To be perfectly honest, John had no idea why Aaron Burr, of all people, was on the debate team. The two were roommates, and so John could reliably say that Aaron never had any opinions on anything, or, if he did, he never shared them in any form. His life motto, as proclaimed by a neatly handwritten poster on their wall, was "Talk less, smile more." And yet there he was at every debate meeting.
John supposed that it could be because he didn't really have to argue his own opinions, exactly. They were always assigned one side or the other of the debate topic for the meeting, and even if they didn't agree with the position, they still had to argue it. John had ended up contradicting his own beliefs on many topics because of that, which he hated, but, he had to admit, it was great for his debating skills.
It was the first meeting of the second semester, and there was a lot of griping about the weather outside—a foot of snow, and absolutely frigid out. The coat rack outside the room was covered in warm clothes.
"Pair up and I'll come around and give you your topics," the team captain called. No one called him by his first name, possibly because he was just such a great leader—of the student council in addition to the debate team—that no one could make themselves treat him like just another student. As such, he was Washington to everyone, and never George.
John's friend Angelica grabbed him by the arm and pulled him off to be her debate partner for the day.
"Thomas isn't here," John said, glancing around the room. "James is, but Thomas isn't. That's odd."
"I think that his new roommate's moving in today," Angelica replied. "Maybe he'll show up late."
John wrinkled his nose. Thomas was a great debater, but he was hard to get along with. He always had to be right, and he would resort to personal attacks to get his way, though never while debating for the team, since that would get him docked points. John and all his friends hated Thomas.
Halfway through the meeting Thomas finally wandered in, trailed by a slight dark-haired boy—the most gorgeous boy that John had ever seen. He glanced over at Angelica to see what she thought, and her face seemed more or less mimic what John was thinking.
"Is this your new roommate, Thomas?" Washington asked.
Before Thomas could say anything, the boy stepped forward. "Alexander Hamilton, sir." He offered his hand to Washington, who looked momentarily taken aback, but shook it anyway. "I'm a transfer student."
There was the slightest trace of an accent in his speech, but he seemed to be trying to hide it. John glanced over at Angelica. Not only was he a transfer student, but he also seemed to be an international student, and ashamed of the fact.
"Do you have any debate experience?"
Alexander frowned. "There wasn't enough…interest for a debate team."
The hesitation was barely there, but it still caught John's attention. He found himself wanting very strongly to break down the walls that Alexander was hiding behind, wanting to let him know that there was nothing to be ashamed of.
Washington nodded, looking around. "Schuyler, Laurens, work with…Hamilton, was it? Work with Hamilton, teach him the ropes."
Thomas had already rushed over to James, seeming not to care in the slightest what happened to his new roommate. As Alexander headed over to John and Angelica, Thomas murmured, loud enough for the room to hear, "full ride."
That was telling, since it meant that whatever Alexander's past was, it hadn't left him with enough money to afford a college education. It also meant that he was incredibly intelligent, but that wasn't what people would remember.
Alexander flushed angrily, but didn't retort, except for something hissed under his breath, only audible because of how close he was to John. "Unno kno who e tis u a play wit u kno."
John glanced quickly at Angelica, but she shook her head. Ignore it. Alexander seemed to be ashamed of his roots, so he wouldn't want to be asked any questions.
"I'm Angelica Schuyler, and this is John Laurens," Angelica said cheerfully, grinning at Alexander. "I'm a senior, and John's a freshmen. I'm assuming that you're a freshman, too, since you're rooming with Thomas."
Alexander nodded, frowning. "I can't stand him."
Angelica laughed. "Join the club. Do you know anyone other than him yet?"
"Well, I know the two of you. That's it, though. I only just moved in."
"There's a bunch of us meeting up at the coffee shop just off campus after the meeting is over. Do you want to join us, unless John's horribly opposed?"
"I don't mind in the slightest," John assured Alexander.
"Then I would love to."
The meeting went well. Alexander clearly had no experience, but he had passion and he was very eloquent, as long as he could keep his temper in check. After Washington dismissed them, Angelica and John were soon ready to get going to meet the others. Alexander, however, took a bit longer. He was wearing enough layers to completely hide his slight frame, turning him into a marshmallow.
