Change is Good - 20. Chapter 20 - Life without Humor

Chapter 20: Life without Humor

*Alex*

Things were looking up for everyone. The second meeting with Ellen was a lot easier for me. I felt like I was in a better place and could handle this entire situation head on with my friends and boyfriend by my side. With all of my testimony over, we were informed that the trial would likely take place in a month or two, so for now I was hoping for life to return to normal and get back to enjoying my senior year.

“Good Morning love birds,” Tiffany announced as she grabbed the blanket leaving Shawn and I rather exposed. “I refuse to be late to school again because you two can’t keep off each other.”

“Tiff, I swear if you don’t stop with the wakeup calls, I’m going to tie you up and throw you down the stairs. Besides, if I remember correctly you do have a car of your own,” I scowled at her.

“Hey Tiffany have you gotten them out of bed yet…” Austin stopped dead in his tracks and instantly turned a deep shade of red. “Umm hi guys, I thought you would be awake and ready by now…umm sorry,” Austin finished with his back facing us.

“You guys see each other naked so frequently, you might as well have a threesome or something with him.” That immediately earned Tiff several pillows from both Shawn and I. Austin visibly jumped at that statement, quickly fleeing the room.

“And now I think it is time that you leave as well so that we can actually get dressed and get out of here before we actually are late.”

“Well, now that they are all out of the picture, it’s time we get all cleaned up and ready for school,” Shawn said rolling over on top of me then leaning down for a kiss.

“Hmm if you don’t stop that I might suggest we skip school altogether,” I responded pulling him back down for another kiss.

“Well that is not an option,” he said kissing me on my forehead and jumping out of bed.

Getting up, I slapped Shawn hard on the butt before racing off to the bathroom to start the shower where Shawn quickly joined me. We didn’t fool around in the shower, just some intimate touching and washing of the other’s body before we were dressed and out the door.

“Where is Tiff, she was the one rushing us and now she isn’t even here?” I asked Austin, who was leaning against my car. He appeared to still be a bit embarrassed from this morning as he avoided looking at us.

“She said something about not wanting to wait around anymore, next thing I knew she is speeding off down the street.”

I let out a sigh and shook my head. “Yeah that definitely sounds like something that she would do, so I guess that you are catching a ride with us today?” Austin quietly nodded before getting into the back seat of my car.

We spend so much time at one another’s homes; more often than not, we end up taking one car and leaving the other. Today it was my turn to drive, so we all loaded up in my car and headed off to school.

We have been back in school for a few days now, but the effects of my vacation haven’t quite worn off yet. I felt like the day would go on forever and my mood didn’t improve much at all. This semester Austin, Shawn and I had the same lunch period. Taking a seat next to Austin, I did a quick glance not seeing Shawn anywhere around.

“Have you seen Shawn yet?” I asked, still casually looking around the courtyard, our usual lunch spot.

“He made a detour after our last period, said he had to grab a few things out of his locker before coming to meet us here,” Austin replied before taking a bite of his lunch.

I shrugged my shoulders as Austin and I fell into idle conversation waiting for Shawn to show up. Austin was midway through his lunch when he dropped his food back on his plate and narrowed his eyes. Turning my attention in the direction he was looking, I felt a pit form in my stomach. Shawn was heading our way with Niles by his side. As they walked and talked a flurry of emotions flowed through me as I watched them. Niles seemingly innocent touches and the way he was batting his eyes at Shawn were enough to rile me up, but Shawn’s obliviousness to it all was the tipping point.

“Hey babe, sorry for the wait. I was exchanging books out at my locker when I ran into Niles,” Shawn said rubbing my back in an affectionate manner.

I had not taken my eyes away from Niles during the entire exchange; finally turning back to Shawn, he had a strange look on his face.

“Everything ok Alex, you seem like you are a million miles away?” Shawn asks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, I am ok. I just remembered that I need to get a few things before my next class, I’ll catch up with you all later.” Austin gave me a slight nod and sympathetic look as I gathered my things and hurried off.

