Charlie

"You're sure about this, right?" I asked, more than a little worried.

Nate gave me an exasperated look. He was all kitted out in his football uniform, looking every bit the proud quarterback he was. The team was one game away from going to state, which was apparently a very big deal. Nate had decided that win or lose, after the game today, he was going to come out to the entire school. "Char, don't tell me you made me come out here to have this conversation again." He said, shaking his head slightly.

I furrowed my brows, "Why did you think I was here?"

A cheeky smile curved his lips as he snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me up against him, nuzzling the skin right below my ear, "Well, I thought you might have come to wish me luck."

I couldn't help the shiver that ran down my back. Despite having been with him for nearly three months now, his touch still did strange things to me. I managed to keep a level-head though, which is no small miracle, and quickly ducked out of his hold, "Are you crazy? Anyone could walk past and see us!"

The smile fell away and a grim expression took its place, "Charlie, I know you're worried I didn't think this through and that I'm going to regret this, but trust me. My dad's been home for a while and he seems to actually be accepting the fact that I'm gay. I'm ready to tell the rest of the world now. I'm so sick of not being able to be with you in public. I'm so sick of watching other guys hit on you and being able to do nothing about it." Hazel eyes fixed on me and I could see how much he meant every word, "I love you, and I want to tell the rest of the world that you're mine." He leaned forward so his forehead rested against mine and his nose nudged my own, "Do you believe me now?"

I nodded soundlessly, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing before letting go and stepping back. "I love you too." I said with a soft smile, "All the best out there. Don't get hurt."

Nate laughed, "I'll try not to."

"You'll do more than try." I said firmly, giving him a narrow-eyed look, "You're body belongs to me, Andrews. You don't get to damage it."

"You two are disgustingly sweet." Jake said, making us both start at his voice.

I met his amused gaze behind Nate's head and heaved a sigh of relief, "God, Jake, don't do that!"

"It's so much fun sneaking up on the two of you though." He said with a good-natured smirk, "You always get so jumpy."

"Not anymore." Nate said with a grin in my direction, "See you after the game, Char."

"Right, see you." I watched him vanish into the locker room before focusing my attention on Jake, "What?"

"You're letting him go through with it then?" He asked, raising a single brow.

I scoffed at the implication, "I'm not letting him do anything. It was his decision."

Jake snorted, "Please, you have him so whipped, and even he knows it. You say 'jump' and he jumps. I never thought I'd see the day Nate obeyed someone else's orders." He gave me a warm smile, "I also never thought I'd see him as happy as he's been the past few months. You guys had your shit to deal with, but you made it through and now you're on the other side. How does it feel?"

I shrugged, "Well, I doubt I'm going to be attending any Andrews' family dinners in the near future. Aside from that though, it feels pretty fucking awesome."

Jake chuckled, "Good luck tonight."

I grinned widely, "That's my line. See you on the other side."

When I made it back out to the stands, Claire was there waiting for me. She looked me up and down for a moment then smirked, "He's going to do it, isn't he?"

"Is it stupid that I'm more nervous than he is?" I asked, grimacing.

Claire laughed, "Come on, Leo found us some great seats."

Nate

I watched Julian score the touchdown as the timer ran out. The crowds' cheer was loud and wild and my team was beside itself with joy. Three of my teammates rushed at me, hoisting me onto their shoulders, and I used the vantage point to look out into the crowd.

I caught my mother's glance first, and beamed as she cheered loudly. I'd told her and my father what I intended to do earlier while we were having lunch, and while Dad hadn't exactly been thrilled, he hadn't tried to stop me either. My eyes found him next and he gave me a proud smile.

Over the past few weeks the two of us had sat down and had a lot of conversations. I still hadn't entirely forgiven him for punching Charlie, but I was beginning to believe he really hadn't meant to hurt my boyfriend, and that was a huge step forward. One of the first things he'd done after moving back in was to apologise to Charlie in person. My boyfriend, being the incredibly amazing person that he is, forgave him immediately. I wasn't the only one though, who noticed how he'd shrank back when my father had approached him, or the way his hand had trembled when he'd shaken my father's hand. Dad had a lot to make up for, definitely, but at the end of the day, he was still my father and he was making an effort. It was more than I'd hoped for, really.

Lucy stood next to Dad, texting, and a few rows up stood the boy who'd turned my life upside down in the past few months. When I'd been introduced to him at the beginning of the school year, I'd been a scared, gay boy, unsure of how to be myself without having everyone around me find out who I really was. I'd grown so much in these three months, and a large part of it was thanks to him.

I jumped down from my teammate's hold and began jogging toward the stands. Like I'd asked him to, Charlie was making his way down the stands to the field. He reached the edge of the field just as I did, and I noticed how pale he looked. Reaching out I took one of his hands in mine and squeezed, "Hey, you okay?"

"Let's just get this over with." He sounded like he was going to be sick.

I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him close, before raising one of my hands to comb through his golden curls, "Nervous?"

He released a shaky breath and leaned into my touch, "Everyone is going to blame me."

I frowned, cupping his face in my hands and gently caressing his cheekbones with my thumbs, "No one would dare." I promised, resting my forehead against his.

Beautiful brown eyes blinked up at me, "I thought I was supposed to be the brave one."

"I have my moments." I said, smiling as I pressed my lips against his. I heard the hush start to fall around us and felt Charlie begin to stiffen in my arms. Curling my hand around the back of his head, I angled his head in a way that allowed me to dominate the kiss and possess him. Just like I'd known he would, Charlie melted into me with a soft whimper, his arms going around my waist to hold me tight to him as we kissed.

I didn't know what my future had in store for me. I didn't know how the school was going to react to Charlie and I being a couple, or whether my father would actually follow through on all the promises he'd made me and my mom. I didn't know if I'd remain the most popular guy in school, or if I'd have to live out the rest of my high school life as an ordinary joe. What I did know was, whatever lay ahead of me, I'd never have to face it alone. And that's all I could ever ask for.

I know some of you must be surprised with how I chose to end this, but to be honest, the ending wrote itself. I didn't realise it was the ending until I was done writing, and afterwards, I couldn't for the life of me think of a better ending. I think this is exactly where we should leave Charlie and Nate - together, happy and hopeful about their future.

For what it's worth - they're going to be absolutely fine out there in the real world. Things have a way of working themselves out when you want something badly enough.

I loved writing this story, and thanks to all of you who stuck with me and were vocal about your appreciation of my characters. I love hearing from my readers, and because of you guys and your encouraging reviews, I might write more slash in the future :)

As always, leave a review. Let me know how you liked Charlie, Nate and their story.

~FairyTaleDreams

COPYRIGHT SANJANA BALARAMAN.