Alex ran a hand through his hair, standing up at the sound of the bell. His last class was over, which he was extremely sad about. He wanted to infinitely keep working.

   "Class!" Mr. Washington called out, making Alex's head turn to his professor, hoping that some sort of homework was assigned.

   "You will need to write a five paged essay based on the third US President, Daveed Diggs."

   Alex fist-bumped the air, earning some looks from fellow students and the professer. But he didn't care. He dashed out of the classroom, his surroundings passing him in a blur. He couldn't wait to get started on his assignment.

   Then he jumped into a sturdy chest, falling on his bum. The other person didn't even move.

   Alex looked up to see who the person was and was conflicted on what to do.

   It was Thomas.

   Alex was about to scoff like he normally would, but due to Thomas helping Alex out with his cutting a few days prior, he wondered if he should crack a smile.

   So he decided to be neutral after a bit of deciding.

   Alex cleared his throat, awkwardly slinging his backpack over his shoulder and standing up. "Oh...sorry, Tho--Jefferson..."

   Thomas looked at Alex and sneered. "Watch where you're going, Hamilton. Or you're not gonna like what happens."

   See, Thomas had realized how soft he was being to his enemy on the day he found out that Alex cut, so he tried his best to be the terrifying bully he was before. Although, something was different for him.

   He couldn't help but feel a bit of remorse. A part of him was wondering why be was making Alex's life worse, and another part was telling him that that's what enemy's do to each other:

   Make their lives hell.

   So Thomas shook of his regret and was a bully, despite his heart refusing constantly.

   Alex nodded, gulping and running to his dorm.

   Thomas shook his head, running a hand down his face and going to get a coffee. He needed it.

   Alex hurriedly went inside, throwing his backpack onto the couch. "Why did I think he cared? How would a heartless bastard like him care?"

   Alex sighed, going into the kitchen. He needed some peanut butter.

   He looked everywhere, but couldn't find it. He sighed; there was one place he hadn't looked, and couldn't reach.

   The high cabinets.

   Alex hopped up onto the counter. He needed that peanut butter. He opened the cabinet door and thought he heard a distant rumbled. His hand tensed around the knob of the cabinet door, feeling his heartbeat quicken.

   "No..," he mumbled to himself. "The news said there wouldn't be any storms today..."

   He then exhaled to calm himself down, shaking his head and grabbing the peanut butter. "It's probably nothing..," he mumbled, hopping off the counter and getting a spoon. "It's probably an airplane." Alex smiled, knowing that that mindset would soothe him.

   "Yeah...that's what it is..."

   He sat on the couch, unscrewing the peanut butter cap. He began to shovel spoonfuls of it into his mouth, grabbing the TV remote. He turned the magical box on, but it said that there was no signal.

   That made Alex wanna throw up all the peanut butter he had eaten. If there was no signal...that meant there was a storm coming.

   Alex hurriedly shut all of the curtains in the dorm, grabbing his headphones. He plugged them into his phone and played his music, cranking the volume all the way up so he wouldn't hear the thunder.

   He smiled as his favorite song came on. He hummed along, tapping his knee to the beat.

   Alex listened to music for about 10 minutes before he saw a flash.

   Yep. He saw a lightning flash so bright that he could see it through the curtains.

   He jumped, hugging his knees to his chest and breaking down. Tears rolled down his face as his music became muffled by a loud crack of thunder, which made Alex cry more.

   Even though there was no thunder that could be heard, Alex's music faded into a meaningless mumble as the flashbacks came into his mind.

   ~~Flashback~~

   Screams. Screams everywhere.

   Lightning was striking the ground, extremely close to the seventeen-year-old Alex. He buried his head in his hands, crying.

   He couldn't seem to die.

   A giant wave of water crashed over the boy, and he uttered a scream. Although it was muffled by the mass of water that seemed to be swallowing him whole.

   Bubbles rose from his mouth as he desperately tried to get to the service.

   Alex couldn't seem to die.

   ~~Flashback over~~

   Alex's flashbacks were interrupted by a voice. "Hamilton? What the hell is wrong with you?"

   Alex looked up at Thomas, biting his lip. He heard a loud crack of thunder and began to shake.

   "N-nothing...go back to your room...this doesn't concern you..," Alex hissed, turning his music up. Although it was useless, since it was already at the maximum volume.

   Thomas realized that Alex was freaking out because of the storm; he had heard Alex talking about the hurricane to his friends in his senior year of high school when he found out Alex had been through that...

   ~~Another Flashback~~

   Thomas was walking by Alex, Herc, Laf, and John when he heard something that interested him.

   "You seem on edge lately, mon ami..," Laf said to Alex, turning his head to the side. "Is there something wrong?"

