The Other Side - A Jamilton Fanfiction

Chapter One (The Lost Warrior)

I tried the door to my new apartment, only to find, to my growing frustration, that the door was locked. I clenched my jaw to suppress the groan that was trying to break though, and instead focused my energy on locating the key that had been mailed to my home a couple of weeks ago.

I was more organized than this usually, I promise! But today was already a very difficult day for me, and the week just seemed to be getting harder as it passed on by as slowly as it possibly could.

"Door's open," called a masculine voice from inside the apartment.

My head shot up and I reddened as I wondered if he could hear the profuse swearing that had happened under my breath.

I tried the door again, and sure enough, it opened without a problem.

As I stepped into my new apartment, I took in what would be my home for the next couple of months, or maybe even years if I couldn't find another living situation.

It wasn't as big as I had imagined, though it was perhaps bigger than the home I used to live in. It wasn't too grand of a place, but then again, I wasn't expecting it to be. When you walked in, you were greeted with the sights of the living room, an ordinary sized room with a window on the opposite wall. A couch sat in front of it. Shelves seemed to be impressed into the wall, and they were filled with books and strange trinkets that I couldn't identify. Some plants trailed down from little pots that were hanging from the ceiling, while others were on the shelves, tables, and the windowsill. Beyond this room was the kitchen, which was pretty ordinary in itself. On the two opposing walls to either side of me were doors, and I figured that they led to their own bedrooms.

But perhaps the most important detail was that of the man sprawled along the couch, invested in a book.

He looked up at me and set it down before sitting up almost lazily.

"You must be Thomas," I said, moving forward and holding out my hand.

"I must?" he repeated, looking me up and down. "Sure, it's very likely that I am Thomas, but I could also be a friend of his. Or maybe I'm someone who broke into your apartment and is about to kill you."

That caught me off guard. I took a step away from him and tightened my grip on my bags.

"But lucky for you, I am Thomas. And if I must be Thomas, then you must be Alexander Hamilton. Am I right?"

"I— yes. I'm Alex." His strange nature threw me off. I anticipated the worst of course so I could plan and prepare. Loud, obnoxious, homophobic, whatever. But this wasn't what I had prepared to encounter and I was not quite sure how I felt about it.

Thomas stood up, rising to his full height. I took a step away from him. He had a good few inches on me, and I got to take a closer look at his eyes.

I felt my stomach drop.

His eyes were unnatural. Not of this world. They were a pale, icy gray. But it wasn't the color that hit me, even though the color was unnatural enough when compared to his skin tone and hair. They held a strange power to them, a strange coursing energy I couldn't place. I'd never seen eyes like those before then, but I'd soon find out I would see lots more just like them.

"Is everything alright, Alexander?" he asked gently, though there was a strange tone creeping into his voice.

"I— it's nothing. I'm just tired. Long day. Long week, really."

"Oh!" he exclaimed, and the tone disappeared, replaced by one that seemed much warmer and friendly. "Yeah, I understand. Want a grand tour of the place?"

It took me a second to realize he was joking with me. Such a strange human as him didn't seem like the type to joke around.

"Uh, sure. I guess."

"Right. Well, over there is your room," he said, pointing to the door on the left wall. "And over there is my room." And he indicated to the door on the opposite side. "There's a bathroom to each room as well as a closet. There's the kitchen. Here's the living room. Glad we got that settled."

"I—"

"Have any preferences?" he asked, cutting me off. This was such a confusing situation.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, are you a loud, social person or do you prefer quite spaces? Does anything makes you extremely uncomfortable? Do you like my plants?" He nodded to the plants hanging up all throughout the apartment. Frankly, now that I think about it, it seemed like a living greenhouse.

"Yeah, uh, you have a problem with the plants."

"You don't like them?" he asked, frowning. His unnatural eyes drifted over to the plants and gained a fondness to them. "I like them. They remind me of home."

Nice going, Alexander. "That's not what I meant! I mean... they're nice! They really are. It just seems... you know what, never mind."

"I've named them."

"That's... weir- great. That's great. Anyway, uh, I don't mind loud or quiet spaces. I adapt pretty well, I like to think."

"And you wouldn't be against weird noises in the middle of the night or hardly ever seeing me at all?"

"Uh, well—"

"And how do you feel about birds?" He said that last bit rather quietly, his gaze dropping to the ground.

This day was getting weirder and weirder. "Birds? Uh, I mean, they're cool I guess. I don't mind them. Kinda loud but otherwise fine. Why?"

"Well, I'm friends with lots of them, and they like to visit me sometimes."

"Wait. What do you mean you're friends with them?"

"They're my friends. I like their company, and I assume they like mine. Pigeons are quite stupid though, I'll be honest. I rarely see any eagles anymore, unfortunately. Hummingbirds are always a treat, though sparrows are usually the most common."

I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. He didn't seem like it, but that absolutely made no sense whatsoever. "Well, that's great," I said, deciding on regarding that as a joke or something meant to play with me. "Is there anything I should know? About the area or this apartment? New York City in general?"

Thomas seemed to think it over for a moment. "There's a park not too far from here, about a block away or so. The park has a forest behind it. If you choose to go into the forest, it's important to stay on the walking trail. No matter what. No matter what you see or what you hear, you must stay on the walking trail."

"Wild animals?"

"You could say that. There have been many reports of humans who have ventured off the path and who have never come back, and just as many reports of people who have lost their minds trying to find something."

"So stay on the path in the forest. Got it. Anything else?"

"That should be about it that's overly important. Also watch out for muggers and don't talk to shady people in alleyways. If you need anything, I'm right out here. And make sure you tell me when you plan to have guests over."

I nodded in understanding. "Alright, thank you Thomas."

"Of course. Glad I could help. If you get hungry, there should be food in the fridge. Or we can order a pizza. Whatever works for you."

Once again, I nodded, and turned to my left to enter my new bedroom. It was extremely simple, a bed, a desk and a chair, a window, and a bookshelf. I set my bags down on my bed and set to work unpacking and settling in.

When I turned back to see what Thomas was doing, I realized that he wasn't sitting on the couch, reading his book anymore, and I frowned.

There was something very different about him, but I couldn't place what it was.