Heartstopper stories

The Last of Us (part 2)

Content warnings: Same as the last chapter

Charlie's pov

I woke up in the forest outside the camp with intense pain in my arm. I winced from the pain as I tried to sit up. I looked at my arm and saw the massive bite mark on it. Fuck. I started crying, knowing no one would be around me to hear it. Nick is gone, I have no idea where my friends are and I can't go home. I'm all alone and no one can help me. All I can do is wait until I turn into one of those disgusting things. My body doesn't feel that different yet, but it will sooner or later.

I stood up, dried my eyes, and started walking. Maybe I can protect the ones I love by getting as far away from them as possible. At least I won't be able to hurt them that way. I walked deep into the forest, taking everything in. You never see the true beauty of nature and the things around you until you don't have any other choice. I don't mind though. It's still beautiful. And it's quiet.

It's the perfect way to die.

I think about Nick, and how he always stood by my side when I had a hard time. He made sure nobody could hurt me as long as he was around. I remember this one time when we went to a restaurant outside our city. Nobody knew us there, which was exciting but also nerve-wracking, and I was a bit nervous to be there and act all coupley. But Nick assured me that it would be okay and I had nothing to worry about. We were seated at the best table next to a window. We had a beautiful sight of all these little lights on the lake in the park. If we hadn't been sixteen and seventeen, he might have proposed right there and then. But maybe he was planning to do it there a few years later, and he wanted me to see this place before that.

Anyhow, we had a perfect night. Proposal or not. I already had a meal plan for this dinner and Nick kept distracting me from my own thoughts. After an hour in the restaurant, a straight couple sat at the table next to us and started looking at us with disgusted looks on their faces, but they didn't say anything. I was getting nervous about them, but Nick wasn't bothered. He wouldn't let anything destroy our perfect night. All hell broke loose when Nick kissed me. The couple approached us calmly and told us to stop brainwashing everyone. They told us that being gay was a sin and that we shouldn't celebrate it. I was too scared and heartbroken to say anything. But Nick wasn't as scared as me. He told the couple to mind their own business and that they shouldn't tell people what to do with their lives. Especially if it doesn't concern them. The couple started acting like real Karens and talked to the manager. Luckily, the manager wasn't a homophobic asshole. He let us stay in our restaurant and told the couple to leave.

I still couldn't believe what happened, but I was relieved that they were gone. Nick took my hand and said: "Don't let those jerks bother you. They don't get that our love is real and they never will. But I love you no matter what they say. I hope you know that." That's when I felt the butterflies in my stomach for I think the millionth time since I met him. "I do. I love you too." We kissed and walked around the pond after paying for dinner. It really was a perfect night.

One we will never experience again.

I walked for what felt like hours through the forest. I ultimately ended up on a road. There were a lot of cars there, but no one was driving them anymore. Everyone has fled to another place. A safe place. I opened one of the car's doors and sat in the passenger's seat. I locked all the doors and closed my eyes. I couldn't hurt anyone if I was locked up. Just as I was about to go to sleep, I was woken up by a bang on the window. Someone was standing outside the car with a bat and a gun. "Get out of the car." He said to me. I shook my head, hoping he wouldn't bash in the window to make me come out. "Come on. Don't be so scared." He smiled at me. I hesitated, but then I showed him the bite mark on my arm. He took a step back and stopped smiling. He was thinking about something. Or better yet, he was considering something. Then he stepped towards the car again and showed me something on his leg. It was a bit mark. Just like mine.