Chapter Text
Current Day, Morning:
Nick plus Meddling Teachers Group Chat Members:
Peter Lange
Noah Brown – Latin Teacher
Coach Singh – PE and Rugby Coach
Nathan Ajayi – Art teacher
Mlle Griche – French Teacher & Part-Time School Librarian (now retired)
Josh Miller – Maths
Fran Evans – Music Teacher
Youssef Farouk - Science Teacher
Nick Nelson has changed the chat name to “Charlie’s Angels, now LEAVE IT, per Nick”
Nathan (is actually pretty good at art) Ajayi: VICTORY! AT LONG LAST!
Lange: Really Nick? Are you sure you want to give him this?
Nick (will never know how proud I am of him) Nelson: Actually, I think it’s cute! Plus I can’t stand the squabbling anymore. Considering this is the most nerve-wracking day of my life so far, I hope you can all just leave it.
Josh (can’t remember the pythagoreum theorem either) Miller: Fine.
Coach (do not EVER get on her bad side) Singh: Sorry.
Nathan (is actually pretty good at art) Ajayi: No apologies here. This feels GLORIOUS! Never give up kids. If you’re patient, things happen.
Noah (is flattered I find him insufferable) Brown: Not helping Nathan.
Nathan (is actually pretty good at art) Ajayi: *shrug* still not sorry.
Nick (will never know how proud I am of him) Nelson: ANYWAYS
Nick (will never know how proud I am of him) Nelson: remember the plan is that Peter will text you all after Charlie arrives. Then you all can head over with everything to meet him and as soon as I open the door to the classroom, we’ll celebrate together.
Mlle (spits when she speaks) Griche: Got it!
Noah (is flattered I find him insufferable) Brown: Roger that.
Nick (will never know how proud I am of him) Nelson: Thanks again everyone – it was so important to me to do this where Charlie and I first met, but it’s so special that we get to celebrate with the people that were there and supported us from the start!
Coach (do not EVER get on her bad side) Singh: Oh Nick, I know I speak for all of us when I say that it really is our pleasure. We are all honored to help.
Nick (will never know how proud I am of him) Nelson: OH! And Nathan don’t forget that you volunteered to grab Patty, my mom, and Charlie’s parents from the teacher’s lounge. My mom will get the cake out of the fridge and bring it with.
Nathan (is actually pretty good at art) Ajayi: Yes Nick, I know from the first 100 times you reminded me. Don’t worry – everything will go smoothly!
Nick (will never know how proud I am of him) Nelson: I know I know. I just need things to run on a tight schedule because I have a surprise dinner planned with all of our friends afterwards. But I know things are in good hands with all of you.
Current Day, Afterschool:
“Charlie’s Angels, now LEAVE IT, per Nick” Group Chat
Coach (do not EVER get on her bad side) Singh: I just saw Charlie in the parking lot! He’s here! This is really happening!
Fran (pretends to like the oboe) Evans: I saw him too! Eeeek I’m so excited!
Nathan (is actually pretty good at art) Ajayi: I chatted with him a bit near the art block but I totally played it cool…ish. Promise.
Josh (can’t remember the pythagoreum theorem either) Miller: I also saw him go by my room just now. He seemed surprised to see me!
Mlle (spits when she speaks) Griche: I was actually trying to avoid him out of fear that my being here might be suspicious, but we came face to face around a corner of lockers.
Youssef (is totally married to Nathan) Farouk: I bumped into him in a hallway and started to cry. I pretended I had gotten lab chemicals in my eye. He didn’t look like he bought it, hope I didn’t just blow the whole thing.
Nathan (is actually pretty good at art) Ajayi: Awwww you softy! That is so sweet!
Noah (is flattered I find him insufferable) Brown: Wow. We aren’t a suspicious lot at ALL are we (sarcasm font).
*20 minutes later*
Coach (do not EVER get on her bad side) Singh: Lange? Did he make it? Is he at your room? Should we head over?
