In the second season of Heartstopper, Youssef Farouk is a teacher at Truham who ends up developing feelings for another teacher at school, Nathan Ajayi. Nima Taleghani plays the role of Mr. Farouk.
Mr. Farouk is a science teacher, but he is made to supervise the GCSE revisions at school. From the very beginning, he makes it clear to the students that he will not tolerate them breaking the rules set by him. The students do listen to him, and when they do not, he follows through on his threats.
He also signs up for the Paris school trip with Mr. Ajayi, and that is where it is seen that there is more to Mr. Farouk than the persona of a strict and uncaring teacher that he maintains.
A considerate teacher
Most of the time, Mr. Farouk seems bothered by the students and their shenanigans. He regrets signing up for the Paris trip the moment he has to hold a meeting with the students.
He refuses to take into account their unnecessary demands, like Ben not wanting to team up with Nick. However, he does take care of the students when they need help, even though he acts like he is not concerned about what they do as long as they follow his rules.
When Charlie passes out, Mr. Farouk shows that he cares about him in his own way by bringing him food and comforting him. Even when Darcy gets drunk and pukes in his and Mr. Ajayi’s room, he decides not to report her and pretends that she has food poisoning.
Moments of discovery as an adult
Mr. Farouk and Mr. Ajayi are very different from each other, but they make a good team. While Mr. Ajayi is gentle and lenient with the students, Mr. Farouk keeps them in line. Mr. Farouk makes them listen to Mr. Ajayi’s instructions on the trip so many times that it becomes a habit.
In Paris, the two teachers bond, and Mr. Ajayi brings out a different side of Mr. Farouk. Mr. Ajayi asks him to pose with the portraits in the museum, and Mr. Farouk indulges him.
The two men grow close, and one night, Mr. Farouk admits to Mr. Ajayi that he is gay. He never got to have beautiful gay experiences as a teenager because he did not figure out his sexuality until his late 20s.
Unlike Mr. Farouk, Mr. Ajayi believes that it is never too late to have youthful moments of discovery because such things do not have an age limit. Mr. Farouk gets shy when he realizes that Mr. Ajayi is flirting with him.
When Darcy pukes on Mr. Ajayi’s bed, Mr. Farouk asks him to share a bed with him. Mr. Ajayi kisses Mr. Farouk, and they sleep together. Later, Mr. Ajayi calls Mr. Farouk to the school prom on the pretext of needing more chaperones, and Mr. Farouk shows up.
When they discuss what happened between them in Paris, Mr. Farouk claims that sleeping together was not a smart thing to do. However, their relationship is far from over, as Mr. Farouk seems hopeful and smiles when Mr. Ajayi talks about taking him out.