Millions (#2)

Picnic

Anxious muffling.

A throbbing headache.

"What happened?"

Charles looked around the room. He was at a hospital, the bland walls and simple hammock he was in made that a dead giveaway. His mom and brother were on the other side of the room.

"You were on the harvesting team about two weeks ago. Leo was about to get hit by a crate, by you pushed him out of the way and took the hit.", his mother explained.

Charles processed what she said. "So, I was in a coma?", he asked. His mother nodded.

"I'm so sorry. I should've been more alert, you shouldn't have had to end up like this.", Leo stammered. "The shield was coming down. You couldn't control that.", Charles replied.

"I.. I just wanted to make sure you were protected."

"I'm still alive. I feel fine."

"After half a phase!"

Charles sat up," You're an amazing brother, Leo. You and Mom have done so much to help me, it was only fair that I helped you."

"That was very noble of you, Charles. The witch that made his shield must've been too weak to hold it up.", their mother theorized.
Leo nodded. "Yeah, probably. A lot of the girls seemed newer.", he replied.

"Well, the good news is that it's over. I'll go back to work in the morning and it'll be like this never happened.", Charles said.

A nurse swam in and adjusted her glasses. "I see the hero's awake.", she observed with a smile. She looked at a thin, wheat colored board. "Well, it says you're free to leave, as long as you take a few days off to rest your head.", she read.
"Thank you.", Charles' Mom remarked kindly. "You're welcome, and be careful out there, you two.", the nurse replied before leaving.

It was boring, being home alone for hours. Charles rocked his hammock a little as he sighed. He looked at the box on the table. 'I hope Kurt's enjoying himself', he thought, 'How long was that camp supposed to be, anyways?'
As Charles got up, he felt a short, throbbing pain on his head. He winced but stood through the pain, setting out to leave.

The warmth of the summer ocean made swimming for so long quite enjoyable. Charles whistled to himself as he looked for a landmark that would tell him where his rock was. On his way, he bumped into Zoey.
"Hey soldier! How's your head?", she asked. "It's good, for the most part.", Charles replied with a smile. Zoey nodded," Glad to hear, I was getting a little worried."
"Oh. It's good to know that I have a few friends down here.", he remarked with a light chuckle. Zoey laughed a little, "Yeah. Anyways, it's great seeing you."
"You too.", Charles said before swimming off.

Charles sat at his rock, when he saw a familiar lanky figure dragging something along the shore. "Kurt!", he yelled, waving at him. Kurt smiled softly, bringing a small boat and basket behind him. "Thank God you're here. I've been doing this routine for like, three days.", he replied. "What's in there?", Charles asked, looking at the basket.
"A rope and some food. I was thinking about having a picnic out at sea. Maybe some sort of sleepover if I find somewhere to tie my boat to.", Kurt explained, pushing the boat into the water. Charles helped pull it out to sea. His friend climbed into the boat, paddling lightly with an ore.

Eventually, the two found somewhere to settle, and Charles tied the boat to a rock. Kurt gave Charles a peanut butter sandwich and got an apple for himself. Charles relaxed on the rock and took a bite of the sandwich. "So, how was camp?", he asked.
Kurt shuddered, "It was hell."
"What happened there?", Charles asked worriedly. "I don't want to talk about it.", his friend replied.
The boat rocked a little as Kurt adjusted himself, taking a bite of his apple. "I guess there were a few fun memories. There was this sassy guy, Tyler. He was probably the bravest out of all of us.", he said with a simper.
Charles smiled back at him. "You know, this is probably the best idea you've had.", he spoke, "A picnic under the stars."

"I feel so close to you."

Kurt lightly tugged on one of his hoodie strings, looking away from Charles for a moment. Those words hung in the air.

"Me too."