Chapter Text
Alex stares at his phone, not quite comprehending the message displayed on it.
We’re over. Don’t talk to me anymore.
He’s already called Willie five times and sent about a billion texts asking why and what he’s done wrong and if they’re okay, all to no answer. So now he sits on his bed, wracking his brain for what could have possibly changed between now and when he kissed Willie goodbye two hours ago.
He thought things were going well. Better than well, actually. Willie was going to come to dinner to meet Trevor and Ray this weekend, a huge step for the both of them. And even though it’s only been a month, Alex has felt himself teetering closer to the L word with every passing day. There’s just something about being with Willie that feels right; like their souls are intertwined.
Or were intertwined, because apparently now Willie wants absolutely nothing to do with him, and he has no idea why.
He still goes to the Wilsons’ on Saturday, but instead of a Meet-My-Partner Family Dinner, Trevor gets several tubs of ice cream and Alex wedges himself between Bobby and Reggie and cries while Carrie paces and threatens to unleash hell on Willie. Alex appreciates the passion, but it’s really not helping.
“I just don’t know what I did,” he whines for the fiftieth time since coming over.
Reggie runs a hand through Alex’s hair while Bobby replaces the empty tub of ice cream in Alex’s hand with a full one.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Bobby says. “They’re the one who ghosted you without an explanation.”
Reggie nods in agreement. “If they don’t even have the decency to explain then they weren’t for you anyway. There’ll be others, people who actually respect you and communicate.”
“Yeah, thanks Reg,” Alex mutters halfheartedly as he shoves a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He knows Reggie is earnest, but the thing is that Willie was respectful. They did communicate with Alex, and the two of them told each other things they’d never told anyone else. That text message sounded nothing like the Willie Alex knows.
Maybe he just doesn’t know Willie as well as he thought.
“I tried to talk to them at dance today,” Carrie says. “They wouldn’t even look at me.”
“That’s gotta make duetting hard,” Reggie muses, and Bobby reaches around Alex to thump the back of Reggie’s head. “What?” Reggie asks. Bobby shakes his head, just barely hiding a fond smile.
Alex sighs and leans his head onto Reggie’s shoulder. “Flynn says they’re not answering her either.”
Trevor comes back into the living room and drops a fresh box of tissues on the coffee table. “You should talk to them at school,” he says. “Demand an explanation.”
“I guess,” Alex mutters.
“I’m serious,” Trevor says. “You deserve better.”
Bobby’s phone buzzes and he pulls it out to read it. “It’s Luke. He wants to know if he’s allowed to come over now if he promises not to talk about music.”
“Only if he brings Julie and Flynn,” Alex huffs. He loves Luke to death, but the boy sucks at comforting people and it’s going to take the combined forces of Flynn and Julie to keep him tactful.
The trio arrives about twenty minutes later, and Alex relaxes a bit in the presence of all his friends. They spend the rest of the evening watching all his favorite movies, and while he appreciates the efforts of his friends, it does little to calm the growing dread in his stomach at the thought of confronting Willie on Monday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as Alex gets to school, he makes a beeline for Willie’s locker. He’s early, like always, and Willie tends to be cutting it close to first period on a good day, so he’s stuck waiting there for what feels like an eternity when it’s really probably only twenty minutes. He tries to keep his breathing steady while he waits, remembering the grounding exercises Dr. Turner taught him. It sort of works, in that he isn’t hyperventilating, but no amount of deep breaths will ease the way his stomach twists and his heart pounds like it’s trying to escape his chest.
Alex is about to give up and go to his first class when he catches sight of Willie coming towards their locker. That is, until they see Alex, and then they spin on their heels and speed walk away.
“Willie, wait!” Alex calls, jogging to catch up. Willie speeds up, but Alex is faster. He grabs the sleeve of their sweater, pulling them around to face him. Alex notes that their eyes are red and puffy, like they’ve been crying, and for the first time since Alex met them their board is nowhere to be seen.
“What’s your problem?” Alex demands. “You can’t just dump me with no explanation.”
Willie tries to step around him, keeping their head low to avoid his eyes. “I wish I could explain man, but I can’t.”
Alex moves to block their path. “That’s not good enough.” Willie winces, but Alex pushes on. “I thought we had something special.”
Willie’s face crumples, and Alex knows them well enough to know they’re fighting back tears. “We never should have met,” they whisper.
Whatever Alex was expecting Willie to say, it’s not that. He takes a step back. “Wow, that hurts.”
