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Nick can’t take his eyes off David Bowie.
Except, it’s not really David Bowie. It’s the new drummer of Sahar’s band, who’s dressed as David Bowie. For their Halloween gig, each member of Queer Intentions dressed as a musician that inspires them either musically or personally, or both.
Sahar spent weeks perfecting her Avril Lavigne look. She dragged her boyfriend, Matty – Nick’s teammate who he had set her up with last spring – to endless charity shops, scouring the racks for an outfit that screamed early noughties. And she massively succeeded. She’s got a striped tie layered over a graphic tee, a black skirt with pink ruffles around the hem, a black studded belt, fishnet tights, and high tops.
Yet, Nick still can’t take his eyes off Bowie. Or rather, Charlie.
His dark, curly hair is styled to resemble a mullet, the sides flattened down while the ringlets on top of his head shake wildly as he moves his head with each hit of the drums. He’s wearing a sheer, iridescent light blue button down, that is sinfully open halfway down his chest and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. And of course, he has the signature red lightning bolt painted across his face, with an extra touch of makeup around his eyes that makes Nick want to drown in them for no less than ten hours. He can’t tell for sure, but he also thinks he spots a tattoo on his forearm, just below the elbow, peeking out of his shirt sleeve. He can’t make out what it is from where he’s stood in the crowd, but the mere thought of being close enough to him to decipher it equally sparks thrill and panic in the middle of Nick’s chest.
He has no idea how he’s going to muster up the courage to talk to Charlie when his own costume pales in comparison. Even Aleena’s Prince and Jay’s tribute to JLS are more intricate than Nick and Matty’s Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth. Since Matty’s hair was already a close enough match for Corbin Bleu circa 2006, all they really needed was to acquire East High Wildcat jerseys, so it was an easy choice for them. But Nick is kind of regretting it now. In what universe would a real-life sports lad, dressed as a fictional sports lad, be able to capture the attention of this stunning version of David Bowie?
A few weeks ago, around the start of term, Queer Intentions posted on their TikTok searching for a new drummer. It took a few weeks to get someone who not only sounded good playing with them, but got on with the band and fit their vibe (Sahar’s words). When they finally landed someone, she sent Nick a video of them all rehearsing together for the first time. He has no memory of what song they were performing, how they sounded, or how many times he let the video replay. All he knew was that the newest member of his best friend’s band was extraordinarily talented and annoyingly gorgeous.
He shamelessly texted back, “Sahar he’s so hot wtf”
She replied, “glad you care about our sound :/”
Nick almost felt bad about his reaction, until she followed up with, “but i’ll see what i can do 👀👀👀”
His instant reply of “DO NOTHING” went completely unanswered, until a few hours later when she sent him Charlie’s Instagram and said, “he’s single btw.”
It didn’t take long for Nick’s crush to develop after that.
No matter how much he bugged Sahar to leave it alone, Charlie was a popular topic of conversation. She’d relay stories about Charlie to him after band practice, talking for weeks about how he was kind and funny and definitely Nick’s type. Even Matty had met him, meaning there was another voice in Nick’s ear telling him to go for it, which was finally what convinced him to give in. He shyly asked Sahar if there was a chance she could introduce them, and she invited him to the Halloween show, insisting it was the perfect opportunity to get to know him without the pressure of being set up on a proper date.
Which is how Nick finds himself here, still working up the confidence to talk to Charlie, and still coming up short.
But they have the whole night ahead of them.
The band’s set eventually closes with a cover of Avril Lavigne’s “Hot.” Nick hears the lyrics, watches Charlie mouth the words as Sahar sings “ I can hardly breathe, you make me wanna scream ,” and is certain he has never related so deeply to a song before in his life. It isn’t until the band stops playing and some of the lights come on that Nick can feel the excited, tense energy thrumming throughout his body begin to dissipate, transforming into a pleasant buzz.
The band convenes off stage for a brief moment and then disperses. Aleena and Jay migrate to their friends, Charlie walks over to a couple who seems to be dressed as Sharkboy and Lavagirl, and finally, Sahar joins him and Matty.
