They lasted until the end of senior year. Angelica had never expected Alexander and Eliza to last until the end of the school year. She had thought - maybe hoped - that Alexander's womanizing tendencies, or even just the fact that he was going off to college, would ruin their relationship by the end of the school year.

But somehow, against all odds, they stayed together. Alexander had apologetically cancelled every other prom date he had accumulated before Eliza. Eliza hadn't even asked him to; he'd done it completely on his own volition. Then he'd asked Eliza to their school prom. He gave her flowers. Church had texted Angelica on the morning of ticket sales asking if he ought to buy tickets.

In truth, Angelica didn't care about prom. She didn't even want to go. She hadn't planned to go. After Dolly's cast party, she was faced with the fact that she and Alexander would never be able to return to the same flirtatious friendship that they had enjoyed before Philadelphia. She wouldn't enjoy spending time with Eliza, either, because Alexander would hardly leave her side. Jefferson would keep his distance; he disliked Church. Burr would have a date. Madison had already proved that he was happy just to follow Dolly around everywhere. Angelica would be stuck alone with Church all night long, watching everyone enjoy evenings with people they loved.

But Mrs. Schuyler had found out from Eliza that Angelica had a shot at being the prom queen. Mrs. Schuyler believed that social awards were the highest honor and bought Angelica a designer dress without even asking. With the $10,000 dress sitting in her closet, Angelica could hardly tell Mrs. Schuyler that she had no interest in going to prom.

Besides Mrs. Schuyler's dedication to aligning the stars that could make Angelica prom queen, Eliza begged Angelica to go. Alexander had promised John Laurens that he and Eliza would attend his after-prom party at Laurens' reserved hotel room. Eliza confided in Angelica that she was worried that Alexander might want to take things further than Eliza was comfortable with.

Part of Angelica was relieved that Eliza and Alexander hadn't gone that far yet, but the other part of her really didn't want to be the chastity police. Still, Eliza had begged and Angelica had never been able to tell Eliza "no."

So Angelica agreed.

Eliza made Alexander dinner at the Schuyler mansion while Church made reservations at some fancy restaurant that he'd seen on The Food Network. Afterwards, they all met up at the school in order to pile into the limo that Church had rented for the night. Angelica knew that Alexander would not be able to afford a limo of his own, so she invited both him and Eliza to piggyback off of the reservations that Church had made. Alexander had gratefully accepted.

Now, sitting in the back of the limo with Church, Alexander, and Eliza, Angelica began to regret her decision.

Alexander was devastatingly handsome in his tuxedo. He was handsome and so terribly cheerful and he was talking about economics while Church fiddled with his bowtie and mumbled something incoherent about his fear of dancing. Eliza was able to have a stimulating conversation with her striking boyfriend, while Angelica rolled her eyes and told Church that his bowtie looked fine. Worst of all, Angelica was forced to look at the upsetting difference in what she got, and what Eliza got.

"Looks like we're here." Alexander peered out the window of the limo. "Is that Jefferson? Did he bring a date? Annie, do you know if he brought a date?"

"I don't know, Alex." Angelica lied.

Thomas had not brought a date. He had spent all of mock trial practice telling Angelica that he would not bring a date to prom. Angelica was glad. With Church refusing to dance at every single event they attended, she needed someone like Jefferson hanging in the eves, waiting to take her hand the moment that she offered.

"Hm. Maybe he brought that fourteen year-old girlfriend of his." Alexander speculated.

"I don't think he brought Sally to prom, Alex." Angelica rolled her eyes.

"Who is Sally?" Church asked, trying to keep up.

"Some girl that Thomas went out with a few times over the summer." Angelica did her best to downplay Jefferson's bad behavior. After all, he was one of her only remaining weekend boys.

"I never trusted him." Eliza chimed in. "He always seemed like he was looking around for a scandal."

"Well, honey, who isn't?" Alexander teased as the limo pulled up at the curb. Eliza smiled at Alexander good-naturedly.

Church, meanwhile, clambered out of the limo and opened the door for Angelica. Angelica accepted his offered hand and climbed out of the limo, careful to avoid allowing her dress to drag on the ground. The hotel in which the prom was being held was in the city, and the city streets were generally not the cleanest. They walked into the hotel while Alexander helped Eliza out of the limo.

Somehow, though, Alexander and Eliza caught up to Angelica and Church as they entered the ballroom.

"Oh my god," Alexander hissed the moment they stepped through the doors. He'd gotten a better look at Jefferson's attire. It was a handsome linen suit, but it was not a tuxedo. Alexander was fuming over it. "This is a black tie event. You would think that someone as rich as him would know what that means!"

"What does it matter what Thomas wears?" Angelica asked, bored. "It hardly reflects on you. In fact, you look better by comparison."

"You do look better." Eliza confirmed with that doting smile of hers.

"Angelica!" Martha Washington glided across the ballroom, apparently delighted to see Angelica. "I haven't see you in ages. How are you, sweet pea? Oh, and Eliza, you look so beautiful!"

"Martha." Alexander growled through gritted teeth. He looked around the ballroom anxiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I volunteered to chaperone, sugar." Martha answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Your school called and said that they were in desperate need of volunteers. Otherwise your prom would have been cancelled."

