John Laurens was sure of one thing, and that was that he was absolutely, undeniably screwed.
He should have known something like this would happen. It was college, after all. And a good college, Boricua. But John had tried so hard to not do anything stupid, especially since he'd met Alexander.
He really liked the guy. He couldn't help it, Alex just kind of drew people to himself. He had charisma, that was for sure. So, John had fallen for him almost immediately.
When Alex walked into Essay Writing and Grammar, he looked confident, and...well, even a little cocky. But he definitely had this sort of aura, and it fascinated John. He kind of freaked when Alex sat next to him.
Alexander smiled at him softly, and John's heart melted.
"Hey. John Laurens."
Alex nodded, "I'm Alexander Hamilton." He looked up at the board, where lesson plans were scrawled, although the professor wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Jesus," he whispered, "Basic essay form? I'm gonna die of boredom." He sighed loudly, resting his head on the table.
John laughed quietly, "You have a lot of practice in essays or something?"
Alex sat up, "Man, high school was essays non stop!" His mouth twitched up, "Not that I minded, really. I'm kind of into writing."
"Yeah, I can tell."
Alex blushed, and John couldn't help but find it cute. "You know, I heard the professor isn't easy, so maybe-" He was just going to that this class might challenge Alex when the professor stepped into the room.
He had an aura, too, but it wasn't quite like Alexander's. Alex made you want to befriend him, while this guy made you want to respect him. John guessed that's why he became a teacher.
He introduced himself as Professor Washington. "Never Mr. W, never just Washington. Got it?"
The class nodded.
Professor Washington was a great teacher, and Alex sat forward in his seat the entire time.
After class, John suggested Alex join him and his friends for lunch. Alex looked delighted at the offer, but declined, much to John's disappointment.
"I've got homework from other classes, plus some writing I've been doing on my own time."
"Well...see you around, Hamilton?"
"Of course, my dear Laurens."
~oOo~
Hercules almost choked on his sandwich, "My dear Laurens? You've gotta be kidding me."
John grinned, "Nope."
"This guy for real?"
Lafayette jumped in, "It is not so surprising our John has found someone so soon. Have you seen the man?"
John blushed, "I didn't find someone. I mean, it's not like we're dating or anything."
Hercules nodded, "Yeah, you just wish you were."
John sputtered, protesting, but Hercules just waved a hand at him, "So, what's your tactic here?"
John frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Man, you know what I mean! You get so many guys, and you've always got some ridiculous yet genius plan. Remember when you made me and Laf dress up as revolutionary soldiers so we could fight with you for some guy's heart?"
Lafayette grinned, "It did work. And I do look amazing in tights."
John sighed, "Alex seems different, somehow? I don't want to do anything stupid with him."
Hercules smiled, "Hold up, Alex? I thought it was Alexander. Nicknames already, and you say there's nothing going on here."
John groaned, lying down on the grass.
~oOo~
Alex and John grew closer over the next few weeks. It wasn't uncommon that Alex would come over to his dorm to study, or even just talk. So, through that, he got to know Hercules.
Soon, Lafayette was literally begging to meet him.
"John, mon ami, mon meilleur ami, I swear I will die if you do not introduce me to this new interest of yours."
"Laf, I really doubt you'll die, so..."
"I assure you I will," Lafayette stated.
"Can you let go of my arm?"
"Not until you bring me to Alexander!"
"Fine."
Lafayette smiled triumphantly, and let go of John, "We must find him at once!" He started going into some intricate plan, about how they would go through the vents, and-
"Laf. Lafayette. Oh my god."
Lafayette finally stopped talking, "Yes?"
"We aren't doing your plan. Instead, we're going to be sane people and go to class. We're late."
A few hours later, Lafayette met Alexander, and the group discovered that Alex was fluent in French.
~oOo~
Alex and John were sitting in his dorm, flipping through textbooks. At least, John was. Alex, on the other hand, was typing furiously on his laptop.
John looked up, "What are you writing?"
Alex sighed, "I'm writing a letter to this professor. Mr. George. His students call him the King, like he's so great."
"Okay, so we don't like him, right?"
"He's trying to get Professor Washington fired."
"What?!"
Alex nodded, "Says this college is too small, and they don't need two professors teaching the same class or whatever."
"It's not too small, it's huge! And so many people are enrolling in that class, we need two professors. Besides, Washington is better than him, I bet."
Alex was staring at him, "John, are you okay?"
"I just..." Well, really he was only getting upset because it was something Alex cared about.
The other boy smiled at him, and closed his laptop slightly, setting it aside, "We don't have to talk about this right now. Instead, we should talk about..." He inched closer.
"About...?"
Alex grinned, "About how you have so many freckles, and they're adorable." He poked one on John's nose, giggling.
John blushed, "Alex, I swear."
Alex didn't respond, and John realized he was counting them, saying the numbers under his breath.
John smiled at him, and Alex frowned, "You're hiding some with your...oh my god, John, you have dimples?"
John blushed brighter, "Well..."
"Jesus, you're so cute."
Every time Alex said something like that, John became more red.
"I'm not cute, Alex."
Alex looked at him, "No?"
"No."
Alex smiled, moving dangerously close to John, "What are you, then?"
John grinned, "I'm tough."
Alex snorted, "Tough, yeah right."
"I could kick your ass, Hamilton. Watch yourself."
Alex leaned over. "Bet I could stop you."
John was about to respond when Hercules walked in.
He blinked, staring at the two of them, "Shit, this is awkward."
John immediately pushed Alex away.
~oOo~
It was November when they ran into John's old friend. Or enemy, depending on the day. Aaron Burr. He didn't go to Boricua, but he had before. He'd actually met John on his way out, while John was touring the place. But that's another story.
Alex and John were walking to get lunch, when they saw Burr flirting with some tall woman. She was obviously rejecting him, and John started laughing. Burr turned in their direction.
"Laurens?"
"Burr. Yes. Hi."
The woman glared at Burr, "You gonna hit on him, too?"
He started to say something, but she stopped him, "No way, Burr. You're going to apologize for bothering me, m'kay?"
Burr nodded quickly.
She raised an eyebrow, "Well?"
"I am so sorry, Angelica." His voice was velvet, just like usual. John didn't trust it.
The woman...Angelica...rolled her eyes and walked away, mumbling, "Damn right you are."
Once she was gone, Burr turned to John, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm getting lunch with my friend, dumbass."
That was when Burr noticed Alex, "Ah, yes." He smiled at John, almost cruelly, "New boyfriend?"
John blushed despite himself.
Alex smiled, "Just a friend. And you must be Aaron Burr, sir. I've heard...things about you."
"Really? Things?" He kept his gaze on John, "I wonder what sorts."
John glared at him, "Whatever, Burr. We're going to go to lunch now. Have fun hitting on people way out of your league."
Alex laughed, and John flushed with pride, walking away from a pissed off Burr.