A/N: I actually managed to upload on time, so I'm really proud of myself.
This is the chapter where everyone realizes that Alfred still does have a heart. I apologize for making him seem like such a douche bag, but it was necessary. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to drop me a review when you're finished.
Alfred watched the halls as he unloaded his bookbag into his locker. He knew the person he was searching for wouldn't show up, but it had become somewhat of a habit of his. For the last ten days, Alfred had watched the halls, hoping to see Arthur strolling along, most likely hiding the bruises that were sure to be on his face. Nothing.
Alfred sighed and cringed as he remembered, not for the first time, what had happened the night he had kissed Arthur. He remembered the echo of the slap as it had connected with Arthur's face. He remembered the words Arthur had said to try and defend him and Francis. He remembered the guilt he had felt for trying to play out the nicest man he had ever met.
He remembered the guilt because he still felt it. He still felt the occasional pull at his heart when he noticed Arthur's seats in the classes they shared were still empty. His stomach still dropped when he noticed that Arthur was no longer hopping out of some fancy car in the morning to get to class on time.
Alfred was always in a state of uselessness because he always noticed that Arthur was gone, and he noticed that it was his fault.
"Hey man, you good?" asked an obnoxious, raspy voice from behind him. A large, cold hand was placed on his shoulder. "You aren't looking too hot."
Alfred closed his locker door. "I haven't felt too hot lately." Turning around, Alfred came face to face with Gilbert, the albino's red eyes piercing through his own. "I don't think I'm going to go to practice today, man. I'm just not feeling up to it." Alfred shrugged Gilbert's arm off his shoulder as he began to walk towards the student parking lot.
Gilbert followed behind Alfred, his voice loud and grating as he talked. "You know, you've been acting weird ever since you hung out with that kid. He didn't give you anything, did he?"
Alfred stopped walking and turned around, tilting his head to the side as he tried to understand what Gilbert was saying. "What... kid?"
And as soon as he asked the question, Alfred knew exactly what "kid" his friend was talking about. Arthur.
"You know," Gilbert announced before Alfred had the chance to correct himself. "That little queerdo who always stared at your junk after gym class. He picked a locker right next to yours so it would be easier to creep on you. The little blonde freak I dared you to fuck?"
Alfred turned away sharply. "Okay, Gilbert, that's enough. I know who you're talking about."
"About time. I can't believe you forgot."
"And his name is Arthur, by the way. He didn't stare at me after gym class, and it wasn't on purpose that our lockers were right next to each other. And you didn't dare me to fuck him, you dared me to fuck with him, and frankly, I regret taking the dare now so can you not bring it up anymore?" Alfred began walking away, tossing his bookbag over his shoulder and trying to block out the rest of whatever Gilbert was saying.
But then Alfred remembered something Francis had said to him. Something about knowing about the bet. Alfred stopped walking again, so suddenly that Gilbert ran into his back. Without turning around, Alfred asked Gilbert, "Did you tell anyone about our bet? Maybe someone from the college that you're friends with?"
Gilbert rubbed his nose, twisting his face in frustration as he watched Alfred. "I have a few friends in college, yeah. What about it?"
"But did you tell any of them? Did you tell Francis?"
Gilbert cackled so loud that the remainder of the students in the halls stopped and looked his way. "Oh man," he cried. "You know Francis? Oh, that's hilarious. How did you meet him? He's a trip, ain't he? The most awesome man I've ever met, apart from myself, of course."
Alfred sighed, beginning to become frustrated with his teammate. "Did. You. Tell. Francis. About. The. Bet."
"Yeah, man," Gilbert confessed. "Francis and I have been tight for years; he usually gets really into things like that, but he wasn't too happy when I told him and we haven't talked since. So whatever, if he wants to stop talking to me because of some queer kid he lives next to, forget him."
Alfred pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. Gilbert can be an idiot a lot of the times. God forbid he uses the brain that he was born with. "From now on, Gilbert," he began. "Don't go around running your mouth to people about what we do or say. It causes trouble." Alfred started to walk away again, but before he could get too far away, he looked over his shoulder and shot Gilbert a disgusted look. "And the reason he got offended and stopped talking to you, you moron, is because Francis is gay, too."
As Alfred walked away, he could hear Gilbert sputtering and denying the claim from behind him, but the albino made no move to follow Alfred after that.
Arthur still hasn't answered any of the text messages or voicemails Alfred had sent him throughout the ten days of not showing up at school, and even though he was pretty sure why, he couldn't stand to let Arthur believe that he wasn't sorry.
