Heartstopper stories

The Last of Us (part 5)

Content warnings: Coma + all the warnings from previous chapters.

Nick's pov

I had a weird feeling when I woke up. Like something was about to happen. I got up, put on some clothes, and left for Charlie's tent. Now that he's back, I want to spend as much time with him as possible. Especially if this weird feeling turns out to be true. I slowly opened the opening of the tent, hoping I wouldn't disturb anyone. Charlie was sitting with his parents on his bed. He looked at me like he was shocked I came in. I didn't know why he was so shocked at me coming in, but I smiled at him. Letting him know it was okay. Charlie smiled back. He told his parents he was going out with me. His parents nodded and hugged him tightly. It wasn't until then that I saw their tear-stained faces. It made me worry. What did Charlie say to them? Does it have anything to do with what he said yesterday? Then a horrible thought came to mind. Did he hear my conversation with the doctor about the surgery?

I needed to know if he had heard it and if he was planning to do it. I can't let him do it. I just got him back, I don't want to lose him again. We walked around the field in silence. I could feel that Charlie wanted to say something, but he was too scared to do so. At one point, I stopped us both and looked him dead in the eyes.
"Charlie, I need to ask you something and I want you to answer me honestly." He looked scared, but he nodded anyway.
"Did you hear the conversation between me and the doctor while you were supposedly asleep?" He hesitated, which already answered my question. I took a few steps back and ran my hands through my hair when he nodded.
"And you're planning on doing it, aren't you?" Tears started forming in Charlie's eyes when he nodded again. I took a deep breath and looked everywhere but at Charlie.
"I need to make sure all of you are safe." He said in a small voice. "I have the opportunity to save everyone. It's the right thing to do." I shook my head violently as I was pacing back and forth. I can't let him do this. I took his hands and looked at him again. He was scared, but he looked at me as if he wanted to make sure that I knew where he was coming from.

"Charlie, I can't let you do this. I want you in my arms when I wake up. I want to be around you and do nothing, or do everything. It doesn't matter. But I can't lose you." 
Charlie didn't know what to say. I cupped his face and kissed him deeply. He needed to know how much I needed him. He didn't pull back but instead kissed me back. It felt amazing, but horrible to be kissing him like this. If he doesn't change his mind, I'm going to lose him. Isn't he feeling some kind of regret? Eventually, I pulled my lips from his while pulling him in my arms.
"I know how much you want to protect me, protect all of us. And I love you for that. But I don't want to lose you"
I heard Charlie sniff after I said that. Which made me realize how much this all meant for him. He has been through so much, and I know he's feeling guilty for it. Maybe he thinks that this is something he has to do to repay us. But he doesn't have to. I don't need that from him. I need his warmth, his love. God, why does this have to be so hard?

Charlie and I pulled apart. He kept staring at the ground while I kept my gaze on him. I love him so much.
"Char, can you please say something?" I asked. He looked up, still not saying anything. He was thinking about something, but he couldn't say it.
"You can be honest with me," I reassured him. He took a deep breath and started talking. "Nick..." Then suddenly we heard a gunshot. We both dove to the ground and held each other as all kinds of noises were climbing over the fences as the military was trying to shoot them off. But there were too many of them. I pulled Charlie up and dragged him with me to the tents.
 "Charlie, we have to get to safety." Our plan of escape was cut short when the infected started running toward us from the tents. They were surrounding us and there was no escape. Luckily, the military saw us and started shooting at the infected. They made a way out to the tents and we ran like we never had before.