What They Say (Mullette)

V

"You want me to what?" Hercules asked.

"Angelica had the idea to make jackets with pride colours on them, gay for John and I, pan for Peggy, and bi for Alexander," Lafayette replied, "also, gay flags for Angelica and Eliza, they're allies."

"First of all, you're gonna get yourself killed if you wear that," Stated Herc, "second of all, since when was Alex bi?"

"Oh you didn't know? John and him are dating now, they told us over the weekend on the group chat. Didn't I add you?"

"It must have slipped your mind," Hercules replied, "and what about Jefferson? This is crossing a dangerous line, and he doesn't have anything on you that you haven't already made public, so he's going to have his friends beat the shit out of you."

"Then so be it," Laf snarled, "I'm not afraid of him, and if he thinks he can beat the gay out of me he's wrong. I don't care what he does, I want to make a statement and I'm not letting him silence me."

"I'm not doing it. I don't want you or anyone else participating in this crazy scheme of yours to get hurt, not to mention the fact that if anyone found out I made them, I'd be killed. It's not happening," Herc replied.

"We'll pay you in advance, and nobody will know you made them. If anyone asks, we'll say we had them custom ordered online," Lafayette argued.

Hercules sighed. "Alright. I'll make them. Twenty dollars apiece," he said reluctantly. He needed the money desperately, it'd been a bad month for his dad's tailor shop. "you guys stick together when you're wearing them... I don't want anyone to get hurt, and you'll be safer in a group..."

Lafayette smiled. "Merci, Hercules, thank you so much!" He exclaimed, kissing him on each cheek. Hercules blushed, still not used to him doing that, even though he knew that it was normal in France. As Lafayette left, Hercules put a hand on his cheek, smiling. Then he shook his head. What was he doing? He sat down at his desk, starting some simple sketches for the jackets and going to the website where he ordered all his fabric. It would only take two days to get all the fabric there, so he needed measurements fast.

A week later, Hercules showed up at Lafayette's house and was surprised when Angelica opened the door. "Hercules, hey!" She said happily. "Laf! It's Herc!" She yelled.

"Let him in!" Replied Lafayette. Angelica stepped aside, revealing that the furniture in the living room had been shoved aside and multiple air mattresses had taken their place. Sitting there were Lafayette, Alex, John, Peggy, and Eliza.

"Please tell me you brought movies," said Peggy, "Laf has great taste in movies, don't get me wrong, but they're all in French and I'm not exactly the fastest reader."

Hercules laughed. "Nope, just jackets."

Everyone lit up, rushing towards Herc, who led them back to his place and up to the attic, where each jacket was on a mannequin. "These are amazing! I didn't know you could sew," Angelica stated, pulling on the jacket.

"Heh, thanks. It's not something I like to share," he explained, "just stay together tomorrow, okay? I don't want anyone getting hurt..."

Lafayette smiled. "Don't worry about us, Hercules. We'll be okay," he said, putting a hand on his arm.

---

The next day was nerve wracking. Every now and then as he was making his way to class, Hercules would see the brightly coloured jackets worn by his friends through the crowds. They were hard to miss, and they traveled around in a big group like he'd told them to, but he knew that eventually one of them could get split up from the rest of the group and he was terrified of what might happen if they did.