Alfred's truck was parked half a block down the street from Arthur's house, his engine idle as he tried to decide if he was really stupid enough to walk up to the front door. As he stared at the many unanswered messages on his phone screen, he made up his mind: he had to find out where Arthur was and what had happened to him to make him miss school for so many days.
Turning his engine off, Alfred slid from the driver seat of his truck, making sure not to slam the door too loud, just in case they heard him before he got up there. He didn't want to say he was aiming for the element of surprise, but he felt it would be safer for him to approach the house without making an annoying amount of noise. Self-preservation, that's what it was.
Anderson's car was in the driveway, and Alfred hoped he wasn't the one who opened the door once he knocked. It might have been almost two weeks since the incident, but Anderson's hateful words still rang in his ears. Someone who could hate a group of people that passionately for no reason wasn't about to get over his hatred just because he hasn't had to deal with the reason that made him explode like that.
Alfred raised his hand to knock on the door, well aware that everything that had happened that night had been his fault. His stomach dropped, heart beat filling his ears as he imagined everything that could happen once he knocked on the door. Most of them were actually impossible, but Alfred's brain wasn't thinking about possibility; he was more concerned about making everything worse for Arthur by trying to keep in contact with him.
I just have to apologize, Alfred thought, grinding his teeth as he swallowed his fear and knocked on the door. His knuckles rapped lightly against the solid white wood of the door. As he waited for the door to be opened, his heart rate continued to race. What if Anderson opened the door and treated Alfred like he had treated Arthur? Francis had warned that he would do it, and not feel bad about hitting on someone else's kid. Alfred tried to imagine what it would feel like to be punched in the face by an older man, who was just as muscular as he was and harbored a lot more hate in his heart. The thought terrified him.
The door finally opened, and right inside the house was Alice. Her eyes were wide when she saw that it was Alfred standing on the other side of the door. Her hand went momentarily to her mouth before looking around and stepping outside.
When the door was closed behind her, she leaned forward and whispered, "Alfred, sweetheart, what are you doing here?" Her eyes kept looking around, shifting nervously to take in their surroundings.
Alfred worried about the woman, but he couldn't ask her what she was so afraid of; he had a feeling that he knew what she was afraid of.
"I'm looking for Arthur," Alfred explained. "He hasn't been in school the last two weeks, and I'm worried about him. Is he here? Do you think I could talk to him?"
Alice's expression went from terrified to grief-stricken. She shook her head and looked down, her shoulders slumping. "Arthur hasn't been here, either, dear. He left about two days after you were here last." She looked up again, her eyes watering and body trembling. "I tried to convince him to stay, but Anderson was trying everything in his power to push my baby boy farther away. They got into another fight, Arthur disappeared upstairs for the rest of the night, and then when I went to wake him up the next morning, he was gone."
Alice's tears were streaming down her face, her words interrupted by hiccups of emotion. Alfred wasn't too sure what to do to try and comfort her, so he just stuck out his hand and patted her gently on the shoulder.
That small gesture seemed to break the dam of tears even further. Alice howled in pain, throwing herself forward and into Alfred's chest. Her tears seemed to burn Alfred's skin as they soaked through his thin T-shirt.
"I don't know where he went, and I don't know if he's okay," Alice sobbed. "But if you find him, Alfred dear, please bring him back home. I can't live with Anderson anymore, but I can't leave without Arthur. I have to have my baby boy back."
Alfred wrapped his arms around Alice's small frame, hugging her tightly as he promised her that he would bring Arthur back to her.
The front door to the house opened behind them. Alice jumped away from Alfred, wiping her eyes and nose on the sleeve of her dress. "What the hell are you doing here, boy?" snarled an angry, deep voice. Alfred gulped, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans as he lifted his gaze to meet Anderson's.
"I'm just here to try and find Arthur, sir. He hasn't been at school for two weeks, and I'm worried about him." Alfred cringed and scolded himself mentally. It probably wasn't a good idea to tell Anderson that Arthur hadn't been in school. Maybe, if Arthur did happen to come back to the house for something, Anderson might make it more difficult for him.
"Of course he hasn't been to school. Without his mother to baby him, he probably got lost and starved to death on the side of the road. It'll do him some good to be out on his own." Anderson spat on the ground and reached for Alice. He gripped her shoulder so hard that Alfred could see his knuckled turning white and pulled her back towards him. "Hopefully it'll show him how unkind the world is to people like him."
The pure hatred that was showing on Anderson's face made something in Alfred's heart. He couldn't understand why Arthur had lived with this man for so long and dealt with his treatment, and why Alice had allowed it to go on for so long, but Alfred was going to have none of it.
