Another life to live

Chapter 17~ The Night Before

After a talk with Lin it was agreed that the hamil-squad and the cast would meet tomorrow at Lin's house. He was to warn his wife before hand and call everybody over with news that he "Had found out the reason behind the doppelgängers" and "Wanted to show them someone he'd like them to meet." They exchanged numbers and goodbyes before Lin left for his home.

Eve knew that it was about time to introduce the shower to them since they were going to meet celebrities for crying out loud! Might as well look their best. 

After a quick explanation of the bathtub, shower head, and soaps (Don't keep the bath water! No! Alex, that's disgusting!) they were left to their devices. The girls did their business with little hassle. They seemed to understand the 2000's much better than most. They finished fast, clean hair, pjs on, and all smiles, Peggy got the bright idea to braid each other's hair. Thusly, the braid train left the station, Angelica braiding Eliza and Eliza braiding Peggy. Evelyn reluctantly joined in, Peggy braiding her hair and a movie turned on just for some background music. 

The boys on the other hand were a different story. An argument broke out about who was going first, not because they all wanted to get clean but because it was going to be awkward as hell washing up. Washington went first since the others were nowhere near agreeing on anything. After him Burr went next, he just wanted to get away from everyone being so loud. The others did eventually go, but it was still a mess. 

Alex nearly had a panic attack when the shower head turned on, Philip left the conditioner in his hair, Herc broke a bar of soap by accident, Lafayette forgot his clothing in his room (Thankfully he wrapped a towel around his waist), Thomas had his clothing stolen by Alexander and ended up chasing him around the house with a towel on, and Madison slipped on a bar of soap and smacked his head on the ground. Thomas had a mini panic attack when he heard the thud and raced to the bathroom. Thankfully, Madison was okay and only had a bruise on the back of his head but it seemed like Jefferson got a bit more protective of him afterwards. 

Johns hair was matted with water when he finished and a towel dry didn't do much. He found the hairdryer and decided to use it as a faster way to dry. It was the worst mistake of his second life. Laurens found out the hard way that fluffy hair becomes a lot more fluffy when hot air is added. Hamilton was in his bedroom when John walked in. "Alex?" "Yes Jo- OH GOD! LAURENS!" "I have made a mistake. Help." Alex rushed over to him, kind of fascinated by how poofy his hair was. It was like Thomas' hair but possibly bigger and lighter. He reached a tentative hand up to Johns accidental Afro, "Can I...?" "Go ahead." Alexander ran his hand through the frizzy locks, surprised by how soft they were. John didn't mind since it felt like a while since they had been alone together. Alex was having fun playing with his hair and John enjoyed being the centre of attention. 

They're faces were so close and old tendencies rose to the surface. "It's been a while since we've been alone Laurens." He moved in for a kiss but John pulled back "Alex wait, what about Eliza?" "Nobody needs to know about this. Let this be our little secret?" He leaned in closer and John gave in. 

They ended up doing much more than just kissing. It didn't go too far but it went pretty far. They were right, nobody knew...

Except Eliza who was going to grab a pillow but was shocked to find her husband having mouth-sex with his "best friend".

She came back to the couch, straight faced and calm, not a tear in sight except for when Alex and John returned to the group like nothing had happened. She let one slide but played it off as "something in my eye, I can handle it." But Angelica suspected something had happened between her and Alexander and kept an eye on him.

Lafayette had a more interesting time looking through the drawers of the bathroom. He found a makeup kit that had yet to be used with a note that read "get a social life - Jesse" Who was Jesse? He didn't care, all he cared about was the treasure trove he found. The makeup was new, untouched, and just begging for attention. Laf had always been curious about makeup, how women could wear it and somehow pull it off so well. He had tried it on once with his first attempt to sneak into the US when he dressed as a woman but failed miserably. He had never gotten a good look at himself because his wife did his makeup for him and he was trying to regain breath after his abdomen was shoved into a tiny corset so he would fit the dress. But still, he was curious.

He took a small brush and some dark brown eyeshadow, he didn't want to make his use of the makeup too noticeable. He copied what he had seen Adrienne do time after time and finally took a step back to look at the effects. Lafayette had a moment where everything seemed to stop. His mind wasn't rushing through thoughts of "I shouldn't do this" and "What if someone catches me?" And instead was thinking  "... I like this?" "I look good?" "I feel... happy?" "This is... okay with me?" Lafayette was so confused. He liked manly things like beer, fighting, and women... right? He liked girls right? So why did he not feel awkward like this? He felt.... pretty but he liked women and he was born a man, that was confirmed beyond a doubt. Why did he like feeling like a woman? He should be masculine, that was what was pounded into his head as a child and he did enjoy his drink, a good fight, and sex with a.... woman...?

"Well... there was that one time I kissed Hercules behind a building and then we...."

"He had... pulled off his trousers...."

"I was...asking for......."

"We both...."

".... I......"

".......... am I really just a man?"

Lafayette washed his face off and got changed, put his dirty clothes in his shared room with the boys and walked out to go online and research some things. What he didn't show was that he took the makeup kit and hid it under his cot for future use. Evelyn didn't seem to use it so he doubted it would be missed. He needed to see if feelings like this were normal in people.

Before the night was over, the girls dragged everyone who was willing to participate (including Eve) into a "mani-pedi" moment. Lafayette still questioning his sexual orientation was shocked to find that he felt much better with freshly painted indigo nails. Jefferson only did it because James asked him if he wanted to. They both got yellow and purple along with Herc who received blue with a dot of yellow on each. Hamilton chose orange on his feet and John got orange on his fingers. Washington let Philip give him some messy light blue nails and vice versa.

They cleaned up and went to bed, Eliza, more distant with Alexander, Laf, questioning himself on everything, and Alex, thinking that maybe it was a bad idea to have his little rendezvous with John. Evelyn stayed up late just a little bit longer to do something on the internet and then hit the hay.

Somewhere, in the cold streets of New York, a young woman with bruises and cuts ran through an alleyway and huddled up behind a garbage dumpster, praying that the men assailing her would give up. She heard voices and tensed up, blood poured out of an open wound on her leg. If she had the proper equipment, she would tend to it herself but alas, she had none. The voices got closer, her breath hitched. The only escape was to make a break for it through them but that was a big risk. "HEY! There she is!" Shit! Might as well, not like she had anything to lose besides her life. She dashed out from her spot and bolted past the four men, one of their knives sliced her back and another got a punch on her rib cage. 

She ignored the white-hot pain and ran through the streets, heels broken, loosing blood, and looking for help as her world was darkening. She finally lost the men and found an abandoned stone bridge. She sat down and cried in agony as the open cut on her back touched the dirty wall. She was all but drained of her consciousness when she heard footsteps approaching from her left. The rest was a blur as a man and woman ran to her side and started talking in rushed voices. Her world turned to black as the man bent over to look at her, dark curls and freckles became nothing as she faded into a dreamless coma.