Angelica giggled. "Got enough layers there?"
"I'm not used to the cold."
"Oh?"
But Alexander shut up for pretty much the first time since having been introduced to Angelica and John, refusing to say any more. Touchy subject, then.
John raised an eyebrow at Angelica, who shrugged.
"Let's get going, then."
The coffee shop was small and cozy, a locally owned business, and John's favorite place to go when he was on campus. The rest of their group of friends was huddled around a few tables pushed together, and Eliza waved cheerfully when she saw them.
"We brought a new student along," Angelica said, perching on Eliza's lap until she shoved her sister off. "Everyone, this is Alexander Hamilton. He's Thomas Jefferson's new roommate." There was sounds of sympathy from the assembled group. "Alexander, this is everyone. My sisters, Peggy and Eliza, Lafayette, and Mulligan. You already know John, of course."
"Il est mignon," Lafayette murmured. "Je frapperais que, si je ne dois quelqu'un à la maison. Il est trop adorable. Et il est dans un débat avec vous deux? Puis intelligent, trop." John blushed. Lafayette was exactly right, but John didn't want to discuss it in front of the adorable new kid.
Interestingly, Alexander blushed as well. "Es-tu français? Je ne suis pas, mais je sais que la langue," he managed to get out.
Mulligan groaned. "Great. Now there's three of them."
"Oui," Lafayette said. John figured they had responded in French just to irk Mulligan. "I'm a foreign student."
"And Laf's non-binary," Angelica announced. "They pronouns, since they won't tell you themselves. They're too used to getting mocked for the gender thing. If you're going to do that or if you have anything against the LGBT+ community, get out now. The only one of us who's straight is Mulligan."
John sighed. Angelica always did this with new people. They were all out and proud, so it wasn't like she was outing them against their will, but he did wish that she wouldn't make such a big deal about it. Of course, he was already hoping that Alexander was gay, and this would be one way to find out, but still.
"I'd be a goddamn hypocrite if I had anything against it," Alexander said fierily. "Hard to hate the community when you're bi yourself."
Lafayette kicked John under the table, and John stood suddenly, needing to get away from Laf's teasing. "I'm going to go order. Angelica, Alexander, coming?"
Angelica stood, but Alexander shook his head, the blush returning.
"Come on," John wheedled. "They have the best coffee, and their apple cake is to die for."
Alexander shook his head again, and John remembered Thomas's "full ride" taunt. He would bet that Alexander didn't have money for stuff like that.
"Dude. It's my treat. A sort of 'welcome to campus' thing. We've got to get you to like us somehow." He grinned, and Alexander mirrored the expression.
"So you're resorting to bribery?"
"Yup!" John said cheerfully, grabbing Alexander's hand and dragging him to the counter.
They returned a few minutes later with their coffees and cakes.
"Okay, so we need to do proper introductions," Angelica said. "I was thinking name, year, major, sexual orientation—since we're mostly all LGBT+, and, honestly, I'm nosy—pronouns, and where you're from. I'll start. I'm Angelica Schuyler, a senior, I'm majoring in hospitality, I'm gay, she/her, and I'm from Brooklyn."
"Eliza Schuyler, sophomore, English, bi, she/her, and also from Brooklyn."
Peggy sighed, and John laughed. "I'm the youngest Schuyler sister. Peggy. I'm a freshman majoring in intel. I'm ace and aro, she or they—I'm demigirl, so I don't care between those two—and, in case those two being my sisters didn't give it away, I am also from Brooklyn."
"Hercules Mulligan, but everyone calls me Mulligan. Make any mythology jokes and I'll hurt you." He winked, giving away the humor in his nature. He hated being called Hercules or anyone referencing the story behind the name, but he wouldn't actually hurt anyone. "I'm a junior and a fashion major—and don't comment on that, either. I'm the token straight friend, since usually people talk about the token gay friend, he/him, and am from Manhattan. Bit of a rougher neighborhood than the Schuyler girls, for all we actually live pretty close together."
