Rumours Only Grow [Jamilton]

Scene Twenty-Five {Thomas}

I Am Almost Happiest Guy I Know [P.S. There's Not Much Competition]

Alexander looked at me blankly for a moment, before nodding. "I won't play around with you anymore, Thomas. I'll think about dating you." 

That was all I could think about all night. Alexander had actually said yes! He was going to think about it. Aaron had to remind me of the possibility that Alexander would decide not to date me, but I just couldn't stop my mental celebration. This had to be the best thing that had happened to me in a while. 

My jubilation was short-lived, however. Whenever I woke up the next morning, Alexander wasn't there. I checked my phone, and there were fifty-one notifications.  Each notification was from an unknown contact, but I knew who it really was. It appeared in the bottom of the same chat I had with John, which I hadn't deleted. All of them were screenshots from the Jamilton group chat. The first five were about Hercules and Lafayette. The next twenty Aaron and James. The other twenty-six were all about Alexander. No wonder he was gone. 

~~~

I don't see any reason to explain the day I had. I would have been glad to have the attention focused on someone else for once,  but these people weren't just anyone. They were my friends. At lunch, I didn't eat, deciding to let Aaron and James split my portions. They were both stress-eaters, so I wanted to make sure they were feeling better. I know this was against my arrangement with Alexander, but he wouldn't know I had skipped. I still hadn't seen him by that time of day.  By the time the school day came to a close, however, it became ridiculous. None of the five were anywhere to be seen. I decided to call a meeting. 

Group Chat: Jamilton <3 <3 <3 

ToffeeSkinnedVirginian: Hey, it's Thomas. Erm, I haven't seen you guys almost all day. Despite the rumours that are haunting you, there's an urgent matter that has come up and I need your assistance in two minutes. Please bring snacks.

LaffyTaffy: Okay. Hercules will be arriving a little after myself. He doesn't want people to see us together. 

RunningOutOfInk: I'll be there.

NumberTwenty-Nine: I'll be there too. Bringing Aaron along.

ToffeeSkinnedVirginian: Don't forget your snacks, guys. I won't be partaking in any, but you'll need them. 

"Guys, I know these rumours are probably rough on all of you." I sighed, watching as Aaron messily ate a chocolate bar. "But we can't let people see that we're bothered by it. Sure, people are still messing with me a little, but they're focused on you now because you're fresh prey. You're still bothered about being called..." I swallowed, knowing I had to set an example by not being bothered by saying the insult. "Faggots. But we have to show them that we don't care. I know it sounds childish, but until this blows over, we have to live in our own fantasy world. Kind of similar to what children like to do. Can we just be a little immature in that way for a while? Please?"

If I was honest, it took a lot for me to say that to the five of them. I didn't want to come off as rude, but I didn't want to come off like I didn't understand what they were going through. Finally, after a moment of silence, James began clapping. It was not a fast clap, like the type that is warranted by extreme enthusiasm, but a slower one. He agreed. 

"I think he's right, guys." James nodded. "We'll have to play pretend. Some people even get paid for that, so we can act like it's our job."

"Oui. We should let it go. Please, 'erc?" Lafayette looked over at him. 

Hercules sighed, before nodding. "Alright. I guess I should do it for you, Lafayette." He smiled slightly at the Frenchman. 

"I guess I agree as well." Aaron threw away the empty chocolate bar wrapper. 

Alexander was silent for only a moment more, before his face broke into a grin. "If only you could say all of this shit in front of a crowd. You'd be a great motivational speaker."

"Then let's go. The lady at the desk will be having her coffee break soon. We can go skating and have a little time off. How about that?" I grabbed my wallet from my bedside table. "I'll buy."

~~~

"You're an amazing skater. Thanks for helping me relearn." I chuckled as I sat down with Alexander in the restaurant area of the establishment. 

"No problem." Alexander grinned. "You could become a professional if you practiced enough."

Our conversation was cut short by a worker, who came to take our order. His name tag displayed the name 'Travis'. 

"Hello there. What can I get you this evening, lovely?" His gaze was not on me, but on Alexander. 

Alexander went a light pink, but noticeably ignored Travis' pet name. "We'll just share a large pepperoni pizza with our friends when they get done skating." He shrugged. "A water and...?" He looked over to me.

"I'll have an iced sweet tea." I hummed. 

Travis didn't even turn to see my face, keeping his gaze on Alexander as he wrote down our order. "Alright. I'll have that for you." He gave Alexander a smile. "Tell me if anything's off with it when I bring it by, okay?" 

"Okay!" Alexander chimed. 

After our pizza came, our friends soon joined us. They were eager to have something to eat after a long day at school. 

"That pizza was pretty good. Didn't cost you too much, right Thomas?" James looked over to me as I threw away our used napkins and wiped off the table. 

"Eh, not much. Don't worry about it. You're all my friends." I grinned. "Let's get going."

I couldn't help but hear some faint snapping, akin to a camera, in the distance as we left. 

~~~
Alexander and I were running late. Sure, it was a common occurrence for me. However, I had never seen Alexander late to a class. We were getting ready to part ways when I heard the intercom go off. 

"Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, Hercules Mulligan, James Madison, Marquis de Lafayette, and Thomas Jefferson. Please come to my office immediately." Principal Washington's voice announced. 

When we arrived, all four of our friends were seated in the extra fold-up chairs brought in to fit everyone in comfortably. Yet, it wasn't just our squad and the principal. A certain freckled-face boy was grinning mischievously as Alexander and I took our seats. 

END SCENE TWENTY-FIVE