Angelica Schuyler smiled as she walked home from school one particular Friday afternoon. She grinned from ear to ear despite the brisk October wind and the gum stuck to the bottom of her very new, very expensive boots. She couldn't help but beam all the way home.
Why was she smiling, you ask? She was smiling because she was being accompanied home by Alexander Hamilton.
They had never really talked one-on-one before. They had mutual friends, sure, and they took all the same advanced classes, but Alexander was always surrounded by Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens, the foreign exchange student, Lafayette, and a flock of freshmen girls. Angelica, meanwhile, was constantly hounded by her security blanket boyfriend, John Church, as well as the crew of ardent admirers that she always maintained.
But now, they had been assigned as partners for their AP Government project and Angelica could not have been more tickled about it.
"You live here?" Alexander asked as they entered the Schuyler mansion. It was clear that he was impressed by the lavish foyer alone.
Pride bloomed in Angelica's chest, but she did her best not to show it. Her father had always warned her not to equate wealth with pride. Their family had inherited money; inheriting, she had been told, was easy. It was nothing to be proud of. Earning a living, on the other hand, was the only thing to be proud of.
"Sure." She tried to seem nonchalant. "Would you like a tour before we start our project?"
"Won't your boyfriend mind?" Alexander asked with a knowing smile.
Angelica rolled her eyes. Church was her security blanket; the ideal boyfriend. He wasn't as devastatingly handsome as Alexander was, but he was pleasant-looking. He didn't have Alexander's fierce intelligence, but he was smart enough. He didn't have a lot of ambition, but his family had also inherited enough money that ambition really didn't matter. She stayed with him because it was simple. She did not fight with Church. He didn't mind her staying at school late with her extracurriculars, nor did he mind her swarm of male friends. He went to dinner parties with her. Most importantly, he always bought her fantastic birthday presents. For those reasons alone, they had been dating ever since the summer between freshman and sophomore year. The following summer would be their four year anniversary.
"I think he'll be fine." She answered, grabbing Alexander's arm.
"Then by all means, lead the way." Alexander said, his voice just as smooth as his demeanor.
Angelica led him out of the foyer and into the kitchen. Unbeknownst to her, her mother was sitting at the counter, typing up something important on a laptop.
"Who is this?" She demanded, looking Alexander over critically. Angelica frowned. She had been hoping to avoid her mother during Alexander's visit. She wasn't great at pleasantries such as introductions or small talk.
"Mama, this is my friend, Alexander Hamilton." Angelica said reluctantly.
"Alexander." Mrs. Schuyler didn't take her eyes off of Alexander as she trailed off thoughtfully.
Alexander didn't seem bothered by her aloof demeanor. He smiled like she had just offered him a million dollars. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Schuyler. Your home is…it's gorgeous, ma'am. Really. I've never seen anything like it."
"Well, thank you, Alexander." Angelica had never seen her mother blush before. "Here." In her embarrassment, she snatched an apple out of the centerpiece one of the maids had created a few hours before. "Have an apple. I'm sure you're famished after a day of school."
"Yes, ma'am." Alexander accepted the apple as though it were the most normal offering in the world.
"Come on, Alexander." Angelica grabbed at his arm again, desperate to get him away from her mother before she did anything else embarrassing. "We only have a few hours before you have to get home, and the project is going to take at least two or three hours."
Alexander took a hearty bite of the apple and waved to Mrs. Schuyler, smiling as he chewed. "It was nice meeting you."
Next Angelica tried the family room. She didn't have much luck there, either. Her older brother Philip, home from college for the weekend, was playing some warfare video game or another. Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, he paused the game and turned to look at them.
"Angelica." He seemed surprised to see her. His eyes rested on Alexander. The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. "Finally quit Church?"
He'd never liked John Church very much.
"No, Philip." Angelica scowled. "This is my friend, Alexander. We're working on a project together. Can't you play this somewhere else? We need a place to work."
"No can do, sis." Philip shook his head, taking a long sip of Mountain Dew. "Mama moved my TV to Peggy's room while I was at school. I can't play this anywhere else."
"And you have to play it right now?" Angelica asked impatiently.
"Sure he does," Alexander interjected. "He's on level twenty-seven. If he doesn't play all the way through it in one sitting, he'll forget the rhythm of the actions and it'll take him twice as long to get through."
Philip's attention immediately shifted from Angelica to Alexander. "You play?"
"When I have time," Alexander shrugged with a small smile. "Which isn't often."