   Thomas stopped walking, knowing that this could be another thing to bully Alex about. 

   "It's nothing..," Alex dismissed hurriedly, when really, there was supposed to be storms all that week. And since the hurricane was still fresh in his mind, he couldn't take that.

   "C'mon, Lex. We know you better than that," John chuckled, nudging Alex with his elbow.

   Alex jumped at the contact. "It's nothing, I swear!"

   "Alex, if you don't tell us, I will carry you home and pretend to be your mom and call you in sick for 5 days so you don't get any homework!" Herc threatened, smirking evilly.

   Thomas rolled his eyes. "What kind of person likes homework?" he muttered to himself.

   That made Alex's eyes widen. Weirdly enough, him and his squad didn't even notice Thomas watching them. "Okay, okay, fine!" Alex said. "When I was seventeen, a hurricane destroyed my town. I didn't drown. I couldn't seem to die."

   He went into abstract detail about everything that happened during that time, and Thomas felt his eyes widen. He didn't expect something that serious was bothering Alex. He then smirked, realizing something:

   Alex was nervous for a few measly storms. Thomas could easily bully him for that!

   Thomas dashed up to Alex and pinned him to a random locker, making bystanders smirk. They loved it when Alex got bullied by Thomas. Besides Laf, Herc, and John, of course. But they were all too intimidated by Thomas to stand up for their dear friend.

   "So, you're nervous for a storm, huh?" Thomas sneered, punching Alex on the face. "Wimp."

   It wasn't very pretty from there.

   ~~Flashback over~~

   Thomas bit his lip, sighing. Alex had been through so much...he wanted to help. His mindset had changed since high school. Since what he had found out about Alex.

   But he couldn't! He couldn't let his bully facade slip.

   But why not? Did it really matter? Who would care if he wasn't mean to Alex?

   Thomas' brain had a battle with his heart that day. Everything his brain was saying was irrational and heartless, and everything his heart was saying made a lot of sense and was also kind.

   There was a lot Thomas bullied Alex for. Because he thought he was a nerd, because he had a low self-esteem and needed more confidence, and many more.

   But none of those reasons really mattered. If they did matter when they were in high school, then they definitely didn't matter the day of the storm.

   So Thomas decided to do something that his heart knew was for the best, and his brain was screaming at him not to:

   Thomas sat down next to Alex and wrapped his arms around Alex, pulling him close to his chest.

   Alex stiffened. "J-Jefferson..? What are you doing..?"

   "Shh...it's gonna be oka--"

   "I know! I don't need--"

   Alex was cut off by a loud crack of thunder, making him yelp and curl up in Thomas' arms. Thomas looked down at the small, broken man in his arms and smiled softly. He was taking in all of Alex's features. The way Alex's smooth hair was in his face, the way his full lips were pressed in a thin line, the way his brown eyes sparkled with tears.

   Thomas then shook his head to himself. He couldn't be thinking that. Alex was still the nerd that nobody liked. Being seen with him romantically would ruin his reputation.

   But his heart brought up a good point:

   Does that really matter either?

   Thomas' brain told him yes, but his heart told him no. He was conflicted. He finally decided to see where this would go. If they became friends, then he might consider having Alex as a partner. He seemed to fit the criteria. He was cute, kind, funny, witty...

   "Jefferson?" Alex asked, cutting off Thomas' train of thought.

   "Huh?" Thomas asked, looking at Alex. His brain and heart eventually found a compromise: Until Thomas was sure what he wanted to do about Alex, his behavior would remain neutral towards him. "What, Hamilton?"

   "Um...can you...can you hold me tighter? I JUST. I NEED TO FEEL SECURE BECAUSE OF...REASONS..."

   Thomas rolled his eyes, cracking a small smile. He held Alex tighter and closer. "Hey, A--Hamilton? Do you think we could call each other by our first names now? Since...we don't hate each other anymore?"

   Alex looked taken aback. "We don't? We don't!" Alex said, taking the opportunity that was dangled in front of him. "So...yeah! Sure."

   Thomas smiled a bit. "Okay, Alexander."

   Alex blushed at the sound of his first name coming out of Thomas' mouth.

   "So...seems like the storm stopped...I should go--"

   "No! Stay..," Alex mumbled. "I MEAN. IT COULD COME BACK. YOU NEVER KNOW. I NEED COMFORT IF IT DOES."

   Thomas rolled his eyes. "Fine. So...can we be...acquaintances?"

   Alex couldn't believe the amazing events that kept unfolding. "Yeah! Sure!"

   Maybe he does care, he thought. Just that possibility brought a smile to his face.

   Thomas nodded happily and held Alex, smiling.

   And I think I care about him too, Alex thought before drifting off into a deep sleep, Thomas right behind him.