(hello in case anyone didn't notice, i'm making up some of my own rules for court while also looking up information on court)
(other note: im begging you guys to read these chapters in order because i saw chapter 26 had more readers than chapter 25 and i really don't want you guys to miss important things)

present

ALICE.

Sebastian showed up to mine and Billy's hotel room around 11:40 a.m. wearing a light grey t-shirt and jeans and claiming to not be able to sit around and wait for this whole debacle to begin. I had smiled at him and had opened the door for him to enter and he immediately walked to the chair facing the far end of the coffee table.

Oliver had knocked on our door around 11:55 a.m. and I had opened the door to see him wearing a white and navy blue striped t-shirt with a bright red 3/4 sleeved button up shirt over it that was unbuttoned while accompanying the look with light blue skinny jeans. I had stepped aside so he could enter and he walked towards the chair beside Billy's that was facing the couch. Oliver had flashed Billy a wide smile only for Billy to roll his eyes and sigh.

I, on the other hand, had seated myself on Oliver's right while also facing the couch. I was about as far away from Sebastian that I could be with this seating placement, but it's not like where any of us sat mattered. The situation at hand mattered, and where any of us sat couldn't really change anything.

"It's noon," Billy murmured as he glanced at his phone. "Where the fuck are they?"

Oliver rolled his eyes as he slumped over in his seat. "Relax, Billy," Oliver sighed. "Every little thing's gonna be alright," he cooed with a wink.

Billy glared at Oliver as Sebastian and I sat in silence while watching the men go back and forth. "Sometimes I really fucking hate you more than I already hate you," Billy remarked.

Oliver sheepishly smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Hate sex is always an option," Oliver replied.

Billy groaned and tilted his head back. "Never," Billy whispered as he closed his eyes, "will I ever have sex with you."

Oliver raised an eyebrow as a look of confusion spread across his face. "Why?"

Billy's eyes slowly opened and shifted to face Oliver. "Because you're you," Billy replied casually.

Oliver pouted as he slumped farther down in his seat in response. He turned his head to face the coffee table while pulling the collar of his white and navy blue striped t-shirt to cover his whole head. "Everyone hates me," he murmured as he grabbed his red shirt by the collar and pulled it over the back of his head. Now he just looked like some type of fashionista going through a existential crisis.

"That's not true," I cooed with a reassuring smile even though he couldn't see me. "A lot of people love you, Oliver."

"They only love me for my dick," Oliver grumbled.

I sighed before glancing at Billy past Oliver. "Billy doesn't actually hate you," I mumbled while raising an eyebrow, "right, Billy?"

———
BILLY.

I sighed as I rolled my eyes. "I guess not," I whispered.

Oliver immediately pulled his articles of clothing back to their original places as his head snapped in my direction. "Really?" he squeaked out as a wide grin spread across his face.

I don't necessarily hate Oliver, ok? I simply tolerate him. Before these past few days, I hadn't really seen the guy that much. I mean, him and I had been at the same parties before and said a few words to each other here and there, but we were never really, um, friends. The only reason I had asked him to help me out with the whole Austin situation was because I had known I could trust him because our dads worked together. That's it. That's just it.

The reason I only tolerate Oliver now is because, well, he reminds me a little bit of Johnny Starson. Even before Johnny had "come out" to me by kissing me, he had always had some, um, "gay" qualities, if you will. Johnny was always flamboyant, not nearly as flamboyant as Oliver, but he was definitely somewhere close. Johnny was always happy and never, ever had a frown on his face. Even when people would try and degrade him, he'd simply reply with some type of witty comment or plainly offer them a big smile. Oliver was basically the older, more pale, richer, and, um, "sluttier" version of Johnny. Oh, and also Oliver is way more gay than I think Johnny could ever be even with Oliver being bisexual. And Oliver also has done many masses of drugs. I guess the two aren't exactly the same, but I mean, they're kinda close.