"Do you have time right now? Maybe you could help me through the cave part. I keep getting sniped the moment I step into that damn cave." Philip gestured towards the screen angrily.
"Philip!" Angelica admonished. It came out sounding more like a whine than a complaint.
Alexander laughed and shook his head. "That's a tempting offer, man, but we've got homework to do. Maybe some other time."
"I'll hold you to that." Philip pointed at Alexander, the ghost of a smile on his face.
Angelica rolled her eyes and dragged Alexander off in the direction of the terrace. Surely no one would be out on the terrace in mid-October. It was freezing on the terrace.
Unfortunately, Angelica proved to be wrong on that front, too. Her eight year-old sister, Peggy, was sitting on the terrace, frowning down at her notebook.
Hearing the terrace door open, she whipped around to look at Angelica. Confusion was written plain across her face. Her mouth hung open, showing the patch of gum where her two front teeth were missing. "Gelica?"
"Yes, Peggy?" Angelica couldn't ignore her.
"How do you do long division?"
Angelica looked down at the worksheet that Peggy had been assigned. It would take a while for her to help Peggy through the whole thing and Alexander's curfew was at eight.
"Honey, I'll help you with that after dinner."
"But Mama makes me go to bed after dinner!"
"So ask her to let you stay up a little longer. I have to do my own homework right now."
"I think we can spare a few minutes." Alexander said. He aimed an irresistibly charming smile at poor eight year-old Peggy. She smiled back despite her missing teeth. She had never been shy, she wasn't about to start now.
"Do you know about long division?" She demanded. "I don't want your help if you don't know about long division."
Alexander laughed. "I know enough about it."
He turned back to look at Angelica, silently asking for her approval. She smiled and shook her head. She could hardly believe that Alexander Hamilton was spending his limited time at her house helping an eight year-old with her homework, but she liked it. She liked it a lot.
"Who are you, anyway?" Peggy asked as Alexander took a seat next to her.
"I'm Alexander Hamilton." Alexander held out his hand. Peggy shook it with her own tiny hand.
"I'm Peggy Schuyler. How old are you?"
"Seventeen. How old are you, Peggy?"
"You're not supposed to ask a lady her age."
Alexander laughed. "You're right. Of course you're right. You'll have to forgive me for my poor manners." He played along with Peggy's act. "Now, how about this homework?"
Angelica couldn't help but watch as Alexander explained long division to her little sister. As he helped Peggy draw out the steps, he spoke in the gentle tone he seemed to reserve for strangers. John Church be damned; there was no need for him. Alexander Hamilton was exactly who Angelica had been holding out for. The more time she spent watching him in action, the more convinced she became.
"Angelica?" Alexander looked at her expectantly. It was then Angelica realized that her daydream had lasted much longer than the five seconds it was meant to take. It had lasted closer to five or ten minutes. Alexander had been trying to get her attention for the last minute or so.
"I'm sorry?" Angelica blinked, trying to refocus.
"Our homework. Now that Peggy is all settled, we should probably get started." Alexander reminded her. "That's why I'm here, isn't it? Or has this all been a ploy for you to get me to meet the family?"
His tone was so flirtatious that Angelica nearly lost her focus all over again.
"Right, right. You know what? We can work on it in my room." Angelica said, leaping out of her chair and gesturing back into the house.
"Papa said no boys in your room!" Peggy protested.
"Then we don't have to tell Papa, do we?" Angelica tousled Peggy's plaited hair. Peggy wouldn't tell. She was a hellion in her own right. She tested Mr. Schuyler's boundaries just as much as Angelica did.
"Shouldn't I be getting on your father's good side?" Alexander teased as they walked up the stairs in the direction of Angelica's bedroom.
"Why would you do that?" Angelica teased right back.
"So he'll give us his blessing when we get married, of course."
"Is that a proposal?" Angelica smirked at Alexander as they reached the third floor of the house.
"Only if you'll accept." Alexander shot back.
"Give me a reason to accept."
"I'll get you an A on this project."
"You weren't going to do that anyway?" Angelica cocked her head to the side with a smile.
"Well," Alexander shrugged with a sheepish smile. "You can reward me by marrying me."
"I think this is the longest conversation we've ever had." Angelica reminded him.
"What does that matter? I've heard you talk in class, so I know you're smart. I have eyes, so I know you're gorgeous -"
"You've seen my house, so you think I have money." Angelica interrupted.
Alexander pressed his hand to his chest, pretending to be scandalized. "Do you really think I'm that superficial?"
