The Last Chance Book 2

Chapter 20 ( Long Chapter )

TW: Mentions of violence, Child loss and injuries

Him, Max, Nat and Zee are the first to leave. Once Max's father is parked in front of the entrance the guards start to escort them out of the building. As soon as the media sees them they start shouting about his bandaged arms while others shout about how he's crying. He grabs on to Zee's arm. While in the other hand he's holding the small box of macaroons from Mrs.Betty. He lets Zee gently guide him to the car. He's nervous by all the shouting.
When they reach the car he quickly gets in. Shortly after Nat and Zee get in as well. He sets the small box on his lap. He then wipes away the dry tears. When they start to drive away from the court house he pulls out his phone. When he opens instagram he sees that his follower count has reached 50,000 followers. Which shocks him. " Have any of you guys checked your followers on instagram " he asked quietly. " I'll check right now " Nat says as he grabs his phone and opens instagram. Shorty after Nat quietly says " Holy shit ". Nat shows him his phone. Nat has almost as many followers as him. He turns his phone to Nat showing his followers. " There's a lot more people following the case then I originally thought there was " he says quietly. Zee then grabs his phone to look. " You have 50,000 followers " Zee says a little loudly. I have a photo of our group from the trip on my instagram and I tagged everyone. You guys should check your instagram as well " he says as he takes his phone back from Zee. He then takes a screenshot of his follower count before sending it to their group chat saying " Check your follower count on instagram. Mine went up a lot and I also have a group photo of us where I tagged everyone in it ". It doesn't take long for everyone to send screenshots of their follower count. They're all around the same number. " This is crazy " he whispers. " It's crazy but those are people who support you NuNew ". He looks at Nat. " They support everyone in our group " he says looking back down at his phone. " The case is getting worldwide attention. I have several new stations all around the world wanting to do interviews. Kazz magazine even what's everyone in your group to come and do interviews and a photo shoot " Max's father says. " Kazz Magazine? Isn't that for celebrities " Nat asked. " You all are essentially celebrities right now. Your case has sparked a movement in the lgbtq community. It has also sparked an anti bullying campaign " Max's father says. It's quiet for a while before he says " Maybe doing more than one interview would be helpful " he says. He can't tell everyone's confused by what he said.
" What if we use this chance as a way to help other people. There's several people out there that go through similar things or that get bullied. When I was getting bullied and beat up I felt alone and like no one could understand what it feels like. If I speak out against bullying then I can help people who felt the way I did " he says. " If you do that you do know that people will want you to talk about your past and some sensitive topics that might make you uncomfortable " Max said. He nods his head. " I think I would be ok talking about it, if it meant that I can at least comfort one person who is in a similar situation as I was ". He says while looking at his phone thinking. " I will help you in any way I can " Zee says. Nat and Max say the same thing. Not to long after they pull up to his house. When they do their are guards creating a pathway. Behind them are people creating another boarder. To make sure people don't get through to them. " Are they " is all he can say. " I think they are trying to help you feel more safe ". When they all get out of the car you can see the people behind the guards tighten their hold on each other. Although he's still nervous because of them he really appreciates them doing that.
As he walks to his house he just looks around at everyone in awe. When they get to the door there are flowers with a stack of letters in front of the door. He hands Zee the box of macaroons before picking up the flowers and letters. When he does he hears someone shout " Stay strong NuNew! We are here to support you ". Then a lot of people start to shout to stay strong. He makes eye contact with Nat. Both of them are shocked. Before he could react they are ushered into the house. The door closing behind him.
