At the moment it seemed as though the brightest points of light in his life were Mr. Carstairs and Mrs. Grey, both of whom had repeated asked him to call them by their first names, but Alec just couldn't do it. There was something intrinsically wrong about calling a teacher by their first name, though he couldn't put his finger on what.

Through meetups at school, Alec knew Izzy was still comfortable at Simon's. He'd made a point of checking in with her as often as he could. His parents had tried to get in touch with him through the school once or twice, but he'd ignored them. He wasn't ready for that conversation. He wasn't ready for high school to end either, but no matter how he wished it to be different, time kept moving forward at a fixed rate. No matter how his exams went today it would mean the end of his publicly funded education. The end of his childhood. The world was rushing him, and all Alec could think to do was duck.

As he walked out of the school for the final time as a student, Alec felt a great sense of loss. He walked back to the closest thing he had to a home, dragging his feet the whole way, as if making the process slower would somehow prevent it's happening. What was he going to do tomorrow with no tests to study for and no classes to attend? Worse yet, what would he do if his teachers suddenly decided to kick him out? Alec couldn't bare the idea of facing his parents, even if he'd know where to find them, which he didn't.

Dragging his feet could only slow the process down so far as they didn't live all that far away. Within an hour Alec found himself knocked on their door, feeling odd as he did it. Yet it would feel stranger to just walk in uninvited. Mrs. Grey answered the door.

"You know you can just walk in, right?" she said. "I mean you do live here."

Alec shook his head. "Feels wrong," he said. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she smiled at him and turned to allow him past the her, closing the door behind him.

"You hungry?" Mrs. Grey asked. "I was just about to make dinner?"

"Shouldn't we wait for Mr. Carstairs?"

"Jem is gonna be working late tonight," she explained. "He has tests to mark."

"And you don't?" Alec asked.

"I did mine already," she smiled. "The English exams were written earlier this week."

"Oh right," Alec replied, rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he was embarrassed. "I took that exam."

"And did very well on it if I recall correctly," she smiled.

"Not well enough for any scholarships though," Alec sighed.

"I don't know," she said. "I suppose it would depend on the scholarship."

"My parents always said they had a college fund for me," Alec sighed. "So I never even thought about applying for scholarships, and now I've missed all the deadlines, plus I didn't really focus on getting scholarship level marks."

"It's true, you aren't a straight A student," Mrs. Grey replied. "But you're a very good student. Reliable, responsible."

"Ex-student you mean," Alec sighed. "As of today that's all over." He sighed, letting this fact wash over him again.

"This should be a exciting and hopeful time," Mrs. Grey said. "I hate to hear you sound so defeated."

"Is that how I sound," Alec sighed before walking over to the couch and collapsing into it. There was a moment's silence as Mrs. Grey came over to sit in the chair opposite him.

"Why are you and Mr. Carstairs being so good to me?" Alec asked. "I mean you must have hundreds of students. Why single me out?"

"Jem has always been too kind for his own good," she smiled. "But with you, I think it's more than just that."

"What then?" Alec asked.

"You must know Mr. Herondale from the school?" she continued. Alec nodded. "To Jem he's not Mr. Herondale, but just Will, and once upon a time they were best friends. And I mean the very best of friends. All but inseparable from childhood, even going to college together. But many years ago now they had a falling out. To his day Jem doesn't know why Will pushed him away. Jem won't bring him up, but I know how much he misses his friend, and well… Alec you look just like him."

"So that's it?" Alec stated, without energy. "I'm not homeless cause I look like my gym teacher?" With such a shallow reason as this he was sure he'd be on the streets or on Maia's couch inside a month.

"Maybe a little, but it isn't just that," she added, with a slightly awkward smile. "I mean I think you remind him of Will as well, or at least how Will was when he didn't have his guard up. No one but Jem ever knew that person of Will, so I can't be sure - but if I know my husband at all - that's why."