"How many proms are you going to this year?" Angelica challenged.
Alexander Hamilton was notorious for having a different date every night.
"So I like a lot of people." He didn't try to deny it. "That doesn't mean I want to marry you for your money. I have dignity. I want to marry you for your looks."
Angelica rolled her eyes despite the fact that her heart was hammering so hard against her chest that it felt like her ribs would break. "You're a saint."
"I'll make you like me; mark my words." Alexander insisted as they walked into Angelica's words.
"Oh, I'm sure you will." Angelica's tone was dubious, but her words were sincere. She already liked Alexander. She knew that it would only get worse from this point forward. "And you know what would make me really like you?"
"What?" Alexander smiled lazily.
"Getting to work on this project." Angelica said, grinning at Alexander before grabbing her laptop off of her desk.
They were halfway through the project when there was a knock at Angelica's door.
"Yeah?" Angelica called over her shoulder, immersed in her work. Alexander didn't look up from his textbook as the door opened.
"Angelica," It was Eliza, Angelica's other sister. Eliza was a sophomore at their school. "Mama wants to know if your friend will be staying for dinner."
Alexander finally looked up. He didn't look at Eliza as she spoke; he looked straight at Angelica. Angelica glanced back at Eliza for a moment before turning to look at Alexander. She was surprised to realize that his eyes had never left her.
"I don't want to impose -" Alexander began to collect his belongings.
"No," Angelica put her hand over his, effectively halting his packing. Alexander looked at Angelica's hand for a moment before looking up at her, a smile playing on his lips. "Come on. It's taco night. Don't you want to stay for taco night?"
"I thought tacos were supposed to be on Tuesdays." He said with a smile.
"We're not conventional people." Angelica responded with a smile of her own. "So, what do you say? Think you can stomach my family for long enough to stomach a few tacos?"
"Angelica!" Eliza chastised. "You shouldn't make it seem like we're so horrible."
Angelica smiled over her shoulder at Eliza. Eliza was her best friend in the world. She did not include Eliza in her perception of her family.
"We all know you're the farthest cry from horrible, Eliza." Angelica affirmed. "I'm just trying to convince Alexander to stay."
"Oh." While Alexander hadn't taken his eyes off of Angelica, Eliza hadn't taken her eyes off of Alexander. Angelica could hardly blame her. Alexander really was so exceptionally handsome. "Of course. You should definitely stay, Alexander. I'm sure Papa could give you a ride home after dinner."
"Are you sure?" Alexander continued to look at Angelica.
Angelica nodded, still smiling. "I'm sure. You still have to meet Papa; make sure he likes you, remember?"
"Ah, yes." Alexander grinned. "Should I make our special announcement tonight?"
"Not just yet." Angelica laughed as Alexander helped her to her feet. "Let's at least hold off until graduation."
"Now I see. You want me to make the announcement during my valedictorian speech. You just can't stand not being the center of attention, can you?"
"Who says that you're going to be the valedictorian?" Angelica challenged as they clomped down the stairs. Eliza trailed after them, seemingly contented to observe the conversation without partaking.
"I'm first in our class." Alexander answered loftily. "Madison is second, but he's still recovering from mono. There's no way he's going to catch up. Jefferson is in third, but he's taking AP Economics this year and he already flunked his first quiz. You're fourth. Do you really thing you can leapfrog over all three of us?"
"I don't think that you should underestimate her." Eliza finally spoke up. "Sometimes I think that Angelica is only successful because she's so determined to prove everyone wrong."
Alexander's eyes still didn't leave Angelica. He cast her a jovial smile. "Just another thing we have in common, then."
"Who's this?" Mr. Schuyler asked amiably as Alexander walked into the dining room with Angelica and Eliza.
Angelica opened her mouth to introduce him, but it seemed that Alexander was more than capable of introducing himself.
"Alexander Hamilton, sir."
"Hamilton?" Mr. Schuyler's eyebrow quirked in surprise. He looked Alexander over carefully. "Washington's boy?"
Angelica looked to Alexander in surprise. She had never heard anyone talk about his foster parents before. Sure, Jefferson alluded to Alexander's situation as an orphan when he was being particularly catty, but beyond that, Angelica knew nothing about his home life.
"Yes, sir." Alexander's face went a little bit red.
"Well," Mr. Schuyler smiled, gesturing to the empty chair next to Eliza's designated seat. "You're certainly welcome here, Alexander. George is a good friend of mine. Have a seat."
