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Chapter Text

"You okay?" Lin asked, and the boy smiled.

"Yeah," Alex replied with a nod, running his fingers through his newly short hair. "Yeah, just nervous." 

They were sitting in the waiting room of Alex's doctor, hopefully about to get him a prescription for testosterone, and all Alex could think about was how lucky he was. Six months ago, he was living with Peter and what were now scars were all fresh. Two weeks ago, he had come out to the Miranda-Nadals, and now, his name was legally "Alexander Hamilton" and his legal guardians had made a plan for him to get top surgery on his seventeenth birthday. 

"Hamilton?" called the nurse, and the duo stood. 

After a few minutes of sitting in the exam room, the doctor walked in. She was a middle-aged woman, with deep smile lines and a few grays in her black ponytail. "Is your name actually Alexander Hamilton?" she asked with a smile.

Sensing no malice, Alex grinned back. "The first Alexander Hamilton was my great-times-a-lot uncle, I think, and I've always liked the name."

She nodded, than began looking over his charts. "I'm Doctor Hansen. I've been working with transgender people for a while, so if you have any questions, call me up and I can help. If you decide to go the top surgery route, there's a good chance I'll be involved with that. Any questions so far?" 

Alex and Lin both shook their heads no, and she nodded again, before continuing. 

"Okay. Now, you look very healthy, but I do have the concern that you're slightly underweight. I'm writing you a prescription for T, but I want you to gain at least fifteen pounds." She turned to Lin. "Give him healthy fats. Peanuts, salmon, omega 3s. Now I'm going to show you how to inject the T."

**

 Alex left the doctor's with a smile on his face, a spring in his step, a bandaid on his stomach, and a carefully folded prescription in his pocket. 

"I have to go down to the theater for the Ham4Ham, wanna come?" asked Lin, and Alex nodded enthusiastically. He hadn't been yet, but he was dying to go and meet everyone after Lin had played him the cast album. Lin chuckled at his reaction as they walked down to the subway.

**

"Yo!" 

Anthony's voice carried, and Lin rolled his eyes with a smile as the young man bounded across the stage. 

"You Alex?" he asked, and the boy nodded before getting swept up in an unexpected hug. "Great to meet you, kiddo. I'm your uncle Ant." 

"Anthony!" called another voice. "Let the poor kid go!" He did, a sheepish smile on his face, as a woman with wavy brown hair crossed to where they were standing. "I'm Jasmine," she said, extending a hand, which he shook.

"Alex. It's nice to meet you."

She smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, too."

"I've got to go do the lotto," Lin said hurriedly. "Can you take him around, introduce him to everyone?"Jasmine nodded as Anthony made a noise of assent. "Great. Alex, I'll text you when I'm done so we can make a plan to get you home."

"You don't  have to," he said quickly, and Lin raised an eyebrow. 

"You wanna stay for the matinee? Okay. I'll text you anyways, and then we can work out a place where you can chill, watch the show from a monitor. Sound good?" Alex nodded, and Lin held up his hand for a high five. "Great. Tell me immediately if the injection site gets irritated."

And with that, he was gone. 

Chapter Text

"Injection site?" asked Anthony as they made their way backstage. "What's he talking about?"

"Oh, um," said Alex, caught off-guard. "I got a testosterone prescription today, and at the doctor's, I got a shot of it."

"Dude, that's awesome!" Anthony replied, holding up his hand for a high-five.

"Yeah, really," Jasmine agreed. "You excited?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, really excited. And since legal guardians can change the names of minors, Lin and Vanessa did that for me already. And they said I can get top surgery on my birthday, which is in early January."

"Sweet!" said Anthony.

"What's sweet?" asked a tall guy with a huge afro, poking his head out of a door.

"Alex over here just got on T," Jasmine told him, hooking her thumb towards Alex.

"That is pretty sweet," the guy agreed, making his way over to where they stood. "I'm Daveed."

"Nice to meet you," Alex said, offering a hand, which Daveed shook.

"You too. You're Lin's kid, right?"

Alex blushed. "They-they're fostering me," he stammered. "Seb's their kid, I'm just an extra."

Anthony and Daveed smirked, knowing full well that after only two months, Lin and Vanessa wanted to adopt him, but they said nothing.

