The Unspoken Introduction of Hercules Mulligan

Chapter 16

Angelica's POV: 

John's funeral was held a few weeks later. His body had been brought home immediately after he had been pronounced dead at the hospital, his grandmother and friend Jasper by his side. His parents had his body cremated, which made sense. John was claustrophobic, after all, and the idea of him in a box below the earth made us all cringe. This was the right way to do things. 

The man who killed him was in custody. With multiple witnesses and an unlicensed gun as the weapon, there wasn't much he could do to escape incarceration.

The day of his funeral was clear and cold. It was December, just a few weeks out from Christmas. It was held in Montauk, at his family's vacation cottage. We were all there, of course. Me and my sisters and parents (even Dad), Martha, Maria, Theo and Aaron, Herc and his dad and kid sisters, Laf standing beside him. Even Thomas and James had been politely invited and accepted. Jasper and his grandmother, parents, aunts and uncle and little cousins and family friends. And Alex, of course. Standing by himself. Alex hadn't been to school since it happened, and the school had cut him slack-- cut us all slack. Everyone loved John, it was a fact-- even those who didn't approve of his sexuality. His death was a tragedy, pure and simple.

The service began, and it was as sweet and touching as any of us could have hoped for. We shared memories of John, in pairs or alone. His parents and grandmother watched, tears obscuring their appreciative smiles, unable to speak themselves as they listened to our reminiscing. When it was my turn, I stepped forward with a breath, smoothing my hair and squinting against the salty breeze.

"John was a bright spot for all of us, and that is a fact. He was a friend of mine, we were never crazy close... but I knew that he would always be there for him if I needed it, and I know we all felt that way. He was kind, generous, affectionate and loving. Intelligent. Always cheerful and always smiling. I remember once, I was feeling down, I can't quite remember why... but he came up to me and said, 'don't even worry about it, Angie. There's always another day. Just keep your head up and pretty soon it won't feel so bad.' And then he grinned at me and said, 'I got that from a magazine, did it help?'" The gathering of people chuckled as a whole. I smiled, and kept going, pushing aside the emotion welling up as I thought of John's freckled smile. "And the funny thing was, it had. And then he sat with me. I don't even know what we talked about, I just remember things weren't as bad after that. John was like.. ice cream on a hot day. Just made everything better and more bearable. And I'll miss that." I took a step back, a little embarrassed about how much I had talked. "Anyway... Herc?"

Herc glanced at me, then nodded. He rocked back and forth on his feet for a moment, then began. "John was my best friend." He stopped, and glanced at Laf, who gave him an encouraging nod. "John was my best friend, and he didn't deserve this. He taught me to love the little things.  And to smile, but not if you don't feel like it. And how to make the best rum and Cokes... sorry, dad..." Again, everyone laughed, but Herc continued to stare at the ground. "Yeah. He-- he was better than anyone I've ever met. And I ain't gonna forget you, man. I'm-- I'm not." He choked on the last word, and turned away, Laf grabbing his arm and pressing his forehead against his shoulder. My heart ached for Herc, knowing that the loss of John was potent for him, maybe more than any of us. 

Alex went last. He shook his hair out of his face, and looked out at the water while we waited. Finally, he shook his head again, and said simply, "I'm sorry." No one pushed him to say more. 

Herc's POV:

Three Months Later: 

The door swung open before I could even touch it, and Laf was beckoning me inside. His face was split into an enormous beam, and his curls were quivering. "Mon amour, come quickly!" He pulled me across the threshold into my own apartment. I turned as I crossed through the doorway, leaning down to kiss him and then pulling away as I said, "What's going on, babe? I got your text, what's up?" 

He was practically bouncing up and down. "I came to your house to see you, but you were not home. Your sisters let me in and I brought in your mail while I was coming in... and look what I saw." He pointed to a fat white envelope perched on the coffee table. 

My heart skipped a beat. "Laf, is that..."

He nodded vigorously. "It's from Stanford."

My breath caught in my throat and I stood frozen. I had applied shortly after John's funeral. I had labored over my application, which included, along with my actually surprisingly decent grades, an essay... about John, and the friendship we had had and then lost. I had put everything, every bit of emotion I still had into that essay, knowing all the while I had a snowball's chance in hell of success. But still, I couldn't help but hope, that maybe somehow...

Laf grabbed my arm. "Well come on, open it!" I approached the coffee table slowly, picked up the envelope and held it, my baseball mitt sized hands trembling. I took a deep breath, and ripped it open, then held the folded paper in my hands. "Laf, I can't do this, I want this so bad, I can't see them say no..." He grabbed my shoulders and turned to look at me. After John's death, something had clicked into place for me. I had loved Angelica, but she would never be the one for me, and I realized that. Laf, on the other hand... I guess its true what they say about the one you need most being right in front of you the whole time. Losing John just made me more sure that the way I felt about him was stronger than just friendship. Being with him was the best decision I had ever made. And the people I loved made me unafraid to love him as much as I did.  

"Hercules, look at me," he said, "you can do this. You are so much stronger than that little envelope, and whatever it has to say to you. No matter what happens, you are prepared for it, and you will make the most of it. Now arrête, stop being so silly, and open it!"

And so I did.

I read it aloud, hardly daring to believe the words which came out of my mouth. "Dear  Mr. Mulligan, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted... Holy FUCK, LAF!"

Laf let out a whoop as I dropped the letter and punched the air, a holler of sheer joy escaping me. My sisters came running into the room, running around and yelling also, despite having no idea what was going on. Laf grabbed me and pulled me into a bear hug, and we embraced triumphantly, both of us in hysterics. My dad came into the room. He surveyed the celebrations, then noticed the letter on the ground. He picked it up, and read it. Then he looked at me, speechless. I stopped whooping and pulled away from Laf. "Dad, I know I didn't tell you I had applied, I'm sorry--" But my words were cut off as my dad dropped the letter, and strode across the room towards me. Before I knew what was going on, he pulled me to him, pounding me on the back, and-- to my immense surprise-- sobbing as he repeated, "My son... I am so proud of you."  

That night, I sat in my room, still overcome with delirious shock. I had made it. Somehow, I had made it where no one thought I would be able to. I only wish John would be there to see me through it... but I knew, that for the rest of my life, all I did would be for him. This was my chance, my shot, and I was not going to throw it away. He was gone, but the rest of us would never forget him. Especially not me. I was Hercules Mulligan... and the whole world lay ahead of me. 

A/N: I'm alive!!! Can you believe it? It's been nine months since I've published.... ahhhh I'm sorry. I've kinda fallen out of the fandom (although I'm seeing the show on the 17th SCREAM) but that doesn't mean I don't love you guys, and because of that I wanted to give you some kind of conclusion. I know its hurried, I was originally gonna make it way longer, but chances are good I'm not gonna write any more Herc, so I figured y'all deserved some sort of wrap up, and I thought this was a pretty cute and concise way to end it. So thank you all for reading, I hope you have enjoyed it! It was a ton of fun, and you guys were so supportive. If you ever wanna chat, feel free to follow/DM me on my personal insta, anya_cj. Love ya guys!!!!!