Nick watches with delight as Matty immediately jumps into groupie mode. He slings an arm around Sahar’s shoulders and draws her close. “You absolutely fucking smashed it , darling.”
She puts a hand on his chest, creates the slightest bit of distance, and laughs. “Okay, cheers mate, but I’m sweating my tits off. Give me a minute.” She sees Matty about to make a joke in response, but cuts him off with a glare and an extended finger in his face. “Don’t, or you’ll be single.”
Nick can’t help but laugh at the way Matty instantly blushes. Ever since Nick let slip to Sahar that Matty finds it kind of hot and scary when she threatens to break up with him, she started doing it more often in public.
It’s a weird relationship dynamic they have, but they seem happy, so Nick doesn’t question it.
Just as he’s about to chime in, Nick notices Charlie walking over with his two friends in tow. He makes a concerted effort to keep his staring to a minimum, which is much easier when the girl wearing a bright pink bodysuit and matching wig pops into their circle.
“I’m sorry we can’t stay longer,” she says, mostly to Sahar, “but we just wanted to say you were incredible!”
The guy with unfortunately spiked hair beside her looks at Charlie with a straight face and says, “You were alright.”
Charlie’s jaw drops in offence but he laughs at the same time. “Shut up, Tao. Don’t be bitter all night just because you lost the bet.”
The guy called Tao rolls his eyes and grimaces down at his all outfit, complete with a chest plate that has a fin sticking out of the back. “Literally counting the minutes until I can get out of this thing,” he says, then reaches for the other girl’s hand. “C’mon, I promised you one hour at Naomi’s party dressed like this.”
She winks at the rest of them. “Totally worth it.”
After the two exchange farewell hugs with Charlie and make their way out, Sahar steps in and says, “Charlie, you’ve met Matty already. This is my friend, Nick.”
Nick’s eyes are only for Charlie during the exchange, watching intently as he shares an adorable little wave and a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.” His voice sounds like he’s still catching his breath from the energy of the performance. He looks over Nick’s shoulder for a quick moment, then says, “I’m gonna go grab a drink. Does anyone want anything?”
Nick instantly regrets the fact he’s holding a nearly full drink. Even though he knows he could offer to go to the bar with Charlie regardless, his brain suddenly becomes unable to form proper sentences, so instead of using words, he shakes his head and raises his pint to show he’s already got a drink.
Matty comes to his rescue. “I’ll join you,” he tells Charlie, mercifully taking the attention off Nick as the two of them head toward the bar, Nick offering what he hopes is a friendly smile on their way.
He stares after Charlie. There’s no point in even trying to deny it. A wave of embarrassment floods him and he can feel his cheeks heating up. Sure, he’s not the best at flirting or giving signals, but he’s never made that quick of a misstep before. For some reason, it feels like the stakes with Charlie are way higher than anyone else he’s been interested in before. So he tries his best to shake it off and vows to get better at flirting. Flirting with Charlie, specifically. Preferably in the next five minutes.
“Earth to Nick,” he hears suddenly, along with Sahar’s hand waving in front of his face. When she finally gets his attention, she laughs and says, “Y’okay, mate?”
“I panicked!” He rubs his hand across his face. “He’s so out of my league, Sahar. On so many levels. How do I do this?”
“Nick, hey,” she says, her voice more gentle, but still assertive. She stands in front of him and puts her hands on his shoulders to get him to focus. “You’re my friend, yeah? Do you really think I’d be encouraging this if I thought it would end poorly?” She promptly waits for him to shake his head. “Exactly. Look, you are a great person. And the more I get to know Charlie, the more I’m certain he’s also a great person. So let me do for you what you did for me and Matty, alright?”
In all honesty, Nick hadn’t even thought about it like that. When he and Sahar became friends from being in the same psychology course during their first year, he quickly learned that music was a big part of her life. Nick admittedly didn’t know much about music, but he did know that one of his mates on the rugby team was always sending Nick playlists to check out and occasionally posted videos on his Instagram story messing around with a guitar. It felt like a natural decision to introduce them to each other, even if all it meant was they wouldn’t have to solely put up with Nick’s inability to contribute to their conversations about music.
