I'm Crossing The Ocean || Mullette

Chapter Two: Quite Possibly A Terrible Decision

|Third Person|

It's nearly one in the morning, and Lafayette was still awake. He lies flat on his back, the heavy duvet sitting atop his chest as he stares blankly at the ceiling. His eyes play tricks on him in the pitch black of the room, sending shapes and shadows over the plain surface as he tries to find some substance in the texture. 

Dinner was rather pleasant that evening. They made spaghetti, one of Lafayette's favorite dishes. His grandmother loved to cook the classics, and he loved to eat them. Eleanor and Anna made for nice enough company, making small talk with him about France and the whatever odd topic that came up. John on the other hand, spent nearly the entire meal with his phone glued to his hand. His mother, of course, took it upon herself to lecture her son and have him promise to try to be more inviting of their guest. John Laurens had grumbled something along the lines of I will, don't worry. 

Lafayette had holed himself up in his room after dinner though, missing out on John's conversation with his mother. He made himself finish unpacking, then started to set up the laptop that had arrived earlier in the day. Around nine he had gotten ready for bed, but as soon as he had layed down he was wide awake... 

And that brings us to the present. 

The French boy was silently wishing for something to do while he tried to convince himself to sleep. It was Sunday after all, he'd have to go to school tomorrow- or today, depending on how you looked at it. His gaze wanders to his desk, and more specifically the backpack leaning on the side of it. He was beyond nervous about having to attend a new school. 

Of course Anna had told him John would be there to help him through his first couple of days, but after how cold he had been acting towards Lafayette, he wasn't so sure. Worst case scenarios ran through his mind. Getting lost, losing his schedule, embarrassing himself. All of them instilled a weight in his stomach, making him feel sick as he tried to close his eyes and fall asleep again- and ultimately failing. 

A faint creak pulled him from his thoughts. He tilted his head to the left, momentarily forgetting his worries of judgemental high school kids. A silhouette of a thin boy in a far too large hoodie stood in the doorway of the bathroom. Lafayette squinted a little, unsure of why John Laurens would be coming into his room in the middle of the night. 

"Laf?" The boy hisses, leaning into the room. He sees Lafayette shift in his bed, feeling a small sense of joy. He really didn't feel like having to manually wake him up. "You awake?" 

"Oui." He rolls onto his side, propping himself up. "What do you need?" 

"C'mon, I have some people who want to meet you." John walks over to Lafayette's window. He peers out, then slowly edges the thing open. 

"Where are we going, mon ami?" Lafayette asks as he climbs out from under the warm covers on the bed. 

"Down the street." John looks over his shoulder, glad to see that Lafayette is still in the shirt he wore today. "Now put on some clothes, man. They're waiting." 

"Who is?" Lafayette queries, pulling a pair of jeans on as he speaks. He reaches for a cardigan that he had hung on the back of his desk chair earlier. 

"Some friends of mine." Lafayette only nods in understanding as he finishes shoving his feet into his sneakers. John already has his legs swung out the window, set on the roof beneath him. The French boy stands behind him, getting nervous again, for a whole other reason this time. 

"What about your mere," he asks as John slides out slowly onto the roof completely. He sinks down, scooting over to the edge. He shakes his head, looking back at him with a finger to his lips. Lafayette presses his lips together, deciding to follow John anyway. He didn't want to ruin his chance at making some friends before he even started at his new school. 

He copies John's movements, sliding down onto the roof and joining him at the edge. John points down and mouths something Lafayette doesn't understand. Then, before he can ask, he hops down off the roof and lands on a patch of grass below. He waves for Lafayette to follow him, then looks over to the side where the gate to the backyard resides. 

Lafayette looks down, feeling dizzy at the drop. He usually doesn't let things like heights bother him, but the idea of jumping this short distance feels impossible to him. John still waits for him below though, and the idea of leaving him and hiding back in his room for the rest of the night sounds worse than breaking his legs. He squeezes his eyes shut and pushes off the roof and tries to lessen the jolt of the landing by bending his legs, but still feels it shoot through his ankles. 

John looks to him. "You good, dude?" Lafayette nods. The boys continue to the gate and unlatch it, leaving them looking over the eerily quiet street. John grins as Lafayette holds his breath and tries to walk as silently as possible until they're past the house. 

"Will you mother notice we are gone?" He whispers, glancing around as if to make sure no one is listening. John chuckles lightly. 

"That woman sleeps like a rock. No worries for us, Laffy Taffy."

They reach the end of the street, turning right and coming up on a large park. It's mostly a field of grass at the moment, but there's a couple picnic tables off to the side and a patch of wood chips that holds a swingset and play structure. A few dark figures sit around one of the tables, two of them sitting close with their arms draped around one another. 

"That's them," John says, walking towards the figures. Lafayette is still for a moment, then thinks better of it and trails after John, going to meet his friends.

These first couple chapters are really drawn out but it'll pick up soon.
<3