True, fungi cannot survive if its host’s internal temperature is over 94 degrees. And currently, there are no reasons for fungi to evolve to be able to withstand higher temperatures. But what if that were to change? What if, for instance, the world were to get slightly warmer? Well, now there is reason to evolve. One gene mutates and an ascomycete, candida, ergot, cordyceps, aspergillus, any one of them could become capable of burrowing into our brains and taking control not of millions of us, but billions of us. Billions of puppets with poisoned minds permanently fixed on one unifying goal: to spread the infection to every last human alive by any means necessary. And there are no treatments for this. No preventatives, no cures. They don’t exist. It’s not even possible to make them.
So, if that happens?
We lose.
THE LAST OF US (2023-)
1.01 “When You’re Lost in the Darkness” | dir. Craig Mazin
Part Summary: Y/N Y/L/N is the Queen of Hawkins High, but under her radiant smile she's crumbling. She's struggling to maintain her perfect image and everyone is blind to it except the one person who can look past the facade.
Masterlist
You ride in your boyfriend Chance's car on the way to school with your mind racing as fast as his driving. Flashes of light glimmer in various warm colors through your shut eyes. Your lack of sleep these last few weeks is catching up with you, but you don't have a second to show it. The hand full of minutes it takes to get to school is all you have to rest and you take it gladly. Once you enter Hawkins High, you must be on. You must be the Y/N Y/L/N they all expect. The head cheerleader, student council social chair, dance committee president, all of it.
"Hey?" Chance mutters as he places a hand on your hand.
You turn your head away from the window and flicker your eyes open to meet a quick glance of his eyes as he focuses on the road.
"You okay?"
You hum and offer him a weak nod. "Yeah," you yawn. "Just a bit tired."
"After the game, the boys were talking about having a little... get together," he chooses to describe it. "You wanna go?"
No, you wish to say, but you know it's not what he wants to hear. You hate to admit it, even to yourself, but you're a people pleaser. You rarely, if ever, say no.
"Um yeah, maybe," you answer vaguely.
Chance flashes you a grin as he pulls into the hectic parking lot. The muffled chatter and chaos of everyone shuffling into school both wake you up and triggers a subtle wave of anxiety.
You reach down at your feet for your purse and books when abruptly Chance hits the breaks. His arm flies across you before you fly forward and smack your head on the dash.
Chance lays his hand on the horn and yells out his window. "How about you watch where you're going, Freak?"
You glance ahead to see Eddie Munson and his brigade of minions gathered in front of the car on their way into the school.
Eddie snickers, pleased to get a rise out of Chance. "Maybe pay a little less attention to your girlfriend and actually learn how to drive." His eyes flicker to you with a smirk. "Apologizes, Disney Princess." He bows mockingly. He's been calling you that since Freshman year, ever since you made Homecoming court for the first time. "Love the hair today by the way," he comments with a wink.
You suddenly grow self-conscious about your hair. You usually have to wear it in a ponytail because of cheer but you curled it today, nothing crazy, just some waves you saw Brooke Shields do for a magazine.
"Hey!" Chance barks. "Don't talk to her."
"Oh right, forgot, I'm just a peasant amongst you high school royalty," Eddie remarks, pretending to grovel. He earns a series of laughs from his buddies. Before they all head off, Eddie flips off Chance as one last dig.
Chance rolls up his window and grumbles. "I hate that guy."
Meanwhile, Eddie continues inside with his Hellfire friends, his only friends. You don't notice, but as Chance waits for the road to clear of kids before continuing to find a spot, Eddie glances back at you. From the car window, he watches your eyes flicker about the parking lot with a blank expression. You bite down on your lower lip, a habit he's seen you do a million times in class. It's one of his favorite things, a part of your hair.
He wasn't being snarky before, though if you asked he'd deny it. He loves it on the rare occasion your wear your hair down. He could stare at it for hours, analyzing the various shades within it, and how it shimmers. In fact, he does stare at it from time to time in class or at lunch. Your hair, your doodling, the way you bite your lip when you're not paying attention, confused, or overwhelmed during a test. On any occasion he finds himself just looking at you throughout the school day, you never seem to notice, of course, You have too many friends to ever pay any attention to him. You're constantly surrounded by them. You're untouchable. All he can do is admire from afar.
__________________________
"But as long as you're into band or science..." Eddie yells over the chatter of the busy room from atop his table right as You and Chrissy enter the lunchroom arm-in-arm. "Or parties..." He whines in disgust.
"Loser!" One student hollers at him.
Eddie walks the platform like a catwalk, making you and Chrissy finally notice him. You both slow down, after realizing you have to pass him to get to your table.
