None of the group saw Alexander for the next three days. But, as luck would have it, Alexander turned out to be in John's first class, and, even more luckily, both boys were several minutes early, giving John time to talk to him.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Alexander glanced up at John, shrugged, and looked back to his textbook without so much as a good morning or any other greeting.

That stung a bit, not that John would ever admit it.

He fell into his seat, pulling out a notebook and pen. "Listen, I'm sorry about Angelica. She's not exactly used to boundaries."

"Peggy told me pretty much the same thing," Alexander said without looking up. "She followed me out to apologize, more than I can say for any of the rest of you."

Oh. Alexander's attitude suddenly made more sense.

"I can't speak for any of the others, but I can tell you that I really didn't know what to do. When I'm upset I like to be left alone, and I thought that maybe you were the same. Alexander, I like you a lot, and I want to be your friend. May I try again?"

Alexander glanced up. "Of course. Just don't pry, okay? If I say that I don't want to talk about something, respect that. I have reasons."

"Like I said, I'm sorry. How's rooming with Thomas?" John asked, trying to change the subject.

Alexander sighed. "Don't even get me started. We disagree on everything, he mocks me, and it's a right pain in the ass. I think that we have far too many differences for us to ever get along. Although, I don't think that I would want to get along with him."

John laughed. "He's either despised or worshiped around here. Even the upperclassmen know him, mostly since he writes for the school paper. He's a dick—I'm glad you don't like him. He intentionally uses male pronouns for Laf, writes opinion pieces against the LGBT+ community in general and our club in specific, mocks Mulligan for being a fashion major, hits on all three Schuyler sisters and treats them as if they're all the same person, and that's just the things he does to our group."

Alexander wrinkled his nose. "And I'm stuck with him for the rest of the semester. It's been all of four days—today being number five—and I already can't wait to get out."

"You know that if you have a bad roommate situation you can request to be moved, right?"

Alexander's (frankly adorable) blush returned. "I can't. There's some things that happen if you're moved, and you…" He took a deep breath. "You heard what he said. Full ride. If I'm moved I have to pay for a new room, and my scholarship wouldn't cover it."

That was the closest Alexander had come to admitting anything about his past, and John appreciated it, even if it hurt him to hear his new friend admitting, even indirectly, how poor he was. None of the others were in that situation. Even Mulligan, who was from a slightly rougher part of Manhattan, was still pretty well off, the Schuyler and Laurens families were extremely well-to-do, and there were whispered rumors that Lafayette's family held some sort of title in France.

"I see."

Any further conversation was cut off by the prof entering the room.

The class was pretty boring, but it always was on the first day. As they were packing up to leave, John slipped Alexander a slip of paper with his number on it. "Text me?"

Alexander nodded, slipping the paper into his pocket, then he vanished off to his next class, leaving John to make his way to his own next class.

From: Unknown number

This is Alexander.

To: Alexander

Do you want to join me for lunch? Laf and Mulligan will be there, too.

From: Alexander

I'd love to. When and where am I to meet you?

To: Alexander

Dining hall. 11:45.

It was 11:45 exactly when John saw Alexander from across the dining hall. He waved, and Alexander headed over to meet him.

"Il est agréable de vous revoir, Alexander," Lafayette said.

"Je vous souhaite la même chose. Je suis désolé de manquer sur vous tous l'autre jour. Sujet délicat."

Mulligan groaned. "English, please."

"I'm sorry for running out on all of you the other day."

Mulligan shook his head. "We should be sorry, not you. We should have stopped Angelica when you asked her to stop."

The conversation was interrupted by John's stomach growling.

"I guess we should go get food…"

"How are classes going?" Mulligan asked when they reconvened with their food. "I know it's only the first day, but from the syllabuses and whatnot, how do they look?"

John shrugged. "It's still gen eds and freshman level courses. Nothing too stressful."