"Yes, sir." Alexander seemed to want everyone to like him.
Eliza blushed as he took a seat next to her and cast her a friendly smile. Angelica smiled at her sister sympathetically. She was beginning to understand how daunting it could be to socialize with Alexander without blushing.
"So," Mrs. Schuyler began the dinner as she always began the dinner. "Who wants to tell me about their day first?"
Philip, Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy all stared down at their plates, avoiding Mrs. Schuyler's eyes in the hopes of going ignored. They were old enough to know that this would not work; they had to answer this question every night. Still, Angelica kept her eyes firmly locked on the heap of green beans on the upper left quadrant of her plate.
"Philip." Mrs. Schuyler usually chose Philip first when he was home. "How about you?"
Philip reluctantly tore his eyes away from his plate to lock eyes with his mother. "I worked on my research paper for my European art class."
"How many pages?"
"Two."
"How many do you need?"
"Fourteen."
"Philip." Mrs. Schuyler shook her head. "If you are going to insist on coming home for the weekends, you're going to have to prove that you can balance schoolwork and video games. Have you seen Sarah since you've been home?"
"Yes, Mama." Sarah was Philip's girlfriend. While Philip had gone off to live in the dorms, she remained at home. She still went to college, but she did not live on campus with Philip. It was the main reason that Philip visited home at all.
"How is her family?"
"Good." Philip nodded and began to jab at his meal with his fork, thinking that his time in the hot seat was over.
"So you two are still together," Mrs. Schuyler wasn't finished yet.
"Yes, Mama." Philip avoided her eyes again. The conversation was veering off to a place that he did not want to visit; Mrs. Schuyler was always reminding him that he was much too young to be settled down with any one girl in particular. If he was ever going to be anyone, she insisted, he would have to worry about himself now, and about finding a wife later.
To everyone's surprise, Mrs. Schuyler's sharp eyes turned to Angelica. "And you and John?"
"We're still together, Mama." Angelica answered firmly, refusing to show embarrassment when Alexander was watching.
"Hm." Mrs. Schuyler mused. She didn't like John. She rarely made a secret of it. "Do you think that you'll marry him?"
Angelica looked at Alexander impulsively. He was watching her. When their eyes met, he afforded her a crooked smile, the meaning of which she understood immediately. He was still thinking about his proposition to her on the stairs. She rolled her eyes and looked at her mother again.
"I don't know. I'm only seventeen."
"I met your father when I was seventeen." Mrs. Schuyler reminded her. She was constantly reminding Angelica of the looming burden of marriage.
"I auditioned for the play today." Eliza spoke up, her voice soft. She didn't meet Mrs. Schuyler's eyes, most likely because she knew that she would be chastised for interrupting the flow of the conversation. Angelica smiled at Eliza sympathetically. They both knew that Eliza had only interrupted to spare Angelica the uncomfortable marriage discussion. Eliza had always been the martyr of the family.
"Eliza, you're interrupting." Mrs. Schuyler said sharply.
"Sorry, Mama." Eliza blushed.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Schuyler." Alexander assisted, disarming Mrs. Schuyler with a charismatic smile before turning to look at Eliza. "But I didn't know that our school was auditioning for plays today. What's this year's show?"
Eliza's face reddened. Angelica smiled at her fondly. In that moment, Angelica adored Alexander, if for no other reason than that he rescued her favorite sister from the wrath of her overbearing mother. Maybe she would marry him, after all.
"Oh, we're doing the Wizard of Oz." Eliza answered. Alexander now had her full attention. "Did you want to audition? I think there may be another day left."
Alexander chuckled. "No, I don't think that I'll be auditioning for anything anytime soon. I'm not one for the theater. But if you get a role in the Wizard of Oz, I might be persuaded to attend."
"We could always use more audience members." Eliza said.
"Hm. Maybe your sister and I will go, then. What do you think, Angelica?" Alexander cast Angelica the coy smile that he seemed to save just for her.
"I've never missed one of Eliza's shows." Angelica told him smugly. "She's a star."
"Is that right?" Alexander turned to smile at Eliza again. "Well, then I'll certainly have to go see you. What part did you audition for?"
"Dorothy." Eliza glanced at her mother as she spoke.
"Dorothy?" Angelica sat up a little straighter in her seat. "I thought that you were going to audition for Auntie Em?"
"Eliza, the lead?" Mrs. Schuyler's expression was difficult to read. "You've never auditioned for the lead before."
