George and Martha were hosting a graduation day brunch. They had invited Eliza, who was - of course - going to the graduation ceremony to cheer on both Alexander and Angelica. Once they invited Eliza, they decided to make it a family soiree. So Angelica was forced to tag along to Mount Vernon to watch Alexander and Eliza fawn over each other for three hours before the graduation ceremony.

"Girls!" Martha was thrilled to see them. She pulled Angelica and Eliza into a hug that just about crushed them both. "I'm so glad that you could make it! George, the Schuylers are here! Alexander, Eliza is here!"

"Did Angelica come?" Alexander called, the sound of his footsteps sounding down the hall.

Angelica's heart leaped. Alexander was asking for her, not Eliza.

He appeared behind Martha. "Annie, there you are. Did you bring your speech? I wanted to practice mine, maybe get some criticism, and I thought that you'd give me the most honest criticism."

"Alexander, brunch is in ten minutes." George reminded him sternly, walking into the lobby.

Martha stepped back from the doorway, allowing the Schuylers into the mansion.

"Can't we eat in my room?" Alexander pleaded. "This is important. It's my speech. I'll be free to attend all of the brunches that you want this summer, I just really need not to mess up this speech. Please."

"Let them go." Martha rolled her eyes, smiling good-naturedly. "But bring your plates back down when you're done."

"Yes, Martha." Alexander grinned before grabbing Angelica's hand and dragging her into the kitchen.

"Grab some food." He instructed her, piling food onto a plate of his own. "This might take a little while. My rough draft is thirty pages long."

"Thirty pages?" Angelica asked, astonished. "But you're only the salutatorian!"

Angelica had managed to become the valedictorian through several nights of studying and crying. Alexander was stuck as the salutatorian, left to make a speech after Angelica's headliner speech.

"I've got a lot to say," Alexander said sheepishly, watching as Angelica stacked her plate with croissants and scrambled eggs and spinach.

"Mine is five pages and I thought that was long." Angelica teased, following Alexander up the hauntingly familiar path to his bedroom. She could hear Eliza telling Martha about her summer plans. She didn't seem worried about the two of them disappearing to Alexander's bedroom. Angelica wished that she was worthy of her sister's trust.

"Congratulations on making valedictorian, by the way," Alexander said, opening his bedroom window and climbing out onto the roof. Angelica followed after him, carefully clutching her plate.

"Thank you. I told you that it would happen."

"I never doubted you for a minute." Alexander wasn't lying. Angelica couldn't prove it, she just knew it.

"So let's hear that thirty-page speech of yours." Angelica settled onto the roof, preparing to hear the lengthy speech that Alexander had created.

It was good. Angelica hated to admit it, but she could not think of a single page worth taking out of the speech. So when Alexander looked at her, his lavender eyes sparkling and his mouth set in that hopeful grin of his, she didn't quite know what to tell him.

"I think it's great, Alex." The truth. What a rarity. "Really. I don't know what you should take out. I think that it all flows together perfectly."

"I can't give a speech that's thirty pages long." Alexander reminded her, still grinning. "You said so yourself."

"And you've got a lot to say." Angelica reminded him playfully. "You said so yourself. Keep the speech. If the school doesn't like it, they can set a limit next year."

So they reached an agreement; Alexander would keep his thirty pages so long as he told everybody - only half-jokingly - that Angelica had told him months ago that she would beat him out for valedictorian, and that she had proven him wrong in accomplishing this feat. It wasn't much of a concession. Alexander willingly acknowledged this fact every time that Angelica brought it up. It seemed to Angelica that Alexander was prouder of her accomplishment than she was.

When they arrived at the football stadium where the graduation ceremony was to be held, Church materialized by Angelica's side. Alexander cast her an amused smirk before wandering off in the direction of the stage. While most of the students would spend the ceremony sitting on folding chairs, Alexander and Angelica would spend the ceremony onstage. Only the valedictorian and the salutatorian were allowed this "honor."

"There you are." He beamed. "I've been looking all over for you! I know you only have a minute before you have to take the stage, I just wanted to wish you luck. I know that you'll do great."

He pulled Angelica into a crushing hug before he was even finished talking, wrinkling her graduation gown and knocking her cap askew in the process. Though he was only trying to be nice, Angelica's eyes narrowed and her mouth curved downwards into a harsh frown.

"Church, you're messing up my cap." She complained, squirming out of the hug.

"Sorry, Ang." Church smiled sheepishly.

"Mm." Angelica forgave him with the ghost of a smile. "I have to go now. The ceremony's going to start any minute."

"Okay." Church was miraculously forgiving of Angelica's impatience. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Angelica did her best to muster a smile before darting off in the direction of the stage to join Alexander. Church, meanwhile, found his seat in the sea of folding chairs.

"Are you ready?" Alexander asked as Angelica took a seat next to him on the stage.

The school's principal cleared her throat at the podium. The ceremony was beginning to start.

As Angelica watched the principle struggle through her keynote address, she began to get nervous. She had never spoken publicly before. Sure, she'd spoken in front of a judge in mock trial, but that was in a courtroom full of 20 people at most. Now, they were looking at 100 people who all knew Angelica. All of those people were expecting Angelica to say something of importance; something that mattered.

"I can't do this." She whispered to Alexander, her lips trembling.

He wouldn't understand. He had written 30 pages of perfection. He had so many important things to say that he had to sort them 1-100 by priority. He lived for public speaking opportunities.

