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Much like Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring, the two queer teenage boys whose love story took audiences by storm in the hit comic-turned-Netflix television series Heartstopper, their creator, Alice Oseman, is nearing the end of a journey.

The English author, who uses she/they pronouns, first published Solitaire, a graphic novel that introduced the fictional couple to the world over a decade ago, when she was just 19 years old. They never imagined that Heartstopper, a self-published spinoff webcomic centering Nick and Charlie’s love story, would blossom into one of the most beloved and impactful queer teen love franchises in existence. Across three seasons of the television show and six installations of the comic series, fans have watched the pair and their friends navigate sexuality, coming out, mental health, and body image throughout high school. Viewers of the Netflix adaptation watched the sparks literally fly between Charlie (played by Joe Locke) and Nick (played by Kit Connor), and felt all of the teenage yearning along with them.