By The Pond - A Lams Story

Chapter 10

-Alex's Perspective-

   The next morning, Alex yawns and puts on his work outfit and heads to The Rev. He's mentally preparing for the onslaught of revenge that he knows is coming. And with such a good person as John, Alex knows they'll go all out. He would do the same.
   He takes a deep breath and goes inside the coffee shop. He waves at John, who smiles back. It's not as strong a smile as normal, but it's not fake either. That's a good sign. "You feeling any better?"
   "A bit. But everyone else is pissed. So be careful." He whispers. "Medium black, no cream, no sugar, right?"
   "Mhm." Alex has a feeling Lafayette is gonna spectacularly botch up his order.
   "Laf!" And the Frenchman himself appears. He narrows his eyes in what can only be described as a royally pissed off expression. "Medium black, no cream, no sugar."
   "Of course, mon ami." Lafayette glares at Alex for a moment longer before going to the back. John sighs.
   "I'm sorry about them. They mean well, they do, but..." He trails off.
   "It's okay, Freckles. I can take it, especially if it means you don't have to deal with them for a bit." Alex smiles at John, ignoring his feelings that are trying to rise out of the depths to which he banished them last night. "That's what friends are for."
   Lafayette walks back with a coffee that obviously wasn't a medium black, no cream, no sugar and hands it to Alexander. "Your coffee, mon ami." His voice is dripping with sarcasm.
   He smiles just as falsely and takes it. "Thank you, Laf. John, what was my total again?"
   John just looks at them and sighs. "Three fifty-nine, like normal."
   Alex takes a sip of his large drink and tries not to spit it out. This is so sweet that's it's almost pure sugar. He hands John a twenty. "Keep the change, Freckles. See you around. Thanks for the coffee, Lafayette. Wonderful as always." He leaves and sighs. Should I drink it out of spite, or...? He shrugs.
   Suddenly, someone runs into him. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry..." Alex looks up and sees a girl in a yellow dress with murder in her eyes. Great. Another one of John's friends. And now my shirt is covered in sugar. Good thing I keep spares in the office.
   "It's fine. It was an accident." He smiles at her. "I'm Alexander, Alexander Hamilton." He holds out his clean hand for her to shake.
  She ignores it. "Peggy, Peggy Schuyler. Have a good rest of your day!" Peggy skips off. He sighs. John has good friends. And I have a couple more of them to run into. Wonderful.
   Alex manages to make it to work without further incident, and he throws away the coffee and heads to office, ignoring the gaping looks everyone gives him.
   "Who did you piss off?" Angelica asks, staring at his shirt.
   "Your little sister." He walks into his office and changes into a fresh shirt.
   "He pissed off Peggy...? But he doesn't even know Peggy?" Angelica looks at Thomas.
   "Don't look at me. You know I avoid her like the plague." Thomas replied, getting to work.
   Alex changes his shirt as Washington walks in. "Son, why is your shirt covered in coffee? And why is the coffee not black?"
   "Freckles." He answers simply, buttoning up his shirt. "Or more accurately, Freckles's friends."
   "So Freckles is a person. I see." George watches Alex as he sits in his chair. "What did you do?"
   "Nothing." Alex shrugs, opening his laptop.
   "Mm. Alright then." George leaves.

~~ Time Skip (brought to you by well-meaning friends) ~~

   Alex sits on his and Freckles's bench because at this point that's just what this bench has become. Their bench. He sighs and opens his journal when he feels a hand on his shoulder and freezes. Shit.
   "Hello?" He tries to sound as friendly as possible.
   "You're Alexander Hamilton, right?" Alex turns his head to see this tall, buff dude who looks like he might just be able to crush a watermelon with his hands. This must he Herc. Great.
   "Yes, I am." He does his best to keep his voice even.
   "Nice to meet you. I'm Hercules Mulligan. And you fucked with my kid. This isn't acceptable. Consider this a warning. If you make him cry again..." Alex's shoulder is almost buckling under Herc's hand.
   "I understand." He nods, fearing more for his shoulder than anything else.
   "Good." Herc releases Alex, and he rubs his shoulder as Herc walks off. God, I'm glad he didn't punch me. Those hands... Hhhh?
   He shakes his head and opens his journal, preparing to write about John's loyal friends and all the hell they've put him through. They're good people.
   'Lafayette gave me the worst coffee ever, so sweet it could overpower even the youngest kid's sweet tooth. And then Peggy spilled it all over me. And skipped off like a child who had done no wrong. And Herc- he scares me. He's so big and intimidating and strong. Like he could crush fruit with his hands and not be hurt strong.' As he writes, Alex notices a pair of feet walk up to him. How many friends does Freckles have?
   He looks up and is greeted with a gorgeous lady and a pissed-off expression. Fantastic. "Hello, Miss...?"
   "Miss Maria Reynolds. You're Alexander Hamilton?" She asks, a perfectly done eyebrow raised.
   "Yes, ma'am. Are you the last one?"
   "If you count my girlfriend, no, but Eliza's much to kind to come after you like the rest of us. So yes." She sits next to him. That's Freckles's spot... "So you've seen what we can do when we're pissed off, yes?"
   "Yes." He nods, trying not to tell her to move because that isn't. her. spot.
   "Good. We can do much worse. Much, much worse. And if you ever hurt John, we'll have some serious issues." She looks him in the eyes. "We clear?"
   But.... "You didn't say again."
   "Because you didn't hurt John. Everyone else believed him, but he seemed much too okay with you this morning at The Rev. He wouldn't have warned you that we were pissed. You wouldn't have given him that huge tip. And he wouldn't have taken it." She replies, looking absentmindedly at her nails.
   "Mm."
   "I don't know why you told John to lie, but you protected him, and took our anger without knowing how bad it would be, and for that I respect you. Now, don't hurt John, or we will come back with a vengeance."
   Alex watchs Maria leave. Damn. Freckles has some good friends, indeed.