When he looked over at her, though, his eyes were full of understanding. His mouth tilted up into a reassuring smile. He reached out beneath his robes and took Angelica's hand in his. His hand was clammy and just a little bit too warm, but Angelica held it tight like a lifeline.

Eliza couldn't see it. That was how Angelica justified herself. The crowd couldn't see their hands past the stately podium and the pile of robes surrounding both Angelica and Alexander. And even if they could, this was a completely platonic interaction. Angelica was scared. Alexander was comforting her. Almost like a brother.

Of course, Angelica didn't believe herself. Not even a little bit. She loved Alexander just as much as she had when she left him waiting at the liberty bell. But Alexander loved Eliza, which was what kept this interaction acceptable. That did not soothe Angelica's aching heart, though.

"And now, our class valedictorian - Angelica Schuyler - has a speech prepared." The principal turned around to smile at Angelica proudly. Angelica didn't notice. She was looking at Alexander. He smiled and nodded slightly. He mouthed the words "you've got this." Angelica nodded dimly, releasing Alexander's hand and stumbling up to the podium.

"Hi, guys." She started off her speech, smiling nervously. There was laughter from the crowd. That was when Angelica knew that Alexander was right. She had this.

Her speech went well. By the time it was over, there was a standing ovation. People threw their caps up onto the stage. Angelica caught one of them. Judging by the design on the back, she figured that it was Jefferson's. She winked at the crowd and brought it with her to her seat. As she sat back down, she locked eyes with Alexander. He was grinning at her proudly. His eyes were gleaming. Somehow, that was worth more to Angelica than the applause of a hundred classmates.

"You're up." She told him with a smile. She knew that his speech would outshine hers, but she couldn't bring herself to mind.

"I -" Alexander said as he stood up from his seat. He paused and turned around to look at her again. "Good speech, Annie."

Angelica beamed as Alexander took the podium.

"Hi, everyone. I'd like to start off my speech by congratulating you all on making it to this finishing point - even when none of us thought we would make it - but the fact is, Annie made me promise that I would tell you all that I started out the semester as the valedictorian, but she told me from the get-go that she would beat me out for it. As you can see, Annie has never been one to shy away from a challenge." After Alexander began this part of his speech, he turned around to smile at Angelica. She smiled back at him, her heart hammering against her chest. Maybe he belonged to Eliza, but that didn't mean that she couldn't savor this moment.

The rest of Alexander's speech was a call for action. It was encouraging his peers to seek out further education. It was instructing them to find a lesson in everything, whether they were going to college or straight to work. It was promoting the idea of learning constantly.

Alexander Hamilton really was too good for this world.


"Your speech was so good!" Eliza exclaimed as both Angelica and Alexander found their families. The Washingtons were with the Schuylers. Philip and George were having a lively conversation about something or the other. Martha and Eliza were smiling at Angelica and Alexander. Mrs. Schuyler was lecturing Philip Jr. for cheering too loudly during the ceremony.

"Which one?" Alexander asked playfully, wrapping an arm around Eliza's waist and kissing her forehead.

"Both of them," Eliza said decidedly.

"She liked mine best," Angelica smirked. Alexander shook his head, grinning.

"Angelica!" Jefferson bounded over to the group. "Hey, congratulations. That was one hell of a speech. Are you coming to my party this afternoon?"

Angelica turned to look at Alexander. George and Martha were looking at Jefferson curiously. Jefferson noticed just a second too late. Angelica took advantage of it. "Is Alexander invited, too?"

"Of course." Jefferson tried to sound optimistic, but his facial expression gave him away. "Hamilton, you and Eliza are welcome to come, too. You know where my house is, don't you?"

"Sure do." Alexander grinned. "Betsey, you want to go?"

Eliza frowned. "I have tennis lessons at three o'clock. Unless I can skip them…" She looked at Mrs. Schuyler hopefully. Mrs. Schuyler shook her head.

Alexander nodded. "Too bad. Well, Annie and I will tell you all about it when we pick you up from practice, how about that?"

"Okay." Eliza didn't seem certain, but Angelica did not focus on that fact.

Alexander was going to go to Jefferson's party with her. It could be like the first party they went to together. They could find a corner together and people watch. Alexander could rant about Thomas' far-too-casual clothes. Angelica could laugh at Aaron trying to flirt with girls. They could play another prank on Alexander's friends. They could go back to Mount Vernon and eat cake and sit on the roof and talk about a future that didn't have to include Eliza or Church or anyone else.

"Great." Jefferson's smile looked more like a grimace. "Then I'll see you both there."

As he walked away, he crossed paths with Church. Church was newly freed from his family and headed for Angelica.

"Ang!" Sure enough, he broke through the barriers that Washington had created. "Hey! Your speech was fantastic! I don't think I've ever seen anyone in this school pay attention for more than three minutes before. Are you going to Jefferson's party? Billy just told me about it."

"Yeah, Alex and I are actually about to head over. Do you have a ride?" Angelica hoped that Billy had offered Church a ride. She didn't want to share a car with both Alexander and Church.

"No," Church turned around to look at Billy. Billy was among a completely different group of people now. The chances of bumming a ride off of him were slim to none. "I didn't think to ask. Couldn't I just go with you?"

"Okay." Angelica reluctantly agreed. "Mama, do you mind if we go?"