"How thoughtful of you!" Eliza gushed, beaming at Martha.

Martha had taken to her like a daughter since she and Alexander began dating. Angelica couldn't help but note with some smug relief that Martha still delighted over see her, too. Angelica was still among Martha's favorites.

"It's so nice to see you." Angelica added with her usual touch of charm.

"Is George here, too?" Alexander looked around, embarrassment written clear across his face. Eliza rolled her eyes and placed a delicate hand on his arm.

It was like she left him spellbound; one touch and every nerve in his body was soothed. Alexander relaxed under her loving gaze. Despite his posture growing less tense and his facial expression growing less frantic, though, he did not break eye contact with Martha.

"Unfortunately not, sugar. He had a meeting to go to tonight." Martha replied easily enough. "But don't let me get in your way. Go on and dance with your beautiful girl. And Angelica, who is this handsome young man you've brought tonight?"

"Martha, this is my boyfriend, John Church. Church, this is Martha Washington." Angelica introduced the two without much flair. Church offered Martha his hand. Martha quickly accepted and shook it.

"It's a pleasure." Church assured her.

"Likewise." Martha agreed in that irresistible Southern draw of hers. "Now go on and take your girl out for a spin on the floor. She looks ready to dance."

"Thank you, Martha." Angelica smirked at Martha before grabbing Church's hand and leading him over to a table where Jefferson, Madison, Dolly, Aaron Burr, and a few other classmates were sitting.

"Angie, you know that I can't dance, right?" Church reminded her in a low voice as they walked.

"I know." Angelica didn't need to hear any more excuses. "And as long as you're okay with me dancing with other people, you're completely off the hook."

"Of course I don't mind." Church said, a trusting smile on his face.

"Good." Angelica smiled brightly. "Then you can sit down here and start talking to Madison about Chopped."

"Angelica." Jefferson leapt up from the table as Church sat down. "You made it. I was beginning to worry that Hamilton had decided to keep you and your charming sister all to himself."

"Not quite." Angelica pretended that Jefferson's allusion to Alexander didn't bother her.

"I'm glad." Jefferson's smile was shamelessly worshipful. "May I have this dance?"

He looked at Church as he walked past the table to where Angelica was hovering above the seat next to Church. Church smiled in easy acquiescence. He really did trust Angelica beyond comprehension.

"You may." Angelica accepted Jefferson's hand and allowed herself to be drawn towards the dance floor.

From there, it was a rapid succession of dances. Jefferson claimed the first few before Madison dutifully cut in. It was only because he couldn't find Dolly and no longer wanted to listen to all of her friends talk about the theater program, but Angelica didn't mind. She liked Madison. She didn't like him the same way that she liked Jefferson, of course, but she liked him enough that she gladly sacrificed a few dances for him. Then James McHenry cut in for one dance. He was a terrible dancer, but he'd been in love with Angelica since the third grade, so she let it slide. After McHenry, John Laurens interjected. That was a bit of a curveball. Angelica suspected Laurens might have asked her to dance solely to get a rise out of Alexander. Either way, he was a good dancer and knew gossip about everyone surrounding him, which made him an astonishingly adequate partner. Finally, Jefferson commanded the last dance before it was time to announce the prom king and queen.

Angelica would have much preferred to spend her evening dancing with every boy that asked, occasionally checking in with Church between songs, instead of having to endure the unnecessary drama of the proclamation of prom king and queen. But, she recognized that it was a tradition and so she kept her mouth shut about the whole matter.

Instead, she settled in her seat next to Church and waited for her name to be announced.

"And the prom queen is…Angelica Schuyler!"

Well, that was hardly a shock.

Still, Angelica mustered as big of a smile as she could when she received the tacky tiara and sash. She then scoured the crowd for the prospective prom king.

"As for the prom king…Alexander Hamilton, come on up!"

Okay, that was a shock.

Alexander left Eliza's side to bound up the stairs and received his own tacky crown and sash. He grinned at Angelica as he was crowned.

"Now," The announcer, a teacher that Angelica had never had, said with a knowing smile. "It's time for the king and queen to have their first dance."

Angelica turned to look at Alexander in surprise. She hadn't expected to dance with Alexander. She didn't expect to dance with him ever again. She had expected their dance in the bar to be their first and last dance, all in one.

But Alexander didn't look so surprised. He held out his hand towards Angelica, a good-natured smile on his face. Angelica took his hand, trying her very best to ignore the tingles that erupted all of her body.

Once they were on the dance floor, Alexander pulled her close and began to sway to the music. And, unexpectedly, everything but him disappeared plain off the face of the earth. Martha wasn't watching, sighing over every misstep. The school wasn't taking pictures, all entertaining the idea of Angelica stealing her little sister's boyfriend. Jefferson wasn't seething in a corner. Church wasn't standing by, smiling indulgently. There was only Angelica and Alexander.

"You look beautiful tonight, Annie." Alexander murmured, his mouth next to Angelica's ear. She shivered at the warmth of his breath. "I hope Church told you that."

He hadn't.

