Heal my Heart

Chapter 21 - The Woods

"Okay, stay calm. There's nothing to be afraid of, you have to keep your heartbeat at bay, nobody wants you to have a seizure all alone in the woods. It's just...it's just some fucking bear !" Grizz thought.

He tried to take few steps back but the bear was still walking straight to him. Gathering all his knowledge on black bears, suddenly something popped in Grizz's mind.

"Since when are there any fucking Grizzly in Connecticut ?! We usually see black bears, not grizzly...Oh yeah, we're in some fucking parallel universe." he reminded himself.

The bear stopped moving and Grizz tried to take a few other steps back. "Stay calm. Think of Sam, something relaxing." he thought.

He stepped on a huge branch and fell over. "Fuck!"

With that, the huge animal charged at him full force, jumping on him. Grizz didn't try to fight back. He played dead, hoping the bear would soon get tired of him. The animal hit him a few times on the side, rolling him over.

Grizz managed to hold back pained groans, staying calm and composed. "It's gonna be alright, it's gonna be over soon..." he thought. The bear wasn't the only threat right now. His fragile heart was pounding hard in his chest ; one moment of panic and he would have a seizure. If that happened, it would be over. There was no chance he would survive a grizzly bear attack and a heart crisis at the same time.

"It's okay, it's okay, stay calm. Don't panic." he repeated to himself.

After a while, the bear stopped tossing him around and retreated a few meters away. The animal was still too close for Grizz to completely be safe. He saw the bear licking his bloody paw, looking hurt.

The injured boy softly turned on his side. He watched the bear very carefully before trying to sit. It hurt as hell but it was nothing he couldn't take. He eyed the bear, watching his every move. The fluffy threatening animal looked straight at him with strange glare. Grizz froze.

The wounded beast slowly walked to him, limping a bit. He didn't seem as aggressive as before, just really curious now. When he arrived at Grizz's level, he began licking the man's face, stealing a small smile from him.

"Hey, buddy." he gently whispered. "You really got me scared a few minutes ago, you know." he said, slowly straightening himself.

The grizzly groaned and cuddled a bit in Grizz's neck.

"Oy, you're just looking for a friend in the end, huh? I'm sorry I scared you before..." he still whispered.

The bear then let out a loud pained growl, beginning to lick his paw again.

"You're injured...Let me take a look." he said, looking straight at the bear's eyes before moving a muscle. When the animal kind of agreed to let him in his personal space, Grizz stretched his small hands. He didn't touch the wound but his hands began to glow. He waited a few seconds for the grizzly to approach him himself.

"There you go, see? I'm not gonna hurt you. It's gonna make you feel better, come here..."

The bear finally made contact with the boy's glowing hands. He immediately relaxed, feeling his paw healing.

Grizz couldn't believe he was actually alone, in the woods, healing a wounded grizzly.

"This is fucking incredible." he thought.

He managed to completely heal the bear and removed his hands from the fluffy animal. The growler licked his face one last time before disappearing in the depth of the woods.

"Oh my God...I just survived a grizzly attack...well, fuck!" he exclaimed. Even if the bear was finally gone, he was still injured and began to take in his own state. One of his side was bleeding profusely but nothing seemed broken.

"Well, I really was lucky, he could have hurt me really bad." he thought.

With that, he made his way back to town. Blood was slowly dripping from his torn shirt but he tried to cover it up, not to scare everybody at home. When he reached the forest border, Sam, Luke and Allie were there, quietly talking while waiting for him to return.

"Guys? What are you doing here...?" he called.

"Grizz ? Grizz !" Sam yelled the best he could. Seeing his lover safe and sound, he could have just cried from happiness. He ran over him, hugging him tightly.

Grizz was really happy to see Sam. He had completely forgotten about their previous fight, the very reason he went into the woods. He was just glad to be alive, still amazed by his connection with the fluffy beast.

Luke and Allie also ran up to their level, worry in their eyes.

"Are you alright, dude?" Luke asked, seeing how Grizz was holding his side. He had seen his friend hurt often enough to know when he didn't want to show he was injured.

"Guys, I met a fucking Grizzly !" he exclaimed, a huge smile on his face.

"Ow that's amazing, man! What was it like ?! Did you kick his fluffy ass?" Luke laughed.

"Luke! What the fuck?! Are you okay, how are you still alive, Grizz?!" Allie said.

"Well, he charged at me and scratched me a bit, but I'm mostly fine, don't worry. Luke, you're never gonna believe this. He had an injured paw and I healed him !"

"You what?" Sam asked, eyes wide with amazement.

"That's my man !" Luke giggled, hand shaking his badass buddy.

"It's amazing, I know ! He licked my face and cuddled with me ! Then he showed me his paw and I healed him. He licked me again and just wandered off."

"Are you crazy, Grizz?! You could have died and you just healed him? What's wrong with you?!" Allie said, completely shocked by Luke's lack of logical reaction.

"When I found myself face to face with him, I really thought I was gonna die. But I'm fine in the end, so I don't see what the problem is."

"Well, you don't wanna push your luck, dude. From now on, no more wandering in the woods for you !" Luke said, laughing.

"Grizz...I'm sorry..." Sam whispered, gripping Grizz's shirt.

"About what, love?" he answered, smiling to his boyfriend.

"Well...You know, about the fight..."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sam. When I faced this bear, the only one I could think of was you. I had to stay composed not to have a seizure in the middle of the woods and just thinking of you made me much calmer. It's fine, I know you were just worried about me."

"No, it's not fine, Grizz. What I told you is just unacceptable and I'm gonna do everything in my power to make it up to you."

"Alright, thank you, Sam."

With that, Sam hugged Grizz and squeezed him really hard, so happy to know that they were good now.

"No...Sam, stop, you're hurting me..." Grizz whispered, feeling his side throbbing like hell. But his deaf lover had his head completely buried in the nape of his neck and didn't hear anything. Grizz tried to pull back.

"Gosh, he's much stronger than he looks..." he thought.

"Sam, Sam ! Stop, it hurts...!" he repeated. Still hugging him, Sam didn't move a muscle and Grizz felt thick drops of blood running down his dirty clothes. Luke heard his friend groaning painfully and helped him get away from the loving deaf boy.

"Wha...What are you doing Luke?" Sam snapped.

"You were hurting him, Sam." he answered, supporting his best friend's weak body.

"What ? Grizz? Grizz, are you okay, love?" Sam asked worriedly.

"I guess it was more than just a few scratches, right, Grizz?" Luke calmly said.

"Yeah...more than a few scratches..." he softly joked, before passing out.

"Grizz!" the three of them shouted in unison.