Sons of Liberty University | Hamilton College AU

Chapter 50 - Neil

Alex

December 1st had arrived, and with it, complete and utter chaos.

"JOHN!" I yelled from the bed. We had gone home the day after Thanksgiving with mountains of leftovers. We still had some. "JOHN, GET BACK IN BED! IT'S COLD!"

"Alex, it's Monday!" he responded from the bathroom. "I need to get to my classes! You have classes too, remember?"

"I know," I grumbled. "But I went to mine this morning! I'm all caught up on work!"

"Then write!"

I grumbled, pouted, and humphed, but I eventually did grab my pencil and notebook and began to write.

A little bit later, I had filled up half the page. John emerged from the bathroom, dressed and ready to go. He grinned at me, then kissed my temple.

"I love you, bunny," he whispered in my ear. "I'll see you in-between classes, 'kay? Text me if you get nervous, and I'll walk you to your next class."

"I love you too, muffin," I said, then ghosted a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Have a good day."

He began to walk away but then froze.

"Alex," he said, not turning around. "When you need to leave, take a winter coat with you, m'kay? It's supposed to be cold today. And some gloves and a hat."

And then with a wink, he closed the door behind him and walked away.

I stared at him.

Well, that was weird.

~.~

"MUFFIN BUNNY?!" Peggy screamed, laughing and wiping tears from her eyes. "Muffin bunny! Oh my god, you two are too cute, I swear! Muffin bunny! Not even Maria and I get that sweet!"

"Shut up, Peggy!" I giggled. "He likes to call me bunny now! Why is that a bad thing?"

"It's not," she said, then patted my arm. "It's just super cute is all."

The bell rung, and we stood up from our seats in the front of the lecture room and stepped out into the hall, where everyone was rushing towards the entrance.

I turned to Peggy. "What's going on?"

She thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she let out an excited squeal. "Snow!"

She then ran off, putting on her jacket and gloves.

I froze.

Snow? I had heard of snow from John (and the internet), but I had never experienced it before. People said it was cold, but how cold could it be?

I followed everyone outside and immediately regretted and simultaneously loved all of my life choices up to that point.

A blast of ice-cold air punched me in the face and told me to go screw myself. Gooseflesh rippled up my arms while my poor feet screamed, "it's COLD, damn you!" I shivered uncontrollably and yanked out that winter coat John gave me this morning, along with the gloves and the hat and put them on.

Tiny specks of white floated airily to the ground, bathing the sidewalk and grass in a powdery white. I heard whoops and cheers from a few people, and groans and grumbles from everyone else.

"This is snow?" I whispered in awe as flakes fell onto my outstretched hands. "It's amazing..."

"Alex!" I heard my boyfriend's voice shout, and then his familiar bouncy form tan into view, crashing into me with a hug. "Do you see it, baby? It's snowing!"

I laughed in shock, still staring up at the sky.

~.~

"OH MY GOD, WE CAN DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS NOW!" John squealed excitedly. "Bunny, can we please go to Michaels?! I have a lot of money now because of my father getting thrown in prison, thanks to you, and we can go buy a bunch of decorations now!" He stopped and gasped really loudly. "WE CAN GET OUR OWN APARTMENT!"

I laughed at him. "Baby, let's wait until we have a bit more money," I said gently. "We'll get a flat instead so we don't have to pay rent."

His eyes lit up. "That's actually really smart," he said, then kissed my cheek. "We'll wait for a little bit longer when it's not so hectic, and then we'll start searching!"

"It's a plan," I agreed. "C'mon, let's go to Michaels."

We slipped on our boots and coats and stepped outside. As we walked, we watched the snow flurries cascade gently to the ground, piling up against trees who had long ago lost their leaves and buildings and windows.

John's phone dinged. He yanked it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. His eyes widened.

"Okay, I didn't know we were actually gonna do it," he muttered, then turned to me. "Looks like we're gonna be doing a play this year."

I blinked. "What?"

"The theater department finally got its shit together and is doing a play," he said. "It's called Henry IV: A New Hope. It's like Shakespeare, but with cosplay and Star Wars."

"Oh, my."

We walked until we got to Michaels, whereupon John immediately squealed with delight. "LET'S GO!" he exclaimed, then grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

We ended up buying a Christmas tree in a box and a couple of candles and decorations with John's money, then hailed a cab and drove back to the university. When we reached our dorm, we began setting up.

When the Christmas tree was all put together, something sprang from the doorway into the tree. John and I jumped back from the hissing and spitting— wait, is that a cat?!

Eliza rushed into the dorm dressed in a blue onesie, panting heavily. She saw the cat, sighed, then pried it free from the tree and exited.

John and I looked at each other and whipped out our phones.

ITSYABOI: Eliza.

Datboi: What just happened.

Lizzieloo: DON'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT NEIL

Datboi: Neil. You named your illegal cat Neil.

Lizzieloo: SHUT UP DON'T TALK ABOUT NEIL LIKE THAT

ITSYABOI: Eliza. Neil isn't allowed to live in the dorms.

Lizzieloo: YOU CAN TAKE MY LIFE BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE MY NEIL

(Fair warning: there is going to be both MAJOR angst in the next chapters AND a lot of crying.

After all, We all still die.)