Mrs. Schuyler looked at Angelica, a frown on her lips but a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. Angelica had asked her as an afterthought because she knew that once Alexander, Jefferson, and Church were counting on her to go, Mrs. Schuyler could not possibly refuse. Especially not in front of the Washingtons.

"As long as you pick your sister up from tennis afterward." Mrs. Schuyler decided, hoping to convey an air of authority.

"Yes, Mama." Angelica nodded, allowing Mrs. Schuyler this authority.

"Go." Mrs. Schuyler instructed, wanting to be annoyed without much success.

Angelica didn't need to be told twice. She smiled and grabbed Church's hand and pulled him in the direction of the parking lot. Alexander kissed Eliza's cheek before dashing off after them.

They ran all the way to the parking lot. Angelica wrenched open the car door and hopped in, trying to ignore the fact that Church took the passenger's seat. Alexander didn't seem to mind taking the back seat. Still, Angelica wished that Alexander would take the passenger's seat. She wished that he would hold her hand the entire way to Monticello, the way that he held Eliza's hand opening night of the play.

"Oh, uh, Alexander, I meant to tell you. Your speech was really great, too. What you said about finding the lesson in everything…I really get that, man. You learn something new every day." Church said as Angelica drove the all-too-familiar route to Monticello. "Guess I should be afraid to ask, but where are you going to school, anyway?"

"Columbia," Alexander answered bashfully. "Princeton wouldn't let me in."

"Really?" Angelica didn't know about that. "Princeton? They let Aaron Burr in!"

"Don't remind me." Alexander laughed. "When I heard that he got in, I cried myself to sleep for a week straight. But they're particular about their two-year program. The only person I know who has gotten in is Madison. I cried myself to sleep over that for three weeks. Can you believe that? Madison. He's only third in the class! He must be in every extracurricular in school to pull that off."

"He got a perfect score on his SATs." Angelica shrugged. "Maybe that's what did it."

"Did he really?" Alexander asked, leaning forward so his head was poking out into the space between Angelica and Church's arm rests. "Son of a bitch. That's only twenty points higher than me. What about you? What'd you get? Where are you going to school, anyway? How come I've never asked you that before?"

Angelica suspected that Alexander was speaking to her, but for some unfathomable reason, Church answered.

"I only got a 1760. Guess I'm a slacker next to you guys. But, uh,"

"We're here." Angelica interrupted as they pulled into the Monticello driveway. Oddly enough, though, she realized after speaking that she didn't know what Church was doing for college, either. She had spent most of her second semester worrying about herself.

She had applied to an exclusive study abroad program at Oxford. They had a great media program. It had been a shot in the dark, but somehow, Angelica had been accepted. She was flying to Oxford at the end of the summer. Far from Church. Far from Alexander. So it didn't really matter what Church was doing next year; Angelica would most likely find someone knew by the time the year ended. Hopefully, someone that could make her heart pound the way that Alexander Hamilton could.

"Angelica!" Jefferson lit up the moment they walked through the gate into Jefferson's spacious backyard. "You made it! And…you brought the local riff raff with you. Hamilton. Church." Jefferson nodded towards both Church and Alexander. Church smiled good-naturedly. Alexander smirked. "Can I get you a drink?"

"I'm okay," Angelica answered as Madison and Dolly made their way over to the group. "I have to pick Eliza up from her tennis lessons after this."

"Mm, I might have a gin." Alexander mused, his eyes flicking over to Madison. "Something just has me in the mood for some nice, bitter, pungent gin."

"Oh, god." Madison covered his mouth with his hand and ran off, most likely in the direction of the bathroom to vomit. Dolly frowned at Alexander before following after Madison.

"Fuck you, Hamilton." Jefferson scowled, taking off after Dolly and Madison.

"So." Alexander grinned as he turned around to look at Angelica and Church. He led them through the backyard in the direction of the outside bar. Angelica didn't bother asking how he knew where the bar was as he plucked his favorite brand of beer (which Angelica had memorized after so many nights out with Alexander) out of a cooler and flicked off the cap. "I believe we were talking about college before we were so rudely interrupted by Jefferson. Where are you two headed?"

"I'm going to Oxford," Angelica answered before Church could cut her off again.

"What?" Alexander's face dropped. "Oxford? Where's that? I mean…you're not…you can't mean England, right?"

"I mean England." Angelica tried to act excited. It was surprisingly difficult when Alexander was looking at her like the news was breaking his heart. "I got accepted into their study abroad program for media studies."

"Media studies?" Smart as Alexander was, he didn't seem able to comprehend the meaning behind Angelica's words.

"I want to be a news anchor," Angelica replied with a smile and a shrug.

"Really? You?" Alexander's mouth curved into a small smile. "Are you going to be one of those saucy Fox news anchors? The dime piece in the room to make all of the politicians seem like they don't hate women?"

"Excuse you, I'll be a professional." Angelica pretended to be offended. "And I would never work for Fox news."

"And you're just going to let her go off to England to pursue this glamorous lifestyle?" Alexander asked, turning to look at Church. He was smiling playfully, but his tone was one that Angelica had never heard before. It was like he was searching for some kind of other answer.

"I'm actually going with her," Church responded with a grin.

"What?" Alexander and Angelica asked at the same time.

"Boy, you all look madder than a bat out of hell." John Laurens remarked, wandering over with a cigarette dangling from his lips. He nodded towards Angelica and Church before grinning at Alexander. "What, did Jefferson come over here and start telling you all about the show horse his dad's looking at?"