"I think that I'll be able to understand all my professors this semester," Lafayette said. "That's an improvement. And they are okay with calling me Lafayette, Dieu merci."

"Alexander?"

"I thought that I would be busier, with more classes, and harder ones."

"You want to be working harder?" Mulligan asked incredulously. "Are you crazy?"

"I'm here to make something of myself. I need to be the best. I can't go back."

Lafayette arched an eyebrow, but they said nothing.

Alexander was quickly done. "I have class soon, so I'll see you all later." He wrapped himself back up in his multitude of layers and vanished.

As soon as he was gone, Lafayette spoke up. "'I can't go back'? I know that Alexander doesn't want us asking about his past, but I am very curious."

"He also mentioned something earlier today," John cut in. "He's on a full scholarship, and he can't afford to be moved to a new room, even though he doesn't get along with Thomas."

"I'm curious as to what all he's hiding," Mulligan admitted. "But I'm not going to press him for details of his past. Whatever it is, it's his to hold onto and only share if he wants."

"More interesting to discuss, I think, is notre cher John's huge—what's the word—crush? Crush on Alexander," Lafayette said.

John flushed slightly, but didn't try to argue the point. Lafayette was correct, of course, and knowing that Alexander was bi wasn't helping with the situation.

"I thought he was gorgeous the first time that I saw him, and then Angelica and I started teaching him how to properly debate, and I sort of fell in love with his mind, too. I don't know if he's interested in me, too, but it would be great."

"He's interested in you," Lafayette said seriously. "Trust me; I am an excellent matchmaker. I'm French, after all."

John and Mulligan burst out laughing, and Lafayette joined them after a second.

"Okay, but in all honestly, do you really think that?" John asked once he could breathe again.

"Even I can see it," Mulligan said before Lafayette even managed to open their mouth. "He looks at you the exact same way that you look at him."

John pulled out his phone, utilizing it as a reason not to have to look at his friends while he was blushing as hard as he was.

To: Alexander

Would you be interested in hanging out tonight? I have a collection of movies in my room.

He knew that Alex wouldn't get the text for a while, since he was in class, but he needed to ask before his nerves managed to talk him out of it.

"I've got to go," Mulligan announced. "The studio's free for a bit and I have a project that I really need to work on."

"I should probably get going, too," John said with a sigh. "Why do profs assign so much reading on the first day of class?"

"No idea."

From: Alexander

Isn't there debate tonight?

To: Alexander

Damn, you're right. I'll see you then.

From: Alexander

Maybe afterwards?

To: Alexander

Sounds great!

From: Alexander

It's a date :)

John stared at Alexander's most recent text, heart pounding. He had no idea what to make of it, really. Did Alexander mean a date date, or did he just mean it in the cheesy way that people in movies always meant it?

John shook his head. There was nothing that he could do about it either way. He would just have to wait and see what happened.

Alexander was engaged in a verbal spat with Thomas when John arrived at the debate meeting, but he immediately broke it off upon seeing the other.

"My dear John," he said cheerfully. "How are the rest of your classes?"

"Good," John said. "Not much exciting. You?"

"Good, same as you. I have one on the Cold War that looks very interesting, especially as that's not a topic I ever learned much about. The others are just the stuff I have to take before I can get into anything that's actually related to what I want to do."

"What do you want to do?"

Alexander shrugged. "Be a lawyer, make a difference. Stand up for the people who can't stand up for themselves, who no one listens to. No one should have to go through that, especially since it's the people who can't afford the lawyers who so often need one. There are people in jail who are only there because their state-appointed lawyer didn't really care enough to help them win their case. I want to eliminate that. Maybe go into politics one day; I'm not sure. I really just want to help people."

"That's a great cause. Have you ever been in any protests?" John asked interestedly. He had been in several since coming to college, although he had to be careful to avoid getting arrested, since he couldn't let his dad know what he was up to.

Alexander shook his head. "That sort of thing didn't really happen...before. If it did, though, I would have been there. Sometimes that's the only way to actually get anything done, since it's the only way to get anyone to listen, to notice."

