Alexander hated this. His back hurt from the couch, when he wasn't tired and panicking to find a place to stay he could barely stand Jefferson's face, and almost all of his stuff was in the damn spider palace. This was shaping up to be a great three weeks. He sighed and got up, rummaging through the small bag of stuff he brought, only to realize he didn't bring any clothes. Last night he had changed into jeans and a t-shirt before getting out of his apartment, but besides that he had nothing. He sighed and took his bag to the bathroom to get ready.

It was around 7:30 in the morning, which was a typical wake-up time for Alex. He assumed that Jefferson was still sleeping, due to the silence throughout the apartment. He brushed his hair and teeth, and looked in the mirror, noticing the bags under his eyes. They had been getting pretty dark recently, which was no surprise. He was working two jobs whilst also going to law school. He could barely afford his apartment, and now he couldn't even live in it.

Alex sighed and went out to the living room, praying that he had remembered his wallet. He had, but the sight inside of it was quite depressing. He threw he wallet back into the bag and pinched his temples, suddenly feeling a massive headache. He didn't notice when his host stepped into the living room. His head shot up, however, at the sound of him speaking.

"Are you okay..?" Thomas asked. Alex couldn't tell if the man sounded concerned or weirded out. Alex nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, not in the mood to tell Thomas about his situation. Jefferson looked him up and down.

"Weren't you wearing that last night?"At this point his tone was just confusion. Alex shrugged. "Do you have other clothes with you?" The shorter man looked away sheepishly.

"No, not really," he said. "I was gonna go out and buy some after my shift ends today." Thomas raised his eyebrows.

"You have a job? I thought you were still in school," Jefferson said. Alex nodded.

"I am, but I have to work. My scholarship covered almost everything, but law school left quite a bit for me to pay," Alex explained.

"What do you do?" Thomas asked. Alex blushed slightly.

"I'm a barista," he said quietly. Thomas tried not to laugh, which only emphasized he amusement.

"I... didn't expect that, Hamilton," Thomas said, still trying not to laugh. Alex rolled his eyes. Thomas cleared his throat. "Um, I have to go shopping later today. Do you wanna meet up or something?" Alex shrugged.

"I get off kind of late," Alex said. Thomas shrugged.

"What time do you get off?" Thomas asked. He wasn't a fan of Hamilton, but he did want to at least do this for him.

"6:30," Alex answered.

"What shop?"

"The one downtown by that flower store." Alex couldn't be bothered to think of the name.

"I'll pick you up at 6:40," Thomas told him, not asking the other man's opinion. Alex looked at the clock and sighed.

"Fine, but I have to get going. My shift starts at 8." Thomas's eyebrows shot up.

"And you get off at 6:30? That's a ten and a half hour work day, Hamilton," Thomas stated.

"My break is half an hour, so it evens out to ten. Plus, I've been doing it for long enough that it doesn't phase me," Alex halfheartedly assured him. Thomas shook his head.

"You are psychotic," Thomas said, dumbfounded. "I guess bye. Remember to check your uniform for spiders," Thomas teased, earning himself a glare from Alex as he left the apartment.

"That was so lame," Alex muttered as he started his walk to the coffee shop. If Thomas was picking him up then he didn't want to bother with his own car, and he lived close enough to where he worked. He sighed as he walked into the building, and even though he would never admit it to Thomas, he did check his uniform.

After a begrudging ten and a half hours Alex stepped out of the cafe to wait for Thomas. He looked at his phone, and leaned against the wall for a couple minutes until he saw a familiar face inside a car that was pulling up. Alex turned off his phone and put it into the pocket of his jeans and walked over to the car. He got in without really acknowledging Jefferson and they drove in silence for a couple minutes.

"You smell like coffee," Thomas said out of nowhere. Alex rolled his eyes.

"I wonder why, dipshit," Alex snapped. Jefferson scoffed.

"Wow, great way to treat the person who's letting you stay with them for three weeks," Thomas retorted. Alex sighed.

"Sorry.. it was just a long day," Alex apologized. Thomas raised his eyebrows.

"Thought you were used to the long shifts," Jefferson said sarcastically.

"Well, I'm also used to getting a break in the middle of my day, but Charles called in sick so I had to work instead," Alex said with an edge returning to his voice. Thomas rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Whatever, Hamilton."

A couple quiet minutes later they got to the mall and walked in. But, instead of going to the stores, Thomas first headed to the food court. Alex raised his eyebrows.