He's unable to process what just happened. He just looks down and the flowers and letters. " What just happened " he says quietly. " People want you to stay strong and keep fighting " Max's father say's. He just nods before walking over to the kitchen table and setting the flowers and letters down. He starts to count the number of letters. 1,2,3,4,5 . He counts 23 letters. He takes out his phone and takes a picture of them. " Do you want a photo holding them " Nat asked. " Would that be a good idea? I was just going to post a photo of them " he asked quietly. He looks towards Max's father. As if asking him what to do. " You can do what you want to do " Max's father says. He looks at Nat. " I think it would be good to take a photo of me with it. Especially since it will show that I'm actually grateful for them ". Nat smiles before bringing him to the other side of the table and having him sit down in one of the chairs. He then takes the flowers and sets them on one side of him while the letters are on the other side. He laughs as he watches Nat set everything up. His mood becoming a lot better. " Are you a professional at this " he asked Nat. Once Nat is done setting everything up he walks over to him. " Have you seen the photos I take of people? Of course I'm a professional " Nat says causing everyone to laugh. He smiles as Nat fixes his hair. " Apparently you are a stylist as well " Max says. Nat just shrugs before walking over to the other side of the table and sitting down. " Hand me your phone please " Nat asked. He slides his phone over to Nat. Nat then tells him to cross his arms on the table and smile. So he does what he's told to do. This happens a couple of times. Every time Nat has him change his pose. Once Nat is satisfied he passes his phone back to him before walking over to him. Nat sits down right next to him. Just then Zee sends him a couple of photos that show Nat and him taking the photos. He smiles shaking his head while laughing. " Hey you secretly took photos of us " Nat says which makes everyone laugh. He then looks at the photos Nat took. " These are all really good Nat. I like this photo the best " he says as he clicks on the photo. It's him with his hands together and giving the camera a wai. " I like it as well. It shows you that you are really thankful for the letters and flowers " he smiles. Just then the rest of their friends come inside of the house. When the door closes he hears Tommy say " Did you guys see the people creating another boarder for us to walk ". They all see him and Nat sitting with the flowers and letters. " Did they give you those " James asked. He just nods before going back on his phone and making the instagram post. He clicks the photo of him as well as the photo he first took. For the caption he writes " The support of everyone is what keeps me going. It gives strength to fight to win this case. Thank you for all of your support. I am incredibly grateful and shocked to have so many people supporting not just me but my friends as well. Thank you ". He shows it to Nat to ask for his opinion. Nat takes his phone and adds the hashtags #CwrNew , #StandUpAgainstBullies and #StayStrong to the post. He smiles. " Thank you Nat " he says as he posts it on instagram. He then shuts off his phone before grabbing the first letter. He takes a deep breath before opening it. Inside the envelope there is a letter as well as a necklace that has a rainbow circle attached to the chain. He smiles at the necklace before setting it down on the table. He then opens the letter and reads it out loud. " Dear NuNew, I wanted to write you a letter as soon as I saw your post. I wanted to let you know how strong you are. I have been subscribed to your YouTube channel since you were just starting to do covers. I had no idea what you were going through at that time. When I saw the video and that it was you I felt so sorry that you had to go through that. At the same time I realized that you made those covers as a way to escape for a little while. It made me think about how I used music such as your covers as an escape from life. So I want you to know that you are not alone when it comes to using music as an escape. Stay strong NuNew. Inside I gave you a rainbow necklace. I hope you like the gift ". He sets the letter down after reading it. He can feel himself wanting to cry. " Are you ok NuNew " he hears Jimmy ask. He nods his head and smiles before he grabs the next envelope. It's the biggest one in the pile. When he opens it he sees that there's a letter for everyone as well as a rubber lgbtq bracelet for them all. He smiles as he takes all the letters out. " Come sit down guys. There's letters for you as well as bracelets ". While everyone sits down he hands Nat his letter and a bracelet. He then passes out the letters and bracelets. They all read their letters silently so he does the same. This time the letter says " Dear NuNew, my name is Earth. I am a couple years younger then you and have gone through something similar. At the school I first went to I was severely bullied as well when they found out I was gay. I was constantly shoved and kicked. Even tripped. This all happened in my freshman year of high school. Towards the end of the school year someone shoved me so hard that I ended up breaking my leg. My parents ended up transferring me to a different school the next year. I now have a lot of friends but I was still so scared to tell them my sexuality or have them find out. When I saw your post on instagram and how it was so similar to my own story. I got the courage to tell my friends about my sexuality. When I did I was a crying mess but they comforted me and told me that it wasn't a weird or bad thing. Thanks to you and how you found friends that accepted you I got the courage to come out. I am even out to my parents. I am forever thankful to you and will support you in your fight against those who hurt you. Stay strong NuNew ". He sets the letter down and covers his mouth as he starts to cry. He looks up and notices that the others are either in tears or holding back their tears. He looks up towards Max's dad. " What I said in the car. I want to do it. How to I go about doing the interviews " he says. " I will talk with you after the case finishes about the interviews ". He nods before looking back down at the letter he just read. " This persons story is so similar to mine. They said that we all gave him the courage to come out to his friends and family ". As he finishes talking his parents come through the door and walk over to them. When they notice all of them crying they quickly ask what's wrong. He smiles at his parents and says " These are happy tears. I'm reading letters people sent to me ". He shows his parents the letter he just read. " This one is from someone who went through something similar to me. He said that me and everyone else gave him courage to come out to his friends at his new school. Even coming out to his parents ". His mother smiles before sitting down at the table next to him. His father and Max's father sit down at the table as well. He picks up the next envelope and opens it. Inside there is one letter.