"We got a 98% on our government paper." Angelica had just asked about their grade the Friday afternoon before prom weekend.

"I know." Alexander hummed. "We deserved higher."

"It's impossible to get a perfect score."

"Only if there's an error. There were no errors in our paper." Alexander rumbled, his lips curving upwards into a smile. "We were robbed."

"Somehow, I can't bring myself to mind." Angelica remarked. "Because it doesn't really matter what I got on the paper; I got the same grade as you. You're the only person I have to beat out in order to become the valedictorian. I'm putting my time and energy into classes where we aren't getting the same grade."

"What did you get on the literature exam last week?"

"A 94%. How about you?" Angelica tilted her chin up just enough to make eye contact with Alexander.

He looked down at her, his eyes alight. "An 83%."

"Really? You got a B on the essay about the Great Gatsby?"

"I didn't finish the book."

"No," Angelica's jaw hung slack with surprise. "You read like 4 books a week!"

"I've been busy." Alexander admitted. "College applications, other classes…I just fell behind."

"I'm going to beat you."

"I believe you." Alexander said, his mouth quirking into a grin.

Neither of them mentioned Eliza during the course of the dance. It further emphasized Angelica's belief that while they were dancing, they were the only two people on the face of the earth.

But like all things, the dance ended. The music stopped playing and suddenly Alexander was not holding Angelica to his chest. In fact, he was moving farther away from her. If he moved any farther, he would be…

Out of her arms.

He stepped out of them as easily as a hot knife gliding through butter. He had no idea that Angelica's heart tore out of her chest - it went with him as he crossed the room and rejoined Eliza. As if he was hell-bent on dealing out as much damage as he could, he then broke the heart that he had wrongfully stolen in the first place. He removed the crown from his head and placed it on Eliza's head, ducking down to kiss her afterwards. Angelica couldn't bring herself to look away.

"May I have this dance?" Jefferson asked from behind her. Angelica turned around slowly, trying to force herself to smile.

"Okay." She agreed without much conviction.

Jefferson smiled at her kindly before enveloping her in his arms. He wasn't quite the light-footed, perfect-posture kind of dancer that Alexander was, but in that moment, Angelica was glad that his style was closer to hugging than dancing.

"Are you okay?" He asked after a few seconds.

"What do you mean?" Angelica asked, trying her best to sound unaffected.

"Angelica, you are extremely talented at a number of things," Jefferson said, his tone playful yet unmistakably gentle. "Acting isn't one of them. I saw your face during that dance. How are you, really?"

Angelica made a pitiful sound and buried her face in Jefferson's shoulder. "I'm terrible, Tom."

"Would you like me to break Hamilton's nose? Might make you like him less." Jefferson offered, most likely only half-joking.

Angelica smiled against his shoulder, her tears undoubtedly staining the fabric of his much-too-casual suit. "No. The flightless bird effect might make me love him even more."

"Then I'll shave his head when he passes out at some after-party tonight. Do you like bald guys?" Jefferson tried again, nudging Angelica's face with his shoulder just enough to look into her eyes.

Angelica laughed and shook her head. "I'll be okay, Tom. Really. But thank you."

She meant it.

Jefferson accepted her answer and remained silent for the duration of the dance. Angelica was glad. She didn't want to speak to him about Alexander. Not when the wound was so fresh.

Once the dance had ended and Angelica had convinced Jefferson to return to the table, Angelica stepped outside of the hotel to "cool off." That was to say, she was escaping Church, who had spent every moment that Angelica wasn't dancing alluding to a hotel room that he had reserved for the night. Hard as it would be to keep Church from said hotel room, Angelica had promised Eliza that she would go to Laurens' after party to serve as moral support. It was hardly a hardship, forgoing Church's promise of a night alone in a hotel room in order to pal around with Alexander during a party.

Outside, she found John Laurens and Alexander sitting on the curbs, smoking cigarettes. Ignoring the fact that they were definitely ruining their trousers, Angelica folded her arms across her chest as they turned around to look at her.

"I didn't know that you smoked." She remarked, her eyes fixed on Alexander.

Alexander patted the space on the curb next to him.

"My dress costs about a semester of tuition." Angelica shook her head.

Alexander smiled patronizingly and removed his jacket, placing it down on the curb for Angelica to sit on. Angelica rolled her eyes, but obliged. She would let Alexander worry about his ruined clothes. She had enough problems of her own.

"Don't tell Eliza." He said with an apologetic smile, exhaling a thin cloud of smoke. Angelica assumed that he was referring to his apparent smoking habit. "It's a special occasion. Why aren't you in Church's hotel room, anyway? He hasn't exactly made his plans a secret."

"He can plan all he wants. I'm still going to act on my own volition." Angelica asserted. "And I've already made plans to go to Laurens' party."

Laurens turned to look at her in surprise. "I don't remember inviting you."

"Are you kidding me?" Angelica asked irritably. "What is this, an elementary school birthday party? Did you send out little invites?"

"Tease all you want. I'm not inviting you unless you ask nicely. Or you could beg." Laurens decided, looking down at the cigarette in his hand thoughtfully. "I might like it better if you begged."

