It must be nice... (Jamilton)

The Room Where it Happens

~~~~~~

Only a little after school hours Jefferson had messaged James, who had notified him of good news. And now, Thomas was on his way down to the school library, unsure of what to expect, but excited nonetheless. His lesson ended early and in tragedy with a very angry teacher, so now he was hurrying. Jefferson had ended up scribbling down some notes and hiding them in his pocket, trying his best not to focus on Alexander and Eliza. 

The library was quiet and almost empty. It was sealed behind a large, heavy wooden door. It was rather luxurious for the school that they had - shelves stacked to heights with beautiful brown walnut wood. The contents were filled with variations of books, which made everyone wonder how the school was able to afford so many with it's budget... The floor was layered in a red and golden carpet which had gotten worn down from all the feet walking on it constantly, however some parts still contained the fresh red as they were much less visited. 

Jefferson had pulled open the large door, which contained a small glass interior to peep inside. The scent of dust hit him at once, he'd always described it as smelling like old people, whilst everyone mutually agreed it smelt like a mixture of fresh and old paperback books. The boy looked around in the silent abyss of books and labyrinth shelving, slowly directing his way to the heart of the library which contained the main three tables on which students usually studied. Naturally, that's where he assumed that James would be when the shorter guy had texted him informing the older that he would be waiting for him at the Library. His footsteps were faded and cushioned by the carpet as they slightly echoed in the creepy halls - he'd always gotten shivers inside it, the fact that there was minimal lighting, and that one of the bulbs was broken, didn't really help. 

Soon Thomas reached the centre of the Library, noticing two figures awaiting him on the round middle table. He emerged from the hall like isle of books and the two instantly snapped their vision up at him, James smiling at him with a genuine yet partially sly smile. "Hello, gentlemen" said Jefferson softly with a smirk, taking a cushioned seat beside Madison. He then looked to the man who sat beside Madison, his face wasn't as amused as he greeted Jefferson. "Hello Thomas" he spoke, "Hello Burr."

"So, what is this idea then?" prompted Burr, looking to the two troublesome guys. "Well" spoke up Madison, "Me and Thomas have finally finished putting up with Alexander's bullshit" he said, to which Thomas nodded in agreement, reclining in the chair with a pair of arms folded over his chest. "Like I've mentioned before, I know that you and Alex were close, so we wondered if he wanted to help us out a little bit" he said, taking a breath as he held back the tingling in his throat - only to release a cough into his elbow, under the supportive back pat from Jefferson's hand, as the guy stared at Burr awaiting a response. "And you want to do that by... ruining his chances to being entered in any school project.." asked Burr, to which James caught his breath. "Precisely" he said, almost in a whisper as his voice dimmed in pain. "Well I respect the endeavour" Burr stated, sitting up a little more, "But respectfully, what would I get out of it?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest - in a similar manner that Jefferson had. The taller man raised his eyebrow in the paused moment, "What would you get?" asked his southern accent, almost rhetorically. "You'll get justice. Aaron we all saw how Alex ditched you, left you to die all on your own" he said, his voice now clearer as he slowly sat up, beginning to lean forward. "We asked you because we knew exactly who isn't blinded by Alex's 'grace' - his grace being a two-faced piglet with no fear because 'DaDdY WaShInGtOn' is behind him." Burr's face watched Jefferson's intently, his eyes slightly widening with shock as Thomas spoke with venom in his voice. "And we" Jefferson motioned to James, who now held a tissue to his nose, watching the two negotiate - "Know exactly what he deserves. We know how to repay the years worth of damages that 'Hamilton' has left on people. As if he's better than us. As if we're nothing." Jefferson paused, taking in all of the expression he can on Burr's face, "And you have a choice. Either you let him off the hook and watch him prance around in his desolate little world of fantasies as he continues to hurt others the way he hurt you. Or..." He paused, smirking ever so slightly, "You can come and serve justice with us. The choice is yours." His smile relaxed, as he slowly leaned back once more, his arms resting on his chest once again as he looked to Burr. He was internally proud as he watched Aaron swallow the hard pill he had just served him; the look on his face screamed contemplation.  

James looked to his friend with proud eyes, and a smile under his tissue - he knew that Jefferson wouldn't let him down. 

Burr contemplated for a long moment, the air in the room seeming to thicken with the silent tension as Jefferson and Madison awaited his response. "Fine." Finally said Aaron, "I'll join your little idea"

"Oh goodie." Jefferson's eyes almost lit up as he clasped his hands together.

"Great, here's the plan" spoke up Madison, catching the attention of the two men as he placed down the tissue. They both leaned in close, listening to him talk.

**

Once Aaron left, the boys smugly looked to eachother, smiling at their success before raising hands, hitting them together in a cheery high-five. "I knew you could do it!" said Madison, to which Jefferson rolled his eyes with sass and smiled wider, leaning back in the library chair, "Oh please, I wouldn't have done it without the foundation of your idea" James smiled at his friend as he too sat back. 

"Oh, right" suddenly said Jefferson, looking to James again. "I found out who Schuyler likes" he promptly said, causing James to raise a curious eyebrow, "Really? Who?" he asked. "Alexander." Jefferson's voice dropped to a cold tone as he said the word, glancing at the table for a while before turning to observe James's reaction. "Oh." he said in a whisper, "Well that complicates things." he muttered, at which Thomas chuckled. "Who would've thought" said Jefferson, "Looks like everyone really is blinded by his 'charm' afterall. You'd think the Schuyler's have a decent taste.." he laughed, shaking his head in innocent disbelief. "It gives us an advantage though." He stated, looking at Madison, who furrowed his eyebrows for a second, before nodding in a matter-of-fact manner. "You're right" he agreed, to which Thomas smirked "When aren't I?" his face returned to it's smug state.

The two boys paused at the faint sound of a click, wondering if they had just made it up in their minds. "Did you hear that?" whispered James, followed up with:  "Was that the door?" The boys bathed in silence for a minute, listening out, only to hear the world's faintest foot-steps. However, Jefferson seemed unbothered as he shrugged, yawning in his chair - tired after a long day of hell, I mean- School. "It's just someone coming into the library" he reassured James, who cleared his throat in an attempted prevention of another coughing fit. "We should probably get going" he finally said, moments after Jefferson had closed his eyes, lounging in the comfortable chair. "In a moment.." he muttered, "I want to take my beauty nap." 

"You can do that at home"

But James was waved away by Thomas's tired hand as the boy sunk into the frame of the chair. 

A long moment passed. 

"Alright Alright" announced Jefferson suddenly, with a yawn. The man sat up, rubbing his tired eyes as he groggily sat up in his chair, looking over to James, who looked back awkwardly before leaning down to grab his school bag. 

Just then, a familiar face poked out from one of the west halls. A short man carrying a stack of exactly two large books stood in his tracks. Jefferson was unfortunate enough to instantly lock eyes with him. "Eugh" He gagged, giving the shorter man a gruesome look as he had stopped in his tracks. Alexander narrowed his eyes, his face also contorting into a sickly expression as the two stared at each-other for a moment too long. "Fancy seeing you here." He finally said, slowly heading over to the table, opposite to where James and Thomas sat. The two watched him, Thomas had already picked up his bag in the process, ready to leave. "Right." Thomas sounded uninterested in making conversation as he stood up, looking to James before silently walking into the hall he had come from, blanking Alexander as he left. 

Alex looked to the boys as they made their way out, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Why did they just seem to be everywhere?