" This is sent to all of us " he says before reading " I wanted to send this letter to you as a parent of a daughter who was severely bullied by kids at her school. My daughter had a large burn scar on her right arm from when she was little. They bullied her so much because of it. I tried everything to make her happy but she was just to sad because of the bullying ". He stops reading for a second. He looks at his mother before grabbing on to her hand. He then takes a shaky breath before continuing. " My daughter eventually lost her battle with her depression. She fought so hard for many years but the bullying got to be to much for her. I hope that all of you will stay strong and help each other when they need it. I want to tell NuNew to stay strong and no matter what to keep fighting. My daughter would be so happy to see that someone who has large scars just like her openly post them on social media. She would be so proud of NuNew knowing how it feels to get bullied by others. She would want him to be open about his story and to get help if he needs it. She would want to thank all of his friends for helping him get over his trauma and for being patient with him on days that are hard for him. She would want to thank his boyfriend for loving him even with all his trauma. For showing him that he is not what others call him. That he is worthy of love. Thank you all for fighting against the bullies. Stay strong during the case. Thousands of people are supporting you all ". He sets the letter down. He looks at his and his mothers hands. " This makes me think of myself and how I felt in one of the journals Mrs.T read " he says quietly. " Did you ever think you weren't worthy of love " his father asked him. It's silent for a while before he finally talks. " Everyone in the school would tell me how unlovable I am. That I'm a waste of a human being. It's hard not to believe those things when they are constantly told to you. It's the same about being unworthy of love. Every single day Nate would tell me I was unworthy of love because of how disgusting I was and how anyone who loved me will get hurt because of me. I remember that when Nate started to threaten my parents I got so scared and started to wish they would stop loving me because I thought he was going to kill them ". It's silent for a while before Zee says " You still feel that way don't you ". He takes a shaky breath and quietly says " Not as much as I did in the past ". It's quiet for a while so before anyone could say anything else he says. " I've had a really stressful and exhausting day today so I'm going to go to my room. And before anyone asks I am ok ". He then picks up the necklace and bracelet gifted to him by people who sent him the letters. After that he walks to his room. He needs to pick an outfit tomorrow. So he walks straight to his closet, opening it. He then grabs a short sleeved shirt that's a pastel pink color. He then grabs a pair of black jeans that have rips in them. He goes to put them on the desk. As he sets his clothes down Zee comes into the room. " NuNew, come eat dinner with everyone " he says gently. He just shakes his head. " I'm not hungry " he says as he goes back to the closet grabbing a pair of pajamas. " I know that's a lie. You just don't want to be out there after the last conversation ". He closes the closet. " You're right. I don't want to be in a room filled with people who will ask me why I feel unworthy of love or will make me open up about other things that I don't want to. So please do not make me go out there " he says turning to look at Zee. Zee just nods his head. " I'll be right back " Zee says as he left the room. He just walks in to the bathroom and closes the door. He changes into his pajamas that are a black short sleeved shirt and black shorts. Once he's done changing into his pajama he goes back into his room. He walks over to his bed and sits down.
He slowly looks down at his arms. He decides to take off the bandaging on his wrist.
As he's almost done taking the second one. Zee comes back into the room with the box of macaroons Mrs.Betty gave him. " Why are you taking the bandages off " Zee asked. It's bothering me and I just don't want them on any longer " he says as he watches Zee shut the door before putting the macaroons on his desk. " How are your arms feeling? Do you want me to get you some pain medicine at all " Zee asked.