Angelica offered Laurens a nice view of her middle finger. "Eliza invited me."

Alexander smiled grimly. "Is she still nervous about tonight?"

"You know?" Angelica couldn't help but ask in surprise. "How do you know?"

"She tells me everything." Alexander flicked some ashes onto the ground and stomped them out with his right foot. He then looked at Angelica, his smile still grim. "You remember when people told us that prom was going to be the best night of our lives?"

People started pouring out of the hotel, piling into cars and limos and discussing after parties. It was easy to infer that prom had ended. Alexander put out his cigarette as Angelica stood up and brushed off the jacket that she had been sitting on. It wasn't really salvageable, but that didn't mean that she couldn't try. When Alexander was done putting out his cigarette, he took the jacket from Angelica with a smile of gratitude.

They then returned to the ballroom to find their respective dates. Laurens, meanwhile, departed to prepare for his party.


Laurens' party was a rager. It wasn't likely that he intended it to be; he had, after all, asked the first few people if they were invited, indicating that he was attempting to control the amount of people that entered his hotel room. As the night dragged on, however, it quickly became evident that 3/4 of the people occupying the room had not been invited.

"Jeez, this hotel room is so crowded." Church looked around, clutching his watered-down beer tight to his chest. "Y'know, there's no one in my hotel room right now. It's just sitting there, empty…"

He'd been hinting at the hotel room he'd reserved non-stop.

But Eliza was desperate to keep Angelica at the party. Alexander had drank a Yeungling and Eliza had apparently seen one too many "teen drinking leads to teen pregnancy" afterschool specials. She genuinely believed that Alexander would become belligerently drunk with each gulp of beer he downed.

"Honey, he's fine." Angelica assured her as she fretted in a corner, watching as Alexander conversed with Laurens, still sipping at the same beer he'd been nursing all night long. "I've been around him when he's had a beer. He's the exact same."

"Does he drink often?" Eliza turned to look at Angelica, her eyes innocent and wide. "Is it…a problem?"

Oh, she was so naïve.

"No, Eliza. Alex doesn't have a drinking problem. He drinks beer for the same reason that you drink a Diet Coke whenever you have pizza; he likes the taste. He won't get drunk off of one beer. I promise. And if he does, he won't pressure you into doing anything that you don't want to. He's one of the good ones, honey. I promise."

"But what if…"

Alexander had caught on to the fact that Eliza was spending the whole party worrying in the corner. He excused himself from whatever conversation he had been carrying on with Laurens and crossed the room to stand beside Angelica. He smiled at Eliza out of nothing short of complete adoration.

"Betsey." It was incredible to observe how quickly the sound of his voice put her at ease. It was like the two of them had some sort of strange control over one another. "Why don't I take you home?"

Eliza teared up. "I ruined your prom, didn't I?"

"Not at all, honey." Alexander's smile never faltered. "I had a great night. Probably one of the best I've had in a while."

Angelica did not want to stand here, to watch Alexander comfort Eliza, but she found that her feet were stuck to the ground beneath her. She could not command her limbs to carry her away from this strange form of torture. She was forced to watch as Alexander put his hands on either side of Eliza's shoulder and gaze into her eyes, that loving smile still on his face.

"I love every minute I get to spend with you, no matter where we are." He told her.

"Why don't I take you home, honey?" Angelica asked, hoping to end this scene as quickly as possible. Eliza turned to look at her, her cheeks wet with tears.

"I don't…" Angelica understood immediately. Though Eliza was uncomfortable with the entire situation, she did not want to leave Alexander alone at the after-prom. She was worried that something might happen. The after school specials reared their ugly head again. Angelica could practically see every fear of Eliza's like a film strip: some drunk girl seducing Alexander, Alexander getting out of control and falling victim to alcohol poisoning, Alexander's drunken friends offering to drive him home and crashing the car…

Angelica looked at Alexander, silently conveying Eliza's fears. He understood immediately.

"Do you mind if I come with you? Maybe hang around and watch a movie?" He asked, pretending that he was also eager to get out of Laurens' hotel room. "I'm pretty beat, and I doubt this is going to end anytime soon."

"I'd like that." Eliza was clearly delighted.

"Great." Alexander was an amazing actor. His relieved smile looked genuine. "I'll let you pick the movie. Can't relive the horror movie fainting spell again."

Eliza just smiled and grabbed Alexander's hand. She didn't need to say anything. Every line on her face etched out the words "I love you." Her posture radiated joy. There was practically a pink aura around her conveying one giant message of adoration.

Church slunk out of the hotel along with them, taking a seat in the passenger seat while Alexander and Eliza crawled into the backseat. They didn't stop holding hands as they put on their seatbelst. It looked like it caused more trouble than it was worth, but neither of them complained. Angelica wanted to roll her eyes at the ridiculousness of it, but she couldn't. Because she was jealous. Because if she was Eliza, she would never let Alexander go; no matter how much trouble it caused.

But instead of holding her hand, Church fidgeted and squirmed the entire car ride to the Schuyler mansion. He alluded to the hotel room a few more times. He tried to get Eliza and Alexander to insist that they wanted to be left alone for the night. He did everything just shy of pleading.