"I know that." Eliza was embarrassed by all of the attention that she was receiving. She could no longer bear to look at Alexander. "I wasn't going to, but Mr. Beezer told me to."
Mr. Beezer was the theater teacher. Eliza thought he was a genius. Angelica reserved her judgment until she had more information.
"How did the audition go?" Angelica fidgeted in her seat. She wished that Eliza had told her about the audition sooner. She wished that she had skipped her student government meeting during lunch to see Eliza audition. She should have been there to support her sister; had their roles been reserved, Eliza would have overcome every obstacle to see her.
"Good. I think." Eliza smiled at Angelica gratefully. "We get the results next week."
"I can hardly wait." Angelica smiled back at her. "Are you sure we have to wait until next week? Why don't we call Mr. Beezer tonight? I'm sure his phone number is listed on the website."
"I know where he lives. We could go visit him." Alexander suggested, jerking his thumb over his shoulder with a broad grin. Eliza laughed, but did not meet Alexander's eyes. Angelica just smiled at him, very quickly coming to the conclusion that she ought to do away with John Church as soon as possible.
"Alexander," Mrs. Schuyler resumed control over the dinner conversation. She turned her hawk eyes to Alexander. Angelica and Eliza exchanged amused smiles before looking over to Alexander.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Since you're joining us tonight, I'll ask you, too: what did you do today?"
Alexander looked thoughtful. Philip, Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy stared at him in awe. They hadn't realized that taking a moment to think of a rational answer to Mrs. Schuyler's ambush was an option. Mrs. Schuyler smiled, realizing that Alexander was up for the challenge that she had bestowed upon him.
"I finished War and Peace over breakfast," Alexander began.
"You read Tolstoy?" Mr. Schuyler asked, breaking Mrs. Schuyler's rule about interrupting. Mrs. Schuyler glanced at him. Mr. Schuyler smiled sheepishly and looked to Alexander for an answer anyway.
"Yes, sir."
"You didn't read War and Peace in one morning." Philip accused. "When I was in high school, I had to wake up at five-thirty just to make it to school on time."
"I didn't read it in one morning." Alexander agreed. "But I wake up early every morning to have thirty minutes of time to read something other than my textbooks."
"Very nice." Mrs. Schuyler approved. Angelica folded her arms across her chest and watched Alexander like a cat watching a mouse. He was starting off with Mrs. Schuyler's approval. He had everything to lose at this point. "What did you do after finishing War and Peace?"
"I packed my lunch and went to school, ma'am."
"What did you pack for lunch?"
Alexander laughed. It was the kind of laugh that only used half of his face; his mouth slid into a lopsided smile that caused a dimple to appear on his right cheek. "A chicken salad sandwich and some carrots."
Mrs. Schuyler nodded. Alexander was two-for-two. This was unprecedented.
"Then I went to school." Alexander shrugged, assuming that there was not much else to tell. He was in for a rude awakening.
"What classes did you have today?"
"Oh." Alexander was caught off guard. Angelica smiled smugly. "I had AP Literature first, then AP Economics, then Linear Algebra, study hall, and the day ended with AP Government."
"Are you bad at math?" Philip asked, cocking his head to the side. "Or did you just get tired of all of the AP classes?"
"He better not be bad at math!" Peggy finally interjected. "He helped me with my homework!"
"Do I need to double-check my daughter's homework?" Mrs. Schuyler asked, her tone laced with amusement.
Alexander shook his head, smiling that half smile that made his right dimple appear. "No, ma'am. There is no AP Linear Algebra. It's not really a high school class. I have to watch lectures online and send my homework to a professor at NYU every Friday."
"Unbelievable." Philip grumbled.
"And what class are you in with Angelica?" Mrs. Schuyler asked.
"AP Government. And AP Literature. But we're working on a government assignment tonight." Alexander replied, glancing at Angelica before returning his attention to Mrs. Schuyler.
"How is it going?" Mrs. Schuyler looked at Angelica.
"Good." Angelica nodded. "We're just about finished."
"Uh-huh." Mrs. Schuyler looked Angelica over. "Being alone in your room isn't distracting you?"
"Mama!" Angelica frowned at her mother.
"Angelica," Mr. Schuyler interjected. "You know the rules. You are not supposed to have boys in your room. Especially not with the door closed."
"Oh my god." Angelica rolled her eyes, growing more and more irritated with her parents as time went on.
"Why don't you study in the family room?" Mr. Schuyler suggested lightly.
"Philip was playing video games!" Angelica complained.
