The Last Chance Book 2

Chapter 23

TW: Truma, Injuries, Ptsd

Nat looks over to him nervously. " Do you want me to say it or do you want to " he asked Nat quietly. " C-can you " Nat stutters. He gives Nat a gentle smile before turning to look at everyone. " On the way back to the house we had a long talk. I asked if Nat was ok. He grabbed my hand and said that we will get over what Nate said soon. At first I didn't really notice anything wrong. I had agreed with what he said and talked to P'Max for a second. When I went to go pull my hand away from Nat he stopped me. When I looked at him I could see that he had cried. I then saw the same look that I see in myself when I look into the mirror " he says. " What do you mean " Jimmy asked. He takes a deep breath and says " He has the same look that someone with ptsd has. I could see the pain and anxiety in his eyes ". He can feel Nat's hand start to shake a little. He turns to Nat. " It's ok. Don't worry " he whispers to reassure Nat while gently squeezing his hand. " Why did you not tell us that it effected you as much as it did Nat. We would have helped you. You do know that right " James said. " I felt like NuNew needed more help then me. I thought that his ptsd was worse " Nat says quietly. " Dear let me tell you the same thing I had told NuNew. If you have PTSD, it is not a sign of weakness, it is proof of your strength, because you have survived. You have survived something that caused you so much pain. You are strong. Not weak " Mrs.Betty said. He can hear Nat start to cry. He lets go of his hand as Max pulls him into a hug. " I told him that he should let himself cry if he needs to. To let himself get upset on days that it's hard. And that he should tell others when he's having a bad day because of it " he says. " You know what we should do. We never did this with NuNew. The both of you should tell us certain things that make your anxiety rise. So we can help you guys not have to much
anxiety " Tommy asked. He thinks for a little bit. He's never really thought about what specifically could make his anxiety rise. " I think NuNew could agree with these two but when people raise their voices or hold us down in one spot " Nat says quietly. He nods his head. " Yeah I do agree with those. Also violence. Like seeing people physically fighting with each other would make my anxiety rise " he says. " I agree with that one as well ". He thinks for a bit more before saying " If I'm already really nervous and don't want to let go of someone or something or don't want people to come near me then please don't force me to ". Everyone nods. " Thank you both for telling us. We will keep that in mind " his mother says. He watches as Mrs.Betty pulls out two crystal bracelets from her purse. " Both of you come here please " Mrs.Betty says. So they get up and walk over to her. She puts one bracelet on his left wrist before putting the other one on Nat's left wrist. " These bracelets are made from Howlite crystals. Howlite is a crystal that will help balance your emotions and reduce your stress. It can also help you have peaceful dreams " she says the last part while looking at him. " Since the start of the trial I could tell that the two of you were deeply hurt by the incident. That's why I wanted to give the both of you these bracelets. I want the both of you to wear these bracelets as well as to help each other. Because you both have this ptsd you can understand each other the most. So be there for each other " she says. Both him and Nat smile. " Thank you Mrs.Betty. It means a lot " Nat says. She pats him lightly on the arm. She turns to Zee and Max and says " You both need to take care of them as well. Since you're there boyfriends ". Both Nat and him start to blush. " Wait how did you know that they were dating Mrs.Betty. No one's said that they were when you were around " he asked. " Let's just say that I wanted to know what the two of you were teasing Max and Zee about. So your friend James showed me the video " she says making both him and Nat laugh. " That video is funny because both P'Max and P'Zee are possessive " Nat says. He nods his head agreeing with him.
