ON HOLD An Ocean Away (Lams)

Chapter 1

~John~
~Somewhere off the East Coast~

John swam back to Maria, a questioning look on his face. When he got close enough he could see the blatant worry in her eyes. "Mari... is everything okay?" he asked, pausing for a moment.

Maria shook her head, turning to face John. "No... John, your father is dead. He was found killed on the outskirts of town. There is no suspect, and I was getting worried about you too. They think it was a human as well..." John didn't believe what he was hearing. His father. The only family he had left. But Alexander was so kind to him! Surely if he was so kind, the other humans would be too...

John didn't notice he was sobbing until Maria pulled him into a tight hug. He cried into her shoulder, his entire body shaking.

"Come on John, we should get back. Until we figure out something more permanent, you can just stay with me and my family." John nodded, following Maria back as he attempted to compose himself. He could cry in front of Maria, but in front of anyone else, he needed to stay strong. Nobody could know just how much this affected him.

John spent the entirety of the next day avoiding everyone and trying not to cry. He even refused to go hang out with everyone else the next day, opting to be alone. When he was sure he was alone John would cry, curling in on himself and blocking out the rest of the world.

When the chance came for John to go meet Alexander he was gone. It was a chance to forget about all the shitty things happening in his life a the moment. He went to the spot they had agreed to meet up, carefully wringing out his hair while he waited. Not long later, Alexander walked over to John, a grin on his face and a bag slung over his shoulder.

"How are you doing Alexander?" John asked, carefully moving int a more comfortable sitting position. The human sat down next to John, setting his bag down next to him.

"I've been okay. How about you?" John gave him a small smile, trying to hide the pain behind them.

"Managing." Was all John could reply.

"Care to elaborate?" Alexander asked curiously. John was unable to meet his eyes, only lasting a few minutes before breaking down into tears. "Oh! John, I'm so sorry." Alexander pulled him into a hug, John sobbing into Alexander's shoulder. Instead of judging or saying anything rude like John expected him to, Alexander continued to hold him, occasionally telling him it was going to be okay.

"They think it was a fisherman... my friend who covered for me last time doesn't want me coming back again..." John eventually managed to say.

"What? I don't want to get you into any trouble John..."

"No! It's fine. What are they gonna do, ground me?" John gave Alexander a light smile. "I'll be fine. There's nothing they can really do to stop me."

"Good. Just don't get yourself in any trouble, alright?"

"Okay."

~One Year Later~

It had been a year since Alexander and John started their meetups. They would meet almost every night, Alexander bringing various foods and things from home while John would tell Alexander stories from growing up. Alexander would write notes from the experiences, deciding to compile a large list of them into an actual book that John did his best to help with.

John was sitting at their usual spot, excited to see Alexander. Over their friendship, John had admittedly caught feelings, something he was teased endlessly for by Maria, but he couldn't help it. Everything about Alexander was so unique to John, especially considering John was yet to meet another human.