“I’m sorry Alex, I really am,” Willie says, eyes scanning the students around them. “You’re a great guy, but I can’t—“ Their eyes land on something and their breath hitches, face filling with a fear Alex has only seen when Caleb nearly caught them after the concert. “I gotta go.”
They push past Alex, leaving him stunned and stranded in the middle of the hallway. He looks around to try to find what scared Willie away, but all he finds is a guy from their dance class, Dante, watching from across the hall. When Alex’s eyes meet his, he scurries away.
The first period bell rings and Alex thanks the heavens that he has music first period. All he wants to do right now is wail on the drums until the skins break; punch holes in them until they match the holes in his heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willie had only been sitting with them at lunch for a month, but the table feels empty without them. Alex takes his seat between Luke and what should be Willie’s chair, eyeing the table where Willie now sits alone. They’re hunched over so their hair forms a curtain around their face, making it impossible for Alex to tell what they might be thinking.
Luke follows Alex’s gaze and pats him on the shoulder. “Forget about them, man,” he says. “They don’t deserve you.”
Alex just shrugs and looks down at his tray. The cafeteria food is less than appetizing on a good day. Today, Alex feels like throwing up at the thought of even taking a bite.
“Okay,” Flynn declares, slamming their hands on the table and making everyone jump. “I’m going over there.”
Alex shakes his head. “Flynn—“
“No,” she argues. “The Willie I know would never do this. Something has to be wrong. I don’t know if it’s Caleb, or what, but I’m going to find out.”
They shoot Alex a look that clearly reads no arguments and march over to Willie’s table.
Alex watches as Willie glances up at her, registers who it is, and resolutely turns away. They’re too far away to hear, but Alex sees Flynn waving her hands and gesturing back at their table, while Willie shakes their head, never looking up at her. Flynn’s gestures get bigger and more insistent, until Willie stands and snaps loud enough for Alex to hear, “I just can’t, Flynn, okay?”
They turn their gaze to meet Alex’s, and he watches as their eyes fill with the most intense pain Alex has ever seen in them.
“I’m just trying to protect him,” Willie says, much quieter. Alex isn’t entirely sure if he heard correctly, but before he can figure that out, let alone react, Willie is storming out of the cafeteria.
Alex stands to follow, but Flynn comes back to the table and puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Alex.”
“What did they mean?” Alex demands. “What are they trying to protect me from?”
“I don’t know,” Flynn says slowly, “but they seemed terrified, and they only get that way when Caleb’s holding something over them.”
“If that’s what it is then why wouldn’t they tell me? I could help them figure it out.”
Flynn sighs and tugs Alex away from the table and their friends’ eager ears.
“Listen,” they begin quietly, but in their Serious Manager tone, “I’ve been Willie’s only friend for years. I’ve seen the things Caleb’s capable of. If Willie is that scared of talking to you, then it means talking to you is going to get them punished, and not in a grounded-for-a-week type of way.”
Despite his anger, Alex feels sick at the confirmation of what he’s suspected for a while. Willie always gets cagey when Caleb comes up, quickly deflecting the subject. It’s the only boundary they’ve set; they’re willing to tell Alex anything else about themself, as long as it’s nothing to do with their adoptive father.
“So what am I supposed to do?” Alex asks, the anger leaving his voice and being replaced by desperation. “Just never talk to them again? Go my whole life knowing the person I lo— I care about is being threatened and I didn’t do anything about it?”
“I wish I could tell you,” Flynn says, and Alex can hear in her voice that she’s been grappling with the same questions for years. “I think the best thing to do for now is give Willie some space and let them ride this out. Caleb, he’s—he’s manipulative. Sometimes he’ll lift threats and make it seem like a reward. When it’s safe to talk to you again, they’ll come back, and we can figure it out from there.”
“There has to be something more we can do,” Alex says, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ll try to talk to them again,” Flynn promises. “But for now the best thing you can do for Willie is stay away from them.”
God, Alex hates that, but if Willie’s in danger the last thing he wants to do is make it worse. He just prays that they’ll talk to Flynn eventually and let them help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He calls an emergency band practice after school, because if he wanted to beat the shit out of his drums before, now he’s going to play them until they break. Preferably with a picture of Caleb’s face taped to them.
He spent the rest of the school day stewing in his anger towards Caleb, eyeing Willie from across rooms, his heart breaking little more each time they met his eyes only to look away.
