Valley Forge Boarding School

Chapter 15 - Happy Ending

A week had passed since the incidents, and I was back on my feet, going to class and, with the help of some medication, back on a regular sleep schedule. Nevertheless, Alex was constantly at my side, and everyone laughed about it, not that I minded his company.

We were just walking back to our rooms after lunch when Professor Washington pulled Alex and me aside. "Boys, I just talked to the police, there's still no sign of the two." Alex muttered a quiet curse under his breath, and I bit my lip. "But", the professor continued, "the fake bills have been connected with quite a few people in the state, they assume that the men will be caught seeking shelter with one of them."

While the professor and Alex tangled themselves in a discussion, I started feeling a little bit dizzy, so I leaned against the wall to support myself. Watching the two talk, with students passing by in the hall to get to their rooms, I couldn't help but smile. I knew that I felt more at home here than anywhere else, with a teacher that cared about us and friends who I loved so dearly.

It felt strange, really. Being back to a normal schedule after those few days of chaos. I still felt numb and tired, but my father had made it clear to me that if I missed any school he'd be unhappy with me, so I obeyed. Well, I suppose some things just didn't change, but I had enough support to deal with them.

"Jacky? Can we go?", Alex asked, and I looked up to see him standing in front of me, holding out his hand. I smiled and took it, and we walked back to our room hand in hand. It already felt so familiar, so warm and safe, never in my life had I expected to feel that way.

When we arrived at our room, Lafayette and Hercules were sitting on Lafayette's bed, studying for an upcoming exam, with notes sprawled out all across the sheets. They looked up when we walked in, and Lafayette, noticing our hands intertwined, raised an eyebrow. "Hey gays." "Don't you mean-" "I know what I said."

I felt my face heat up, and I quickly sat down on my bed, picking up a book and holding it in front of my face to hide. Alex laughed, he seemed a lot less jumpy about the subject, and sat down next to me, taking the book from me. "You read that yesterday, silly." "Screw you", I muttered, and Lafayette and Hercules got up, gathering their things as loudly as possible.

"We're heading out, clean up after yourselves!", Herc said as he passed us, and Alexander looked shocked by the comment, which I couldn't quite understand. It seemed to be very shocking though, because not even half a second later he threw the book I was holding just a second ago after our friend, who squeaked and shut the door before it could hit him.

"What did he say?", I asked, and Alex just shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Come on." He pulled me into an embrace, and I shrugged off my questions as we lied down and I could cuddle close to him. It was by far my favorite part of the day, and I looked forward to it as soon as the morning would start.

"Do you think that anything will come of the investigations?", Alex muttered, focused on fumbling around with my hair. I truly had no idea, and so I shrugged, and he chuckled. "I love you so much..." My face went red once again, I tucked my face into his chest to avoid him seeing it.

I felt his hand wander, from my hair down to my cheek, gently caressing, and I shivered, my face heating up even more. "Aww...", Alex whispered, and I briefly looked up to glare at him before closing my eyes and sighing. "Are you tired?", he asked, and I shrugged, not feeling like answering.

This went on for a while, and as the seconds ticked away at the clock, so are the seconds ticking away to the end of the story. It can be difficult to find a stopping point when retelling events like these, because there's never really an end to them, and there will always be details and anecdotes worth mentioning.

This time however, this seems like an alright time, for we never heard of Mr. Lawson or Mr. Hansen ever again. I recovered rather quickly, and we fell back into our regular schedule, up until this or that adventure got thrown in our path. Alex and I started officially dating nearing the end of the school year, but I have to admit that it wasn't much of a surprise to anyone.

As of right now, I'm sitting on the windowsill typing this down, while Professor Washington and a few other students are below me in the courtyard doing gardening work. It's only a matter of time before he'll notice me and yell at me, so I suppose I should get down now. We've got class in a minute anyway. I'll see you around, or not, but either way I hope you'll have a good rest of your day.