"Close," Alexander responded, eying Church warily. He was so clearly thrown off by Church's announcement that he didn't even scowl as Jefferson emerged from his mansion and approached them again.

Meanwhile, Angelica didn't look away from Church. She had not invited him to go with her to Oxford. She hadn't factored him in at all. When she made a list of apartment listings to call about, she hadn't even thought about where Church might sleep if he tagged along. They were all cramped studio apartments. Moreover, Angelica wasn't even sure that she wanted Church there. This was going to be her adventure. This was going to be the first thing she ever did on her own.

"What's going on here?" Jefferson asked, looking from Alexander to Angelica suspiciously.

"Church is going with Angelica to England," Alexander answered.

Angelica raised her eyebrows, surprised that Alexander was the one to answer Jefferson's question.

"Really?" Jefferson folded his arms across his chest and turned to look at Church. "Then I guess I'll be seeing a lot of you two next year."

"Wait, what?" Alexander dropped the façade that he'd been working so hard to employ. "You're going to England, too? And you knew that she was going in the first place?"

Okay, so Angelica had told Jefferson about her study abroad program instead of Alexander. To be fair, though, she got the phone call alerting her to her acceptance while she was out on a lunch date with Jefferson. Jefferson had consequently made a call to his father asking to use their summer home in France for the summer. He and Angelica had planned to spend the summer vacationing throughout France. Church was apparently going to ruin those plans.

"Of course I knew." Jefferson clearly enjoyed that fact. "But I'm not going to England. I'm going to William and Mary, but I'm spending the summer in France. It's just a few hours away from Oxford, so I thought I'd pop by and visit an old friend from time to time."

"I'm sure you did," Alexander said, his eyes narrowing. He then looked at Angelica. He wasn't smiling. His lips were tugging downward. "Annie, why didn't you tell me that you were going?"

"I never found the time," Angelica replied, quite truthfully. Alexander was always with Eliza.

"Never found the time?" Alexander echoed weakly.

"So, tell me, John." Jefferson was the only one who insisted on using Church's first name. "What're you doing in England? Did you get into the Oxford program, too?"

"No, of course not." Church laughed. "I'm not a genius like Ang is. But I worked it out with my dad. His company has a branch in London, which isn't too far from Oxford. My dad said I could start learning the ropes at his company while taking a few online courses and he'd pay for a house over there." He looked at Angelica, smiling sheepishly. "I didn't want to tell you until I knew that it was certain. I just closed a deal on a house in Oxford last week."

"Are you serious?" Mrs. Schuyler had insisted that Angelica pay for her own housing, as they were paying for the Oxford program itself. Angelica had been planning to live in pretty terrible places to be able to afford to eat through the school year.

"As a heart attack," Church answered, ducking his head down to get a better look at Angelica's facial expression. He was trying to gauge her reaction. "We can move in by the end of the summer. It's completely paid off; no mortgage or rent to worry about. And I'll be making six figures every year, so you don't have to worry about that awful part-time job you were looking at. You know, the one at the pub."

"That's…amazing." It solved Angelica's problems, but it took the adventure out of the whole thing. Next year was no longer Angelica's big, scary, exhilarating European adventure. It was now falling into the safety net of Church on an international basis. "Wow. I can't believe you would do that…without me even asking. Um. Wow. What a surprise. Um, I think I need a drink. To celebrate."

While Church stared after Angelica inquisitively and blearily fielded Jefferson's pointed questions about his and Angelica's future in England, Angelica stumbled across the yard to the outdoor bar. She poured herself a rather large glass of tequila, her hand trembling the whole time. Ruined. Her whole adventure was ruined. She couldn't reject Church's offer because it was so generous and so completely vital to her existence, but it was also so wholly unwelcome that she couldn't help but resent him for springing it on her.

"So, you and Church - off on your own English adventure?" Alexander asked from behind her. Angelica turned around, her shaking hand threatening to spill her tequila all over the Jefferson's manicured lawn. "And Jefferson thrown into the mix, too. How fun."

"What is it you're trying to tell me, Alexander?" Angelica asked, as though she didn't know.

"If you accept that offer - if you go and live in that house - you're going to marry him. You're never going to be able to get out from under that shadow and see the world. See that there might be something else for you." Alexander answered, looking down at his shoes as he spoke. He only looked up as he added, "I wish you would have told me that you were leaving."

"Would it have made a difference?" Angelica demanded pointedly. She didn't say the words, but they hung in the air all the same.

You don't need me here. You have Eliza now.

"You don't have to do this." Alexander tried again.

"Who said that I did?" Angelica asked though she knew perfectly well that she had, in fact, convinced herself that she had to accept Church's offer.

"Annie." Alexander's eyes were pleading.

"Just stop it, Alexander." Angelica snapped. She knew that she was lashing out unnecessarily, but she could not stop herself. "Stop trying to save me, or whatever you think it is that you're doing. I'm not your damsel in distress. I'm not a princess in a tower. I'm sorry that I'm doing something that you don't like, but don't think for one second that dating my little sister gives you the right to start telling me what to do with my life."

She stomped off before Alexander could think of some kind of response to her tirade. She joined Church and Jefferson near the pool. Jefferson told them about the best places to visit in France. Church showed Angelica pictures of the house he'd bought. John Laurens ambled about, occasionally giving some sort of surprising trivia about France before wandering off again.

