Us Monsters (Wip)

•chapter 11•

"Morning gorgeous." A sweet and familiar voice whispers, drawing Alexander from his slumber.

He can feel the man's freckled hand slowly running through his thick dark hair, sending shivers down his spine.

Alexander sucks in a deep breath, taking a moment before parting his eyelids. What greets him is well worth the effort of waking up.

"Hey jackie." He replies, his voice soft.

Seeing as no one is around, John leans in and gives the man a small peck, relishing every moment despite the harsh taste of morning breath.

"Come lay with me." Alexander says, scooting over. He lifts the blanket up, holding it so the man can join him.

Both men know how risky it is, but niether care quite enough.

John slowly crawls in next to the man, almsot falling off the small twin size mattress. Alexander climbs halfway ontop of John, who smiles as the man curls up against his chest. John moves his arm around his partner, holding him close.

The southerner's heart swells at the feeling of the brunettes hands holding tightly onto his chest, bunching up his shirt. He loves how close the man cuddles up to him, enough so that there isnt a centimeter of air between their bodies. He loves how Alexander's scent surrounds him. Sweet and warm and all the right things. It makes him smile like the lovestruck fool that he is.

Alexander, on the other hand, doesnt wear a smile on his face. His eyes are left without a twinkle, and he chews on his lip, deep in thought

"Whats up?" John asks, noticing how distant his boyfriend seems this morning.

"I cant help worrying about Laff." Alexander admits, looking up to the man hoping for a sliver of comfort.

John does more than enough, leaning over and wrapping both  arms around the man, shielding him from the outside world. He whispers sweet, comforting things to the man until all his fears seem to be distant and fuzzy.

John doesnt want Alexander to worry, although he shares the sane concern for his friend.

For right now, he knows he needs to calm their minds and take a moment to recollect.

After a long time in each others arm, a loud buzz makes both men jump a bit. Seeing as they already talked through breakfast, it was now work block.

"Come on, love." John whispers, kissing the mans neck before crawling out of the bed.

Alexander groans, but allows himself to be pulled out of bed. John smiles, ruffling the mans oily hair.

Alexnader scowls and bites the man's hand, making him gasp.

"So evil.." he murmurs with a smirk, his partner chuckling.

They walk side by side to the library, the sound of their footsteps drowned out by the loud chatter around them.

The pair make it to the library, the smell of old books greeting them. Its something both men love, and is almost indescribable. Something about old paper, worn pages, aging ink. Its a nostalgic and magical smell, one that makes even a cold prison like this seem homely.

John picks up a cart for them, and the pair walks together, replacing books back on their shelves.

Despite how much he loves the library, Alexander seems distant this morning. He almost forgets to place a few books back, and John has to point them out. His eyes are too busy ficking up to the clock, waiting for the moment he can go track down his brother.

Its only been an hour, but it feels like year and years to the brunette.

This doesnt go by unnoticed by his lover, and John can't help but feel a bit helpless.

"Hey. Itll all be okay." He says, stopping the cart so he can look at the man properly.

Alexander doesn't want to respond.

"Itll be fine. We'll find him, he's probably just been talking to that new guard lately. Thats all. And if hes getting beat up, that same gaurd has probably reported it by now. Its all good." John says. And although its probably not 'all good', the way John says it makes Alexander believe it to be true.

"Okay." The carribean says quietly, offering a small smile.

John hugs the man, letting him take a moment to lean on someone. Its nice, and warm. Alexander likes the feeling of getting just a little bit of the  weight off his body, leaning on his lover turns out nicer than he expected, and the way he holds him makes his fears melt away.

"Hey! No touching!" A guard says, drawing a sigh from both men. Their bodies part, and the gaurd is satisfied enough to walk away.

"He'll be fine." John whispers, before returing to the cart, pushing the metal crate on the carpeted floor.

Ocassionally, one of its wheels will snag on the old worn carpet, but for the most part its smooth sailing.

Alexnader still watches the clock like a hawk, but he must admit this work goes by relatively fast.

Soon enough, the buzz tones and Alexander drags his boyfriend out of the library, racing towards his brothers cell.

As soon as they make it there, Lee blocks their way, covering the door with his body.

"Wheres my brother?" Alexander says a bit too sternly. Charles pushes the out of the door roughly, trying to get them away.

But when they fall back, Alexander can see a sliver through the door, and he gets a glimpse of hus brother.

His frame is hunched over, and his body is covered in big purple bruises. It looks as if he hasn't slept in days, and his hair is a frizzy mess.

Even from far away, Alexander knows it must hurt to even breathe. His heart breaks for his pitiful brother, and the carribean's body seems paralyzed as he stares at the strange figure, a mere whisper of the man he knows.

"Lex. Lex. We gotta go." John says, pulling his boyfriend to his feet as the man in the doorframe stares at the pair threateningly.

Even as he is being pulled away by his boyfriend, the carribeans eyes stay glued to his brother
until he's out of sight.

"John. John we-we gotta help him...John." He says, his actions becoming frantic. His hands are moving all about, and his eyes flickering around, searching for an unkown thing.

"Alex. Alex. Calm down." John says, placing firm comforting hands on the mans shoulders.

He can hardly catch his breath, and his eyes refuse to look at the man in front of him.

"I cant i cant-i..i-" Alexander says, barely able to speak over his sharp breathing.

"Shh. Its okay." John whispers, wrapping the man up in his arms and holding him close to his chest.

"Just breathe, Lex. Deep breaths." The man adds, demonstrating to the man.  Alexander clings to the mans shirt, copying the deep breaths desperately.

Soon, hes calm enough to look John in the eyes.

"What do we do?" He whispers, his voice faint.

John thinks a moment. Reporting it to a guard will only make it worse, usually gangs like James' are widespread and dont take kindly to snitches.

The southerner looks into his lovers eyes, and says three words that make the man's heart break.

"I dont know."