Rumours Only Grow [Jamilton]

Chapter Twenty-Two [Alexander]

I watched Thomas cry for the first time today. It wasn't a very pleasant sight.

I rubbed my eyes, letting out a yawn after I looked over at Thomas. He'd still been asleep. I didn't bother waking him after I got up, because seeing a peaceful expression on his face had been quite uncommon. 

Of course, being the person that he was, Thomas ended up waking up anyways. "Good morning." Thomas hummed. "Did you get any rest?"

"A little." I shrugged. I pulled a few items out of my dresser, turning around to look at him. "It's a little early, so I'm showering first."

"Early?" Thomas asked, sitting up and powering on his cellphone. "Dammit." He mumbled quietly.

"Yeah, Mondays are pretty bad." I chuckled lightly. "I'll be out in a short while, I don't take very long."

"Oh, alright." Thomas nodded. He set his phone down to the side. "See you then." 

I could tell something had been a little bit off with Thomas. Well, more so than usual. 

I wanted to ask him what'd been up, but he'd no longer been in the room after I left the shower. His phone was on the dresser, right where he had it last. Untouched, and filled with notifications. It was a quarter to six, so he couldn't possibly be in class. 

I quickly pulled on my sneakers, before picking up Thomas' cell phone and headed out of the dorm, catching a further glimpse at the hallway with each step. He couldn't have been too far. Most likely on his way to his friends. 

Unsurprisingly, I did actually spot him in a short period of time. His steps seemed weary, and his face was expressionless. He looked to be simply walking without meaning, almost as if he hadn't actually known where he'd been headed to. His trail was shortlived though, after being abruptly cut off by one of the seniors. 

They shoved him down near to one of the lockers, letting out a burst of hysterical laughter as they watched him stumble down. Thomas looked almost to be expecting that, as he hadn't bothered to say anything in response to such an event. 

"What the hell was that for?" I made my way into the scene, standing directly in the middle. 

"Did you check your phone earlier? This faggot's diary was released earlier. Some of the pages were quite funny might I add, and I'm pretty sure he actually starves himself. Like, who does that?" He chuckled lightly. 

"How is any of that funny?" This whole thing explained Thomas' reaction both yesterday and today. 

"I think I actually saw your name in some of the pages. You're Hamilton with the heart next to the name right?" The boy hummed, turning to look at me. "I read somewhere that he wanted to marry you, or some gay shit like that." 

A slight whimper was heard before Thomas glared up at me. He pushed the individual back and broke off running without saying a single word. 

-=+=-

"Holy shit." I muttered out, looking at Aaron wide-eyed as he pulled me into his dorm. "Couldn't you have just gone ahead and texted me like a regular person? You know, by not making me feel like I'm being kidnapped?"

"No." Aaron shrugged, closing the door. "This is serious. An extremely dire, type of serious. Like the end of the world, type of serious." He nodded. "Thomas is crying. He's never cried before. Not like this, at least." 

"Really?" I let out a light gasp, before looking over at my roommate. His eyes were a puffy red colour, and the rest of his face was completely tear-stained. Upon noticing me, Thomas didn't stop crying. He seemed like he tried to since he paused for a moment or two and attempted to wipe away the tears from his face, but it failed. His mutters just got even louder and he started once more, trying to cover it up with his hands.

"Yes, Really. Now go fix it." Aaron huffed, folding his arms. 

"Erm, how am I supposed to do that? You two are his best friends."

"Figure it out, Alexander. Don't you think we've tried already?" Aaron sighed.

I took in a deep breath, before glancing back at Aaron as I approached Thomas.

"At least try getting him to eat something." James suggested, sitting at the edge of his bed. 

"Thomas?" I asked softly, reaching to try and give him some sort of comfort. Thomas tensed up at first without answering, before relaxing for a moment. 

"Y-Yeah?" Thomas mumbled. 

Trying to discuss anything with him probably wouldn't be the best method to calm him down. "I really think you should get something to eat." I sighed.

James rose an eyebrow, before pushing the plastic bag over to the two of us. He backed away afterwards, waiting silently for Thomas to respond.

Thomas hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head and looking down at his hand. "I don't want to." 

I pulled out one of the bags of crisps, holding it up to him. "Please? You haven't eaten in days."

"I don't think I should." Thomas answered. 

"Maybe just try having one or two of these." The entire bag would be appreciated. "Remember when we shared that bag of Cheetos one time under the bed?"

Thomas went silent for a moment, before letting out a light chuckle. "Yeah, I'm surprised they weren't poisoned." He opened the bag. "Fine."

"Thank you." I smiled slightly, watching him take a bite of one. I ate one as well.

Thomas ended up eating the whole bag after a few minutes and threw it at James. "Thanks."

"Erm." James dusted off his clothes before taking it and chucking it in the garbage. "How'd you do that?"

Aaron intervened. "We should probably ask questions later."

"Right." James coughed after nodding. 

End of Chapter Twenty-Two.