"Alright Alex, let's go introduce you to everyone else," said Jasmine, linking their arms and as they continued to walk.

**

"So, how much do you know about the show?" Jasmine asked as they hiked up yet another flight of stairs.

"Lin played me the soundtrack after I saw the Grammies and Tonys and I asked him how he got them. Then I didn't stop listening to the soundtrack, read the biography and every other biography I could find about main characters in the musical, and ended up getting deeply involved in Hamilton fanfiction. I've really wanted to come see the show, but it never worked out, so I'm really excited."

"That's super cool. Here's where I  hang out," she said, once they had come to a stop. "The Schuyler wing. Wanna see  my dressing room?"

He nodded, and she led him to it, stopping to point out the wall of art. ("This is amazing!" "Yeah, we love it.")

Jasmine's room was nice, overflowing in the best way, a record player on top of  a pile of papers, a tapestry on the wall. Just then, he noticed a book on her vanity.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Is that Pema Chodron?!" Jasmine smiled and nodded.

"Mm hmm, we read her during intermission. Everyone digs her."

"Oh my god, I love her. That's so dope."

"Hey, I  think I hear Renée and Pippa. Want to say hi?" He nodded, and she walked out of the room, motioning over her shoulder for him to follow.

The door labeled "Phillipa Soo" led to a well-lit room with two beautiful women in it, who stopped their conversation to greet Jasmine. Once they had finished, the one sitting closer to the door turned her attention to Alex.

"Jas, introduce us to your companion," she said with a smile.

"This is Alex," she replied, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

"Oh my god!" said the other woman. "We've heard so much about you. I'm Pippa."

"I'm Renée," said the other. "It's nice to meet you."

Alex waved. "It's really nice to meet you both. I'm a huge fan of the soundtrack, and I'm really excited to see the show."

"We're excited to have you," Renée said with a smile. "C'mon. Have a seat." She patted the cushion of the loveseat she was sitting on, on which he quickly joined her as Jasmine took her own seat.

The four of them started up a conversation about everything and nothing, frequently punctuated with laughter. They're about fifteen minutes into it when Alex's phone begins to ring, playing the generic marimba theme.

"It's Lin," he tells the women. "I should take this." They all nod, and he hits the "accept call" button.

"Hey Lin, what's up?" he asks.

"Where are you?" Lin replies, in his typical spitfire way. "I wanna check up on you."

"Schuyler wing, Pippa's room."

"Great, I'm on my way."

Within moments, there was a pounding on the stairs and Lin was standing in the doorway.

"Hello everyone," he panted, slightly out of breath. "Alex, how you feeling? Your stomach irritated or painful at all?"

"Nope," Alex replied, and Lin nodded.

"Good. How long has your binder been on?"

"Six, seven hours."

"That's a little long. You should probably take it off for a while. I left you some stuff in my dressing room, go change."

"Thanks," Alex said, relieved. "It was starting to hurt a little."

"Hey, be careful, okay? Don't wait for someone to tell you take it off. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Okay," Alex replied. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

That's why it was a little bit surprising when he walked back in less than thirty seconds later.

"I just realized I have no idea where your dressing room is."

The girls laughed as Lin gave him directions, and as he left for the second time, he heard Renée say "Such a good dad."

To which Lin replied "I am a good dad."

Alex couldn't help but think about how Lin was the best dad he'd ever had when he saw the compression shirt and sports bra on Lin's vanity, with a sticky note that said "Alex :)".

Chapter Text

"Sorry you had to watch him," Lin said to Jasmine once Alex has left. "Really appreciate it."

"No trouble at all," Jasmine replied. "He's a really great kid."

"He's amazing," Pippa agreed.

"I'm just really glad he came to us," Lin said, in a quieter, more serious tone. "Before he came out and started transitioning, he was a really different person. It's been good for him. I think he's been through much worse than he lets on."

"Are you going to adopt him?" asked Renée. Lin nodded.

"We want to, really bad. Even started some of the paperwork. But we're not sure when to bring it up, or if he'd even want that."

"Well, he seems happy. Really happy," Pippa told him. "He's a good kid."

**

As Alex was jogging back up the stairs, he nearly slammed into a broad-shouldered man in a tank top.