"Oh Jesus," you scoff under your breath.
"He can't never act calm, can he?" Chrissy grumbles.
"Or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets!" Eddie shouts toward our friend's table.
Jason flies up from his chair all mighty. "You want something, freak?"
Eddie sticks his tongue out at Jason and brings his fingers up to his head like devil horns, just to piss him off.
Jason mumbles something under his breath and sits down, thankfully. There have been enough fights between the two our entire high school career to last us a lifetime.
"It's forced conforming!" Eddie continues to preach.
You guide Chrissy along, having had enough of his speech. You keep your eyes ahead and walk somewhat briskly through the cafeteria.
"That's what's killing the kids!" Eddie declares, hopping down from the table. He hadn't realized he would land right in front of you and Chrissy of all people, but he wasn't disappointed to say the least. A smirk forms on his lips as his dark eyes meet yours, causing his grand speech to come to an abrupt end.
“Excuse me, Princess.” He extends out his arm and bows to let you pass.
Chrissy moves to walk, but you remain stationary. Your eyes locked on Eddie's with a narrowed gaze.
"Come on, Y/N," she urges you along.
"I'll be there in a sec," you assure her, slipping your arm out from hers.
She glances between you two before relucantly leaving you behind to join your friends safely across the room.
Your eyes finally shift away from Eddie and toward the two freshmen sitting at the Hellfire table. “Still brainwashing children?” You tease.
“It’s my vocation to guide the youth away from your kind’s corrupt ways," he fires back without missing a beat.
You snicker. "Oh right, because maintaining a decent GPA while balancing extra-curriculars is soooo barbaric of me." You cross your arms over your chest and meet his gaze with a smirk. "I should take a page from your book. Sleep in class, get pushed back for two years, and spend all of my free time playing a board game," you list mockingly.
He chuckles and takes a step closer until he's towering over you. "At least I don't spend hours in front of a mirror slapping makeup on my face and shake my ass for everyone in town in the gym once a week."
Your satisfied smirk fades and turns into a spiteful frown. “Oh, bite me, Munson.”
“Anytime, Cheer Queen," he offers before he glances over across the room toward your table with a wave of his hand. "But your little boyfriend might get jealous.”
Your eyes follow his to see Chance standing in front of his seat and watching you two closely with a deadly glare. You roll your eyes and shove past Eddie, earning a snicker from him.
"You can shake your pom-poms for me in private whenever you're ready!" He teases loudly enough for your friends, especially Chance to hear.
__________________________
School days are feeling longer and longer with each passing week. Your eyes are becoming heavier earlier in the morning and by lunch, you feel as though you could collapse onto the tile floor. When your history teacher turned off the lights to show projections of American Revolution battle routes, you knew you were screwed. To your left, Chrissy is vigorously taking notes, always on her A-game. On your other side, Chance doodles various sports ball from footballs to a baseball bat. All you can focus on is trying not to fall asleep.
"And then the American forces moved north..." Your teacher chatters on.
You're not sure when it happened, but an innocent blink turned into a prolonged rest. Your mind wanders to your to-do list: finalize the decorations list for the winter dance coming up, come up with a cheer practice schedule for next semester, finish application essays to UPenn, Notre Dame, and... and...
"Y/N!" A voice shouts, causing you to jump and your eyes to fly open.
Your heart is pounding in your ears as your sight flickers rapidly about the classroom to find your teacher and everyone staring at you.
"Can you repeat what I just described?" Your teacher requests sternly.
"Oh, uh, you said..." You stammer, still in a daze from your unpredicted nap.
"Please pay attention," your teacher snaps before turning back to her projection. "So, as I was saying..."
You slouch down in your chair, utterly embarrassed. Chrissy offers you a comforting smile of encouragement which you return.
"You okay?" Chance whispers with furrowed brows.
You hum weakly as you wrap your arms around yourself in a hug. Your eyes wander about the room, then out the window. Finally, in your peripheral vision, you see someone looking at you, Eddie. Your eyes meet and for a moment, if you didn't know any better, you'd think you saw sympathy behind his gaze.
For the remainder of class there was only one thought that drowned out the rest, find a solution to your insomnia and find a way to cope with your constant anxiety. Your schedule doesn't allow space for anxiety. You need to be able to cope and be fully-functioning at all times. In order to do that, no anxiety and sleep are required.
The idea to seek Eddie's expertise didn't just appear during history. No, it's a well-known fact around school that he sells just about any drug seen on Miami Vice. You never actually acted on this idea before for a number of reasons. One is monthly drug tests by the athletic department. Two, you're afraid of how you'll react as you've never tried any sort of drug before, even weed. Three, Eddie scared you, not in a Michael Myers or Freddie Krueger-type way, but he was unpredictable and metal. Everything you or your friends are supposed to be.