Oliver just brought back memories of Johnny for every reason that I listed above. It's not like Johnny had ever really left my mind, but Oliver just made the whole situation one million times worse. He just reminded me of my failure at preventing Johnny from taking his life, and he reminded me of the love I once had for my best friend. BUT LET ME GET THIS CLEAR: I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH OLIVER BLACKHEART. Another reason that I could hate Oliver for but I don't is that he slept with Alice, but her and I hadn't really talked about what we used to be, so I didn't care that she slept with him. I still care for Alice, don't get me wrong, I care about her immensely, but in a "we saved each other and kinda, like, slept with each other a few times and now we're best friends" kind of way. Hell, her and I had gone through a lot together. The years of abuse from Austin; the sex tape; my past being released; the kidnapping; still not knowing how the fuck Austin knew what exit we were even leaving from while escaping the hotel; Vinny's statement; Sebastian's involvement with everything; Oliver showing up out of no where and becoming our friend; partying with everyone listed above; court dates now being released; Johnny Starson flashbacks- wow, Alice and I have gone through a fucking lot these past few days, and also years. But hey, at least we have a constant supply of free drugs and liquor and parties. I guess that's a positive.

"Yay," Oliver cheered as he shook his fists while holding them at his chest. "We're gonna be best friends."

I sighed while rolling my eyes before closing them. "If we're going to be best friends, you're going to have to give me long periods of silence," I murmured.

After a few moments of not hearing Oliver respond, I opened one eye to see that Oliver was giving me a thumbs up while wearing a goofy grin. Yes, even if one hadn't heard that Oliver Blackheart was partially gay, one could definitely tell if they saw this manboy out in public.

A knock was heard at our door after a few more moments of silence, resulting in me standing from my seat and walking towards the sound. I opened the door to see my father and Xavier standing outside wearing suits while holding little brown pastry bags.

"Move," my father said as he walked past me with Xavier trailing him, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Nice to see you, too, Dad," I murmured while shutting the door. I followed them towards the seating area and I took my seat while they sat beside one another on the couch across from Oliver, Alice, and I.

"We brought snacks," Xavier cooed as he held up the brown bag in his hand while motioning towards the bag in my father's hand.

"Professional," Alice chuckled as the two men set the bags down on the coffee table.

Oliver leaned over to glance inside the bags along with Sebastian who had to practically get up from his seat to see the contents within them. "Ew," Oliver murmured as his face contorted into a look of disgust. "I fucking hate bagels."

Xavier rolled his eyes dramatically before reaching inside of his suit pocket and grabbing a bag that had been folded. "Relax," he groaned as he held out the bag before chucking it at Oliver. "I got you your pink frosted donut, you ungrateful fuck."

Oliver sighed as he unwrapped the bag and pulled out his pink frosted donut with rainbow sprinkles. "What can I say?" Oliver sighed as he held the donut in front of his face while studying it. "I'm the whole gay pride parade."

Xavier closed his eyes and sighed while shaking his head before glancing over us. "Well," he began as a small smile spread across his face. "Shall we begin?"

Oliver smirked as he asked darkly with a mouth full of donut, "Shall we play a game?"

"Shut up," Xavier exclaimed as he motioned a hand towards Oliver. "You don't even really need to fucking be here, so shut the actual fuck up and shove that goddamn donut down your throat," Xavier exclaimed dramatically, but definitely not angrily.

Oliver glared at his father as he took another bite of his donut without saying a word.

"Anyway," my father exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. "Now for the more serious situation at hand." He glanced at Xavier while murmuring, "Do you wanna take it away or do you want me to handle it?"

Xavier shooed my father's question away as he chuckled. "I guess we'll start from the beginning," he chuckled while glancing between Alice and I. "Alice," he murmured. "I need to know your story with Austin starting from the very beginning."

Everyone's eyes found Alice as she gazed down at her lap while fiddling with her thumbs.

"Any time you're ready," Xavier murmured with a reassuring smile as he placed a recording device on the coffee table. Alice's eyes stared questioningly at it which caused Xavier to speak up. "Don't worry, I won't be playing this back in court," he murmured. "I'm just recording all of this now so I can be better prepared when I represent the two of you."

Alice flashed him a small smile while mumbling, "Thank you." She then remained silent for a few minutes before speaking up. "Austin and I started, um, talking during our junior year of high school," she murmured.

Alice went on to tell her entire recollection of events with her and Austin while including moments when he had abused her in various types of ways. When Alice would get to the parts in her story where Austin had abused her, everyone's eyes would close temporarily and sigh in discontent at the situation. I, especially, was the worst spectator during her story because I had actually been there. All those years, that had gone on and I didn't do shit about it. Friend of the Year award will definitely be going to Billy Redford this year.

When Alice finished, everyone flashed her a reassuring smile as she glanced around at us.

"Thank you, Alice," Xavier murmured with a small smile. "And I'm so sorry that you had to relive those years just now."