"Oh," Alec said softly. This reason was a more substantial. Alec felt a bit better. "Well in that case, I'm glad I look like my gym teacher." He laughed lightly. "Cause I honestly don't know where I'd be without you guys."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd have thought of something," she smiled. "You're a resourceful person."

"Yeah right," Alec scoffed. "More like a naive person."

"Why would you say that?" she asked.

"I knew something was up with them," Alec admitted. "They had been acting strange for weeks, and yet I did nothing!"

"You can't have been expected to-" she began, but Alec cut her off.

"Why not?" Alec continued. "Just because I'm a kid. Well, this kid turns eighteen in September, and the world is quickly going to forget that I'm a kid and throw adult life in my face whether I'm ready for it or not. If I'd been an adult for just an hour - or even a day - before everything went to hell, who knows what would have happened! Maybe I'd still have a college fund? Maybe my family would still own their house? Maybe I'd still have a future."

"I'm going to tell you a story," she began in that way parents do when they want to tell you important things and impart their wisdom. "Of an old student of mine. Before he'd finished learning to walk, his parents saw something they shouldn't have, and the whole family wound up in witness protection. Slightly inconvenient, but not all together a bad place for a kid to grow up. That is until he was sixteen. One day he came into my class with this strange look on his face, like he wasn't really there. The next day I heard what had happened. After well over a decade of being safe, his parents were suddenly found dead. It was believed that their new identities were leaked somehow. And unfortunately it was their son, my student, who'd found them." She paused as if letting it sink in.

"What happened to him?" Alec asked, giving her his complete attention.

"I watched for the next two years as he blamed himself for his parents deaths," Mrs. Grey continued. "He spent all his energy trying to think of ways he could have gotten them out safely, had he been there to help them at the time. No matter what everyone said he insisted on blaming himself. He was wrong then, as you are wrong now. There is no point to such thoughts. They only serve to hold you back. You have to forgive yourself Alec. It's the only way to move on."

"What if I'm not ready to move on?" he asked.

"Give yourself a little more time then," she replied. "But remember, moving on is the goal." Alec nodded, unsure how to explain to her that he couldn't imagine a time in which he'd ever be able to move on.

"I think that's quite enough serious talk for one night, don't you" she grinned. "What would you like for dinner?"

"Don't go to any special lengths on my account," Alec replied.

"It's no trouble," she countered. There was a strange learning curve to live with such accommodating people. When Alec had ever requested a specific meal back home he'd usually gotten out voted.

In the end, Alec gave in and let her make him a semi-fancy pasta dish that she termed 'nothing special.' Mr. Carstairs arrived home just as his wife was offering Alec dessert. Conversation easily flowed to exams, and as Alec listened to them talk, for the first time he got an idea of what high school was life for teachers. Sure, most students resented their homework, but at this moment writing one paper was feeling like a lot less work than marking thirty of them.

Alec could only characterize the evening as lovely. Good food, good company, and casual conversation made the time pass quickly.

It wasn't until late that night when he was lying in bed - not sleeping - that his mind returning to it's fretful spiral. What was he going to do tomorrow? The idea of never getting out of bed had a certain appeal to it, but somehow he suspected it wouldn't work out. When this had all started he'd felt driven and strong about getting a job, but now that the moment was actually upon him, Alec was scared. He didn't feel ready to be an adult, all alone in the world but for his own resources. It felt like just yesterday that he'd been protected from harsh realities by his family. Of course, it had actually been last week, not yesterday, but all the same it was too fast.

Eventually he must have fallen asleep, for Alec woke to a rather brighter room than usual. Reaching over to check a phone he no longer had, Alec instead turned to check the clock on the wall. It was past eleven in the morning. Well, his plan of staying in bed all day was off to a good start. It felt strange that no one had woken him, but then again, it wasn't like he had somewhere to be. Alec laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. It was a plain white ceiling, but it lacked the water damage marks of that motel he'd been in before. The room itself consisted of one double bed under the window, a dresser and a closet, which Mrs. Grey had been kind enough to empty for his use. There was a night stand as well, but without a cell phone to charge, Alec found he hadn't much use for it.

