Heartstopper: Volume One

Nick is sitting in bed with his laptop at night and thinking about Charlie. He remembers last year when Charlie came out as gay and the whole school started bullying him for it. After what happened earlier that day with Ben, Nick is worried about how Charlie is feeling and starts trying to text him. He types and deletes several messages, unsure what to say or how to say it. He lands on, “Hey, I just wanted to check you’re okay, Ben’s such a dick!!!” (104), which makes Charlie smile. Charlie says he is fine, but Ben is skeptical and assures Charlie he is his friend and cares. Charlie explains that Ben approached him after news got out that he was gay and started kissing him after a very short conversation. Charlie found it romantic at first but realized fairly quickly that he was being used. Nick assures Charlie that he will protect him and tells him not to see Ben anymore. Charlie thanks Nick for being there for him both during the Ben incident and in general. Nick sends a smiley face and heart emoji, and Charlie replies with a heart. Both boys fall into a daze thinking of one another.