Wings - A Hamilton Fanfic - Lams, Mullette, and Jeffmads

Chapter Thirty One

Thomas's P.O.V

Hell no. Not again. What are the flipping chances of-

Ugh. Just my luck. The next weekend where James and I are hanging out in Newtide, of course, we just have to be in the same restaurant as my parents again. They've just noticed me, and Mother's face has lit up. I scowl and stand up, fully intending to leave.

"Thomas, please-"

"No! I told you last week, and I'll tell you again!" I spin around to shout. "I don't want to have anything to do with you!" The whole restaurant is silent, just like last week. I get the flip outta there, James right behind me. I start to rant again, about how stuck up and mean they are to still do this when I'm technically an adult, and ugh! I just want them to get the heck out of my life. Once I take a breath, I'm about to keep going when James, of all people, juts in.

"You know what Thomas? Maybe you should actually be happy that you still have parents," He snaps. I stop and stare at him, shocked.

"James, I-"

"Because, y'know, you're lucky you still have parents, since some people don't have the luxury of always having people who somewhat care about you," He carries on, running a hand through his short, curly hair.

"James, woah-"

"Your parents are people you can trust till the end of your or their life, and if they've broken that trust, well, everyone has flaws and sometimes that just need to work through them before being able to go back to being a trustworthy person," James finally stops and sighs. He looks at me, and I can tell that he's a mixture of pissed off and a bit sad.

"The point is, Thomas, your parents don't seem like the devils that you make them out to be. Maybe you should try to repair things with them, cus hey, they're always going to be there for you. And if they are really terrible people trying to trick you with a facade of politeness," James jazzes his hands. "Welp, at least you've tried," He looks at me expectantly, as if I were to suddenly change my stance on the situation. Yeah, no.

"But, James, I HAVE tried. Many, many times," I argue. "But they just refused to understand. That's why I ran away!" I lift my hands up in the air.

"Yeah, but they seem like they've changed now. Maybe it's time to give them another chance," James says in a bit of a softer tone. Suddenly, his eyes gloss over, as if he's deep in thought.

"You know what? I never got to properly... Thomas, I'll see you later!" James starts to back off, and stride away.

"What- James wait!" I shout after him.

"Nope! This is something I gotta do alone, Tommy! We'll hang out later!" He calls back. What is he on about? Ugh, now what am I going to do? I've all afternoon to spend, and James just went off. Shoot.

*****

It's already the end of the weekend and man, do I not want to train today. Especially non-flying combat. Especially with Hamilton.

We're doing a quick drill to warm up, and I just can't take the topic of my parents off my mind. Perhaps what James said is right, but, I know my parents. I got my stubbornness from them, so I know that they wouldn't just magically change their minds after I 'failed' as a son to them. I'm so lost in thought that I don't notice I use my wings to fly over an obstacle we're supposed to jump over.

"Hey! Jefferson! Go back and do that one properly!" Alexander commands me. I realise what I've done and scowl. I walk back behind the obstacle, but not before I peer at Alexander short frame.

"Wow, such authority. If only I could take you seriously. To be honest, your height sort of puts that off," I laugh at him. Inside, I know I shouldn't take my anger out on Alexander, but I can't myself. Alexander rolls his eyes, but I notice he stands up a little straighter to seem taller.

"What's with the insults today, Jefferson?" He taunts, folding his arms. "Boyfriend troubles?"

"James and I are fine, thank you very much."

"Then what seems to be the problem? I need you to focus here, y'know."

I stop to think for a second, pondering my options. Do I tell him that my parents are annoying me? But then the whole troop will hear, and oh my, gossip spreads fast. Wait, why do I even care about some stupid gossip? I'm Thomas freakin' Jefferson!

"Oh, you know, just some parents being annoying," I wave my hand nonchalantly through the air. Alexander raises his eyebrow.

"Just what I thought. You know gossip spreads fast, right? I know everything about your little family feud, and I'd like to throw my opinion in the ring here," Alexander starts. Oh god, I've fueled him to start. Well, at least now we'll have a half an hour of rest. Jeez, this guy never stops talking.

"To be honest, I think they did go a little overboard and all, but in the end, they're still your family. I mean, they CARE about you!" He spreads his hands like that's some huge, dramatic thing. I let out a huff, fold my arms, and look away.

"Some families aren't worth going back to, I know that on first-hand experience," He says, and the tone of his voice (slightly troubled and sad) makes me look at Alexander again.

"But your folks seem pretty nice, so I dunno," He finally shrugs and looks around. "Hey! Why is no one still going around the course? Everyone drop and give me twenty!" Well woah, that was concise. A big improvement for Hamilton. As I drop down to my knees, I hear him muttering about how "I've always wanted to say that,' and I start to think about what he said, He said a pretty similar thing to what James said. Perhaps I should take it into account.

I don't want to reconnect with the monsters that are my parents, but...

The entire time since I ran away, I've had this weird nagging feeling in my gut. Like, a piece of myself is still there with them.

Maybe it's time to go home.

(1069 words)