Coffee (Lams)

Chapter 4

(A quick explanation about the chat handles: Lafayette and Hercules made each other's chat handles (as a fun relationship thing, ya know) and the horrible ones they came up with stuck.)

Laurens arrives at the classroom right on time, to his amazement. He slides into his seat right before the professor enters the classroom, carrying a stack of freshly photocopied papers. As he starts passing them out, Hercules leans over and whispers,

"Did you get my messages?"
"Yes, Hercules, I got all thirteen of them." Laurens answers.
"And?" Hercules asks excitedly.
"Yes, it was adorable. I just wish that you hadn't sent them to me when I was almost asleep."
Laurens rubs his eyes, and yawned. Today was a lecture day, and it would be tough to stay awake. Hercules nudges him, and Laurens looks over at him expectantly. Hercules hands Laurens a coffee.
"I got this for you, hopefully you won't fall asleep in class again." He offers as an explanation.
Laurens takes a sip. It's prepared with cream only, just the way he likes it.
"Thanks, Herc."
"Don't mention it, Johnny-boy!" Hercules says, winking.
As the professor stood in front of the class, talking about...something, Laurens sipped the coffee. He would occasionally write down a few notes on the more important things, his mind was mostly focused on the events of this morning. How Hamilton's smile had made his stomach feel like it was tied in knots, and how said smile was stuck in Laurens' brain. Jotting down some final notes, he tries to push Hamilton out of his brain, focusing intently on the lecture to drive the unwanted thoughts away. Hercules giggles. Laurens looks at him for an explanation, and he points at Laurens' notes. Laurens looks down, and a crimson blush spreads across his face. While he'd been listening to the lecture, he'd absentmindedly written Hamilton's name a dozen times in the margins of his notebook, each surrounded by a swarm of little hearts.
"Care to explain?" Hercules writes on Laurens' journal.
Laurens buries his face in his hands, shaking his head vigorously.
"Oh my god, I need to tell Laf about this." Hercules says as he takes his phone out of his pocket.
"No, no no no no nooooooooooooo..." Laurens whines. His phone buzzed. Hercules had told Lafayette, and on the group chat, no less.
Hercu-LOSER: laf, guess what
Nya-fayette: give me the dirty details.
Hercu-LOSER: [Attachment: 1 Image]
Hercu-LOSER: our little johnny boy is in loooooove
Nya-fayette: :O
While he was reading the messages Hercules had sent, furious and blushing, Hercules snapped a quick picture of him.
Hercu-LOSER: [Attachment: 1 Image]
Hercu-LOSER: look, hes so embarrassed
rest-on-your-laurens: hercules i am actually going to strangle you.
Laurens glares at Hercules with an intensity that could kill. Hercules, still smiling, says,
"Don't worry, I'll help keep your secret. I am your friend, after all."
He sends one last message in the group chat.
Hercu-LOSER: laf, meet us at the normal lunch spot, we need to have a squad talk
"So, our little Johnny-boy is in love? Zat's wonderful!" Lafayette says when the other two arrive at their lunch spot.
"I know, right? I thought I'd never see the day!" Hercules answers.
"I'm right here, guys." Laurens calls out.
"We know." They both answer at once, and then continue with their banter.
Laurens was annoyed that they were talking about him like he wasn't there.
"So, what are you gonna do?" Hercules asks.
"What?" Laurens inquires, confused.
"What are you going to do about your little crush?" Lafayette elaborates.
"Ignore it?" Laurens guesses.
"Wrong!" Hercules yells. "You've got to act!"
Laurens gulps.
"Oui, mon amie. You can't just stand by idly hoping your crush will notice you. I know this from experience. Act! Maybe it'll work out in your favor!" Lafayette exclaims.
"That's nice, but have you thought of the flip side? What if he rejects me? Burr will find out, since they're roommates, and I'll never live it down! Never!" Laurens rants.
"Wow."
Laurens shakes his head. He packs up the remainder of his lunch, and stands up.
"Sorry, guys. I think I need to take a walk and clear my head."
He storms off, leaving behind his awestruck friends.

Hamilton knocked on the dorm room door. A girl wearing a yellow dress answers.
"Eliiiiiiiza!" She yells.
"Peggy, I think that's a little bit too loud." Hamilton chides. To this, Peggy just shrugs. She moves out of the way and another girl wearing a blue sweater takes her place.
"Hey, Alexander." Eliza says.
"Eliza, I need advice."
Eliza pulls him inside the room, and pulls the door shut.
"So, what's the problem?" She asks.
Hamilton wonders if he should just tell her the truth outright. He knew she was trustworthy, and that she'd keep it a secret. He wasn't sure if he wanted to face it himself. He takes a deep breath.
"Eliza, I think I'm in love..."
"From the other room, he could hear Peggy squeal.
"Well, what's the problem with that?" Eliza asks, confused.
"I, um, haven't really interacted with him more than twice, and one doesn't count because I was half asleep. I have no idea if he even knows my name, and it's driving me insane."
"Oh."
"So, Liz, can you help me?" Hamilton inquires.
"Only if you promise not to call me "Liz" again." She huffs. "So, what's their name?"
"He never told me his name." Hamilton admits.
Hamilton did know his name, though. He'd had a name tag on at the coffee shop. He really didn't want Peggy to know who he was, or give any hints as to where he worked.
"Ooh, him?" Eliza teases.
"Oh no, now I've given away too much information!" He jokes.
They talk for a while longer. The sisters try their hardest to get information out of him, but he remains an impenetrable fortress. That is, until he "accidentally" divulges some more information about his crush. Angelica asks that she be left alone with Hamilton. Eliza obliges, taking a very annoyed Peggy out of the apartment to run errands.
"So, who is it?" Angelica asks.
"Can I trust you to keep a secret?"
"You can trust me." Angelica answers.
Hamilton sighs.
"John Laurens." He reveals.
Angelica nods. Hamilton explains that he has to go write an essay for class, and she nods again. He exits the Schulyer dorm room and heads back to his own, hoping that Burr's friends wouldn't be there. He couldn't stand them.