"Well, he isn't anymore." Mrs. Schuyler cast Philip a look that was meant to convey the message that he was finished with video games until Alexander left. Philip sighed and leaned back in his seat.
"Yes, Mama." Angelica groaned.
"This is so cool." Alexander re-read their paper for the third time in ten minutes. His eyes were alight with excitement. He was smiling wildly, almost fiendishly. Angelica couldn't help but laugh at him as he flipped through the pages quickly.
"It's just a paper." She reminded him with a laugh. She pushed his shoulders. He looked up at her, his smile growing less frantic but no less excited.
"It's a great paper. I mean, listen, Annie, I know that I'm -"
"Annie?" Angelica interrupted.
"Oh, I'm sorry, do you mind?" Alexander didn't seem to hung up on the fact that he had just branded Angelica with a nickname. This was the first day in which they had said more than passing words to each other and he had already given her a nickname. Angelica began to feel some of the giddy excitement that Alexander had been exhibiting just seconds before.
"No. No, I guess I don't." She answered, trying not to let that excitement show.
"Good." Alexander smiled. "Though not as good as this paper. Really, I thought I was a good writer, but…wow. Why aren't you on the school paper?"
"I can only manage so many extracurriculars. I'm still trying to leapfrog over you, Madison, and Jefferson, remember?" Angelica reminded him with a wink.
Instead of laughing at her joke, Alexander just smiled at her. His eyes looked her over like he was examining her very closely. It wasn't critical, though. It was good-natured.
"You know what?" He said. Angelica tilted her head curiously, but didn't say anything. "I believe you. I think that if anyone is going to steal the valedictorian speech from me at the end of the year, it'll be you. But I'll tell you what, Annie. I'm not going down without a fight. I'm going to ask you to marry me during that speech, and you're going to say yes. Mark my words."
"Consider them marked." Angelica laughed, rolling her eyes at Alexander's ridiculous speech. "At eight forty-five, Alexander Hamilton was just vain enough to think that I would ever want to marry him."
"Hang on," Alexander's eyes widened. "Eight forty-five?"
"Oh, right. It's past your curfew, isn't it?" Angelica frowned. She'd noticed the clock passing eight a short while ago, but she and Alexander had been getting along so well, and he was so handsome when he concentrated on something really hard…so she'd pretended not to notice the time passing. She thought that he was ignoring it, too. Apparently not.
"Yeah, I've got to go." Alexander began to grab at his belongings hastily. Angelica didn't want him to rush out the door without taking the time to say a proper goodbye to her. She wanted him to take his time, maybe ask her out. If he was worried about getting home at the right time, he might not do so.
"But it's pouring out there!" It had started raining just an hour before. Even the weather was rooting for Angelica.
Alexander cast her that coy smile of his. "I'll be okay."
"No you won't. You'll freeze. If you catch pneumonia this weekend, you won't be able to help me present our paper on Monday. I'm too selfish to let that happen. Let me give you a ride home."
"You have a car?" Alexander asked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.
"Well, no, but my dad will lend me the keys. Just stay right here, okay? I'll get the keys and take you home."
"It's hard to turn down an offer like that." Alexander remarked in a flirtatious tone. "I really appreciate it, Angelica."
She was in the car with Alexander. They were alone in a car in the pouring rain and he smelled fantastic. Angelica blinked, struggling to focus on the empty road ahead of her. It was so difficult when it was such a dull drive and there was such an interesting boy in the passenger's seat.
"And it's this side street to the right." Alexander pointed towards the turn he was directing Angelica to.
"Okay." Angelica swung the car around the turn and slowed as they drove through a nice neighborhood. She no longer understood why Alexander was so impressed by her house - these houses seemed even nicer than hers.
"And it's that obnoxious one at the top of the hill." Alexander pointed to a colonial-styled house with lofty pillars and perfectly trimmed hedges.
"Very nice." Angelica approved, pulling the car to a halt in the driveway.
"Yeah, well, thanks for the ride home. I really appreciate it. Most of my friends just let me hoof my way home."
"You live three miles from my house. Were you really going to walk?"
Alexander grinned. "Are you impressed by my athletic prowess?"
"No, but I'm impressed by how proud you are. You could have just asked for a ride in the first place."
"Ah, but it's so much better when you offer."
Angelica rolled her eyes. "Go home. You're already late enough as it is."
Alexander ran a hand through his hair and glanced out the window at the house. "Yeah…Martha's probably worried. She doesn't like being home alone at this time of night…"
As he spoke, he turned to look at Angelica thoughtfully. "You wouldn't want to come in for a few minutes, would you?"
