When I Was Your Man | Lams Short Story

Chapter One ~ Letterman Jacket Boy ~

A groggy Alexander awoke to the sound of a blaring alarm sounding from the room next to him. The walls were paper thin between Alexander's room and Hercules' so they shared an alarm. Although, Hercules never woke up on time, Alex would have to drag him out of bed in the end. Because Hercules was Alexander's ride to school, he couldn't let Mulligan make him late because he was up until four am talking to a mysterious lover. Alex could never decipher the persons voice but the two were definitely in love; you could tell from the way you could hear Mulligan smiling through the walls, the sweet goodbyes they whispered before immediately falling asleep - it honestly made Alexander sick.
Alex hung one foot out the bed before finally stepping to get out of bed, he looked in the small mirror mounted on the wall opposite his bed and groaned. His red curls in a tangle that would take ages to look neat, his purplish-blue eyes hung low with tiredness and his freckles were more prominent as the summer drew closer. After spending most of his time battling his curls, his hair was in a neat low ponytail and his eyes were looking brighter as he splashed his face with water. Because, as mentioned previously, he didn't want to make a name for himself just yet, he dressed simply, a button up shirt slightly untucked and black trousers. Possibly the most simple look most Hollywood movies go for but nonetheless it suited him just fine.
He walked into Hercules' room and yelled at him to wake up before going downstairs,
"You look lovely today, Alex, a special occasion?" Mrs Mulligan gave a signature sweet-as-sugar smile as she served up some cereal for him and her sons. Alex shook his head,
"No, Ma," he says, tucking into the bowl of fruit loops, "just thought I'd make an effort today,"
"If only Hercules was as motivated as you," tuts Mrs Mulligan. As she said her son's name, he appeared by the stairwell, rubbing the sleep from his eyes,
"You called?" Hercules tried to sound optimistic or at the very least awake but he was one blink away from falling asleep standing up,
"We were just talking about how motivated Alex is," Mrs Mulligan scowled, tapping her son on the back of the head to wake him up, not hurting him, just a gentle, almost loving tap, "perhaps you ought to take notes,"
"Too early for a lecture, Ma," Hercules dismissively waves his hand to shoo his mother away as she crossed her arms and shook her head

Finally, the pair arrived at school. They weren't a few footsteps in before the same freckled boy from the day before, and the week before, ran up to Hercules, "Mulligan! You got your part of the project done, right?" He said frantically, bouncing up and down from what looked like nerves. 'He doesn't come off as one to get nervous about class presentations' Alex thought time himself. Hercules rubbed the back of his head,
"Uhm..." he looked for an excuse. In a blinding moment of confidence and protection for his friend, Alex called out,
"I did it for him.." he said, quietly. That's when he got his first good look at Letterman's Jacket Boy. He had a sturdy build; not frail nor overly muscular. His face was dotted with freckles just like his own and his locks were a dark brown. What captivated him the most was his green eyes. They looked like a forest but when you stared at them, felt like a night sky; just something you could stare at for hours, eyes that showed emotion as easy as an expression,
"You did?" Letterman Jacket Boy said, raising one of his eyebrows, "Well do you have it on you?" Alexander panicked, of course he hadn't actually done it, so he frantically raked his brain to excuse the absence of the work,
"It's not finished yet," Alex said quickly, "So I'll get Hercules to drop it over at your house after school," Alex finished, Letterman Jacket Boy looked relieved,
"Thanks so much, man, well I'll see you later," he said before running off, back into the large building. Hercules looked at him with hopeful eyes,
"Soooo... could you actually do the project for me...?" The taller boy said, "I'm really busy... doing.... things...." he also raked his brain but the difference between Hercules and Alexander was that Alexander could convince anyone with lies, and Hercules was too sweet of a soul to actually lie to someone to get his own way,
"You owe me," Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose before a smile formed on his pale lips, "And don't worry, Herc, I know about your lover," he said, nudging Hercules' side playfully, "I'll see you after school," Alex Laos a final pat on his friend's shoulder before leaving.
Throughout the day, Alexander saw The Letterman Jacket Boy on multiple occasions, yet he still didn't know his name 'It doesn't matter' Alexander told himself 'You don't need his name, you'll do this one favour and you'll never have to talk to him again'
But he was very wrong, in fact, he could not be more wrong.
All day, Alexander had been on and off working on Letterman's Jacket Boy's project and finally finished it once he and Hercules arrived back at home. Not to be vain, but Alexander was very proud of his work, he knew that Letterman Jacket Boy would like it at least. After ticking off the last details on the list Hercules had given him that morning, he rolled it up and neatly tied a rubber band around it. Alexander knocked on the wall,
"Milligan!" He said, his voice just below a shout, "I've finished your project, so you can go give it to..." Alexander looked down, he didn't know the boy's name, so he used the nickname he'd been using in his head, "Letterman Jacket Boy," he said. A loud groan emitted from the other room,
"Alex I'm on the phone. Could you do it?" Hercules begged, "I'll do your chores for a week,"
"Two weeks and you have a deal," you could hear the smirk in the ginger's voice. Another groan echoed,
"Fineeeee. I'll send you his address...". Not long after, Alexander recurved a message from Hercules, the Letterman Jacket Boy's address. It was a twenty minute walk so Alexander decided to leave at that moment in time for dinner. Trotting down the stairs, Alexander said goodbye to his motherly figure and headed off to the address sent to his phone.
Twenty five minutes later (Alexander had gotten sidetracked and bought himself a new book with the minimal money he had in his trouser pocket) Alexander arrived at the doorstep of a fairly large house, three stories high, at least, with a balcony on the second story to the left side. However, the windows were barred for some reason, which made the house's elegant vibe turn into more of a haunted or unsettling one. Knocking three times, Alexander waited patiently to be served 'Just drop it off to whoever answers the door and leave - no need for unwanted conversation' Alexander told himself, he hummed a small tune as it was taking longer for a person to answer the door than normal, but sure enough, a slightly chubby man answered the door, certainly not Letterman Jacket Boy, but perhaps his father. Alexander got hit in the face with the sudden smell of alcohol,
"What do you want," the man slurred, scratching at his stomach and leaning up on the doorframe to maintain balance. His hair was the same colour as Letterman Jacket Boy's but it was straight and a few grey hairs adorned it,
"I'm here to see..." Alex panicked, he took a lucky guess and braced himself for any corrections, "your son,"
"Ah right," he turned into the house "Boy! You've gotta visitor!" He yelled into the seemingly empty house. After a few seconds, Letterman Jacket Boy ran down the stairs and saw Alex. He looked panicked, pale, as if he had just seen a ghost. His eyes showed fear and he hurried Alexander inside, much to his disagreement,
"I mustn't stay," Alexander said, worried when the boy took his wrist and lead him up two flights of stairs to presumably his bedroom,
"Please, I'm begging you," the big said, shutting the door and locking it, thoigh his hands were shaking, making it harder for him to lock, "He's drunk. If I have a visitor I won't be on the receiving end of that," A frown knitted Alexander's eyebrows together,
"I see..." he paused, "Should I be worried for you... do you want me to get help?"
"No!" The freckled boy raised his voice, "No..." he said, quieter this time, "I'm fine..."
"If you say so..." Alexander said quietly 'Guess I'm stuck here...' Alexander thought.

(So sorry that took so long. Also, go follow me on Instagram @dream.catcher.ferrets!)