Alex tried to talk with Laurens as if nothing had happened, but...it was hard. God. I'm being such an asshole. Why can't I be more understanding? One of his own foster placements, in Saint Kitts, had fallen through because Alex had kissed another boy at school.

But as much as he hated himself for it, Alex was almost relieved when a girl walked up to him. He recognized her from Student Council, one of the Schuylers. He remembered that she was an amazing speaker but that no one listened to her. The dress she was wearing looked amazing on her.

"Hamilton. Could you come with me?"

"Um, sure?" Alex didn't want to say no to her, but while she was really pretty, he wasn't in the mood to dance with anyone after what had just happened.

She led him away from his friends. "Look. I'm Angelica Schuyler."

"And I'm Alexander Hamilton."

"Could you do me a favor?"

"Uh…"

"My sister, Eliza, is having a bad night. And from what my brother Philip has told me, you're a nice person. I need you to dance with her."

"I'm not going to date her—"

"I get it, Hamilton. You're the whole 'never satisfied' type who can't be held down by anyone, and for some reason you think my sister isn't good enough for you—"

Alexander knew Eliza from math. She was smart. Nice to everyone. Pretty. He didn't know her very well, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to. "You don't know anything about me, Schuyler."

The Schuyler girl gave him a sympathetic glance that made him want to tear his hair out. He didn't need anyone's sympathy. Alex looked at Eliza. She was talking with a guy, an unhappy look on her face. The guy turned and walked away from her, obviously angry.

Alex didn't quite know what he was doing, but after the Laurens debacle, his he felt the need to at least make sure that someone was having a good night. Alex left Angelica and walked over to Eliza. "Do you want to dance?"

She had a resigned look on her face. "Sorry, but no."

Alex didn't want to be that guy, the pushy one who didn't take no for an answer, but then the other Schuyler girl was by his side. "Come on, Eliza."

"Angelica, what—"

"I'm changing your life."

Angelica shot her younger sister a bright smile. Eliza had a look in her eye that Alex couldn't quite recognize. "Fine. Let's dance."

Alex held out his arm to Eliza, who took it hesitantly, "I'll level with you, Eliza, I have no fucking clue how to dance to 60s music." That was kind of a lie. Alex did know how to dance a little bit, but he needed to break the awkward silence between them.

It worked. Mostly. Eliza gave him a small smile that gave Alex a weird feeling in his stomach, like it had just dropped into his feet. Smiling back, and hoping his hand wasn't too sweaty, Alex led them to the dance floor just as another song began to play.

Shit. Alex knew this song.

His father hadn't exactly been abusive, just abrasive and often drunk and never really there. But there were a few days that Alex could remember when his father had been happy and supportive, with shining blue eyes that Alex's mother had always said matched Alex's. The clearest memory Alex had of this was from when he was nine. He had been sitting at the kitchen table, watching his mom and dad dance around living room to a song playing on his dad's old record player.

"Skipping and a-jumping

"In the misty morning fog with

"Our hearts a-thumping..."

It was funny, but the more Alex thought of it, it was the only time that his father had really seemed happy to be around his mother. Normally, Alex's father was only kind to him. But on that day, they had really felt like a family. The windows had been thrown open with warm, buttery sunlight pouring in. His mom had her head thrown back laughing as his dad twirled her around.

"And you, my brown-eyed girl

"You, my brown-eyed girl..."

Eliza Schuyler looked nothing like Alex's mother. But both of them had deep brown eyes. Alex's mother's eyes had sparkled when she was happy. Alex wondered if Eliza's eyes glowed when she was happy. And Alex remembered his mother as a beautiful woman. (She was too beautiful, that had been the problem, hadn't it?) Eliza was pretty. Just not happy.

Alex was not going to cry. He was not going to let this memory be tarnished by the embarrassment of crying about it at a school dance.

The beat of the music was fast and jumpy, with guitar under it that gave it a happy feeling. The voice of the singer was rough and scratchy, just like all of the voices that came out of his father's old record player, whether they were meant to be that way or not.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Alex smiled, eyes only a little bit watery.

Alex thought back to before the dancing that day, where his mom had just gotten notice from where she worked that she was being laid off. He supposed that was the beginning of the end for all of them; his mom sitting on the floor with papers all around her and tears in the corners of her eyes.

Then his dad had walked in and turned on the record player, pulling her out of her seat. He and swung her around and around just like how they used to dance to that song when they were younger.

And she had laughed and laughed and looked years younger, the years melting away until they were both teenagers again, dancing together in the golden sunlight.

Alex refocused on Eliza's face, saw how the corners of her mouth drifted downwards and worry lines dug into her forehead.

"Slipping and a-sliding

"All along the waterfall..."

They were towards the periphery of the mass of dancers, so that they still had some room to stand apart from each other. Alex held eye contact with Eliza, smiling, bright and warm, and then twirled her around once. Eliza let out a surprised giggle and grinned at him.

