Valley Forge Boarding School

Chapter 6 - On Our Own

I pushed against the door harder, a sinking feeling in my chest. I didn't want to believe it, that we had been so stupid, that we had forgotten about something to obvious and vital.

In a desperate and naive attempt to ignore it, I pushed against the door with all the strength that I could bring up. It stayed without result, as the door stayed firmly in its place, just as strong and impassable as it had been before.

"We're trapped...", I muttered, and my voice sounded just as shaky as I felt. I knew that even if I screamed, if the both of us screamed as loud as we could possibly scream, there was a slim chance anyone would hear us. I took a step back before pushing against the door again, almost throwing myself against it, again being left with not even an inch of movement.

I felt dizzy, and in that haze I did the next best thing I could think of, and I stepped back and raise my arm, letting my fist smash against the wood with all the force I could bring up in my frustration.

It sent a nauseating pain through me, and I heard Alex next to me yelp. "Jack, stop!" I repeated the motion, my knuckles burning, but my head wouldn't give me any other options, and in my frustration I chose to ignore the redhead next to me.

He pulled me away from the door, a look of horror on his face. "What are you doing?", he hissed. I tumbled back, and shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "We need to get out of here..."

"But not like that", he whispered, his voice much softer, seemingly realizing the state I was in. I didn't fully rationalize it, but I was grateful for his empathy as he gently put an arm around my shoulders and led me back to the blanket. Trembling, I sat back down, and he kneeled next to me, carefully taking my hand into his.

"You're an idiot", he told me, smiling softly. I kept my eyes firmly on my knees, ashamed at my temper. "I'm sorry." "Just don't do it again", he whispered, carefully grazing his thumb over my knuckles. I flinched, and he gave me an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Here, this is the best I can do for now..." He reached for his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.

"Will you hold this for a second?", he asked and handed me the candle, which I took with my left, non-busted hand.

Alex carefully tied the handkerchief around my hand, and this time I held back a flinch when the fabric made contact with my skin. He tightened the cloth and made a knot, then smiled at me.

"There, that should do it. They'll figure out we're gone, there's no need to hurt yourself like that." The thought had never even occurred to me, and I stared at him for a good few seconds before nodding slowly. "Yeah, you're right..."

The gentle smile on his face vanished and was replaced with a more serious expression. "How are you feeling?", he asked, clearly worried. I sighed as I tried to rationalize my state.

"Dizzy... and tired. I feel like that one time when I was little and my dad slammed the door against my head by accident, except now I'm the one causing it..."

My vision went fuzzy again, and I just sat there for a moment with my eyes closed, hoping it would go away quickly. I felt his arms wrap around me and pull me closer, which made me relax.

When I opened my eyes again, I could see clearly, and I squeezed Alex, who ran his fingers through my hair so softly that it almost made me shiver.

"Thank you...", I whispered, and he just shook his head. "You're my closest friend", he whispered back to me, "I could never ever treat you badly, alright? So don't thank me, I wouldn't want it any other way."

His words made me feel a lot better, and even though I was shivering in the light dress shirt I was wearing, I still felt all warm and fuzzy inside. What was it that made my friendship with Alex so special to him? As much as I wanted to ask him, I stayed quiet, putting it off for another time, and a less tense situation.

"But for now", Alex continued, snapping my out of my thoughts, in a tone that wouldn't allow me any protest, "the best we can do is stay here and wait it out. You should sleep a bit, and I have to admit that I'm very tired as well."

We huddled up against the stack of wood with the blanket wrapped around us tightly to protect from the cold. I didn't let myself wonder just how long we would spend in the cellar, instead cuddling as close as possible to my friend.

"Your hair smells nice...", I pointed out to him, and I watched as he tried to cover a dorky smile. "Go to sleep, Laurens." "Hmh, just one more thing." Alex gave me a soft glare. "Sleep." I sighed, and, compliant as I was to his demands, closed my eyes and relaxed, nuzzling into his hair.

It was easy to get sleepy when being right next to Alex, he seemed to have a calming effect, however that may come considering his usual energy, especially towards Thomas. But I suppose I was different from Thomas, mainly in the aspect that Alex didn't hate my guts and wanted to rip them out with a pitchfork. He had told me all about it in many of his night-time rants, but I doubted there was any real threat behind it. At least I hoped.

With that thought, I fell asleep, shivering a bit less with Alex pressed against me and half in my lap. A blessing and a curse, respectively; A curse because I knew if I woke up and wanted to move, I wouldn't have the heart to wake him, and a blessing because it was the most amazing thing in the world.