"What?" Angelica couldn't hide her surprise. Alexander was notorious for avoiding having people over at his house. Only Laurens and Hercules Mulligan had ever mentioned meeting Alexander's foster parents. Jefferson was constantly speculating about what Alexander might be hiding from the rest of the school. "Really?"
"Sure. If you want, I mean. Don't feel obligated. That said, I can almost guarantee that there is a cake or pie of some sort waiting on the counter."
"Are you using baked goods to lure me into your house?"
"Only if it's going to work. Otherwise I'll just eat them myself."
"Don't you dare." Angelica looked him over critically. "You'll ruin that figure of yours."
"Now you have to come in." Alexander decided. "I'm not taking no for an answer."
Angelica wrinkled her nose. "Won't your parents mind?"
She cringed. She didn't know whether 'parents' were the right word for Alexander's foster parents. But she didn't want to call them his foster parents, either, because he'd never mentioned them. She didn't want him to think that she sat at Jefferson's lunch table gossiping about him. Even though she did.
"Nah. It's just Martha. George is always away. He's in the military. I'm sure Martha'd be glad for the company." Alexander answered, opening the passenger door and stepping out of the car. "So are you coming, or what?"
Angelica pretended to be exasperated as she turned off the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition. She pretended to flinch at the rain when she stepped out of the car. That act earned her a valuable prize: Alexander quickly shed his own coat to throw over her, shielding her from as much of the rain as he could. As if that weren't enough, he then put his arm around her and guided her towards the front door as they ran from the rain.
Once they reached the front door, Alexander opened it and ushered Angelica in before him. They were both sopping wet, but neither minded much. Martha, on the other hand, immediately took issue with that fact.
"Alexander!" The older woman shuffled into the hallway, a stern expression on her face. That expression changed when she saw Angelica. "Oh, hello."
Alexander smiled and took a step towards Martha. "I'm sorry I'm so late. We got caught up with an assignment. Uh, Martha, this is my friend, Angelica. Angelica, this is Martha."
"Angelica." Martha smiled at Angelica kindly. Angelica returned the smile.
"It's so nice to meet you," Angelica looked from Martha to Alexander politely. She didn't mind meeting Martha - Angelica was excellent at meeting parents - but she didn't want to encroach on their evening. If Alexander was in trouble, Angelica didn't want to be the reason Martha was holding back. If Martha had been hoping for company that evening, Angelica didn't want to keep Alexander all to herself. Well, she wanted to, but she knew that she shouldn't.
"I should probably head home…" She looked to Alexander.
Alexander nodded. "Sure, if you want to. But if you want to hang around a little longer, I'm sure there's something to eat in the kitchen and something good about to start on TV."
"I was just about to begin a documentary on the Romans." Martha chimed in. "And there's carrot cake in the kitchen."
Alexander turned to look at Angelica with a smile that was meant to be enticing. "What do you say, Annie? Romans and carrot cake if you stay."
"I don't suppose I could possibly turn it down."
An hour into the Roman documentary, Martha had fallen asleep. Alexander noticed before Angelica did. He whistled at her and tapped her leg in order to get her attention. When Angelica finally tore her focus away from the documentary, Alexander smiled down at Martha before gesturing towards the staircase just outside of the living room.
Without a word, Angelica nodded her head and followed Alexander out of the living room and up the stairs, presumably towards his room.
"Are you allowed to have girls in your room?" Angelica whispered teasingly.
Alexander grinned and winked. "I won't tell if you won't tell."
As he pushed open the door and let Angelica in, Angelica was surprised by how messy Alexander's room was. Textbooks and papers jam-packed with words littered the floor. There was a desk in the corner of the room, but it was barely visible beneath heaps of books, papers, and files. A small, twin-sized bed was pressed against the other side of the wall. There were ink stains on the comforter.
"I know it's messy." Alexander said as he closed the door behind him. "I didn't think I'd be inviting you up here when I left for school this morning."
"And what if you had?" Angelica asked playfully, walking across the room to examine the book lying on Alexander's pillow. War and Peace. She smiled to herself as she continued to look around.
"I might not have cleaned up." Alexander answered apologetically, following Angelica as she moved around the room. "I might have been too busy celebrating."
Angelica rolled her eyes. "You're a flirt."
"I'm not," Alexander contested. "I'm unbearably polite, maybe, but certainly not a flirt."
"Then what am I doing in your bedroom?"
