"Yeah-yeah! It's me, Alex."

He smiles brightly and sits across from me. "Wow..I can't believe...I can't believe you're alive!"

I feel a sudden rush of anger flood through my body and I glare at him. Who does this guy think he is?

"Why the fuck are you pretending to care?" I ask him.

He freezes and looks at me in shock. "W-what?" He asks. "Alex, of course I care, you're my so-"

"I'm not your son." I say angrily to him. "I'm not your son, you're not my dad. You're the man who walked out on my mother and my brother and I when I was ten, and then hoped for the best?"

He frowns slightly. "Alex, you don't understand, I had to leave-"

"No, James, you didn't!" I say to him.

There was an awkward moment of silence before he sighs. "Well uh...How-how are your mother and brother?" He asks.

I scoff at this. "Well, not that you actually care, but they are both dead." I glare at him.

He covers his mouth as he hears this. "R-Rachel is...D-dead?" He asks.

I nod and cross my arms. "Yeah, we both got sick, and since our working dad left two years earlier, we couldn't afford the medicine for the both of us. And then James died in the hurricane that happened in 2014."

He looks at the table. "You were...In Nevis when that hurricane hit?" He asks quietly.

"Yeah, I was. Where else was I supposed to be? I was seventeen, for Christ's sake!" I look around, avoiding looking at him.

"Look, Alex I'm so sorry-"

"Alex! Sorry I'm- Oh, who's this?" I hear John ask. I look up at John and smile in relief.

"Oh, it's nobody. He was actually just leaving." I say, glaring at him.

James rolls his eyes softly and looks up at John, sticking his hand out. "Hello, I'm Alex's father. It's nice to meet you..." He waits for a response.

John looks at me and I shrug, trying not to let my anger show. He looks back at James and crosses his arms. "So you're his dad? I've heard a lot about you, I must say."

James smiles. "And you are...?"

"I'm his boyfriend, and you're in my seat." John says. "Like Alex said, you're leaving now."

James's eyes widen and he looks at me. I glare at him. "You're not wanted here. Just disappear and never show up again, I've heard old habits die hard."

He frowns and stands up. "This is not over, Alex. You can try and push me away, but you'll figure out I just want to be a part of your life again."

After I give him no response, he huffs and then walks away from us. John sits in the seat across from me and grabs my hand, attempting to calm me down.

"Hey, babe, you okay?" He asks in a soothing tone.

I sigh and nod. "Yeah..I just...I wasn't expecting to see him.." I then frown. "And then he had the audacity to pretend to care about us-"

"Alex, shhh.." John says quietly, now holding my right hand with both of his hands. I look down at our hands and then frown sadly.

"John he-" I take a deep breath. "He pretended he cared about my mom's death.." I mumble. "After he fucking walked out on her."

John sighs and I look up at him, tears now even closer to spilling down my cheeks. "Alex, I'm so sorry...Just know that there are people who care for you, I care for you, even if he doesn't."

I nod and then look around. "I uh... I'm not really hungry anymore.." I mumble. "I'm sorry, I know how bad you wanted me to try this restaurant and you probably hate-"

"Stop, Alex. I could never hate you." He interrupts me. "Come on, we haven't ordered yet. Let's get out of here."

I smile and we walk out of the restaurant and down the busy streets of New York City, hand in hand. It was the perfect moment.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and sighed as he chuckled.

"I love you, Hamilton."

I smile. "I love you too, Laurens."

"No, I mean it, Alex." John says softly.

I raise an eyebrow and laugh. "I know you do..I do too."

"No, I just wanted to make sure you knew... I know seeing your dad probably-"

"I don't want to talk about him." I say firmly.

He sighs. "I know you don't, but you're going to have to eventually-"

"John. That man is not my father. If anything, Professor Washington is more my father than him. The only thing that relates James to me is the last name." I tell him.

I see him frown and drop his head as we walk, and I sigh. "Look, John, I appreciate you caring about me, but I'd really rather just forget him."

He nods. "I get it, Alex. It's just...I'm worried about you."

I shake my head, smiling lightly. "Don't be." Before John got a chance to respond, my phone dinged and I pulled it out. "Eliza texted me!" I say happily before opening the message.

"What did she say?" John asks, a happy tone in his voice as well.

"She invited us to her cafe. Guess she wants us to meet someone." I look up at him. "Do you wanna go?"

He shrugs. "Sure, why not?"

We walked over to her cafe and I immediately pulled Eliza into a hug. "Hey, how have you been?" I ask, trying not to push too much.

"I've been doing better..I just wanted to invite you to have you meet someone. I figured I'd tell you before anyone else." She smiled.

I missed her sweet smile. I nod and then sit at a table with John before Eliza brings someone out.

He was tall and looked around the age of 25 maybe 26, with dark hair, a defined jaw line, and a somewhat creepy smile, although he tried to pass it off as pleasant. He waves at us and I look over at Eliza, asking for confirmation.

"Um..Alex, John, meet Francis. He's my boyfriend."