#(and tbf she probably deserves it because the show went to shit when she left/was forced out)

[catelyngrant]

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[coffee-and-2-am-writing]

Life After Death

pt.1 pt.2 pt.3 tbf

The funeral was small. A few of Alec’s colleagues helped out along with some of his students. The three visible survivors stuck to a simple story: wrong place, wrong time. The played as if they themselves had been some of those curious citizens and investigated the warehouse. They had discovered it was empty and left. Alec had left something behind and had gone in to grab it when the missile hit. Maya, Jaz and Shane greeted people while Jacob stood hidden somewhere in the back. There was a closed casket seeing as no body was ever recovered and a few people placed lillies on top of it.

The service was short and bitter sweet. Some chose to share a few words, though many started out with “I didn’t know him all too well” or “We weren’t very close but…”. The others hadn’t realized how truly cut off Alec was to everyone else. Despite being the closest thing to family, Alec was still slightly closed off to the other but to those outside of his immediate circle he was an enigma. Most things people believed about Alec Shante were pure speculation based on his work ethic or the way he treated others. But somehow even those he was hard on still praised him.

“I know Mr. Shante and I never got along,” Jackson had started as he stood behind the podium, “but he was one of my favorite teachers and the favorite of many others as well. It’s well known amongst the students and staff that I have ADD and a tough life outside of school. Other teachers coddled me. They let me do what I want, say whatever I wanted to say and just be a general nuisance because I had a difficult life. They treated me like a child in need of saving, like I would break at any moment. Mr. Shante never gave into that kind of bullshit. In fact, he was the hardest on me than anyone else in my life. To him I was probably nothing more than an annoyance in his classroom. To him I was just another student.

“Mr. Shante told it like it was. There was no sugar coating anything with him. Everything he told us was the cold harsh truth of reality. If I went too far he told me. If I was acting out or acting like an idiot he told me. He took my shenanigans like a boss and shut me down when I need him to. Even if it wasn’t intentional, Mr. Shante pushed me to my best. It wasn’t until this year that I truly began to try again in school and it was all thanks to him. His class made me want to earn good grades and not just be handed them because others pitied me. His class became my favorite this year despite us butting heads constantly. No other teacher has affected me as much as he has. We’re gonna miss him a lot.”

Maya was the last to speak. She still hadn’t confronted the idea that Alec was actually gone. But as she stood behind the podium ready to give her eulogy reality smacked her across he face. He was gone. He was actually gone.

Alec Shante was officially dead.

Swallowing back her tears and taking a shaky breath, Maya looked down to what she had written.

“I’m not sure if many of you know who I am, considering Alec’s affinity for keeping his personal life to himself, but my name is Maya Shields. For the past few years I have been Alec’s roommate and friend though recently we’ve become more than that. Alec was…” Maya stared off for a moment, a small smile on her face, “he was my best friend and partner crime. He knew what made me laugh, what made me cry. He knew that if I ever had a bad day to pick up pizza from the shop down the street from our apartment. He knew exactly where I was the most ticklish and what movies freaked me out the most. He could go from brooding to an excitable dork within the span of three seconds just from the mention of the French Revolution. He could cook one hell of a breakfast but was absolute shit at reading recipes. He couldn’t beat me in Mario Kart for the life of him without cheating by distracting me in some way.

“Alec Shante was a big part of my life and will continue to be a big part of my life even after death. There was a lot things left unsaid between the two of us and only wish I had gotten the chance to tell him how loved he is by everyone. By me. I loved everything about him: his smile, his voice in the morning, his love for scary movies despite how they made him jump. I loved his messy hair the face he made when he was trying not to laugh. I loved all the bad that came with the good. He deserved better than this. Alec Shante has saved me in more ways than one and I will never be able to tell him. I will never, never, forget what he has done for me and others in his life.”

Fuck he was crying. Alec was a damn cliche going to his own funeral but he couldn't deny his curiosity. Jackson’s speech had shocked him but Maya’s…

Maya’s hit him right in the heart.

It made him want to forget about his plans. He wanted to go up to that podium and kiss the daylights of Maya. To show her she could tell him all of those things. He wanted so badly to jump out from his place of hiding and yell “I’m still here! I’m not dead!” He would tell her how much he loves her and make her smile instead of sitting there and watching her cry. All would be well and they’d be happy again.

Instead he wiped the tears from his face and walked away towards the parking lot because he couldn’t do any of those things. Not if he wanted to succeed and keep her safe. Safe from what him and his actions.