"Excuse me, sir, but I don't think you're correct." His voice waivered slightly as he tried to suppress his anger. Showing that he had been affected by the other man's words in any way would only make Anderson believe he had won, and Alfred imagined that Anderson was unstable enough to believe he could get away with anything if he knew he had gotten under Alfred's skin.
Alice shook her head slightly, indicating for Alfred to shut up and not say anything else. However, the look on Anderson's face fueled Alfred's temper, all but forcing him to continue.
"A lot of people, especially parents around your age and students my age and younger, are perfectly fine with the LGBT community. The idea that there is something wrong with us and that we are diseased is outdated, and science has even proven that belief to be false. In today's world, being yourself - not even being gay or bisexual or transgender, but just being yourself and doing what makes you happy in general - has become the accepted way to live one's life, and it isn't fair for you to condemn someone just because of how they were born."
Anderson opened his mouth to protest, but Alfred wasn't quite finished with what he had to say. At the sight of Alice's horrified face, however, he decided to keep his next words short. "And, yes, sir, it is proven that you are born gay. Now, do you have any idea where I can find Arthur, or must I go in search of him blind?"
Anderson's face was red, his eyes nearly bugging out of his sockets as he was visibly holding in his anger. When he spoke, his words were chipped, hatred seeping from every syllable. "You should learn to respect your elders, boy. I don't care if your parents decided to raise you the wrong way, but that's not how it's done in my family. Now get off my property before I remove you by force. Don't you ever come around here again. And if you do, there will be trouble."
The door slammed shut in Alfred's face as Alice was dragged the rest of the way inside at the last second before the door could hit her.
Alfred walked back to his truck, rubbing his eyes so hard he began to see spots in his vision. When he reached the ancient vehicle, he climbed inside and slammed the door, not caring if anyone heard him this time around. Alfred focused on his breathing as he tried to calm himself down. He should have known he would get nowhere talking to that man, but he had at least hoped Arthur would be home so he could sneak upstairs and talk to him.
Digging into his jeans pocket, Alfred decided to try calling Arthur one more time.
The phone went straight to voicemail, which was a difference from the many times he had called before. Then, it had at rang at least three times before going to voicemail, which meant that Arthur had either turned his phone off to ignore Alfred further, or it had died. Alfred's fingers itched to try dialing Arthur's number again, just to be sure, but he forced himself to put his phone back in his pocket. He wouldn't get anywhere by sitting here hoping to get in touch with someone who had apparently disappeared without a trace. Even his own mother didn't know where he was!
Alfred slammed his hands down on his steering wheel, gritting his teeth in frustration as he wracked his brain. Who else besides his mother would Arthur confide in? He could understand why he wouldn't tell her anything - Anderson seemed to have her so scared senseless she might have told him where Arthur had gone in fear for her own life.
But Francis!
Alfred turned his truck on, not wanting to walk past Arthur's house (not because he was afraid of running into Anderson again, but because he was just too lazy to walk again. Yeah, that's it). It took him not even two minutes to reach Francis's driveway. He parked behind a black Jaguar, making sure to take note of how loaded Francis's parents apparently were, and not failing to also notice how dingy his beat up, hand-me-down truck looked in comparison to the almost-brand-new vehicle parked before him.
Taking a deep breath, Alfred shut off the engine to his truck and hopped out of the cab, making sure to throw a look over his shoulder at Arthur's yard. Just in case Anderson was outside and watching for him. When Alfred saw that the coast was clear, he sighed (but not in relief, oh no. He wasn't afraid) and made his way between the expensive vehicles.
At the door, Alfred took another deep breath, lifted his hand and prepared to knock. Before his knuckles could connect with the wood, however, the door flew open. Standing on the other side was a clean-shaven, fresh-looking Francis, his face twisted in disgust as he stared at the man standing before him.
"Can I help you?" He asked in disdain.
Alfred dropped his hand, twidling with his thumbs as he chewed on his bottom lip. Francis's gaze was cold, and Alfred could feel the hostility emanating from the other man. Looking up, swallowing the lump in his throat, Alfred said, "I'm really, really worried about Arthur. I just came from his house hoping to find him, but his mother said he wasn't there, and hasn't been there for over a week..."
Francis gazed into Alfred's eyes for so long the jock began to feel uncomfortable. Francis's gaze was intense, his eyes twitching from one part of Alfred's face to another as he searched for something within the other's expression. Finally, the Frenchman sighed and stepped aside, swinging his arm out to indicate the room behind him. "That's because he's been here. Come in."