What had been a genuinely innocent attempt at expanding his friend group turned out to be a lovely connection between them that seemed to grow at just the right pace, eventually leading to something more. If that’s what Sahar was trying to do for him, he supposes it’s worth a try.
“C’mere,” Sahar beckons, before stealing Nick’s drink and taking a sip, claiming it as her own. “Now you have an excuse to go get something else.” She pointedly looks at the bar, in the direction of Charlie and Matty. “Go on.”
He closes his eyes and nods at her again, steeling himself. Finally, he stuffs his hands into his pockets and tries his best to look casual as he approaches the bar.
He certainly does not expect to come face to face with two glasses filled with some sort of glittery purple drink.
“My lord,” he says by way of greeting, getting both of their attention. “What is that?”
“Mate, check this out,” Matty answers excitedly. He points to the chalkboard above the bar, where there are Halloween-themed drinks listed. “I saw someone order this one, it’s called ‘witches brew’ and it has edible glitter . Did you even know that was a thing?”
Nick continues to eye the drink sceptically. “What’s in it?”
“Fuck if I know,” Matty replies, which causes Charlie to laugh, and Nick tries his best to ignore the swarm of butterflies that flutter in his stomach at the sound. Matty continues, “Got one for me and Sahar, though.”
“She actually nicked my drink, which was still pretty full, so you might be on your own.”
“Oh, bollocks . Alright then.” Matty shrugs and looks towards Charlie. “You want one?”
Charlie winces. “While I very rarely say no to free drinks, I’ll stick with this.” The delicate yet strong hands that had earlier been occupied with drumsticks are now wrapped around a glass of what looks like some sort of drink mixed with Coke.
As a last ditch effort, Matty turns to Nick and holds up one of the glittering drinks in question. He hesitates, but then figures may be able to pawn it off to someone else once Matty is gone. “Yeah, sure.”
“Brilliant.” As he hands it over, Nick signals with his eyes for him to leave in a way he hopes is not at all awkward or obvious. His friend seems to get the hint easily enough, but he also manages to be both completely awkward and obvious as he replies, “Oh, er, yeah. Right. I’ll just…” and then he points somewhere in the distance, smiles at the two of them with raised eyebrows, then heads out, leaving Nick with a nudge to his shoulder.
“Not exactly subtle, that one,” Charlie offers smoothly, along with an adorable smile that reveals his dimples. Nick is almost swept away on the spot.
When Charlie’s gaze drifts to the glass in Nick’s hand, his captivating eyebrows raise with curiosity. “Are you really gonna drink that?”
It feels like Charlie is giving him a challenge, and Nick can’t help the inclination to prove himself, so he shrugs and says, “I’ll at least give it a go.”
Charlie seems pleased with his answer as he raises his drink towards Nick, and with his dimples still peeking out, says, “Cheers, Wildcat.”
Chuffed with the nod to his own costume, Nick counters with, “Cheers, Starman.”
They clink glasses, but before taking a sip, Charlie comments, “Not Ziggy?”
“I wanted to go with something less obvious.”
“Trying to impress me?”
Nick just thinks, God, I’m so far gone.
But he decides to take it as extra encouragement to flirt back, so he stands his ground and manages just enough confidence to squeak out a “Maybe.”
Their eyes stay locked as they each take a sip of their drinks, and Nick is pleasantly surprised when the flavour that hits his tongue isn’t as assaulting as he expected.
“Well?” Charlie prompts.
“I actually don’t hate it.”
“Really?”
“It kind of tastes like a melted down ice lolly.”
Charlie gives him a curious look. “And you…enjoy that?”
Nick takes it in stride. “I like sweet things.”
They look at each other for a moment, letting Nick’s words sink in. He’s not exactly sure how Charlie is taking them, he’s not even entirely sure he meant them in any particular way other than his genuine affinity for sweets, but it’s a charged moment nonetheless.
Nick swiftly changes to a safer topic. “Your costume is great, by the way.”
