Heartstopper stories

The Last of Us (part 4)

Content warnings: Mentions of death, mentions of surgery + the warnings from previous chapters

Nick's pov

We stared at each other for a minute. My thoughts went wild while I slowly walked up to him. He stared at me with that same shock in his eyes. He didn't move. He was too scared to move, but it didn't matter. I touched his hand, just to see if he was real, and he was. He's real, he's here, and he is alive. I couldn't contain myself any longer and smashed my lips on his. We haven't said a word to each other but feeling his lips against mine felt like we've never been apart. We didn't let go of each other for a long while. I was afraid he would disappear if I let go. Like he would vanish in thin air. As if it was all a hallucination. But it wasn't. He stepped back for a second to catch some air, which made me chuckle. He was still looking at me in complete shock. 

"You're here." He said, cupping my face.
"Yeah, I am." Tears were forming in my eyes. "And so are you." Charlie chuckled and wiped some tears off his face.
"Yeah. It wasn't easy to get here. You should have seen what I had to go through." I smiled at him while helping him dry his eyes with my thumbs. "I want to hear all about it. I want to know what happened and what you have done while I was gone. But first, I want to hold you. Fuck, I want to hold you forever." He chuckled and pulled me in his arms. We stayed like that for hours. Literally hours. We kissed, cuddled, and even napped before we finally started talking. I honestly didn't care that it took so long. If it were up to me, we would have laid in bed cuddling for the rest of the night. But Charlie wanted to talk about everything that happened. So I listened. 

"When I woke up in the woods, you were gone and I was all alone. I thought about going to my parent's house, but that would just put them in more danger. I had no idea how long I was out, so I had no idea how long I had left before I would turn. I started walking around the woods, thinking of us, when I got to a highway. All the cars were abandoned, so I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to get in one and die peacefully without hurting someone. That's when I met another guy. His name was Simon. He was also bitten and he was walking around to find food and a place to stay. We stayed together and when the both of us haven't turned a few weeks later, we stated that we probably wouldn't ever turn." 

I raised my eyebrows when he told me that. Is he immune?

"Simon and I survived for a few months until we found the village his girlfriend lives in. We saved her and her family and were on our way to the military, but he didn't want to find them. He stayed in the woods with his girlfriend and her family, and I was off to find the military. I hoped that if I found them, I would find you. So, I went to the highway again, and to my luck, I found them. I showed them my bite mark and told them I got it two months ago. I don't know if they believe me. They probably don't if I have to stay here."

I stroked his hand with my thumb and placed my other arm around his waist. "It's going to be fine. Scientists say that you will turn within two days if you are bitten. Since it's been two months, I think you'll be fine. And I'm here now. I will protect you. I'm not letting anyone hurt you anymore." I gently kissed his lips as he nodded. He fell asleep not long after. 

The most important thing was that I had him in my arms again. Something I never thought would happen again. I was playing with Charlie's hair when the doctor came into the room again. "So it's him? He was the person you were looking for?" He asked with a grin. I smiled and nodded, holding him tight to my chest.
"He's not going to turn. You know the story. He was bitten two months ago. Scientists say that you turn within-"
"Yes, I'm aware Nick. I know what scientists say. And I believe you two." I looked at him confused. Why does Charlie need to stay here if he already believes him? The doctor looked me dead in the eyes before talking further.
"We believe that Charlie is immune to the virus. We don't know how or why, but we want to examine that." He hesitated before going further. I kept looking at him without knowing where he was going with this."