Henry held on the cup of tea in his hand feeling the warmth radiates through his skin as Nora and Alex talks to each other. Mary on the other hand stayed besides him worrying about his silenced and the fact that she barely said a word to him made Henry felt like the elephant in the room. "What happened to that boy I met in London? The one who always brings people to smile with his radiant hair, his pearly white teeth and his charming smile. What happened to him?" She asks and Henry could feel the tears starts to flood in his eyes making his vision blurred. "His father died." Henry answered and she sighed next to him.

"The sole of his happiness gone and it was replaced with darkness that he can't control." Henry continued making Alex and Nora suddenly stopped talking and listens to his side of story. "Where were you?" He asks turning his head to her and she straightened her back exhaling a breath before she answered him. "My job was to take care of your father. As soon as he died, I was called to another patient. I'm so sorry Henry. Must be hard for you to deal with your father's death." She can see the tears fell on Henry cheek after she said it.

"How is Catherine? And Bea?" She asks trying to advert the conversation but Henry held the cup tighter in his grip pressing his lips together. "I lost count on how many boyfriends she has now. Bea is in rehab, for her drug and alcohol addiction. Phillip made her stay there until she is clean. That was two years ago. I think she just didn't want to come home so it won't triggering her. That house, the walls, the hallways, the smell, everything about it is - triggering." Henry lips trembled when he mentioned his sister and his mum wild activities after his father's death, no wonder he is such a mess, Alex thought.

Alex can't help but to came closer sitting himself next to him and let his palms rested over Henry's shoulder. He turned to look at him and he can see how Alex's eyebrow crooked into a line worrying about him. "Tell me about this- James guy." Mary asks seeing the triggered is not because of his family but rather something else.

"He taunt me endlessly. He's just a creep, bullying others weaker than him. But I never-" Henry stops not sure whether or not Alex knew he is worried about being outed to the crowd earlier. The fact that Henry tried his very best to look straight but there is no fooling anyone that he isn't, even Alex could see it.

"You never thought that James might have a crush on you?" Alex added and Henry turned his head swiftly at him furrowing his eyebrow at his words. "What do you mean by that?" He asks pulling his shoulder away from his grip. 

"James is a closeted gay but he pretended that he is straight. So I think he messed around with you just so people won't think that he is gay, probably just bisexual." Nora adds and Alex added, "Like me!" His enthusiastic replies made Henry scoffed before he sat up from the bed and Mary tilted her head to face him. "I don't know what you guys are talking about and I don't appreciate people assumed my life like it's any of their business." Henry grabbed his bag from the floor and headed for the door but Mary stops him.

"Henry." His hand hovers over the doorknob before he turned to face her again. She tossed a small bottle that rattles in his hand as he catches it. He eyed the bottle and wondered, "Phillip had me run an errand remember? Try to keep it more than two months, I don't want you to end up OD'ed in your dorm room." She says and Henry gripped the bottle tight in his grip before he nods and left.

After the door closed Alex gaze turned to her standing in the middle of her office still staring at the door with her hand in her pockets. "Keep an eye on him please. He is troubled but he is also sweet and kind and soft hearted. The kind boy that brings you flowers when you are sad. The boy that would do everything for the one he loves. He still in there. However damage he is. He still worth saving." Mary says and both Nora and Alex nods watching her wiped her tears away with her fingers and silently walked back to her desk. They both left that room today with thoughts in their head on how to get back at James for hurting Henry and Alex already had thousand plans in his mind.

Henry stayed in the library till he decides to go back and as he walked back to the dorm later that evening hoping he would rest his mind but the moment he did, everyone is gathered around the hallway crowding at the room and starts whispering into one another. Henry wanted to pass by the crowd so he could get to the end of the hall to his dorm room but somehow his eyes caught at the sight of the dorm they are crowding.

His eyes brighten at the sight of the dorm room being trashed with smell of sewer and rotten eggs. The bed was flipped and the walls are wet dripping with God knows what. Somehow he scoffed smiling at the art work knowing that this is James room and someone just did what he did to Henry's dorm room.