Noah (is flattered I find him insufferable) Brown: Lange? Hello? Should we come over there?
Coach (do not EVER get on her bad side) Singh: This doesn’t feel right - it’s been too long.
Fran (pretends to like the oboe) Evans: Hmmm…I know this isn’t the plan, but I think we should head over.
Youssef (is totally married to Nathan) Farouk: My room is closest…I’ll scout the situation out.
*five minutes later*
Youssef (is totally married to Nathan) Farouk: Okay I’m outside of Lange’s room and the door is mostly shut, but Peter is nowhere to be seen out here. He might still be in there? I can hear voices and I think the boys are in there too.
Josh (can’t remember the pythagoreum theorem either) Miller: Was there a plan B? Something is off.
Nathan (is actually pretty good at art) Ajayi: Well, our leader is MIA, so I shall make the call – everyone just head over to Lange’s room. I’ll grab the families and meet you there. Be quiet!
Back in Lange’s room, moments after Charlie’s arrival:
Charlie had come through the door with such haste, it had bounced open against the wall and slowly swung back to an almost closed position. Lange was SUPPOSED to have been sat at his desk while he waited for Charlie, but he had moved to sit next to Nick while trying to keep him calm. As a result, he now found himself startled into a standing position, trapped with Charlie blocking his exit to the door. While Charlie exasperatedly told them about “coincidentally” being stopped by all his old teachers, Lange grimaced upon realizing that his phone sat on his desk, also on the other side of Charlie. He stood paralyzed, trying to figure out how to make a hasty exit without ruining the moment.
Nick let out a long sigh.
Minute one was already not going to plan.
“…I have just literally bumped into every single teacher I have ever had this afternoon while making my way from the parking lot to your room…I even saw that retired French teacher that Nick replaced…” Charlie was saying. He stopped short upon seeing nick, and the little box on the desk in front of him.
“Oh. Oh. OHHHhhhhh. OH?” was all he said at first.
His bright blue eyes filled with tears and he began to bounce on the balls of his feet.
Nick smiled, recalculating what to do and say next as Lange stood frozen next to him.
“Oh my god. I love you so much, you giant idiot, I can’t believe you got me’” laughed Charlie.
“Charlie…”
“I was like, ‘Why won’t Peter just mail this stupid letter? How odd.’ I really had no idea.”
“Char…”
“Or, like, why couldn’t he just send it home with you? Really, I feel quite foolish now…”
“CHARLIE,” Nick said, “please excuse me, but I have something very important to ask you,” he said with a smirk as he rose to move out from behind the desk with the intention of taking a knee.
“Oh, hold on a second,” he said, pausing half way down, “my leg seems to have fallen asleep. Blasted cramped desks. I wanted to be romantic and be in the one you met me in…but were they always this small!?”
“YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES,” shouted Charlie, who was still bouncing excitedly.
Nick shook his aching leg around and protested, “What!? I haven’t even asked yet…”
Out in the hallway, a crowd of very confused teachers and family heard Charlie's shouts of affirmation.
“There’s our que,” they all said excitedly, and they rushed towards the classroom door, “Let’s go!”
Inside the classroom, Peter Lange yelled out in surprise as his classroom door burst open, revealing a crowd of about 15 people all trying to get through at once. With them came a literal side show of balloons, celebratory banners, and one clearly stressed Sarah Nelson, trying her best to keep her hands steady on a platter that contained a beautifully decorated lemon cake, while everyone pushed and shoved around her.
Nick and Charlie both startled as the door once again hit the wall and bounced back, smacking Jane Spring in the head with such force that she was thrown back into Nathan Ajayi. Nathan had just been pulling the string on a noise maker, and the force of Jane against him made him trip into Sarah Nelson. The entire room gasped at what came next. As if in slow motion the cake jolted from the platter and flew several feet straight up into the air. Those at the back of the group had no idea what had happened at the front of the group and so they continued to push forward, only noticing the cake as they were directly underneath it.