"With you, my brown-eyed girl

You, my brown-eyed girl."

Alex spun her around again, and she laughed once more. Her eyes were shining, and dimples were starting to deepen in her cheeks. Her ponytail was flipping over her shoulder, and Alex had a feeling that his would be, too, if it was any longer.

Shit, she has a gorgeous smile. Butterflies swooped around in Alex's stomach, and he swooped Eliza around the dance floor in time with them. A few more songs went by, each one of them more and more sixties than the last one. "Do you want to spin?" he asked her.

"What?"

"Like this."

They joined hands, and then both of them leaned backwards, so that they were holding each other up. "It's...a reverse trust fall," Eliza suggested, feeling embarrassed the minute that she said it.

But Alex kept smiling. "I love it!"

And then they began spinning, quickly whipping around in circles. Eliza was sure that one of them would fall, or that their hands would slip. But they didn't. The world around them began to blur. Eliza closed her eyes, laughing. It was like she was flying.

They came to a stop, and both of them collapsed to the ground, laughing. Eliza felt like she might throw up. But she didn't.

Countless songs later, Alex and Eliza were half-waltzing to some slow, smooth song, arms around each other. As they spun around, Alex caught a glimpse of Laurens standing alone on the edge of the dance floor, staring at Alex and Eliza dancing. Laurens tried to catch his eye, but Alex had already turned back to Eliza. They'd been having a great discussion about the stock market crash of '08.

Alex was glad that Angelica had made them dance. No one else would be willing to do something as ridiculous have a discussion with him about America's economy while slow-dancing to 60s songs. His thoughts went to Laurens. Someday they'd have their dance. But this hour was for Eliza.

The last song faded, and Eliza stared at Hamilton for a few moments. The world was fading back into focus. "I'm not interested in sex," she blurted out.

And then, "Gah!" Eliza turned away, her face burning. She was afraid that she might start to cry. This night had been so wonderful, and now she was just going to ruin it with who she was. But Cornelia and Angelica had both warned her that people were interested in sex and she didn't want to lead Hamilton on, or anything, but…"God, I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not."

Alexander still had that stupidly beautiful, kind look on his face, and now Eliza was crying. "No. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay if you're gay, or whatever, you know. I mean, I'm bi, and I really can't believe that I'm having this conversation for the second time tonight, but yeah...that's what I'm doing. But anyway…"

"I'm ace. Asexual. Or, aro/ace, but…" Eliza was still kind of crying. She couldn't talk. Alex's hands were warm and comforting around hers.

"That's cool. And I'm not going to spill your secret, or anything. I think that you're pretty awesome, and I don't give a shit about your sexuality, or who you like romantically, or whatever. I mean, that's just bullshit. And I hate bullshit." Alex grinned sheepishly.

Eliza laughed. "I'm glad that we danced."

"Me too. Look, Eliza. There are a lot of people that care about you. Like, everyone at school likes you, and your siblings love you, obviously, I mean, I think that Angelica would legit murder me if I hurt you, but anyway...you're safe. I promise." His gaze was earnest and warm.

"You can't promise that."

Alex swallowed. "Okay. That's fair."

"But...thanks for trying."

"No problem." Alex was seized upon by a moment of recklessness.

Alex brought Eliza's hand to his mouth and kissed her hand, because he was a dramatic piece of shit sometimes, okay, and he had a feeling that Eliza wouldn't care. She laughed, and twisted their fingers together, leaning towards him.

Alex froze. Is she going to kiss me holyshitholyshitholyshitholy-

She leaned in farther and kissed his cheek, a soft smile on her face, "Thanks, Alexander. I had fun."

Alex grinned and squeezed her hand, "So did I." He spun her around again as she laughed, then pulled her close and kissed her cheek.

Laurens watched all this with a blank stare. He saw Alex and Eliza dancing together, he saw them flirting, he saw them spinning around as her dress twirled in the kind of way people write love songs about. He saw them stop dancing and whisper to each other, probably sweet nothings and fluffy, lovey-dovey shit. He saw Alex kiss her hand, he saw Eliza kiss his cheek, he saw Alex kiss her cheek back - and that's when Laurens knew he had lost.

Eliza would be good to him, Laurens thought to himself. Alex didn't need Laurens' angst, drama-filled life. Alex needed Eliza; soft, pretty Eliza with big beautiful brown eyes and silky hair. They'd probably date right through high school and college, then settle down in some suburbia to start their nuclear family. Alex would work for a law firm, Eliza would be in social work, and they would be happy together.

Laurens crushed his paper cup in his hands. They'd be happy together. Alex didn't need Laurens' mountains of emotional baggage and problems. He didn't deserve to have that dumped on him. And Laurens didn't deserve Alex.

Laurens didn't deserve anyone.