Notes: I have a list of things. This will be a long notes section. Sorry.

1. I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SO LONG I'M SO SORRY! My main excuse is that school is KICKING MY ASS but I'm also just... lazy...

2. I SAW HAMILTON! In Chicago! It was really good! I cried a lot! Ahhhh! Feel free to PM me if you want to here me ramble about how wonderful it was

3. This is pretty short, so sorry about that, I just wanted to get something up.

4. I have the rest of the story vaguely planned out. We might be skipping ahead in time in the next chapter. Also if anyone has been to prom and wants to tell me many details about it: PM ME I NEED YOUR HELP

5. A very merry Christmas/happy holidays/whatever to everyone reading this! I hope you all got a lot of hugs and money and whatever else you might have wanted in general, no matter what you celebrated!

6. ok but did anyone who's reading this listen to Night Vale episode 100? PM me if you did because it was so good amirite

7. I think that's all, so enjoy! Comments loved, favorites appreciated, and follows rejoiced at as always!

He couldn't get her out of his mind.

He knew it sounded cheesy, and a little creepy, but he couldn't think about anything else. Or rather, everything he thought about led to her.

Philip saw signs in the hall advertising prom and wished he could ask her out. He remembered that awful and awfully strange day in Yorktown Coffee with George… and her. He listened to Angie talk about some girl that her friend liked, but the only person in his head was Theodosia.

It was funny, the more he started realizing that he liked her, the more he fell for her. The more he could imagine running his fingers through her long, black curls. The more he could envision her beautiful eyes staring into his. The more he could see himself kissing her.

He sighed. What the heck did he have to do to either make these feelings go away, or to be with her?

George was tired of being friends with Theodosia. He felt a fierce need to protect her, and to make sure no one hurt her, sure. And no, he didn't think she was to blame for Philip's arrogant and irritating nature. But it was just so exhausting to be around her if Philip was going to stand in the way of their friendship. So no, it wasn't fair, to him or to Theo, but he figured it was time for him to fade away. Nothing messy, nothing angry. It would hurt him, but if he did it right, maybe it wouldn't hurt anyone else.

He didn't want to leave Theodosia behind, but he had to stop. The closer he looked, the more obvious it was to him that she liked Philip. Romantically? George wasn't sure. But maybe it would be okay for them to be together, if George kept an eye on them from farther away. Maybe Philip could control himself, keep his mouth shut, make Theo happy. Maybe it was time for George to let go.

*****December 31- the Hamilton household's basement*****

"New Year's Eve used to be a lot more fun before, well, you know…" Angie shrugged as her face shone in the light of a flashlight in the dark basement. It was true. The Hamilton family used to have a huge New Year's party at their house, full of friends and fun, but after the Reynolds Affair was exposed, many of their celebrations like that came to an end. After the mild healing between Alexander and Eliza, some, like the Christmas party, had been reborn, but the New Year's party remained a thing of the past. Nevertheless, the children of the family liked to hold their own makeshift gathering in the house's basement. Now, with seven of them in total, including baby Lizzie being held by Al and little Billy in James' lap, the basement sofa arrangement was completely full.

"Alright, guys," Angie said, standing up, with pieces of paper and freshly-sharpened pencils in her hands. "We're all gonna make lists of New Year's resolutions."

"Says who?" Complained John.

"Says me. Come on, no one else will have to read it. In fact, you can, I don't know, burn it as soon as you write it if you really don't want to keep it. But write something, okay? Just think about it."

Philip nodded, and as conversation in the room began to pick back up, he sat out, thinking about his resolutions. He could write the traditional things, like "Exercise!" or "Eat a healthier diet," but if he was being completely honest, he would write, "Talk to Theodosia." Or "Flirt with Theodosia." Or… whatever. Prom was coming up, after all. He didn't want to wait too long, and his feelings were eating him up inside.

In all truthfulness, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to take Theo to prom, and he definitely had great doubts that she reciprocated his feelings in any way at all. But his New Year's resolution wasn't to necessarily accomplish those goals. He just needed to try.