Narlie

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

Volume 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 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.

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.

Volume 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. He speaks to his sister Tori who gives a suggestive 'hmm'. 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.

Moments

 * 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.

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

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

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