"Whoa there," he said. "Y'okay, bud?"

Alex nodded. "Sorry about that. I'm Alex."

"Oh, you're Lin's kid. Dope. He's told us a lot about you. I'm Oak."

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too. See ya later, kiddo."

And with that, he was gone.

**

Alex was still reeling from the strange encounter he had just had as he walked back into Pippa's room.

"Hey," said Lin. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah?" Alex replied, a little dazed. "I just met Oak. It was...surreal." The adults laughed as Lin threw an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Just wait until you hear his Mickey voice," Lin told him. "Juuuuuust wait."

Chapter Text

The matinee had just ended, and Alex was reeling.

After the curtain call, Lin was one of the first people offstage.

"Hey, kiddo," he said. "What'd you think?"

"That was amazing!" he exclaimed, eyes wide. "I can't believe you wrote that! Oh my god. I thought that since I had heard the album, I would be prepared, but I was wrong. Holy shit."

Lin laughed at the boy's reaction. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said. "You okay here?"

Alex nodded, still looking awestruck, and Lin left.

He wasn't alone for very long however, because everyone else had left the stage at a normal pace and was now walking towards Alex.

Rory was the first to reach him.

"Hey!" he greeted. "Did you like it?"

"Fuck yeah!" Alex replied, and Rory smiled.

"Awesome." he held a hand up for a high-five, and Alex happily obliged.

"Yo! Alex!" Jasmine called, walking through the door. "How ya doin' kiddo?" she asked, as she tousled his hair.

"Well, my emotions are a wreck, because of you, so thanks."

"Aw, Ally," Anthony said, coming up behind Jasmine, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Fuck you, Ant, you screwed 'em up even more. I cried, like, three times because of you."

Anthony just grinned, as Alex leapt up and sprinted down the hallway to hug Pippa while crying "My emotions!"

**

"So, Alex," Javi asked, handing the boy a cup of cafecito on a saucer. "What are your thoughts? How do you feel about the show now that you've seen it?"

"First, how to you guys do that eight times a week? That's insane!"

The cast members assembled in the small room all laughed, and Alex continued. "Like, I haven't had that many experiences with live theatre, but that just felt so personalized. I felt like it was hyperreal, like it was all that could happen, all that could be happening. I couldn't look away. Also, I couldn't stop crying. What the fuck, you guys?! That was one of the most emotionally taxing things ever to happen to me. I'm not even kidding. Shit goes down where I'm from, but few things fucked me up the way that did."

"Hey Alex," Lin said, sitting on the couch. "Why don't you tell everyone your last name?"

He only mumbled something in reply.

"Couldn't hear you," his foster father told him with a grin as everyone else looked on, confused.

"Ugh, fine," he snapped. "It's Hamilton. My name is Alexander Hamilton."

"Are there a million things you haven't done?" asked Daveed, and Alex shot him a look that made everyone laugh.  

"He was my great-times-a-lot uncle  or something," Alex remarked, once the laughter died down. "And my mom told me that if I had his name, I would share in his greatness."

"So you're saying that hundreds of years after your death, there's going to be a musical about you?" asked Carleigh.

"I guess," Alex laughed.

As he chatted and joked with the cast, he felt a prickling in the divot just above where his skull met his neck.

He ignored it.

It couldn't have meant much.

Chapter Text

"Hello, hello, hello!" called Lin, and the crowd roared.

"Wow," said Alex, from behind the closed door as his foster father introduced him. "I am suddenly having regrets."

Reneé laughed. "Your first one is always like that. You'll be fine."

And with that, Lin knocked on the door.

"Hi, everyone!" Alex shouted into the mic as he exited, and couldn't help but smile at the significantly smaller amount of applause for him. They didn't know him yet, but that was okay.

They would.

"So, last week, I was asked by Lin if I wanted to run a Ham4Ham. And I said yes, because that sounded really cool. And since I've been doing my homework, I learned that our girl Angelica-" several people cheered at this, and Alex smiled. "-ran into Tommy J in London. And since Angelica talks about what's gonna happen when she meets TJeffs, I wrote a little something about how that encounter might of gone. Come on out!"

He banged on the door, and Reneé, Daveed, Alex Lacamoire, and a few musicians toting instruments exited, to screams and applause.