“Thank you. I know I don’t look much like him, but I figured the makeup was recognizable enough.”
“It’s very impressive.”
“Oh, my friend Elle did it for me, the one who said hi before. She’s, like, the most talented artist I know. I could never do this on my own.” He raises his hands with a flourish. “She did my nails as well.”
Nick did not know he had a thing for painted nails until he saw Charlie’s. He clears his throat. “At least you can pull it off. I certainly couldn’t.”
“I don’t know about that. You and Bowie have at least got the ginger hair thing in common.”
Nick reflexively runs a hair through his fringe. “That’s true.” And without a second thought, adds, “Both bisexual, too.”
He wants to instantly bang his head against the bar. Sure, he wanted to make it clear to Charlie that he likes boys, but he could have been way smoother about it.
By some miracle, though, Charlie doesn’t seem taken aback or put off. With the captivated expression on his face and perhaps the slightest blush, Nick might even be willing to admit Charlie seems delighted.
Instead of suggesting they go looking for Matty and Sahar like Nick had expected, Charlie tilts his head toward the nearby couches. “D’you wanna go sit?” He barely waits for Nick’s response. He just begins walking in that direction, anticipating Nick will follow.
Of course, Nick follows. What else could he possibly do?
The space on the couch isn’t all that big, but Charlie doesn’t seem to mind. Their legs are pressed together, Charlie slightly turned to face Nick, sitting so close that Nick can smell his cologne. It’s somehow both soft and distinct, demanding attention but not overpowering. It’s instantly as intoxicating as watching Charlie play the drums. Now that there’s so little distance between them, Nick can’t help but think of the intricacies he noticed while Charlie was on stage, and how they translate now being so close.
His deft hands, now toying with the straw in his drink. His smile, shining just as much as his glittery top, now glowing in response to things Nick is saying. His curls, bouncing as they’re shaken off his forehead, now resting delicately over his eyes, but never hiding them.
Even the joy emanating from Charlie while they all performed was palpable to Nick, seeing him do something that is clearly fun for him, something he’s good at, comes across in the way they’re talking. It’s so easy to talk with Charlie. They talk about him discovering Queer Intentions and, as a first year, eager to find people to connect with. He asks about Matty and Sahar, which leads to talking about rugby, and Charlie doesn’t seem bored or insincere. He makes Nick feel comfortable enough to share his enthusiasm and smile unabashedly without second guessing how eager he’s coming across. It’s so refreshing.
At one point, Charlie is in the middle of telling a story about his first night out during freshers week and lifts his hand toward his face, as if to cover it in embarrassment, and without really thinking about it, Nick shouts, “Wait!” and reaches for Charlie’s hand. He giggles nervously and says, “Sorry, it’s just. Uh, your makeup. Didn’t want it to get messed up.”
“Oh god, thank you.” Charlie squeezes his hand and, to his surprise and absolute pleasure, easily threads their fingers together instead of letting him go. “Shit, Elle would have killed me.”
“Hang on – her and that guy Tao, earlier…were they dressed as Sharkboy and Lavagirl?”
Charlie’s eyes light up and the grin on his face is the most adorable thing Nick has ever seen in his life. “ Yes ! Oh my god, I’m so glad you got that…”
He goes on to tell Nick about his two best friends, Tao and Elle, who started dating when they were all in school together. Tao goes to uni about an hour away and Elle spent last year studying in Paris. He fills Nick in on their relationship and Tao’s interest in film and the bet that involved not only Tao sitting through whatever movie Elle picked, but also dressing as the characters for her friend’s Halloween party.
The entire time, Charlie’s hand stays intertwined with his.
After a while, they agree to get a second round of drinks at the bar and relocate to an empty high-top table.
The shift in energy is impossible to ignore.
Whatever has been cresting between them all night seems to be steadily rising to the surface. There’s more touching, and it’s less subtle. They’re not simply existing in the same space, but rather making the effort to be closer. Nick delicately traces his thumb over what he learned is a fake tattoo on Charlie’s arm. In return, he feels a tentative hand on his upper arm, the cool sensation of Charlie’s fingertips touching his bare skin sending gooseflesh down to his toes. He realises now that no matter how much he tried to fabricate the false sense of confidence he thought he needed to talk to Charlie, nothing compared to letting it develop on its own. Letting his guard down and inviting Charlie in allowed him to discover how simple all of it could be with the right person.