" They have to be when the two of you are so naughty. Especially when you are together " Mrs.Betty says making them laugh. " You mean like this " he says before kissing Nat on the cheek. Nat kisses him on the cheek quickly as well before pulling him towards his room. They then lock the door. He pulls out his phone and starts recording. Nat sees him recording and laughs. POV you are NuNew and Nat after making their possessive boyfriends jealous by kissing your best friend on the cheek " Nat says quickly. " Don't forget how your best friend also kissed you on the cheek to make his boyfriend jealous " he says laughing as the door handle starts to move. Meaning they are at the door. He pulls Nat to his bed and they sit against the wall laughing. " Quickly hold on tight or they'll just rip us apart again " Nat says quickly while laughing. So they quickly intertwine their legs while Nat wraps his arms around his waist. Holding on tight. When he hears them unlocking the door he says " They're here " laughing. Shortly after the door unlocks and they are met with a jealous Zee and Max. " Did you guys not learn your lesson last time. You guys are to naughty " Max says. Zee nods his head before saying " Are you recording NuNew ". He shakes his head. " I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just taking photos with Nat " he says shrugging his shoulders. " Yeah. Just because the cameras pointing towards you that doesn't mean it's filming you " Nat says. Just then James enters the room and starts recording them. He smirks before quickly kissing Nat on the cheek. " You! " Zee shouts pointing at him. " Best friends can do this Hia " he says right before Nat kisses him on the cheek. They both stick their tongues out at Max and Zee.
Zee walks over to them and grabs the phone. Turning it around. " You guys were recording us. You even lied to us " Zee says. " Oops must have accidentally hit the record button. My bad " he says sarcastically. Zee tries to pull him away from Nat but he wraps his arms around Nat now that he's not holding his phone. " Don't separate the jelly gang " Nat says. Max comes over to try and help Zee. " Is this because we didn't give you enough attention like you guys said
yesterday " Max asked. " No " both of them shout at the same time. " We never even said that! We just said that we were more affectionate with each other " he says while trying to hold on to Nat tightly. Max and Zee both start to try and get him away from Nat. " Jelly stay strong!! Keep holding on tightly " Nat says. " I'm trying jellies! But I'm not to strong " he says back. Just then he feels Zee kiss his neck causing him to loosen his grip slightly. Allowing for Zee and Max to pull him away from Nat. Zee holds him over his shoulder. " That isn't fair Hia!! You cheated " he shouts. Max grabs on to Nat and puts him over his shoulder. He tries to reach for Nat and grab his hands. However right before he could Max moves back. " Not so fast NuNew. I saw you trying to reach for Nat's hand ". He pouts. " James is recording. We will post this if you don't set us on the floor " Nat says. " Ok. We will " they both say before lowering them to the ground. They quickly grab ahold of them though. " I'll pay you $20 if you leave James " Zee tells him. " Deal " James says before stoping the video and heading out of the room. " Traitor " both Nat and him shout. James just closes the door. " So what about the photo " Nat says quickly. " Yeah the one about revealing that Nat is dating P'Max and I'm dating Hia " he says  quickly. " Trying to change the subject " Zee says. " Me and NuNew just wanted to get you both in his room so we can take the photos for the post on instagram ". He nods " Yeah. We couldn't come up with anything other then this " he says. " You guys could have just asked us " Max says. " In front of everyone. What would we say " Nat says. " P'Max and Hia come to my room with Nat so we can take boyfriend photos together for the whole world to see? How could we say something like that. Do you know how embarrassing that is " he says. Adding on to what Nat had said. " Fine but don't do this again " Zee says letting go of him. Max also lets go of Nat. " What are we even going to do in the photos? We never actually discussed it that much " he says. " What if we all take a photo together and use the same caption to post it on our accounts. Then you and P'Zee can take a couple photo while me and P'Max can take a couple photo " Nat says. He nods. " What about the poses " Zee says. " We need them to look like we are couples " Max says. " What if we take a photo where P'Max kisses me on the cheek and P'Zee kisses NuNew on the cheek " Nat says excitedly. He smiles and says " That would be cute ". Both Zee and Max nod. " Let's do that then " Nat says as he finds a place to set his phone up. Once he does Nat moves him and Zee farther back as well as Max. He then walks back to the phone. " Ready " Nat asked. They all nod so he pushes the timer and runs back to Max. They then get into the pose and wait for 5 seconds before the sound of the camera clicking. Once the photo is over him and Nat both quickly head to Nat's phone. When Nat grabs it and looks at the photo he gets excited. Nat then shows him and he smiles. The photo shows both him and Nat laughing while Max and Zee kiss them on the cheek. " It turned out so good Nat " he says loudly. " P'Max and P'Zee come look " Nat says excitedly. So they both come over quickly. When Max and Zee look at the photo they both smile. Nat then quickly sends the three of them the photo. " On to solo couple poses " Nat says as he looks towards him. " You go first. I'll take the photo for you both " he says to Max and Nat as he grabs Nat's phone from him.