Alexander cocked his head to the side, grinning coyly. "What would you like to do?"
Angelica thought about his question for a moment. She liked Alexander - there was no point in denying that fact - but she didn't want to be just another conquest for him. She didn't want to be another one of his prom dates. He liked them, she knew that, and he even respected them, too. But Angelica had always had a difficult time blending in and sharing. So she did what came to her naturally: she fought against the tide.
"I want to be surprised." She said. "But I only want it to be a good surprise. If it's a bad surprise, I'm going home and I'll never come back here again."
Alexander didn't seem daunted by the challenge. "How will I know if it's a good surprise?"
"I'll stay."
"For how long?"
Angelica quirked a smile of her own. "That all depends on how interesting it is."
Alexander smiled. "I've got just the thing."
"Do you really?" Angelica asked, surprised. "Already?"
"I'm a quick thinker." Alexander told her, winking as he grabbed a notebook out of one of the drawers in his desk. He walked over to the side of his bedroom parallel to the doorway, where there were two windows occupied a large amount of the wall space. Once he retrieved the notebook, Alexander put it between his teeth, crouched down, and opened the window with some difficulty. He then grabbed a sweatshirt off of his bed and climbed out of the open window, his notebook still in his mouth. He gestured for Angelica to follow suit.
Never one to cower away from something, Angelica climbed out the window after him. It turned out that just beneath his window was a sloping roof; the angel was just enough to provide a comfortable perch. It was not so steep that either of them would go tumbling down at any moment.
Alexander laid down his sweatshirt, offering it to Angelica as a seat. Angelica accepted the seat, looking at Alexander expectantly as she sat down.
"What's in the notebook?" She asked.
"Something I've never shown anyone." Alexander replied, handing it over to Angelica as freely as one would hand over a napkin. "It's my manifesto."
"Your manifesto?" Angelica echoed in surprise. "Are you the next Karl Marx?"
Alexander laughed. "No. I'm not a communist. Very much the opposite, actually. I, ah, well, I think the government could be better. Much better. That's…well, I don't really know how to describe it."
"Alexander Hamilton at a loss for words." Angelica teased.
"It's how I would set up a new country." Alexander said decisively. "If I were given the chance. It has everything: a banking system, a system of checks and balances, open borders…the economy would flourish. No one has ever really given capitalism a fair chance. Right now the country is masquerading as a capitalistic economy, but the government has so many regulations and lets so many monopolies pass that it's just…"
"This is incredible." Angelica remarked as she flipped through the notebook. Alexander hadn't been lying; he really had thought of everything. There were graphs, charts, calculations…even drawings of his imagined country. "When did you do this?"
"It's been a pet project for a few years now." Alexander answered with a shrug.
"Well, it's very impressive." Angelica murmured, flicking through the pages. "I would only change a few things."
"Like what?" Alexander demanded. The tone of his voice suggested that he was more than a little insulted.
"For starters," Angelica didn't mind hurting his feelings. "You only have a plan for manufacturing. Where is the food going to come from?"
"Farmers are a dime a dozen. We hardly need to worry about that."
"If you alienate them and incentivize industry over agriculture, there won't be half the farmers that we have today. The economy will boom in the short term, a bunch of people will feel comfortable enough to reproduce, and then there won't be enough food for the growth in population."
Alexander looked at Angelica, his bright smile luminous in the dark. "I think I love you."
Angelica smiled back playfully. "If you think you love me now, just you wait."
Angelica smiled to herself as she drove home a few hours later. She and Alexander hadn't done anything beyond talking - Alexander hadn't even tried anything (something that Angelica refused to spend too much time considering) - but talking with Alexander felt different than talking with anybody else. They clicked. They understood each other. Angelica had never understood anyone the way that she understood Alexander, and no one had ever understood her the way that Alexander did.
She was two hours late for her curfew. Mrs. Schuyler would be furious. Angelica didn't care. She would happily accept any punishment that her parents doled out, because it would be worth it.
As far as she was concerned, she had just had her first date with her soul mate.
Just as she plopped down on her bed, ready to settle in for the night, her cell phone rang. She fished it out of her pocket, expecting Church to be on the other line to pester her about something or the other.
"Hello?"
"Annie." It was Alexander. "Hi. I just wanted to make sure you made it home alright."
Angelica smiled without realizing it. "Yes, I made it home just fine."
"Good." It sounded like Alexander was smiling, too. "Goodnight, Annie."
"Goodnight, Alexander."