Nick was absolutely horrified. Not only had he been up all night baking that damn cake, he now stood in a room full of well-intentioned loved ones ready to celebrate a question he had not even ASKED yet.
After weeks of careful planning, how could this all be happening!?
Quite suddenly, in a show of athleticism no one would have suspected him capable of, Youssef Farouk grabbed the platter out of Sarah Nelson’s hands, spun around while shoving Fran Evans out of the way, and dove with the platter held out as far in front of his body as possible. The cake landed with a squishy but safe thud on the plate’s far edge, spraying frosting out in all directions. The congratulatory banner that Fran had been holding was painted in a Pollock-style arc of yellow specks, while Youssef, now stable where he had landed on his knees, rubbed his frosting-freckled face on the shoulder of his shirt. The rest of the group stood in shock, patting their clothes and hair, assessing the frosting damage.
The room was silent for a moment.
And then, naturally, chaos erupted.
Cheering and laughing bounced off of every surface of the room. Charlie laughed until he coughed while Nick stood with a wide-eyed mixture of relief and annoyance on his face, still wobbly on his sleeping leg.
“WHAT are you guys doing in here!? This was NOT the plan,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Sorry Nick – I was kind of trapped on this side of Charlie and couldn’t get to my phone to text them all,” Lange sheepishly admitted, “looks like the lot of them went rogue.”
Everyone looked very confused.
“Rogue!? We did no such thing,” sniffed Noah Brown, “we ran in as soon as we heard Charlie say yes!”
“UGHHHHHHH I HAVE NOT EVEN ASKED HIM YET,” moaned Nick as he continued hopping around on one foot, cursing the pins and needles coursing through his leg.
Charlie was laughing too hard to help explain that he had jumped the gun a bit with his yesses. “This is bloody amazing,” he said instead, between fits of giggles.
And then he noticed Nick’s face.
“Oh sweetheart! Don’t be upset! This is literally a perfect capture of our chaotic lives! Look at all the love in this room,” he said as he gestured around the room at their frosting-covered loved ones, all wiping each other down with tissues.
“To be quite honest, I could do with a little LESS love in this room at the moment…” replied a grumpy Nick.
Lange felt terrible. “OKAY LISTEN UP,” he said, “looks like we were a bit quick on the draw here. Let’s all retreat back out into the hallway and give these boys their moment together.”
The group plundered back out into the hall.
“Did anyone get that cake dive on video?” asked Nathan Ajayi, who had somehow escaped getting even one drop of frosting on himself.
“Nick, Charlie, we’ll be outside when you’re ready. No rush,” whispered Lange as he gently moved to close the door behind them all.
Nick took a deep breath and then all at once, the classroom door was closed, the room was quiet, and Nick could feel BOTH legs again.
Feeling a bit more in control of the moment, he looked into the eyes he had fallen in love with so many years ago in this very room, and he dropped to one knee.
And Charlie, still lightly shaking with laughter from the whole spectacle, bit his tongue to keep his yes in until the appropriate moment this time.
When the classroom door opened a few minutes later, the boys, both beaming, emerged into a gleeful crowd of love and support.
“SURPRISE? I guess…” they all yelled while laughing.
The balloons and banner were hung properly in the hallway now, and Sarah and Jane had managed to cut the cake in such a way that you could hardly tell it had once been airborne, losing a large amount of its frosting in the process.
Their mums and Julio hugged them both first, followed by each and every teacher in attendance.
“I would have eaten it off the floor you know,” Charlie whispered to a blushing nick who stood pressed to Charlie’s side, taking compliment after compliment about the cake.
“It’s Char’s favorite,” he replied to them all while turning every shade of red possible, “I guess I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years.”
Among the cacophony, a throat cleared, and the group looked to where Nathan Ajayi stood with his husband, holding a large, ornate wooden frame.