" I'm fine Hia, really " he says as Zee sits down on the bed next to him. " I just want to make sure you're ok " Zee says as he pulls him into his chest. " I love you " Zee says. He looks up at Zee. Making eye contact with him. He then raises his hand and gently caresses his cheek. " I want you to know. That I love you so much " he quietly says as his face becomes a light shade of red. Zee smiles gently at him before he leans down and kisses his forehead. Zee then kisses his nose before he kisses him on the lips. It's a short and quick kiss but that's all he needs to be happy. He then pulls out his phone contemplating if they should say that Zee is his boyfriend. " What's bothering you baby " Zee says. He leans closer into Zee's chest. " I'm thinking about telling people about us. How would everyone react. What would they do ". Zee starts to gently play with his hair. He smiles at the comforting feeling. " We can never know how people would react or what they would do. If you want we can take a photo of us holding each other's hands and post it. The photo can just be of our hands " Zee says. He thinks for a little bit before he nods his head. He grabs ahold of Zee's hand, interlocking their fingers. He then takes a photo of their hands. When he looks at the photo he smiles. " I really like this photo " he says. Zee kisses him on the forehead. " Make sure to send that photo to me ok baby ". He nods before turning to look at him. " You have been calling me baby a lot more recently " he says. " Do you not like it " Zee asked. He quickly shakes his head no. " I really like it. It makes me feel special " he says as a light shade of red covers his face. Zee smiles and says. " Good because you are special to me " Zee then quickly kisses him on the lips making him laugh. He then looks down at his phone and opens instagram. He clicks on the photo of their hands before writing " Love is never wrong #LoveisLove #Lgbtq+ #Love " as the caption. He then takes a shaky breath before he posted it on instagram. He looks back at Zee and makes eye contact with him. Zee gives him a gentle smile. " We're going to be ok " Zee says. He nods starting to read the comments that are appearing. Several people are speculating who his boyfriend might be. Most of them are thinking that it's Nat. Making him laugh a little bit. Zee takes his phone and looks at the comments. " Why are they almost all saying it's Nat. No way in hell would he get to date you. You're mine and only mine " Zee says making him laugh. Zee raises his eyebrows. " oh you think this is funny " Zee asked. He nods as he stands up. " I mean me and Nat are pretty close. I can see why it seems like we could be boyfriends " he says with a smirk teasing Zee. Who looks at him in disbelief before pointing at him. He quickly leaves the room and runs over to Nat. Getting everyone's attention." Nat quickly hug me " he whispers to Nat so only he can hear. Nat immediately does it. Zee walks over to them. " Max get your boyfriends hands off my boyfriend right now " Zee says. He whispers that he posted a picture of his and Zee's hand and everyone's thinking that he's holding his hand and they think he's dating him. Nat laughs while Zee shows Max the comments. Max starts to become jealous as well. " Why do they all think that you're dating each other! They think that based off of him holding Zee's hand " Max says jealous. Everyone else starts to laugh. He notices that James starts to record them. So he smirks." I mean we are really close to each other ". Nat looks at him and he can see that Nat is asking permission to kiss his cheek so he nods his head slightly so only he can see. He turns to look at Max and Zee. " We are so close that we can do this " Nat says before kissing his cheek. Max and Zee look at them dumbfounded. He just smirks before kissing Nat on his cheek. " We are super close " he says. " I've never seen you guys do that before " Max says. Zee agreeing with him. " I've seen them do it a couple of times. They usually do it when they have deep talks in order to cheer each other up " Net says. Joining in on the teasing. " You guys are the only ones who haven't noticed it until now " Tommy says. " I've also seen it " his mother says. They successfully make them believe that it's something they do a lot. Nat kisses him on the cheek again. He then kisses Nat's cheek again. Zee and Max start to walk over to them. He grabs Nat's hand quickly before running to his room. He closes the door once they are inside his room. Locking it before Max and Zee can get it. Nat gives him a high-five. They start to laugh when they hear knocking on the door. He then gets an idea. " Nat I love you "
