Say Something (Lams, Mute!Alex)

Chapter 25

(John's POV)

"Goodbye." I shut the door in his face and locked it. Well, that took care of that. For now at least. I knew he'd stick around if he was sent here, but right now, it was time to do what I'm best at: avoid my problems. I'll deal with him later. "Alright, Alex, what movie did you pick out?"

"Um, The Lion King. W-who was at the door?"

"Oh, just some asshole. I recommend not leaving the dorm for now, since he'll probably stick around for a while. So let's just watch this movie, yeah?"

"B-but what about milkshakes?"

"After the movie, alright? He's sure to be gone by then."

"Okay." He gave me a soft smile, and I played the movie, cuddling into his side. By the time we were halfway through the movie, I had almost forgotten that my father was on campus, yet the thought never truly left my mind. But surely he wouldn't stay forever, right? He wasn't like JD, who was determined to get to his target. I mean, we should probably still be worried that he could be coming up with plans for Burr, but he's in jail, right? What can he do from there other than plot? So I wasn't too worried about him.

When the movie ended, Alex turned to me. "Milkshakes."

I laughed. "Dear Lord, I've turned you into a milkshake addict. Alright, let's go." And yet, while I was grabbing my wallet and cell, I couldn't help but feel nervous. What if he was still outside? He could attack me the moment I stepped out of the dorm... But, maybe I was just being paranoid. Alex had already left, after all, and he was waiting for me to leave. So there shouldn't be anything to worry about. I took a deep breath before leaving the dorm to go get milkshakes.

(Time skip)

Nothing happened until we were heading back from Steak 'N Shake with our milkshakes. Honestly, I should have known. My father's trained with the goddamn sniper rifle for God's sake. I should have been on guard, knowing he was in the area. Thomas told me he was sent to target me. Damn, I can be such an idiot. So basically, one moment, I was walking alongside Alex, and the next, I was on the ground, a familiar pain in my chest. You know, I'm starting to think the universe wants me to die by a gunshot wound. Except this time, I was pretty sure the universe would get what it wanted. After all, JD wasn't targeting me, so it wasn't in his interest to kill me. Henry Laurens, on the other hand, well, I was his target. He never misses his target.

And then I saw Alex over me. I could hear the panic in his voice. "J-John! Oh my god... John please!" He started shaking me. And then suddenly, the pain was gone, and I was next to him, yet, he was also still shaking me. Wait... what? I looked down at my own body, Alex still shaking me roughly. "J-John! Come on, don't leave me alone! Say something! Please! I-I love you! C-come on! Say you love me too! Please!" My heart broke as I watched him vainly try to get me to say something. I sighed and knelt next to him as other people started gathering around to see what had happened. Alex fell silent and just cried as people gasped, called 911, or just stood there in shock. I hugged Alex tightly, though he didn't respond.

"It's okay, Alex. I'm right here. I love you too." But he didn't hear me. He just kept sobbing uncontrollably. "Alex, I'm right here, it's okay."

"He can't hear you, I heard an unfamiliar voice say. I stood and looked around confusedly before spotting three people walking towards me. "Believe me, I've tried millions of times."

"Who are you?" I asked, tilting my head. 

"I'm Rachel, Alex's mother," the woman in the middle said.

"I'm James, his brother," the smaller boy to Rachel's right introduced himself.

"Peter, his cousin," the taller boy on Rachel's left said.

"Wait, so, you're his family?" They all nodded. "Why can you talk to me?"

"Because we're all spirits. I died by sickness, James in the hurricane, and Peter committed suicide," Rachel explained.

"Oh. Wait, hurricane?"

"Oh, honey, Alexander and James grew up on Nevis."

"Y-you mean the place that was completely demolished?" I looked back at Alex as Rachel made a noise of confirmation. "Oh my god." Well that explained why he was afraid of storms...

"Yeah. But... thank you."

"For what?"

"Giving him his voice again." Rachel smiled at me, chocolate brown eyes full of thanks and happiness. "You did what I couldn't do."

"Why, though? Why is he mute?"

"It's a long story that all goes back to his father," Rachel said sadly. "I feel like I don't have the right to tell you."

"It's okay, I get it." I sighed and knelt back down next to Alex. "So he doesn't even know I'm right here?"

"The only thing he sees is your body," Peter said.

"And there's no way I can communicate with him?"

"No way that we've found," James replied. 

I sighed again and held Alex close to me before standing up as I heard other familiar voices.

"What the hell happened?" Herc.

"What... John?!" Laf. They mush have forced their way out of the classrooms when they heard the gunshot. Because I know the campus is on lockdown now. 

"Alex?" Hercules asked gently, kneeling next to the still sobbing boy. Alex flung himself onto Mulligan, crying into his shoulder as Lafayette just stared at my lifeless body in shock.

"How did this happen?" Laf mumbled quietly.

"Alright, everyone clear the area!" a strong voice, full of authority shouted. People started to disperse, but the three boys remained.

"I said clear the area," the officer repeated to them.

I turned my attention back to Alex's family. "Will he be okay without me?"

"I don't know. You can never be sure how someone will handle a death. But I'm concerned for him," Rachel said.

"He's dying on the inside. And dying people need a reason to wake up in the morning, or else they won't," Peter sighed. "Believe me, I know."

"Was I his reason?" I asked, concerned.

"Again, we don't know. We can only hope he doesn't do anything stupid." 

Eventually, the officer managed to pull Alexander, Hercules, and Lafayette away from the scene. After many hours of searching the area, they came up with no sign of the shooter, though I knew exactly where he was: on his way back to South Carolina, where he would receive payment. Hours stretched into days, and I was thankful that Lafayette and Hercules wouldn't leave Alex alone. He was so unstable. It was obvious. Who knew what he would do if they gave him even two minutes by himself? And I never left his side either, though I knew he wouldn't be able to know I was with him. But I wanted to stay with him, no matter what, until the day came when I could see him on the other side.

~~

Oh you all probably hate me so much right now. That's the last chapter, but I'm going to write an epilogue to wrap it all up, so keep an eye out. And please don't kill me. I have other stories to write. Mmmmm, I can already hear you all coming to kill me, and I haven't even published this yet. But please, at least wait until the epilogue to do so. I'm not gonna say that I hope you liked the chapter, because in all honesty, you probably don't, what with the death. So, until the epilogue, Mishamigos!

~MishaIsOurOverlord1