's shoulder at such a young age. So she tells him she should support him and be with him, which is love, and helps him research about how he can help Charlie to talk with a doctor or his parents.

On the first day of school after the holiday, the both of them meet each other and kiss romantically, but when they start seeing people staring at them, they decide to go into an empty classroom and start deeply making out there, telling each other how much they've missed each other. Later on, Nick invites Charlie to his house on Saturday since it's his birthday and he thinks his father might come visit and wants to introduce him to Charlie. Of course Charlie goes, but he's greeted at the door by a very puffy-eyed Nick who is upset he's dad didn't come visit him for his birthday. They have a fun, loving day anyways and later decide to go upstairs to Nick's room. Charlie gives him his birthday present, which is all of the jumpers he borrowed from Nick, and he gives Charlie another one he wore the day before since he says he likes seeing Charlie wearing his clothes. Then, he lets Nick know the actual present is at the bottom of the gift, revealing a photobook with a picture of them at the beach, and the rest of it empty for Nick to fill with more memories together. Nick loves it and gets on top of Charlie as he starts to kiss him. Later on, Charlie falls asleep beside him and as time for him to leave approaches, Nick decides it's the right time to tell him he's been worried about him feeling tired, sad and stressed, so tells him that he can talk to a doctor or his parents about this, which makes Charlie break down crying since he feels like he can't. As he shakes, Nick hugs him tightly and tells him that he can be there with him when he tells his parents, holding his hand and supporting him. So the both of them return to Charlie's house and Charlie tells his parents he has something important to share with them and shows them a letter where he talks about all his feelings, since he tells them it's kind of hard to talk about. He breaks down crying, with Nick firmly holding his hand, and his parents end up hugging him after reading his letter.

Chapter 6
It's New Year's Eve and Nick is getting ready to go with Charlie to a party, saying goodbye to his mom, but she tells her to tidy his room before leaving. So as he does, he ends up finding his old journal where he hasn't written in a while, so he decides to write all about what happened that year. Nick shares how hard the year was for Charlie since his eating disorder and mental health deteriorated to the point of leading him to A&E, where he was directed to a psychiatric hospital for some months, being away from each other. Although they missed each other deeply, Nick would visit Charlie regularly, alongside his family, and would update Charlie's friend on how he was going, while protecting Charlie and not telling the rest of the school about where he was. They also spend the holidays together, but Christmas day was a hard day for Charlie since he fought his mom and came soaking wet by the rain to spend the day with Nick, who supported him and made sure he was content and safe. So Nick starts finishing his update writing that Charlie is getting better, although it's not easy, and expresses how much he loves him. Finally, he writes that tonight will be the first time Charlie will have been back with a bunch of people from school and he's excited to just hang out at a party with his boyfriend. They go there and have fun, meeting up with their friends, and when the clock strikes midnight, they give each other a New Year's Kiss.

Then, Charlie starts writing his own journal on how he's year has been, as his therapist advised him. So he writes about his experience with treating his anorexia and managing his mental health. And shares a particular self-harm relapse moment after a "silly little argument" he had with Nick. He says it wasn't anyone's fault since relapses happen, and he and Nick made up immediately later in the day after Tori lets Nick know about the relapse. And Charlie's parents even let Nick stay the night in Charlie's room "to keep an eye on him". That night, Charlie asks a hesitant Nick if he can come sleep in his bed with him and when Nick comes near him, he breaks down in his chest and thinks about how much he loves Nick, but also about how they need other people as well, like friends and family. And mentions that their relationship has gotten a lot stronger. After Charlie finishes writing, he and his family go to Nick's house since his dad would be finally visiting and Nick mentions how he tends to make these huge reunions when he does. And as soon as Charlie arrives, Nick's dad starts addressing him as Nick's "friend", and Nick starts getting nervous since he wants to come out to his dad. Charlie reassures him that he'll be there to support him. But as soon as dinner starts, Nick's brother starts teasing a forced coming out to Nick, as his dad asks both Charlie and Nick if they have girlfriends. As the tension rises in the air, Nick decides to come out as bisexual to his dad and tells him that he's happy, in a relationship with Charlie. He tells his brother that he's tired of him trying to make him hate himself just because he does so himself and tells his dad that he doesn't care what he thinks of his relationship with Charlie since he barely sees him once a year. After that, he goes to the backyard with a concerned Charlie following him behind, who hugs him as soon as he sees him. Then, Nick and his dad have a talk in french and he apologizes to him and tells him that although he "doesn't really understand these things" that he would like to get to know Charlie better in a reunion with him. After dinner is over, Charlie asks his mom if he can come back home a bit later since Nick got his driver's licence and they want to drive around together. So the two of them ride together and give each other a long, passionate kiss.

