Chapter 21: May You Always Be Satisfied

"A toast to the groom!" Angelica shouted. She wasn't drunk. Nobody was drunk, but partying hard for several hours will still leave a person out of sorts, it seemed. Everyone was chaotically singing and shouting to Alex and Eliza in one of the Schyuler mansion's large rooms.

"This isn't a wedding," Alex complained.

"To the groom!" everyone shouted, raising soda cans, bottled water, and in rare cases, actual glasses in the air.

"To the bride, from your sister, who is always by your side,"

"Why are you singing?" Alex asked.

Burr chuckled as he walked up to Alex's side. "Just a few rhyming words I cooked up on the fly. Everybody's tripping over themselves to salute you."

"To your union, and the hope that you provide." Everyone was listening to Angelica, but no one was watching her. If they were paying the slightest bit more attention, they might have noticed the blatantly pained expression on her face, or the fact that the hand holding her cup was shaking so badly that the drink inside of it was spilling on the floor.

"And may you always be satisfied."

Rewind…

Chapter 17: Another Round Tonight

It was another Friday night as October 15 faded away and turned into October 16. Angelica Schyuler stood outside of Sam Adams and watched Alexander enjoying himself from within.

Alexander Hamilton. She didn't even know his name a month ago. Now, he was everything to her. Everything.

The boy in question finally looked up from his drinking and saw Angelica standing there outside. He rose to his feet and made his way over to the door.

Butterflies immediately erupted in her stomach. There was nobody in Angelica Schyuler's life who had ever made her nervous, but somehow, Alex did. Alex could do what nobody else could.

Alex opened the door and stood next to her. He began to look through the window of the bar in the same way she did, as though he was trying to see what she saw.

"Angelica," he finally said. "It's a bit of a surprise for me to see you around here."

"Alexander," she retorted. "It's not a surprise at all for me to see you around here."

"You wound me so badly. Do I really spend so much time here?"

"Yes."

The two of them settled into silence once more. John was animatedly talking to Eliza about something.

"You know, you seem like someone who will never be satisfied."

"Excuse me? I think you're forgetting yourself here."

"I'm sorry." He genuinely did look sorry, for once. The fiery, unstoppable Alexander Hamilton looked sorrowful for his actions. "It's just… I always thought you were like me. I'm never satisfied."

"Is that right?"

"I've never been satisfied."

In a sudden move, Alex reached over and gently grabbed her hand. Angelica let him have it as he raised it to his lips and kissed it.

Immediately after this gesture of affection, Alex dropped her hand as though it was a hot stone, suddenly looking horrified at his own behavior. Muttering an unhearable apology, he retreated back into the bar.

Angelica felt like she was floating. What was this feeling? Was this what love was? She felt freed. Yes, Alexander clearly didn't learn upper-class etiquette or go home to a mansion over the holidays, but that hardly mattered. She was falling for him anyway.

Not fifteen seconds after Alexander had left, Eliza came out and took his place by Angelica's side. The million thoughts racing through the older Schyuler's head halted as her sister began to speak aloud.

"I think I'm in love," she whispered, so softly that Angelica almost didn't hear it.

"Who's the lucky man?" Angelica probed, pretending to not know.

"Alex. You know him. Alexander Hamilton."

Angelica embraced her sister, just so that she wouldn't see the tears threatening to spill over. She knew what had to be done, but that didn't make it any easier to do it.

"Then we'll make him yours, 'Liza. He's yours."

Rewind…

John Laurens was completely, unequivocally bi. That was just what he was.

Unfortunately for him, he grew up in the deep South, which was not exactly the friendliest towards folks like him. He'd learned to just keep to himself, and he swore that he'd never come out. Not to his peers. Not to his siblings. Not to the world. That was simply the way things were.

This didn't work out very well. John was never an actor - he was always outspoken, always out there, and he could never hide a secret. The entire Laurens family knew that something was wrong, and they all treaded around the issue as though they were walking on a frozen pond.

Eventually, John couldn't take it anymore. Coming out to his father had been one of the most difficult things he'd ever done in his life, but he'd done it. It took him two tries to get the words out of his mouth, but he'd done it.

John had half-expected to get beaten over the head about it or disowned or something. He was not. Henry Laurens loved and trusted his eldest son, and if his son was telling him that he was bi, well, then he was bi. He would accept it.

After the hugs and the nods and hearing his father say it was all right (quietly), the two would reach a certain unspoken agreement. John would not celebrate pride month, he wouldn't write gay fanfiction, and he most certainly would not bring any boys home, much as he sometimes wanted to. He would not flaunt himself. In return, his father would allow John to be who he was. There would be no fits of rage, no disowning. Henry would be tolerant.

Of course, John wasn't an idiot. He knew that things could have been better, that he shouldn't have to be stifled like this. But it was more than he could have hoped for, and so he was happy.

Over the years, he'd had many a crush on a girl or boy he saw. Infatuation, he called it. Nothing important, and nothing he'd ever act on.

Then he met Alex. From the moment he saw him in the bar with Aaron Burr, John knew exactly what was going on. At long last, he'd found his soul mate. He'd found the one he was meant to be with.

John had never met someone so beautiful in his entire life. When it turned out that Alex did the same things he did and stood for the same things he did, well. There wasn't any stopping his heart from going out yonder.

But then, of course, he had to go and fall in love with Elizabeth Schyuler at first sight. Just his rotten luck. His competition was literally the most ideal girlfriend to ever exist. Smart, beautiful, kind. Perfect.

John held no hate for her. It's difficult to do that when you've been bosom friends since kindergarten. Of course, that didn't mean there wasn't any deep-sated bitterness and envy.

The two of them mattered more. For their sake, he'd swallow his pride and stand to the side. He'd try his best to be satisfied with being "just friends" with Alex. He'd learn to be satisfied. He had to.

Angelica nearly ran out of the room that everyone was in after finishing, not paying attention to where she was going. Once she was out of the crowd, she sat down against the wall. Silent tears began to pour, physically shaking her.

She looked up for a moment. It was late at night, just like how it was when she gave up Alex for two months or so ago.

The memory of that time made her cry harder. This was some sort of sick joke the universe was playing on her. It had to be. She would never be satisfied.

"Hey," a weak voice said.

Angelica looked up. Huddled in the opposite corner of the area was none other than John Laurens, tear marks identical to her own streaking his face.

The two of them just looked at each other for a little bit, both of their hearts stolen by the same man.

God dammit, Alexander.

If you couldn't tell, I had this chapter in the works for a pretty long time. I very much enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

If you did enjoy it, please leave a review and/or favorite. It feeds the soul. Fanfiction authors love it when you guys do that.

Until next time!