Even though he'd awoken in a bed without Hamilton, Laurens still felt totally cloaked in his presence, and stayed under those sheets until the piercing buzz of the door shattered the silence. Much as it would eventually come to shatter all that he'd known. He struggled and was slow to get out of bed, something he knew Hamilton hadn't been able to get his head around at the start of their relationship. That man was hardly real, Laurens thought, smiling to himself. The smile was ripped from his face when Jefferson's voice boomed through the little speaker beside the door. "Laurens? We need to talk. Can you come out here?"

With the upmost hesitation, he replied, "Right now? What's this about?" The feeling of severe unease had already began to settle in solidly in the pit of his stomach. He ran a hand through his hair as he waited for Jefferson's reply, teasing out some of the knots that had gathered as a result of a good night's sleep. As he did, he pinched and massaged the bridge of his nose, sighing and annoyed that he'd drank so much the night before.

"It's concerning your family." Jefferson firmly exclaimed, his voice quiet, as if he was hiding from someone else or something else, the specificities of which Laurens couldn't quite comprehend in that moment. Maybe Jefferson thought Hamilton was still in the apartment.

"What," Laurens' voice was flat and unwavering, not giving away any of the anxiety he was, in reality, feeling. Laurens wasn't up for Jefferson's games. Unlike Hamilton, who often tiptoed around directly insulting their boss with eloquent language, Laurens wanted always to get straight to the point and be frank with him. Jefferson was an asshole and shouldn't be regarded as anything above that, Laurens thought dryly.

"You need to talk to me, please. If you want them to ever talk to you again. I don't know if you've already figured it out, or if you've even scratched the surface of what's been happening. You're no fool, John, I know this. So come outside and we can talk about how exactly it is that I am going to bring down Hamilton, or you will both suffer the consequences of not negotiating."

Laurens' chest tightened. This was it. He wanted to run to grab his phone and call Hamilton, even if he was in class he'd understand. He needed to know that something was about to go down even if Laurens didn't even know what that was yet. "I just need to get dressed..."

"Be quick. I'm serious, Laurens. I've already spoken to your parents. Be quick."

As he stumbled backward, away from the door, the magnitude of these moments started to settle in his mind. They lodged their way right in there, and he felt as he was sure Hamilton must've for those days when he was completely detached. He felt helpless.

Thinking that he was returning, he didn't take much, just the clothes that he was wearing and his phone. Before he left, he lay a hand, slightly shaking, on Hamilton's pillow and sighed. He seemed in a trance, as if his thoughts were just beyond reach and he'd lost that steady grip on them he'd had just minutes before. Everything had been so cemented on honest reality. Now he was spun into something that made him feel disillusioned. Jefferson had already broke Hamilton once. And Hamilton was one of the strongest people and definately the smartest man he'd ever known. Just thinking about facing Jefferson without him by his side made Laurens nauseous.

It was snowing lightly when he stepped outside and cursed himself for wearing inappropriate footwear for the snow. Then cursed himself again when he realised, in the rush, he'd forgotten to call Hamilton. He didn't close the door behind him, but Jefferson stepped around him, reaching to pull the handle and close it out. "No worry, you won't be returning for a while." Laurens was shocked into silence, he just let Jefferson continue talking. And how good he was at talking. It was the only real similarity he shared with Hamilton. A quality which, despite the person to whom it belonged, Laurens was grateful for. He wished Hamilton to spontaneously show up, even though he knew his class was still hours away from finishing. As Jefferson talked, he fiddled with his hair; pushing it out of his face, combing his fingers through it, twirling it around a finger. All nervous habits. He was trying to distract himself from words that he knew could, and would, seal his faith, whatever that was going to be.

"You see, your parents received a copy of your book. Burr's just after delivering it to them. Fine guy, Burr. You know, I think he will be a better lawyer than Hamilton. He's far more distinct, persuasive..." Laurens almost laughed. Was Jefferson's grand scheme merely to out him to his parents?

Yes he was reluctant to tell them. They would meet it with the same type of slight disapproval that they had all of his previous life decisions. But he knew they loved him and they just wanted the best for him. They would come around quick, if they hadn't already and-

That thought was interrupted by what Jefferson said next. The very sentences that would string it all together in ways far different than what he'd imagined. Somehow, he'd imagined both worse and better. But it was probably just as bad as Jefferson could muster without breaking any laws he cared about. "So. Obviously I messed around with the text and now your parents may have a very...unfavourable opinion of Hamilton.." Jefferson smiled, wide and taunting. Every bit of the ill-disposed conspirator he was showed through in that smile. "..and what your relationship...is. I may have also had Burr send copies of that altered text to all of your parents' close friends and family... just because." He winked at him. "And now! They want you to get the next plane to Puerto Rico. Right now. I've called us a cab already. I promised them I'd see you to the gates. They don't hate you, Laurens. Your parents are very good people. But you've hurt them, you see." Jefferson pulled him closer by the arms, reached over to growl in his ear, "Now you'll know better than to ever bring homosexual filth into my business. Or any business. You lured Hamilton in, in quite the same way I altered Hamilton's text to depict his actions towards you. You've been his downfall, I hope you see that. And trust me, I've much worse planned for him to get Alexander Hamilton out of the picture if you don't take this opportunity to leave here and leave his life. Much. Worse."