After lunch, my mood didn’t improve at all. When the final bell rang, I couldn’t get out of my seat fast enough. Consequently not really looking where I was going, I ran straight into someone landing soundly on my butt.

“Sorry about that, guess I was in a bit of a rush and not really…” I felt the color drain from my face as I looked up to see Mark staring down at me smiling. “What are you doing here I thought you weren’t allowed back on school grounds?”

“You know I was never one who followed the rules all that well. I guess it must have slipped my mind,” he said with a smirk as he looked down at me.

My body wouldn’t move as I sat on the floor looking up at him. I began to tremble as Mark came closer to me, leaning forward, hand out stretched when a hand reached out grabbing his arm.

“I catch you within eyesight of Alex again and I’ll make sure it’s the last thing you do,” Justin’s words laced with venom, as he tightened his grip causing Mark to begin to squirm in pain.

“This isn’t over pretty boy, I always get what I want in the end, but you already know that don’t…” he was cut off mid-sentence when a fist came into contact with the side of his face sending him spiraling to the ground, the hatred in Shawn’s eyes was almost palpable as he stared down hard at Mark.

Without a word, Shawn scooped me up off the ground carrying me over to my car. I swear I could feel the heat radiating out of him from his anger. Reaching up I slowly took the side of his face in my hands and almost instantly I could feel him relax as we reached the car, no words were needed as he placed me in the backseat.

“Hey Austin, would you mind driving back to Alex’s house with us?” Shawn asked, leaning out of the car tossing the keys to him.

“Yeah it’s no big deal, I’ll just tell Jason where I am and he can swing by later.”

“You guys going to be alright?” Justin asked, after walking over to my car, he himself still a bit red in the face from the ordeal.

“Yeah, I think I’ve calmed a little bit, I just want to get Alex out of here. Thanks a lot Justin I’m glad you got to him first. I’m not sure I would have been quite as civil,” Shawn responded.

“Hey don’t sweat it man, you know we all feel protective of each other. I’d do it again for any of you in a heartbeat. Austin get them back safe, I’ll find Tiffany and let her know what all happened, knowing her she will probably make an appearance sometime later.” Justin gave Shawn one last pat on the shoulder before leaving us presumably to catch up with Tiffany.

The whole time I just felt calm and safe cradled in Shawn’s arms, the stresses of the day forgotten as we comforted each other. Shawn finally cooled down as we pulled into my driveway and held my hand tight as we all walked up to the front door.

*Austin*

I couldn’t help but feel bad for both Shawn and Alex as I watched them go upstairs to the room. More than likely, they would just spend some time together feeling the comfort of just being around each other. I had sent Jason a message to let him know what was happening knowing he probably wouldn’t see it until after practice, if Justin hadn’t already told him everything. Walking out onto the front porch, I began thinking about all that has transpired so quickly. Feeling that this is somehow my fault, I lost track of time, lost in my thoughts when I felt the presence of someone behind me.

“I know that look and I am going to tell you now that this is in no way your fault.”

I sighed letting out a deep breath before looking up at Shawn to respond. “How can you say that Shawn? After everything that I have done, I basically led him here. If it wasn’t for the way things went down between us, none of this would have happened to Alex,” I was on the verge of tears thinking about how I had caused pain to someone who has been nothing but nice to me, giving me a second chance after the shit that happened.

“Hey we have already squashed the past, so don’t go bringing up old stuff trying to find a way to wrap it all together. I don’t blame you and I am positive that Alex doesn’t blame you either. Don’t go blaming yourself, hear me?” Shawn had a big smile across his face and I couldn’t help but smile myself looking up at him.

“Alex is truly a lucky guy. I am glad that you guys have found each other.”

“And I am glad that you have turned out to be the caring person I thought you could be the first time we met,” He said pulling me up into a hug.

