Wasn't Meant To Be : Jamilton [Completed]

Chapter 26: The one with the talk with George

Alexander grinned widely. "Ship it." He whispered softly as he watched the two of them.

John was about to respond and a voice called behind them, "Where are you boys going?" It was Mr. Washington. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Alexander froze, slowly turning around. "U-umm..."

John thought fast and said, "Where are we going? Uh...well, my dad wants me to go to Middle Temple, in London, but I'm not really sure I want to study law." Washington shook his head. "Don't get smart with me, son." John raised a hand like 'I'm sorry', and Washington continued, "Mr. Hamilton, I need to talk to you. The rest of you, you can wait outside." The three boys glanced at each other, then John asked, "Outside the school, outside? Or outside the classroom?" Washington crossed his arms, hesitating, before saying, "Outside the school." He was basically giving them a free pass to skip school. "But Alexander, I really need to speak with you. Just for a moment."

Alexander nodded, looking to his shoes. "O-okay sir." He whimpered, following Washington 

Washington headed back into his classroom once Alex caught up with him, and closed the classroom door behind them. "Don't worry. You're not in trouble." He was aware that may not have sounded very comforting, so he added on, "You know I would've already called you out if you were."

Alexander chuckled, before nodding and hugging himself tightly. "O-okay, Sir. I believe you..." he weakly smiled. "Then... w-why am I here?"

Washington took a deep breath and leaned on the edge of his desk, crossing his arms over his chest as he figured out how to start this. Finally, he said, "Frankly, son, I'm a little bit worried about you."

Alexander growled. "First... I'm not your son... second.... what do you mean?"

"Young man, watch your tone," Washington warned sternly. "I don't put this much time into other students' well-being." He huffed and forced himself to soften up. This was bound to be a tender subject. "Now, I noticed today that..." Oh, god, here was where his hard-driven desire to take care of this young man bled into his inability to offer any more emotional support than the occasional pep talk. "Well, I noted that you and Thomas were very...friendly." He fiddled with his ring finger, the action absent enough that he seemed to forget there was no wedding ring there to rotate anymore. "And with what happened this afternoon, with Thomas...I just wanted to check up on you. See how you're handling it." 

Alexander tensed, continuing to look down to his shoes. "That... was a misunderstanding, sir... we still hate each other. N-nothing happened if that is what you're thinking!"

Washington's face heated up and he cleared his throat. "Well, still. There was...some emotion there, be it negative or positive. I was just...concerned. That's all. I don't want a mind like yours going bad just because no one asked how you were doing."

"Nothing Happened, Sir!" Alexander snapped. "N-nothing... n-n-nothing..." he held back tears.

Washington raised his hands in a surrendering way. "Alright, alright. But I'm here for you, Alexander. I've got nothing but time for you."

Alexander felt his heart skip a beat. Could he trust Washington? "U-u-uh... c-can.... if I tell you this... c-can you not tell anyone...?"

"Unless it puts your life in danger, I won't tell anybody," George said honestly. Of course, that policy was supposed to include the lives of others, too, but maybe he could bypass that just this once. For Alexander.

Alexander shook his head. "No... j-just.. p-painful." he chuckled solemnly. "U-um... something d-did happen between Thomas and me... r-remember the assignment you gave me and h-him... w-w-w-well...." tears fell down his cheeks. "I-i went back to h-his place and.. w-we...we... we had sex sir." he said blankly. "But... when I asked him to s-stop... he didn't... and he kept teasing me... a-and doing stuff to me... sometimes I s-said I liked it... b-b-but... he d-did it even when I said no...and... w-w-we did it again in the locker room, sir. And... h-h-he did it again. I t-told him so. But h-he kept d-doing it.."

Washington looked at him for a moment, taking that all in, before rubbing his hand over his face and saying, "Alright. I'm so sorry that happened to you, son." He didn't even think about calling him that. "And I guess Thomas' beating today was at the hand of...Hercules, right?"

Alexander didn't care about Washington calling him 'son' that time. At that moment, he needs a parental figure of some form. "Y-yeah... Herc did it."

Washington covered his face again, thinking, before continuing to speak. "Alright. Just that could get you all into huge trouble, no matter the reason behind it. Have you told the police or any authority what Thomas did?"

Alexander shook his head. "I am too s-scared to, s-sir..." he whispered.

"Alright, well, we'll have to do that." But even as he said this, Washington knew it would be in vain. He knew Thomas could just pay his way out of jail, pay his way out of court, pay his way out of a criminal record. Hell, he probably wouldn't even be considered guilty in the first place. In this bitch of a nation, who'd believe an immigrated male rape victim over a rich young man who can trace his lineage back to the forefathers? Frustration fired through him. "If you're comfortable with that, I mean."

Alexander froze, sitting on one of the desks. "Y-yeah.... I-I'll do it." he mumbled.

"We'll report it to the police, then. Whenever you're ready--it doesn't have to be today. I saw you were heading out with your friends already. Maybe that's what you need right now. And tonight, maybe you can plan out exactly what you need to tell them." Washington gave him a sympathetic look, still trying to ignore his ridiculous need to take care of this boy. "I know you usually work off the cuff, but we're going to need every bit of careful strategy we can manage in order to get you justice."

Alexander nodded knowingly. "I understand, Mr. Washinton." He looked up at the teacher. "Thank you for helping me, Sir." he smiled.

Washington smiled back at him, a big smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. "Of course. Anything for you." 

Tears brimmed in Alexander's eyes. "It means a lot...." he began to walk to the door.

"Yeah, of course. Will you be coming to school tomorrow?" Washington wouldn't blame Alex for skipping at a time like this. Hell, he might even feel better if Alexander did. He knew the boy could push himself too hard, academically.

Alexander shrugged. "I am not sure... I will see... Have a nice day, Sir." he sighed, opening the door and walking out of the classroom, in the direction his friends left.