Chapter 3: Raise a Glass

"Pardon me. Are you Aaron Burr, sir?" Alex said, grabbing the shoulder of the person he was following and forcefully turning him around.

The man - no, boy, he was still in college - spun around to face him. Tall, dark, bald, dressed sensibly and with a careful, guarded expression on his face that suddenly turned into a wide smile that couldn't be genuine.

Why does it feel like I've met this guy before? Alex questioned.

"Well, that depends. Who's askin'?" he replied.

"Well, sure, sir. I'm Alexander Hamilton, I'm at your service, sir. I've been looking for you -"

"I'm getting nervous." The other boy, who Alex was now convinced was in fact Aaron Burr, began to walk away.

Alex ran after him and began to walk next to him, still talking. "I heard your name -" Where had he heard Aaron's name? He couldn't quite remember. "Before. I was seeking an accelerated course of study."

"Woah, woah, woah." Aaron said, putting his hands up in a placating gesture. "Here. I've got some free advice for you."

I still had things left to say, Alex thought angrily.

"Talk less," Aaron suggested.

"What?" Alex replied, bewildered.

"Smile more," he continued, emphasizing his point with a hand gesture and a widening of the insincere grin on his face.

"Haha." Since when had that philosophy ever gotten Alex anywhere?

"Don't let them know what you're against, or what you're for," Aaron concluded, his voice like a winding river, trying to wash over Alex.

"You can't be serious," Alex said.

"You wanna get ahead?" Aaron questioned.

"Yes."

"Fools who get in my way end up dead."

"I'm sorry, what?" Alex questioned.

"My bad," Aaron said, hurriedly backpedalling. "I meant to say, 'Fools who run their mouths off wind up dead,'"

"So, where are we going?" Alex questioned as they came up to a building that Evan hadn't gotten to on their tour. A large wooden sign that read, "Sam Adams" hung above the entryway.

"We're going to have a drink," Aaron said, pushing the Hamilton through.

"Showtime, showtime, WHAT?" shouted a voice from within the restaurant - or tavern, now that Alex thought about it.

The place was pretty crowded, filled with all sorts of college students of all sorts of different kinds. Most of the attention, though, was seemingly focused on a table in the center, where three boys of seemingly around the same age were drinking, cheering, and singing in equal measure.

"Well, if it ain't the prodigy of our college!" said the voice from earlier, emanating from a cute-looking guy with a whole bunch of freckles.

"Aaron Burr!" all three of the people at the table chorused.

"Hey, who's the guy with you?" one of the people at the table asked, one with a very large stature.

"Alexander Hamilton. My name is Alexander Hamilton." Alex said.

"Hey, yo, I'm John Laurens in the place to be!" said the first person.

"Oui, oui, mon ami, je m'appelle, Lafayette!" the second person said, a tall, aristocratic boy with his hair done up in a ponytail.

"I don't need an introduction…" said the third person. "But I'm Hercules Mulligan. And I-"

"Sew," Lafayette interjected.

"Excuse me, but sewing is a very dignified practice!" Hercules defended while everyone else erupted into laughter.

Alex got the feeling that he was going to get along quite well with these people.

Many hours later.

"I may not live to see our GLORY!" shouted Alex in an extremely off-key rendition of the song from that musical that everyone else at the table somehow knew.

"I may nOOOOTT live to see our GLORY!" shouted John, Laf, and Herc.

"But I will gladly -"

"Sweet Jesus. How many pints of that are you going to have?" Aaron asked, literally facepalming. For being the one who suggested getting a drink in the first place, he hadn't drank one sip of alcohol.

"I WILL GLADLY JOIN THE FIGHT!" the other three people at the table chorused, drowning Burr out.

"And when OuR cHiLdReN tElL oUr STORY!" Alex continued.

"Heh heh," John muttered under his breath.

"Come of age, with our young nation," Hercules murmured.

"You will be found," Lafayette whisphered.

"Sorry, what?" Alex questioned.

"THEY'LL TELL THE STORY OF TONIGHT!" Alex's friends replied, snapping out of their own individual thoughts and back into reality.

"Let's have another round tonight!"

"Let's have another round tonight."

It was a severely drunk and confused Alex that stumbled into his dorm at 12:00 that night, only still alive because Aaron had made sure that he didn't randomly fall into a ditch or something.

Oddly enough, his roommate was still awake, the lights still on, still writing on a piece of paper, much like how he had been when Alex found him earlier that day. What was his name again? Ethan? Eddie? Something that started with an E…

"H-h-hey…" Alex slurred, before collapsing in his bed.

"Fun night, eh?" Evan's brain was admittedly a little sluggish as well. He was having a hard time formulating words.

"Yeah….." Alex looked thoughtfully at the wall for about ten seconds. "I think I'm going to have a great time here."

Evan sighed. "Good for you. Good for you."

And that was the first day.

Hey all. Thanks to all of you fine people who left a few words. I really do appreciate it.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you're having a good time. Relax, take a break, and spend some time with your family. Time is ticking quickly, and I'm glad that you've spent some of yours reading my fic.

Until next time, True Readers!