"So, we know what you're doing next year," Jefferson said, obviously tiring of Church discussing everything that he and Angelica would do while in England. "What're you doing this summer, Angelica? Any hot plans?"

"I'm going to an immigration rally next week," Angelica responded, knowing full well that neither Jefferson nor Church would want to go with her. Jefferson loved to advocate for the average Joe, but hated to go to rallies or demonstrations where he would be surrounded by "commoners." As for Church, well, he just wasn't very interested in politics.

"You're going to the immigration rally?" Alexander took a seat in the pool chair next to Jefferson. Jefferson turned to look at him irritably. Alexander didn't take notice. "I was going to go to that, too. Have you heard about the rally down at the airport next month? There's going to be training to be a legal spectator."

Angelica looked at him for a moment. Alexander smiled apologetically as he waited for her response. Angelica accepted this silent apology. She didn't have much choice. She couldn't stand to be mad at Alexander.

"Is there really?" She asked.

Relieved that he had gotten a response out of her, Alexander's smile widened. "Yeah, it's down at the law school for free. I registered for it yesterday. You should come with me. It'll be cool."

"Definitely. Did you see the sit-in happening on the mall?" Angelica asked.

"No, what's it for?"

"Prisoner rights. Apparently, there's been an outbreak of abusive corrections officers." Angelica replied.

"Yeah, I'd definitely like to go to that. Can you send me the link with more information?" Alexander asked, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

They spent the rest of their time at Jefferson's party registering and passing information for different rallies and protests throughout the summer. By the time they left to pick Eliza up from tennis lessons, they had basically booked themselves for an average of two protests a week. They had plans to protest just about everything under the sun. As they drank more and found more events, they grew more and more excited. They began to call their future summer the, "Summer of Bail Outs over Bailouts." They were planning on getting arrested at least one or two times during the summer. They counted on Eliza bailing them out. They decided that it was best not to tell Eliza this until it was absolutely necessarily.


Rewind

George and Martha were hosting a graduation day brunch. They had invited the entire Schuyler family over for the affair. Despite her previous crush on Alexander, Eliza was happy to attend along with Peggy, Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler. Angelica all but dragged them down the road, racing up the walkway of Mount Vernon and knocking on the door.

Alexander answered the door himself. He grinned when he saw Angelica standing on the doorstep, the rest of the Schuyler family lagging behind.

"You made it." He was speaking only to Angelica. "And it looks like you made your family walk here."

"I wanted you to read my speech." Angelica justified, thrusting the three pages she'd only just finished two hours before in Alexander's face. Alexander grabbed the pages and immediately began to skim them.

"We can make that happen," He rumbled as the rest of the Schuyler family finally made it up the walkway. "Mr. Schuyler, Mrs. Schuyler, thank you for coming! Eliza, looking lovely as always. Peggy, up top!"

Peggy still had to jump to catch Alexander's high-five.

"Angelica!" Martha beamed, materializing next to Alexander. "And the Schuylers! Come in, come in. Alexander, you can't keep people standing out in the doorway."

"Brunch is in ten minutes." George reminded Alexander, walking into the lobby where the Schuylers were shuffling in.

"Can't we eat in my room?" Alexander asked, gesturing to Angelica. "This is important. We haven't gotten to check our speeches yet. I'll be free to attend all of the brunches that you want this summer, I just really need not to mess up this speech. Please."

"Let them go." Martha rolled her eyes, smiling good-naturedly. "But bring your plates back down when you're done."

"Yes, Martha." Alexander grinned before grabbing Angelica's hand and dragging her into the kitchen.

"Grab some food." He instructed her, piling food onto a plate of his own. "This might take a little while. My rough draft is forty pages long."

"Forty pages?" Angelica asked, astonished. "But you're only the salutatorian!"

Angelica had managed to become the valedictorian through several nights of studying and crying. Alexander was stuck as the salutatorian, left to make a speech after Angelica's headliner speech.

"I've got a lot to say," Alexander said sheepishly, watching as Angelica stacked her plate with croissants and scrambled eggs and spinach. "About ten pages of it is about you."

"Me?" Angelica asked, arching an eyebrow and smirking. "How could you find ten pages of things to write about me?"

Alexander grinned. "Annie, I could write a whole book about you."

Angelica rolled her eyes and smiled as she followed Alexander up the familiar path to his bedroom. At this point, she could have found her way from the front door to his bedroom blindfolded. "Mine was five pages and I thought that was long."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You're better at getting to the point. Probably the reason you did so much better than me in AP Lit. Well, that, and you somehow managed to keep me busy the entire weekend before our term paper was due, yet miraculously finished your paper with time to spare." Alexander remarked, opening his bedroom window and climbing out onto the roof. Angelica followed after him, carefully clutching her plate.

"If I remember correctly, I wasn't the one trying to keep you busy. I remember getting four different text messages from you telling me about parties that we just had to go to. I wrote four pages of my paper on Aaron Burr's couch while you and John played quarters." Angelica bit back smugly.

"I don't remember that."

"That's because you lost," Angelica said. "Tom had to help me carry you into the car by the time the party ended. You shouldn't play drinking games that you aren't good at."

"I'll remember that." Alexander grinned.

"Let's hear this forty page speech of yours." Angelica decided, leaning against Alexander's windowsill and preparing herself to hear what might've been the lengthiest speech in the world.