His bandmates don’t say anything as he unleashes that anger on his drums; they just match their tempos to him as best they can until he outpaces them and they fall away to let him have his angry solo.
“Alex, you good, man?” Luke asks once he’s worked all the energy out of his system, face flushed and panting.
“Fine,” Alex huffs, and Luke exchanges a skeptical glance with the rest of their bandmates.
Reggie steps forward, a hesitant smile on his face. “I know it’s tough man, but I’m sure it’ll all work out.”
“Yeah, thanks Reg,” Alex sighs. Right now that feels like the furthest thing from the truth, but Alex appreciates the effort. He knows Reggie won’t say it, but this whole situation is probably bringing up a lot of trauma for him. From what Alex and the boys have been able to gather, his home life before the Molinas adopted him was a living nightmare. It just makes Alex’s heart hurt worse, knowing someone else he cares about is going through something similar.
“Do you wanna take it from the top of ‘Great?’” Alex asks, hoping music will distract everyone’s attention from him.
Luke nods and motions for Alex to count them in just as Flynn’s phone starts to ring. She quickly hops off the couch and runs outside the studio to answer it, leaving the band to start their rehearsal.
They only get to the first pre-chorus, however, before Flynn’s running back in, a frantic look in their eyes as she waves for the band to stop.
“Alex, get your keys,” she calls. “We have to go now.”
“What?” Alex throws his sticks to the ground as he stands, a spike of anxiety shooting through him. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Willie, I’ll explain in the car, but we have to go.”
Alex starts moving on It’s Willie. Without a second glance towards his band he grabs his fanny pack from the ground beneath his stool and rips his keys out of it before pulling Flynn out to his van.
“Where am I going?” he asks as he starts the engine sputters to life.
“They said a skatepark about half a mile from their house.”
Alex knows the one. He’s spent more than a few sunny afternoons there with Willie, just watching their hair blow in the breeze as they show off all their tricks. He sets off on their course, letting muscle memory take over so he can devote his full brain power to worrying about whatever the hell is going on.
“Can you tell me what’s happening?” he asks once it becomes clear that Flynn isn’t going to offer the information up voluntarily.
She startles from where she’s staring out the window and cheering her nail. “I think it might be best if Willie explains most of it,” they say, “but I think you could both be in trouble with your dads.”
Alex wants to ask so many questions—why and how and what and when—but a frigid boulder of fear pins them down in the pit of his stomach. Neither he nor Flynn say anything more until they’ve pulled into a parking lot near the skatepark. Willie is already waiting there, sitting on the curb with their knees pulled up to their chest and their head tucked into their arms.
“Willie?” Alex calls as soon as he’s out of the car.
Willie’s head snaps up, and in an instant they’re throwing themself into Alex’s arms. Alex stumbles a bit from the impact, then wraps his arms tight around them.
“I’m sorry,” they gasp, tears flowing down their cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”
“What happened?” Alex asks.
“Caleb,” Willie sobs. “He said if I ever saw you again he’d tell your dad about the dance lessons.”
Alex sucks in a sharp breath, that cold boulder in his stomach growing about six sizes.
Willie pulls away from Alex, wrapping their arms around themself. “I thought—I thought if I made you hate me again you’d stay away but Dante saw you talking to me this morning and told him so it doesn’t matter and I’m so sorry.”
Alex blinks, taking this in. He’d thought the way Dante was watching them that morning was weird, but he didn’t really know enough about the kid to be worried. Apparently all he needs to know is that he’s a sellout and a snitch.
“Okay,” Alex says, more just to force himself to speak than anything. “Okay. What’s happening now?”
“He’s on his way to your house,” Willie whispers. “Alex, I’m so sorry.”
Any remaining composure Alex has left flies out the window at the thought of Caleb Covington on his way to see Alex’s father.
“Oh my god,” Alex breathes, the wind completely knocked out of him. “He’s gonna kill me, I—“ He bends over, desperately sucking in deep breaths, and he feels a supportive hand land on his back but he can’t tell if it’s Flynn or Willie. “What do I do?”
“Maybe we can try and beat him there?” Flynn suggests. “Convince your dad Caleb’s lying somehow?”
“He’ll never believe me.” Alex shakes his head and lowers himself the rest of the way to the ground. The hand on his back shifts with him, and he glances up to see Willie settling on the curb next to him, their hand gently rubbing his shoulder blades. Their presence quiets part of Alex’s mind, like it always does, and the angry storm of thoughts subsides just long enough for Alex to get a proper look at Willie for the first time since arriving.