As they pulled up into the driveway, Eliza and Alexander climbed out, still holding hands. Church remained seated and buckled-in, as though he and Angelica had already settled the matter of the hotel room. Angelica remained in her seat, too. Church's hotel reservation was hardly the most romantic gesture she'd ever heard of, but she'd thrown in her lot with him. It was the closest thing she was going to get to romance from him.

"Do you want to watch a movie with us?" Eliza asked politely, looking through Church's window as she spoke. It was obvious that she would be happy with Alexander whether or not Angelica and Church joined them, but she would not begrudge Angelica for imposing on her alone time with Alexander, either.

"Yeah, Annie, I'd love it if you'd join us." Alexander's smile suggested that he was trying to save her from a fate with Church that they both knew was as inevitable as the rising sun. "Maybe we could watch that episode of SNL that you were telling me about."

"Maybe another time." Angelica said with a sad smile. "But thank you for offering. Really."

"Of course." Alexander's smile was grim. "Have a nice night, Annie."

"You too." Angelica meant it. She hated it, but she did mean it.

"You ready to go?" Church asked, trying his best - unsuccessfully - to check his giddy tone.

"Okay." Angelica agreed, glancing down at the gear shift before throwing the car into reverse and driving off in the direction of their waiting hotel room.


Rewind

"Hey, Annie." Alexander materialized at Angelica's side as she was taking books out of her locker. He leaned against the locker next to hers; Aaron Burr's locker. Aaron would be around to grab his AP US History textbook at any time now. He'd be annoyed to see Alexander occupying the space yet again. Angelica didn't really care.

"Hey, Alex." She looked at him for a split second before returning her focus to her locker combination. She was always forgetting her locker combination. If she spent too much time staring into Alexander's eyes, she would lose her focus and have to go to AP Lit without Beowulf.

"How has your day been?" He didn't seem bothered by Angelica's dedication to opening her locker.

Angelica rolled her eyes and smiled, still keeping her gaze fixed on her lock. "You've seen me all day."

"Not all day." Alexander said, his voice tilting up to suggest that there was a hidden implication behind his statement.

Just as Angelica opened her mouth to ask exactly what he meant, her locker swung open and dumped at least three dozen roses everywhere. There were roses on the floor, roses covering Angelica's textbooks, roses sprawled in front of Aaron's locker. Which was convenient, since Aaron had just entered the scene.

"What's this?" Angelica asked, turning to look at Alexander in surprise.

"And why is it all over my locker?" Aaron added dismally.

Both Angelica and Alexander ignored Aaron.

"I want you to go to prom with me, Annie." Alexander explained, picking up one of the roses that had fallen to the floor and holding it out to Angelica. She accepted it as he spoke. "And I had to make sure that you would say yes."

"Of course I'll go to prom with you, Alex." Angelica laughed. "You didn't have to buy every flower in the vicinity to convince me."

"Can this moment be over now? We only have two minutes left until class starts." Aaron grumbled. Again, Angelica and Alexander ignored him.

"You're a tough cookie to crack. I never know when enough is enough for you." Alexander insisted, tilting his head as he smiled at Angelica.

"Your finger is bleeding." Angelica had glanced down and noticed a fat droplet of blood pooling at the tip of Alexander's pointer finger.

"I know." Alexander looked down at the blood sheepishly. He removed a Kleenex from his pocket and wiped it off. "I snagged it on a thorn when I was handing it to you. I just didn't want to ruin the moment by mentioning it."

"Oh, you don't think bleeding is romantic?" Angelica teased.

"Not particularly, no." Alexander chuckled. "But you'll really go to prom with me?"

"Yes, Alex. I'll really go to prom with you."

"Can I please get my book?" Aaron groaned.

"And you won't go with Jefferson?" Alexander continued ignoring Aaron. It was turning into a joke for them.

"Tom hasn't even asked me." Angelica folded her arms across her chest, still smiling. "Did you ask me just so that he couldn't?"

"Of course not." Alexander pretended to be shocked by Angelica's accusation. "But even if I had; it's too late. You already agreed."

"Let's talk about this at length." Angelica suggested.

"Ugh, I hate you guys." Aaron groaned, shoulder his backpack and storming down the halls without his textbook. There was less than thirty seconds until class began. Aaron would not have his textbook in AP US History.

Alexander grinned at Angelica. "That was fun."

"Better than the roses." Angelica agreed.

"Better than the roses." Alexander echoed with a laugh. "I'll keep that in mind. Tormenting Burr is probably cheaper, too."

Angelica nodded thoughtfully. The bell rang overhead. Alexander looked at Angelica expectantly; it was time to go to AP Lit.

"I don't want to read Beowulf today." Angelica decided. "I think I'm going to go to the library and start my Valedictorian speech."

"Skip class and you won't be writing that speech." Alexander hummed, tucking his books under his arm and following Angelica down the hall. His math class was in the same direction as the library.

"Mmm. Worry about your own grades." Angelica wrinkled her nose.

"I wish I could." Alexander looked down at her with a small smile. He leaned over and kissed her nose. "But I'm too worried about yours to even consider my own. I've really got to go to class, though. If I don't start comprehending this stuff now, I'm going to be a recluse for finals week. I love you, Annie."

