A New Day [Hamilton AU]

Chapter 8

*Alex POV*
"Im going out to the mall with Herc and Laf. Laf needs some clothes of his own. Do you want to come?" I looked at up John, squinting my eyes as they adjusted from the close screen to looking far away.
"I can't. I have to finish this essay for English."
"How much do you need to write?"
"Five pages"
"And how many do you have written?"
"... Twelve"
I looked up a him smirking.
"Alex. Let's go."
"No, I gotta finish it. We can go out later tonight when I'm done. I'll buy you dinner."
"Fine, but you better be done and ready to go when we get back. I'll be back in a few hours."

He walked out of the dorm, and I continued to work on my essay.
I finished it within half an hour, so I took a shower.

I got dressed and sat down on the couch and started to read. There was a knock at the door. I got up and answered it. It was Eliza.
"Can I study over here? Angie and Peggy are fighting over a dress and I can't concentrate."
"Of course. I'm just reading and John went out with Laf and Herc so its pretty quiet here."
"Thanks."
She sat down at the table, and I continued to read. Ten minutes later there was another knock at the door.
I got up and opened. Surprisingly, it was James.
"Alex?"
"What are you doing here, James?"
"Isn't this John's dorm?"
"Yeah, we're roommates."
"Oh. Is he here now?"
"I'm sorry he is not. He went out with Herc and Laf." I checked my watch. "He should be coming back soon though. Would you like to come inside and wait?"
"Um sure."
We both walked inside and he looked at Eliza.
"Oh Eliza, I didn't know you were here. How have you been?"
"Oh hi James, I'm good, just frustrated about school. How about you?"
"I'm good. Thomas has been really exhausting though. If you ever need help with your work, you're welcome to ask for help from me. I'd be glad to help." He smiled and then sat down across from her. "Oh, you guys are probably wondering why I'm here. I came here to apologize for the way Thomas has been acting. I've been trying to calm his anger issues. If you think he's bad now, you should've seen him a few years ago. It was awful. Hopefully I can help him act decent enough for him to go out in public without having me there."
"That's very kind of you James. I wouldn't ever have the patience to deal with him. You can, probably figure that out since I started to argue with him the moment we met."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. I yelled at him after he told me."
"Its fine. I wasn't seriously hurt so its all good."
A brief silence fell and then suddenly the door opened. John was walking in holding a bag from Build-A-Bear. He noticed James and Eliza were here, and he launched the bag into the bathroom and shut the door.
He stood up straight, and his cheeks turned red. "H-Hey guys. What are you doing here James?"
James stood up and headed towards John. "I came here to apologize for the way Thomas has been acting. Did he hurt you at all yesterday?"
"Oh uh, no, I'm okay. All he did was grab my shirt. Is Adams okay?"
"Yes. I checked on him before we left. He said that he brought the wrong drink and Thomas got angry and shoved him back and he tripped on a chair. He is okay though."
"I'm glad he's alright."
"Well, thats all I came here for, and I have to get back and make sure Thomas didn't kill somebody while I was gone." He started towards the door. "Good luck with your work Eliza! Bye guys."
John opened the bathroom door, walked inside, and came over with the bag tucked underneath his shirt, and dashed into the bedroom and quickly shut the door.
Eliza and I laughed.
I knocked on the bedroom door. "John? Are you still up for dinner?" The door opened and his cheeks were still red. He looked pretty adorable. "Yeah. I'll be ready in a minute." The door shut again. "Wanna come with us for dinner? If not, you're welcome to stay here to study in solitude." I unplugged my phone and slid it into my pocket, and then brushed my hair, and putting it back into a ponytail.
"Uh, yeah I'll come. I'm just about finished anyway." She went into the bathroom and brushed her hair, and refreshed her makeup. John came out, with a whole new outfit on. It looked really good on him. Eliza came out of the bathroom, "Hey, do you guys mind if I invited James out? He seems like he could use a break from hanging out with Thomas. It would be nice."
"That sounds like a good idea. I have his number on my phone, do you want it?"
"Yeah. I'll text him. Where are we going out?"
"How about we go to this restaurant I used to go to all the time when I was living in Lower Manhattan?"
"Sounds good."

~~~~~~~

*James POV*

Eliza and I sat together while John and Alex sat together. We all talked about how school was going and how everyone met. There was a lot of laughing involved. It was really nice to be with people who didn't yell and get angry at the slightest thing. I hope I can hang out with them more often. Eliza seems like a really cool girl, and she's really cute too. John and Alex are pretty chill guys. Maybe if I hang out with them, I can help get Maria closer to Peggy. I hope she asks out Peggy. That would be really cute. Aw. My Maria is growing up.
"No, James, let me pay for the bill."
"Alex, don't be silly. I'd be happy to pay for it. Let me repay you for letting me hang out with you guys."
"James. We invited you out. Let me pay for you. Its my pleasure."
"I couldn't let you do that. Let me just pay as a thank-"
"You both are ridiculous. I'm paying. We all know everyone here is completely broke, except for me."
Eliza slammed down $40 on the table and got up and started to walk away. She quickly came back, tossing a $10 bill on the table. "That's the tip"
We all walked out and got on the subway back to campus. Eliza and I walking together, "Thanks for the night out. I had a lot of fun hanging with you guys. Maybe we can hang out again?" I looked down at the girl, hoping for her to agree. "Yeah! Tonight was a lot of fun. You're a really cool guy. Do you wanna sit with us at lunch tomorrow?"
"That sounds nice."
"Oh! Before you go, here's my number. I have yours already from Alex. Have a good night James."
"Goodnight Eliza. See you tomorrow."

A/N I'm having so much fun writing this. Hopefully you guys enjoy it! I'm really excited for the chapter after the next. That when shit really happens and it's going to be so much fun to write.