The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Oseman, Alice. Nick and Charlie. HarperCollins. 2023. Kindle.

The novella is narrated in first-person present by the two protagonists, Nick and Charlie, and is divided into six different parts. In the first part, Nick and the rest of the seniors have a celebration in the tennis courts with a barbecue that has a High School Musical theme to mark the last day of school before exams begin. The head teacher, Mr. Shannon, asks Charlie to go out and ask the seniors to put out the barbecue so no one gets hurt. Charlie, the Head Boy of the school, agrees to do so, but then he just goes and hangs out with the seniors and his boyfriend, Nick.

Nick and Charlie began dating two years ago and have been the school’s most beloved couple ever since. However, Charlie struggles with mental health issues, including anorexia, and Nick is headed off to the University of Leeds, which is 200 miles away, in the fall. The boys plan to stay together despite the distance, but Charlie has anxiety about Nick leaving and hates hearing him talk about how excited he is for university because Charlie feels as if he is being left behind. To make matters worse, Charlie posted about going long-distance with Nick on his popular Tumblr account, and ever since then people have been sending Charlie comments and messages about how terrible long-distance relationships are and how Charlie and Nick should just break up to avoid a disaster. However, Charlie does not want to bring up his feelings, so he keeps quiet about them as Nick takes a bunch of pictures on his disposable camera to memorialize the last official day of school before exams start. The boys spend the night together at Nick’s house and wake up together on Friday morning.

In Part Two, Charlie goes to school on Friday to study for his exams. Nick sends him a bunch of texts about how excited he is for university, and Charlie gets upset. Charlie feels guilty about being upset, though, so again he does not speak about his feelings to Nick. They go to Nick’s friend Harry’s party on Friday night. Charlie starts drinking heavily while Nick hangs out with his friends. A few hours into the party, Nick finds Charlie and asks him if he is okay. Charlie snaps at Nick, so Nick walks away. At about midnight, Charlie goes down to the basement and sits against the wall while everyone else dances. He learns from his best friend, Aled, that his other two friends, Tao and Elle, have decided to break up instead of have a long-distance relationship in the fall. This scares Charlie, because he and Nick have been dating just as long as Tao and Elle have been dating. Nick comes down to the basement and finds Charlie crying and drunk. He takes him upstairs to the conservatory and demands to know what is wrong. Charlie tells Nick he can break up with him if he wants to. Nick assumes this means Charlie wants to break up with him. The boys get into a fight and Nick leaves, hoping that Charlie will come out after him, but Charlie does not follow him.

In Part Three, the boys both refuse to speak to one another because they both think that the other one seriously wants to break up. Charlie cries to his sister about the situation. She encourages Charlie to talk to Nick, but Charlie is scared of doing so and does not know what to say. Nick talks to his mom, who promises everything will be okay. However, Nick does not believe that everything will be okay. The boys spend the next week taking their exams and feeling sad.

In Part Four, another week goes by, and the boys still have not spoken to each other. After his music exam, Charlie goes out to Simply Italian with his friends. He speaks to his friend, Aled, who tells him that he and Nick are soulmates. Aled encourages Charlie to talk to Nick. Charlie considers this and goes home to talk to his sister, who again encourages Charlie to talk to Nick and gives Charlie Nick’s disposable camera, which she found inside the couch. Charlie gets a text form his friend, Tao, who has gotten back together with his girlfriend Elle. Feeling inspired, Charlie goes to Boots and develops the film. He also buys Nick’s favorite candy bar. When the photographs are ready, Charlie looks through them and realizes many of them document the wonderful life Nick and Charlie share together. Charlie realizes Nick truly loves him, so he takes a picture of one of the developed photographs and sends it to Nick through text. However, Nick’s phone is broken, so he only receives a blank text that he assumes is a glitch.

In Part Five, Charlie continues to send pictures to Nick, but Nick does not respond. Charlie tells his sister what happened, and she tells him to come with her to drop off a physical picture in Nick’s mailbox. Charlie writes a note to Nick, inviting him to meet at the Truham Primary School Summer Fete the next day. Nick receives the message and meets Charlie at the tennis courts. The boys talk to one another and admit they do not want to break up because they want to stay together forever. Nick and Charlie ditch the event and drive to the beach together.

In Part Six, Charlie and Nick stay the night together and talk about their future together. They have sex and take pictures together while cuddling. They tell one another they love each other more than anyone else in the world. In the morning, they wake up and decide to cuddle some more instead of studying for their last exam.