Fated Encounter

Two months had passed and Charlie still found himself absent mindedly thinking about Nick. It was driving him crazy. He had tried to fill the void with a few random Grindr hookups but no one even came close to Nick.

He had the day off work but had no plans. After spending the morning trying to keep his mind busy and failing to do so he decided to go to Tao and Elle's as they also had the day off. He knew they'd be wanting to spend the day together but he desperately needed the distraction.

"Oh my god I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" Elle exclaimed, hugging Charlie tight.
"That's because you're a big successful artist now." Charlie laughed.
"Not quite!" Elle giggled.
"How's the business going?" He asked when Elle had released him. She had recently started up her own business, painting portraits for clients on request.

"Yeah, it's going pretty well but it definitely keeps me busy." She said.
"She's even made a new friend." Tao said, appearing in the hallway.
"You have other friends apart from us?!" Charlie gasped dramatically.
"Her name's Tara, she was a client but we got talking and became friends." She said smiling as they all went into the living room and sat down on the sofa.
"Cute." Charlie said sarcastically, teasing her.
"You'd really like her. Actually, her partner Darcy is going to be running a gay bar and Tara invited me along to the opening. She said I should bring friends along if you're interested?"
"This is the first I've heard of this." Tao laughed.
"You'll be working."
"When is it?" Charlie asked.
"Saturday."
"Yeah, I don't see why not."
"Oh yay! It's called Queer and Here."
"Love it." Charlie laughed.

🍂🍂🍂

Nick had caught up with all his work for once so had the rare opportunity to not have to work through his lunch break so he text his friend Darcy to see if they wanted to meet up because they worked close by.

Nick: fancy for meeting for lunch?

Darcy: sure! I can meet you in about 10mins?

Nick: perfect

Nick packed up his things and walked the short distance to the pub Darcy worked in. Once there he stood outside and lit up a cigarette while he waited.
"Nicholas you know I hate it when you do that!" Darcy scolded, appearing out of nowhere.
"Shut up." Nick laughed.
"Shall we?" They said and linked arms with him.

They walked to the small park nearby to sit and eat lunch in the sun. They chatted about how their mornings had been.
"So Tara says you've been quiet recently."
"I'm fine." Nick insisted.
"Nick..." They pressed.
"Honestly I'm fine, I was a little upset about Charlie for a while but I'm feeling better now."
"Good! Are you coming to my grand opening on Saturday?"
"Oh absolutely I wouldn't miss it!" He said enthusiastically as they sat down on a bench.
"Never know, you might meet a nice boy there."
"Darcy." He chuckled.
"Or girl..."
"I'm not coming if you're gonna spend the whole evening trying to set me up." Nick laughed.
"Fine! I'll behave." Darcy scoffed.

🍂🍂🍂

It was Saturday and Charlie was on his way to meet Elle at the tube station. He had managed to get out of work early, been home and showered. He wasn't really in the mood to go out but he'd promised Elle he'd go with her as Tao and Isaac were working late. He wore black jeans that were ripped at the knee and a light pink t-shirt that he'd tucked in.

"How far is it from the tube station?" He asked Elle as they walked to the platform.
"Not far. You could seem a little more enthusiastic." She teased.
"Sorry, I'm just tired." He lied. He wasn't just tired, his mental health had begun to spiral because of what he did after spending the night with Nick. He felt awful about it and hoped he wasn't upset when he woke up.