“Willie,” he whispers, “where’s your board?”
Willie’s hand stills on his back, their fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. “Caleb broke it.”
They sound so shattered when they say it, and something near Alex’s heart shatters with it. The anxiety ebbs away only to be replaced with a tide of righteous anger. Their fathers have taken away everything, and Alex is sick of it. He’s done. He’s going to take it all back, and he’ll be damned if Michael Mercer or Caleb Covington stand in his way.
He sucks in a deep breath and stands, setting his shoulders with a confidence foreign to him anywhere but behind a drum set. “Everyone get in the van.”
Willie gapes up at him. “Alex?”
“I’m not letting him control me anymore,” Alex says, reaching down to help Willie to their feet. “I’m gonna tell him about the lessons, and about us, and then I’m going to Trevor’s and I’m never setting foot in that hell hole again, and I want you to come with me.”
“Alex, are you sure?” Flynn asks while Willie just stares, mouth hanging slightly open.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything,” Alex says, though of course there are doubts creeping into his mind, like how his father will respond and if Trevor will even be willing to take him in. He pushes those thoughts away with the knowledge that he’s had a long-standing invitation to stay with both the Wilsons and the Molinas for years and turns to Willie. “Will you come?”
Willie shifts, rubbing their thumb on their arm. “I don’t… I don’t know what Caleb will do to me if I try to interfere.”
Alex takes their hands in his own, rubbing his thumbs across the back of them. “Then come with me to Trevor’s, too. We can figure it all out. You can’t go back home, Willie. Not if you’re this scared of him.”
Willie searches Alex’s eyes, and Alex bites his lip as their silence stretches on. He knows they’ve only been dating a month and they still haven’t talked about the whole breakup mess. This is a monumental, life-changing thing to ask, but Alex won’t be able to live with himself if Willie goes back to that house, even if their relationship is something Willie genuinely doesn’t want to continue. He just wants them to be safe.
“Okay,” Willie nods, finally, and Alex gives him a relieved grin.
“Flynn, are you coming?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll call Trevor and let him know what’s going on. Bobby or Carrie can pick me up from here and we’ll get everything figured out.”
“Thank you.” Alex pulls them into a tight hug. “You’re the best.”
“I know,” Flynn says, their usual sarcasm replaced by something more wistful. She squeezes Alex tight, then separates from him and pulls Willie into their own hug. “Good luck.”
Alex gives her one more quick hug before getting into the van. They sit in silence for the first few minutes of the drive, Alex tapping a frantic beat on the steering wheel while Willie stares at their shoes like they’re trying to burn a hole in them.
Finally, when the silence verges on painful, Willie speaks.
“I’m sorry,” they say. “I was trying to protect you. That breakup text wasn’t from me, Caleb wrote it. But I didn’t tell you the truth because I thought if you knew you’d keep trying to help me and Caleb would find out.”
“Well,” Alex shrugs. “You were right.”
He reaches over and takes Willie’s hand, and they look up at him in surprise.
“I’d follow you anywhere, Willie,” he says. “If that’s what you still want.”
“I do,” Willie nods immediately, pulling Alex’s hand close to their chest. “Of course I do. Alex, I love you.”
Despite how shitty everything about this situation is, a massive smile splits Alex’s face. “I love you too.”
They have each other. They have their love, and that’s all they need. They’ll figure everything else from there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Alex pulls into his driveway, Caleb’s car is already there.
“Are you sure about this?” Willie asks.
“Yeah,” Alex breathes. “You?”
Willie nods.
“Okay then,” Alex sighs. He gives Willie’s hand a quick squeeze and drops if before getting out of the van and marching up the path to the front door. Willie follows closely behind, hovering behind Alex as he takes a deep breath and shoves the door open.
Caleb is sitting at the dining table with Alex’s father, and Alex’s heart leaps into his throat at the sight. Michael looks like he’s about to explode, his shoulders scrunched up to his ears and a vein throbbing in his temple, while Caleb simply sweeps his cold gaze over the two kids from where he reclines in his seat.
“Hello, Alexander,” Caleb smirks. “Ah, and William too. How convenient.”
“Explain yourself.” Michael barks. “Now.”
Alex takes a deep breath and glances at Willie, who has gone pale. Their eyes flicker over to him, and their face falls into a determined grimace. They nod, and Alex turns back to his father.