Nat and Max walk towards the other side of his room. They discuss for a bit before Nat turns to him " Ok we know what we want to do. Take the photos when you see us in the pose " Nat tells him. He nods and positions the camera towards them. Nat jumps up and wraps his arms around Max. While Max wraps his arms around Nat and leans his face close together. Almost kissing Nat. He quickly takes a few photos of them. " Ok I've taken a few Nat " he says. Max then carefully sets Nat down. Who quickly comes over to him. He shows Nat the photos. " They're so good NuNew " he says happy as he shows Max who just smiles and says " They're great. Thank you NuNew " he nods before handing his phone over to Nat. " Can you use my phone for the photos of me and Hia " he asks. Nat nods so him and Zee walk across the room. He looks over to Zee and says " Do you have any ideas on what to do " he asked quietly. " Trust me " Zee asked quietly so he nods. He watches as Zee turns to look at Nat and says " Take the photos when we're in the pose ok Nat ". Nat nods so Zee turns to look back at him. Zee smiles as he pulls him incredibly close against his chest. Slightly lifting him off of the ground in the process. Zee wraps his arms around his lower back as he leans his face close to his. There faces are so close that their noses touch. He looks at Zee and notices that Zee is looking down at his lips. Causing a slight shade of red to spread across his cheeks. He can feel his heart beating quickly. " Ok! I took some photos " he hears Nat say before he feels Zee loosen the hold he has on him. He quickly gets away from Zee and heads over to Nat. He can hear Zee quietly laugh.
Nat shows him the phone and he smiles. " I love this photo so much. Thank you Nat " he says before Nat turns the phone to Zee. " They turned out perfect. Thanks Nat " Zee says. Nat smiles as he hands him his phone. " What should we put for the caption on our posts " Max asked. " I was thinking about this and I thought of ' All people should be treated equal regardless of who they are or who they love " Nat says. He smiles. " That's a good one. What about the hashtags Nat " he asked. Nat smiles and says " #LGBTQ #Relationships #MaxNat #ZeeNuNew #LoveisLove #Iloveyou ". He laughs and asks " Did you just come up with ship names for us ". Nat nods his head " Yep. I have for everyone in our group. Because even if they're stubborn they still like each other " he says. They all laugh before Zee asks " And what are the others ship names ". Nat smirks before saying " JimmyTommy and NetJames ". He laughs. " Oh by the way. Make sure you post the photo of all of us together separate from the ones of us alone " Nat says. They all nod their heads as they start to write the  post for the photo of all four of them. " Everyone done writing the caption " he asked. When they all nod he says " Ok let's post them now " he says and they all post the photo on instagram.