“Ummm, so we realize nothing went according to plan today, and that this next bit was ALSO not part of your plan Nick,” he said, “but those of us who have had the pleasure of knowing you both over the years have a little gift for you.”
Nick and Charlie smiled and stepped closer to look at the item in Nathan’s hands.
It was indeed a large, handmade, wooden frame meant to be hung on a wall. Stained in dark cherry, it featured a complex pattern of carved leaves, each tastefully highlighted with alternating swipes of light golden, silver, and copper paint.
“Perks of being married to the creative artsy type,” said Youssef, as he fondly watched the boys’ awe at taking in the detail. “I’m just the perfectionist scientist who cut the angles of the wood right, but Nathan carved and painted the frame and drew all the images free hand after interviewing everyone.”
Still taking in the beauty of the frame, the boys had not yet noticed what was inside of it. Now, they saw that the frame contained a collage of hand drawn scenes featuring their likenesses. Each were sketched in a dark charcoal pencil and then partially filled in with soft watercolors. The images were arranged in a wreath like circle surrounding a beautifully hand lettered statement: “Love really can change the world”. A faint and wavy water-colored rainbow ran from the bottom left to the top right corner, behind all the images and writing.
Lange stepped forward. “Everyone here contributed memories to this; times when the two of you and your story changed the world around you.
Charlie looked intently at the images, starting at the top of the circle with what looked like he and Nick and a group of people standing in a classroom.
“That one is taken straight from a photograph,” said Nathan, “but it’s Truham’s first LGBTQ alliance meeting.”
Nick’s eyes filled with tears.
“That was an incredibly special day,” he said, “one of my proudest moments as a part of the queer community.”
“Well, it never would have happened without you two, and it quite literally changed the Truham experience for hundreds of students who have come through these halls after you,” Nathan added, himself a bit choked up.
The next image was a detailed rendering of Nick and Charlie, sitting across from each other at the Spring kitchen table. Mugs in hand, leaned in and clearly whispering with matching conspiratorial grins on their faces.
“Ahhh, right, that one was my contribution,” said Julio, holding tightly to Jane’s hand, “Or really, ours.” He indicated Jane, who stood quietly encouraging him to go on.
“I know you thought you were pretty smart for sneaking out to meet each other in the middle of the night all the time,” he began, “I mean we had a doorbell camera so you weren’t exactly criminal masterminds, but I mostly let it go.”
The crowd snickered.
“After Charlie’s hospitalization, the little rules, or the breaking of them to be more specific, just didn’t seem as important,” he shrugged, “this scene here though, changed our entire family dynamic. I had gotten out of bed to get your mother some aspirin. I heard giggles and I snuck down to find this exact scene. It was the happiest I had seen you in months and I couldn’t look away. I felt like I had my son back.”
Julio paused while tears gathered in his eyes. He took a moment to breathe.
“Eventually, Jane came looking for me and we hid together. She was just as mesmerized by watching you both as I was.”
Jane smiled and nodded.
“Charlie, that was the night that I admitted that accepting Nick as an important part of your healing was the right thing to do; that my stepping back and letting others help was best for you. After that, the dynamic between us softened, and I felt like even with the setbacks ahead, things began to get better. I sort of consider it the unofficial start of when I began to think of Nick as a forever part of our family,” she explained, “that moment changed me.”
Charlie sniffled and wiped his nose on the edge of his sleeve. Nick said nothing, but wrapped Julio in a patented Nick Nelson hug. Eventually he hugged Jane softly as well, respecting her usual hesitancy with physical affection.
“What’s this one then?” asked Charlie as he moved on to the third drawing, which depicted Charlie behind a podium, speaking into a microphone while his hand connected out of frame with Nick, who was in his own setting, standing on a circle of grass in a full rugby kit. Nick was pointing with his other hand while he appeared to be calling out plays to a not-pictured rugby team.
