If there's a fire

1.

     /James/

"Madison?" A voice called. James stood, his sleeves falling past his hands as he walked towards the desk. The woman who called his name smiled at him. He simply nodded in response. "Here you go- I've got you pre registered for this year. Your scholarship was paid- oh, wow, in full! How lucky." The woman smiled. He nervously looked around.

James hoped no one had heard. Rumor told James that the rich kids at Kings Academy didn't do well with scholarship kids- and they always stuck out like sore thumbs. That watch on their wrist? About two thousand dollars cheaper. Their clothes were never name brand, they didn't glow like a rich kid always did.

James Madison certainly didn't glow.

"Yeah- thanks." Madison mumbled. The woman nodded, handing him his schedule and his locker combination.

He'd already received his books and supplies he'd need, and bought everything else- that he could afford.

Most kids who received scholarships were actually still quite wealthy, and none ever received the entire scholarship. James Madison, however, did.

James wasn't a 'normal' scholarship kid- that was obvious.

He had no money to give the school, anyway. All he had was his talented fingers and his brain. They sent a scout to Schuyler Public High School, examining test scores and the gifted and talented program.

Madison played- hell, everything. He was an orchestra genius, playing instruments just came to him quickly. He learned to play viola first- he was a master from the start. He knew everything about the instrument, he thought. Violin came next, then bass and cello about the same time. Viola stayed his favorite.

"Now- classes start on the 11th of august, as you know." She said, handing James more registration paper copies and things he'd need. "Here's your dorm and key. You may go to your room. The first campus tour starts at exactly 6:30." She said, sickly cheerily.

James was quickly dismissed.

His room number was 254- second floor of building five. James, still having  three hours till the tour, decided it was best to visit his room.

The building looked like a grand hotel. James gulped. Students walked in, and no one seemed to notice him- everyone looked so intimidating, and James didn't know what to do. He slowly snuck into the building, staying against the wall attempting to avoid the looks he wasn't actually getting.

254, 254...

He approached the door and heard someone inside. Music was playing. It was brain numbingly annoying.

He knocked on the door before using his key to unlock it slowly. There was a guy sitting on the bed. His hair was bigger than his face. His clothes and additive made it obvious he wasn't a scholarship kid.

He'd probably been there a while. Posters covered most of his side, and his clothes covered the floor. James cringed. The only way he could seem put together when he had nothing was by making himself look put together. He was an organized person by nature, and this guy obviously wasn't.

"Um- hi." James muttered quietly.

"Yo." The guy said. His voice was weird. He didn't look up from his phone.

"I'm James. James Madison. What's your name?"

"Thomas. Jefferson. Tj for short. Why are you in my room?" He asked, taking a second to look up from his phone. James got an actual look at this guy- Tj's- face. He was taken aback. Who's eyes were that deep? They were brown, but holy hell. Golden littered the eyes, making them sparkle even as he squinted through his disgustingly big glasses.

James just gulped.

"Uh- well- I'm new. I was assigned this room."

"What? I have a roommate? My dad set it up so I wouldn't. I'll have to talk to him about this." He grumbled. His face distorted and he stood.

"Sorry for the inconvenience. You can stay in here until daddy straightens everything out."

James had never heard anything more pretentious come from anyone. He sat on the other bed, biting the inside of his mouth.

"So- how long have you been here?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Since 9th grade. Went to the prep school since 5k. You?"

"Uh- first year here." James said. He was nervous.

"Well yeah- but where?" He asked. He threw his phone on the bed, wanting to actually learn more about James. He was kinda surprised.

"Uh- Schuyler high." James whispered.

"Never heard of it. Must not be too prestigious, I guess. Why'd you transfer? Is that why?" Tj said. James was surprised Thomas even heard him.

"No- it's, um, not very well known. Low acceptance rate." He lied. Thomas nodded.

"So, you must be smart, then. Why come to Kings?" He asked again. James couldn't avoid it. He thought for a second.

"I'm a musical person. Kings had the top high school orchestra in the nation." James lied bluntly. Thomas looked surprised.

"I wouldn't think of you as a music person." Thomas said.

James just nodded. The conversation swiftly died, but tension came to life and took its place. Thomas awkwardly grabbed his phone.

James rubbed his neck before scratching his head and looking around. He didn't know what to say, and he looked at the clock. Would now be an inappropriate time to leave? He had an hour before the tour even began.

"Um- I suppose you're not going on the tour?" James asked quietly. Tj shrugged.

"I've never been on it. I guess I'll go if you're going." He shrugged. James paled.

"Uh- you don't have to." He said. Thomas shrugged.

"Got nothing better to do. Besides, I'll introduce you to John." Thomas said. He seemed uninterested.

"John? What's he like?" James asked.

"Scholarship kid. From South Carolina, I think. He's rich enough though. You can totally tell he's a scholarship kid though. Like- his shoes are last year-" James his his old vans under the bed- "and his watches are all off brand-" James made sure his wrists were hidden- he wasn't even wearing a watch- "his phone hasn't been updated yet and it's not special or anything." Thomas ranted. James didn't even have a touch screen phone. "He's a loser. He kinda hates me though."

Yeah, I wonder why. James thought to himself with an inner scowl. His interest for this man didn't go further than physical attraction, and most likely wouldn't, James could tell.

"Ah. I see." Was all he said in response. Thomas looked up.

"Wait- where's all of your stuff?" He asked. James stared up at up him, confused.

"I mean- I'm not moving in today- why would I when I have two months till school starts?" He asked, as if it was the stupidest question he'd ever heard.

"Oh. I mean, it's better than being at home. My dad tried to force me to get a job. He lectured me, "my house, my rules," And he kept saying I had to do as he said. Which is crap. So, I already moved in here. Not his roof, not his rules." Thomas said. James's jaw dropped.

A single job- hell, James was working three. Tj had no clue what it was like to work. All he knew was daddies money and he got everything he wanted from daddy. James was so jealous. The alarm James had set rang, and he knew it was time to go.

He really wasn't excited for this year anymore.

//// NOTE: yo this is my first fic on my new account. I hope to have the first five or six chapters up by next weekend but after that I'll most likely do a consistent schedule of one a week. Thanks for reading! Votes, comments, and feedback are all appreciated :) ////