Secret

**Secret** is the fourth episode of the first season of *Heartstopper*, and the fourth episode of the series overall.

## Synopsis

*Charlie and Nick agree to keep their relationship a secret at school while Nick figures things out. Nick's friend Imogen asks him out on a date.*

## Plot

**SPOILERS AHEAD**
Nick stands on Charlie’s doorstep in the rain, and apologizes for not messaging him but says how he just wanted to talk in person instead. The two head upstairs to chat as Charlie tries to apologize for pushing Nick to kiss him last night. Charlie is worried that last night has officially ruined their friendship, but then Nick kisses him again.

Nick apologizes for how he acted after their first kiss and opens up about his full-on gay crisis. He is torn up because he is confused about his feelings and doesn’t know what to do. Charlie doesn’t try to give him any advice or pressure Nick into anything else. He even promises not to say anything at school until Nick is ready to come out to the world. The two say goodbye before Charlie chases Nick out into the rain for a proper goodbye kiss.

The next morning at school, Nick runs into Imogen, who can tell something is different but blames his hair. Charlie is all smiles as he walks through the hallway and the two of them just can’t keep from smiling while sitting next to each other in form.

At Higgs, Tara and Darcy continue their “no more hiding” policy while Elle and Tao make plans to hang out in the future.

Later, Charlie, spends his lunch hour with Nick in Mr. Ajayi’s classroom. But Nick is worried that Charlie’s friends are going to be mad that he is ditching them. Eventually, Nick asks about Mr. Ajayi. To which Charlie opens up about how he was the only teacher who cared to help him with the bullying the year prior. When Nick mentions that he was getting the evil eye before Charlie arrived, Charlie believes that he must have thought he was Ben.

Mr. Ajayi knew about Ben trying to force Charlie into keeping their relationship a secret. When Nick realizes that he is doing the same thing, Charlie tries to get him to understand that this is completely different. He isn’t like Ben at all.

Later, at rugby, Charlie is still struggling with the contact portion of the sport. After practice, Coach Singh tries to give him some encouragement. As it turns out, they are going to need him to play for the next match since someone is going to be out. He finds it is hard to be confident when the rest of the team (minus Nick) only sees him as the stereotypical gay boy that isn’t good at sports. But, Coach Singh reminds him that there are plenty of gay people in the world who are great at it. As a result, Charlie practices his tackling skills.

At Higgs, the entire school is gossiping about Tara and Darcy kissing at the party. Even Imogen feels the need to question Tara. But she is more interested in whether or not she has something going on with Harry or Nick. Which leads Imogen to announce to the trio, that she and Nick are together.

Back at Truham, Nick and Tao have a slight altercation during lunch. Tao sees Nick as a friend thief and is worried that Charlie is going to end up getting hurt. Nick’s friends are twits and chuck a rugby ball at Tao’s head and Nick tries to smooth things over by making sure he is okay. When Tao refuses to give the ball back, Nick walks away only to get nailed in the back of the head with it by Tao. Even then, Nick doesn’t fight back.

At the rugby match, Tao, Elle, Isaac, Tara and Darcy show up to support Charlie in his big game. He promises Nick that he won’t tell them about their relationship and while Nick agrees, it seems like he might be having second thoughts about hiding it. Nick’s friends also show up with Imogen and Ben in tow. But, things are about to get much worse when the other team shows up and Charlie realizes that they look like grown men.

The match plays through and they don’t just get crushed, they get annihilated. Charlie even gets picked on by his own teammates. Eventually, he takes a rough hit and ends up with a nosebleed and the match is called due to the bad weather. Nick struggles with wanting to go to him and continuing to keep their relationship a secret. He watches as Charlie is helped off the field by first aid but goes to meet up with him afterward.

Charlie apologizes for making things awkward for Nick, but Nick knows that he is the one in the wrong. He shouldn’t be forcing Charlie to hide their relationship. The moment is broken when Isaac pops in with antiseptic wipes. Nick heads out and Charlie tells him that Isaac won’t say anything.

Tao and Elle are waiting outside and decide that maybe they should stop getting involved in Charlie’s relationship. Their conversation is broken up by some noise down below. The two of them end up overhearing Imogen ask Nick out on a date. He isn’t sure what to say, but he agrees with everyone egging him on.

## Cast

* Joe Locke as Charlie Spring
* William Gao as Tao Xu
* Yasmin Finney as Elle Argent
* Corinna Brown as Tara Jones
* Kizzy Edgell as Darcy Olsson
* Tobie Donovan as Isaac Henderson
* Rhea Norwood as Imogen Heaney
* Sebastian Croft as Ben Hope
* Cormac Hyde-Corrin as Harry Greene
* Fisayo Akinade as Mr. Ajayi
* Chetna Pandya as Coach Singh
* Jenny Walser as Tori Spring
* Fisayo Akinade as Mr. Ajayi
* Olivia Colman as Sarah Nelson
* Evan Ovenell as Christian McBride
* Ashwin Vishwanath as Sai Verma
* Araloyin Oshunremi as Otis Smith

Co-Starring* Ella Purvis as Girl #1
* Jessal Kullar-Bell as Girl #1
* Hesper Holden as Tiny Girl #1
* Tabitha Byron as Tiny Girl #2