"I will fucking kill all of you if you didn't tell me who did this?!" James screamed and Henry can see him starts pushing people in the crowd to get out but his eyes soon landed at Henry and he rushed towards them to get to Henry. He didn't even flinched but when James had him in chokehold smashing his body back on the wall, Henry coughed in pain but somehow his smile never left his face. "I know you fucking did this!" He says and Henry laughs.

"I know you are stupid but I never know you are that stupid." Henry knew it was a bad choice of words but James had it coming. He can feel the grips over his neck strengthen and he had his grip over James wrist. "I know it's you! This is your payback for me ruining your dorm. Admit it!" He says and Henry smiled licking his lower lip at his stupidity. "No. You just did." He says with his voice hoarse and James furrowed his eyebrow at him.

"What?" He asks slamming Henry's head back on the wall and he groaned, "You just admit that in front of the people and the Chancellor." Henry smiled wider at the sight of Chancellor Smith coming through the crowds since probably someone reported to him about this. James turned to his side seeing the Chancellor crossing his arm staring at him and he clenched his jaw tight at his presence. "Let him go, Mr Warren. My office NOW!"

James eyed Henry one last time in his grip and starts to release him slowly and Henry coughed as soon as he let him free. He felt his airway were opened free and smiled when James was pulled out from the crowd with the Chancellor and disappeared into the corner. He smiled widely at the sight of James being pulled away and never in the world he would see karma pays back so soon.

As soon as he arrives at his dorm room, he saw Alex by table next to the window typing away his assignment and his head turned to see Henry stood by the door with a smile on his face. His eyebrow furrowed at the sight of Henry grin smile and wonders what made him so happy. "What?" He asks and Henry closed the door behind him placing his bag on his bed and Alex was up on his feet staring at Henry's neck.

"What the fu-? What happened? Did James did this?" He eyed Henry's neck tilting his jaw with his hand to the side seeing the redness over Henry's pale skin. Henry smile pushing his hand down before he wrapped his arm over Alex's waist and Alex caught in surprised at Henry sudden gesture. "Thank you." He whispered and Alex sighed relaxed in Henry's embrace. He caught smelling the scent of Henry's hair that he find sensational and he wonders what made him smell this good. "What for?" He asks innocently and Henry pulls away from him.

"Whatever you've done to pay back for what he did to me." Alex shrugs before he turned to sit on the chair again crossing his legs over the table. "I don't know what you're talking about, I was here the whole time." His words sounds so fake and well rehearsed making Henry laughs at him and Alex hides his smile by pressing his lips together.

Henry plopped down on the bed while Alex continued typing his assignment and Henry watches how his finger rapidly typing on the keyboard and his thoughts when to today's event. "Did you win?" He suddenly asks earning Alex another smirked behind the screen and stops turning his head towards him, "Of course. I wished you were there to see it." He says and turning his head back to the screen. "Next time then. If you want me too." Henry says softly almost a whisper earning Alex another smiled. "You bet I do." 

Few months later.

"When are you going back to London for Thanksgiving then?" Alex asks in the middle of their communal shower with Henry and they are side by side in their own cubicle and Henry slowly had made his way into the society. Since James suspension he had grown a lot more confident and more open about himself seeing there is no point of him to be afraid right now. He had more friends through Alex connection and one time, he joined Alex and Nora for a party which he regretted to no end and made him promised not to bring him there anymore.

"This Friday." He says washing the shampoo off his blonde hair from the running shower and Alex could smell the shampoo that Henry used and he had grew fondly over the smell of honey in Henry's hair. "You?" He asks seeing they both made plan for their Thanksgiving holiday throughout the whole two weeks and they both made plans to go home respectively.

"A day early, Thursday. My flight is at two." Alex says and Henry replied, "Oh." He says and Alex peaked his head over the side behind his curtain. "What?" He asks and Henry peaked his head out from behind his curtain and saw Alex dark curly hair now soaked in water and it dripped down to his chin. "Nothing. Just, oh." Henry simply said and Alex cocked his head to the side earning Henry a sigh. "Nothing! I swear." Henry says flicking his fingers with water beads towards Alex's face and hides back into his cubicle. Alex smirked at Henry attempt to hide his blushed and continued his shower anyway.

