The Coffee Shop (Hamilton Lams Modern AU) **IN EDITING**

Chapter 25

T/W - self harm, homophobia, blood

Alexander's POV

3 Months Later

The past few months had been a blur of late nights, dates, moving hassles, phone calls, classes, and everything in between. I'd moved in with John and the guys about a month ago, and everything was working out. I'd been on calls with Mr. Laurens, who was just the most difficult person to work with. I'd been on FaceTime with John's siblings (James, 16, Henry, 11, Mary-Eleanor, 8), who had been fun to talk to. They seemed open to the plan we had in mind, which was letting Laf and Herc get their own place so that the three of them could move in. John and I would become the kids' legal guardians if we won. The case was scheduled for tomorrow, April 12th. I was extremely nervous, but I'd been rehearsing what I plan to say, and I'm confident we'll win. I dug into my pocket for my keys and unlocked the door to my apartment. John was home alone, as Laf and Herc had gone out on a date. "John, I'm home!" I exclaimed, pushing the door open. That's weird. Wouldn't he usually be watching the "Jessie" reruns right about now? I asked myself. Nothing was on but the lights. His bedroom door was slightly open. Don't panic. Maybe he's just sleeping, or maybe he has his headphones in and didn't hear you. Just calm down. He could be doing anything. The word 'anything' echoed in my head as I took my shoes off and went over to his room. I gently pushed open his door, and (much to my annoyance) a loud creaking sound came from it as I did so. Stupid door. I turned my head to John's desk and my eyes widened. He was lying with his head in his hands and he had deep cuts all over his arms. Blood was pouring out from the cuts. "No, no, no, no, no. Please be alive," I whispered to myself, pressing my fingers against his wrist to check for a pulse. My shoulders relaxed, feeling a steady pulse beneath my fingers. I ran into the bathroom, grabbing the alcohol prep pads or whatever they're called and a roll of bandages. I darted back into his room and shook his shoulder. He lifted his head up, rubbing his eyes. "Hey, look at me. How many fingers am I holding up?" I asked him, putting up two fingers. "You don't need to tell me, just put up your fingers." He put up three fingers, but quickly took the third one down. "Vision's a little blurry, isn't it?" He nodded, and I noticed tears pricking his eyes. "Aww, don't cry. And you don't need to apologize either," I told him as I started to clean the cuts. Jackie started sobbing, mumbling something as he did. I finished bandaging his arms up and gave him a tight hug. "It's okay. I'm right here. Go lie down for a bit, okay? I'm gonna go take a shower." He nodded a little, still sniffling a little bit.

~

I was towel-drying my slightly damp hair as I walked back into John's room. I'd put on more comfortable clothes (t-shirt and sweatpants) and went to lie down next to him. He was still shaking and crying. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. "It's okay. You don't need to worry about anything," I told him. "Now, will you tell me what happened today? I don't think this was triggered by flashbacks." He took a deep breath before he spoke. "So, since the weather's been getting nicer lately, I wore a short-sleeved t-shirt instead of a hoodie. I was wearing my bracelet-" (he has a pride month bracelet he made himself) "-and since I didn't have any long sleeves, it was visible to anyone and everyone who could see. I was serving this one lady just before my lunch break, and she noticed the bracelet. I already knew she was a bit of a karen, as she'd been offended when I asked her pronouns. She'd given them anyway, and as I was handing her her coffee, she noticed my bracelet and knocked the drink out of my hand. It didn't get on me, but it made a huge mess. She started spitting slurs at me and all of that sort of stuff, and then she left me to clean her mess. So after that, I went to McDonald's to get lunch for myself. I was waiting for them to call me up to get my stuff when some guy comes up to me and does the same thing the lady had done, he spat slurs at me and all that crap. That incident wasn't entirely awful, though, as one of his kids came up to me and apologized. That little girl didn't look any older than Henry. So, I had an awful day with about a single highlight, not to mention the trial tomorrow. I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. What if we lose? What if my dad gets off with a slap on the wrist? What's gonna happen to my siblings?" He was full on sobbing again. "I know you're nervous, because I am too. We'll be okay, We've practiced and practiced for ages. And those people who were rude to you? They can go jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. They just wanted a reaction out of you. And besides, there's always people like that little kid who apologized for her dad's behavior. There's always good people out there, even though it might feel like the world is controlled by these awful people. So you don't need to worry about the trial, because I'm confident things will go our way, and you don't need to worry about those bigots out there," I told him. "Thanks for the pep talk, Alex. I love you.." John mumbled. I felt him fall asleep in my arms and I smiled, knowing he was gonna be okay.