"i'm sorry, what?"

"elizabeth schuyler, please tell me that this is a joke."

"well, dear, don't forget that you're always welcome at home. and don't let those boys do anything you don't want, okay?"

angelica, philip, and catherine schuyler, respectively, after being informed of eliza's current position.

· · ·

"angie, please, you've got to understand-"

"oh, i understand plenty," angelica growled from where she sat, across from eliza at a small table at seabury's, the local café. "i understand that alexander hamilton is a complete and utter douchebag and that as soon as i can, i'm going to get gil to kill him."

"ange, please don't," eliza pleaded. "it's not worth-"

"don't! do not say that!" angelica was no longer looking at eliza. she had pulled out her phone and was furiously typing something. "you are worth it, elizabeth schuyler. do you understand?"

"angelica!" eliza finally snapped. "thank you, and i appreciate it, really, but please! don't bother laf with this. alex isn't worth his time."

eliza cringed internally. she had been thinking more and more lately about forgiving alexander. she would never really trust him again, and she sure as hell wasn't getting back with him, but maybe forgiving him wasn't completely out of the picture.

of course, she couldn't tell anyone that, because they would all think she was crazy.

angelica frowned. "you're right," she finally muttered, putting the cell phone back on the table. "still, i think i might pay him a visit sometime this week."

on the inside, eliza was spilling everything to angelica- everything about wanting to forgive him and maybe attempt friendship. but on the outside, she just shrugged.

"just don't kill him, okay?"

angelica met eliza's eyes and suddenly softened, reaching across the table and taking eliza's hands in her own. "i'm so sorry, 'liza. you didn't deserve this."

eliza shrugged, struggling to hide the tears in her eyes. "i love you, angie," she muttered, squeezing her sister's hands.

angelica gave her a soft smile and squeezed back before changing the subject.

"so... tell me about your new roommates, huh?"

· · ·

"elizabeth, you know we would never turn you away. why on earth would you think that it was necessary to move in with two men?"

eliza groaned. she had been trying to explain this to her father for hours, and didn't seem to be making any progress.

"daddy, we're just friends. that is possible, you know."

"just wait until they're comfortable with you, eliza. they'll be begging you for things that even alexander would never have thought of."

philip's dark glare said everything that he wasn't saying out loud: that he had never approved of alexander anyway; that eliza was too trusting and therefore too easy to hurt; that he did not believe in her ability to care for herself. eliza knew that he thought those things, but refused to acknowledge it. she was, after all, grown woman and could deal with her own issues.

"dad, i'm staying with thomas and james. end of story. you don't have to like it if you don't want to, but that's how it's going to go."

philip glared but didn't object, which seemed like a triumph in eliza's eyes.

· · ·

"thanks mum. i really appreciate it." eliza smiled at her computer screen, where the somewhat fuzzy image showed her mother's smiling face against a hotel room's backdrop. catherine was on a business trip in virginia, and would be there for almost another month. eliza had considered waiting until she came home to share the news with her mother, but she didn't want anyone else to accidentally let it slip before eliza had a chance to bring it up.

hence, the skype call.

"something tells me your father isn't happy with this," catherine chuckled, eyeing her daughter's expression. "i assume you've told him?"

eliza nodded wearily. "'just wait until they're comfortable,'" she quoted her father, rolling her eyes slightly. "i think he thinks that james and thomas are animals." she scoffed and shook her head. "he's not happy, no, but he didn't tell me i couldn't, either."

catherine smiled warmly. "he'll warm up to the idea, i'm sure. they sound like wonderful young men and i'm sure that once your father meets them, he'll approve." she offered eliza an encouraging smile, and eliza grinned.

"you're right." she stifled a yawn. "sorry, mum, it's getting late and i still have a bit of unpacking to do. i'll call you tomorrow." she blew a kiss and hung up.

[is this me, writing random shit while I try to brainstorm? never.
okay that is exactly what this is I'm sorry]