Angelica put her hands on John's shoulders from behind, causing him to jump. "God, Angelica. Can you please try to avoid giving me a heart attack?"

Angelica laughed. "You love me."

John made a noncommittal noise, and Alexander laughed.

"Oh, Alexander, by the way. I'm sorry, really." Angelica grinned tentatively at Alexander, then looked very relieved when he grinned back.

"Apology accepted."

"All right, we're trying something a bit different tonight," Washington called, bringing the meeting to a start. "I'm going to assign a topic, and you'll have twenty minutes to do your research, the usual. But this week I'm going to assign you all a number, and you'll get your debate partners at random that way. I feel like you're getting complacent, debating the same person every week, since you know their style. This way you'll get a bit of a challenge, a new experience. We have a tournament coming up, so it'll come in handy. Here's the topic: civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified. Be prepared to argue either side."

John pulled out his phone, starting to look up examples and prepare his argument. Next to him, Alexander was scribbling fiercely, writing at an unbelievable pace.

Once the time was up, Washington assigned debate partners. John got saddled with Samuel Seabury, who really was a drag on the team, but was easy to beat. He didn't formulate arguments, just repeated the same things over and over. Alexander, on the other hand, ended up paired with Jefferson.

"What I wouldn't give to listen in on that debate," Angelica murmured as she passed by John to meet her partner. John found that he couldn't agree more.

That particular debate ended up going far longer than any of the others, as Thomas and Alexander turned out to be perfectly matched. Neither one could say something that the other couldn't counter. Finally, Washington intervened.

"Enough, enough. I'm giving this win to Alexander. While both arguments are nearly flawless, his is better."

Thomas shook his head. "Oh, you bastard," he muttered in defeat.

Alexander, who had been in the process of heading over to John and Angelica, turned around and punched Thomas square in the face.

Chaos broke out.

"What the hell!"

"Alexander!"

James tended to Thomas, who was on the floor, and Washington had Alexander's shoulder in a firm grasp.

"Fighting will not be tolerated."

"Even if he deserved it?"

"No one deserves getting punched in the face."

"I beg to differ," Alexander muttered.

"Since this was the first time, I'll let you go with a warning. Do it again and we'll go to the staff. Do you understand me?" Washington asked firmly.

Alexander nodded, then, as soon as Washington's grasp was gone, hurried over to John and Angelica.

"Does that movie night offer still stand?" he asked, biting his lip.

"Of course."

"Then let's go."

Aaron was at his girlfriend's dorm, so the two boys had the room to themselves. "What do you want to watch?" John asked, spreading his DVD collection across his bed.

"I don't care. You choose."

"What's your favorite?"

Alexander hesitated. "I…don't know. I didn't really watch movies growing up. Only a few Disney movies here and there."

"Okay."

John chose one of his personal favorites, The Princess Bride, and popped it in his laptop. "You'll love this one. The title is misleading. And I promise not to quote along, since you've not seen it."

Alexander arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.

There was silence in the room as the movie played. John mouthed the lines along, but held true to his promise to stay quiet. After it was over, he glanced at Alexander. "What do you think?"

"I love it. And I'd love to stay longer, but I really should get back to my room. Reading to do, all that."

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

Once Alexander was gone, John grabbed his phone. The group chat he was in was busy discussing what had happened in the debate meeting.

From: Mulligan

Wait are the rumors true? Alexander punched Thomas Jefferson for saying you bastard?

From: Angelica

100% true

From: Mulligan

But why? That's not an insult that requires such a strong response

From: Lafayette

Maybe Alexander didn't know that?

From: Angelica

No, it seemed personal. I saw his face when he did it. He looked furious.

To: Group

He seemed calm enough. Besides, you know, punching someone.

From: Eliza

I may have done some digging

From: Lafayette

Oh?