He tried to keep his mind blank, but his unwelcome thoughts refused to be silent. So instead, Alec got up and went into the kitchen. He found a note there, sitting on the counter. It read:

"We had to go into work. Just because schools over for you, doesn't mean your teachers don't still have a few things left to accomplish. :)

We will see you tonight. We are bringing pizza home for dinner. Help yourself to anything in the fridge.

Cheers

Tessa and Jem."

Well, it looked like he had the whole place to himself today. Which begged the question, what was it going to do with it?

After making himself a snack, Alec sat down on their couch and began flipping through the channels. He'd gotten through most of a movie he'd rather enjoyed, and started some strange tv show about a 18th century murder when there was a knock on the door. As this wasn't technically his place, Alec didn't feel very comfortable answering it. He'd never been the door answering person before. His parents had always done that. So Alec muted the tv and decided to just wait until they went away. They knocked twice more before ringing the doorbell. Alec watched the clock. After five solid minutes he realized whoever it was, wasn't gonna take no for an answer. Cautiously, Alec got up and moved towards the door. There was a little chain to let the door be opened a few inches to see and talk to someone while not allowing them entry and, nervously, Alec decided to use it.

Sliding the chain into the slot, Alec unlocked the door before turning the handle. He was more than a little surprised by the two faces before him. First of all, how had they known he'd be here of all places? And second, how could he possibly ignore them in person? Not replying to a message given to you by the school receptionist was one thing, but shutting the door in his parents faces was another matter entirely.

"Oh, thank goodness!" his mother gasped.

"What are you doing here?" Alec managed to say.

"Someone at the school said you were staying with the Carstairs," Robert explained.

"Carstairs and Grey," Alec corrected automatically. "She didn't change her name."

"Ah, well yes," Robert replied awkwardly, as if he wasn't quite sure why Alec had bother to correct him. To be fair, Alec wasn't sure either. He'd just said it.

"If you've known where I was all along, why'd it take you a week?" Alec asked, feeling rather unapologetic.

"They told us you were with the teachers, but not their address," Maryse explained.

"How'd you get it then?" Alec asked. He didn't know why he was so fixated on such details, though he supposed it was easier to think of them then the actual topic on everyone's minds.

"May we come in?" Robert asked. They were still talking through the chained door. Alec knew neither Mr. Carstairs or Mrs. Grey would mind if he invited them in, but still it didn't sit right with him. This was someone else's home, and he was a guest in it.

"No," Alec replied.

"Would you come out?" Maryse almost pleaded.

Alec thought about it for a while. He knew he couldn't avoid them forever, but just being near them was ruining his mood. His chest was tight, and he could feel stress clenching his stomach as well. Alec took a deep breath before replying.

"Alright," he said. "Give me a minute." And he closed the door on them before turning around and collecting his wallet. It was only then that he realized he didn't have keys.

"We can't go far," Alec told his parents as he left through the front door, leaving it unlocked. "I don't have keys."

"We can talk on the steps if that makes you more comfortable," his mother suggested. Alec nodded.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked, wanting to get this over quickly.

"At the time we couldn't face it," Robert began. "But now we feel we owe you and your sister an explanation."


My beta reader got mad at me for this cliffhanger. She demanded spoilers. Editor privilege. hehe. Though you guys do at least get a sneak peek. :)
What do you think so far? I'm really curious. This story is very different than anything I've ever written before.


Sneak Peek Chapter Five

"We tried to keep our problems, our problems rather than bring you kids into everything-"

"Didn't do a very good job of that did you?" Alec snapped, surprised by his own anger.

"That's no way to speak to your mother," Robert replied, sharply.

"What are you going to do about it?" Alec counted. "You can't very well say if you live under my roof you obey my rules. No roof remember?"