TW: Mentions of yelling, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and rape, and kissing
Thursday: 1:18 AM
John's face twisted in confusion, and he looked at Charles with a mixture of irritation and suspicion. He furrowed his brow, his eyes narrowing like a predator assessing its prey.
"What does Lee want to do with me?"
Thomas spoke sternly with a tinge of annoyance in his voice, "Well you can tell Lee to get out of the dorm, I'm not dealing with him today."
Charles spoke barely above a whisper, his voice trembling, "He's going to laugh at me."
James got up from the couch and walked over to John, his voice quivering slightly like a delicate flower in the wind. "Charles, he's hurt and he needs your help," he implored.
John looked at James, then at Charles, then back at James. His expression softened, his eyes offering a glimmer of understanding and compassion, like a doting parent comforting a child.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice as gentle as a summer breeze.
Charles looked like he was about to cry, his eyes brimming with tears. James could sense the pain and anguish emanating from him, like a storm brewing within.
"It's nothing, really. I'm making a big thing out of a small thing. I just got into a fight," Charles whispered, his voice barely audible.
Charles got up, attempting to run away, but the pain in his foot made it hard for him to walk without crying out in agony.
So, Thomas shut the door before he could leave, the sound echoing like a thunderbolt.
Thomas let out a sigh, "I hate to say this, but you're not going anywhere until you tell us what happened," he said firmly, like a parent setting boundaries for a child.
"I just wanted to say sorry to John," Charles mumbled, avoiding John's gaze. "Sorry John," he added, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Now can I leave?" he pleaded with Thomas.
John was about to say something, but James interrupted him. "Can you help him, John? He's hurt, and he needs someone to talk to," he said, his voice as steady as a rock in a raging river.
John looked at James, then at Charles, then back at James. He smiled faintly, his eyes conveying warmth and kindness, like a beacon of hope in a sea of despair.
"Yeah, of course. Let's go talk somewhere private," John said, leading Charles away.
As the two men made it to John's room John closed the door behind him, locking it just in case Charles wanted to run out again.
John let out a sigh, "So tell me-"
"It didn't mean to, everything the bullying, the fights, and kissing your ex, I didn't, I didn't mean to, he made me," Charles confessed.
"Who made you?" John asked the anger from before melting away like an ice cube on a hot, sunny, day.
"Francis, he said if I didn't he'd out me out to everyone, tell everyone I'm a..." Tears picked up in Charles's eyes, as he stopped mid-sentence.
"He called you it?" John asked, moving closer to Charles.
"He knows that if my parents found out they'd kill me, I'd be sent away, and I have to keep up this whole, stupid, homophobic dude, act," Charles cried out, his legs giving out on him as he fell to the ground.
"So, you being cocky, arrogant, always talking about how you're better than everyone else," John questioned, getting on the floor with him.
"It was Francis telling me too," Charles nodded his head.
YOU ARE READING
-DISCONTINUED-ISH-Between the Lines, A Lams Fanfic-DISCONTINUED-ISH-
FanfictionJohn Laurens lived an uneventful life, devoid of any excitement or adventure. Though he tried to remember every detail from his high school and college days, his memories were fragmented and often failed to make sense. He was heavily reliant on his...