he says loudly. Nat instantly replies with " I love to to NuNew. The Jelly gang love each other so much ". Him and Nat make eye contact trying to hold in their laughter. They then hear his door being unlocked and as if thinking the same thing they back to the corner and hold on to each other tightly. He presses his cheek against Nat. When Max and Zee come into the room he sees James following them. Still recording the video. Max and Zee walk over to them and try to pull them apart. " Don't force me away from Jelly! I love him " Nat says. " Yeah don't separate me and Jellies! We love each other " he says. They start to laugh when Zee and Max successfully pull them apart. They quickly grab each other's hands tightly. Max starts to tickle Nat. " Oh no Jelly stay strong! Fight " he says. Eventually Nat accidentally lets go laughing. Zee pulls him into his chest. He starts to laugh as well. " You guys are so possessive over them " James says laughing. " Exactly that's why I started teasing Hia and then got Nat's help. Which also made P'Max jealous ". James stops recording them. " I'll leave you two couples alone " James says. As James is walking away he loudly says " Yeah go see your boyfriend P'James ". James just turns around and glared at him. " Ooo someone has a crush " Nat teases. James quickly left the room. Shutting the door behind him. He makes eye contact with Nat but before he can try and tell Nat something, Max covers his eyes. " Hey that's not fair! " both him and Nat shout at the same time. Zee says in a possessive voice " Oh I think it's fair after you guys were flirting with each other just to make us jealous ". When he tries to get out of Zee's grasp Zee tightens his hold. " It's not our fault that everyone thinks me and NuNew are dating " Nat says. " You guys are to close to each other that's why they think that " Max says. " Well maybe you should try harder to look close to us then. If you did that then this wouldn't have happened " he says. " I agree! Me and NuNew are always hugging and holding each other's hands in public. The most you guys do is hold our hands or wrap your arms around our backs " Nat says agreeing with him. " So the both of you want us to give you more affection then " Max says in a teasing voice as he lowers his hand from Nat's eyes. " No! " both him and Nat say loudly as they start to blush. Both Max and Zee laugh before Max takes Nat out of his room. He makes eye contact and mouths for him to talk with him tomorrow. Nat nods before he's dragged into the hallway by Max. Who closes the door behind them. He just starts to awkwardly laugh before saying " I love you Hia " quietly becoming a little nervous. " Oh do you now? Cause I thought you loved Nat instead " Zee says with a low voice into his ear. Making him flustered. " I l-love everyone " he says stuttering. " Am I the same as everyone else " Zee asked in a low tone. Once again whispering into his ear. He can feel Zee's breath on his skin. " N-no. I love Hia more ". He hears Zee laughing in a low voice before he turns him around. Making him face him. He can feel his heart skip a couple beats as he looks at Zee. When he feels Zee's grip on him loosen he quickly backs up. Zee just slowly makes his way over to him. When he goes to walk away again he falls into the bed. His eyes widen as his face turns red. Zee laughs. " Cute " is all he says. " H-Hia don't tease me " he says stuttering. Zee sits down on the bed before pulling him on to his lap. He lets out a small yelp in surprise. He immediately grabs on to Zee's shoulders. He bites his lip. He watches as Zee's eyes scan his face before looking at his lips. He stops biting his lip and almost immediately Zee starts to kiss him. Biting his bottom lip every so often. He can feel the hunger Zee has for him and it starts to drive him crazy. So he starts to kiss him back. Zee pulls him closer. He wraps his arms around Zee. When Zee bites down hard on his bottom lip he lets out a gasp. He then feels Zee start to use his tongue when kissing him and it makes him feverish. He's never kissed anyone like this before.
When he starts to run out of breath Zee pulls away. He thinks that is the end of the kiss but it wasn't. Zee almost immediately starts to kiss his neck. He gasps at the feeling. He loves the feeling but he knows that if they continue Zee will give him a hickey like before. So he says " H-hai ". In a quiet voice. Zee immediately stops. " you'll give me a hickey again if we don't stop. The media will see " he says trying to catch his breath. Zee just chuckles. " Did you learn your lesson " is all Zee responds with. Flustered he nods his head. " I won't purposefully make you jealous again " he says quietly. Zee just laughs before having him get off his lap and lay down in the bed. When Zee gets up to turn off the light so they can get some sleep. He quietly says " Mr.Possessive ". When the lights off Zee comes back to the bed. " Mr. what " Zee asked in a teasing tone. Zee's clearly herd what he said.
" N-nothing " he stutters quietly. Zee just laughs as he lays down in bed next to him. Zee then pulls him closer to his chest. " Lets get some sleep NuNew. Tomorrow the testimonies will start ". He wraps his arm around Zee and says " I love you ". Zee responds with " I love you to baby ". Shortly after they fall asleep. And for once NuNew had a good dream. One where everyone was eating at a restaurant and laughing together.

Word Count: 5043

This chapter has all three flavors. Salty, Sweet and Spicy