Just as they finish posting the photo they hear a knock at the door. " Come in " he says. When the door opens Mrs.Betty comes in. " What are the four of you doing in here alone " she asked. They all smile before he says " We we're taking pictures. We plan on making an official boyfriend type of post ". She smiles " Can I see the photos you all took ". He nods before showing the one of the four of them. " This is the main one we all took together " he then shows her the photo of him and Zee. " This is the one me and Hia took together ". Nat then shows her the photo of him and Max. " This is the one me and P'Max took together ". Mrs.Betty smiles and says " They all look so cute. I'm sure people will love them ". They all smile and thank her. " By the way Mrs.Betty was there a reason you came to the room " Zee asked. She nods and says " Yes there is. Dinner is finished. Me and NuNews mother made everyone a bowl of Kway Teow ". NuNew smiles. " The one you made the first time we had dinner together " he says excitedly. " Yes dear that one. Me and I your mother discussed what we should make for dinner and she said that you really enjoyed the Kway Teow that I made ". He smiles and nods. " Let's go then. If NuNew likes it a lot that means it must be really good! Especially if Mrs.Betty is making it " Nat says excitedly. Making Mrs.Betty and the others laugh. " Let's go then dear. So you can try some " she says before leading Nat away towards the kitchen. Max follows behind them. " I'm glad that everyone's getting along with her " he says quietly. Zee wraps his arms around him before kissing his cheek. " She's probably thinking that she's so glad you found us " Zee says quietly. He looks over his shoulder at Zee and smiles.
" Let's go Hia " he says before pulling Zee into the kitchen and to their seats. " Oh how nice of you to join us " James says teasing him and Zee. " Oh what an amazing friend you are for betraying your friends for a mere $20 " he teases back. Just then Zee hands him $20. " Ok you guys enough teasing. Let's eat dinner. It's almost 7:00 pm already " his mother says. So they all begin to eat the Kway Teow.
After dinner is done they all agree to head to bed early. Since the trial is starting at 10:00 am instead of 12:00 pm. While everyone else leaves he decides to stay behind and help Mrs.Betty wash the dishes. " How has your school been. I've herd some positive and negative things from others but never from you " She asked as she passes a bowl for him to wash the soap off of. " It's going ok. Well as good as it could be with everything. It was really hard adjusting to the new school as well as opening up to others. There has been a lot of ups and downs since I started at my new school " he says answering her honestly. " What has been the hardest part for you " she asked handing him another bowl. " Honestly it would have to be adjusting to everyone. I haven't had people my age or close to my age be nice to me at all. It's been so long. For a while it felt weird to have them acting nice to me. They have never said a single bad thing about me and they constantly encourage me " he says smiling as he takes another bowl from Mrs.Betty. " Im glad to hear that they treat you so nice. That group of yours is filled with such kind hearted people. It can be hard to get treated differently after have been treated a certain way for years. It's sad to know that you have been treated so badly in the past but I think that fate has lead you to them. Helping you overcome what's happened and helping you be a somewhat normal high school kid " she says making him smile. " The day that everything happened at the beach Nat had said something similar to that " he says as he takes another bowl. " When me and Nat were away it's because we both wanted time to hang out together. We some now got on the topic of how grateful we are to have each other. He mentioned how fate must have brought us together. He said that just like how I said I needed him to help me recover, He needed me to not worry about being lonely. He said that he would often worry about becoming lonely since all the others are seniors and graduating at the end of the year. So He doesn't have to worry with me being there ". He drys his hands as they finish cleaning the dishes. " That's great that fate brought the two of you together. I'm so grateful that you have a friend that's really close to you " She says. He nods and smiles. " Are you going to go to bed Mrs.Betty? Do you want me to show you the extra guest room " he asked. She smiled and shook her head. " Don't worry dear. I know which one is open. They showed me while you were in your room. You better head to bed so you can get plenty of rest for tomorrow " she says pulling him into a hug. " Ok Mrs.Betty. Goodnight " he says. She tells him Goodnight before he heads to his room.
