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“Shit dude, you’ve got it bad” Nick’s buddy and co-worker at Truham Family Attractions Fun Park, Sai Verma nudged him in the ribs as they sat at a set of picnic tables in the fenced-off area behind the concession stands that was delegated as an employee break spot.
“Bugger off” Nick muttered, his face going the same shade as the cherry slushie he’d been sipping as he looked away from where his eyes had previously been fixed and down to the carton of chips sitting in front of him that he’d drowned in a sea of ketchup and mustard. The food couldn’t hold his attention for long and within a few minutes his eyes had drifted back over to the other side of the break area and-
“Oh dear god man! Just go talk to him! Or your balls will end up so blue they’ll fall off by the end of summer”
“Shut the fuck up! Jesus christ would you two keep your voices down!” Nick hissed, staring daggers as Sai and Chrisitan crumbled together in a heap of snorting giggles on the other side of the picnic table.
Nick threw a glance in the direction he’d previously been focused on, worry flooding his chest that he might have been caught out by his friend's antics.
As luck ( or misfortune) may have it, Charlie hadn’t seemed to notice him at all. He was still sitting at his own picnic table, surrounded by his friend who worked the ring toss and the girl who ran the princess dress-up boutique. Charlie had a piece of candy floss pinched between his long slender fingers and Nick watched as he opened his mouth and placed the vibrant pink fluff of sugar on his tongue, where it instantly melted. What Nick wouldn’t give to be that candy floss.
Ok. Christ. That was a little creepy. Maybe Chrisitan was right and he was about to explode from the amount of sexual tension that building up inside of him.
Charlie just…drove him crazy. And It wasn't just that Charlie was hot. Which he was. Very very hot. But he was smart and charming and funny and basically Nick’s dream man.
When Nick had taken the summer job at TFAF he’d never expected to meet someone, especially not someone like Charlie. Nick hadn’t been expecting to work at TFAF at all. All year he’d thought that he’d go back to working at the little yogurt shop in town, handing out tiny sample spoons to passing patrons in the ridiculous teal t-shirt that made up the shop's uniform.
But TFAF had gone recruiting at their towns mall, looking to bulk up their summer staff with student workers from the school in the village and any nearby universities.
Nick and all his friends had been drawn in by promises of free park tickets and discounted food, as well as competitive wages. When Nick had shown up for the orientation meeting, he’d thought that he’d end up working one of the game booths, or maybe one of the less complicated rides if he was lucky, but the park director had walked in, taken one look at him and called another staff member over.
“Gemma, I think I’ve found your prince charming!” This was how Nick Nelson, a rugby player and Marvel fan, a boy with less than zero acting experience was given a leading role in the park's pantomime, which had performances three times a day.
Nick had tried to back out of it, telling the director, a sweet but rather intimidating woman, that he had no idea how to act and would likely make a fool out of himself and the entire rest of the cast.
“Don’t sweat it, love! It’s for kids! It’s all just a big laugh. Most of it will be audience participation and improve! Almost impossible to fuck up! Just have fun and you’ll be fine!” She’d given his cheek a little tap and walked off without giving him a chance to try to back out once again.
His friends had had a field day when Nick told them he’d been assigned the job of playing a prince for the entirety of the summer, however on day one when Nick got directed to an airconditioned theatre and the others were stuck outside in the blazing sun, the deal didn’t seem all that bad to Nick anymore.
Then, when he was introduced to the rest of the cast and saw who he’d be playing opposite, Nick was suddenly finding himself feeling incredibly grateful for the blond hair and broad shoulders that had won him the role.
In a hetronormative world, it would be the girl playing the princess that Nick would fall for. Tara was a very nice, a very beautiful girl but she wasn’t the one that had caught Nick’s eye.
Nick should’ve known from the moment that Gemma emailed him the outline for the performance and the word pirate was written on multiple lines that Nick would be in trouble. He knew for sure when he arrived for rehearsal the first day and met the boy playing the before-mentioned pirate that he was done for.
Charlie with his dark curls and deep blue eyes had made Nick’s heart skip a beat when he first laid eyes on him. When Charlie had smiled at a joke Nick made and a set of dimples appeared on his smooth cheeks, Nick had nearly dropped to his knees. Then Charlie had to go and be sweet and funny and overall wonderful, which wasn’t distracting at all as Nick tried to memorize his ques.
Prince Charming (Nick) was meant to be rescuing the princess (Tara) from the feared pirate captain (Charlie). After a sword fight between the prince and the pirate captain, which ended with the pirate captain falling overboard from his own ship with a comically loud splash sound effect. The prince then carried the princess off into the sunset and they all lived happily ever after or something boring like that.
