Fervid as a Flame || A Jamilton Story

Library

Thomas and Alexander gasp in unison. Yes, they both expected one of Alex's friends to confront Reynolds, but they thought Aaron would be the least likely contender. But the shock doesn't end there.

Aaron reels back his arm, punches Reynolds in the face, then stalks off in the opposite direction. Reynolds clutches his cheek and chases after him, they lose sight when they both turn around the corner.

"Well, that was odd," Alex starts.

Thomas nods his agreement with a sip of Alex's coffee. They untangle from each other and slide out of the booth.

"Why did James go after him?" Alex asks.

"No idea, I wouldn't want to go after an enraged Aaron Burr," Thomas snorts. "I value my life."

They untangle from each other and slide out of the booth. Alex goes to get a refill of his liquid crack, and meets Thomas at the door. Walking out of the cafe, they decide to go to the library to check out some books.

They walk in silence. To Alexander it's comfortable, but Thomas really needs to ask a question of him. The pair became friends a few days ago, and Thomas didn't want to ruin it by prying.

They make it to the library and Alex happily rushes into the building, making a beeline for the mystery section. Thomas watches him run off fondly, and he makes his way towards the science fiction section.

He browses his options, not really interested in a new read. He's only here because Alexander really wanted to go. Jefferson picks up a book called Illusive and flips it over. He busies himself with reading the summary until he feels something collide with his back.

Turning around, Thomas is not surprised to see Alexander making grabby hands at the book in his hands.

"You find something you want?" Thomas asks, handing the book to Alex.

"Mhm," Alex nods, reading the book Thomas picked out, "are you gonna get this one? Cause' I wanna read it after you."

"Yeah, I was thinking about it. It has a sequel if you wanna get that too."

"No, we can come back another time."

Thomas nods his agreement and they make their way to the librarian. Alex pulls out his card and hands it over, along with the books. Once the transaction is done, they head towards the door and begin walking back to Thomas's dorm.

They don't walk in silence this time. Thomas lets Alex ramble about the book he picked out. Something about witches, he wasn't really paying attention, too busy watching Alex's excited movements and adorable facial expression that made him absolutely smitten. Apparently Alex had stopped talking.

"Why're you staring at me?"

"You're just cute when you're not screaming at me."

Alex scrunches up his nose and punches Thomas lightly in the arm. If only he knew the amount of truth behind that.

Eventually, they make it to Thomas's dorm and Alex plops down on the couch. He opens his book with a giddy smile and gives the pastel paperback his undivided attention.

Thomas sits down next to him and opens his own book. He begins to read about a girl named Ciere, but can't completely focus on the book. Having read the first sentence over five times, Thomas decides to stop trying to comprehend what's on the page. He stares at the page and lets himself think.

In less than a week, Thomas has gone from believing he had no absolute chance with Alexander, to knowing about the most intimate details of his childhood and the hardships he faced less than two years ago. According to Alexander, they're friends now. But Thomas feels like a selfish asshole for wanting more than that, he wants to be a constant in Alex's life. He wants to be someone that Alex can confide in, someone that Alex can trust, and someone that Alex can care for as deeply as Thomas cares for him.

Thomas always saw how close Alex was with his friends. The laughs and snickers that he shared with Laurens while they watched Lee trip in the hallway. The excited French rambles he shared with Lafayette. The long hugs that he shared with Mulligan after he had tailored him some new jeans. The long talks he had with Burr. And the late night walks with side-hugs that he shared with James; which made Thomas unbelievably jealous. Or the weekend shopping sprees that he'd have with the Schuylers.

"Are you alright?" Alexander looks up at him. "You've been starting at the same page for more than a few minutes now." He puts his book down.

"I'm fine, just thinking," Thomas reassures.

"What're you thinking about?"

"You."

"Oh." Alexander turns pink. "Did I do something?"

"No, not at all," Thomas shifts to look at him, "I just want to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"We're friends, right?" Thomas asks hesitantly.

"I told you we were."

"Would," Thomas looks at his lap, "would you ever want to be something more?"

Ahhh it's so bad and so short! I had to publish something because I'm pretty sure people thought I died. I'm super sorry for the unexpected hiatus. All I can say is; writers block is a bitch, depression sucks ass, and school can jump off a cliff. I should be updating more consistently now, again I'm super sorry..