"Now, I'm an Angelica, but I'm nothing compared to Renée, and nobody raps quite like Daveed, so," he turned to them and grinned. "Take it away!"

As the music began to play, Alex watched to see Lin's face as the man watched what his foster son had made.

He went from smiling to shocked, to incredulous to excited, then finished with a mixture of impressed and proud.

"That's my son!" he yelled. It was lost in all the applause and screaming, but Alex heard it, and it made warmth blossom from his chest to his toes and the top of his head.

**

When Alex opened Twitter later that afternoon, he noticed a thread written by his foster father.

It began with one that said "Things I learned today: Alex L and Alex H are a great combo," and ended with one saying "And Alex H isn't an Angelica. He's an Eliza pretending to be a Peggy."

It had been retweeted by almost every member of the cast.

Chapter Text

"Are you Alexander?"

Alex looked up to see a whippet-thin boy standing directly in front of him.

"Yeah," Alex replied, a little wary. "Why?"

"I'm Aaron," said the boy. "I'm meant to be showing you around today."

"Nice to meet you," Alex said, standing. Aaron nodded wordlessly, before starting down the hallway, Alex jogging to reach him.

"Do you have any questions?" Aaron asked, in a way that conveyed he definitely didn't care if Alex did or not.

"None right now," he replied, and there was a slight, barely perceptible change in Aaron's facial features. It was barely anything, but now he seemed relieved, almost.

They had turned off of the main admissions hallway and were now strolling down the main academic hallway.

"Hey, Aaron!"

Aaron stopped dead in his tracks, his face showing an expression of what could only be described as "complete and total terror."

A tall boy with his curly hair in a bun and what seemed like too many freckles for his face came jogging effortlessly down the hall, his strides about three of Alex's. 

"Aaron, do you have yesterday's math notes? I need to borrow them."

"This wouldn't be a problem if you took your own fucking notes, y'know."

"Aw, thanks, dad. So can I use them?"

Aaron rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine." As Aaron began rustling through his bag, Tall Boy turned to Alex.

"Aw, Aaron, who's your friend? They're fucking adorable."

Alex blushed and smiled, sticking out a hand. "Alex," he said.

Tall Boy shook it, grinning a mega-watt smile. "John," he replied. "Nice to meet you, Cute Alex."

John's palm was warm against Alex's own, and Alex never wanted to let go. As Aaron pulled out the notes, he muttered something about how John was too charming for his own good.

Whatever, though Alex. Fuck that guy.

Chapter Text

"So, Alex," said John, cocking his head. "Why are you stuck with this absolute shitbucket of a human being?"

Aaron sighed heavily. "John, was that really called for?"

"Absolutely," John replied. "I hate you."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Aaron, I'm stealing this adorable little person because I don't want you ruining him. Bye!"

John threw an arm around Alex's shoulders and steered him the way the taller boy had come.

"Really sorry about that," he muttered, and Alex looked up in confusion. "I did a couple things. Acted like an asshole, assumed you use male pronouns, touched you and called you cute without asking if that was okay. I'm really sorry. You just looked really uncomfortable with Aaron, and I wanted to get you out of that situation."

"Thanks," Alex breathed.

Once they were a good distance away, John stopped and removed his arm. He turned to Alex, smiled, and said "John, boy, he/him, please tell me how many of the things I just did are cool with you."

"Alex, boy, he/him, good with all of them except acting like a jerk."

John grinned. "Really glad to hear that."

They stood there for a while, grinning stupidly, until the bell rang and made them both jump.

"What class do you have first?" John asked, and Alex rooted around in his pockets for the schedule that had just been given to him.

"History," he replied. "With Warner. You?"

John smiled again. "Same," he said. "C'mon, you can sit with me."

///

Unfortunately, they had to separate (John had Bio and Alex had English), but a few hours later, John appeared next to Alex out of nowhere.

"We've got lunch now," he told the shorter boy. "I wanna show you where I sit with my friends."

John grabbed his hand and led him against the flow of bodies all headed to what was presumably the cafeteria. They had reached the top of a staircase when John pulled a sharp left, out the door, and right on to the roof.

