In New York You Can Be a New Man

Chapter Twenty-Two

Alexander blinked like a deer in headlights, and John noticed blush crawling up Alexander's cheeks.

"Hey," John pushed the door open, to Alexander's suprise. "Alex, look. I–"

"John, no. It's my fault. I shouldn't have run off like that. I had no right to think I was any more than a friend. I get it." Alexander muttered, wrapping his arms around himself protectively. "I'll just go now."

Alexander tried to push past John.

"No, wait!" John called, instinctively grabbing Alexander's wrist.

"What, John? Gonna tell me something out of pity or charity? Well, save it. I don't need it. I know you don't want to be my friend, but can you just please leave me alone?" Alexander yelled, ripping his hand away.

"Alexander! You know that I'm sorry. Here. You've always like pamphlets. So even if you don't like me anymore, please just read it."

John held out his freshly printed, 95-page pamphlet towards Alexander.

Alexander eyed the stapled book warily, as if John was playing some sort of joke on him.

"Why would you write so much just for me to forgive you?" Alexander took the pamphlet and flipped through it, scanning the pages.

"Just read it." John muttered, turning away from Alexander and inwardly praying that Alexander would read it.

--

Alexander had been staring at the book for a long while now. It sat undisturbed on his desk as Alexander was debating whether to read it or not. He owed John as much, but his stubbornness was standing firmly in the way.

"John broke you." He reminded himself, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but John took the time to write so much. You might as well read it." The other, more forgiving side of Alexander whisphered.

Alexander sighed. He knew John was his weak point, so there was no point resisting.

He took a deep breath and flipped the first page.

--

Alexander easily fell back into his well-practiced study routine. Read the page in a minute and then flip. Take a sip of coffee and then keep going.

Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Alexander, it may be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you.

Alexander had no trouble identifying it from his private journal, and he felt his face heat up. It seemed so long ago that John had taken the book filled with his deepest feelings and fears. Alexander made sure to thank which ever God blessed him with a not-French-speaking-John.

Okay, you probably noticed I copied that line from your journal. Well, I wrote it so that I would catch your attention and so you would keep reading. Hopefully, it worked and you are reading this now.

Alexander, I'm sorry. There I said it. And I mean it with my heart. You know I would never want to hurt you. It was wrong of me to ignore your feelings and play with them.

Alexander stared at the page, his blush creeping slowly up his neck.

"Great, John knows you like him. Just great." Alexander whisphered to himself, willing his blush to go down.

The pamphlet went on and on, about how John didn't deserve a person as sweet, kind, and caring as Alexander. About the traits that Alexander thought people would find annoying but John actually found endearing.

The more Alexander read, the harder he found it to stay angry at John. It was hard to be angry at someone who kept telling you how cute you were.

When Alexander read the last page, he tossed the book to the side and leaned back in his bed. In his heart, he knew that John was forgiven, but how would Alexander tell him?

There was only one way to match the work of a pamphlet—write another one.

--

John had been rooming with Lafayette and Hercules while he awaited Alexander's responce. Lafayette and Hercules were doing everything they could to distract John–Lafayette was singing obnoxiously in French while Hercules was trying to teach John how to sew pants.

"Ya see, all you need to do is... You aren't listening, are you?" Hercules asked, setting down his half-made pants.

John shook his head sadly, muttering a soft apology.

"No like he could listen, with you singing so annoyingly in that crazy language anyways." Hercules snapped, glaring at Lafayette.

"How is this my fault? Why are you blaming me?!" Lafayette yelled, waving his hands in the air.

The bickering continued, and John let the yelling blur in his mind. Fights like these had been erupting almost daily, with no Alexander to make them see sense.

"Will you both stop?" John screamed, making both of them pause. "Why are you fighting over something as trivial as this? You're best friends. We're best friends. We shouldn't abandon eachother in times of need and stress."

John looked at his two best friends with tears in his eyes. "Look, I know Alexander's away and we all miss him. But we shouldn't be fighting and tearing apart a friendship that we've had since elementary school. I–"

There was tentative knock at the door, and the boys practically tripped over themselves to open it.

John was the first to the door, but when he opened it, Alexander wasn't standing outside. The only thing outside was a small booklet.

John's heart dropped when he noticed the uncanny resemblance between the pile of papers on the floor and the book he had given Alexander. But once he lifted it up, he noticed that this one was different.

John flipped the cover page and read the first sentence. The book was arranged in the form of letters, each one entitled to My Dearest Laurens.

Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Laurens, it may be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you. I shall only tell you that 'till you bade us Adieu, I hardly knew the value you had taught my heart to set upon you. You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent. But as you have done it and as we are generally indulgent to those we love, I shall not scruple to pardon the fraud you have committed, on condition that for my sake, if not for your own, you will always continue to merit the partiality, which you have so artfully instilled into me...

In other words, I forgive you, my dearest.

John dropped the booklet and ran over to hug Hercules and Lafayette. "It worked!"

After a few moments of hugging, he heard a soft cough from the door. John whipped his head around and saw Alexander's thin frame standing in the middle of the open door.

--

"Alexander." John whisphered Alexander's name like it was a holy prayer.

"John."

The two stared at eachother for a moment and then rushed together in a hug.

John inhaled the papery scent that seemed to follow Alexander around everywhere; it was oddly comforting.

"I've missed you so much. You have no idea." Alexander muttered into John's ear, and John felt Alexander stand on his tiptoes to wrap his arms around John's neck.

"I've missed you too, you dork."