"Oui, we get it, you're a ruffian," Lafayette jibed. "My name is long, so really all you need to worry about is that I go by Lafayette or Laf. Sophomore history major, pan, they/them, and, in case you didn't notice yet, I'm French."
John glanced over at Alexander before he spoke. The smaller boy was watching faces intently, looking to be soaking in the information.
"I'm John Laurens. Freshman, poli-sci major, gay, he/him, and I'm from Charleston, South Carolina."
Alexander seemed to be surprised that it was his turn. "I'm Alexander Hamilton. Freshman. I'm double majoring in poli-sci and pre-law, with a minor in English."
"Damn," someone murmured. John was pretty sure that it was Mulligan.
"I'm bi and he/him." He took a bite of cake, implying that he was done talking.
"Where are you from?" Angelica asked.
"Not important," Alexander said. "All that matters is that there's a million things I haven't done."
Angelica looked like she wasn't about to take that as an answer. "Okay. You said you're from somewhere that doesn't get cold, which takes out a good chunk of the country. You also have a bit of an accent, so I'd say that you're actually an international student. I don't know what the hell it was that you said when Thomas said what he did, but it definitely wasn't English, even though some words sounded familiar—I'd say a form of creole? We've already established that you're not from inside the country, so…Caribbean?"
"I said that it's not important," Alexander said coldly.
"There's no reason to hide where you're from," Angelica said. "It's not like we're going to judge you. And the Caribbean? That's kind of cool. Well, warm, but you know what I mean."
Alexander stood abruptly. "I've got to get going."
He hurried out of the coffee shop, leaving behind the remnants of his coffee and cake.
"Good job, Angelica," Peggy said softly. "You've scared him off. And John liked him a lot." She got up and vanished, a particular talent of hers.
"I wouldn't call that 'scaring him off,'" Mulligan corrected. "You made him mad. And we all liked him, not just John. Although maybe not in the same way as John. Regardless, that was a shitty move, Angie."
"Don't call me Angie. You know I hate it."
"Okay, but, Angie, you—"
"I said don't call me Angie!"
"And Alexander said that where he was from wasn't important. He didn't want you digging into his background. It's not quite the same, digging and calling you a nickname you hate, but I think that you get the general gist."
Angelica looked slightly taken aback. "I didn't even really think all that through, honestly. Like I said, I'm nosey. And I'm not used to something as simple as home being a trouble."
"You've got to remember that not everyone had the same upbringing as us, Angelica," Eliza said. "I thought that you would know that by now."
"I do know that," Angelica snipped back. "But at least most people are willing to talk about it."
John zoned out, not really interested in the bickering between the sisters. He just hoped that Alexander was okay. He had seemed very upset when he had left, and John wasn't sure how well Alexander knew the campus, so he was just praying that he made it back to his dorm and didn't get lost or do anything stupid.
And he really hoped that he would get to see Alexander again, and that they would still get along. Because he was realizing that he was really falling for Alexander Hamilton.
"Unno kno who e tis u a play wit u kno" is Saint Kitts and Nevis creole (Alexander Hamilton was from Charlestown, on Nevis. He did grow up on St. Criox, but I'm keeping him on Nevis for this), according to Wikipedia, which also says that it means "you do not know with whom you are messing." The creole is less commonly used now, but still strongly used in rural areas.
I used Google Translate for the French, so apologies if it's wrong.
Il est mignon: he's cute
Je frapperais que, si je ne dois quelqu'un à la maison. Il est trop adorable. Et il est dans un débat avec vous deux? Puis intelligent, trop: I'd hit that, if I didn't have someone at home. He's too adorable. And he's in debate with you two? Then smart, too.
Es-tu français? Je ne suis pas, mais je sais que la langue: Are you French? I'm not, but I know the language.
The college is meant to be vague. I really didn't do that much research for it, but some of the experiences are based loosely on my own.
The title is from Panic! At The Disco's Victorious, and it'll make sense eventually. I have plans.
This has also been published on AO3 (which, honestly, I use way more often; I like it better) under the same title, but there is, as of now, more of it there-the first eight chapters. I'm working on transferring it to here, as well.