Alex sat with his knees folded against his best and his head buried in his hands. The only source of comfort was the soft pitter patter of rain outside his window, and a large blanket draped over his rapidly rising and falling shoulders. Choked sobs escaped his lips every time he thought of her. The girl who probably thought that she was too good for him, just because of their family history. Alexander thought that was bullshit. He was just as good as— if not better than— the people she was after.

He wiped his tears, picking up his phone and blocking her on every social media. He scrolled through his messages, making sure to remove himself from every group chat she was in. Alexander knew he was being a little dramatic. After all, it was just a little heartbreak. He'd been through so much worse, so why did this tear him up like this?

His eyes widened when he realized it was Sunday, and that he'd have to face Elizabeth at school tomorrow. He knew damn well his parents would never let him stay home because of a girl, so he grabbed his school bag and dumped out of all the contents inside. He stuffed it full of his clothes, packing an extra hoodie just in case he got cold. He made sure to leave his phone, too. His parents had a tracker on that. As hard as it would be, he didn't want to be caught.

He pulled a hood over his messy hair, tip-toeing through the house to avoid being caught. Once he was outside, he sunk his shoulders and took a few deep breaths. Did he want to go through with this? He weighed the pros and cons. He could escape seeing Eliza for a few days, but how many? How long could he avoid her without having to go back? And what were the consequences for running away from home?

He shook away his thoughts, gripping the strap of his bag tighter as he started to move. He was going through with this, despite knowing it was a bad idea.

Alex hadn't really planned where he was headed, but he decided his best bet would be downtown. His parents rarely went there, so it was unlikely that he'd be caught. His dad wouldn't call the police either. When his mother was assaulted by one of her clients, all his father said was "you'll get over it." After that thought, Alex decided he'd be safer all alone in the city.

He found a small brick bakery with a colourful overhang, which shielded him from the rain. There he sat for god knows how long, watching the rainwater collect on the sidewalk. Alex eventually fell asleep, curled up with his face hidden in his knees.

He woke to the sound of sirens and bright lights. Alex thought he was busted for a moment, before realizing there was a curly haired boy about his age aiming a gun at the police. Alexander chewed his lip as he watched. He knew he'd regret seeing someone get shot, but he really couldn't look away.

"Drop the weapon," one of the officers stepped closer to the boy, "and you'll be fine."

The boy took a step backwards, noticing Alex out of the corner of his eye. He smirked at the police. "You wouldn't want that kid to see an innocent get shot, would you?"

The cops looked over at Alexander, who only kind of realized curly boy's plan. He decided to work with what he was given, closing his eyes and letting out a blood curdling scream. That gave the other boy enough time to run, and while Alex felt bad for letting a criminal get away, maybe he actually was innocent? Or maybe it's just that the thought of "police equal bad" was engraved in his mind.

Alexander grabbed his bag, yelling "sorry!" as he started running in the same direction the boy with the curly hair did. He assumed there was a car or something to get him away from the police, who would probably fine him for letting someone get away with whatever it is he did.

He tripped on the sidewalk, scraping his hands and knees up badly. By the time his brain caught up with what was happening, he was being dragged into an alleyway.

He looked up to see the curly haired boy staring down at him with shining eyes. "What was that?"

Alex glanced away. "I dunno.. you needed help, so I helped."

He knelt down next to Alex. "Well, thank you for that, kid. But now I'm curious. Why were you alone at night in the first place? You're awfully pretty. Someone could've took you."

Alex looked away, not wanting to admit his reason for running away. He knew it was silly, but this boy seemed genuinely curious. Besides, what's the worse that could happen? It was just a criminal on the lam he was talking to.

"I ran away because my crush of five years rejected my confession. I didn't want to see her at school, and my parents would force me to go, so I decided to hang out here for a bit."

The boy was clearly trying to stifle a giggle, but was failing miserably. "You're such a drama queen..." he looked at him, waiting for a name.

"Alex."

"Alex, Alex, Alex," He repeated like a mantra, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to remember his name. "I think I can trust you with my actual name, Alex. It's John."

Alex had always been good at remembering names, so he didn't need any strategy to keep John's in mind. He believed John would be someone he wouldn't forget easily, especially since they were both probably in trouble with the law right now.

"So, John," Alex began, "what did you do to get those police after you?"