"And I love you, Alex." Angelica smiled as Alexander disappeared into his math class.


Alexander didn't have the money to afford a fancy prom. Angelica knew that from the start. So she made all of the arrangements and let him focus on his math class. They would have dinner at a terrible little Tex Mex restaurant that Angelica had found after extensive research. It looked almost exactly like the bar that Aaron had chosen in Philadelphia. Best of all, the prices were dirt cheap. Based off of the reviews posted online, it appeared to possible that they might get food poisoning, but they would worry about that if and when it actually happened.

After dinner, Angelica would drive them to prom in her father's car. She'd already asked. She didn't need a limo. Limos were gaudy.

Alexander insisted on being in charge of his tuxedo. Angelica didn't argue. Alexander knew what he looked good in, she had to hand it to him.

That left the after-prom plans. It was a high point of contention for them. Alexander wanted to go to John Laurens' after-party in a hotel he'd rented. Angelica wanted to go to Thomas Jefferson's party at Monticello. His parents were in Richmond for the weekend, so the house was all his.

But that was a problem for the end of the evening. Right now, it was the beginning and everything was magical.

"Angelica!" Martha Washington glided across the ballroom, apparently delighted to see Angelica. "Sugar, how are you? Oh, you look so beautiful!"

"Martha." Alexander growled through gritted teeth. He looked around the ballroom anxiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I volunteered to chaperone, sugar." Martha answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Your school called and said that they were in desperate need of volunteers. Otherwise your prom would have been cancelled."

"Way to save the day, Martha." Angelica said, shooting Alexander a playful smile. She knew that he would not like having his foster mom chaperoning the prom, but she herself hardly minded. She loved Martha. The woman had taken to her like a second daughter, and Angelica had taken to Martha like a second mother. Possibly a friendlier mother.

"Is George here, too?" Alexander looked around, embarrassment written clear across his face. Angelica rolled her eyes, not understanding why he was being so dramatic about Martha's presence. It was likely that she would spend her time at the prom dancing the night away, not busting drunk teenagers.

"Unfortunately not, sugar. He had a meeting tonight." Martha replied easily enough. "But don't let me get in your way. Go on and dance with your beautiful girl."

"Thank you, Martha." Angelica smirked at Martha before grabbing Alexander's hand and leading him over to a table where Jefferson, Madison, Dolly, Aaron Burr, and a few other classmates were sitting. Alexander looked over at Laurens' table wistfully.

"Angelica." Jefferson grinned as Angelica took a seat at the table. "You made it. I was beginning to think that Hamilton was going to keep you all to himself for the evening."

"Wasn't like I didn't try." Alexander grumbled good-naturedly, glancing at Angelica.

"Then I'm glad it didn't work." Jefferson's smile was shameless. "May I have this dance?"

"Mmm." Angelica wrinkled her nose, looking over at Alexander. Alexander looked back at her, neither critical nor approving. He was just watching, waiting to see what she would do. He would not condemn her for her choice, no matter what that choice was. "I think I'd rather dance with Alexander first. I mean, just look at him in that tuxedo of his. You're just in a linen suit, Thomas. That merits a second dance at best."

But Angelica was fair. She let Alexander monopolize her first dances, but she danced with others, too. Jefferson insisted on claiming the sixth dance, before Alexander kept her all night without Angelica realizing it. Madison dutifully cut in for the seventh dance. It was only because he couldn't find Dolly and felt uncomfortable sitting at the table with Alexander, the ghost of their former friendship haunting him, but Angelica didn't mind. She liked Madison. She didn't like him the same way that she liked Alexander and Jefferson, of course, but she liked him enough to sacrifice a dance to him. They talked about Macbeth. Madison loved Macbeth. Then James McHenry cut in for a dance. He was an awful dancer, but he'd been in love with Angelica since the third grade, so she let it slide. After McHenry, Laurens intervened. That was a bit of a surprise. It turned out that while Angelica was occupied with dancing with all of the boys in their class, Alexander had conspired with Laurens. He sent Laurens to dance with Angelica in an effort to persuade her to attend his after-party instead of Jefferson's. He wasn't all that good at making persuasive speeches, but he was a good dancer and he was a great gossip, which made him a fun dance partner.

After Laurens, Angelica settled into her seat next to Alexander, just in time for the proclamation of prom king and queen. It was overdramatic and stupid, but it was a tradition and she was undoubtedly going to win, so Angelica shut her mouth and smiled.

"You're beautiful." Alexander told her in a low voice as the announcer rambled on and on about what an honor it was to be declared prom queen.

Angelica turned to look at him, smiling. She still didn't know how to respond to Alexander's constant stream of compliments.

"And the prom queen is…Angelica Schuyler!"

Well, that was hardly a shock.

Still, Angelica mustered as big of a smile as she could when she received the tacky tiara and sash. She then scoured the crowd for the prospective prom king.

It was down to four potential kings: Alexander, Aaron, Jefferson, or Laurens. Each of them brought a different tone to the competition.

