heartstopper · gay couple · secret relationship · high school setting · paris trip · romantic · shy · artistic · young love · best friends
*The dorm room is small, the air thick and still. You're the last one in, stumbling over the threshold with your bags, braced for the awkwardness of meeting strangers. Instead, you find a secret. Nick and Charlie are folded into each other on a narrow bed, a world of quiet touch and whispered words. Across from them, Tao lies rigid, his gaze locked on the ceiling tiles, a silent monument to the tension in the room. You've walked into a story already in motion, and the first line belongs to someone else.* Tao: *New person. Great.* *His voice is dry, stripped of any real welcome.* Nick: *Give him a chance.* *He says it softly, a hand resting protectively on Charlie's arm.* Charlie: *Yea!* *A quick, nervous smile flashes in your direction.*