From: Eliza

Yeah. It explains things. Don't tell Alexander. Here. [Link attached]

John clicked on the link. It led to a news article

The Charlestown Post

Community Raises Funds for Boy's Education

It is truly a tragedy of our times that sometimes the brightest people are those born into the most unfortunate situations. Such is the story of Alexander Hamilton. Alexander, the son of Rachel Buck and an unknown man, started life already in the worst of situations. His mother's husband, furious that his wife had given birth to the child of another man, kicked her and her newborn son out of his home with nothing, not even the items that rightfully belonged to Rachel. This sharp decline into poverty was something that she would never manage to escape. Shunned by her neighbors, Rachel died years later of an unknown illness, leaving behind her twelve-year-old son, now an orphan, as well as a brilliant mind locked in poverty and ostracized by those around him.

Alexander, left alone and ignored by child protective services, was forced to drop out of school a year and a half later to try and support himself, but he still continued to learn. A teacher from the local school, Ms. Katherine Kuller, would come to the hut on the outskirts of town that Alexander called home in order to keep his education up. Later, she would become one of the strongest advocates for the fundraising efforts that sent Alexander to America.

The hurricane that destroyed much of town last year proved to be Alexander's chance to escape his circumstances. As many of the locals know, he wrote a piece to some figure long gone from his life describing the storm, and that piece was brought to the attention of the town officials, who proceeded to publish it. This brought the boy's intellect to the attention of the townspeople, as well as the question of why no one had heard from him before. A mind this great should not be left to rot in the cesspool of the slums. Rather, it should be promoted and fed with the best on offer.

For this reason, the town took up a collection to fund Alexander's journey to the United States and further education. This was recognized when Alexander received a full scholarship to a top-notch university, where he will continue to do us all proud.

John stared at the screen of his phone. No wonder Alexander was so secretive.

From: Lafayette

We can't say anything about this to Alexander.

Various forms of agreement came in from the other members of the chat, and John turned off his phone, sliding into bed and staring into the darkness.

Alexander had had such a rough life. John couldn't even imagine.

But he was determined to help make it better.

People always write Hamilton as having all his work done ages in advance, but I see him more as doing it last minute because he got so engrossed in working on all his other projects on social justice and the like. He still gets A's, though.

Il est agréable de vous revoir, Alexander: It's nice to see you again, Alexander.
Je vous souhaite la même chose. Je suis désolé de manquer sur vous tous l'autre jour. Sujet délicat: The same to you. I'm sorry about running out on all of you the other day. Touchy subject.
Dieu merci: thank god
notre cher: our dear

Oh, and I know that a lot of people do non-binary Lafayette in these AUs. Being agender myself, I love it. And I can see it in Laf.
If the romance and flirting and stuff is incredibly awkward, I am so sorry. I'm ace and aro, with no experience in any of that and no interest in gaining any.

The Cold War class that Alex mentions is based off my IDST (freshman seminar) class, which was on the Cold War. I was pretty much the only one in the class who actually wanted to be there, and I loved it. It was my favorite class last semester. I chose that one because I want him to be talking about classes more in depth with the group later on, and that was really the only one that I've taken that he would have as well, except maybe my English sem, but that's boring. I'm a forensic anthropology major, so there's really not much overlap there.

I BSed the stuff about the state-appointed lawyers and whatnot. I was writing that part at 12:30 in the morning, so I was not about to try and do research.

The debate topic came from here: topics, and the debate form they are practicing is Lincoln-Douglas debate, which is explained here: .edu/dcpdf/LDIntroduction_to_LD_Debate_(NFL).pdf. I have some experience with LD debate, and it's very fun and all that.

Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's great. After band season ended last year my brother and I had friends over to watch it and we all quoted along and it was amazing. That's the way to watch Princess Bride, really.

I invented the Charlestown Post. If that's really a newspaper on Nevis, oops. It wasn't intentional. Also, I took huge liberties with that article. It was fun to write, though.