Rebels: A Hamilton AU (*DISCONTINUED*)

3.) Alex at the Library

Alex pulls me along for a good hundred feet or so before I snatch my wrist from his grasp and stomp my foot down. Alex better have a good explanation for rushing out like that.

"What the hell was that Alex?" I shout and fill each word with as much frustration and venom as I can.

Instead of replying, Alex continues walking with his head down, not even giving me so much as a dismissive glance. Who the fuck does he think he is?

"You know what, I don't even care what's wrong anymore. No matter how hard I try to understand you, you always push me away! After all, I'll 'never understand', right?" I spit Alex's own words back at him with as much fire as I can muster and start walking in the opposite direction.

The second I start to walk away I begin to regret saying that to Alex. I know that he was rude in Starbucks, but did he really deserve what I said? I hope he doesn't take it too personally, I still care about him a lot: I still need him. However, the more I think it over, the combination of his coldness and refusal to be seen with me are enough to convince me that walking away from Alex was the right thing to do. For once, I just want him to feel as upset and at a loss as he makes me feel.

Meow...

What was that?

Meow... meow...

I don't have to look very far to find where the meowing was coming from. Sitting on a windowsill to my left is the fluffiest cat I have ever seen in my life. I walk over to it slowly so I don't scare it, but the cat jumps down and lands at my feet, rubbing its face against my legs. "AWWW," I croon, reaching down to pick it up. "Aren't you sweet?"

Upon petting the cat, I discover that it is also the softest cat ever.

"C'mon, I'm taking you home."

I remember Alex telling me once that he likes cats, maybe this will make everything better.

Alex's POV

I've stopped dead in my tracks. Oh my god, he walked away. After all of the shit I've put him through, he finally walked away. John has always stayed by my side, no matter how much I hurt him. I guess I've really been fucking up lately, time to apologize. I turn around, expecting John to not be too far behind me, but I find that he's long gone. Oh well, I can't do anything about it now, it seems like he's made up his mind.

I don't even know where I plan on going, I just keep on walking, hoping that I'll find something to console me. I didn't mean to upset John that much. I try to find comfort in things like the sunshine and blue sky, but all that they do is remind me of him. The alleyways that I pass are filled with stray cats. I laugh to myself lightly; John would've stopped and tried to befriend them all. I secretly have a soft spot for animals, too, which is something that only he knows about. I used to tell him absolutely everything about me, even secrets that Laf and Herc don't know. I've just always felt that I can let go and be myself around John. However, recent events have taken that away from me. I've been forced to put up a cold front whenever he's near, and he obviously hasn't been taking it too well. I mean, who would? I've gone from being so close to him to suddenly becoming distant. It's obvious that he's hurting, but I don't think he knows just how much it hurts me too.

Listening to the birds that chirp in the trees only saddens me more. It seems like they're mocking me for not appreciating what I had when I had it. I need someplace quiet to sort out my thoughts. The library.

Eventually I make my way to the brick building and push open the door. James is working as usual, stacking books onto shelves and constantly coughing. Damn, is he always sick? I give him a small wave and find an empty table in a corner: I need to figure out a way to get John to forgive me.

I sit down and start to make a mental list of things John likes. Well, of course there's drawing, but I don't know what I would even get him. I know nothing about drawing, all I know is that he has too many sketchbooks and different pencils, so that's out of the question. He likes video games too, but I don't think there's a single video game that Peggy doesn't own, so he could easily borrow one from her. It doesn't seem special enough for him to forgive me. Chokers, maybe? I shake my head, he has way   too many of them.

Then all of a sudden it hits me. A cat. Why didn't I think of that before? John has been saying that he wants a cat for the longest time, and having a cat will be fun for me too. I had to walk to the library to figure out a solution so obvious? Well, since I'm here I may as well look at some of the books.

Getting up from my table, I go over and look at the shelf labeled 'Horror'. I love horror movies, so the books can't be too different, right? I sigh as I flip through the novels; why are they all so long? I pull one off of the shelf and turn to the last page, 942 pages? Why? You know what, I've never been one to back away from a challenge. I take the book from the shelf with confidence and start to walk toward the check out counter, but a familiar head of curly hair catches my eye between two of the shelves.

I backtrack and sure enough, there's Thomas Jefferson sitting in a chair, flipping through some sort of biography. Walking down the row, I speak quietly so I don't scare him too much, "Hey." Slightly startled, he shuts his book and looks up at me, motioning for me to come closer.

The situation feels oddly awkward. "So," I say, trying to make small talk. "How have you been?" He rolls his eyes at me and scoffs, "I just saw you the other day, I'm not doing much different than I was then."

I'm used to him being sort of abrasive when we see each other in public, but I still blush at him calling out my awkwardness.

"I know, it's just that I don't really know what to say to you. I don't ever talk to you in public or in broad daylight, we always sneak around."

He doesn't say anything back, he just opens his book back up and resumes his place. I still don't know what to say, so I just try to bring up anything, really.

"Did you say anything to James about us? You're really concerning him when you push him away like you've been doing ."

Alright, that got his attention. "How did you know that- never mind," he closes his book again and stands up, towering over me as usual. "No, I haven't told him, have you told John?"

I gulp as soon as Thomas says John's name and drop my book, "No, of course not."

"Good then, I guess we're fine. You might not want to stay over here much longer, I don't want James getting any more suspicious than he already is."

Accepting the fact that Thomas doesn't want to talk right now, I spin around on my heel and try to walk away, but Thomas clears his throat loudly and mutters my name under his breath. Before I can say anything, he grabs me by my shirt, pulls me behind a bookshelf, and gives me a quick yet hungry kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow night," he whispers as he pulls away, returning to his chair.

Okay, that happened. I leave the library blushing furiously and head for the animal shelter, feeling more confused than ever.

A/N: Alright, I tried to throw some Jamilton in there. Normally Jamilton is pretty much my OTP, but for this AU I'm not sure how I feel about it. I know that this chapter isn't my best work, for some reason I'm just not really feeling it, but I promise that the next one will be better :) Thank you all so much for the overwhelming praise and positivity on the previous two chapters, I'm so glad you like the book so far! Love you all <3

-Amanda