Nick's favourite scene was the sword fight between himself and Charlie where at one point their swords caught above their heads and the two boys stood practically nose to nose. More than once Nick had had to fight the urge to just lean forward and kiss him right then and there at centre stage in front of everyone.
Nick knew from a little light internet stalking that Charlie was into guys. It was right there in his Instagram bio. Nick had never before been so pleased to see an emoji before in his life as he had when he saw the little rainbow by Charlie’s username.
Nick had added his own pride flag to his bio before he’d pressed request on Charlie’s Instagram, hoping against hope that it might plant a seed of interest in Charlie’s mind about him.
After a month of performances, in which not a single one passed without either Nick or Charlie breaking character from some line the other had improvised, Nick was utterly smitten. None of the children in the audience ever seemed to notice as they clapped along and called out answers to the questions that the actors on stage asked of them.
With every passing day Charlie became a better and better friend to Nick, and every day Nick fell for him a little harder.
Sometimes he thought he might have caught Charlie looking at him, sometimes he thought Charlie might have even been flirting with him. Nick kept telling himself that he was going to do it. He was going to take the plunge and ask Charlie out, but every time he chickened out.
What if he asked and Charlie didn’t feel the same way? That would make work incredibly awkward. What if he asked and Charlie said yes but their date went terribly and then work would once again be made incredibly awkward? Or what if Nick asked Charlie out, Charlie said yes and they fell head over heels in love with one another only for summer to end and for them to never see one another again? Nick wasn’t sure if his admittedly tender heart could handle that.
“I beg of you Nick, just ask the poor bastard out. Put us all out of our misery” Christian moaned, putting his forehead down on the picnic table and resting his icy drink on the back of his neck, trying to cool down.
Christian was in charge of the ferris wheel that when it reached its peak gave a spectacular view of the entire park, and while working the wheel offered him ample opportunities to flirt with the pretty girls who loaded onto the carts, it didn’t offer much in the way of shade. Just a flimsy umbrella and the little bit of breeze that came off the wheel as it was running.
Otis, who worked at one of the ice creams stands, nodded sagely as if in agreement with Christians oh so wise words.
“Seriously mate, it's torture watching you pine after him when he’s right there, waiting for you to jump his bones” Sai added, his own face flushed from long hours making balloon hats and handing out prizes.
“He is not” Nick scoffed, stabbing at one of his chips with the plastic fork he had clutched in one hand.
“Um, yes the fuck he is! I watched that performance you had this morning, and he could not take his eyes off your ass in those oh so tight prince trousers of yours” Chrisitan reached out and poked Nick’s cheek, Nick quickly batting his hand away.
“Fuck off Chris!”
“Mate, I’m only trying to help you out here! It’s a simple problem. You want in his pants and he wants in yours. You’ve got hearts in your eyes when you look at him and he looks at you like you hung the moon instead of as the dufas you are. It’s a match made in amusement park heaven!”
Nick shushed his friend whose voice was starting to get louder, worrying Nick that it might attract Charlie’s attention. When Nick looked over at Charlie he found to his surprise, delight, and terror that Charlie was already looking at him.
Charlie smiled at him, those damn dimples jumping out again as he raised a hand in a small wave, which Nick returned before wheeling around to his friends, his eyes wide as he mouthed the words ‘ oh my god’ before dropping his head into his hands.
“Right. That’s the guy you think doesn’t like you” Sai nodded as if anything about the scenario made sense.
“Yeah, I think he definitely hates you actually” Otis added, nudging Nick in the ribs.
“Not helping” Nick hissed.
“Alright, here’s what we’re going to do” Christian clapped his hands together as if he were presenting a master plan.
“You’ve got an evening performance tonight right?”
Nick nodded. The group did performances from Wednesday to Sunday, four of those days had two performances in the morning and one in the afternoon, while the rest had two in the afternoon and one in the evening, letting out just after seven.
“Yes,” Nick replied, feeling skeptical from the look on his friend's face.
“Soooo, why don’t you ask Charlie to hang out after the performance? Have some dinner and maybe meander around for a while. Perhaps you end up by the Ferris wheel. Oh, and who runs the ferris wheel?” Christian put both his hands on his chest, preening like a peacock.
