Bug

"...Sept, huit, neuf," Philip recites as his mother, Eliza, guides his hand along the piano. Eliza sings along with her son.

Alexander, as always, works in his study with the door shut, closing out everything around him. Philip continues pressing each key until he feels something brush against his cheek. He quickly picks up his hand to slap whatever it is off, missing his note.

"Philip, is everything alright?" Eliza asks, worried about her son. She frantically moves her head left to right, searching for a feather, maybe.

"Yes, Mama, I'm okay," Philip responds, beaming. Eliza returns the smile and puts her eyes back on the piano.

"Okay, let's start again," Eliza plays the melody, smiling as Philip presses down on the keys gingerly with his small hands.

"I did it! I did-"

Philips celebration is cut short by a loud scream, accompanied by him jumping off the bench. Eliza springs up, finding herself screaming as well. Not as loud though. Philip takes off, bounding to the door of Alexander's office, which had swung open. Philip jumps into his father's arms.

"Hey! Wha-, calm down, Phillip. What happened?"

"There, there was a bug!" Philip gasps, burying himself into Alexander's chest. "I saw it! It was so big!"

He laughs, setting Phillip back down on to the floor.

"There's nothing to be scared of, it's just a bug. Now, how about you show me how good you are at the piano in a while, okay?" Alexander tells Philip. He walks back into the study, shutting the door once again.

"You heard your father, Philip. It's 'just a bug'," Eliza says, mocking Alexander's tone. Philip begins to laugh, as well as Eliza. They both sit in front of the piano, again. But, as soon as Philip places his fingers on the ivory, he and Eliza hear a loud shriek come from Alexander's study.

"OH SH-" Alexander pauses, "SHOOT!" he shouts, just barely censoring himself, for Philip's sake. The door bursts open and slams into the wall, leaving a visible mark on the wall. He brushes himself off quickly as he runs into the den, where Eliza and Philip sit.

"Alexander, honey, is everything okay?" Eliza asks her panting husband.

"Yeah," Alexander replies, sitting on the couch. "Philip, play the song you've been learning!" he says excitedly.

"Take it away, sweetie," Eliza says, standing up. Philip folds his hands together, making fake cracking noises. Alexander and her chuckle. He begins to play, staring intensely at the piano in front of him.

"Un, deux, trois, quatre, conq, six se-"

And that's when all Hell broke loose in the Hamilton household.

"OH MY GOD THERE'S THE BUG!" Phillip screams, hitting the piano keys and tipping over the stool. There's a loud BANG! as it hits the hardwood floor.

Usually, if Philip were to say such a phrase he would be immediately scolded, but it's hard to scold a child when they are out the door and in the street.

"Philip! Come back!" Eliza yells, picking up her dress. She rushes out the door in hot pursuit.

Alexander stares at the open door, trying to register what he had just witnessed. Okay, so everything was fine until the bug. What kind of bug even was it? He laughs as he sees Philip running the opposite way down the street, squealing, Eliza not far behind him.

"Am I really seeing this?"

"Yes," replies the ceiling fan.

Wait

Alex jerks his head up, and nearly screams himself as he locks eyes with Jefferson, who sits nonchalantly, in his hand, a stick with a piece of string attached to it. A piece of paper on the end, which must've been the bug.

"I have so many questions," Alexander says, running a hand through his hair. He takes a step back.

"We've been caught, J Mads!" Calls Jefferson from his perch. As if on command, the door to Alexander's office slowly drifts open, revealing Madison somehow on the ceiling fan in there.

"Awww."

Alexander walks over to the wall on the other side of the room, "care to go for a spin?"

"Whaaaaat?"

Alex smirks, switching the button to the fan. He watches as Jefferson goes slow at first.

"Ha! You have a weak fan!"

"Do I? Hope you didn't have lunch before you came." He walks right under Jefferson and gives a quick tug to the string hanging from it.

"What do you meAAAANNNNNNN!" He yells, the fan spinning violently.

Alex walks into the office, smiling at Madison.

"Oh hey Alex, l-let's not do anything we might regret-"

Flip.

He watches as both men cling to the fans, being spun at unholy speeds.

"Let's see, who will fall first? Jefferson, or Madison?" He snickers, taking a seat back on the couch. Between the screams of the men and his own laughter, he didn't hear Eliza and Philip come back in,

"Alexander did you find that- WHAT IN THE-?"

Alex sprung up at the voice, he sees his wife and Philip in the doorway, frozen. Upon Philips' face is a look of pure horror. Before he can say anything, Philip takes off again, and then he hears the unmistakable sound of the fan being ripped from the ceiling.

THUMP CRASH!

"Jefferson wins!"

THUMP!

"Hey 'J Mads' you're not that far off," He walks to the pile of Jefferson on the floor, "For your prize, I'll consider not beating you with the fireplace poker for ten seconds."

"I'M OUT! LET'S GO!" He yells, bolting to the door, a dazed and confused madison behind him. They push past a bewildered Lafayette, who stood at the door, his hand in a fist as if he were about to knock. He looks up at Alex and blinks.

"...What'd I miss?"

THE END