Tonight I'm Yours (Lams Highschool AU)

Chapter 2: Alexander

This was my opportunity. My one chance to make an impression on my fellow peers. Because this was high school. And first impressions matter.
I did my hair nicely (for once) and put on some decent-looking clothes, not just a hoodie and sweatpants. I was new this year and had never gone to a school like this before.
I checked the time. The bus should arrive any minute. I stood at the end of my driveway, impatiently tapping my foot. Finally, the bus pulled up and screeched to a stop. When I stepped inside the doors, all eyes were on me.
"You new?" asked the bus driver, a large, burly man with hair all over his arms and legs.
"Uh, yes. Alexander Hamilton."
"Welcome." He smiled, something that didn't really fit him.
"Thanks." I found a vacant seat and plopped myself down. The kid across the aisle from me was scrolling through his phone but when I sat down he looked up.
"Hi. I'm Aaron Burr." He extended his hand for me to shake and I hesitantly shook it. He had an extremely firm grip, unlike mine. "What grade are you in?"
"Eleventh. How about you?"
"I'm in eleventh, too. Do you have Mr. Washington for homeroom?"
I pulled my schedule from my bag to check. "Uh, yeah, I do." I showed him the schedule.
"Nice. Now, I want to tell you about these boys in our school. I strongly suggest you stay away from them. So much trouble."
"Are they mean, or-"
"They're not necessarily mean, they're just SO annoying. They're John Laurens, Marie-Joseph Lafayette, and Hercules Mulligan. Marie-Joseph Lafayette usually just goes by Lafayette. Nobody uses his first name. They're in our homeroom, so just avoid them."
"Oh. I see."
"I can show you to your locker and homeroom if you'd like."
"That would be great. Thanks." I smiled. I was starting to like Aaron. He seemed kind.
The bus pulled up in front of a massive brick building. It was huge. "This is it?" I asked Aaron.
"Yeah. Don't worry, you'll find your way around." I wasn't too convinced, but I just nodded in agreement.
Aaron led me to my locker and showed me how to open it. Then, he took me to homeroom, where I met my teacher, Mr. Washington.
   There were students milling around the room, doing what I'm guessing they did every morning: Chat and disobey the directions pasted on the front board. Before I could even step inside the classroom, a tall man with a stern facial expression turned to face me. Aaron stepped into the classroom.
   "Ah, you must be Alexander. I'm Mr. Washington. It's a pleasure to meet you." He shook my hand and like Aaron, he had a firm grip.
   "Uh, a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Washington," I replied.
"You can go on in the room and find any vacant desk." Mr. Washington gestured toward the room and I stepped inside. Aaron was already sitting in a desk, his nose buried in a book. The one next to him was empty, so I plopped myself down in it. Aaron looked up.
"So, what do you think so far?" The truth? This place was chaos. I didn't think I could handle another day of this, let alone another two years.
"I like it," I lied. I scanned the room. It looked like a typical classroom, a whiteboard, and inspirational posters placed every few feet on the wall. All of a sudden, I heard loud voices from the door. I turned and saw three boys loudly chatting with one another. Aaron put his head on the desk.
   "God, save our souls, they're here," Aaron sighed.
"Are these the boys you were talking about?" I asked.
"Yes. Just stay away from them."
One boy looked French and spoke in a heavy French accent. "Mon ami, there are some seats over there!" He pointed toward a cluster of desks near us. I heard Aaron sigh.
"Oh, cool!" A boy with dark hair and a bandana yelled. The first boy ran over and put his things on the desk behind me. The other boy followed close behind.
"Mon ami, where's John?" The French boy asked.
"I don't know, Laf." The boy with the bandana turned in his chair and scanned the room. He stopped at a boy with curly, brown hair and the cutest goddamn freckles I had ever seen. He was staring directly at me, and when he saw me looking back at him, his cheeks turned crimson and he looked away. God, he was so cute.
"Laf, there he is! Come on!" He gestured for the curly-haired boy to come over and he reluctantly did, edging his way toward us. He didn't look at me the entire time; his eyes were trained on his friends.
"Who are you?" The boy named Laf asked, turning toward me. "Are you new?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Alexander Hamilton."
"Nice to meet you, mon ami. I'm Laf. This is Herc." He put a hand on on the bandana boy's shoulder.
   "Hey." Herc gave a wave.
   "This is John." Laf ruffled the curly-haired boy's hair.
John gave a meek wave. "Hi."
   "H-hi." I waved back, trying to hide the fact that my face looked like a tomato.
   "Oh, Aaron Burr. So nice to see you here." Laf rolled his eyes.
   "Suck it up." Aaron glared at Laf, who rolled his eyes.
   "Why are you even hanging out with this kid?" asked John.
   "Oh, he was on my bus and he showed me the way to homeroom. It wasn't really my choice." I shrugged.
   "Ah, I see." John nodded.
"Good morning, class." I jumped. Mr. Washington was standing at the front of the room. "We have a new student today. Alexander, why don't you give a wave?" Thank goodness, a teacher who didn't make me give a long-winded speech on unrelated things about my life that wouldn't matter later. I waved toward the rest of my classmates.
"Thank you, Alexander." As Mr. Washington droned on, I stared at a girl across the room. She had long, black hair and was wearing a light blue t-shirt. She was pretty cute, but John was definitely cuter.
   I went through my classes, Aaron telling me where to go. When lunch came, I was clueless. Aaron invited me to sit at his lunch table, so I did. He was friends with other boys who were loud and reckless. They didn't acknowledge I was there the whole time. I was fine with it, as long as they weren't mean to me, which they weren't.
   The rest of the day flew by in a flash. When I got home, my foster mom asked, "How was your day?"
   "It was good," I replied. "I made a new friend."
   "Awww, that's good, honey! Have you met any cute girls yet?" Of course, Eliza and John were really cute. But I wouldn't tell my mom that.
   "No," I lied.
   "Oh, okay, honey. I love you."
   "Love you too." I went upstairs and flopped onto my bed. School was exhausting today, but probably only because it was my first day. If things could go better tomorrow, that would be great. Though, I probably need to find a new lunch table...