It was officially the end of the world. There was fire outside everywhere. Nobody was safe and it was every man for themselves.

I was dirty, tired, and desperately in need of a shower. I had been camping out in an abandoned cafe in a suburb, a couple towns from where I was living for a few years. The cafe used to be cute and cozy, full of life and the aroma of coffee in the air. But now it was eerie, abandoned, and disheveled, much like my appearance.

It felt like a lifetime ago when this place was up and running, and the relaxing afternoons spent this very cafe with my friends seemed all but a distant memory. Now just surviving was the name of the game.

It all started one morning when we got up and there was no light outside, just complete darkness. Nobody knew exactly what happened but it was rumored that the sun went out. It ceased to exist.

Some argued that it couldn't be possible that the sun went out because then we'd all be freezing to death, but others argued that because of greenhouse gasses and global warming, the earth was warm enough to sustain us...at least for now.

Scientists are scrambling around to figure out what happened and if there was anything that could be done to restore the ball of gas that gave us life.

This all happened months ago, and since then society had fallen apart. I was away from my family for college when this occurred and I have been trying to get back home. But the funds were really short because the economy crashed and so did a lot of infrastructure.

Food was the hardest thing to come by because if there was no sunlight, plants couldn't grow and livestock couldn't eat. There were some places that had artificial light that could grow plants but because this happened within the last few months, the farming industry had little time to develop and adjust to the disaster, so the food shortage was severe.

Since society was in shambles and the panic was widespread, people were doing whatever it took to secure some food. Violence, robbing, and aggression was commonplace.

I didn't have much when it came to weapons or training, so I mostly used my brains more than my brawns. I kept hidden in the shadows, moved with agility, and made decisions and negotiated my way out of dire situations, and so far that's kept me alive.

I left my little corner of the cafe this one afternoon with the mission of getting more food. I couldn't remember what day it was because the days were just blurring together. But whatever the day was, I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out into the back alley behind the cafe, on a mission for food.

I cautiously crept along the wall, my sorry excuse for a knife in one hand just in case. My precaution was rewarded when I heard the sound of rustling near a trash bin a few feet away from me. I quietly gasped and stepped back when a figure walked out of the shadows and into the light of a street lamp.

I had to blink a few times because I could've sworn that the man in front of me looked like the famous Harry Styles. But my suspicions were confirmed when the man spoke.

"I can see you, you know," he said, his unmistakable British accent apparent.

"Damn it," I cursed, my eyes transfixed on his. I guess I wasn't as stealthy as I thought I was.

I couldn't believe that it was actually him. I could recognize that voice anywhere. It wasn't like I spent the past five years obsessed with his voice or anything. I was glad I was acting mostly normal, as I didn't particularly waint to start freaking out and fangirling right in front of him.

I always have dreamed of this day but never imagined this chance meeting would happen like this, in the back alley during a post-apocalyptic world. It really made my head spin because seeing him here like me, just another person trying to survive this like the rest of us, seemed impossible given his status.

He laughed, his dimples making an appearance under the dim light.

And then I woke up. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I looked around the disheveled cafe and realized it was all a dream. Sitting there in my sleeping bag, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that I hadn't actually met Harry Styles, but it was a great dream nonetheless.

_____

June 4th Prompt:
End of the world, chance meeting, survival