Soulmates Are Harder Than I Thought • Lams

Chapter XXIX: The Calm Before the Storm

It took what it must've been decade for Eliza to calm John down, he was still in shock of what happened, of everything Alexander said, and this time he couldn't even blame anyone else, but himself.

"This is all my fault." he mumbled laying face down on his bed, his eyes still stung, but at least he wasn't crying a lot anymore, meaning the Eliza could talk to him calmly. "I have no one else to blame but me." he said, Eliza shook her head, she couldn't believe how low John's self esteem was at the moment, she spoke ups

"John, if there's anyone to blame is the both of us, and due to... recent events, Alexander is also to blame. The three of us are to blame." she said in the most gentle tone she could find, which was the one she used when people needed comfort, she was good at comforting people.

"No, Eliza I was scared that I would end up alone... I sounds selfish, I know, I'm selfish." he hugged himself as he sat down, looking down at his feet. "I wanted to protect Alexander's happiness, but at the same time, I wanted to protect my future... and—"

"John, stop." said Eliza sternly, John quickly looked away, not saying another word. "It is totally acceptable the way you reacted at such rude words that Alexander threw at you, but don't you dare believe for a second that you are selfish or any of those things he said." she said gently. "You are not selfish, John, I've known that since the day we met, remember? The day you cried over a turtle?"

"I'm never gonna live that down." he scratched the back of his neck. "Sometimes I was just the dude that wasn't black that defended black people, which, by the way, anyone who said that is probably racist... now I'm just, turtle boy." he chuckled faintly, Eliza smiled, finally she managed to get a genuine smile out of him, it was all she need.

"A non-selfish turtle boy... Alexander will realize what he's done and he'll come and apologize, understood? Don't put yourself down, you don't deserve to be put down like this, okay? Let's go down to the café, I already invited Herc, Laf, and Peggy." she smiled, wiping away a stray tear on John's cheek.

"I truly don't want to meet Laf, not after how I treated him and his advice. Heck I will never forget how I treated the three of you, especially you Eliza." he mumbled, looking away.

"I forgave you, John, you need to forgive yourself." she stood up. "Now, clean up. You know, watch your face, put on a nice shirt, don't let this bring you down, okay?" she said smiling as she sat on the chair on John's desk.

John went to the bathroom, and Eliza's curiosity peeked in, watching through John's sketchbook. 'Oh wow, a nude drawing of Alexander' she thought once she found it, blushing. "Umm, John, you have talent in art."

John walked out rubbing his face, new shirt on. Once he saw what Eliza had in her hands, he quickly walked over to her and snatched the drawing out of her hands, and looked to the side. "I won't even try to explain, let's just go."

"Is that how he looked naked?" she asked as he was dragged her out of the room, John groaned embarrassed, today could just not get any worse or more embarrassing.

They arrived the café and quickly sat down, John said nothing, still pretty much embarrassed by what happened a few minutes earlier. Eliza had her phone out, texting someone by the sound of the keyboard, John had no one to text, so he just briefly took his phone out and sent Alexander a simple message.

To: Alexander💚
I'm sorry, I wish we could talk this out.

John knew he would get no instant answer, probably not even an answer, but he couldn't leave everything without talking, it would just make the dread feel heavier and heavier on his chest, so that text message was actually kind of relieving. He looked at Eliza with a small smile, and when Herc and Laf arrived, he looked down.

Lafayette sat besides John, Herc besides Eliza. "So, guys, I'm sorry about how I treated you last time, it's just that I was scared and—"

"John, I forgave you, it's all okay now." said Lafayette looking at him with a small smile. "Besides, Eliza told us what happened, I see why you wanted to hide it from him from a couple days more." he said looking away. "We never should've forced you."

"No." said John. "I'm actually kind of relieved that I don't have to tell him the truth anymore, but still, I don't know who he's going to choose... I don't deserve to have him, Eliza, I hope he picks you."

Eliza reached for John's hand. "Listen, John, you don't live in Alexander's mind, you can't be sure or anything." she mumbled. "Now, let's leave the topic behind, I brought you here so you could ease your mind."

John nodded and smiled faintly. A couple of seconds passed, when a tray with some cupcakes, muffins, coffees and a few more was placed on their table.

"Sorry! My shift just ended. You know, most of these days, when students are free, I feel like eating everything in that kitchen just to watch them cry because they make me cry." said Peggy sitting down besides Hercules.

"Yeah, this place is packed." mumbled Hercules, looking around.

The rest of the evening went smoothly, normal talking, eating muffins. Just like normal friends, John wished every day was like that moment. They stayed there for about three hours, and left when night started looming in.

John stood up and left alone. All he could think about was Alexander, this was probably one of the worst days of his life, and he was most definitely scared of what Alexander would say.

Welp! Next chapter will take some time. Bc i gotta update twice. I will write TWO endings. The happy one AND the sad one.
So I hope you can wait like 4 days 😋
~ Sarah🌼