Not Who You Think (Lams)

Chapter 1 ( John)

John was freezing, it was late into the night and the movement of the train made it impossible to sleep. The train compartment was one of the few trading trains running from the south to the north and so was the train they were stashed on. He curled up into a tight ball and tried to ignore how visibly he was shivering. Thomas rolled his eyes at him but stayed silent until his teeth started chattering. John looks down, trying to avoid Thomas' disapproving looks.
"Hey kid, care to shut it? I'm trying to sleep." Tomas spat and looked to James for approval. 
"It's not like he can help it Thomas." James responded before turning  towards the corner John was curled up in. "Hey, uh... kid?"
"Don't call me that. " John said through chattering teeth. He was a year or two younger than them but the way they talked made him sound like he was defenceless. John pulled his practically useless coat further around him.
James watched him sympathetically. "If you don't mind getting a cold, I have a blanket and its warmer by me?"

Thomas looked disgusted by the exchange and more so when John actually walked over to James hesitantly and sat beside him. James covered him in a blanket and John ended up falling asleep curled around James for warmth. John would've been embarrassed by his arms unconsiusly slipping around James but he was so cold and James had a stuffed nose but he was warm. James was also under blankets. James attempted to get Thomas to join them. However, since Thomas had a strong sense of pride, he pretended that he could stand the cold. James quickly gave up and turned his attention to the 18 year old that was wrapped around his chest. All James could see of him at the moment was his lose bronze curls that were resting on his back and moving up and down as he breathed. He was actually quite warm now but still he seemed to shiver. James wrapped his arm around him to limit this. In his mind he would simply move before the other woke up so he wouldn't have to explain it. Thomas had rolled his eyes at them for the fiftieth time.

"You don't know anything about him Maddie." Thomas complained. After a few hours of a disapproving glare. The two drifted in and out of sleep in between Thomas' glare.
"Only that he's cold. Do I need to know anything else?" James responded quietly.
"He could be a traitor, with his ideals I'm not surprised." Thomas' voice grew louder causing John to stir and mutter something in his sleep. James quickly started rubbing John's back in circular motions as if putting a child back to sleep.
"He was trusted for this mission like we were. We should trust him." James chided.
Thomas  moved closer. "He was chosen so they could get rid of him. They don't care about him and they don't expect him to be loyal."
John stirred more and seemed to turn slightly towards Thomas.
"Thomas don't  wake him." James frowned.
"He's not a child."
"That doesn't mean you should wake him." James turned all of his attention to Thomas.
"You just met him, why do you care?"
"Because it's polite."
"He's going to betray us all." Thomas folded his arms and watched James.
"What makes you say that?"
"I know more about him than you do." Thomas moved his face closer to James.

"If you two are done flirting, our stop is coming up." John responded after a few moments confusion from seeing James' arm around him. He could hear James and Thomas arguing and slipped away from James and grabbed his rucksack. He quietly thanked James for the warmth and ignored that they were arguing about him. They now only had to get of the train and the school wouldn't be too far away.
"We were NOT flirting!" Thomas snapped and instantly got to his feet. He looked at John furiously. 
John couldn't return the seriousness. "Closeted son of a bitch." He said under his breath, quiet enough so that neither of them heard. John looked back up to see James gathering his stuff and looking between Thomas and Him nervously. Thomas still looked furious and walked towards John.
"And I'm not someone you want as an enemy." Thomas' voice was quieter now.
John stays exactly where he was and looked Thomas up and down. Thomas's sock probably cost more than the entirety of his backpack but that didn't make John scared of him, the height difference didn't either. "And why's that, Jefferson?"
"I know a lot about you, information that could be dangerous if it ever got-"
"If you know about me, you know what I've done for our side." John interrupted him and got ready to get off the train.
_____________________

He had anticipated a lot when he was taken away from a furious Thomas and a nervous James to be put into his room, but not this. Different coloured sweaters covered the back of every chair and surface, they were spread around like a rainbow.  A large man, who he assumed was his roommate was moving from area to area and was very concentrated on his phone. He was wearing a dark blue hat that was knitted in a similar fashion to the sweaters. The man had quite dark skin and had pulled his hat over his eyes. He sighed dramatically before talking to the person he was calling. "Just tell me if you see them." The man turned and froze when he saw John stood there with luggage. "I'll call you back. Yeah see you Monday Prof."
John stepped back as the other lifted up his hat to size him up. "Who are you?" He asked stepping towards him.
"John Laurens. I'm your new roommate..." He shakily reached his hand towards the man. "My family calls me Jack... Please don't call me Jack.." They were using their real names because Southern records couldn't be reached form here and they had been provied with fake social media accounts, passports e.c.t. to support the idea that they had transfered from somewhere in the north.
The man raised and eyebrow at him but smiled and shook his hand. "Hercules Mulligan."
John nods slightly and returned the smile. "Nice place." John said as he looked around.
Hercules nods. "Is that all you've got?" He asked before showing John to his room after John nodded.

The room was a small rectangular shape with a large window almost entirely covering the wall opposite the two singe beds in the room. There were two bedside cabinets separating the beds. They were on the bottom floor so John could see straight out into the garden around the apartments. He quickly threw his backpack onto his bed and ran to the window when something moved. It was slow and quite well hidden. Hercules was watching entertained by the door as John knelt in front of the window trying to see something better.
"Mr Mulligan..." John asked as he desperately tried to see.
"Please call me Hercules, John. What is it?" He had a certain accent one that John couldn't really place.
"What's that?" John points to the animal that moved.
Hercules walked over to the window. "That's a turtle... You mustn't get out much, huh..."
"No..." John rubbed the back of his neck. "This is the farthest from home I've ever been." This wasn't untrue, he had never been in the north before. John looked back at the turtle. "It's pretty, is it safe out there?"
Hercules laughed and patted John's back. "Yes it is John. Now come on, Laf should be back soon."

John hardly had time to think 'who' before someone had burst through the front door.
"C'est moi!" Came an exited voice from the door. John looked though the doors to see a tall man with a similar skin tone to Hercules stood in a blue and gold tanktop. He had thin facial hair and the rest of his hair was pulled into a tight bun.
Hercules laughed and pulled John over to the man. "John meet," Hercules spoke for about two minutes and the only name John caught was "Laffayette."
Nevertheless, John smiled and shook the man's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Laffayette smiled widely. " Et la même chose pour vous."
John knew that this meant: "and the same to you," but he was still confused by the French. He was fluent in it but that was because France was a decorated Southern country.
Laffayette watched John for a moment then looks to Hercules. "So once the other roommate arrives,  we all should go out and have a little fun. C'est Samedi!" Laffayette smiled with such enthusiasm John could see why Hercules couldn't think of a counter argument.

John would go on the outing with them and was actually looking forward to befriending them and not just for the sake of the mission to gather information. He wanted to befriend them because they seem like nice people. He might stand a chance of actually making decent friends here. Then again, he'd be betraying them... He didn't have to worry about that now, he had to fit in and make friends before it could even be classed as betrayal.