Alice offered him a small smile in return. "It's all right," she mumbled. "Next step is filing those divorce papers," she chuckled.

Xavier chuckled in response. "I will definitely be there for that, too," he chuckled. He cleared his throat before glancing at me while Alice reached over and grabbed a bagel. "Billy," he cooed as he studied me. "You're up."

I nodded my head slowly as my eyes trained upon the coffee table. "What exactly do you need to hear?" I asked as I continued to study the table.

Xavier exhaled through his nose softly before he answered. "Whatever I need to," he murmured. "Anything about you that's been released as of lately, I need your story on, Billy."

I glanced up at him to see that he was wearing a reassuring smile. I couldn't even imagine being Xavier in this situation, and I definitely could not imagine being a lawyer. Having to hear people's sob stories for a living and defend them? Not my thing, Pal. Not my fucking thing.

I glanced to my right at Oliver to see that he was offering me a small smile while giving me a thumbs up with his hand rested against the arm of the chair. Jesus Christ, did this playboy remind me of Johnny. I could just see Johnny throughout the softness of Oliver's features when he looked at me like this. Hell, ninety percent of the time that I had been with Oliver these past few days, he had always been acting like a cheery, soft, lovable kitten which remind me of Johnny. The other ten percent was just Oliver smirking and winking at one of us while acting like he was a sex god, which I guess he was. Again, I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH OLIVER. He simply reminds me of an old friend.

"Well," I began as my eyes remained on Oliver's before finding Xavier's. "What Vinny said wasn't true."

Xavier offered me a wide smile as he nodded his head. "I already knew that, Bill," he murmured kindly.

I chuckled before clearing my throat. "The pictures that Vinny released," I murmured, "were of me with my old friend Johnny Starson." I took a short pause before continuing. "Johnny and I had been best friends even before my parents got divorced," I said as I glanced at my father. "But one day, I kissed him," I whispered, "and I didn't wanna stop." I bit my lip as I closed my eyes. "The day that my mother, Lucia, and Vinny found out about my credit card situation," I murmured, "is the same day that I had kissed Johnny in the forest. Vinny had dragged me to my room and had thrown me onto my bed, and that's when he saw the pictures." I gulped as my eyes opened to meet my father's while my lip quivered. "That's the real reason he did what he did to me for months," I whispered.

My father's eyes watered as he studied me. I saw pain in his eyes, true genuine pain. And I understood. He had told me just the other day that he wished he had been there, and I wished the same exact thing. Fate's a cruel bitch, but at least I'm still here.

"I'm the reason Johnny killed himself," I whispered as my eyes found Oliver's. Maybe it was because I was currently reliving my memories with Johnny as they played over and over in my head, because Oliver genuinely looked like Johnny in this moment. I could see it in his eyes, his facial expression- everything, even if he looked nothing like Johnny. For some reason I saw Johnny in him, and I both loved and hated it.

I turned to face Xavier as I calmed myself down. "I told him that I didn't need him," I murmured.

I went on to tell my story, and then Xavier had asked Sebastian for his statement. Sebastian didn't really know what to say other than the time he spent with Alice on the plane and to the hotel. He had mentioned the little incident between Anthony, Alice, himself, and I in the hallway right before Alice and I had been taken, and I knew he blamed himself for us being kidnapped, but Alice and I had reassured him that it wasn't his fault.

"How did Austin even find out when you were leaving the hotel?" Xavier asked as he glanced around at us. "And how did he know what fucking door you guys were leaving through? There's many exits throughout this hotel, so how'd he know that you guys were leaving through that one?"

———
OLIVER.

Because of me. I'm the rat in this situation. I'm the reason my new friends got kidnapped. It's my fucking fault.

"I don't know," Billy murmured as he shook his head. "I've been asking myself the same thing, but I never find a good enough answer."

"Me too," Alice whispered. "I knew he had friends out here, but I don't know how they could've found us so quickly."

IT'S ME. I'M THE FUCKING FRIEND. BILLY SENT ME HIS LOCATION. IT WAS ME.

"Jesus," Tommy murmured as he closed his eyes. "I guess I'll have to get my team on that, too."

My eyes lit up for a moment as I gazed at the coffee table. There was no way of them finding out that it was me, right? Austin surely had Zayn clean out his phone entirely. And plus, no one would suspect Annie as a corrupt cop. Then again, it's me, the bisexual playboy, versus two of the most powerful men in the world and one of them just happened to be my very own father. I am. So. Fucked.