They'd both struggled through exam weeks and finally Thursday comes and Alex is already packed and ready to go home to Austin. Henry listened to every single detailed on Alex's Austin home, how he used to swim in the creak lake behind his house and it sounded amazing. He remembers he told him how he wished he could come and enjoyed being in America country side but in his mind, all he wanted is to spend the weeks holiday with Alex.

Alex finished packing and he was out the whole morning finding stuffs he need with Nora and Henry politely declined seeing he had a rough week doing his exams and he wanted to sleep in. Phillip emailed him his flight ticket a week ago with a text, 'welcome home' in his attachment and Henry smiled remembering only the good memories he had in London home and he can't wait to see his brother.

Henry panic attacks had improved over the period of time seeing James suspension had allow him to heal and the Chancellor had him removed from the housing and made him stay some place else. He was furious and not too mention his parents fought his way back into the school and even though the Chancellor is strict, but he knows that James is to stay away from Henry as much as possible. So he let him stayed in school but not in the housing.

Henry stayed in bed halfway through his packing when his phone starts to ring and he saw Phillip name over the screen. He smiled before he picked up the call and answered him. "Hey." Henry wait for his brother to respond and Phillip's voice came softly over the speaker. "Hey bud, finished packing yet?" He asks and Henry zips the bag with the phone pressed over his ear by his shoulder. "Almost. Why did you call? You'll still pick me up at the airport?" He asks and he can hear Phillip sighed.

"Uhm about that. Listen we need to talk." Phillip starts and Henry can feel the same tightness he had in his chest whenever someone says that to him. "I uhh- I don't want you to be upset when you got home but I'm not gonna be home for Thanksgiving this year. It's probably just you and mum." Phillip starts and Henry can already feel the burning fire inside of him. "What do you mean? Thanksgiving is always family tradition. Bea might come home and you're not gonna be there?" He asks and he can hear how pathetic his voice sound begging for his own family for the sake of the holiday.

"I'm really sorry Hen but I think Bea might skip this year too. She didn't feel like coming home yet." He knows how close Bea and Henry were but to Bea, that home is torture and only a constant reminder how she failed their father by drowned herself into her addiction. But the truth is, Henry knew she can't face Henry just yet seeing how close he looked like their father and every time she saw him, she felt triggered.

"You mean just me and mum and whoever she brought home." Henry says and Phillip sighs. "Do you remember Martha? My high school girlfriend? We kind of been dating for a while now and I wanted to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family in Spain. I hope you would understand Hen." Henry can feel his tears coming but he held it inside.

"I understand that you choose other people over your family. Don't worry about me Pip. Go ahead and enjoy your time with your girl." Henry says and Phillip sighs over the speaker, "I need my life too Hen. I'm turning thirty four soon and yet I'm still stuck here with our family and I can't let my future drowned like our family did. I hope you would understand." Henry muffled his tears in his palm before he answered him. "I do Pip, I do. I'm so sorry." Henry says and before Phillip could reply he ended the call letting his tears runs down his face. He tossed the bag over the floor by the end of his bed before he scrolled through his emailed and saw the flight announcement that had his ticket attached in it. He swiped and deleted the email not wanting to come home this year and felt the tears comes flooding in his eyes after he did. 

.

Alex came back to the dorm later that morning with his smile wide on his face and saw Henry sits by the chair on their study table staring at the world outside. "Hey, I'm leaving soon." He says and Henry kept his silenced still staring at the sky above him. Alex can see his eyes are swollen and his nose are red and immediately he knew Henry has been crying. "Are you okay?" He asks and Henry nods wiping his face with his palm before he smiled towards Alex by the bed. "Yeah, enjoy your holidays." He says with that fake smile over his face.

"What time is your flight?" He asks and Henry cleared his throat, "Uhm, tomorrow at three." He replied and Alex smiled his half smiled at him, "I'll see you in two weeks?" He asks and Henry nods, "Two weeks." He replied before waved him goodbye. The moment Alex pulled his luggage out and closed the door, Henry broke in tears and he felt the loneliness creeped up in him inside his dorm room. A fatherless child, an abandoned son and a lonely sibling with no one to love him.