Heartstopper Inktober 2K24

31 - Landmark (Canon!AU P4) FINAL

Hi there,

Thanks for enjoying my version of Inktober 2024! Hope you had a happy Halloween!

~ Scott 🎃

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"I cannot believe you got us lost."

Tao spins around, barely avoiding knocking Darcy over with his tail attached to his blow up Dino costume as he levels on Nick. "You've said you've done these mazes before!"

"I said I did, yeah, when I was a child!" Nick argued, fake nail bat in hand and varsity jacket covered in fake blood tied around his waist. Actually, every part of him was covered in fake blood, so that wasn't a fair take. "You weren't listening once again, even Elle tried to tell you!"

"Okay, ladies. Enough is enough." Tara finally holds her hands out to put some space between the both of them, her cowboy hat almost falling off of her head as she did so, giggling. "He does have a point, Tao - you kind of did run off to sign us up for the corn maze without hearing the rest of the conversation."

"This isn't a time for laughter, Tara!" Tao dramatically whined, looking actually more funnier for doing so, his face smushed against the plastic screen. "We're all missing our costume pairs! We'd going to look irrelevant and outdated! We're shams!"

This just made Tara and now Nick laugh even more, Tao eventually joining in until they finally pulled themselves together enough to form a plan, Nick speaking first.

"Right, I propose that, considering we are practically in the middle of the maze, that we pick a direction and fan out to see if one of us reaches the end - then we can signal to the others where we are."

"Good enough. Best we got so far, hopefully Darcy hasn't gotten into too much trouble yet without me." Tara shrugged and Tao nodded, before they all lined up and fanned out in different directions, trying not to step on the corn and break it. Gods, if Charlie saw him right now, he'd be laughing. Screw it, they'd both be laughing.

Eventually, Nick finally comes across a clearing and for a split second, he thinks he's made it out. Only problem is that spark of hope is cruelly extinguished when Tara and Tao both appear in the same place. "How the-"

"Are we seriously back in the middle of the maze?!" Tara ranted, wide eyed as Tao simply just started cussing angrily, his quite large hands waving about as Nick gaped. "How did we end up back here?! Didn't anyone notice a landmark of some kind?!"

"I don't know! I thought we went in different directions!"

"Christ, it's like a horror movie." Tao gasped out, eyes frantically looking around. He seemed panicked and Nick couldn't blame him. Much. "Oh god, we're going to die here aren't we? I've sentenced us to death."

"Okay, mate, come on, it cannot be that hard to-" Nick went to say something to try and calm the latter down, but stopped as he heard something move in the stalks beside them, all three of them going silent. The noise seemed to get closer and closer, crushes echoing through the dirt and the hairs on Nick's neck stood up.

Maybe they should just- "EEEEEEEEEEKKKK!"

The girlish, most terrified scream left Tao as the wing of a Buzz Lightyear costume poked out of the outside border of corn beside him, a call out of "Found them!" before Darcy pushed though, grinning as Nick and Tara looked scared shitless. "Here you guys are. Got a little lost?"

"...Maybe." Nick admitted, before looking at Tao, who frankly looked pale as a ghost. Fitting for the day if he's honest. "Though with that siren song, I'm pretty sure everyone could find us."

"Fuck off, Nelson." Tao grit out, red in the cheeks from embarrassment, beige trudging off behind Darcy and scamper toward Elle in her caveman attire, while Nick went to Charlie, who sat on a bench in his black skinny jeans, Hellfire club shirt and devil horns. As soon as Nick joined him, they looked at each other before bursting into laughter, tears practically streaming down their faces.

"Oh my god, I hope someone got that on camera. I think Imogen was filming a TikTok with Sahar as Glinda and Elphaba when it happened." Charlie gasped out between laughter. "I'm totally getting that footage if she caught it, that needs to be a reaction in the group chat."

"I second that." Nick wiped his eyes as they watched everyone mingling around them, the sunset staining the fields and tents around them in an orange eerie glow that matches with the darkening sky and fairy lights. "Think it was a good idea to get everyone together and drive out to this farm for Halloween before break is over."

"We'll, next time we see each other, it'll be Christmas, so that's not too bad." Charlie murmured quietly, head falling to Nick's shoulder as the stars started to come out of their hiding places. "Plus, you've got graduation to look forward to, Mr newly minted PE teacher."

"So do you in a couple of months, Mr newly qualified Music teacher." Nick joked back, before smiling down at the latter, the blood splatters on his face making his blue eyes stand out even more. "I'm gonna to miss you."

Charlie smirked. "Couple more months and you won't be saying that when we move into our first apartment together and I'm constantly on top of you forever."

"Looking forward to it." Nick beamed, before fireworks suddenly shot across the sky, people crowding to watch as the world came alight with colour. It made Nick's next move a lot easier, as he pulled Charlie in for a kiss, touching noses with him as they pulled apart.

"Happy Halloween, Charlie Spring."

"Happy Halloween to you too, Nick Nelson."