Old Friends (Pt. 3/?) - College!Nick Nelson x female!Reader
Pairing: College!Nick Nelson x female!Reader
Warnings: light cussing, LGBTQAI+, alcohol, cigarettes, non-native in English! (Lemme know any mistakes, especially if anything is offensive in the slightest ways!!!)
Topics: friendship, crush, old friends meet again, college, bisexuals, music, soft, young adults, growing up, cute cuddly Nick Nelson
Summary: After years the reader meets Nick Nelson at college. They knew each other from Truham and Higgs and (Y/N) remembers her crush on him.
Note: This is for the 20+ gang who also loved Heartstopper. Nick is in his mid 20s and the reader in her early 20s!
Hi there! Thanks for your patience! I'm really busy, but I'm trying to write some more chapters, here is part 3 and 4 is almost done!
The next few days are stressful. I need to rearrange some courses, buy plenty of literature and materials for the courses and also get back into university life. I leave the office hour of my literature professor, walking across campus to get to my favourite coffee shop on campus. I order my typical, caramel latte with coconut milk. I sit down at one of the corner tables. I love this place because it has this beautiful dark academia charm. Everything is made of deep, rich red-brown coloured wood - probably walnut or cherry - which has been carefully oiled and polished over the years. The left wall is covered with bookshelves made of the same wood, stuffed with old and old-looking books. I've spent hours going through those books, borrowed dozens of them for private use, but also for my studies. I admire the books while sitting down. The whole coffee shop is always dark and gloomy. The warm light from the ancient chandeliers and the fake candles - fake to protect the books and the wood, still aiming to maintain the aesthetic - everywhere create a cosy and welcoming atmosphere. Behind the massive counter are: vintage coffee machines, huge glass containers with coffee beans and dark, heavy wooden lids, and three very kind and relaxed baristas who take and prepare orders. On every surface are some kind of plants growing and blooming, all very well and neatly groomed. The table I chose is one of the smaller ones, with enough space for two, if you're really trying four could fit, but very snug. I sink into the huge, dark green winged armchair and arrange the red fluffy pillow behind my back. I put my laptop on the table, looking around, taking in the musky smell of wood mixed with strong notes of coffee. The only thing I don't enjoy that much; is how packed this place can get. With that comes a lot of noise that can be very distracting. But today is one of the rather quiet days. I shake my head softly, start my laptop, open amazon to buy some novels and parallelly research for some poetry collections. "Y/N! Hi there!", I hear Darcy yell across the shop. I look up, wave and laugh, "Hi Darcy! Tara!" They order before coming to my table and sitting down. "How are you?", Tara asks. "Haven't seen you in a while!", Darcy exclaims. I shake my head in disbelief. "I can't believe it!", I say with disappointment in my voice. "Can't believe what? What happened?", Darcy panics a little. "We're here for two years and you forgot to tell me Nick studies here too?", I laugh. This time it's Darcy staring at me in disbelief. Tara laughs wholeheartedly, "Shit! Nick? Nick Nelson? We didn't? Well... Yeah! Of course, Nick studies here! Have you seen him? I haven't seen him in ages! He's too busy being a rugby lad I guess!" "Yeah! Finally! I met him at that LGBTQ Party before the semester started! I really didn't wanna go, but Emily and the other girls literally dragged me there!" "Well... Better later than never I guess?", Darcy laughs, "I could've sworn we told you when you first came here!" I check a few names with them just to make sure I didn't miss anyone else the last few semesters. Then one of the kind baristas brings us our orders and my earlier ambitions to get all the literature is quickly forgotten. Tara and Darcy have been away for the semester break so I haven't seen them in a while, they tell me about their road trip through Italy and we slip into a daydream about a joint road trip in the future. "Before we fall into an autumn depression lets plan something for the weekend! Y/N? Are you free on Saturday? We need a girl's night!", Tara suggests. I nod, "Yes! Totally! We could check out that new place at the centre?" "Cocktails at your place and then we head downtown?", Darcy checks her idea with us. "Girl's Night!", I confirm, raising my glass for a toast.