Heartstopper (2022)
In the television adaptation of Heartstopper, the plot follows the webcomic closely, with some scenes being exact replicas of the webcomic, down to the same panels and dialogue. Though there are some changes and additions to the story. For instance, a new character, Isaac, is the first to find out about Charlie and Nick's relationship.

A new moment in the television adaptation is when Nick and Charlie go on a double date with Tara and Darcy to get milkshakes. The four also bring Tao and Elle in an attempt to set them up. It is on this triple date when Elle finds out about Nick and Charlie's relationship.

Chapter 2

 * Nick ruffles Charlie's hair.
 * Charlie is visibly blushing when Nick picks him up in rugby.
 * Nick and Charlie swapped seats in the classroom.
 * Nick takes Charlie's coat when he enters his house.

Chapter 3

 * Charlie clutches on to Nick jumper to take him out from the rain.
 * Charlie checks his hair in the mirror before going to his room with Nick.
 * Nick removes his jumper showing his tummy making Charlie flustered.
 * Nick hugs Charlie after he gets a strike during bowling and looks lovingly at him.
 * They flirt about Nick's rugby arms during the bowling match. Nick moves closer to Charlie.
 * The kiss behind the menu during the bowling match.
 * Charlie pokes Nick with a straw when he starts getting sad after the Bowling match.
 * Nick pokes him back with the straw.

Quotes
"But I am your friend and I do care"

- Nick's text to Charlie, Chapter 2-3

"You see more like yourself around him"

- Nick's mum about Nick, Chapter 2-8

"I can kinda see it. Nick and Charlie."

- Sai about Narlie, Chapter 2-13

Behind the Scenes
In the author note for the physical edition of Heartstopper Volume 1, Oseman talks about the history and creation of Nick and Charlie, otherwise known as Narlie: "Nick and Charlie have been in my heart a very long time. [...] Neither of them are particularly major characters, but in the novel [Solitaire by Alice Oseman], aged 17 and 15 respectively, they are in a firm, loving supportive relationship. That's where my desire to tell their story began. How did they get to this point? And where will they go from here?"

- Alice Oseman's author note

"In my spare time during my A-Levels, I filled an entire sketchbook with my first attempt at telling the backstory of Nick and Charlie. Then I started again, my art slightly better, and filled another sketchbook with a second attempt at the comic. I remember spending hours at a time just sitting and drawing in bed, not even listening to music in the background, completely lost in the story of Nick and Charlie. It brought me peace in a way not even writing my novels could."

- Alice Oseman's author note

Songs

 * Lover | Taylor Swift
 * Song that fans associate with Nick and Charlie; song that reminds Kit Connor, Nick's actor, of Nick and Charlie's relationship

Fanon
Narlie is the most popular Heartstopper ship and one of the most popular pairings in the Osemanverse. It was a popular ship within webcomic fandom. The ship saw a surge in popularity after the release of the television adaptation in 2022. There are over 300 fanfictions on Archive of our Own. Since the ship originated in comic format, fanart is more common over fanfiction.

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

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Nick is 18 months older than Charlie.