“Oh that one is something Youssef and I came up with,” said Singh, “we had similar favorite memories so we asked Nathan to put them together in one visual.”
“It’s both of you in the sterotype-shattering leadership roles that you held here at Truham your last few years,” she explained. “Nick as an out and proud rugby captain, and Charlie as our first openly gay Head Boy.”
“I really can’t say enough how much I needed to see boys like you while I was growing up,” said Youssef. “It would have made all the difference to have queer role models who took unapologetic joy in their identities, and didn’t let who they were stop them from reaching their goals.”
He took a deep breath and continued, “I can’t even imagine how many people you made a difference for by just being authentically yourselves while serving in these positions.”
A small sob broke the silence that followed Youssef’s speech. The crowd turned to find Sarah Nelson with tears streaming down her face.
“Oh Good,” said Noah, “Sarah was next anyways…”
“Yes…sorry,” she whimpered, “it’s just so amazing seeing it all together like this and…and...it’s just been a big day…” Sarah took a big sniff, let out a graceless snort, and then continued, “anyways, my drawing is next in the circle, there at the bottom.”
She pointed to a drawing of the boys, standing on the Nelson doorstep in a tight embrace. A happy looking Nellie, long since passed in real life, stood at their feet looking up at them adoringly. The detail drawn in the Nelson front door meant there was no mistaking the setting.
“Oh…I don’t know if I can even get this sentence out…right now,” Sarah hiccupped and took a deep breath, “but that door represents my house of course…but YOU two and the love you brought through that door…well…it’s just that…” another small sob escaped Sarah’s lips as she quietly finished her thought, “well, it made my house a real home…”
At this she began ugly crying in earnest and Nick and Charlie rushed to her.
“Oh Sarah, YOUR love made your house a home for ME, too. It became my sanctuary,” said Charlie, as he avoided Jane Springs eyes but accepted a tissue from her to give to Sarah. He wondered briefly if it would ever get less awkward for his mum to see the easy love between he and Sarah, but he refused to allow any guilt into the moment over it.
An emotionally overwhelmed Nick, knowing he was seconds away from losing it completely, forced himself to look away and said, “right then, what’s next here…” and went back to looking at the collage of images.
“Wow. Okay well that’s a hard act to follow,” said Brown, “but I guess we’re next.” He nodded towards his co-workers, “Griche, Evans, Miller and I came up with the idea for the next image there…”
Nick, still wiping tears from his eyes, leaned in to get a closer look at a sketch of a teenage Nick and Charlie, walking away hand in hand through the gates of Truham. Along the sides at the edges of the image were a blurry mass of fellow students, all turned towards them.
“We’ve already covered,” said Fran Evans, “how the two of you; your relationship and the things you faced together, caused a domino effect of changes around here. And of course, that meant that the number of students who became comfortable expressing their personal truths and the number of supportive peers, grew exponentially even long after you had left.”
“You may notice though, in that crowd that Nathan drew around you, that there are some taller heads. See them there?” Miller pointed to a few adult looking bodies among the fuzzy crowd along the edges of the image.
“That’s us,” said Griche.
“What?” Charlie said as Nick cocked his head in confusion.
“You see, you were great role models for the students, yes, but you were also very influential on the adults at this school,” Brown added.
Now Charlie cocked his head slightly to the side to match Nick, his brow pinched in confusion.
“Each of us - myself, Fran, Noah, and Josh - had people we cared deeply about come out to us in the years following your time here at Truham,” explained Griche.
“Siblings, nieces and nephews, even our own children for some of us,” offered Fran Evans, “and knowing you two – LEARNING from your experience – made us better allies and better humans, simply from knowing you,” she shrugged, “it feels like a lot of pressure to put that on your shoulders now, but the beauty of it was that you were not trying and we didn’t even realize it was happening at the time. It was justa beautiful natural consequence of witnessing your lives.”
