Hey! This is my first story for Hollywood U, and I hope you like it! I don't own the characters, settings, or the song! Enjoy!
"So Genevieve, how was your date with Professor Hottie this weekend?" Addison asks as we enter the lecture hall for Hunt's class on Monday. I sigh happily as I recount the events to her.
"It was amazing! We had dinner at a really nice restaurant, and then we went to see a movie. It was my turn to pick, and he didn't insult it once!" She laughs as class starts.
Professor Hunt hands back our latest essays looking thoroughly unimpressed. His face doesn't give anything away, but his eyes become lighter when he hands me a paper with an A on it. Bianca takes one look at the C on her paper and, true to form, loses it.
"What? Professor, you can't be serious!" Hunt sighs, then turns back to her.
"I'm very serious Ms. Stone. Maybe if you actually paid attention to my lectures, then your grade would not be as abysmal as it is." He walks back to the front of the class. "For your next assignment, you will form groups, and each group will perform a song from Hamilton." The class buzzes with excitement.
"Before you get too excited, you will be graded on costumes, hair and makeup, and how well you singers perform. We'll start the performances on Thursday with the songs from Act 1, and the groups with songs from Act 2 will go on Friday."
Addison and I partner with Jason, a special effects guy, and Kim, a makeup artist. We all agree to meet up tomorrow to come up with our number since we all have a paper due for another class tonight.
After the lecture ends, I tell Addison to go on without me because I'm "asking a question about my grade." I approach Hunt's office and knock quietly on the door. I hear his footsteps and his door opens.
"Hey." I wave shyly. He smiles at me.
"Hey." He replies. I walk into the office and wait for him to close and lock the door behind me.
"So Genevieve, to what do I owe the pleasure? You can't possibly be complaining about your grade." I smirk teasingly.
"I was just wondering if you were feeling okay. I mean, there are like no degrading comments on this." He smiles.
"You wrote an acceptable paper. I always try to reward competence."
"Wow. You really know how to make a girl feel special." He huffs at my sarcasm and pulls me into his arms.
"Quiet you." Then his lips are on mine, lingering for a moment before a loud knock at the door interrupts us.
"Professor Hunt! I know you're not alone in there, I heard voices!" Bianca screeches through the door. I quickly dive into the closet as Thomas answers the door.
"What do you want Ms. Stone?" She storms into the office.
"You're going to change my grades. I want the top grade in the class, and you're going to give it to me." Thomas scoffs.
"Why would I do that? You can change your own grade by actually doing the work I assign you and paying attention in class." I peek through the keyhole in the closet door and watch Bianca smirk at him. Obviously she was not deterred by Thomas's response to her insane request. She jabs a finger in his direction.
"I suppose I didn't make myself clear, Professor. You'll change my grades, and I won't have to do any more work in your class. You also won't complain or ask questions about any of this because I have some fairly damning evidence that your date on Catalina Island is a student at Hollywood U. If you don't do what I tell you to do, then I'll show this evidence to the Board of Directors and get you fired for having an affair with one of your students." Thomas clenches his jaw in anger, but his paling complexion gives away his fear. He manages to hold his ground and glares at Bianca defiantly.
"No Ms. Stone, I don't have to follow your delusional orders. Your friend Ms. Whitman happened to give away your leverage by flaunting your 'evidence' in my face, and you would be hard pressed to convince anyone that I'm in it at all. Now you will get out of my office this instant or I will report you to the Board for trying to blackmail a professor. The only punishment for that is expulsion." Bianca gulps before turning and leaving. Once the door is closed and locked again, I step cautiously out of the closet.
"Are you okay?" I ask. Thomas leans against his desk and buries his face in his hands.
"This was a mistake." I pause. He couldn't mean…
"What do you mean? You said it yourself: Bianca doesn't have any evidence-"
"-not yet she doesn't, but she won't stop until she does."
"We'll just have to be more careful to make sure she can't." Thomas looks at incredulously.
"Careful how? Are you just going to throw yourself into a closet every time we almost get caught. That won't work, and it's not fair to you." I close the distance between us and put my hand on his shoulder.
"I don't mind." He sighs.
"You don't now. But what about in six months? A year? Will you still not mind being a dirty secret? Will you still not care that the very fact that we are in a relationship could cost me my job and ruin your career before it's even begun. You have so much potential Genevieve. You shouldn't throw it away just because of this." I can't believe my ears.
"So what? You want to break up?"
"Honestly I don't see any other option." I furiously blink back tears.
"I see. Don't worry, Professor. This dirty little secret won't bother you anymore." I race out of his office before he can reply. I run back to the movie star dorms, lock myself in my room, and call Addison.
"Hey girl!" She answers happily. I choke down a sob and explain what happened.
"Okay, say no more. I'll be right over." A few minutes later, I hear a knock on my door. I wipe my eyes and open it to see Addison on the other side clutching a gallon of ice cream and a stack of dvds. We watch T.V. and eat ice cream for a couple hours before she asks. "What song are you going to sing?" I roll over and stare at ger for a moment before answering.
"I have a couple ideas…"
After Addison leaves, I concoct my plan. The next day I explain it to my group, and then we start preparing.
