**I do not take ownership over The Fault In Our Stars. Everything belongs to John Green. However, I do own this fanfic so please do not repost or copy without my permission.**
Author's Note: This story was originally thought of and completely different maybe two weeks ago. But, I all think we want the sappy alternate ending of TFIOS so this is what it's turned into. I know Green made Augustus die just to show us how real death is, and I love that. However, I feel like that this ending will give us an insight of what life would've been like. Fanfic cover rights go to eduhting on instagram. Don't forget to vote and comment :)
This story takes place during Chapter Twenty One.
Dedication: to my dear old friend. We have countless roleplays here, Seppi playlists, and other things. I cannot contact you before you don't allow private messages, but I am still here. I think about you a lot, but I've been so busy, and I regret that we aren't in touch anymore. Your message made my heart break when I read it recently. I miss you. Keep in contact and find me again xoxo
Augustus Waters did not die eight days after his pre-funeral. He lived. A doctor decided to increase the dosage of an experimental drug which ultimately saved his life. I received a call early in the morning, around three am. The caller ID read: Gus's Mom, and for a moment, I almost didn't pick it up. He was gone. He was gone. I knew it. With shaky fingers, I tapped the 'accept' button and held the phone to my ear. My voice was a quiet whisper as I answered.
"Hello?" I could feel my heart racing a mile a minute, and I tried to take deep, even breaths to calm down. Of course, my lungs which sucked at being lungs, caused me to make a strange wheezing noise, so I attempted to clear my throat as I waited for someone, anyone to answer. The silence was deafening. A cold sweat ran down my neck, and I bit down on my bottom lip until I tasted blood. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, and I tried to swallow the rising lump in my throat.
"Hazel?" It was his mom. My heart automatically contracted, and for a fleeting moment, I wished she hadn't answered in the first place. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my hands into fists so tight that they turned white in the pale moonlight. It felt like agony as I waited for her to say something else-anything at all. He was dead. I knew it. I could feel it. I knew that his spirit had ultimately left his body as he sought out his Capital S Something.
Finally, I was able to find my voice.
"Yeah, I'm here," I replied and angrily wiped away a tear that began to trickle down my cheek. I sat there waiting on the edge of my bed. I don't know how long I waited. I had never been a big believer in God, but in that moment, I found myself praying silently. Please God, help him. Soon, my desperate plea to someone who may not even exist turned into: God, please take care of him. Heaven has earned quite an angel.
I cleared my throat. "How... Is he...?" My question was suspended in the quiet, tense silence and dances around the atmosphere.
"What?" Mrs Waters said. She sounded alarmed. "No! No, honey! God, no!" I couldn't help it. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, I kinda fell back onto my pillows, relieved. Thank you Lord Jesus. I laughed and managed to reply a moment later. I felt as if this weight was just lifted off my chest. Suddenly all the sadness, the fear, the anger, and impatience... it all felt like a bad dream. Maybe it was.
"What's going on then?" I asked in disbelief.
"Gus is fine, he'll be fine," Gus's mom continued. With every word, I felt my heartbeat begin to steady, and my hope soared. I let out a relieved sigh and choked quietly on a sob before shaking my head as I continued to listen to her story; every word she spoke sounded like music to my ears. Like the angels of heaven came down and personally sang to me. "An intern actually rushed in with an experimental drug early this morning and gave it to the doctor saying it would be the last chance to save his life. We were all hesitant but there wasn't much we could do at the moment. At this very moment, Gus has been NEC." No evidence of cancer. At that point, Mrs Waters's voice began to fade out and all I could process was the fact that he was alive. Alive and cancer-free. I nodded many times and bit my fingernail.
"Thank you Mrs Waters. Thank you so much. I don't think you understand how happy I am right now," I finally said and clutched the phone in both hands, a small smile creeping onto my face. My voice sounded slightly choked from the tears I was fighting so desperately to hold back. She laughed from the other line.
"Okay, get some rest sweetie. You can probably come by the hospital later," she replied. I nodded enthusiastically and mumbled back a response. I bid her a goodbye and turned off my phone. I couldn't do much.
I sat on my bed, my covers drawn over my waist, and a silly smile slowly overcame my face. No one understood how relived I was, except maybe Gus's parents. It felt like a heavy backpack that I had been carrying for a billion years was finally released. It was like I was Atlas, carrying the world upon his shoulders for God knows how long and suddenly maybe, Zeus cut him some slack and he was free. That was how I felt at the moment (assuming that Atlas did have the earth removed from his shoulders, but of course, he didn't). The point was, Augustus had a meeting with death and practically stared him in the face. But he didn't die. He was alive.
Then, I cried. I began to sob. The dam broke and everything that I had been holding in spilled out. They were happy, relieved tears. I could've lost Augustus to oblivion, and he could've been gone forever in his Capital S Something, but he was here and he was alive and he was breathing and he was cancer-free.
I clutched my heart and cried for everything that could've been—a world without him. Like Isaac said, I didn't want to ever see a world without him. I don't exactly remember when my parents came in the room, but I did remember my mom stroking my hair and my dad rubbing my back. Their voices were soft whispers, and it was so familiar; I felt like I was thirteen again, on the first night after I found out I had cancer. My parents gave me a sense of comfort.
I fell asleep on my tear-soaked pillow, but I couldn't be happier.