“I love ballet,” he begins. “It’s my passion, I wasn’t going to let you take that away from me. I’m not sorry about it. And doing ballet doesn’t make me gay, like you were so terrified of, but that doesn’t matter because I am. I’m gay, and this is my partner Willie. I love them, and I’m done caring even a little bit what you think about it.”
“Get out,” Michael growls, face redder than Alex has ever seen it. “Now!” he screams.
“With pleasure.”
Alex grabs Willie’s hand and starts to march towards the door, but Caleb’s voice stops them in their tracks.
“And where do you think you’re going, William?”
Willie closes their eyes and takes a moment to steel themself before turning to face Caleb with a fire in their eyes Alex has never seen before.
“I’m done,” Willie says. “I’m done letting you lie and manipulate and use me. I deserve better. I deserve to be happy, and I’m never going to get that as long as you’re a part of my life. So I’m leaving. Goodbye, Caleb.”
Before Caleb can respond, Willie tugs Alex out the front door.
As soon as the door closes behind them, they both let out deep breaths.
“Holy shit,” Alex groans.
“Yeah,” Willie nods, and then a little hysterical giggle escapes their throat, and before Alex knows it he’s laughing too. It’s maybe not the appropriate reaction for having just essentially disowned their families but Alex knows if he stops laughing he’ll cry, so he’ll take the former.
“Come on,” Alex gasps between giggles, “Caleb can’t be too far behind us.”
They clamber into the van and Alex guns it, and it’s not until they’re a solid quarter mile away that Willie’s laughter finally subsides. Alex glances over at them to find tears streaking down their cheeks.
“Hey,” Alex says softly, reaching over to wipe the tears away. “We’re gonna be okay.”
Willie covers Alex’s hand with their own. “I know.” They lace their fingers together and bring their hands down to their lap. “I can’t believe I’m free from him.”
“Me neither,” Alex whispers. It’s like the whole world has opened up around him, now that he’s finally free of his father’s crushing expectations. From the way Willie looks out the window like they’re seeing the world for the first time, they’re probably feeling the same way.
The drive to Trevor’s mansion feels like it takes ages, but when they get there he welcomes them both with tight bear hugs and the promise that he’s proud of them and will take care of them for as long as they need. The rest of their friends are waiting for them too with ice cream and movies and cuddles, and while Alex and Willie are definitely not alright, they look around at their new family and know that they definitely will be.
~~~~~~~~Eight months later~~~~~~~~
Alex has a very long list of things he needs to worry about today. He needs to worry about being on time to his first dance class at his new studio. He needs to worry about impressing his new teacher, who thankfully, is nowhere near as strict as the last, but he still wants to make a good first impression. And most of all, he needs to worry about the fact that he’s going back into an advanced class after months of only dancing with Willie.
“I can hear you overthinking, Princey,” Willie says, nudging his shoulder playfully. “It’s gonna be great. Besides, this time you don’t have a massive hole in your tights.”
“Yeah,” Alex laughs, “thanks for not running me over today.”
“I still could, if you want,” Willie offers, holding up the new skateboard Trevor got for them only days after they moved in.
“Tempting offer, but I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” Willie shrugs. “You ready?”
Alex takes a deep breath and grabs Willie’s hand. “Yeah. I’m ready.”
Willie grins and places a quick kiss on Alex’s cheek before tugging him into the studio. There’s a woman in her mid-forties setting up the music, and she turns to them with a kind smile when they enter.
“You must be Alex and Willie.”
“That’s us, ma’am,” Willie says.
“It’s a pleasure to have you,” she says. “I’m Miss Abigail.”
“Nice to meet you,” Alex says, shaking her offered hand.
“We’ll start warm ups in a few minutes, but feel free to start mingling with the class.”
Alex nods and glances at Willie, who’s biting their lip like they want to say something but think they shouldn’t, and Alex knows exactly what it is.
“Um, Miss?” Alex asks, and Abigail turns her attention back to them. “We heard this class was doing The Nutcracker, is that correct?”
“It is,” Abigail nods.
Alex squeezes Willie’s hand. “Willie’s interested in auditioning for Clara. Would it be possible for them to do that?”
“Of course,” Abigail smiles. “We welcome students to try out for any part they desire.”
Alex grins as Willie’s face lights up, and as soon as Abigail turns her back to them he pulls Willie into a kiss.
Willie smiles and rests their forehead on Alex’s. “Those leads are so ours.”
“Oh yeah,” Alex laughs. “No competition.”