“Well, what a coincidence! It’s me! So maybe you and Charlie decide to go for a ride and admire the view. You get to the top and oh no! What happened? The ride is stuck! Leaving you and the object of your affection high in the sky with only each other for company and warmth. Fireworks go off, you kiss, you make love under the stars and I get to be the best man at your wedding and the godfather to your first child”
“Um one, no. And second, no”
“To the ferris wheel or to the godfather part? Because I will settle for being the favourite uncle. I stand firm on the best man thing and I have strong opinions on wedding colours. I think we should go with jewel tones because I look incredible in rust”
“I’m not going to trap Charlie into dating me”
“It’s not a trap! It’s a romantic act of god!”
“Are you calling yourself god in this scenario?” Sai teased, taking Christian's soda from his hand and taking a long gulp from the straw.
Christian rolled his eyes and plucked one of Nick’s chips from his basket and chucked it at Sai. Otis intercepted the throw and popped the chip into his mouth.
“Come on Nick! It’s a good plan!” Christian protested making praying hands in Nick's direction as if begging his friend to consider.
“I’ll ask him to hang out after tonight's performance but I will not kidnap him in the sky!” Nick decided, taking another long drink of his slushie, hoping the cold would bring him back to the centre.
“Aha! I got him! Best man status secured!” Christian grinned, clapping Nick on the shoulder before turning back to his lunch.
……..
Nick had been trying to work up the courage since lunch to ask Charlie if he wanted to hang out after the last performance but he kept chickening out. They were mid-way through the last performance and Nick still hadn’t asked. It wasn’t a big deal. He didn’t need to make a big deal out of it or anything.
It wasn’t as if he needed to make some grand proclamation. He didn’t need to get down on bended knee and ask Charlie to enter a formal courtship with him.
He just needed to get the words “Hey Char, you want to get a slushie once we’re done tonight?” out of his mouth.
They were midway through the performance and Nick was running out of time. He and Charlie were meant to be starting their big battle any second but Nick didn’t know how he was supposed to have a convincing fight with this guy when all he wanted to do was pin him up against the painted set of the pirate ship and kiss him until the sun burned out.
“ Hey Char ” Nick said through his teeth so the audience couldn’t tell he was speaking, as his plastic sword hit Charlie’s for the first time.
“ Yeah ?” Charlie replied also through his teeth before shouting his assigned line about the princess's ransom he was demanding.
“Give up now pirate!”
“You’ll never take me alive!”
Charlie rolled his eyes at the general cheesiness of their lines. They clashed swords again before Charlie swiped his plastic sword under Nick’s feet which Nick leapt over with the practiced ease of having done so all summer.
“ Did you want to ” Nick's sword collided with Charlie’s shoulder, and Charlie pretended to reer back in pain.
“You’ll pay for that prince!”
“ Maybe hang out? ” Charlie's sword caught Nick in the side.
“ After the show tonight?”
Charlie looked a little surprised but definitely not unpleased. Charlie spun away from Nick's sword before the big move occurred, where their swords met over their heads their noses nearly touching.
“ Yeah”
“Really?”
“I’d like that”
Nick grinned brilliantly, not exactly in character but he couldn’t help it.
Their swords were still above their heads, they’d held the pose for too long, but Nick didn’t care. Charlie was going out with him—that night.
……………..
Nick had a bit of a spring in his step as he changed as quickly as possible out of his costume and back into his street clothes.
Charlie had agreed to go out with him. He was going out with Charlie. Maybe that was taking it a little far. Charlie had agreed to hang out with him after work. He hadn’t exactly accepted a date to the prom.
God, maybe Charlie didn’t even think it was a date. Charlie might think they were just hanging out casually, nothing more and nothing less. Shit. Nick hadn’t thought of that before. He should have been more clear. Used more precise words.
He’d just have to make his intentions abundantly clear. Not that he’d had much success doing that before. Shit. The date hadn’t even started yet and Nick already felt like he was fucking it up.
“Hey!” Charlie had appeared in the doorway, that smile that Nick knew so well on his face, complete with those damn dimples.
“Hi”
“Hi” Charlie blushed.
“I guess I kind of already said that”
Nick grinned. Maybe Charlie was just as nervous as he was. Maybe Charlie did know this was a date?
There was still hope for Nick after all.
“Um, are you ready to go?” Charlie continued, shuffling back and forth on his feet.
“Yeah! Yeah lets”
“Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“What are we doing exactly?”
Nick let out a nervous laugh, carding his fingers through his hair.
“Right. I asked you out, therefore I have a plan and have thought past step one. Definitely didn’t think you were going to say no”
Charlie put a fist up to his mouth to try to conceal his laughter. It wasn’t much use. He was going red from his amusement. Once Charlie had composed himself slightly he looked back up at Nick, a nervous smile on his face.
“You asked me out?”
Shit. Nick knew he should have been more clear. He’d probably freaked Charlie out. God, had Charlie been laughing at the idea of going on a date with him?
