MAY 20, 2012
9:30 AM
"Hey, you okay, man?" Alfred said, snapping Arthur out of his daze.
"Huh? What?" Arthur said.
"I've been here for a few minutes and you haven't said a damn thing... you sick or something?" Alfred knit his eyebrows together, obviously concerned.
"... no, I am alright..." He was lying. The night before had been messy. Kiku had knocked him out to keep him from doing something stupid to John, and when he woke up he found Kiku trying to convince John not to press charges. Luckily, Kiku managed to get Arthur off the hook... for now.
"You sure?" Alfred said, leaning closer a bit.
"Yeah, stop asking about you you bloody git!" Arthur snapped. God, he was so tired...
Alfred smiled. "Cool! So, how long is it until I go to court?"
Arthur thought for a moment. What day was it? What was the court date? He yawned, stretching his arms above his head. "I... I don't quite remember..." He picked up his phone and looked at the date. It was the 2oth today... and the court date was...
His eyes widened. "The 23rd..." He whispered. They had three days.
Alfred gulped. "W-what day is it now?"
"... the 20th..."
Alfred's face paled and he sucked in his breath. "Oh..."
"Yeah..." Arthur said.
"Well... how are my chances of getting out looking?" Alfred said hopefully.
"..." Arthur looked down.
"Tell me." Alfred stood up quickly, starting to panic.
He cleared his throat. "Ah... not good, to be quite honest."
Alfred sat down. "Oh."
They sat in silence for several minutes, Arthur wondering what would happen if Alfred didn't get out of here. What if he was confined to a life in prison? What if Arthur never got to see him again? He shook his head. He mustn't think selfishly in such a way. That is such a rude way of thinking about it. After all, this was all about Alfred, and his life. It had nothing to do with Arthur. Then... why did Arthur feel so worried?
Finally, Alfred filled the silence. "So... How are things?"
"Things are fine." Arthur said awkwardly.
Then, Arthur's phone buzzed. He didn't even need to look at it to know that it was her. He ignored it.
Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Uh... Aren't you gonna see the message?"
"Don't need to..." Arthur sighed. "It probably says something like, 'You okay, babe?' or 'Let's chill tonight'..."
"Ah..." Alfred snickered. "She's a handful, isn't she?"
Arthur hesitated a moment before nodding a bit. "I've never been in a relationship with somebody this... ah... clingy."
Alfred leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, that's how women are."
"How would YOU know?" Arthur chuckled.
"Oh, I've dated a few women before..." Alfred smirked.
"Oh really?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, shocked.
He nodded. "Yep. Women like me a lot... Probably 'cause I'm hot." He winked and chuckled.
Arthur felt his cheeks burn a little. He cleared his throat. "Don't be such a narcissist."
"You are so funny, Arthur." He laughed, then smiled at Arthur.
"What is it? What are you looking at, you git?"
Alfred laughed again. "You're blushing and staring at me..."
Arthur covered his face. "D-don't look at me then, you bloody wanker!"
"I'm just sayin'!" He laughed some more, then stood up and went over to Arthur, pulling his arms from his face. "Don't cover your face."
Arthur blushed more deeply as he looked Alfred straight in the eyes. He realized he probably had the dumbest expression on his face, so he looked away. "Let's get back to work, you g-git..."
Alfred smirked, and Arthur could just tell what he was thinking. He mumbled under his breath, "... I'm NOT gay..." just quiet enough that he thought Alfred couldn't hear it. Alas, he apparently had very good hearing, because Alfred chuckled.
"Sure." Alfred said, still chuckling. Arthur had to hold his breath to keep from growling.
Alfred rolled his eyes. "Don't be so defensive, it doesn't work well for your cover." He winked.
Arthur felt his face burning more. His cover?! What the bloody hell was that supposed to mean? He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Just shut up, Alfred..."
"'kay!" He giggled.
He let out a long breath. "So... I spoke with your ex-boyfriend last night."
"Oh?" Alfred perked up a little, his face halfway in between being worried and interested.
Arthur nodded once. "Yes, my friend and I spoke with him."
"How'd it go?" He asked suspiciously.
"Not too well, I'm afraid," He rubbed the back of his neck, which was sore from sleeping mostly on the floor. "He does not want to confess to being the one who actually did the graffiti... And I doubt he'd be much of an effective witness..."
"So basically..." He cut in. "I'm fucked."
Arthur was about to correct his wording, but realized that it was the most accurate way of putting it. He honestly couldn't think of a way that this was all going to work out. He had no idea how to convince a jury and the judge that this man was innocent when they had no proof whatsoever besides his word. He needed something, anything, that would convince them. There had to be something...
He sat straight up. "Were there any witnesses?"
"Huh?" Alfred looked confused.
Arthur leaned forward grasping his pen and notepad, ready to write down anything he said. "Come on! Was there any way that anybody could have been around? Perhaps someone lived nearby and was on a stroll? Or looking out a window?"
Alfred bit his lip, thinking hard. Then he shook his head. "No, I don't think so... I didn't see anybody but John."
Arthur rubbed his chin, considering his options. As far as he could tell, there were two ways to go about this. One: he could take Alfred's word for it and not investigate this further. Two: he could investigate anyway.
He sighed. The latter was his best bet.
GYAHHH I'M SORRY I KEEP UPDATING SO SLOW. :(
I WILL TRY HARDER.