It was exceptionally green. A carpet of grass stretched out to the very edges of the building, abruptly cut off by the low walls, which ensured that no one would fall off. A few tree saplings and bushes dotted the edge, and some lawn furniture was on the far end, right next to the wall.

In these wicker couches and chairs, there sat a group of people, all locked in a heated debate.

"I don't care that he was her first boyfriend!" shouted the lean girl, her hair in a ponytail. "He cheated on his wife, so he clearly wasn't a decent enough person for her!"

"Yeah," agreed the person next to her with the right red lipstick. "Besides, he was always so hostile and protective. Logan never-"

"Logan never was creepily attached, no," interjected John, all of them turning to look at where he and Alex stood. "However, he was also carelessly aloof from time to time."

"He was a little bit of both," Alex said, speaking up for the first time. "I mean, before they're really official, at Finn's birthday party. He tells her that he doesn't want her with anyone else, even though he brought his own date."

"New guy makes a point," said the broad shouldered guy. "What's your name?"

"Alex."

"So, Alex," said the girl with the round face and kind smile. "You're clearly not team Logan, so I have to ask - Dean or Jess?"

"Jess," Alex replied, to a few cheers. "He was a little annoying at first, but he's the only one who would have helped Rory go far. Dean would have supported her, but they would stay in Stars Hollow, and Logan would suck her up into her grandparents' world, which Lorelei tried so hard to escape."

"Okay, nerds," John said, making his way over to where the group sat and pulling Alex with him. They sat on the lush grass, knees knocking together, and began to eat their lunches.

"Introduce yourselves to Alex," he continued. "Herc, you start."

Broad Shoulders smiled warmly at Alex.

"I'm Hercules."

Alex nearly snorted juice out his nose.

Hercules only chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

John looked at Alex. "I was saving this," he said. "But there's a really weird parallel here, and you kinda finished off the set, if you will."

"Wait," Alex said. "I know my reason for having the same name as a Hamilton character. But you guys, too?"

"You have a reason for being named Alex that pertains to Hamilton?" asked the younger kid in the sundress.

"Well, yeah," Alex blinked. "My name is Alexander Hamilton. I'm, like, a distant relative."

"Ah, me too!" exclaimed the person who was so beautiful, it was terrifying. "Lafayette."

Alex shook their hand. "Pronouns?" he asked.

"They/them," they replied, a large grin on their face. Alex made finger guns at them and they returned the gesture as John wrapped an arm around Alex's waist.

"Stop flirting and pay attention to me," he grumbled.

"Who's flirting now?" Alex muttered, but he leaned back into John's chest.

"So," said the mildly terrifying girl. "I'm Angelica. They're Peggy, Maria, and Elizabeth."

Alex winced, and the girl with the round face noticed. "Call me Eliza," she said, and when he met her eyes, she gave him a warm smile and a small nod.

"So, Alex," asked Maria. "What brings you here to New York?"

"Foster care system," he replied. "I've been working my way north for a couple years ago. I'm really glad that it's still kind of warm, though. It'll give me some time to adjust."

"I don't think you'll ever adjust," John said. "I'm a southern boy, and I hate winters here."

"Shit," Alex muttered, to much laughter.

The group fell into an easy conversation, laughing and joking under the midday sun.

///

"Got plans tonight?" John asked Alex as they were walking down the front steps of the school.

"Don't think so-" Alex's reply was cut off when he saw Pippa waving at him from a little ways off.

"Sorry," Alex said earnestly, turning to face John. "I have to...um..."

John jut smiled at him and nodded. "I get it. See you tomorrow?"

Alex grinned, and John leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead. "See you tomorrow," he said with a smile, before turning and catching up to Hercules.

Alex made his way unsteadily to Pippa, who was grinning at him.

"Who's that?" she asked. "Aw, Alex, you're blushing!"

"Pippa, hush!" he hissed at her, making her laugh. "What are you doing here? Isn't your call soon?"

"I didn't have any notes today, so Lin sent me to get you. How do you feel about going to the theatre and catching everyone up on your day?"

"I'd like that," he smiled. She beamed back at him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm glad to hear it."

Chapter Text

They were barely in the stage door when Pippa yelled up the stairs.

"Alex has a boyfriend!" she shouted.