“Yes?” Nick replied nervously, hoping that Charlie wasn’t about to start laughing again at the thought. Charlie didn’t laugh, instead, his nervous smile got a little larger as she nodded his head.
“Good, I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t made that up in my head”
Nick’s grin was back, relief flooding his system at Charlie’s response.
“Good” Nick nodded, the stress in his shoulders easing slightly.
“There are fireworks tonight, maybe we could walk around for a while and then find a good spot to watch them?”
“Yeah, that sounds good” Charlie blushed again as if he’d thought that he’d replied too quickly. Nick thought it was pretty adorable, and made him feel a little better about the instinct he had to pump his fist into the air in triumph.
Nick had promised himself he was going to make his intentions clear that night, so he did something he’d been thinking about all summer, he took Charlie’s hand.
And Charlie. Well, Charlie didn’t pull away.
……………….
If Nick thought he had started the day with a massive crush on Charlie, it was nothing compared to the way he felt after spending an hour wandering around the TFAFP hand in hand with the other boy.
Charlie was just so damn charming, and funny and sweet. Even though they had been talking nonstop the entire time they’d never lapsed into silence, never run out of anything to say or reverted to talking about the weather.
Nick found himself becoming quite relaxed and at ease, as he and Charlie wandered the park, pointing out some of the quirks they’d noticed and swapping stories about their fellow workers.
Some of Nick’s nervousness returned when he thought about the date coming to a close. Would he kiss Charlie? Would Charlie try to kiss him? Hell, would Charlie even want to kiss him?
It seemed like he was having a good time. He’d been laughing and joking around with Nick and had hardly let go of his hand the entire evening. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?
The night was fast approaching and Nick supposed the fireworks would be beginning soon. He needed to start scouting out a spot for Charlie and himself to view the show. Maybe on that little hill up past the staff parking lot? It was a bit of a walk but it was a good vantage point and had the potential to be private which might be a good opportunity for him to kiss-
“Charlie! Nick! Over here!”
Oh. Dear. God.
Chrisitan was standing at his post in front of the ferris wheel, waving madly at the both of them.
“Come over here! I’ve got one cart left and it’s all yours!”
Nick was going to murder his friend. He was going to murder him and make it look like an accident. He wasn’t sure how, but he was going to figure it out. There must be a true crime podcast out there that had a step-by-step tutorial at this point.
The people in line for the attraction made shouts of protest but Christian ignored them, still trying to coax Nick and Charlie over.
Charlie glanced over at Nick.
“Should we?” Charlie was already walking forward, Nick's hand still in his.
There was no normal answer that Nick could give him to protest getting on the ride, so he’d just have to hope that Chris was bluffing.
“Chrisitan I swear to god” Nick muttered as they passed him, letting Charlie pass him and climb into the cart first.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about mate” Christian grinned wickedly as he gestured for Nick to sit down in his seat.
“I mean it Chris” Nick continued as he finally sat down next to Charlie.
Christian pulled the safety bar across Nick and Charlie and secured it. Tapping it twice once it was in place.
“Please” Nick tried in a desperate last-ditch attempt to appeal to his friend's better nature.
“Enjoy the ride!” He called as he stepped backward and pressed the controls to start up the wheel.
“What was that about?” Charlie asked as they rose into the sky.
Nick was still staring down at his friend who was looking up at the two of them. Nick didn’t like that expression on his face.
“Nothing, just Chrisitan being an idiot” Nick muttered, hoping that his friend wouldn’t take it a step too far.
The wheel rotated fully a few times, and the tightness in Nick’s chest eased slightly. Maybe Christian had just been fucking with him. He wasn’t actually going to trap the two of them up there and-
Nick winced at the sound of the wheel screeching to a halt. The cart Nick and Charlie were in was stopped directly at the top of the wheel, the view of the entire park stretching out in front of them.
“So sorry folks!” Christian's voice came over the loudspeaker and Nick could just hear the smugness in it.
“Just a minor technical difficulty. Nothing to be concerned about! Sit tight and we’ll have her back up and running in a minute!”
Nick groaned, letting his head fall forward onto the metal safety bar.
“I begged him not to do this” He mumbled, mortified at what he’d gotten himself and Charlie into.
“What?” Charlie sounded a little amused and slightly confused.
“I’m going to kill him,” Nick said decidedly as he sat up and peered over the side of the cart, staring down at Chrisitan at the operator's stand. He was grinning up at them, looking quite pleased with themself.
“I’m lost” Charlie confessed, watching as Nick settled back into his seat.
“Excuse me again people!” Christian's voice called again.