It was good. Even the parts about her. Angelica hated to admit it, but she couldn't think of a single page worth taking out of the speech. So when Alexander looked at her, his lavender eyes sparkling and his mouth set in that hopeful grin of his, she knew what she had to tell him. The truth, as always.

"I think it's great, Alex. Really. I don't know what you should take out. I think that it all flows together perfectly. Although…maybe we don't need the part about Philadelphia."

"I can't give a speech that's forty pages long." Alexander reminded her, still grinning. "You said so yourself."

"You said it yourself, you've got a lot to say." Angelica reminded him playfully. "And a quarter of it is about me. How could I possibly tell you to scrap that?"

"How much of your speech is about me?" Alexander asked, pulling Angelica's speech out of his pocket. "At least a quarter, I hope."

"Mmm, I might need to revise it," Angelica said, reaching to snatch her speech out of Alexander's hands.

"A fifth?" Alexander struggled to read the speech while Angelica tried to grab it from his hands.

"I didn't know we were going for that angle!" Angelica laughed, crawling over Alexander in an effort to get the speech. "I thought that we were just trying to wish our friends luck with their futures!"

"I pour my heart out in front of the whole school and you won't even give me a simple shout out?" Alexander chuckled. "I thought you loved me, Annie!"

"Let me just write it in!" Angelica laughed, finally wrenching the speech out of Alexander's hands. As her arms moved backward in a violent jerk, her plate went careening off of the roof. It shattered into a million pieces on the pavement below. The one sad croissant that Angelica had not yet gotten to rolled down the driveway.

"Alexander!" Martha yelled from the first floor. Both Alexander and Angelica exchanged grimaced smiles before climbing back into the window and clomping down the stairs to the first floor.

Alexander quickly swept up the shattered plate - which Angelica, of course, blamed him for - before they headed to the ceremony.

Alexander and Angelica scurried away from their families to sit on the stage in front of everyone while the rest of the students took their seats on the folding chairs in front of the stage. Alexander sent a picture to Jefferson, bragging about being on-stage while he and Madison, the poor plebeians, were sitting on folding chairs on the turf. Angelica sent a text apologizing for Alexander's behavior at the same time.

"Are you ready?" Alexander asked as the principal took the stage. Angelica smiled half-heartedly in response.

The principal cleared her throat at the podium. The ceremony was beginning to start.

As Angelica watched the principal struggle through her keynote address, she began to get nervous. She had never spoken publicly before. Sure, she'd spoken in front of a judge in mock trial, but that was in a courtroom full of 20 people at most. Now, they were looking at 100 people who all knew Angelica. All of those people were expecting Angelica to say something of importance; something that mattered.

"I can't do this." She whispered to Alexander, her lips trembling.

He turned to look at her, his eyes full of understanding. His mouth tilted up into a reassuring smile. He reached out beneath his robes and took Angelica's hand in his. His hand was clammy and just a little bit too warm, but Angelica held onto it like a lifeline.

"And now, our class valedictorian - Angelica Schuyler - has a speech prepared." The principal turned around to smile at Angelica proudly. Angelica didn't notice. She was looking at Alexander. He grinned at her and nodded. He mouthed the words "I love you." Angelica nodded dimly, releasing his hand and stumbling up to the podium.

"Hi, guys." She started off her speech, smiling nervously. There was laughter from the crowd. That was when Angelica knew that her speech would turn out alright. If you could make them laugh, even just once, you opened the door to the perfect speech. It was the one piece of advice that Alexander had given her on the car ride over.

"Now, I know that this has been great, and you could listen to me speak all day long, but I also know that some of you are asking, "who's that treat in the cap and gown back there?"" Angelica turned around to wink at Alexander. Alexander chuckled and shook his head, his face reddening. "That treat just happens to be the very smart, very well-spoken Alexander Hamilton, our class salutatorian and your next speaker. He's going to wow you with his speech - believe me, I've already heard it - but just remember, you liked mine first. Congratulations, everyone!"

There was a standing ovation. People threw their caps up onto the stage. Angelica caught one of them. Judging by the design on the back, she figured that it was Jefferson's. She winked at the crowd and brought it with her to her seat. As she returned to her chair, she locked eyes with Alexander. He was grinning at her proudly. His eyes were gleaming. Somehow, that was worth more to Angelica than the applause of a hundred classmates.

"You're up." She told him with a smile. She knew that his speech would outshine hers, but she couldn't bring herself to mind.

She was about to sit down as he stood up, but he took her by surprise when he sprang out of his seat, grabbed her by the waist, and kissed her in front of the entire school (not to mention both of their families).

There were wolf-whistles, howls, laughter, and applause from their classmates. All of their teachers were either amused or horrified. The principal was the latter. Neither Alexander nor Angelica cared. They were, after all, graduating from her clutches.

When he released her from his hold, he smiled. "Good speech, Annie."

Angelica rolled her eyes and shakily took her seat, trying like hell to pretend that the kiss hadn't affected her nearly as much as it had. Alexander, meanwhile, strode up to the podium like nothing had happened. As he leaned into the microphone, he cracked his characteristic grin.

"Hi, everyone. I'd like to start off my speech by congratulating you all on making it to this finishing point - even when none of us thought we would make it - but the fact is, we really owe the ever-beautiful, fantastically brilliant Angelica Schuyler another round of applause. What do you say, folks?"

Everyone clapped. Jefferson wolf-whistled. Angelica smiled bashfully.