I come home from practice around 5pm. Just enough time to clean my apartment, hop in the shower and prepare some snacks. I drop my bag at the front door, kick off my shoes and go to the kitchen to check if I got everything for the snacks. I mentally pat my own shoulder after checking all the ingredients. I take a moment to connect my phone to my speaker and start some music. Taking in the vibrations from the bass of the first song, right before I take off to clean up. I literally run through the whole apartment, collecting clothes and similar items which belong in the washing machine. After collecting a reasonable amount I sort them into different piles and throw in the largest load possible. I. Hate. Laundry. And you can tell. I repeat the same route again and again picking up different items, and placing them where they belong. I fluff and rearrange my couch pillows and fold the blankets carefully, after that I quickly vacuum and mop the floor. While the floor dries I jump in the shower. My music is still blasting through the speaker and the time in the shower allows me to relax for a few minutes. And... Relaxation in the shower means screaming the tunes at the top of my lungs. After a thorough cleanse from head to toe I get out of the shower and wrap my hair and my body into a soft and fresh towel. I take care of my skin before heading back to the kitchen. I cut some vegetables, arrange them on some skewers, prepare a couple of different dips, and cut open some fresh bread I baked in the morning, I do the same with some fruits and prepare some chocolate to be molten as soon as Darcy and Tara arrive. Our girl's nights are always a feast, the girls bring snacks and drinks too and we have a blast before even going out. I take a look at my phone seeing it's almost 7 pm, sprinting to my bedroom to pick out an outfit. I sit there just in underwear for quite a while, standing up every now and then to try on some stuff but nothing looks the way I want it to. My door rings, I throw over a robe and open it for the girls. "Hi there Hun! Looks like an outfit disaster!", Tara chuckles while hugging me. "That obvious? Hi girlies!", I reply hugging both of them. "Very obvious. Who you wanna pick up today? Boys? Girls? Both? Non?", Darcy asks walking towards the kitchen. "I don't know", I try to pick an option, "I just wanna be comfy and look hot, because you guys always look hot!" Both of them break out in laughter, taking off their jackets; revealing BOMB outfits. "I hate you fesh lesbs", I groan only to make them laugh even more. "Give me a sec!", I shout going back to my bedroom. A white body, slightly see-through with a square cleavage, black flair pants and some simple, black, squared high heels. I walk into the living room presenting my outfit receiving some comments. "Hot but comfy! I would kill for your curves!", Darcy exclaims. That's all I wanted to hear. Lesbian approved! "You gotta do that dark brown sultry make-up! The one that makes your eyes pop!", Tara insists. I laugh, "That's the plan! But snacks and drinks first!" We gather in the kitchen, the girls carry the snacks to the couch table and I mix some of our favourite cocktails. We sit down together and toast to a great evening. As per usual we first catch up on stuff we missed the last few weeks, and then they show me some beautiful pictures from their Italy road trip, each one bearing a story. I style my hair and make-up while listening to all the great stories, missing Italy and travelling. We eat almost all of the snacks and drink almost all of the alcohol. I really missed this.
Snacked up, snatched up and proper tipsy we head to town to a new, super modern and hip bar that just opened up. Getting there our girl's night is already kinda over because we meet shared friends we can't just leave sitting there. I say hi to the group when a glimpse of red hair catches my eye. He is here too? I should have known. Before I could finish that thought Nick turns around. "Hi!", he exclaims, looking me up and down. "Hi!", I reply before he pulls me in for a hug. "Wow! I've never seen you like that! You look beautiful! I mean you always do but... That make-up... Your eyes are... Just.. Very blue!", he laughs slightly nervous. I laugh, "Thanks! You look awesome too!" "Thanks!" He does. Black pants and a dark blue, well-fitted long-sleeve henley with the top buttons unbuttoned. Very simple, very powerful. Someone pushes me from behind, pushing me towards him, making me grab his upper arm and stand very close to him. He supports me by gently holding me by my waist. He looks down at me for a moment. Was that a smirk? "You good?", he asks. I can smell he already had some drinks. I nod, "Yeah, sorry! Ahm... Nice to see you again!" Suddenly someone properly grabs me from behind, pushing me aside. I am confused for a moment until I see Darcy walking past me, hugging Nick. "You know, we haven't seen him in a while either", Tara explains, shrugging her shoulders and joining the hug. Before I can react to that some other friends grab my attention and we get separated for a while. Eventually, the three of us meet a the bar again. "Girls' night was fun until it lasted!", Tara shouts, raising her glass for a toast. Darcy and I agree, joining in with our glasses and laughing. "Yes! Next time we stay at home! You guys can still crash on my couch!", I scream over the music. We try to talk, but the music is really loud at the bar so we decide to go dancing. And we dance, and drink, and dance, and drink, and dance until I really need a break. "I'm outside for a smoke!", I yell into Tara's ear, letting her know where I am going. On the way out I grab my jacket from the chair.
Standing outside, taking another drag from my smoke I hear someone clicking their tongue behind me, but I don't bother turning around. "Y/N, Y/N, Y/N! Does your brother know you're smoking?" I automatically roll my eyes at that statement, but also involuntary smile. "Yeah! He does and he hates it!", I reply looking to my right where the redhead appears, lighting himself a cigarette. I laugh loudly. "Does Sarah know?" This time he rolls his eyes. "She nearly killed me!", he hisses. We both laugh, casually standing next to each other, smoking our cigarettes. Our laughter slowly falls silent. "How's your mom?", I ask softly, looking down at my feet. "She's fine, misses us being around... The usual.", a brief moment of silence before he continues, "How's your fam?" I shrug my shoulders "The usual, not happy, not miserable enough to change anything". I throw away my butt into an ashtray. The conversation is clearly over, but I insist on waiting for him. "I'll need another. It's way too crowded and loud inside!", he explains, holding out his pack, offering me another. "True! Thanks!", I say grabbing another smoke from his pack. We fall into lighter small talk while smoking, both avoiding heavy topics from the past. At some point, I start shifting from one leg to the other. Nick notices, "Are you cold?" I shake my head. I'm not, probably nervous, maybe just in the mood for dancing. He holds up the side of his coat I'm standing next to, offering me warm shelter underneath it. Why not? Is all I think before making sure my cigarettes won't burn a hole into any clothes and then snuggling next to him. Under his coat, it's cosy and warm. My upper arm bumps into his side and I feel his body heat burn through the fabric of both of our clothes. There it is, that little smirk again, barely there, but very cute. Together with his body heat comes a mixture of cold smoke, alcohol and a men's perfume, a smell hypnotizing me more than I expected it to. I look up at him and we both chuckle.