A/N: So many introductions I am sORRY

After around ten minutes I arrive to the Stevens residence, Thomas himself doesn't seem to be present but everyone else is, excluding Lafayette of course. With my own set of keys ,I open the door and step in, breathing in the smell of cupcakes.

"What's up with the smell?" I ask no one in specific. Maria, who's sitting at the dining table surrounded by history notes, takes a second to swallow the rest of the cupcake and respond.

"A girl in my school had a birthday party and brought a bunch of those," The brunette explained.

"Uuuu, are there any for me?"

"No," Maria and Burr say simultaneously. They have always been closer to each other than to the rest of us, but I don't mind. It's not like we don't get along. My relationship with Aaron is a little tense but nothing bad, I would say.

"You guys are awful!" I whine as I walk toward my room. It's the last one down the hall, besides it there's Maria's room and across its Burr's. Lafayette's is upstairs just like Thomas' and Neddie's. It's a pretty big house, which is not strange after you see Thomas' paycheck. He's a humble man and acts like it's not much but he's one of the most successful businessmen here in Georgia, which sure comes in handy when you have to maintain a bunch of children on your own.

I throw myself on my bed and send a quick text to Lafayette, letting him know that I didn't been kidnapped by a drug cartel on my way home. Stretching my hand over to my nightstand I grab my copy of Brave New World and look for the page I last read, I already read this book once when I was fourteen but it doesn't hurt to do it again, especially since I quite like it. It's about a utopian future in which humans are genetically bred and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively serve a ruling order, just my type of book. Still, something in the back of my brain kept nagging me about John Laurens, flooding my thoughts with questions.

After forty minutes or so of forcing myself to read the words printed on paper and failing miserably, I hear the door open and slam against what I suppose was the wall. Lafayette is home. Without even feeling guiltily I put the book away and leave my room, I would read it some other day. In front of the door, I see my brother kissing Maria's cheeks and tickling her ribs, it's a tender scene, the type that makes you want to coo out loud. After Maria pushes him away he turns toward me and smiles, his teeth looking so big it might seem like they barely fit in his mouth.

"ALEX!"

Next thing I know my body was being pulled into a bone-crushing hug, the air in my lungs being immediately thrown out of my body. "Hey there, Laf," I manage to choke out.

"How are you my little lion?" He mumbled on my hair.

"'m fine. Hey, I kinda need to breathe so if you could just—" He immediately steps back, giving me the chance to look at his face.

Lafayette is taller and stronger than me, meaning he gives some mean hugs, but sometimes they can be too much. He's 5'9 and still holds some muscles from when he was on the swimming team, but is still on the slimmer side. Tied in a ponytail is his windblown frizzy hair accompanied with a relatively thin set of eyebrows, at least compared to other men. When he smiles, his full lips stretch and cover half of his face, almost resembling a happy puppy, which is a pretty accurate description of Lafayette.

"Oh! Désolé, Alex. How was your day? Did you eat well?"

Uh, no.

"Of course," I lie like a little shit, fortunately, Lafayette believes me.

"Good," He decides before pulling me into another warm hug.

What is there not to love about Lafayette?

•••

My thoughts about John Laurens chased me all the way to school the next day. Without meaning to I found myself observing him on the halls. His face didn't betray any emotions, which compared to how content he looked yesterday evening just made his features look grim. I decided John Laurens looked better when wearing emotion. I gotta admit, the guy is quite handsome. He's tall, and under the slightly baggy denim jacket he wore I could notice his sculpted arms. His jaw was sharp and his lips smooth looking, and even though his ears stick awkwardly to the sides and has a little too many freckles on his skin, his face is nice to look at. His cocoa colored hair was neatly tied back, but his curls refused to stay put and ended up framing his face beautifully. John Laurens is dazzling, in all honesty.

But doesn't mean I like him as a person. I want to approach him eventually, see his true colors, but until then I'll stay neutral toward him. For the time being, he's a handsome face to look at with a questionable personality.

"What's got you all thoughtful today, Hammie? You thinking of a way to destroy Adams at debate once again?" Asks Angelica Schuyler.

Somehow, I found myself being friends with all the Schuyler sisters, including little Catherine and Cornelia. Their shoes probably cost more than all the clothes I've ever owned and yet they're nice people, maybe a little too much for my taste but I try not to mind too much. I get along well with their dad too, Philip Schuyler, and he has tried to offer me money. I don't take money, I'm not a charity case. Occasional pitying looks aside, the Schuylers are an amazing family and I'm glad to have them as my friends.

Angelica in specific is a dazzling, witty woman in the disguise of a dark-eyed brunette. People dismiss her as your typical rich girl which I gotta say, is a huge mistake. She's quirky, crazy smart, knows the way to a person's head and to their heart. If there's someone I enjoy discussing things with it's her, no doubts. The only questionable thing about her is her friendship with Thomas Jefferson, but as long as she doesn't talk to me about that jerk I'll let it slide.

"You know me," I say. "But no. Let's say is classified for now,"

She whistles flirtatiously. "Classified, huh? Any romances I need to know about?"

I scoff, hell no. "That's up to you to question and up to me to keep,"

"You're such a drama queen, Hamilton,"

"It pains me that it took you this long to realize,"

•••

It's almost the end of lunch, I find myself walking the halls in search for my locker when I stumble upon John Laurens, opening his own locker, and he's all alone. Now it's my time to attack.

Wait, that sounded very weird.

I decided that if I'm going to approach John Laurens I might as well do it today, but my many friends have kept me from it. I don't exactly want people to see me interacting with John Laurens, especially not Lafayette. He'd totally freak out if he saw me taking to such "dangerous individual" and would forbid me from standing within a twenty-meter radius from him or something. Which I'd honestly rather avoid. I don't need to give him another reason to be obsessing over me.

After double-checking absolutely nobody is around I finally walk up to John Laurens.

"Hello," I say once I'm standing next to him, up close he's not as tall as he seems but must still be around 5'11, so definitely still way taller than me.

He takes a second to consider me before responding. I can now see his deep hazel eyes, they look at me skeptically. "Can I do something for you?"

"Having a conversation would definitely be nice," Laurens immediately frowns, I'm not sure if from annoyance or confusion.

"What do you want?"

"Saw you yesterday after school, you were sharing your food with a dog," I change the subject and try to sound casual rather than borderline stalker-ish. "Do you do that often or what?"

Laurens responds though he sounds apprehensive. "Uh, yeah, I do it almost every day. His name is Brutus,"

I gotta admit, my heart ached a bit. I share a weird empathy with abandoned dogs but I don't talk much about it. Point is, what he does is kinda adorable and kind. I decide to voice my thoughts.

"Is it? I find it mildly decent,"

"Why do you think that?"

He shrugs. "I don't give him a roof nor a bed, just some food excluding the weekends and pats that anyone could give,"

"But they don't, you do," I copy him and shrug. "It's sure better than nothing,"

I could almost dare to say the hint of a smile pulled at John's lips. "Perhaps,"

The bell rings.

"I should go," John immediately says.

"Of course!" I respond just as fast. "I suppose I'll see you around?"

"Maybe,"

And just like that, he's gone.

Congratulations, John Laurens. You have spiked my curiosity.