Numb

That's what he described himself as.

He also was the official mood of every college student (constant desire of death and give up on life).

John Laurens hasn't felt love or true happiness in a good 2 years since his mother died.

Like yeah, his friends were able to make him crack a smile from time to time with their stupidness and idiocy.

Also vines. But that almost ended when the app died.

But clearly it wasn't full happiness, and as his friends, they wanted to get him out of that hole.

And as his little fucking stubborn friends they weren't going to stop.

They convinced him to play a sport, encouraged him to persuade his father to also pay for his art major, to go to clubs, bars, and hang out more frequently, etc.

Which was what they did last night.

His best friend, Peggy Schuyler, had the bright idea of getting him out of his cave as most as they can so that he can suddenly meet a stranger and (hopefully) it happens to be his soulmate.

John didn't fully believe in soulmates.

Fully, because he often saw couples looking in each other's eyes like if they blinked the whole world would explode. But, he gave up believing that he could be able to love somebody and to look at somebody that way, and he also would never forgive himself for leading someone.

So, he was half-forced to go to a club.

Actually, he was in the mood to get somewhere between drunk and blackout-drunk.

•••

Laurens woke up by the horrible rays of sunshine of a morning in mid-September.

Without acknowledging that he wasn't in his bed, his bed with forest and rain aroma, he cuddled closer and buried his face into the other person's hair.

Then, realization hit him like Peggy with an unnecessary prosthetic leg named "Leggy".

Terrified, he slowly fluttered his eyes open as if he was just hoping he was embracing a pillow in one of his friends bed, completely not remembering last night.

He finally clearly saw another male, with dark hair and tan skin, naked, pacifically sleeping beside him, also naked, internally panicking.

Nononononononono–

This can't be–

He saw the man slowly open his ocean blue eyes, like crashing waves in a hurricane, analyzing the surroundings, and finally eyeing him before speaking.

"Huh, mornin', hottie." He greeted, half-asleep with a smirk.

Laurens, still panicking, bolted up and started dressing, discreetly ignoring the man behind him.

"Heyheyhey, where're you goin'?" The—now that the stood up, covering himself with the covers—shorter man asked.

"I need to go now."

"Wait– at least let me get you a coffee? Breakfast?"

"Thanks, but I'm okay."Laurens was already heading towards the door, shoving his phone in his pants.

"But–" He was cut off with a gentle door click.

•••

"You freaked us out! Where have you been!"

"Honestly I don't know. Can you please pick me up and leave me in the club to get my Jeep?"

"Mm... fine, just send me your location. You'll have to tell me everything. I'll go in Angie's car."

"Oh god- thanks Pegs!" And with that he hung up.

Laurens stood outside an apartment– studio? complex, and now that he sent his location to his friend he realized that it was only a bus away the college he was attending. Meh he thought, I'm way too hungover to stand on a dirty bus.

He watched a sleek, black Ford Fiesta (A/N: couldn't really think of anything else), approached it and got on the passenger seat.

"Really, John?! Finally! Was he hot?!" Only Peggy knew John was gay. Also Mulligan. Or that he just didn't interest in girls. His father actually thought that it was because he was concentrated in his studies. Just as long as he doesn't know...

"I freaked out and immediately dressed and left."

"Why, John? Why? There goes your chance of a soulmate."

"My god, Peggy, that ain't gon' happen. But I think I've seen him before? I don' know where but nah, can we pick up a coffee? I feel like dying rn." He mumbled the last part.

"Yeah, me too. Hercules said that Lafayette has been hungover all morning."

"The man doesn't retain anything."

"Neither you."

"Maybe I process it fast but sure as hell I can keep it inside and not puke my guts out." That rhymed, hehe.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Peggy said as she slowly stopped at a red light.

"So you said that you've seen him before?" She spoke as the light turned green.

"Maybe. I don't really know. His studio is like, a train from campus, maybe I've seen him there." He said while looking at the sunrise.

"Did he had like, a lawyer face? Or an artist face? Maybe he is in one of your classes. Maybe he is also in the team but as the introvert you are you haven't seen him. Hell, you probably don't know any of your classmates besides John André in portrait class and team."

"Well, what do I go to uni for?"

"To fulfill your father's wishes, or to just get a degree and work for something totally different of what you studied for."

"Great guesses Pegs, but no. Well, maybe the first one." He muttered the last part as she parked in an empty lot at Artopolis Espresso, which is a cafe just outside of campus. (A/N: look it up kids, it's a real place lmao)

They walked inside, and saw their favorite barista, a curvy girl with almond skin and dark, curly locks named Maria, who also studies at Columbia and was in Peggy's photography class.

"Maria! Hey! Early shift?" Peggy greeted, nervous. She had a crush on Maria since the semester started.

"Yeah, it's draining the life out of me. But hey, my boss is nice and she lets me take a croissant and a latte every morning. Don't tell anybody." She winked at her. Peggy looked like she could die right there and right now. "Anyways, you look like hell," she pointed at Laurens, "what should I get you both?"

"Just anything to get the desire of death out of him." Peggy ordered.

"And a blueberry muffin."

"And a blueberry muffin. Also a Nutella crepé." She added.

"Okay," she wrote on a cup 'Johnny' "is that all?" She smiled.

"Yes thank you beautiful lady." Peggy thanked her.

Laurens swore he saw Maria blush a little at that comment.

"Uh, yes, it would be 13.97 please."

Before Peggy could take out her wallet Laurens was already paying.

Maria gave them the muffin and crepé and told him that his drink was going to be almost ready.

They sat in the high stools on the counter, Laurens already wiggling his eyebrows at Peggy.

"Very brave, I must say." He told her.

"Hey, you're no better. You let someone fuck you and instantly panic and get out of their apartment without saying anything."

"Hey, if anything I'm a power top," he mimicked her and she ew'd, "and, don't tell me you wouldn't do that. At least I recognize when I'm a suave heartless man."

"We're working on that."

"We're workin' on it."

He stood up and took the black coffee from another barista when he called his name.

1220 words

(A/N: heyyyyyyy this is my new masterpiece, as I like to call it. You're free to leave suggestions and constructive criticism, just correct my misspellings or anything else, please, because I'm a bilingual potato and my English teachers here don't know any grammar.)