Forever and Ever // Lams

The Storm (Reprise)

LAURENS' POV

I was terrified to say what I said next, but it was one of the truest things I've ever said. I squeezed Alex's hand as I spat out, "You're no father of mine." I expected that I'd regret it the second it was out of my mouth, but surprisingly I was glad I'd said it.

The whole room was silent, my last words hanging in the air.

"I'm calling the police if you don't leave right now." Said Peggy, breaking the silence and holding up her phone threateningly.

Henry turned on her. "I'd love to leave and get away from you disgusting people, but I'm not doing it until my sinner son comes with me, so we discuss which military school I'm shipping him off to."

I let go of Alex and got close to his face, trying to look intimidating "Get out right now, you bastard." I glared at him. James tried to sneeze quietly into his arm, but the noise was loud anyway.

Suddenly the thunder cracked so loudly almost everyone in the room jumped.

ALEXANDER'S POV

The thunder cracked loudly and I let out an involuntary whimper. I wanted to go back to having John hold me but I was worried his dad might hurt him physically if I did, and I valued John's safety over mine.

The rain began pouring even harder and I couldn't hide the fact that I was shaking from fear. His dad noticed.

"There's something wrong with your... fat little friend, John." Henry snarled.

"You forgot the boy. Boyfriend." John glared at Henry.

I couldn't stop shaking. I tried to hide it, but I couldn't. The rain seemed to get louder and it was all I could hear. I was pretty sure that John and Henry were talking, but the room was silent to me except for the sound of the pounding rain and thunder. Everything was spinning and I felt paralyzed. Anxiety was a common thing for me, but it was always amplified by storms. I guess it was sort of PTSD.

John seemed to notice because he began talking to me, looking concerned. I tried to hear him, but I couldn't.

"Jacky..." I mumbled. Then I fell forward. I was still conscious enough to hear the rain, but I couldn't see or move a muscle.

LAURENS' POV

"There's something wrong with your... fat little friend, John." Henry snarled in my face, purposely emphasizing friend.

"You forgot the boy. Boyfriend." I glared at Henry, but it was toned down because I knew my concern was visible in my expression.

"No, he's not your boyfriend. Boys don't date boys. You just think you like him because being gay is some sort of a trend right now, John." Henry spat out the word gay like it was a curse word, although he had no problem spouting bad words on the daily.

"You can not say those homophobic things in my house!" Yelled Hercules, and I gave him a millisecond long thankful smile.

I realized my mom was still standing there, crying silently. "Mom, do you really think being gay is a sin? Or do you just say it because Henry threatens you every day and you and I both know that you're scared of him?"

My mom glared at me, a look of resentment that made my heart break. My mom had always been kind to me, although she didn't talk much when Henry was around. "Don't you dare talk about your father that way, John. I love him, otherwise I wouldn't have married him." I knew she was lying straight through her teeth.

I glanced at Peggy and realized she was dialing 9-1---

"HEY!" My dad smacked the phone out of her hand and on to the ground. "You're not calling 911, they DON'T NEED TO GET INVOLVED."

Suddenly I realized Alex was almost completely drained of all color, and shaking violently. I turned to him.

"Alex, are you ok? I know the storm is bad, but--"

"Jacky..." he mumbled and then fell forward into my arms.

"Alex!" I picked him up in both of my arms, like a groom would with his bride. I didn't know what to do, I knew it was another anxiety attack.

I quickly fixed his sheets - they had been ripped off by Henry as he was acting like a lunatic - and laid him down gently. I pulled up the covers over him and sat down on the bed next to him, stroking his hair. I remembered everyone else was in the room. My parents had been stunned into silence, and everyone else was being quiet out of respect for Alex and because they were thankful my parents were being slightly calmer.

"What are you doing John, why are you acting like he's a little baby? He's 18, right? An adult! Why's he passing out? What's wrong with him?" My dad barked at me, piercing the bittersweet silence.

"Calm down, bastard. He had an anxiety attack. I've told you a thousand times mental disorders aren't just 'in your head', here's a perfect example." I continued stroking Alex's soft, ebony hair, and smiled. It surprised me as much as it probably surprised my dad. I just couldn't help myself. I liked this boy so much, that even when it was pouring and lightning outside and my parents were being insane, I could still find happiness when I was with him.

"THEY ARE JUST IN YOUR HEAD, DUMBASS! WHEN WILL YOU EVER LEARN? IT'S THE SAME AS BEING GAY, IT'S ALL JUST IN YOUR HEAD!"

And with that, Eliza walked up to him and smacked him across the face, surprising not only him, but everyone else because Eliza was usually very sweet and non-violent.

My dad looked shocked, then stormed out of the room, yelling, "I can't stand to see my own son acting like a f****t! I can't watch this horrid display!" and my mom followed him quickly. I hoped the rest of my friends would find a way to get him out of the house, because I knew I needed to stay with Alex for now.

Everyone else followed them out the door and closed it behind them. I wasn't sure what they were going to do about my parents, but for the moment I didn't care. I only cared about Alex.

I lifted the covers and snuggled up next to him, putting one protective arm around him, hoping whatever he was going through right now wasn't too horrible. I couldn't even fathom what was going on in his mind...

ALEXANDER'S POV

I felt John lift me up and I could still only hear the pounding rain. It scared me so much that I couldn't even appreciate feeling his warmth and listening to his heart beat. Well, I still did a little. I felt him lay me down in my bed and slowly my hearing came back just a bit. I heard Henry screaming distantly and faint footsteps and then the door closed. I felt John snuggle down next to me and put his arm over me. It made me feel safer, but I also still felt paralyzed by fear, and couldn't get my eyes open.

It was a weird feeling, I felt completely awake but I couldn't see or move, and I could barely hear anything besides the raging storm outside. The pounding rain taunted me and with each crack of thunder my heart skipped a beat. My terror was so strong and almost impossible to describe, terrible visions flew through my head and it felt like I was permanently trapped in these horrible and nightmarish scenes. After a while, John got even closer to me and he gently kissed my cheek. I was full of panic, but my feelings for him slowly alleviated it. He filled my heart with happiness, and suddenly my eyes fluttered open and everything went almost back to normal. I was filled with relief.

His eyes were also open, watching me worriedly. A grin stretched across his adorable, freckled face when he realized I had opened my eyes.

"Glad you're awake, babe." He couldn't hide the worry and relief in his voice, no matter how hard he tried to mask it with charm.

Instead of responding, I rolled over and grabbed his face, pulling it towards mine. We began making out and... well... let's just say I definitely forgot about the storm.