On Thursday, the performances start. Most of our classmates do a spectacular job. Crash playing Hercules Mulligan in "The Battle of Yorktown" made me so glad Addison wouldn't let me skip class three days in a row. I also enjoyed watching Bianca butcher "That Would Be Enough." Seriously, who let her on the stage? That night my groups meets to perfect our performance, but it was already better than I hoped.
On the second day of performances, we see the stage has been set for all the Act 2 songs. Hunt begins class with his usual unimpressed glare.
"Who's first today?" No one speaks, and his frustration seems to grow.
"Am I going to have to pick on you like you're a bunch of middle schoolers?"
Wordlessly, I stand and make my way to the front of the classroom.
I selected my song at about 2 am the night of the break up. Addison created my Eliza costume, a simple white dress with a blue sash tied around my waist, to match the costume used in this song. Kim styled my hair the way Phillipa Soo wore her hair for most of the show, and my makeup is completely natural. Jason set up the special effects, and now the moment has come. I brought a folder containing my props, but I don't take the papers out.
As the opening chords of the music play, I fix my gaze on Thomas, letting him know that this is all for him. I begin to sing.
I saved every letter you wrote me
From the moment I read them
I knew you were mine
You said you were mine
I thought you were mine
Okay, Thomas never wrote me any letters, but I have kept every paper he ever graded for me, every note on project, all the signs that he cared about my success… signs that he cared about me.
Do you know what Angelica said
When we saw your first letter arrive?
She said
"Be careful with that one, love
He will do what it takes to survive."
Addison and Ethan agree that my hoarding his criticisms is insane, but whenever I looked at them, I was reminded that he cared enough to take the time to write them. He once told me that the day he stops critiquing is the day he stops caring. Ethan warned me that a relationship with my professor would end in disaster, but I was blinded by my determination and my baseless trust that he was just as invested as I was.
You and your words flooded my senses
Your sentences left me defenseless
You built me palaces out of paragraphs
You built cathedrals
I'm re-reading the letters you wrote me
I'm searching and scanning for answers
In every line
For some kind of sign
And when you were mine
The world seemed to
I had everything. I thought I could have it all because I had him. After months of pushing him, I finally got a response. I should have known it wouldn't last.
Burn
Burn
You published the letters she wrote you
You told the whole world how you brought
This girl into our bed
In clearing your name, you have ruined our lives
Do you know what Angelica said
When she read what you'd done?
She said
"You have married an Icarus
He has flown too close to the sun."
I glance away from him during the first part of this verse. He didn't cheat on me, but he has ruined me, broken me just to keep his reputation intact. I thought I meant more to him than that. I thought he would at least try to fight for us. I was wrong. Ethan was mad that I hadn't listened, but Addison's pitying look when I told her what had happened was worse than anger.
You and your words, obsessed with your legacy...
Your sentences border on senseless
And you are paranoid in every paragraph
How they perceive you
You, you, you…
My anger is the only thing keeping me from breaking. I'm using shear force of will to keep the pieces of my heart together.
I'm erasing myself from the narrative
Let future historians wonder how Eliza
Reacted when you broke her heart
You have torn it all apart
I am watching it
Burn
Watching it burn
If he doesn't love me the way I love him, then I don't want anything to do with him. No one will ever have to know what happened between us. I will heal my heart in the shadows and eventually learn to move on.
The world has no right to my heart
The world has no place in our bed
They don't get to know what I said
I'm burning the memories
Burning the letters that might have redeemed you
I grab the folder I placed on the table before the song began. In it was every single paper I had stored away. I rip them in my hands, throwing the pieces in the fire Jason had created with the push of a button. The flames start small, and they grow as they eat the paper evidence of what once was.
You forfeitall rights to my heart
You forfeit the place in our bed
You sleep in your office instead
With only the memories
Of when you were mine
If he wanted to put his work above his relationships, he succeeded: work is all he has left now. I gave him everything, but it still wasn't enough for him. I fall to my knees and bow my head before the flames. The music stops. Gathering the last of my strength, I look up….
…. And meet his gaze.
I hope that you burn
The room is silent. No one moves. No one speaks. I rise from the floor and leave. I have nothing left, but I don't let my tears fall from my eyes until the door behind me has closed completely.
A few hours later, I wake up in my dorm room and hear someone knocking at my door. Expecting Addison, I open it… and find Thomas on the other side. He inhales deeply as if he is gathering the courage to speak to me.
"I told them."
"What?" My mind is groggy from sleep and I don't know what else to say.
"I told the Board of Directors about our relationship." Part of me wants to scoff and close the door, but my curiosity gets the better of me.
"What happened?"
"They revoked my tenure, but Professor Singh said they would give it back in a couple years. Also, she's going to be grading your assignments for my class from now on."
"So… what does that mean for us?" He runs a hand through his hair.
"I… I screwed up. I should never have broken up with you like that. It was wrong and I'm sorry."
"I understand where you were coming from. I'm sorry I didn't acknowledge the value in your argument." I wince. "I guess I'm also sorry about calling you out in song." He snorts.
"Don't be. That's actually the reason why I confessed. I knew breaking up would hurt you, but I didn't realize how much. So, if you'll still have me, I would love to give us another shot. This time, we can be a real couple." I smile.
"I would like that." He grins and wraps his arms around me. I hug him back and silently hope that this time, things will turn out better.
Sorry if the ending is bad! I couldn't think of anything else! Don't forget to review and check out my other stories if you liked this one!