That was the moment Alex realized that Phillipa Soo did not need a microphone. She could have gone on stage that night and sung just as loudly and clearly without any amplification as she could with. This was both impressive and terrifying to Alex.

There was a thundering on the stairs as they quickly filled with people, trying to hear the news.

"I do not have a boyfriend," Alex said through clenched teeth. "I have a friend who is a boy. Two now, actually."

"If he's just a friend, why did he kiss you on the cheek?"

Alex's face went hot, his cheeks flaming red, to a roar of laughter.

"The kids - they do that sort of thing these days -"

"Oh, honey," said Andrew.

"Ugh, fine," Alex said, hurriedly. "Yeah, okay, he's really cute and I like him a lot. Just - no one tell my dad?"

It was that very moment Lin came up from the stage. Upon seeing Alex's red face, Pippa's mischievous grin, and the large number of people on the steps, he sighed deeply.

"I take it your first day of school went well?" he asked, turning to Alex.

Alex nodded.

///

It was four minutes to intermission when Alex got a text, stirring him from the stupor that Chinese food and homework sent him into.

hey, it said. it's john

hi, he shot back.

sorry if this is creepy. they gave aaron your number so he could get in touch with you, and i swiped it off of him.

it's cool.

what's up?

well, i just realized something.

that was ACTUALLY philippa soo.

like, at school today??

philippa soo was your ride home???

you know her??

uh, yeah.

lin-manuel miranda?? my foster father.

my current location?? the richard rogers theatre.

it's it's a whole big thing.

that's pretty cool.

yes indeed.

are they good parents?

lin and vanessa  

exceptional.

when you first met me, did you think i was male? like, do i pass?

yeah???

that's all their doing.

came out to them as trans after a few weeks and now i'm on t and getting top surgery in a few months.

that's awesome!!!!

so excited and happy for you!!!!

!!!!!!!

thank u!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!

anyways, did you do the history homework?

Alex grinned at his phone, homework long forgotten, and fell into conversation with the cute, sweet boy that made him feel warm inside.

And if his forehead also felt warm, well, who was to say?

Chapter Text

"Hey Lin?" Pippa said, right before they were about to go on for act two.

"What's up?" he asked, mild worry creeping into his voice.

"Alex referred to you as his dad earlier today. Just thought you should know."

///

"Hey, kiddo," Lin said, checking in on Alex as soon as he was out of his costume. "How's the school stuff?"

Startled, Alex looked up from his phone. "What?" he asked, bewildered. "Oh. It was good. Pretty easy. Now i'm talking to some, uh, school friends."

"Nice! How's your chest feel?"

"A little tight, I took off my binder. No bruises or anything."

"Good, good. Ready to go?"

"Yep."

They walked in amicable silence until they got to the A train stop.

"You sure everything's okay?" Lin asked. Alex was never this invested in his phone.

"Yeah, I think. I feel a little weird, though-"

In a split second, Lin had a hand on Alex's forehead.

"You feel hot," the older man said. "How long have you felt like this?"

"Um..." Alex thought hard. He had been distracted all day by his new friends. And John's freckles, but he wasn't about to admit that. "Since lunch. So, around noon?"

"Alex. C'mon, buddy. You know self care is important. Do you have any other symptoms?"

"Uh, some nausea? Don't think I'm going to throw up, though. And a headache at the base of my skull."

"Okay. Let's get you home. We can grab some ginger ale from the bodega on the way."

///

After much protest from Alex and an interjection from Vanessa ("Lin, he doesn't even have a fever."), Alex was finally deemed in good enough condition to go to school.

"Never met a kid that wanted to go to school this bad," Lin said the next morning, kissing Alex on the top of his head. "You ready, kiddo?"

Alex nodded and stood, grabbing his backpack and pulling his phone from his pocket.

see you in a few

sounds good!!!!

"So," Lin said. "Matinee today. Want me to pick you up?"

"Yeah, sure!" Alex replied. "Can you get back in time?"

"I'll make it work. Sorry about making you wait in the theatre all the time."

"Dude, you know it's basically my second home. I love it there."

Lin beamed, and Alex grinned back.

"See you later, then?"

"Sounds good."

And with that, Alex made his way to a tall, freckled kid who was talking to a thin boy with close-cropped hair. He watched his back for a moment, before turning and heading towards midtown.