After class, out of pure desperation, you decide to talk with Eddie. You'll do just about anything to make your schedule work and achieve your goals, partially because you rather die than let people see you fail.
Your final class of the day, English, you don't share with Chrissy or Chance. However, you do share it with Eddie. He never talks and sits in the back so it took you almost all semester to realize he was in all but one of your classes. The one class being yearbook, that doesn't really require an explanation.
Chance gives you a quick peck before you part ways. "See you after class."
You offer him a content yet minor smile. While Chance continues on to his next class, you linger by the classroom door, waiting for Eddie to step out. You try to act casual so know what suspects the reality of what you're doing. You can't exactly be seen willing waiting for Eddie Munson of all people. You may interact with him from time to time, but everyone can assume that it's not pleasurable or by your initiation.
Eddie emerges and doesn't notice you as his head hangs low with his fingers coming through his hair. You follow behind him like a spy on the prowl. Swiftly, you pick up your pace, weaving between people to keep up with him. You didn't exactly plan this through, so when you spot a dark empty classroom, you take your chances. You grab his forearm and pull him into the room, hopefully without anyone paying attention.
"Hey! Hey! What the fuck?" Eddie blurts out as he stumbles into the room.
You shut the door behind you, making sure through the tiny window that no one noticed.
Eddie straightens up and when his eyes land on you surprise is just one emotion he's feeling. When you lock the door and turn toward him, he chuckles nervously. "Okay, did I fall and hit my head or something because this is-"
"You sell right?" You cut to the chase.
He raises his brows and leans against a desk. "Pardon?"
"Weed, you sell?" You specify, growing more and more impatient.
"Depends..." He releases a breathless laugh and sets his books down behind him. "Are you in search of some or are you acting as an undercover cop for Principal Higgins?"
"It's not that..." Your eyes fall to the floor in shame and anxiety as you press your textbooks to your chest. "I...I need something," you admit timidly, though you're not exactly sure what you're asking for.
Eddie's brows furrow together as both confusion and curiosity overpower his initial surprise.
Nervously, you check over your shoulder at the door. If anyone saw you in here alone with him, teacher or student, who knows what they'd assume. "Look, we can't talk here. Is there somewhere we could meet up later?" You practically plead.
A crooked grin forms across his lips. "You're kidding right?"
You scoff. "Alright, sorry I asked." You start toward the door urgently. You could've predicted this would be a mistake.
"No, no, wait!" Eddie blurts out. He lunges forward and grabs your arm, stopping you.
You whip your head around and meet his gaze. In the dark, his eyes appear almost black. Granted, they were already pretty dark, to begin with, like two dots of ink on paper.
"I just wasn't expecting you of all people to want to buy," he reasons. His hand lingers around your arm with a gentle squeeze.
"I wouldn't be, trust me," you emphasize, much to his amusement. Then, you sigh and shift on your feet with a frown. "But I'm desperate."
He had never seen like this so... lost. Usually, you're smiling, laughing, walking around these halls like a damn ray of sunshine. You're practically the human embodiment of a Care Bear.
"The woods just beyond the practice fields," he states. "There's a picnic table a few yards in, can't miss it. Right after school, deal?" His hand slips from your arm and he holds it out between you two.
You hesitate for a second, peering down at his hand. Are you really willing to do this? Risk getting caught and perhaps losing everything you've ever worked for?
"It'll be our secret," he adds.
Your eyes meet his and he offers you a soft smile. You slip your hand into his and feel his many rings graze your skin. You note two things. One, this is the first time you've ever touched despite being near one another on numerous occasions. Two, his touch, despite the rings, is a lot softer than Chance's and you've held hands many times.
Your hands break apart right as the warning bell rings. Your focus travels back to school and your obligations. "I should-"
He nods and gestures toward the door. "No yeah, go ahead."
You hurry toward the door, already worrying about being late. Before you unlock it, you turn over your shoulder and offer the boy a smile. "Thanks, Eddie."
He releases a quiet chuckle and collects his books. "Anytime, Princess."
When you do finally leave the room, Eddie lingers behind for a minute. The cool and relaxed attitude he had around you slips away to reveal his mindblown state. He pushes off the desk and brings his hands to the side of his head. "Holy shit... holy shit... Holy shit!" He practically celebrates, doing a slight jump. "Okay, okay, okay," he tries to calm down. "Gotta be cool about this. Gotta cool... holy shit!"
“If an opera is made about my life someday, I wonder how I’ll be portrayed. The revolutionary who guided the Empire to a new dawn…or the foolish ruler who took her revolution too far…”
