Frat Boys (Lams) [COMPLETE]

Chapter 13

Alex didn't have classes until 10am the next morning, so he thankfully got to sleep in for a little while. However, that was made slightly difficult when Laf and Herc got up loudly at 8am for their 9am and were stomping sleepily around the room. Alex opened his eyes to glare at them in annoyance when he realized that John was already gone for the morning.

"John can get up and out without even waking me up, why are you two stomping around like a herd of elephants?" he complained, pulling his pillow over his head to block out the noise.

Herc whipped the pillow off of Alex's face and gave him a look. He seemed to be extremely tired, and had dark circles under his eyes.

"Maybe if SOMEBODY wasn't such a sleep-talker, Laf and I would get good sleep and not feel like zombies in the morning," he said, dropping the pillow back on Alex's face.

"Wait, what?" Alex said, sitting up quickly. "What do you mean, sleep-talking?"

"Do you seriously not know?" Laf said, sticking his head out of the bathroom with his toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. Alex shook his head, confused.

"I swear, it's like you're having full-on conversations in your sleep," said Herc. "As soon as you fall asleep, you start muttering random shit all night. Normally it's not that bad, but last night you were REALLY LOUD."

"I sleep-talk?" Alex said, puzzled. He was never aware that he did that before. "What did I say last night?"

"Some shit about John," Laf said, returning to the bathroom to spit in the sink.

"Wait, WHAT?" Alex felt the anxiety building up inside him. "What did I say?"

"I don't know, I was mostly trying to tune it out enough to get sleep," Herc said. "Sounded like you were having a nightmare though. You kept saying, 'No John! Don't go! Not you too!' No idea what that was about."

Suddenly, the memory of the dream he had had came rushing back to him. Alex had a dream where he was a bystander in his own life, watching the losses he had went through as a child. His father leaving, his mother's and cousin's deaths. And he remembered seeing John, looking at him with a hurt expression, turning around and slamming the door in his face, leaving him for forever over some reason he wasn't even aware of.

Alex gulped.

"Did, um, did John hear any of that?" he asked, trying to appear calm, but dying inside.

"No, the lucky bastard's been wearing his headphones to sleep for years, so I'm sure he tuned you out," Herc said. "Wish I had thought of that. I will tonight, that's for sure." Laf made a sound of agreement from the bathroom.

Alex put his head in his hands. Knowing that John had his headphones in was reassuring, but it wasn't good enough. He also felt paranoid. What if the dream was real? Or GOING to become real? What if John was hurt or angry about something and he didn't know? After all, it was 8am. Where did he go THAT early and why?

Laf and Herc headed out the door for their classes a few minutes later. Alex was trembling. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was real.

He'd lost a lot of things in his life. But John couldn't be one of them.

He just couldn't.

Throughout the day, Alex barely paid attention to any of his classes. He was too anxious, trying to figure out two things. First, when he would see John again that day. And second, what he would say to him when he did.

"Alex? Alex!"

Alex got smacked in the head by Angelica's flashcards. She was supposed to be helping him for an upcoming quiz in Formal Logic, but Alex just couldn't pay attention. He kept zoning out, his mind wandering back to the droning question of whether or not John hated him.