Once inside the room he sees Zee picking out an outfit from his closet. July sitting right next to him. " Are you and July picking out my outfit for tomorrow " he asked smiling as he shuts the door. " Yes we are. She saw my burgundy colored hoodie and did the thing that she does when she chooses your outfit so I plan on wearing it tomorrow but I can't find something for you to match with me " Zee says. He laughs and says " Your hoodie isn't burgundy colored. It's Mahogany colored and lucky for you I do have a sweater vest that color " he says as he walks over to the closet. He opens a small box inside of the closet and pulls the vest out. " It's in a box because I haven't work it yet " he says smiling. Zee smiles as well before pulling out two white shirts. One is a long sleeved button up shirt while the other is a simple short sleeved T-shirt. Zee then places them on the floor saying " Ok July. White white shirt should NuNew wear ". He watches Zee with a smile. July picks the long sleeved button up shirt. " I thought so to " Zee says. Making him laugh. Zee puts the other shirt away while he pulls out light gray dress pants and a pair of black jeans. He sets them on the floor. July instantly walks over to the pair of light gray dress pants. " That was quick but I do agree with you " Zee says. He watches as Zee puts the jeans away and pulls out two belts. One brown and one black belt. July chooses the black belt. " Good choice yet again July " he says putting the brown belt as he closes the closet. " We have picked out your outfit baby " he says picking up the items of clothing off the ground before neatly setting them on the desk. He picks up July and walks over to Zee. " What wonderful helpers I have " he says while laughing. Zee turns around smiling. He walks over to the cat tree that's next to the desk and sets July down. She meows happily. He smiles before turning around to go grab a pair of pajamas. However when he does he sees Zee holding up a pair of shorts as well as one of his shirts. He smiles before grabbing them. " I thought you might like to wear one of my shirts since tomorrow will be another stressful day ". He smiles. " I would love to but I know that you just like to see me wear your shirts " he says teasing Zee. However he quickly regrets it when he gets pulled into his chest. " Oh no what should I do. I've been caught " Zee says as he brings his face close to his. They are in the same position as they were earlier while taking the photos. He can feel his heartbeat speed up. " Do I make you nervous by being this close " Zee asked in a low voice. He can feel Zee's breath against his face. " N-no " he stutters trying to lie. Zee laughs in a low and quiet voice. Making his heart skip a beat. " Are you lying to my baby " he says in a low voice. Making the distance between their faces even smaller. " I-I'm not " he stutters quietly before he bites his lip. Zee smirks. " You just lied to me again " Zee says as he slowly brings his hand up to his face. Zee holds on to his chin as he starts to gently trace his lips. Making him stop biting his lip, shocked by Zee's actions. Zee immediately leans in and kisses him on the lips. Biting his bottom lip and sucking on it. He wraps his arms around Zee. The kiss makes him feel week. It's a deep and passionate kiss. A kiss that's completely different to the ones Zee has previously given him, and the feeling drives him crazy. Zee pulls away just when he's about to run out of breath. He's panting heavily trying to catch his breath after the passionate kiss. Zee seems perfectly fine. When he's breathing normally he quickly says " I'm going to change into the pajamas " in a quiet voice. Before he quickly heads into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He looks into the mirror and sees that his face is bright red. He touches his lips lightly remembering the kiss. He then pulls out his phone. " I need to post the photo of me and Hia " he whispers. He clicks on the photo and pauses when he can't figure out what he wants to write as the caption. He thinks for a little while before typing " You don't fall in love with the gender. You fall in love with the person " he then adds the hashtags " #Pride #Love #lgbtq #loveislove #ZeeNuNew " before he post it on instagram. He then turns his phone off before quickly changing into the pajamas. Zee's shirt almost completely covers his shorts. He grabs his phone from the counter before going back into the room. " Hia I feel so tiny in this " he says pouting a little bit as he walks over to the bed after turning the light off. Zee just laughs before he pulls him on top of him. He gasps from the sudden movement. His face becomes red again as he realizes that he's completely on top of Zee. He tries to get off but Zee holds him still. " Give me a kiss and I'll let you go " Zee says. " Hia we just kissed " he says in a whisper. " Just a small one. For a Goodnight " Zee says. He gives in and gives Zee a quick kiss. Getting off of Zee as quick as he can. Laying on the other side of him. Zee turns to look at him. " I love you baby " Zee says quietly. " I love you to Hia " he says back to him. Zee then holds him close to his chest. Both of them quickly fall asleep. Tired from the stress of the day and from the calming presence of each other.

Word Count: 4430

Photo references of the MaxNat and ZeeNuNew photos