We both turned after hearing someone clear there throat to see Alex smiling standing in the doorway.

“Now I hope this doesn’t become a regular thing with you two or I might start to get a little jealous,” Alex chuckled.

The three of us sat around a bit longer before we heard Tiffany’s car squealing down the road like a bat out of hell.

“Well I guess she got the news,” Alex said softly laughing to himself.

Rushing out of her badly parked car, you could almost hear the bones cracking as she squeezed Alex in a tight mixture of concern and anger.

“Why didn’t you call me sooner? I had to be the last one to hear about it, that is not cool and you will be making this up to me.”

“It all happened so fast, there wasn’t really time for me to think about anything. Shawn and Justin took care of everything for the most part and Austin was there too,” Alex tried to explain himself.

“So you are telling me that all of you were present for these events and no one thought it would be a good idea to perhaps tell me shortly after?” Tiffany was obviously pretty upset with us all at this point, understandably so.

“I’ll take fault for this one. Justin, Shawn, and Alex were dealing with a bit more than I was, so I could have given you a heads up, sorry about that,” I said coming to everyone’s defense.

“You’re lucky you’re so cute. I will let you off the hook this time but this time only,” she said winking at me before focusing her attention elsewhere. Surprisingly she ended up dragging Shawn into the house leaving Alex and I alone on the porch.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, taking as we sat down together on the porch swing.

“Better, thanks to you and Shawn. I am glad that we have become such good friends. I am not sure how I would deal with all of this without any of you,” Alex responded bringing tears to my eyes.

I couldn’t help but feel bad again, wiping my eyes and looking down at my hands to avoid looking him in the face.

“And before you go getting yourself down. I don’t hold you responsible for any of this; so don’t go thinking that I would be doing just fine if you hadn’t come along. Regardless if you had come here or not I am well aware that Shawn and Mark were friends long before even you came into the picture, so I am sure he would have shown up sooner or later around here.” Alex pulled me in for a hug.

“You never cease to surprise me, you seem to be able to see the good in most situations regardless,” I said embracing him back.

“I don’t think I am anything special like that and I am not always the optimistic one, but sometimes looking for the best in a situation is all anyone can really do.” Alex smiled at me as we pulled apart.

*Shawn*

“Well that was a shock I thought for sure Alex was the one you would be dragging in here, what gives?”

“I don’t trust Mark any more than the rest of you but I never thought he would be so bold as to just show up on school grounds like that. I don’t like it and think this will just led to trouble,” Tiffany paced back and forth around the room.

“I agree. With threats from us all and the investigation up his ass, I would think he would be a bit more cautious. Then again, maybe this boldness is because he may feel he has nothing more to lose,” I expressed rather gravely.

Tiffany’s faced turned into a scowl as she sat beside me on the bed. “If that is the case, things are going to go very wrong, very fast. No matter how much we want to be near Alex, there is no way that we can be close to him at all times of the day.”

The sinking feeling in my gut got worse as those words hit home. Tiffany was right we couldn’t possibly keep watch over him all the time, due to not only physical limitations but also Alex himself would get upset with us if we even thought about trying to do something like that.

By the end of the night, we were no closer to figuring out how to protect Alex than we had started. As I lay spooned behind Alex that night, I couldn’t help but to just watch him sleep so peacefully. Even though Mark often haunted his dreams, more often than not he slept against me with a content smile across his face.

I kissed the back of his head breathing in his smell. “I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe, I promise.”

Over the next couple, week’s things seemed to be back on track and we were all getting along quite well. Alex more or less was back to his normal self and for a while things just seem to fall back into place.

I was on my way home after spending time with Jason and Justin when I heard my phone ringing, recognizing the ringtone I answered without looking at the caller ID.

I smiled to myself before answering the call. “Hey babe what’s up I was just heading home from hanging with the guys?”

“They moved the date up,” he practically whispered.

