Nick’s friendships and relationships were very dear to him, but sometimes he had to put himself first. And the first step to doing that? Visiting universities across England. And without a doubt, he picked Leeds.

He felt bad for leaving his boyfriend, Charlie, behind, but at the same time? He felt free, oddly enough. No, he didn’t go sleeping around or anything, he just felt free from the stress of having to constantly be there for someone, as shitty as that probably sounded. Of course, Charlie did come down once or twice a month to visit. Although the last time he visited was Nick’s eighteenth birthday, which was two months ago.

Darcy, who also picked Leeds with Tara, forced Nick to come out of his shell that was his dorm and made him attend a party at one of the local houses a few minutes away. She used the excuse that Nick was studying far too much, which actually made Nick reluctantly agree to this mess. The music was loud, the drinks were strong, and Nick found himself actually enjoying himself for once, it gave him flash backs of him and Charlie at prom, though.

He walked over to the table full of drinks and picked one up, grimacing at the taste when he felt Tara pat his shoulder, making an excuse for her and her girlfriend to disappear. Great. Now he was left alone an again with his thoughts.

That’s until he suddenly he paused, feeling someone - who was probably drunk or high - stumble into him. His head turned slightly to see this person, and he felt slightly guilty for no reason.

“Uh- are you alright, mate?” He asked, awkwardly offering a hand to the stranger to help them up. Now that he saw them, he noticed how out of it they were - like everyone else in the room, really.