Coming Of Age - Lams Middle School AU

Chapter 3

⚠️TRIGGER WARNING: CHILD ABUSE AND USE OF GAY SLURS⚠️

Alex's POV
The next day was as boring as the third day of school could get. He went to homeroom with Washington, art with Adams (in which he and his friends continuously made subtle fat jokes), he had English with The King, and then lunch. His favorite subject. He sat down at a table with Eliza, Angie, their younger sister Peggy, Mulligan, Laf, and John. As Alex ate his ham and cheese sandwich, he noticed John staring at him.

"Um... Hi?" Alex cocked his head as he spoke, wondering why John was always looking at him.

"Oh! Hi Alex." Laurens giggled as he spoke. He seemed particularly giddy today. Thomas walked by. He rolled his eyes at John.

⚠️"Look at those faggots, James." He snarled and tapped Madison on the chest. Madison blew his nose into a tissue as a response. Then Thomas walked away.

"Uh.. Okay? Is that an insult?" Alex laughed. John have an uncomfortable chuckle. Then he suddenly beamed again. ⚠️

"Hey Alex! Uh, Wanna sleepover MY house tonight?" He asked with great energy. Alex nodded and they planned the details.

John's POV
That day, John came home and told his dad that his friend Alex was coming to sleepover. John could hardly contain his excitement. They could cuddle all night.

"Dad, Alex is gonna sleepover tonight, okay?" He asked his father. Mr. Laurens came downstairs. He rolled his eyes at his gay child.

⚠️"No, Jack. No sleepovers with boys. They'll only make you have faggot thoughts." He spat out the word faggot.

"But dad, Alex is my best friend.." John said quietly. He hated being called Jack. "Also... My name is John."

"I said no." He slammed John against a wall. "And what does no mean?" He asked, his hand squeezing John's neck. This pressure was keeping him above the ground against the wall.

"N- no." He squeaked, barely able to breathe. John was used to this.

"Jesus hates you, fucking bastard." He growled, letting John slump to the floor. Just then, Alex walked through the door.⚠️

"John?" He called. Then he saw John on the ground. And his father, face red. Alex was a smart kid. He'd been reading a book called common sense and it was ways to know things using logic. "Mr. Laurens.. did you hurt John??" He asked, astonished. Why would he do that to poor sweet John?

"No! He's sick. Go home, Alexander." He said into Alex's face. Alex nodded, scared of the man. He scurried out the door and into his cousins car.

Peggy's POV
There she was. Being the sneakiest spy she could be, she had seen what John's dad did. She began to cry. Why would somebody do that to her best friends. As Alex walked out of the house, he turned and saw her. Concerned about the tears streaming down her face, he walked over. "Pegs? What happened?" He asked. He looked genuinely curious and his brown eyes gleamed with confusion.

"I- It's John's d- daddy! He made him pass out. He hit him and said MEAN things and.. and.. oh Alex!" She flung her arms around him, sobbing loudly and choking on tears. Alex, shocked, stood there. He pat her curly brown hair.

"I- It's Okay Peggy. We'll figure this out. And John will be okay I- I promise." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, rather than poor fifth grade Peggy. "I promise." He repeated. "Peggy, I think you should get home to Angie and Eliza. They're probably worried. Where'd you even learn spy skills?" Alex questioned, giving a slight chuckle.

"Hercules taught me! He said I could use it to spy on Angie. I don't know why I'd do that though. I think he wants to. He has a big-" she wiggled her eyebrows, "crush." Alex burst out laughing. He would definitely take note and tease his friend about this.

John's POV
At 11:30 that night, John woke up in a hospital bed. He looked around. "What the hell," he mumbled. Then a nurse walked in. "Jonathan Laurens? We have news. Your father has been sent to jail for child abuse and rape. Thank heavens your friend Alexander called us. You may not have made it. Be sure give Margarita credit as well. She did the spy work." The nurse said with a laugh. Margarita? Oh right. Peggy, he thought. "And Jonathan? We need you to testify in court next Tuesday."