How the Leaves Fall Down

2

Hercules sat in his math class, anxiously tapping his pen against the desk. The teacher droned on and on about radicals and other useless things, and the class was either fast asleep or not paying attention; it was first period after all. Meanwhile, Herc's mind wandered to earlier this morning.

He needs to talk to Lafayette.

<                             Baguette ♡

You: Hey Laf, is everything alright?
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Baguette: (• • •)

"Mr. Mulligan, I know that is not a phone in my classroom." The teacher scowled. Hercules looked up with an unenthused face, rolling his eyes and turning his phone off.

"No, no, don't put it away now! I'm sure the class would love to hear about who was so important that you had to text during my geometry class!" The teacher said with fake excitement. All eyes were on him now.

Hercules was already worried about other things as it was, but now he's starting to get pissed. "Well if you absolutely have to know, I was telling them about those tacky ass pants that you probably pulled out of a dumpster." He snapped, giving him the same passive-aggressive tone, he used.

He was not happy.

~

Office slip in hand, Hercules walked down the empty halls, muttering angrily to himself.

"Geometry is such a useless class anyways, and that teacher is a prick." He grumbled.

Just then, he saw a familiar face duck into a bathroom a few feet ahead.

That was weird.

Herc raised a suspicious eyebrow, deciding to follow him.

~
Lafayette dipped into the nearest stall, slamming and locking the door before throwing his bag down.

He covered his mouth with his hands, trying desperately to keep it all together. But he just couldn't.

He let out a strangled sob, sliding down the wall and curling in on himself. He knew it was getting bad, but he didn't expect the breakdown to happen again so soon. And here, of all places.

Everything around him was so loud, yet so... silent. It was deafening. He hyperventilated as he felt the walls closing in on him.

He couldn't breathe.

Someone had been calling his name.

"Laf? Lafayette, are you in here?" The voice said, "Laf, please answer me!"

~
"Lafayette!" Hercules called again. He was confused; He could've sworn he saw him come in here.

He listened closely for any sign of him, any sign at all. And that's when he heard it.

Soft, muffled sobs.

"Lafayette...?" He said again, but this time it was more of a question than a sentence. Now he was worried.

He ventured further in, looking carefully for feet below the stall doors. But then he saw a pair of legs, curled up against a body. The crying was coming from here.

"Laf, I know you're in here." He said softly. His breathing hitched. "Please, just... talk to me. You've been pushing everyone away for weeks now, but something's going on. The longer you keep it bottled up, the more it'll hurt you, so please... please don't push me away again." He pleaded with him.

No words came from the other side, but a shuffling did. Hercules heard the door unlock, and he looked up hopefully.

"Oh, Laf..." he whispered, his words dripping with worry and empathy.

Lafayette stood there trembling, his eyes and nose were red and puffy from crying, and there were still tears in his eyes. But despite this, his expression was just... dead.

"I'm sor- HMPH!" He began apologizing but was cut off by a big hug.

Hercules squeezed him tightly, trying to suppress the tears in his own eyes. "It's ok to not be ok..." he said softly, his voice cracking. Something in Lafayette's eyes clicked.

A loud, strangled sob escaped his lips, and he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Hercules was a little surprised when Laf's knees buckled beneath him, but nothing he wasn't prepared to handle. He went down to the floor with him, holding him as tight and gently as he could while he went through the motions. He rubbed his back, whispering soothing words to him.

"I-I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!" He sobbed.

Laf's desperate cries broke his heart. "I know, I know. It's ok, let it all out. I'm here for you as long as you need." Herc whispered softly.

~

It took a good minute, but eventually, Lafayette quieted down, his loud crying turning into the occasional sniff or eye rub.

"Are you doing better now?" Herc asked softly, still holding him tightly in his lap. He only nodded in response.

"Ok. That's good." He smiled softly, "Did you take your medicine today?"

His eyes stayed stuck to the ground guiltily, avoiding his eye contact.

Hercules sighed. "Laf, c'mon, we talked about this- "

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." He murmured, his voice coarse from crying. He swallowed gingerly, trying to take the dry edge out of his throat.

"Where are they?"

"In my bag... I don't like them, Herc. They make me feel weird. I know they're supposed to help me, but it makes the world seem... fake, in a sense. It makes me feel... what's the word? Anxious? Yeah, that. And kind of... I don't know, out of it, I guess."

"I know Laf, I know. But they're important, and I don't want you doing anything reckless; you know how you get when you aren't on them."

"I know, I know. You're right, and I'm sorry. I promise I will start taking them again." He said, reaching for his backpack.

Hercules saw his sleeve roll up a bit, and he caught a glimpse of old scars. And new ones.

"Laf, what is this?" He asked concerned, reaching for his wrist.

Lafayette snatched his hand back before he could grab him. "Nothing," He muttered, "I'm fine."

Herc gave him a skeptical look. "No, you're not. How long ago did you do this?"

"I said it's fine, Hercules." He warned.

"Laf, please- "

"It's fine!"

"Lafayette!"

"Oh my fucking god, I said I'm FINE!" He shouted, tears brimming his eyes once more. "Just back off, alright?! I don't need you worrying about me, I'm not an infant! I don't even know why you care anyways!" He said angrily, getting up and grabbing his bag.

"Lafayette, don't say that!" Hercules said a bit hurt, "I'm always going to care about you- "

"But WHY?!" He shouted, tears threatening to spill, "It's not like I even deserve it! You waste your time pitying me when you could be doing something else, ANYTHING else, and I don't— I don't understand why! Why can't I just-... argh! Just leave me alone!" He stormed out.

Hercules sat alone in the bathroom, hurt and confused.

What had he done wrong?