The Place To Be: A Hamiton Fic

Chapter Nine: Please Stop Second Guessing Me

Happy birthday (yesterday, the 11th) to Alexander Hamilton! I wouldn't be part of such a warm and inviting community if not for him. Hammy, you're an inspiration and have a catchy ass name.

Also, today (the 12th) is the day that Alex "died" in Legacy. It was the day after his 18th birthday. A quick moment of silence to all young children who die before they get to live their life. My best friend Bonnie died at 12 from leukemia. I miss her every single day.

Here's the next chapter ❤ thank you for 27k on Legacy. You guys keep me going.

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John's POV

I knew it was gonna be a shitty day from the moment I woke up.

My phone rang at 3 in the morning, loudly blaring Tear in My Heart in my ear. I jumped up in bed half convinced that earth was being attacked by aliens. It took me a moment to realize what was going on, but when I did, I was even more terrified.

Tear in My Heart is my ringtone for Alex.

I answered the call and pressed my phone to my ear, breathing heavily. I heard Alex's raspy gasps on the other end and my world fell apart. Something was wrong.

"Baby." I whispered. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm at the hospital." Alex said, slowly. I could tell he was trying not to panic but his breathing was becoming more rapid. "I got a huge headache about an hour ago. I woke up screaming and my landlord called the cops, though I was being fucking murdered. John, it felt like my head was exploding..."

I heard him start sniffling and my heart broke into a million pieces. "Oh, baby." I got out of bed and searched blindly around my dark room for my shoes. "What hospital are you at? I'm coming right now."

"No!" Alex shouted so suddenly I almost dropped my phone. He took a deep breath. "No, John. Do not come. Please do not come to this damned hospital, if you come I'll never forgive you. Please. It's not that bad. Don't make a big deal out of this, okay? They're just giving me some drugs and then I get to go home."

I reluctantly climbed back in bed. "Will you at least stay on the phone?" I begged. "I need to know you're okay, I won't be able to sleep..."

"Yeah, okay." Alex croaked. He was really crying now.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, closing my eyes tightly and imagining it was Alexander Hamilton lying next to me instead of my phone.

I could practically see him nodding. "Yes. It hurts like hell."

I wrap my blankets around my body tighter. "Don't hang up." I was starting to drift off again, my exhaustion making my eyes drop shut even though I was trying to stay awake. "Promise you won't go." I mumbled.

"I promise." Alex said softly, but even he didn't seem very sure. He can't stay forever, I guess.

I woke up a few hours later, with my phone lying next to me, the battery totally drained. I plugged it in and trotted out into the kitchen, where my mom was bent over the frying pan struggling to make eggs. She was never that good with breakfast foods.

"Let me help you with that." I offered with a smile, swooping in quickly to save the eggs. My mom stepped back with a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, John." She kissed my cheek. "I never could get the hang of breakfast. That was your dad's job. A year after he left us, and I still don't have it down." Mom shook her head and chuckled. "Anyways, I'm going to go get Juliet up, and then I want to talk to you about Alex. Okay?"

Uh oh. That can't be good. Mom never wants to talk about Alex. We've kind of been ignoring the whole "moving to New York" thing, and honestly I'm terrified of what she's going to say.

Mom came back five minutes later just as I was dividing the eggs into two plates, with a squirming Juliet on her hip. Jules was nearly a year old now and I loved her more than anything in the world, even if she was messy and pretty annoying.

"Johnny!" She giggled and held her arms out to me, her eyes lighting up happily. I put down the plates and scooped her into my arms.

"Good morning princess." I attacked her freckled cheeks with kisses. She squealed loudly and her eyes lit up.

Mom laughed and grabbed a package of strawberries out of the fridge and picked some out. "You're so good with her John." She said with a smile. "You two love each other. Are you sure you want to go to New York and leave her behind?"

I stopped kissing Juliet and looked up. "Really mom?" I said through gritted teeth.

She held her arms up. "Hey, I'm not trying to be the bad guy here. I'm just being realistic, John. You have so much here for you. Your family, and school."

"I hate school." I reminded her. "And Alex is my family."

Mom sighed. "John, Alex doesn't have much time left." She said softly. "I know he's not doing well, and it's only going to get worse. The doctors gave him five years, right? Are you prepared to take care of this man's declining health for five years?"

"I'll do whatever it takes. I love him." I said angrily.

"No you don't, John." Mom took Juliet from my arms and began strapping her in her high chair at the table. "You love who he used to be. You're only going to New York because you think it'll bring Alex's memories of you back and he'll love you again. I'm sorry John, but it's not going to happen."

"I can't believe you think I'm that selfish! I'm going to New York to help Alex! They have better doctors there, the Schuyler's are paying for the treatments, and it's where he spent the best years of his life. I'm doing all of this for him." I was practically fuming. I wasn't doing this because I wanted Alex to love me, I was doing it because I wanted him to be happy again!

My mom gave me a sad look. "John..."

I heard the familiar melody of Tear in My Heart ringing from my room down the hall. "That's Alex." I said, grabbing my plate of eggs. "I'll be eating in my room, if you don't mind."

"John, if you're sure this is the right thing-"

"I'm sure." I spat. "This is my life, and I'm going to spend the next five years of it helping Alex. Yeah, maybe it's because I love him. Maybe it's because I need real closure. But I'm doing this, and I'd like to see someone try and stop me."
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Ask me questions I'm bored lol.