The rest of Alexander's speech was about balancing work and life. He talked about the importance of going home from school and enjoying little things, like the occasional party, spontaneous road trips, a loved one's birthday party, a well-cooked meal, and the smile of a gorgeous girl who has just given a phenomenal speech. Angelica tried to pretend that part wasn't about her. Her goofy smile gave her away.


"Your speech was so good!" Eliza exclaimed as both Angelica and Alexander found their families. The Washingtons were with the Schuylers. Philip and George were having a lively conversation about something or the other. Martha and Eliza were smiling at Angelica and Alexander. Peggy was playing some sort of video game, obviously bored with the whole procession. Mrs. Schuyler was lecturing Philip Jr. for cheering too loudly during the ceremony.

"Which one?" Alexander asked playfully, wrapping his arms around Angelica's waist and resting his chin on her head.

"Angelica's," Eliza said decidedly. "But yours was a close second."

"She liked mine best," Angelica smirked, tilting her head back to lock eyes with Alexander. He grinned and kissed her before she allowed her head to fall forward again.

"Angelica!" Jefferson bounded over to the group. "Hey, congratulations. That was one hell of a speech. Are you coming to my party this afternoon?"

Angelica turned around to face Alexander. George and Martha were looking at Jefferson curiously. Jefferson noticed just a second too late. Angelica took advantage of it. "Is Alexander invited, too?"

"Yeah. Of course." Jefferson tried to sound optimistic, but his facial expression gave him away. "You're always welcome, Hamilton. You know where my house is, don't you?"

"Sure do." Alexander grinned. "Although, I don't know if I ought to go somewhere that Laurens and Lafayette aren't invited. I don't want them to feel left out."

"Lafayette isn't invited?" Washington spoke up. Jefferson looked horrified. "Why not? Thomas, you would like Lafayette. John, too. Fine fellow. None finer."

"No, no, yeah, they're definitely invited. Both of them. Bring them with you." Jefferson rambled nervously. He was so desperate for George Washington's approval.

Alexander smirked. "I'll let them know."

"Am I going to have to drive them over?" Angelica asked Alexander, folding her arms across her chest and arching an eyebrow.

"John's got a car," Alexander assured her.

"Perfect." Angelica beamed. She turned to Mrs. Schuyler. "Mama, do you mind if we go?"

Mrs. Schuyler looked at Angelica, a frown on her lips but a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. Angelica had asked her as an afterthought because she knew that once Alexander and Jefferson were counting on her to go, Mrs. Schuyler couldn't say no. Especially not in front of the Washingtons.

"Your curfew is midnight." Mrs. Schuyler decided, hoping to convey an air of authority.

"Yes, Mama." Angelica nodded, allowing Mrs. Schuyler this authority.

"And not a minute later."

"Yes, Mama."

"A minute later, and you will not be going to that rally next week."

"Yes, Mama."

"Go." Mrs. Schuyler instructed, wanting to be annoyed without much success.

Angelica didn't need to be told twice. She smiled and grabbed Alexander's hand, pulling him in the direction of the parking lot.

They ran all the way to the parking lot. Alexander opened the driver's side door for Angelica, kissing her before she climbed in. He then slid across the hood of the car - trying in vain to reenact some scene he'd seen from a movie from the 80's - to the passenger's side. After he recovered from his topple onto the pavement, he crawled into the passenger's seat and smiled good-naturedly as Angelica laughed at him.

Angelica looked away to focus on the road as she drove the familiar route to Monticello. Alexander, meanwhile, did not look away from Angelica.

"I can't believe you're going to England in two months." Alexander murmured as Angelica drove.

Angelica turned to glance at Alexander just briefly before returning her eyes to the road.

"England's not very far."

"Three thousand three hundred and twenty-six miles."

Angelica changed her approach. "I'll come home during every break. You can wait until Christmas, can't you?"

"Four months and twenty-four days." Alexander sighed, leaning back in his seat.

Angelica looked at him again, her lips twisting into a reluctant smile. "Do you have to turn everything into a number?"

"I like to quantify," Alexander remarked, not quite smiling.

"Then quantify how much I love you, would you? Maybe that'll hold you over while you're marking down your calendar."

"I should've applied to that program." Alexander mused.

"No, you absolutely should not have. First of all, it's completely focused on the liberal arts. You would have gone insane, Mr. I-like-to-quantify. What would you have done? Written poetry for four entire years?" Angelica reminded him. "That's not what you want to do, Alex. Go to Columbia. Get your degree. Get into Georgetown Law. By the time you do everything that you need to do, I'll be home again."

"You don't have to be so practical," Alexander grumbled, though they both knew that Angelica was right. "I could have been a hopeless romantic chasing you around the globe."

"Tom's already got that covered." Angelica reminded him playfully.

Jefferson had already begged his father to let him use the Jefferson's summer home in France for the summer for the purpose of being nearer to Angelica. Angelica had not asked him to, nor had she made any promises to even see him over the course of the summer. But she'd probably see him. It was hard to resist a lavish mansion in France over stuffy dorms in Oxford.

"Ah, that makes me feel so much better." Alexander snapped, frowning.

A joke about Jefferson was apparently the wrong thing to say.

"Hey," Angelica cooed as she pulled into the Monticello driveway. "You know what this is. We both do. I love you, Alexander. More than Tom. More than Church. But if we're going to survive the next four years, we can't be worried about who the other is with. I don't want you asking me when I'm going to see Tom next; I want you asking me when I'm going to see you next. I want our relationship to be the only one you're focused on. Do you understand me?"

