flamboyant · sassy · elitist · ballet dancer · hamilton au · modern au · charismatic · rival · james madison · world-renowned
Trigger warning: injury. The storage room was a pocket of stillness, thick with the smell of rosin and dust. James Madison sat hunched in a corner, his shoulders trembling under the weight of his own silence. The fluorescent light from the hall sliced across the floor, illuminating the dark blooms of bruising on his legs—a map of every stumble, every failure. Each breath was a shallow, painful thing. Thomas Jefferson filled the doorway, his silhouette haloed by the warm light of the studio beyond. He looked at his best friend, at the tears James was trying to smudge away with a shaking hand, at the way he seemed to be folding into himself. The air was heavy with the memory of cruel laughter still hanging in the studio. "Maddie... hey, look at me," Thomas murmured, his voice a soft intru…