What We Know | John Laurens x Reader

15. Shock

Hey guy! I shall now free y'all from the suspense I've been trapping y'all in. Enjoy!
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Y/N's POV

Ten. I raised my pistol to the sky.

A gunshot rang out.

I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating the pain of the bullet. It never came. There was silence near the lake. I let out the breath I'd been holding.

I was alive.

John and the others ran over to me, enveloping me in a huge hug. "I told you he wouldn't shoot!" John beamed. I wasn't listening. I was in shock.

I turned around slowly and saw Alex glaring at me from across the distance. I smiled.

He handed Mr. GetInTheGrid his pistol before stalking off back in the direction of the camp.

I turned back to the crew surrounding me and buried my face in John's chest. It's funny how when you think you're about to die, time speeds up. Time flies.

"Holy crap!" I shouted, "IM ALIVE!"

"Yeahhh," John said slowly, chuckling softly.

Suddenly, the reality of the situation began to sink in and I felt my eyes water slightly. If Alex hadn't fired into the air— if he'd shot me, then I would've died and Izze wouldn't have even known. Alex couldn't tell her. As far as he knew, I was Elijah Truman.

Or even worse— if Alex had sent her a letter celebrating the death of the 'cheating boy'.

I looked up at them, letting my heartbeat slow down, and whispered, "Thank you." They looked at me confusedly as I turned and began to make my way back to camp.

John caught up to me when I was halfway there. "Hey," he whispered, "Whenever you get the chance, we need to talk about something very important." His brow was furrowed and he looked confused.

"About what?" I asked.

"It has to do with your name," he whispered, "Just please, meet me at the lake later today so that we can talk."

I nodded, taking in a shaky breath. It has to do with my name? Elijah Truman. Holy crap— what if he knows?!

I shook away that thought and walked with him the rest of the way to our tents. Even if he knew, he wouldn't tell anyone, right? John wasn't like that.

"I'll see you later," I told him, shooting him a quick smile before walking into my tent. Two letters sat on my cot.

"The mailboy came by earlier while you were out training," Jeremy chirped, "I made sure he left you your mail."

"Thanks!" I beamed, picking up the letters and opened the first one.

"No problem."

It seemed as if Izze had already read this one.

My dearest Y/N Owens,

I've been troubling over a recent discovery of mine. (Ooh) That boy Elijah Truman, (Sounds familiar) who's courting Isabelle, seems to have taken a liking to one of our fellow soldiers. (Okay, first of all, hOw cOuLd yOu bEtrAy mEh liKe DiS?! Second of all, WHO?!)

I've been debating over whether or not to tell your sister about his scandalous (sCaNdAlOuS) ways, but I truly believe that somebody needs to tell her. (iF i cOuLd tElL hEr— okay I'll stop now) I'll leave the decision up to you, but I urge you to let her know the truth.

I hope that you both are doing well.

—A. Ham (A. Burr)

I rolled my eyes at Alex's words and Izze's comments before opening the next one.

Dear Elijah Truman,

So, the Schuyler sisters know about the 'Mulan' thing that ya got going on. That was a fun conversation.

Stay safe!
-Izze

Oh crap. If I was correct about what John wanted to talk about, then that would make a grand total of four people that know about my 'Mulan thing'. Fuuuu—

I thought for a moment before writing out my responses. The first one reeked of sarcasm— not that Alex would be able to tell.

Dear Alexander Hamilton,

Im in shock. I just cannot believe how scandalous this Truman boy truly is. I agree completely with you. Izze deserves to know. I'm sure that she'll be absolutely devastated. I'll tell her as soon as possible. Thank you for bringing these truths to light.

Stay safe,
Y/N Owens

That was fun. I folded up that letter and started writing the next one. Short and simple, of course.

Dear Isabelle Owens,

SPILL THE TEA, SIS. I NEED DETAILS AND I NEED THEM NOW. Oh, and the boy may or may not be John Laurens.

Love you,
Y/N

——————

After finding the mailboy and dropping off the letters with him, I decided to start heading back to the lake. If John truly knew about... me, then this was a conversation that I couldn't put off.

When I finally got there, he was sitting near the water looking as confused as me during PE.

"What did you need to talk about?" I asked, spooking him slightly as I took a seat next to him near the water.

"Well," he frowned, clearing his throat awkwardly. "When we hugged— after the duel— our bodies were obviously pressed close together and I— I could—" he shifted uncomfortably before whispering in my ear.

"I could feel your— your chest."

I tried to keep my facial expression serious, but I couldn't help but dissolve into laughter at how nervous and awkward he was being.

He looked at me with a bewildered expression while I tried to stop giggling like a madman. "I will never understand you," he muttered.

"I'm sorry," I laughed, "It's just— you are adorable when you're embarrassed." I finally managed to stop giggling and looked back at him with a serious look.

"Listen, John, you can't tell any—"

"IS THAT A TURTLE?!" He gasped, focusing on a small, green thing behind me.

I turned around excitedly only to see the most adorable looking animal I had ever seen in my life. The tiny turtle was moving slowly near my leg, unafraid of the scary humans next to it. It was small enough to fit in my pocket.

"OH MY GOSH! I WANNA KEEP THEM! CAN WE KEEP THEM?!" John asked, moving closer to the unfazed animal.

"Um... yes!" I smiled moving to pick it up. It looked up at me casually, as if this were a normal occurrence.

What a normal day.

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6/3/2020

The 'Mushu' That got the most votes was a turtle so.... there ya go! Oh— you survived! Congratulations! *throws confetti*

QOTD: Our 'Mushu' needs a name and a gender, soooo... tell meh whatcha want!

Thanks for reading! -SunkissedChild5