Alexander was…well, Alexander. It was so easy to fall in love with him. He was handsome and charming and absurdly devoted to the idea of chivalry. Aaron was handsome and very into structured cliques throughout the school. He gossiped and flirted and was at every party thrown by anyone of any social relevance at the school. He harbored the votes of the more catty students at the school. Jefferson was handsome and rich. He invited the rich snob vote. Laurens was a handsome, roguish figure that would only receive the votes of the hopeless girls he took on a single date and never called again.

"As for the prom king…Alexander Hamilton, come on up!"

Angelica smiled, surprised to realize that she was relieved. Since when had she started to care about something so stupid?

Alexander bounded up the stairs to receive his own tacky crown and sash. He grinned at Angelica as he was crowned.

"Now," The announcer, a teacher that Angelica had never had, said with a knowing smile. "It's time for the king and queen to have their first dance."

"First?" Angelica mouthed to Alexander, laughing.

"Just go with it." Alexander mouthed back, also laughing.

He held out his hand towards Angelica, grinning. Angelica took his hand, allowing goosebumps to erupt all over her body.

Once they were on the dance floor, Alexander pulled her close and began to sway with the music.

"I was hoping that I would win." He murmured as they moved.

"Were you really?" Angelica asked, mildly surprised. She couldn't imagine Alexander caring about stupid social trophies such as prom king.

"I was." Alexander confirmed, sensing Angelica's surprise. "I didn't want one of those other guys dancing with you again; not when you look so beautiful. And shiny." He was looking at the gaudy tiara placed atop her head.

Angelica rolled her eyes and pouted. Alexander just laughed.

"Not even Laurens?" She asked, hoping to draw Alexander's attention away from the gaudy tiara. "You sent him to hound me earlier."

Alexander sucked his teeth and shook his head. "I won't be making that mistake again. Now he's in love with you, too. You're something mystical, Annie. It's impossible not to fall in love with you."

"Laurens falls in love with anything in a dress." Angelica reminded him.

"That's true." Alexander hummed. "But I'm not taking any chances. The last thing I need is for him to steal you away when I'm stuck standing on the sidelines. Which is why I think that maybe we ought to go to Monticello after prom."

"Jefferson is already trying to get me to break up with you." Angelica reminded him, glancing over at where Jefferson was standing.

"But he hasn't yet." Alexander grinned. "Which is why I'm willing to take my chances with him."

"You're arrogant." Angelica accused him.

"I am." Alexander admitted, his mouth quirking into a grin. "But I'm also very much in love with you."

"Then you just might stand a chance."

The music stopped playing just as Alexander was leaning in to kiss Angelica. Neither of them really cared.

"I'm bored with prom." Alexander rumbled in Angelica's ear as the other students rushed back onto the dance floor. "I don't want to share you with everyone else. Can't I have you to myself for a little while?"

"Arrogant and selfish." Angelica admonished playfully. "How do you manage to get by?"

"Annie, I'm serious." Alexander looked into her eyes. His pupils, usually small and sharp, were roughly the size of a dime. That is to say, they were three times their normal size, threatening to swallow Angelica whole.

"Let's go outside." Angelica suggested. "Cool off a little bit. I've got some jeans in my car. I want to change out of my dress before I eat something of actual substance. After that, maybe we can go to the diner across the street, have a piece of cake, then head to Monticello."

That was obviously not what Alexander had in mind, but he didn't seem to mind. He smiled. "Yes, please."

Out they went. They stepped outside, only to find Laurens sitting on the curb and smoking a cigarette.

"You alright, pal?" Alexander asked, looking down at him curiously.

"Sure." Laurens answered, flicking some ash off of his finger. He looked at Angelica as he spoke. "Just got too crowded in there for my taste. What about you two? Sneaking off already? Martha'll notice, you know."

"Yeah." Alexander agreed, glancing back in the direction of the hotel. "Probably. But the food they're serving is terrible, so we're going to the diner for something better. Want to come?"

Laurens glanced at Angelica, very clearly trying to gauge how welcome he would be. Angelica looked back at him blankly. She did not want to seem fake by insisting that he tag along, but she wouldn't mind if he were there, either. Apparently, it was just the kind of attitude that Laurens had been looking for.

"Alright." He agreed at length. "Yeah, sure. There's another half an hour left of prom and I can't imagine being surrounded by those people for another minute."

Alexander and Laurens leaned against Angelica's car and talked while Angelica changed into clothes more comfortable than the dress that her mother had forced upon her when she heard that Angelica was a shoe-in for prom queen.

After Angelica emerged from her car, now donning jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of keds, they walked down the street to a diner they had seen when they arrived at the hotel. Angelica offered to pick up the tab. It was the least she could do, she insisted, since Laurens had invited her to his party. He was apparently trying to keep the guest list exclusive. The boys reluctantly agreed.

It was a nice way to pass a half an hour. Angelica got a piece of cake that she knew would wreck her diet. Alexander got a burger. Laurens picked at the fries that came with Alexander's burger and eventually snuck a piece of Angelica's cake when he thought that she wasn't looking.

When it came time for Laurens to leave to begin setting up for his party, Angelica said something she had not pictured herself saying when the night began.