"Thank you," Alice murmured as she gazed thankfully between Tommy and my father.

All of us remained in silence for a few moments before Tommy glanced at his phone. "It's pretty late," he murmured. "Well, not for you kids, at least."

"What time is it?" I mumbled as I raised an eyebrow.

"It's already been seven hours since we got here, somehow," Tommy responded while chuckling.

Billy chuckled in response. "I guess story time lasted a lot longer than expected," he murmured.

I chuckled along with everyone before my brain started blasting warning sirens.

FUCK. YOU FORGOT ABOUT ZAYN, YOU FUCKING DUMBASS.

"Um," I cooed as I glanced around everyone nervously. "I, um, have to go," I murmured as I awkwardly stood up from my seat. "I have shit to do." Stupid excuse, Blackheart. I thought you were good at lying?

"Doesn't surprise me," my father responded as he shooed me away. "Go do whoever you're fucking tonight."

I rolled my eyes in response. "I didn't mean that, Dad," I sighed. "I meant that someone invited me to a party tonight and I have to go home so I can debate in my head whether I wanna go or not," I whined. Definitely something I would do, and definitely something everyone in the room expects of me. I'm just an actual dumbass who can't even handle buying groceries, so no one would be surprised at my methods at this point.

"Whatever," my father laughed. "Go back to your brothel and debate away."

I chuckled as I walked towards the door while glancing over my shoulder and offering everyone a sincere smile. After tonight, I'd genuinely be free from anything Austin ever had on me. Hell, in a short amount of time I'd be free.

"Goodbye," I cooed as I opened the door. "Don't get fucked up without me!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sebastian called back, causing me to chuckle. Too bad Sebastian's not at least partially bisexual, because I would really love for him to just...Never mind. Now's my time to focus.

Never mind, now my mind's racing with explicit thoughts as I'm walking towards the elevator. One may be shocked when they hear this, so brace yourselves. I, Oliver Brandon Blackheart, am a bottom when it comes to men. I know, right? Weird. Anyway, with women I go both ways (bisexual puns!). But with men, I'm definitely a bottom. And I say bottom in the most, um, unironic way possible. Do I ride dick? Yes. Do I get fucked by dick? Also yes. What I mean is, I am a "bottom" which simply means that I'm the one who gets a dick up the ass. Too explicit? Sorry, but have you met me?

I shook my head as thoughts whirled around in my mind while hitting the button in the elevator for the main lobby. Why was it that whenever I was stressed and anxious, very arousing thoughts always flew through my mind like a fucking sex deprived bird? I'm not even deprived of sex, but I still act like a deprived thirteen year old boy whenever I'm stressed. Hell, maybe I'm a teenage, sex deprived bird going through puberty when I'm stressed. Caw caw, motherfucker, I'm coming for you and in you. Sorry, now is not the time for my weird bird fetish. But also, birds terrify me.

I stepped out of the elevator and walked briskly through the lobby towards the exit. Cameras flashed as I stepped outside and I flipped them off while unlocking my car. I hadn't given the keys to the valet this time partly because I felt slightly bad for last time. Oliver Blackheart doesn't actually have a black heart? The media really loves that pun when it comes to my past "relationships," by the way.

After about a thirty minute drive to my beloved sex castle, I drove to the gate only to see a car in front of me.

Zayn leaned out his window and looked back at me. "I've been sitting out here for forty minutes, Blackheart! You didn't even tell this guy I was fucking coming?"

I sheepishly smiled as I leaned out my window. "He can go through," I called from behind Zayn. Aleksander, my big ass gatekeeper (and I mean that in the sincerest way possible- the man has a lot of muscle), opened the gates and I followed Zayn through. I parked along my line of cars and Zayn parked by my front door, and as soon as I parked I ran over to his car.

"Do you have it?" I asked as he stepped out of his car.

Zayn rolled his eyes as he reached into the backseat. "Do I look like Lindsay fucking Lohan? Of course I fucking have it," he said as he nudged the door shut while holding a duffle bag.

"Thank God," I murmured as I led him up the steps to my front door. I opened the door to my house for him and he walked inside and waited for me. "Kitchen," I said as I motioned for him to follow me.

Once the two of us reached the kitchen, Zayn began unzipping his bag and unloading the contents onto the counter. Zayn raised an eyebrow at me once everything had been taken out, and he studied me for a few moments before commenting, "Let's change the course of history."

here's the long awaited chapter lmao nothing special but the next one will surely be dramatic