Meet
As the two boys become more and more involved with each other, they begin to worry about what people might think. They know that they shouldn’t tell anyone, but they can’t help but feel drawn to each other. Eventually, their secret becomes known and they are met with mixed reactions from their classmates. Some are supportive, while others are worried about what it means for their friendship. Ultimately, the pair decide that it’s best to keep things between them and continue to meet in secret.
Charlie has two friends, Tao and Isaac. They warn Charlie over getting too invested in Nick, pointing out that he’s a “bro” when he’s with his friends. Now, this trio used to be a quartet, until their friend Elle having moved across to Higgs Girls School earlier in the term. She’s a new student and unfortunately a bit of an outcast too, given all the other girls have their own cliques.
Charlie has a history of being bullied, and unfortunately Ben is not helping. He’s clearly ashamed of their secret kissing and even worse, he seems to have a girlfriend as well. Given he doesn’t even want to acknowledge Charlie in the hallways, it’s probably for the best that they go their separate ways. After all, Charlie has the hots for Nick now.
Nick notices Charlie is quite the runner and encourages him to join the rugby team. Nick even offers to teach him how to play. Although Charlie accepts, both Tao and Isaac are not so sure. ..
Things seem to be going well for Charlie, as he starts to improve his technique after one-on-one sessions with Nick. However, Charlie is more interested in Nick than playing a silly game of hand-egg. ..
After practice, Ben comes to the music block and asks to meet with Charlie. Charlie confronts Ben and calls him out for not caring about him. “Well it’s not like anyone else would want to kiss you is it?” Ben says as he forces himself on Charlie. Thankfully, Nick is there to stop him.
As the pair go their separate ways and head home, Charlie tries to find the right words to message Nick. Eventually he takes a leap of faith and messages him “Thank you,” hoping that this will be enough to make up for the hurt he feels.
The Episode Review
The novel starts off strong with a well-done introduction to the main characters. Charlie’s friends and classmates are well-drawn and the writing style is easy to read. The secondary school setting is accurate, and the fogged up bus windows add an interesting touch. Overall, I enjoyed Heartstopper and would recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written story with interesting characters.
The visual aids accompanying the story beats add a welcome bit of flair to the proceedings, and help to keep things feeling very whimsical. This looks to be an enticing ensemble worth returning to in the upcoming chapters. If this is a sign of things to come, we could be in for quite the rollercoaster!
