Coffee and Cigarettes

Be Satisfied

      It was the night of the school's winter ball.
      People were all dolled up, for obvious reasons. Guys were wearing their best suits and ties, girls were wearing beautiful gowns, and the handful of non-binary pals (Marquis de Lafayette included) wore just as stunning of outfits.
The night was full of excitement.
On this particular date, Thomas Jefferson found himself adjusting the purple bow tie around his neck for an uncomfortable amount of time as he tried to avoid going to the event as long as he could. He didn't have a group waiting to pick him up or vice versa, which made him both relieved and a bit sad. Relieved in the sense that he could take as long as he wanted to do stupid shit like fix his mess of hair, debate over the magenta or lavender color scheme (he never could decide without eenie-meenie-miney-moe), or anything else he so pleased to do before the event.
Sad in the sense that no one waiting included no James Madison.
      No no no. Jefferson, do not think about him. Not now. Tonight is supposed to be good. Tonight, despite your crippling loneliness, will be great.
      Thomas adjusted the bow tie one last time before taking a deep breath and heading to the door. He put his hand on the knob and sighed softly as he turned it open.
      Tonight will be a-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     "Nice night, Madison?"
     James Madison looked up from his book to roll his eyes at his younger sister.
    11:35.
     "Jennifer, you can't call me 'Madison' we're all 'Madison's," he deadpanned. The girl giggled.
"You know, Jamie-" she ignored at how the other visibly flinched at the name. "Ma said you should go to that dance tonight."
"What a subtle reminder of why I won't."
"Why nooootttt?" his sister walked over and took the book ("hey!"). "Mama already has the perfect dress picked out for you, sis."
"I don't even have a date, Jen."
      "What about that curly haired guy who's always around?" Jennifer kept the book as she motioned for James to move, to which he complied. She hopped on to the edge of the bed. "He's hot-"
       "Jennifer!" James hissed as his face turned a vivid shade of red. "Thomas is not... H-He's just a friend..."
     "Come on, Jamie, your blush says otherwise!" she teased.
     "I-I'm.. Not even dateable, so even if he wanted--"
     "'Not even dateable'?!" Jennifer repeated. "Nonsense! Any sister of mine-" (James winced again and rubbed his hands together nervously) "-probably has guys lining up at her feet!"
James sighed.
11:50.
"Jen... I can't go..."
"C'mon Jamie, you haven't even checked out the dress Ma has for you! You've gotta go.." She paused and grinned mischievously.
James blinked and quickly tried to stop her. "Jen please don't. Not no-"
"Plllllllleeeeeeaaaaaaassssssseee-"
"Okay!" He relented, standing and sighing in relief as his sister stopped. "Okay.. I'll go."
"Yes!" Jennifer hopped off the bed and pumped her fists excitedly. "I'll go tell Mama to get the-"
"No," James cut her off and shifted awkwardly. "No don't.. I'll.. I have an outfit I'll use.."
      Jennifer looked skeptical but shrugged and skipped towards the door. "I'll tell Mama you're going, at least."
     "Okay.. Thanks..."
     She ran the rest of the way to the door and stopped in the threshold. "Hurry up, Jamie!
     "I will!"
      James closed the door as soon as his sister left and sighed, locking it. He slipped his sweater off and grabbed a roll of bandages from nearby, wrapping them around his chest and coughing a little, ignoring the pain that followed and simply going to his closet. He sifted through skirts and dresses (which his parents had bought in hopes to make his high school years 'memorable') and sweaters (which he himself bought in hopes to make his parents see that he was in fact a he, which also failed) and finally reached up to a shelf above all the hangers, pulling down a box with "Happy Birthday James" written in gold lettering on the side.
      With a sigh, James tugged the box open and peered down at the pile of neatly folded clothes inside. He looked through those and pulled out a dress shirt and tailcoat that Hercules had sewn for his birthday on the year he came out to his friends. A small smile crossed his face as he glanced down at the outfit. He pulled out a pair of pants (thanks again, Mulligan) and quickly changed.
A knock came to the door and James jumped as he tucked the cravat in to the collar. He took a few moments to get his heart rate back to normal and took a deep breath before going over to open the door.
      "So I heard little Jamie is going to a dance!"
     James rolled his eyes at his brother.
     "Dylan, I'm not that much shorter than you-"
     "4 inches, but that's not the point," the taller boy, Dylan Madison, looked James up and down and made a face. "What are you wearing..?"
     James couldn't help his face reddening in embarrassment as he heard the disgust in his brother's voice.
     "It's.. Something Herc made me..."
     "No," Dylan shook his head and replaced his look of judgement with a smile. "It's the apex of the 1800's American fashion style. A tailcoat, those fancy French napkins-" (James opened his mouth to correct him but Dylan held up a finger) "-and all you're missing is a top hat and you'd look..." He paused. "Neat!"
      James rolled his eyes again. "'Neat'?"
"Spur of the moment. Either way, you need a top hat!"
"Dylan, you're a junior in high school, you know all about homecoming by now-"
"I was on the committee, thank you very much, Jamie."
"-and you honestly think I should wear a top hat to a college dance?"
There was a pause.
The reason James Madison walked downstairs in a tail coat and top hat a few minutes later was because of the "Why not!" that followed.
       "You look cool!" Jennifer exclaimed as the two came down the stairs.
       "You are welcome!" Dylan beamed proudly at James.
     "I hope you know I'm taking this off before anyone sees me," James joked.
     "Don't ruin my night, Jamie."
     The trio laughed and Jennifer grabbed James' hand, pulling him to the door. "Come on! Come on! You still have time!"
    12:10.
     "Time? I have plenty of time. The dance will probably last until 3 or something," James assured.
     Jen rolled her eyes and stopped abruptly at the door. "Not for the dance. For him to take you!"
     "Him? Jen, what do you-"
     Dylan opened the door.
     There was a pause.
The reason James Madison nearly fainted on his 10-year-old sister was because of the voice, accompanied by a face, that followed.
"Hey, Jemmy.. What'd I miss?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~Cecil