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Elle can’t help but feel bad for finding out about Nick and Charlie, for accidentally invading their privacy. She knows it wasn’t her fault, but now she doesn’t know what to do. Does she ask Charlie about it? Does she ignore it? Does she bring it up another time?
Her brain makes a decision without her input when Charlie walks into the room, blurting out “Are you and Nick together?” as soon as he asks what’s wrong. Charlie seems surprised by her bluntness (she is too, to be honest), but he takes a deep breath and confirms they are.
Elle’s sure her eyes double in size at his admission, even if she was already pretty sure she knew the answer.
“Do you remember when I went to his house to meet Nellie?” he asks, and she nods to answer his question without interrupting. “Well, he kinda admitted he liked me but he still wasn’t sure about his sexuality, so I agreed to keep it a secret.”
“You’ve been together that long?” she asks out of genuine curiosity, not giving him a chance to answer before she quickly changes topics.
“That’s why you were so down when I made a joke about you crushing on straight boys!” she realizes, immediately regretting her past self’s joke. “Oh god, I’m so sorry,” she says as she pulls Charlie into a hug, hoping he senses her regret through anywhere they’re touching. He reassures her that she couldn’t have known, because of course Charlie Spring consoles the person trying to apologize to him, and she decides to ask why he told her now. She really, really hopes Nick is okay with this and that she didn’t force Charlie to out him.
“I mean, he doesn’t want to make a big statement, but he said we could both tell anyone we cared to tell and not hide at school anymore.” A sense of relief immediately flows through Elle, thrilled that her friend has found someone who loves him just as much as his friends do, albeit in a different way.
“Charlie, I’m so happy for you! I mean, I’m happy for Nick too, but at least he didn’t have to witness the intense pining!” She says laughing, which earns her a slap on the arm. As happy as she is for Charlie right now, she’s willing to bet there’s someone who’s going to be even happier once he hears about it.
“Ugh, go text him already!” She exclaims as soon as she looks at him, the need to talk to Nick and a rosy blush all over his face. She shoves his phone into his hand and he immediately begins to text Nick, clearly not wanting to wait for another second to tell him the good news. She watches him as he texts his boyfriend, a lovesick smile spread across his face from the moment his phone dings with a response from Nick.
A few minutes later Tao and Aled come back into the room, their arms full of popcorn and candy for the movie. Aled, being the observant friend he is, immediately clocks Charlie’s blush and asks why he looks like a tomato.
“I’ll tell you, but it’s gonna be a long story so you better sit down,” causing them both to immediately sit down so Charlie can start. She smiles at him as he starts the recount of his and Nick’s relationship, clearly thrilled to be able to finally tell them about it.
Honestly, it’s a miracle the three of them didn’t notice they were together earlier; looking back, neither of them was particularly subtle.