|Third Person|
When Alexander wakes from his restless night of sleep Monday morning he feels an awful pull behind his eyelids and pounding in his head. He grunts, seeing that he only has twenty minutes before his first class of history, taught by the one and only John Laurens. He feels a small pang of excitement when he remembers his plans of lunch with the professor. He has noticed other students checking him out, making him feel entitled as he thinks about his time spent with him. He still squeezes his eyes shut when he thinks back to the night before.
It was a night that caused him to wake multiple times from vivid nightmares that wouldn't let him scream, only lie paralyzed for a couple minutes before slipping back under. He couldn't even recall half the dreams now that it's morning. He still drags himself through his morning routine, settling on a sweatshirt that he stuffs his hands into as he walks the short distance to the lecture hall where Professor Laurens teaches. He settles into his usual seat in the back and watches without a word as John starts his lecture.
About twenty minutes into class though, he slips into sleep. John watches his head slide into his arms on the little desk that folds over from the arm rest. He can't help but think about how cute he looks- along with worrying about his well being of course. When the bell rings to signal the end of his class, he watches expectantly until Alexander seems alert enough to call out:
"Mr. Hamilton, would you come see me?" A couple of students shoot him looks, but he doesn't seem to notice. He only packs his things and walks down to John's desk, scattered with papers and office supplies. He stands with his hands jammed into his pockets, his bag hanging off his shoulders.
"You wanted to see me?" He asks when John doesn't look up immediately.
"Oh, yes." He gives Alexander a smympathetic smile that warms his chest just slightly. "Are you alright, Alex?" He asks, settling into his desk chair.
"Oh, uh, yeah I guess so." John narrows his eyes.
"Are you sure?" He asks, Alex nods for a moment before shaking his head and sighing.
"I'm sorry," he closes his eyes for a moment then opens them. "I just had a long night I guess." John nods, thinking this over.
"Maybe you should just go back to your dorm and get some sleep, we can get lunch another day."
"No," Alexander says too quickly. "I mean, I was looking forward to lunch."
"Ok," John says, a grin creeping on his face. "I guess I'll be seeing you in here around one?"
"Sounds good." A small smile ghosts on lips as he leaves for his next class.
===
When one finally arrives, John is bouncing with excitement practically. Alexander trudges into his classroom, smiling just a bit when he sees John's excited face. He frowns though when he sees how exhausted Alexander is.
"Are you sure you don't want to go back to your dorm? I can get take out and we can eat there." Alex shakes his head quickly.
"No, my ass of a roommate will be there and I don't feel like dealing with him." He sighs, feeling tired even as he thinks about it.
"What about my apartment? It's only like ten minutes away." Alexander thinks this over for a second, then nods.
"Sure." He smiles a little, feeling grateful for the refuge. They walk together out to the parking lot where John's car sits.
It's really only a eight minute trip, but Alexander goes right to sleep and the time passes in the blink of an eye. Before he knows it, John is nudging him telling him that they've arrived at his apartment complex.
Alex looks up, seeing they're parked in a well-kept lot with neat apartments lining an outdoor hallway. He watches, still slumped in his seat as John pulls out his keys from the ignition and props open his door before glancing at Alexander. "You coming?" He asks with a slight chuckle.
Alex's head snaps up, pushing himself to focus. "Oh, uh, yeah." He cracks a sheepish smile. "Sorry." He pushes himself from the car and follows his professor to his apartment. It looks just like all the others, clean, white siding and a grey welcome mat. He steps carefully on it as John switches to another key to unlock the door.
Inside is a sparsely furnished living room, the galley kitchen and small dining are off to the left. There's only a cluttered desk to break up the neatness of the place, the bedroom and bathroom tucked in the back of the place along a short hallway.
"You can sit there while I order the food. Chinese sound good?" John nods to the sofa and Alex quickly says that Chinese food is good. He sits on the couch, kicking off his shoes as he pulls his legs up criss crossed on the cushion. John smiles discreetly at him, pulling out his phone to go to the kitchen and order. Before he leaves though, he picks up the remote from the TV stand and sets it on the coffee table before Alexander. "You can turn on Netflix if you want." He offers,"I'll be right back."
Alex nods and reaches for the remote, turning on an episode of Family Guy and pulls a blanket from the back of the couch over himself as he leans forward toward the TV.
John orders the food and joins him on the couch, slinging his arms along the back of the couch. He chuckles along with Alexander at the crude humor.
By the time the food comes, Alexander is already having a hard time keeping his eyes open. He ends up eating about half of what John does. He just lies against the arm of the couch and pulls the blanket over his shoulder. He lets his eyes close for only a few moments, intending on resting his eyes until he has to go to his next class at two-thirty.
Though, when John has to leave to teach his next class, he doesn't bother waking Alexander. He just writes a quick note and leaves it on the table, and puts the rest of the take-out in the fridge. He glances at the sleeping boy on his couch, moving the blanket a little further up and smiles a little as he stirs and curls further into the couch.
He has to refrain from brushing a strand of hair from his eyes or something dumb like that. He just bites his lip and pats his shoulder lightly once before leaving him to sleep, knowing he needs it. Besides, missing a couple of classes isn't more important than his well-being.
YOU ARE READING
Quietly Noticed || Lams
Fanfic*Completed History professor, John Laurens is teaching his first year since being transfered from South Carolina. "King's College" is where he works now, much different than the small town he used to live in. He takes a liking to quite a few of the...
