Midnight:

Chapter 11:

May 15th

Hercules' Apartment

Alexander was seated on the couch as he glanced over at Hercules for a moment or two, offering a small smile. "Thanks again for letting me crash here at the end of the semester, by the way."

Hercules nodded as he fell back on his couch, offering him a small smile. "It's no problem at all. I'm just lucky I was able to snatch this place up right before the semester ended is all."

Hercules looked down at his phone as it vibrated, frowning a bit as he read the text. He then glanced over at Alexander, setting his phone to rest on the arm of the chair. "Hey, question for you."

Alexander glanced over at the other man; eyebrow raised. "Yeah?"

"You talked to John earlier on the phone, right?"

Alexander was silent for a moment or two before nodding his head to slowly to answer Hercules' question. "Yeah, earlier. It wasn't…..good." He didn't want to seem hopeful of ever seeing John again.

Hercules just grinned and nodded. "Good, I just texted Gilbert. We got a text from John and we're going on a little road trip to South Carolina in a few days."

"Seriously? What? Are you attending the wedding now?" There was still a pang deep in Alexander's chest when he said that.

"You're going too."

May 20th

2 PM

On the Road

"I cannot believe the two of you talked me into this."

Hercules looked in his rearview mirror to give Alexander a quick look. "Come on, it'll be fine! Ellie will be joining us in a few days."

Alexander sighed, shaking his head as he picked up the book that he had been thumbing through before he looked up over at his two friends. "We're going to crash this wedding. Really?"

"Are we really crashing it?" Gilbert asked as he looked up from his map, looking back at Alexander in the back seat. "I would say we're not considering that we're guests of his."

"Fine, fine, just let me know when we get there."

10 PM

Charleston, North Carolina

Four Seasons Hotel

"Finally," Gilbert let out a sigh as he threw himself back onto his bed, glancing back up at the other two.

"Are you sure we can stay in this suite?" Alexander called from the other adjoined room, before poking his head back in to where Hercules was putting his clothes away.

Gilbert didn't move from his spot on the bed, waving his hand at Alexander. "Do not worry. In have it taken care of. Just enjoy your time here before we crash that wedding."

Alexander shook his head before he went back into the other room and sat down on the bed. He glanced down at his phone that was sitting on the bedside table before sighing and picking it up to thumb through it. He opened his last messages to John, before closing them out and setting his phone aside.

"How are you doing?" Looking up, he saw Hercules standing there in the doorway. "I know we kinda through together this road trip but I do want to make sure you're doing okay."

Alexander shrugged as he glanced over at Hercules before offering him a small grin. "Does it matter?"

Hercules chuckled as he moved over to the other bed in the room. "I mean, we're already here. Are you going to tell him or are you waiting for the wedding day to do that?"

"I don't know. This whole thing is just…." He finished his thought with a shrug.

"It's okay to be upset with us."

Alexander chuckled, shaking his head as he looked up at Hercules. "You know I'm not mad, right?" He shook his head and let out a small sigh. "I have so many feelings but mad isn't one of them."

Hercules nodded and smiled at Alexander. "Then why don't you text him?"

Alexander glanced over at the phone and nodded his head. "Could you give me a moment?"

Hercules nodded as he turned and headed to the door. "We'll be in the front room if you need us."

Sighing, Alexander picked up his phone and opened up his messages with John once again. His fingers hovered over the letters before he finally typed a message to John.

'Hey, this might sound weird but Herc, Gil and I are all here in Charleston. Would love to see you if possible.'

Alexander waited a moment or two before he finally hit the send button and sent his message to John. Sighing, he shifted in his seat before getting up and putting his phone into his pocket before getting up before joining John and Hercules in the front room of the suite.

John's Room

10:30 PM

John was sitting on his bed, going over a few things for the wedding. Martha had wanted them to write their own vows and while John new of fun times he could put in his vows, he didn't want to. It didn't feel genuine. He didn't feel connected to her in a way that she felt connected to him. His phone vibrated, nearly jumping at the sound of it moving against his nightstand.

An eyebrow raised, who was texting him this late?

Frowning, he opened his messages to see a message from Alexander and his heart nearly skipped a beat. Alexander was the last person he had expected to hear from. Perhaps he was accepting his last-minute invite to the wedding.

Reading the message, he pushed himself off the bed and slowly crept down the hall to his sisters' room. Knocking once, no answer. He frowned as he knocked again. "Marta, open up, we both know you're not asleep."

Frowning, she opened the door and looked at him with an eyebrow. "It's late, you know. We're all supposed to be asleep."

John rolled his eyes and moved past his sister to come into the room. "He texted me." He said as Marta closed the door behind him.

Marta blinked a couple of times. "He did? Really?"

"Yes! He's here in town and he wants to meet with me."

"Aren't you supposed to be working on your vows?" Marta asked. "The wedding will be here before we know it."

"Marta!"

She sighed, giving him a small smile before she moved over to sit on her bed. "I'm happy for you. I am, but what do you think the best course of action is?"

John tried his best to keep himself from pacing around the bedroom. "I don't know! I mean Martha is pregnant and the proper thing to do would be to marry her."

"But?"

"Marta, you already know how I feel!"

Marta nodded and shrugged. "Then are you going to answer him?"

John blinked, frowning a bit as he glanced down at the phone in his head, letting out a deep breath.

'I would love to see you.' He sent the message off before sitting next to his sister.

"Marta?"

"Yeah?" She asked softly as she placed her hand on her brothers shoulder.

"I never have been more scared in my life."

Marta smiled. "It's going to be okay. It'll work out."

Before he could answer, his phone buzzed with a reply from Alexander. Eyes going wide as he stood up and turned to look at his sister. "He wants to see me. He told me where he's staying."

"Then go see him. If Dad asks, I'll cover for you."

John nodded as he turned and left the room. "Thank you, Marta."

"I just want you to be happy."

Four Seasons Lobby

11:30 PM

"Alexander?"

He turned around to see John walking into the lobby and over to him. He nodded before offering him a small smile. "John."

A moment of silence passed. "Let's go for a drive. We have a lot to talk about."

Alexander nodded as he began following John out of the lobby. "Sounds good to me."