They had been over this several times before. Angelica told him that she would not ask questions about who he went out with at Columbia. She would never look through his social media accounts for any girl that might be hoping to usurp her position. She would just ask him to text her every once in a while, and maybe take her out to a nice dinner when she was home on breaks. She asked him to tell her if he ever suspected he might not love her anymore. Alexander had protested the entire conversation; he'd even accused Angelica of angling for such a relationship in the hopes that he would let her date other guys. Angelica brushed off this accusation, telling Alexander that she had always been inclined to date whom she pleased. She just hadn't felt like dating anyone else when Alexander lived approximately 1.3 miles down the road from her house.

"I understand." Alexander sulked.

"Hey." Angelica quirked a smile. "Cheer up. We still have the whole summer together, remember? And this is a party. You can't sulk around a party."

"I could." Alexander insisted.

"You shouldn't." Angelica amended. "Or you'll never get invited to another party again. Come on. I see John and Lafayette going into the backyard."

"Alright," Alexander grumbled, exiting the car as Angelica emerged from the driver's side.

The moment they reached Jefferson's backyard, Alexander made a beeline for the outside bar, where Hercules Mulligan and Lafayette were trying to open a bottle of champagne without Jefferson noticing. John Laurens was leaning against a tree a few feet away, chain smoking cigarettes and watching his friends with a bemused smile. Since Jefferson seemed busy talking to Madison and Dolly, Angelica decided to join Laurens by the tree. Oddly enough, they had become fast friends since prom night.

"He asked you to stay again, didn't he?" Laurens asked as she approached.

"Not exactly," Angelica said pointedly, grabbing the rum and coke that Laurens was holding in his non-smoking hand and taking a long sip. "Now he's annoyed that I didn't ask him to follow me to Europe."

"What would he do in Europe?" Laurens asked with a chuckle. "He thinks there are too many people riding bikes in Albany. He'd go insane if he saw how many people ride bikes in Europe."

"Thank you!" Angelica remarked, relieved that someone else saw how ridiculous it was to even entertain the idea of Alexander living in Europe with her.

"Besides," Laurens said thoughtfully, taking another drag of his cigarette. "He's got a lot of things he wants to do here. If he went to Europe instead, he'd never be happy."

"I know that." Angelica huffed. "And I think that he does, too. But I think he's trying to use reverse psychology. Maybe if he offers to go with me enough, I'll suddenly decide to stay."

"Will you?" Laurens barely looked at her, already knowing the answer.

"Don't be stupid." Angelica rolled her eyes. "This is a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity."

"Back to square one, then." Laurens exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"You're just a beacon of wise words, aren't you?" Angelica sniped.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who applied to that fancy Oxford program." Laurens reminded her. "Don't take it out on me."

"I'm taking this." Angelica nodded towards the rum and coke before walking away.

"Hey!" Laurens called after her. "No one likes a thief, Angelica!"

"What'd you steal from Laurens?" Alexander asked as Angelica approached him, Hercules, and Lafayette. They were still wrangling with the champagne bottle. Apparently, three boys were not enough to get the cork out.

Angelica held up the rum and coke. "He already has cigarettes. Having two vices at once is just greedy."

"Mm." Alexander hummed, nodding his head. He was very obviously still annoyed about their conversation in the car.

"Can I speak to you for a minute?" Angelica asked, her tone leaving little room for refusal.

Both Hercules and Lafayette looked over at them curiously.

"Okay." Alexander agreed at length, following Angelica to a secluded corner of the backyard. When they came to a stop, he looked at her stubbornly. His chin jutted out. His eyes were cool and distant. His mouth curved down into a harsh frown. "What?"

"What is your problem?" She demanded. "We are at a party with all of our friends, and you're acting like you're determined to make sure that nobody has a good time."

"Why don't you want me to come to England? You didn't mind it when Jefferson said he was going to France for the summer."

Angelica let out an annoyed huff and ran a hand through her hair. "Alex, I already told you. You have things you want to do in America. Tom…doesn't. You want to get your degree, go to law school. Do you really think you can accomplish any of that while you're chasing me across England?"

Alexander pouted. "At least I would be with you."

"You would be miserable with me." Angelica reminded him with a sad smile.

"I couldn't be miserable with you." Alexander protested.

"Just…give it a year, would you? I'm only asking for a year." Angelica took Alexander's hand in hers and tried her best to make eye contact with him. "Go to Columbia, try your best. This summer, I'll either fly home or fly you out to England for the summer. If you really think that your life would be better spent with me in England, I won't argue with you. If you realize that Columbia might be better for your ambitions, you stay and I rub it in your face for the next few months. Okay?"

"The same summer that Jefferson thinks he's spending in a French villa with you?" Alexander asked hopefully.

Angelica rolled her eyes. "Yes, Alexander. The same summer that Tom will be in France."

"Angelica Schuyler," Alexander grinned. "You got yourself a deal."


Angelica is sailing off to London! Well, Oxford. Anyway! Thank you to everyone who has been super patient with me as I try to manage both this fun little hobby and the not-so-fun reality of law school. My spring break is coming up, so hopefully I'll be more or less back on track in a few weeks' time. Till then, read slowly...just not slowly enough to notice what I'm sure are numerous typos.

Happy Friday everyone!