“Cart ten! Your balance is off, could the passengers scoot a little closer together?”
Nick didn’t need to look at the number of the cart below them to know that they were number ten.
“I think that’s us” Charlie scooted closer to Nick, which Nick definitely didn’t mind, so Nick slide closer as well. Their thighs were pressed together now, their arms brushing, wrist to shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s still a little off!” Christian called up again.
“Nick! Put your arm around him would ya?”
“Oh for fuck sake” Nick muttered under his breath.
“You don’t have to” Charlie rushed to say having heard what Nick had mumbled.
“Shit, no! No, I didn’t mean, I uh, obviously want to”
“Obviously?”
“Yes!”
“Well then, maybe you should do it” Charlie challenged, holding Nick’s gaze.
Nick slid his arm around the back of Charlie’s shoulders, trying not to shutter at the feeling of Charlie’s hair brushing against his bare bicep. Charlie settled into Nick's side and it caused a wave of butterflies to take flight in Nick’s stomach.
There was a beat of silence between them.
“Want to tell me what this is all about?” Charlie asked quietly, the amused tone still laced into the threads of his voice.
“Just Chrisitan being a meddling prick”
“Meddling?”
“Yeah he’s got some wild ideas”
“Such as?” Charlie prompted.
“That I should coax you onto the Ferris wheel so he could stop it at the top so I could trick you into falling for me”
“Trick me?”
“Yeah, I guess he thinks that the peril of being stuck at a great height is somehow romantic? Or that if he kept us up here long enough you might get bored enough to go for me”
“Nick” Charlie placed his hand on top of Nick’s that was resting on top of the safety bar.
“We don’t need to be stuck up here for me to fall for you”
Nick twisted to face Charlie, a mask of shock slipping across his face.
“And I definitely don’t need to be bored to go for you”
“Char, are you saying-”
“I’ve been into you all summer”
“You have?”
“Obviously!”
“Obviously?” They echoed the conversation they’d had only a few moments before, just in reverse.
“I thought I was being obvious!”
Nick was in something that resemble shock. He’d dreamed that Charlie might like him back, he’d hoped for it, but it wasn’t until this instant that Nick really believed it possible.
“I disagree with that sentiment!”
“Come on! All my friends have been after me about how pathetic I’ve been! Tao has threatened to drown me in the koi pond more than once because he could barely stand being around me while I was hung up on my ‘straight boy crush’
“Tao thinks I’m straight?”
“Well, we all kind of did until you added that emoji to your insta bio”
Something clicked in Nick’s mind.
“I added that before I requested to follow you”
It was Charlie’s turn to blush a shade of scarlet to rival any cherry slushie.
“I may have checked out your profile before that”
Nick grinned down at his hands, one of which was still intertwined with Charlie’s.
“ I told you I'd been obvious!”
“I am such an idiot” Nick couldn’t believe all the time he’d wasted. Summer was half over and he and Charlie could have been together the entire time.
Nick reframed his thoughts. It wasn’t time wasted. Nick and Charlie had had these weeks together as friends, and getting to know him in that way had only made Nick like him even more.
“Issac wanted to get us into a tilt-a-whirl cart together, so really I should be thanking Christian because I doubt you’d be all that interested in me after I went green from motion sickness”
“I like you in any colour Char”
“You’re such a dork” Charlie dropped his head onto Nick’s shoulder, hiding his giddy expression in the fabric of Nick’s t-shirt.
When Charlie raised his head again, Nick was watching him, a soft smile playing at the corner of his lips.
“What?” Charlie teased, starting to feel that same bashfulness sneaking back. Before he had a chance to hide again, Nick took his free hand and placed it on the side of Charlie’s face, gently guiding his face so that they were looking into one another's eyes.
A beat passed, long enough for Charlie to move away if he wanted to. When he didn’t, Nick did what he’d been dreaming about all summer.
When their lips met, fireworks lit up the sky. The romantic in Nick wanted to think that it was his and Charlie’s love that was setting the night sky alight with brightness to rival the stars, but the hiss and snaps from the group reminded him of the spark show that had been scheduled for this night for weeks.
“Well that was good timing” Charlie muttered against Nick’s lips, as they both grinned into their kiss.
A laugh escaped from Nick’s chest as he pulled Charlie back in for another kiss as fireworks continued to explode in the sky around them.
With a squeak and a lurch, the wheel began to spin once again. As the cart carrying Nick and Charlie passed the operator's stand, Christian grinned at his best friend and the boy he was currently very caught up in kissing.
“You’re welcome!” Christian called after them as Nick and Charlie headed back up toward the sky.