“And quite honestly,” said Brown, “I became a safe space because of what I learned while you were here and there is nothing I treasure more than that.”
“You…became…” began a wide-eyed Nick,
“A safe space…” added an astonished Charlie.
“Because of US!?” squeeked Nick.
Griche smiled at this, “I told them you would love this part! I remembered you saying during your interviews here that you were passionate to creating a safe space for queer students.”
“I don’t even think we know what to say to that,” said Charlie. “Thank you. Thank you all for sharing all of this with us today. It’s quite a lot to process, but I can’t imagine an item in our home that we will treasure more than this.”
“Well, hold that thought Charlie, we still have one more to go,” said Lange as he pointed to the last image in the circle of the collage.
The last image was a current likeness of Nick and Charlie. Nick smiled upon realizing it was copied from a recent photo that he had posted of himself and Charlie at Tao and Elle’s wedding. Both being in the wedding, they wore matching tuxes, something that had absolutely delighted Nick but embarrassed Charlie.
“We never had kids of our own,” said Patty. “But we both devoted our lives to walking beside as many kids in our community as possible on their journey to adulthood.”
“It wasn’t our choice, not to be parents,” said Lange, “and at times our sadness about that felt like a constant companion, but there were these moments..”
“magical moments really…” Patty interjected.
“…when being a part of a young person’s story filled that ache for us. Watching you two grow into your lives together has been full of those magical moments on our end. Watching you change and inspire those around you, simply by being yourselves, has changed us as well. We just can’t thank you enough for letting us be a part of the village that raised and supported you.”
“We are so incredibly proud of you both,” Patty finished.
And now Nick finally lost it, sobbing into Charlie’s shoulder as he tried to make words that no one could understand.
“Thank you doesn’t seem like enough,” Charlie said, “to all of you. For this, and today, and every day. If Nick could make words right now, I know that he would agree with me that we are incredibly lucky to have such a rare support system. We do NOT take it for granted. You are all so special to us.”
Everyone smiled and that awkward pause that always seems to hang in the atmosphere after a highly charged moment meant that no one made eye contact for a moment. Sniffles turned into giggles and eventually someone told a joke to break the tension. The group stayed and chatted a bit longer, finishing up the cake, congratulating the boys some more, and cleaning up after themselves. Eventually Jane and Julio had to leave, offering to drive Sarah home. Nick thanked Patty for the banner she had removed from the wall and given him as a keepsake on her way out.
With only the Truham staff left to accompany the boys out, Charlie picked up the precious frame to bring to the car. As the group walked towards the exit, he looked over it again, peering closely at one of the corners.
“Wait, is that…that there…what’s that?” he said, and everyone crowded around to see where he was pointing.
There, in the top right-hand corner of the frame, sketched roughly into the water color rainbow ribbon that ran through the background of the collage, was a tiny set of angel wings. It was barely noticeable at first glance, tucked among the transition between the darker colors.
Brown huffed loudly while Griche let out a loud moan.
“OH MY GOD NATHAN – REALLY!?” said Lange. “REALLY?”
A shit-eating grin crossed Nathan Ajayi’s face as he merely turned, clasped his hands behind his back, and continued walking. His shoulders shook while he chuckled to himself, leaving a confused Charlie, a laughing Nick, and a crowd of annoyed co-workers in his wake.
A few minutes later, holding the door for the boys, the group of teachers offered one more round of hugs and best wishes before watching them walk towards the parking lot.
The boys out of sight, each staff member felt their smiles drop, to be replaced with annoyed expressions as they all turned and sighed, and reached into their pockets. A twenty pound note from each of them was placed into the waiting palm of one VERY smug looking Peter Lange. On the walk back, he wondered aloud if it would be overkill to use some of the winning funds to purchase a “Narlie Engagement Pool GRAND WINNER” trophy to display in his classroom…the others ignored him and stalked off towards their own rooms to prepare for another day of being inspired by their students.