"Where exactly are you going?" Alex asked. Thomas gave him a look, trying to show how obvious the answer was.

"Certainly not the food court," Thomas said mockingly, exaggerating his words. "You didn't eat breakfast, you didn't have a lunch break, so I'm making sure you eat dinner. Now come on, 'cause I'm starving, too." Alex sighed.

"I will barely be able afford clothes, Jefferson. I'm not buying myself food," Alex said, voice neutral. Jefferson sighed exasperatedly.

"I know, idiot. I'm buying you something to eat," Thomas told him sounding mildly impatient with how long it was taking Alex to get this. Alex raised his eyebrows, but didn't argue. He instead simply nodded and followed after Thomas.

They ended up getting horrible food court nachos, and argued lightheartedly about books. They finished the food and got up to actually go shopping.

"That tasted like chemicals," Jefferson said as they threw away the small cardboard container that had originally held their food. Alex snorted.

"I'm caught between wanting to throw up or being glad that I actually got food," Alex chuckled. Thomas furrowed his brows.

"Wait, how often do you get food?" Thomas questioned. How much of a hole was Alex in?

"Normally every couple of days. I need most of my money for rent and to pay off law school, so I try not to spend too much of it on food," Alex explained nonchalantly, as if he didn't just tell somebody that he only got food once every few days.

"Alexander, that's not healthy," Thomas scolded. Alex gave him a strange look.

"Why exactly do you care?" Alex asked.

"I may despise you, but I'm not heartless. If somebody needs money to the point that they're barely eating, then I'm gonna be concerned no matter who it is," Thomas said. Alex just shrugged as their walking came to a stop in front of a store. Alex snorted.

"I can't afford food, and yet you take me to the most expensive store in the mall?" Alex asked, unsure of whether to be angry or amused. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"You aren't buying shit, Hamilton. I'm buying clothes for you," Thomas said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Jefferson, you don't hav-" Thomas didn't let Alexander finish.

"I know I don't, but my parents are disgustingly rich, and if I can use some of the money to help people then I'm going to," Thomas said. Once again, Alex decided not to object and simply followed Thomas into the store.

Alex soon realized that there wasn't really any rhyme or reason to the store. It almost seemed like a thrift shop for rich people. Alex could be looking at a dress shirt, and yet be right next to the graphic tees. He was looking at an Obama shirt that looked slightly worn, but was still the softest thing he had ever felt. Jefferson walked over to him and saw what he was looking at.

"I thought you were a Republican," Thomas said curiously. Alex nodded.

"I am. I still like Obama," Alex said. Thomas furrowed his eyebrows.

"But, do you like... Trump?" Thomas asked, cringing. A look of horror washed over Alexander's face.

"Oh, hell no. Republican candidates have a tendency to be shit, but I still agree with some of the views, so that's the party I'm in. I'd probably be better suited as Independent, but there are so many disadvantages to being in that party," Alex explained. Thomas nodded, surprised at the relatively reasonable explanation.

"Have you found anything besides that shirt?" Thomas asked, changing the subject. He was mildly uncomfortable that he didn't have the urge to argue with Alex. Alexander, to Jefferson's surprise, nodded.

"Yeah, I have a couple shirts and a couple pairs of pants. Nothing too crazy," Alex said. Thomas bit back a sigh of relief that Alex cooperated and actually found clothes. Thomas quickly went to the cash register and bought them, just in case Alex changed his mind and tried to object. They brought the clothes out to the car, and Alex looked at Thomas confusedly.

"Hadn't you said that you needed something?" Alex asked.

"I realized I didn't need it," Thomas said, smiling a little to himself. "Hope you like everything you got, Hamilton." Alexander laughed a little bit.

"Alex," he said. "If I'm staying with you for three weeks, then you should just call me Alex." Thomas smiled a little, but then caught himself and tried to stop smiling before Alex saw. He was pretty sure Alexander noticed anyway, but neither one mentioned it.

"Well, Alex, you can just call me Thomas." They spent the rest of the drive in near silence, both smiling like dorks.

I wish there was a way for authors to like comments, because I read every single comment on literally all of my stories, and I love the comments but I never know how to respond and I wish I could tell y'all that I love your comments, but there's no way for me to do that without awkwardly responding

And yo, don't judge me for their political views, pls & thx. It's just a part of the story, I am 100% not trying to offend anyone