Chapter Text
After saving up their money, weeks of planning, and lots of negotiating with parents, it was the day the couples in the Paris Squad were travelling to London for their first-ever pride! They would also spend the week, exploring the city, similar to the Paris trip but without chaperones who they later found out were both queer. Not everyone could make it for the whole week they would spend in London. Aled was the only member of the group who hadn’t turned 16; his mum was concerned for his safety due to his looking a lot younger than his actual age. Sahar would be joining them a few times over their week in London, she was on holiday with family but could join them for pride and to hang out before the chaos began.
Charlie woke up at 7am in Nick's bed with their arms wrapped around each other and their legs tangled together, asleep on one pillow. They were both wearing only shorts to cope with the heatwave. It was early compared to the past few weeks when they had exams and had finished them which meant they had no school meaning that they would wake up a lot later than normal. Charlie kissed Nick’s forehead to wake him up before heading down to the kitchen to get them cups of tea. Even if it was 20 degrees when they woke up, Nick and Charlie still needed their morning tea.
Nick followed him downstairs, getting out his signature ‘N’ mug and Charlie’s ‘C’ mug, a birthday gift from Sarah, before resting his arms around Charlie’s bare torso. Charlie made their tea while Nick lay his head on Charlie’s shoulder, kissing his neck.
They moved to the living room to chill and sit with the dogs, turning on a fan to keep them cool. They checked their emails, ensuring they got their accommodation sorted, a cheap hostel in Central London. Sipping on their tea, they discussed the rumours that their favourite boyband, The Arc, could be attending London Pride and the slim chance of meeting them.
“It’s the first time they’ve not been on tour during pride.” Nick pointed out.
“Would their management let them go, practically every queer, British teenager has heard of them!” Charlie responded.
“They’ve mentioned in interviews for ages that they all have been asking management if they could attend.”
Charlie suddenly remembered something, “You know last night was our final night sleeping together.”
“Yeah but at least we’ll be sharing a room with the girls who will hopefully help us get ready for pride”
“True” Charlie responded, dragging out the e
They finished their teas before changing into different shorts and Charlie ‘borrowing’ one of Nick’s tee-shirts, getting their shoes on and getting the dogs ready for a walk. They decided to take Henry and Nellie around the woodlands near Nick’s house which was covered in trees, keeping them in the shade.
Arriving home, Nick filled Henry and Nellie’s water bowl as Charlie got their water bottles out from the freezer before filling them up with cold water. It already felt like it was the hottest day of the year, despite it only being mid-morning.
They went up to Nick’s room to get their stuff when Darcy texted Nick
9:27
Darcy: could we go boots before we go to the station, I lost my rainbow palette and Tara doesn’t have one
9:33
Nick: it’s OK, we could also get our lunch whilst we’re there instead of going blooming Tesco
It’s nearer to the station anyway
Darcy: ok, I'll put it on the group chat
Nick: cool :)
Nick looked up from his phone and told Charlie about the sudden change of plans which he was fine with, stating that he preferred the selection at Boots to Tesco
THE THREE DYADS
9:36
Darcy: we’re going boots and getting lunch before we get the train to London
Tao: whyyyy
Darcy: I lost my rainbow palette so we’re going there instead of going to Tesco for a meal deal
Elle: cool, I need makeup remover anyway
Nick, u fine with that
9:38
Nick: yea, Darcy asked me before we put it on the gc
9:39
Tara: sounds like a plan, u fine with that charlie
Charlie: perfectly fine with that, Nick just told me
9:42
Darcy: awesome 🙂
Nick packed their bags into his car, despite Charlie's protests, and drove to Tara's and then to Elle's, collecting Egyptian snacks from her mother for the train ride to London. They stopped in Boots for Darcy to get the rainbow eyeshadow palette, Elle to get some makeup remover, and lunch along with any essentials they forgot or didn’t have whilst packing.
They ate their lunch, under a tree, near a playground before Nick drove to the train station and got the train to London St Pancras which departed at half-2. They found a place where they could all sit together, sharing a tiny table. It started with Tara and Darcy, sharing the table with Elle and Tao next to Tara and Nick and Charlie next to Darcy. Elle and Tara swapped after Darcy tried the snacks and couldn’t stop talking about Egyptian food and agreed to get it at least once during the week in London.
Charlie updated his blog, it was still in the early days but had a small following of fellow queer teenagers who were jealous of his and Nick’s relationship. Nick just laid his head on Charlie’s shoulder, taking a nap on the train and Charlie took a selfie, similar to one Nick took the year before.
Arriving in London, half an hour later, they struggled to navigate the transport system. It was a surprise that they got to Bayswater tube station with a few minutes to sit in a local cafe, taking it in that they were in London, without their parents. Charlie, Tao and Tara took it as one of their greatest achievements as they hadn’t turned 17 and had begun taking driving lessons, relying on either Nick or Darcy who had their licenses and Nick had his car.
They stayed at the cheapest place they could find which was a hostel, down the road from Bayswater tube station. When Nick, Charlie, Tara, Darcy, Elle and Tao found their room, they chose their beds, lucky they could share a room. Choosing their beds took longer than expected the location of where they were was simple enough but the top and/or the bottom bunk was harder.
Darcy and Tara argued over who was to sleep on the top bunk, facing the window. In the end, Darcy slept on the top bunk and Tara on the bottom bunk. Elle agreed to sleep on the top bunk with Tao underneath on the right-hand side, and Nick chose the top bunk because it would be easier to sneak down on the bottom bunk in the middle of the night to sleep with Charlie on the left-hand side.
During Tara and Darcy’s argument, everyone else decided to unpack and notify their parents of their location, making the already small room less cluttered and preventing Darcy from tripping over everything. Charlie also put kitty under his duvet, carrying on with the habit of sleeping with his toy when he was particularly stressed out, after the levels of stress during his recent exams.
“Should we go and explore somewhere and maybe get some food? It’s only like half 4 and we’ve got nothing to do” Elle asked her group, checking the time.
Everyone else agreed and began to discuss where to go, eventually settling on going for exploration around Hyde Park. Tao and Elle looked in an art gallery that they enjoyed, somehow convincing everyone else to have a look as well. It had more contemporary styles along with an exhibit that had digital art.
They also looked at the different statues scattered around Hyde Park, and they all agreed that Diana was an icon in the 80s and the 90s with all the work she did when viewing her statue.
The group mutually decided to treat themselves to a Nando’s as they would be having a lot of fast food over the next week in London. They were fortunate that their hostel provided breakfast for free every day which put a lot less stress on their wallets, having to sort out 2 meals instead of 3 in a very expensive city.
During dinner, they sat in a booth far away from the crowd of people who had the same idea, but they had arrived early, deliberately to reduce Charlie's anxiety when there weren't as many people that night. Charlie also sat, closest to the wall with Nick, Tao and Elle around him. They were all patient as they waited for Charlie to have his food, reassuring him that they’d already paid and that time was on their side.
After dinner, they headed back to the hostel, got ready for bed and spent the next few hours, talking about their day and how great it was to be in London for their first pride finally.
It was a day full of travel and a little bit of chaos but an amazing day, spending every moment with their closest friends.
Charlie fell asleep, happy to have friends who he could trust and who did everything they could do to support him in every way they could.