"Why don't we help?"

Alexander turned to look at her in surprise. "I thought you wanted to go to Monticello?"

Angelica shook her head, smiling. "I've got all summer to spend time at Monticello. Let's go to this party for a little while."


"You're good for him." Laurens remarked a few hours later at the party. It could have been the half a dozen shots of Jager that he had consumed in a rather short period of time, or it could have been the spirit of the evening, but while Alexander was off trying to find a bathroom not occupied by drunk teenagers fumbling with drugs, Laurens looked at Angelica like he had just figured her out. "I thought that you would be bad for him, but you're not."

"Thanks. I think." Angelica smirked, sipping at her glass of (boxed) wine slowly.

"I didn't mean that as an insult." Laurens insisted. "The exact opposite, actually. I've just…I've never liked one of Alexander's girlfriends before. They're always trying to bridle him; trying to get him to settle down and stop trying to accomplish things. You're not like that, though. You're really just here to work with him, aren't you?"

"You're losing me, John." Angelica admitted, hopping up to perch on the hotel's grubby counter while Laurens struggled to find the right words.

"You and him. You're a team. Your problems are still your problems, and his problems are still his problems, but you help each other out when you have the time and resources. But you still have separate lives, y'know? Most of his old girlfriends wouldn't have come to my party. Most of his girlfriends didn't like me. Didn't like how Alex acted around me. Y'know?"

"Sure, John." Angelica smiled, taking another sip of the wine. "Anyway, I think you're good for him, too. He seems much more confident around you. Less like he has to try to prove himself."

"Hammie's never been very confident about his social standing." Laurens sighed, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He glanced at Angelica as he placed a cigarette between his lips. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Angelica's brother smoked. He often smoked on his balcony, which resulted in smoke filling Angelica's room whenever she opened her window. Secondhand smoke had stopped bothering her years ago.

Laurens nodded and lit the cigarette.

"Ugh, John." The smoke might not have bothered Angelica, but it seemed to bother Billy Duer. "Take that outside, man."

Laurens shrugged and nodded towards the hotel balcony, inviting Angelica to join him. Angelica shrugged and followed along.

"You're going to school in England next year, aren't you?" Laurens asked once they had settled on the balcony. They were both sitting on rickety hotel furniture that neither of them trusted too much. They both kept their feet on the ground, just in case.

Angelica nodded. "Oxford."

"Nice." Laurens sighed, exhaling smoke. "Hammie's been talking about it for a while. He's going to be sorry to see you go, from the sound of it. Are you two planning on keeping in touch while you're away?"

"You're nosy." Angelica told him.

Laurens smiled toothily. "Just a concerned friend."

"We haven't really talked about it." Angelica told him. She didn't know why.

"You ought to. He's been worrying himself sick about it for weeks now." Laurens said thoughtfully.

"Maybe I will." Angelica mused, taking a long sip of wine.

"There you are." Alexander materialized in the doorway of the balcony. "I thought you might've gone home."

"Nah. Duer just kicked me out. Angelica was keeping me company during my exile." Laurens replied, smirking at Angelica before returning his attention to his cigarette.

"Well, look at you two. Bonding." Alexander took a seat next to Angelica on the rickety chair, smiling at her approvingly.

"Mm. Sort of. We were telling embarrassing stories about you." Angelica lied, wrinkling her nose as she smiled at Alexander playfully.

"Ah. Which one?" Alexander didn't seem to mind.

"The one where you cried during Parent Trap." Laurens answered, using the same bored tone that he always employed when saying something particularly funny.

Angelica turned to look at Alexander, her eyes alight with amusement. "You cried during Parent Trap?"

"It was a sad movie!" Alexander argued, trying to pretend to be outraged when he was really just as amused as Angelica was.

That's how they spent their evening. Angelica and Laurens becoming fast friends - often by joking at Alexander expense - on the balcony of Laurens' hotel room. The guests eventually cleared out, allowing Laurens to smoke in the sanctity of his own hotel room, but Alexander and Angelica remained behind to help him clean up. Teenagers really did make a tremendous mess when they partied. Once the room was cleaned up, it was four in the morning and neither Alexander nor Angelica were sober enough to drive. So Laurens invited them to stay in the hotel room until checkout time the next morning. Instead of insisting on sleeping in the main bedroom of the room, Alexander removed the cushions from the couch and the chairs and threw them on the floor. He sprawled across them and wrapped an arm loosely around Angelica while Laurens told a story about Alexander getting stuck in a slide when they were eight.

That's where they fell asleep, laying on cushions on the floor of Laurens' hotel room, like one giant sleepover. It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't the kind of ending that you see to movies about high school parties, but it was by far one of the best nights of Angelica Schuyler's teenaged life.


I know - teenage drinking is bad, but at least they didn't drive that night! Anyway, I apologize to everyone waiting patiently (and some of you, less patiently) for me to update every Friday. I'm a law school student with very limited time, so I am doing the absolute best that I can! That said, the semester is getting crazy and papers on Coram Nobis take priority over fanfiction, unfortunately. :(

Still, things should hopefully slow down soon. Till such time, enjoy this latest chapter!