Living to See Our Glory - Modern College AU

Alexander Hamilton

Alex's POV

"Do you have all your books?"

"Yes, Eliza."

"Oh, and do you have toiletries and money? You know how things can get expensive at college..."

I rolled my eyes at Eliza's antics. I loved her, but she loved to worry about other people.

"I thought you were my friend, not my mom." I smiled at her and she blushed and stared at the ground.

"I just want you to be ready. You have to make a good impression."

She was right. I needed to make my mark here. It's what my mom would have wanted. We walked towards my dorm together, arm in arm. Sure, Eliza was hot but I can't imagine doing anything with her. She was too innocent and pure. I would only make things hard for her. Yeah, it's best for me to focus on my work. I don't have the time to get sidetracked by girls. Or guys for that matter. I glanced at the small poster that was messily taped onto the door.

Room 1776 - John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton

I opened the door and took in my surroundings. There was a turtle poster on the far right wall. Actually, the whole room was littered with magazines and scholarly journals on marine biology. I puked a little in my mouth. My roommate obviously hadn't thought this whole career thing through. Why else would he major in such an unemployable field? Eliza smiled and picked up one of the magazines.

"Oh, look at this cute turtle! Aww, sweet baby." I peeked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. It was cute, but I'd never say that out loud. I have to have at least a little pride.

I heard a rap on the door and Eliza let out a small screech in surprise. She pulled down her periwinkle-blue skirt down and re-tucked in her white polo. She took a deep breath and opened the door. A cute guy with curly hair stood there, seemingly out of breath.

"Hi! My name is Elizabeth Schuyler. It's a pleasure to meet you! You must be Mr. John Laurens, am I correct in assuming that?" The curly haired guy gave her a weird look, a mix between surprise and happiness.

"Uh, yeah, that's me." Eliza stood awkwardly in the doorway, smiling and shaking his hand for an unacceptably long time. I push past her and plaster a fake smile. I just wanted all of this noise to stop, so I could start writing my essay for Civil Law. Professor Washington hadn't assigned anything yet, but the topic was just so interesting.

"Alexander Hamilton," I say with something less than enthusiasm but more than apathy. He smiled and pushed the both of us out of the way to start cleaning up his mess. Wow, just met the guy and he's already acting like he doesn't have the time for us. Eliza leaves, sputtering some nonsense about how roommates should have some alone time to "bond." I set to work on typing my essay.

An hour passes.

Three hours pass.

Six hours pass.

John taps me on my shoulder. I don't stop typing.

"Yeah?" He stumbles for a second, trying to come up with the right words. He pulls up a chair and sits next to me. He starts to read what I type, which is probably the most uncomfortable thing that has ever happened to anyone.

"You've been going at this for a really long time." I chuckle under my breath. People with real ambition can go for longer. I can go for longer. Well, I could go for longer if this guy stopped bothering me.

"Why stop writing if it's not done?" I ask. He seems dumbfounded for a second and then he tentatively places his hand on my shoulder. I felt an electric shock run through my body. His hand felt nice. Really nice.

"Because it's okay to take breaks. You know, it's self care." He smiles with all of his teeth. I stop typing. His hand is still on my shoulder and I still feel uncomfortable.

"I know this one place, a 24 hour diner. Come with me." I looked back at the twenty-one pages I have already typed, and the thirty more that I had to do. I decided I could take a break.

"Okay. Lead the way."