“What do you mean? When did they do that?” Luckily, no one was behind me as I slammed my brakes at a red light.

“I just got off the phone with Ellen, apparently they feel they have what they need sooner than anticipated and requested a sooner court date. They set it for the 15^th of next month.”

I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down before resuming our conversation. “Hey calm down, everything is going to be fine; in fact I’m turning around now and heading your way. I’ll pick you up and bring you over to my place.”

“No, that’s ok I’ll drive myself over a little later. I am going to spend a little bit of time with Tiff before coming to see you,” he sounded like he was forcing himself to keep me away from him.

“Ok babe, you just take it easy until tonight.” I hung up my phone and continued towards home. The 15^th of next month was just over two weeks away and I knew Alex was going to have a tough time.

As much as I just wanted to head straight over to see Alex, I knew by now that he needed a little time to work through things on his own. I took comfort in knowing that Tiffany would be with him. I knew there are things she would understand a bit better from knowing Alex longer.

“Hello sweetie, you look exhausted. Are you doing ok?” Mom asked as she walked around the corner coming from the kitchen.

“Hey mom, yeah I am doing ok more so worried about Alex. The court date has been moved and I can tell he is not looking forward to any of it.” I filled her in before grabbing a granola bar off the counter.

“I am sure he isn’t, but look at it this way, the sooner this happens the sooner you all can try and put it all behind you. You’re also young and have so much to experience in life and this isn’t something I’d wish on my worse enemies. Now I am sure we are all expecting Alex to show up here sooner or later so you should go freshen up, someone could use a good hot shower about now,” she tells me before wandering back into the kitchen.

Talking to my mom when I get the chance always made me feel better. I make my way to the kitchen to give my mom a quick hug before heading up to shower before Alex was due to arrive.

“Honey when is Alex supposed to come by?” Mom asked as I cleared the dishes from dinner.

“Honestly, I sort of expected him to be here by now. I didn’t think he would wait too late to come over.” Although no one said anything out loud, I am sure they all saw the concern on my face as I excused myself from the table to go grab my cell.

Walking in to my room I quickly grabbed my phone to see if I had any missed calls. Nothing. That’s odd, I’m sure he would have called by now or something. Becoming slightly worried I hit speed dial and called Alex only to be sent to his voicemail, now I really was beginning to get nervous. I was scrolling through my list of contacts when my phone started to ring.

“Shawn is Alex with you?” Tiffany asked sounding slightly distressed.

“No, I was just about to call you to see if he was with you,” I responded, my tone matching her own.

“He left here hours ago and I told him to call me as soon as he got in. When I try to call him it goes straight to voicemail” I could feel the panic start to rise.

“Actually Tiffany hold on I’m getting another call,” I tell her quickly clicking over to the other line.

“Hello?”

“Shawn its Austin, I need you to meet me now.”

“Austin? Why what is going on?” Already feeling stressed out not being able to locate Alex I was afraid of having to deal with anything else.

“We found Alex’s car, but he is nowhere in sight”

I nearly dropped my phone as I fell down on to my bed. “What are you talking about?” I couldn’t contain the fear in my voice, my heart racing with a million thoughts running through my head at once.

“Jason and I were on our way back into town when we found Alex’s car in the parking lot at the park.” Austin tells me.

“Oh my god, I’m on my way.” Quickly throwing on anything within arm’s reach.

“Tiffany you there?” I practically yell picking my phone up after getting dressed.

“Yeah what is going on?”

“Something is wrong, really wrong. Austin and Jason just found Alex’s car and he isn’t anywhere to be found, meet us at the park. I am on my way out the door right now.”

Hanging up with Tiffany, I immediately rush out the door please let him be all right I couldn’t take it if something else happened to him. It was at that moment I felt a cold chill run down my spine, if Mark is in anyway involved in this I’ll make him regret waking up this morning I promised myself that. I’m coming baby just hold on, wait for me….