Heartstopper Inktober 2K24

12 - Remote (IfYouFindMe!AU/AgeSwap!AU)

Loosely based off the book "If You Find Me" by Emily Murdoch.

He couldn't believe this. All this time, all the things he's been through. It was all a lie. It was all a lie.

He thought that his mother was just a loon. That he just had to take care of Tori when she left on her little "vacations" (in reality abandoning them for drugs, alcohol and men - not that Tori knew thankfully) and be the best older brother he could be as well as a parent technically.

Then, one day, his mother never came back to their caravan hidden away in Thornden Wood. At first, it was okay, they had enough food for about a day or so and obviously, Charlie knew where to find more if needed. However, it turned out it wasn't necessary as just as he's making Tori dinner, there's a roaring of several sets of tyres and the entire caravan in red and blue flashes.

Tori thinks it's ghosts, so she signs to him as his heart hammers in his chest. She thinks she's seen ghosts before, that's why she doesn't talk, he's never had the heart to tell her the men that came over a year ago and hurt him were very real.

However, that doesn't matter right now, as Charlie thinks it's the end of the world as he knows it. Mum's never liked the police, always telling Charlie if he sees them to run no matter what they say to him if they start asking questions and never look back. He now knows it's because she was running herself along with them and also, never looking back.

He didn't. Now he's here, in a new town, new uniform, new everything and he's terrified.

Turns out he was kidnapped, which is...a fucking lot to get around his brain to be honest. His mother, the loon, was still his mother, mind you, but his father...he seemed like a very nice person. One that he barely remembered before he must have been taken away. He also seems to want to help him with Tori as well, which is a relief.

So, first day. He's already been told everyone knows who he is, so it's not a surprise that there are eyes on him as soon as he gets into the building. He just keeps his head down till he gets to the assigned room on his hand. The teacher is thankfully a man of few words, so when he points him towards a seat, he just sits down.

Then he hears something unexpected. "...Charlie?"

He looks to his side where the voice is coming from and sees a boy with a pair of piercing eyes that he vaguely remembers, but can't remember where from. Both of them stare at each other for several minutes in silence before the other speaks. "Hi.

"Hi." Charlie says in return, eyebrows furrowed before the teacher makes them pay attention.

(He later finds out the boy was his best friend other than Tao, the guy that lives down the road from his father's house and is dating Elle, another of his friends. He also finds out his name is Nick and that he's a good person.)