John sighed, pulling out his phone and showing Alex a picture of a boy around his age. "My ex, Francis, decided to go out with my other ex, Martha, and you can imagine how that felt. I kinda snapped, and well, you can guess what happened next."

Alex's eyes widened. He thought John was just a kid who stole a package of Oreos from Walmart, but no. He was dealing with a murderer, who seemed way too impulsive for his own good. He felt his heartbeat speed up as John crawled a little closer to him, leaning against the brick wall and resting his head on Alex's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked.

"I haven't slept in three days, Lexi," John mumbled, closing his eyes. "Let me rest, and if the cops come, wake me up."

Alex sighed, letting the taller boy fall asleep next to him. He played with the hem of his sweater idly, staring up at the night sky. He tried to identify whatever constellations he could, just based on what Eliza had explained to him. She had a thing for astrology, and Alex thought that was delightful, but too bad for him. He couldn't get his star.

Alex felt warm tears slide down his cheeks. He closed his eyes, letting them fall. Every emotion he'd been holding back until now was pouring out of his face. He felt John stir, which only made everything worse. Oh, how he longed for him to be Elizabeth Schuyler, asleep on his shoulder with her whole life depending on him.

He pulled his hood further over his head, covering his entire forehead. He quietly weeped until the sun came up and by then, the tears were dried and all that was left were the trails they left on his cheeks. The boy asleep on his shoulder let out quiet murmurs, slowly waking up.

"Morning," John whispered, staring up at Alex. "Thanks for letting me sleep on you."

Alex shrugged, nudging John away from him. "It was nothing. I really didn't have anything better to do."

The curly haired boy nodded, standing up. "Yeah, so, since you aren't planning on going home anytime soon, how about you come with me? We can be on the lam together."

Alex chewed his lip, looking down as he considered. If he went, he could get in serious trouble for helping a murderer, but if he didn't, he would die. He knew that he probably wouldn't last long on the street. Then again, if John got attached to him or something, he could end up as his next victim. But death wasn't the worst thing that could happen to him.

He gave in to John's request, letting the bubbly boy lead him to a small black car. Their hoods were up, covering their faces as they walked. Alex had never felt so rebellious, although there wasn't much to compare it to. He wasn't necessarily quiet, but he kept to himself. He didn't do drugs, have sex, run off to go to a party, or anything of that sort. He was a good kid and he prided himself on that.

"So, Alexander, who was this girl you asked out?" John asked as he turned the key, pressed on the break, and started the car engine.

"Her name was Eliza," Alex whispered and gazed out the window, not that interested in talking about her. He wasn't ready to open up about his love life in depth to John, since he was a murderer and they'd only just met. "I really loved her, and still do. She's sweet, caring, and showered me in love when I came out."

John snorted, glancing at Alex for a split second before focusing on the road again.  "You told your crush you were gay?"

"Bisexual," Alex corrected him. "I wouldn't have ran away if I was gay. I've only actually dated one guy, and I was head over heels for Eliza at the time anyway. His name was John too actually. You remind me of him."

John smiled widely. "So you'd date me?"

"No," Alex grumbled. "You kill your exes. I kind of want to live."

"You know I'm kidding," John nudged him. "Don't be so uptight. Live a little, or, I guess that's what we're doing now, huh?"

Alex sighed, turning the radio on. The first thing that played happened to be Bellyache, which made the murder situation so much more real. John gasped in delight, swaying his body in the drivers seat. Alex watched with amusement as the taller boy danced to the song. Soon enough, Alex found himself swaying as well. He couldn't help it. John had such a contagiously positive personality, despite killing two people.

Soon enough, Alex forgot all about Eliza. It'd been quite a while since he'd felt this happy, and he missed it. Who knew he just needed to dance a little? It was much better than being sort of a social recluse anyway, Alex decided.

Then the song ended, and John had the widest smile on his face. "That was fun."

Alex nodded. "We might as well enjoy each other if we're running away together."

John pulled over at a convenience store, handing Alexander a ten dollar bill. "Can you get something for me? I can't exactly go inside."

"Sure. What do you want?" Alex pocketed the money, sticking his hands in his hoodie.

"Skittles," John grinned. "You can get something for yourself too, Lexi-pie."

Alex rolled his eyes, walking inside the store. He went through the unlabelled aisles until he found the candy. He found the skittles and a package of Oreos, then turned around to see the one face he was dreading.

Eliza.