Coffee (Lams)

Chapter 14 (Advice)

(You thought that was the last of me? I'm back, and trashier than ever! Plus, I have more assignments to ignore, and more pressure to do well in school! :) Wonderful! Now, I have to warn you that I have zero experience with relationships, and while I do know a little bit about the components of a successful relationship, I don't know a lot. I just went with the most generic piece of advice out of sheer necessity and lack of internet while I was writing this. Also, it might be necessary to clarify that they aren't exactly a couple yet, per se, or at least they don't call themselves one.)

It had been a few days since Laurens had seen Hamilton, although it could have been longer. Every day was blurring together into a tiring mix of school, work, wedding planning, and the studying for the quickly approaching finals. It could just be the fact that Laurens was usually so tired at that point in the day that he had the cognitive function of a three year old, but he didn't even remember seeing Hamilton at the coffee shop. Something was off. Laurens decided to walk down to Hamilton's dorm. When he got there, Burr was sitting on the floor with papers scattered around him.

"Ah, Laurens! I assume that you're here for Alexander." He says, waving cheerfully.

"Yeah, where is he?" Laurens asked.

"In three, two, one..." Something thudded in the other room. "And he's done it again."

"Done what, exactly?"

"Passed out at the computer. I don't think he's slept in... three days? Four? I've honestly lost track. There's finals, debate team, I think at one point he got in an argument with several middle-aged Trump supporters and staked out at the computer for almost a day, hitting refresh and muttering under his breath. So, normal things." Burr shrugged. Laurens stepped over him and his papers, and headed for the small adjacent room. Hamilton's face was smashed up against his keyboard, his cheek making a constant line of "f"'s on his document. Laurens pulled him back into an upright position and closed his laptop. He walked back and sat on their couch.

"Hey, Burr, would it bother you too much if I waited here for him to wake up? I kinda need to talk to him." Laurens asked.

"Well, kind of? I mean, I am trying to study. Can you be quiet?" Burr responded, looking over at Laurens expectantly.

"Actually, I think that there's somewhere else I can go, nevermind."

Laurens stood at the Schuyler's door. He took a deep breath, and knocked three times. The door opened, and Laurens was knocked back by a very excited Peggy Schuyler.

"John! I haven't seen you in AGES!" She yelled, "How's Alex?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh, you know. Pushing himself too hard like a madman, as always." Laurens shrugged. Peggy nodded knowingly, and ran back into the dorm. Angelica, tall and slightly intimidating as always, stepped forward.
"I always get so worried about him when he gets like this. He's going to hurt himself if he keeps going on this path." She says, putting a hand on Laurens' shoulder.
"Actually, there's... another reason that I came here. I need... I need advice." Laurens stammers.
"So, I really, really love Alex, you know, and I kinda want to take this thing we have to the next level, but I'm not exactly... experienced with love, you could say. I've pretty much never dated, save for one short thing in middle school that no one shall ever speak of again. I guess I'm asking you, even though we haven't known each other for all that long, because I get the feeling that you know about this sort of thing. Am I right?"

Laurens was laying on the Schuyler's couch, the sisters gathered around him expectantly.

"By "thing", do you mean "being really gay"? Because I'm quite proficient in that!" Eliza boasts.

"He's asking for relationship advice, not "how to fuck your girlfriend really loud and keep your sisters up all night on the day before midterms", 'Liza. Trust me, you're not the best person for this job." Peggy scoffs. Eliza gasps.

"Okay, wow. Rude." She sniffs, and storms out of the dorm.

"Margarita Schuyler, go apologize to her. Now." Angelica scolds. Peggy scrambles out of the room after Eliza, calling her name. Angelica turns back to Laurens.

"Now, I might not be the best person to give relationship advice, as I am very aro, but the best thing you really can do is be honest. Just tell him how you really feel. And, if things don't go well , blame T.V. dramas!" She says, laughing. Her advice both comforted and scared Laurens. What if things did go wrong? The last thing he should be doing is worrying, but the seeds of anxiety had already been planted, and he walked to his class imagining all the ways that this could go wrong.