I Didn't Ask For Your Help

Chapter 11

*Washington's POV*

"James?" I said sternly.

"Y-yes sir?" He stuttered.

"Meet me in my office."

Alexander and Ethan walked away quickly, and I let James get a head start to my office so he could have a minute to compose himself. Hey, he may be a jerk, but I still care about all my employees.

"Just what exactly was going through your head, Mr. Madison?" I said a little more darkly than I meant to as I slammed the door shut, getting his attention.

"I-I don't know sir, I'm sorry..." James muttered as he hung his head in shame.

"Yes you do know and you will tell me right now."

"I said I'm sorry!"

"Sorry won't cut it anymore."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!?" James yelled as he looked up at me, slamming his fist on the table. I looked at him blankly, then began to act as if I were searching around the room.

"The hell are you looking for?"

"Whoever made you think that you had the right to talk to me like that. Know your place, Mr. Madison, or else."

"Or else what? You'll fire me?"

"That is exactly what I'll do. Actually, as of now, consider yourself fired. I want everything personal out of your office by 5pm or it will be thrown away, do I make myself clear?" I said as I shot an icy glare at him, met with a furious look from James.

"You can't fire me? Do you know who I am? I'm the son of—"

"I couldn't care less who your dad is, all I know is that he should've been a better father. Go, before I change my mind and I have you escorted out of the building and everything in your office is thrown away," I said as I sat down to work on some documents. James, shocked, stood there for a second before walking out of the office in anger.

*Thomas's POV*

I was in my office when I heard James stomp in.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" He screamed as he approached me. Oh boy, here we go again. Instead of confrontation I decided to ignore him, only making him more mad.

"WHY DID YOU CHANGE ALL OF A SUDDEN, HUH? WE WERE LITERALLY KICKING HAMILTON IN THE MEETING YESTERDAY AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU TWO ARE BEST FRIENDS!?"

"Look James, I did something...something I shouldn't have. To Alex. I don't even know why I started picking on him, anyway." I told him what I had said earlier, clearly he had forgotten in his moment of rage.

"Because he's pathetic, Thomas. And he's raising some kid to be like him. That's disgusting."

"No, you're disgusting. I really wish you would just leave, James."

"Well luckily for you, I just got fired thanks to your! Have fun with Aaron and Alex, since they seem to be SO amazing!" James angrily walked out as quick as he had walked in. I was stressed, this was too much. Of course, Alex had had to deal with worse but this was more than I was used to. I'm not used to sudden changes, but because I really needed this job I didn't say anything about my own issues. Sure, I have extreme anxiety that has literally sent me to the hospital, but I didn't think it was that important.

I couldn't breath, I was trapped in my own mind. James screaming at me, Alex looking defeatedly at the ground as he realized what I had done, Ethan telling me what a big mistake I made, Mr. Washington telling me what I had done to Alex...I was shaking. I couldn't focus on my work. I could feel tears running down my face but didn't dry them.

Nobody knows, because nobody will understand. But I know someone who just might know, and who could try to understand. I struggled to stand but when I did I tried as quickly as I could to walk to his office, breathing heavily but hardly at all as I walked.

"Thomas? Are you okay? What happened?" Aaron said as I walked in. He stood to help me, and I collapsed into his arms.

*Aaron's POV*

I had been talking to my online friend about some stuff happening where she lives when I heard the door creak open. I turned to see Thomas at the door, looking absolutely miserable.

"Thomas? Are you okay? What happened?" I went to help him and he just collapsed into my arms, breathing shakily. I knew he had anxiety, though he had never told me. I'd seen his smaller attacks before but this was serious. I let him sit on my chair and I kneeled next to him, rubbing his back.

"It's okay, Thomas. It'll all be okay," I whispered as I tried to soothe him. He hyperventilated for a while, I leaned forward so he could rest his head in my shoulder.

After some time I heard his breathing go back to somewhat normal, though when I prompted him to lift his head his eyes looked so tired and just...done.

"Tommy, will you tell me what happened? It's okay, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to, all I want is to help."

He remained quiet for a minute before speaking.

"I hurt Alexander..." he said, voice broken.

"You and James hurt him all the time, why's this time different?"

"No, I...well, you know Lafayette?"

"Yeah, we used to work together and he's stopped by here when him, John and Hercules surprised Alex for his birthday. Why?"

"I pretended to be him. After the meeting I made myself look like Lafayette and kissed with Alex, then called him really really bad things and left him there..." a tear rolled down his cheek as he looked down at the seemingly interesting ground.

"Thomas, listen to me. Look at me. That was definitely not okay, but I know you already know that. As much as Alex is probably traumatized, I know how strong he is. I was one of his first friends when he moved here, you know? He doesn't hold grudges like that, and I'm sure that this will eventually just be another downside of his life."

"But what if he never does anything romantic with anyone because he's scared or something?"

"That won't happen. Come here," I said softly as I pulled him down on the floor gently into a hug.

"T-thank you for being here Aaron," Thomas said as he calmed down, breathing at a normal pace for good. He laid his head on me, and an unexpected blush came across my face.

...Am I bisexual?

Huh, I might be. That's new.