HIS FUTURE was everything to Alec, with how he would be living and who he would be living it with. In the future, all Alec could see was being with May, still maybe having a few kids, and being a firefighter with a degree helping small businesses get their chance at success. That was his future, and Alec honestly couldn't wait for it to happen and find himself there.
Alec is with May, JJ, and Sieu, studying in Alec and JJ's dorm. May and Sieu are sitting on Alec's bed while he is at his desk, and JJ is sitting on his bed. The room is quiet except for the faint music playing from Alec's laptop, which fills in the silence as they all work.
"What do you think our future will be like?" Alec asked after pausing the music and gaining the other attention.
"Our future?" Sieu asked, and Alec nodded.
"Yeah. I've just been thinking about it a lot." Alec shrugged, leaning back in his chair.
"I do, too," JJ said.
"Really?" May asked, and JJ nodded.
"Yeah. I like to think in the future I'm hopefully a firefighter with Alec over here having my back on calls." JJ said, making Alec chuckle. "But I also see myself as a part-time therapist specializing in kids. Kids who maybe don't have parents or feel neglected by their parents. Kids like myself could use words of encouragement to help them achieve what they want."
"I can see you do that, JJ. You're so good with kids," May said, and Alec nodded.
"I see myself owning a business—one that helps the world in some way. I don't have an idea on how yet, but I know one day I will, and it will benefit so many people." Sieu smiled. "And maybe married to a woman I love with some kids we've either adopted or did IVF with."
May sighed, "I'm not sure what I want my future to look like. The only thing I'm sure about is having you, Jeremiah, and Roxy in it. But I'm not sure what I want to do with my life. I loved helping people as a dispatcher, but I'm unsure if that's what I want to spend my life doing." May shook her head.
"It's okay if you don't know yet. We're still young. You have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do," Sieu said, and May smiled.
"Blue's right. You have time, May." JJ said.
"Thanks, guys," May said.
"Alec, what about you?" JJ asked the Joza boy, who was staring at the ground. "How do you see your future?"
"I definitely see you guys in it. I don't know what I'd do if you guys weren't in my life. I see May and I married with a few kids." Alec looked at May, who blushed as Sieu nudged her. "I see myself as a firefighter helping people, and I see myself helping small businesses grow into something people will love. I see myself being someone my mom will be proud of as she watches over me."
"Your mom is already proud of you, Alec," May said, standing from his bed and over to him, sitting on his lap. Alec held May's waist, pulling her closer as she played with his hair. "I know she's watching you proud of the man you've become even after everything you've been through. She's proud of you."
"Thanks," Alec said, sighing.
"What are friends for man." JJ smiled, making them laugh.
His friends were everything to Alec, much like his family. They were an extension of his family. People he could go to with his problems and ask for advice and get an honest answer from them rather than something to make him feel better. From his friends, Alec liked to know the truth of what he was going through. Even if it was brutal, he knew he needed to hear it if it was coming from his friends. There is no saying some of his family would do that because Alec knows Cassia would be brutally honest in a second, but the others would try and make him feel better, not helping with how to solve anything.
Alec loved his family, and he did, but sometimes you need brutal honesty, and there's no better way to get it than from a true friend. That's why Alec didn't want to ever lose his friends. They were people who would keep it real with him and yet still help him feel better in a different way.