The thought of Charlie potentially feeling the same is enough to make him dizzy.
Nick’s free hand is on Charlie’s hip, the thin texture of his shirt acting as a measly barrier to uncharted territory that Nick is eager to explore. Charlie smiles at him, his own hand tightening on Nick’s bicep before travelling up to the back of his neck, resting there as if it was moulded just for that purpose. Nick bunches up the fabric of Charlie’s shirt, holding himself back from completely untucking it from his jeans so he can slip his hands beneath it. But he wants to. God , does he want to.
Charlie leans in and says into his ear, just loud enough to be heard over the din of the venue, “Are you gonna kiss me, Wildcat?”
Nick lets out a sigh, wraps both of his arms completely around Charlie’s waist, and pulls back just enough to rest their foreheads together.
“Yeah,” he finally breathes in response, then chuckles. “Is that okay with you?”
He feels Charlie nod and closes his eyes, drinking in the quiet moment between them and committing it to memory before leaning in.
When they kiss, it somehow feels like they’ve been doing it forever. There’s no uncertainty, no hesitation or misjudgement. Their lips meet effortlessly, the give and take between them completely balanced and beyond satisfying. Charlie tilts his head just at the right moment and Nick dives back in gracefully, the soft press of Charlie’s mouth welcoming him delicately each time. He wants the taste of their kiss to linger long after their night ends. He imagines the sensation clinging to his lips, thoughts of Charlie following him to bed as he replays their night enough times to convince himself it wasn’t a dream.
Nick could truly do this forever, but too soon, they need to pull away.
“ God ,” Charlie huffs, his chest heaving against Nick’s in a desperate attempt to refill his lungs with air. “When Sahar told me she had a single friend to set me up with, I didn’t expect this to happen so quickly.” His free hand rests against Nick’s chest, toying with the collar of his jersey. “I mean that in a good way.”
Nick can’t help but beam in response. “Me too,” he admits, then takes a moment to process what Charlie said. He moves back slightly and says, “Wait, Sahar told you she was setting us up?”
“Yeah,” Charlie says around a laugh, then his eyebrows pinch together in confusion. “Did she not tell you?”
“Er, not exactly. I may have asked her to introduce us,” he explains, which gets a smile out of them both. “But she didn’t mention saying anything to you .” Nick shakes his head and pulls Charlie into a hug. He buries his face into his curls and laughs. “Oh my god, she’s such trouble.”
Charlie giggles into Nick’s neck. “Maybe so.” He drops a few kisses along Nick’s jaw. “But I’m inclined to send her flowers or something anyway. As a thank you for her service.”
The soft press of Charlie’s mouth against his skin is starting to scramble his brain, but he can’t bother fighting it. Instead, he reaches up to cup Charlie’s face and whispers against his lips, “You’re gonna give Sahar flowers before me?”
Charlie hums playfully. “Well, maybe we should go on a date, then.”
“I like that idea.”
After losing themselves in another kiss, Charlie holds his gaze for a moment before a look of amusement crosses his features.
“What?” Nick asks.
Charlie laughs and reaches up to push back Nick’s fringe, letting his thumb skim along his forehead. “You’ve got, um.” He giggles. “Some paint here.” His thumb moves to Nick’s nose. “And here.”
With a chuckle, Nick replies, “Do I?” Sure enough, when he inspects the lightning bolt painted on Charlie’s face, there are a few smudge marks on his forehead and cheek, as well as the heel of Nick’s palm from where he’d held Charlie’s face as they kissed.
It’s too bad there’s no paint on Nick’s cheeks to hide the blush that spreads a similar red hue. “Sorry I mucked it up after all.”
With a tiny shake of his head, Charlie pulls him closer and says, “Totally worth it,” before leaning in for another kiss.