Later that day, Laf, Herc, and Alex were walking around campus, familiarizing themselves with the buildings, when Laf got a text.

"There's going to be a party in the frat tonight," he said to the other two. "I think we should make sure our room is locked so that no one bangs on our mattresses."

Alex laughed, but he was the only one that did. Herc smirked at him.

"He's right, you know," Herc said. Alex's smile faltered. Maybe he didn't know as much about college life as he thought he did. Did people really just do that randomly? Alex shook the thought from his head and continued walking with the other two.

"Alexander!"

Alex turned to see Aaron Burr walking toward them.

"Oh, hey Aaron!" he responded, smiling.

"Aaron!" Herc cried, springing up to give him a hug. "How are you?"

"Great! You guys?"

"Good!"

"Aaron, there's going to be a party at the frat tonight," Laf said. "You should come!"

Aaron smiled. "Can I have a plus one?"

"Of course!" said Herc. "Who do you have in mind?"

"Or is it-" Laf started, giving Herc a side eye and grinning at Aaron.

"Could it possibly be THEOD-"

"Guys!" Aaron said laughing. "Keep it down!" There was a second of silence. "And yes, it's Theodosia."

Laf and Herc went wild, but Alex just stood there confused.

"Who's Theodosia?" he asked, wishing he had went to high school with them so he didn't feel so out of place.

"Oh, no one special," Laf said, winking at Aaron and grinning widely.

"Just the girl he's been going after since his freshman year of HIGH SCHOOL!" Herc said. "You finally asked her out?!"

"Yep," Aaron said, beaming. "Thanks for letting me bring her guys, I really appreciate that. What time should we come over?"

"Party starts at 9," Herc said. "See you then!"

Aaron waved bye to the others and heading in the opposite direction.

Herc, Laf, and Alex arrived back at the frat. There were two tables set up on the side of the main hall with empty plates and punch bowls, ready to be filled later that night.

"I'm gonna go and try to get some writing done before the party," Alex told the others. They nodded and he headed upstairs towards the dorm. He had been working on documenting his time at college, and he didn't want to miss out on a single detail. It was already 26 pages long, and classes hadn't even started yet.

Alex opened his laptop and began typing when he got a text. It was from Peggy.

Pegs: alex i'm only asking this because i'm your friend and i'm genuinely concerned about the first impression you might give others at tonight's party, but what are you going to wear?

Alex: I was just going to wear my sweatpants and t-shirt

Pegs: hell to the no. the girls and i were going to get ready with john before the party, but now i see there are more dire circumstances. we'll be there soon

Alex: What's wrong with what I had planned?!

Peggy didn't answer that text. Alex groaned and put his head in his hands. All he wanted was to write. What was so wrong with what he had on anyway? Oh well. At least he'd get to see John. And maybe Peggy was right, this was the first time he'd get to meet a bunch of people on campus. He had to do it right. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Alex frowned and stood up to go answer it. Peggy couldn't be here already, could she?

He opened the door to see John, holding a few outfits on hangers and a box that he assumed held makeup.

"Peggy told me there was an emergency," he said, walking in and setting his stuff down. "So I came prepared."

Alex laughed. "What did she tell you?"

"She said you needed help getting ready," John responded, turning back to Alex. "I don't really see the problem. I'm sure you could've gotten cleaned up fine on your own."

"Uh, this is what I was planning on wearing," Alex said, smiling. John's eyes went wide and he went over to Alex.

"Oh sweet hot sauce on a corn dog, NO!" he yelled, pulling at Alex's old shirt from a summer camp he attended several years ago. "I'm glad she called me over."

Alex laughed. "Don't I look good?"

John turned red.

"That's not what I said," he mumbled. "I think this is fine normally, but Peggy's right, you need to make a good impression."

Alex smiled. "Well then, I'm glad I have you here."

John turned red and smiled, turning towards Alex's pile of clothes to try and stop him from seeing. Little did he know Alex was just as red as he was.

"Okay, let's see what you've got here," John said, sorting through it all. "You don't need to be in a tux. Just a step-up from what you're currently wearing." He pulled out sweaters and jeans and t-shirts and tossed them all aside. At that moment, there was another knock on the door.

"It's open!" Alex called.

The Schuylers and Maria came in, all of them wearing pretty, yet still casual, dresses. Peggy took one glance at Alex and shook her head.

"I'm glad to see you're already at work, John," she said. "Alex, let me fix your hair."

Alex sat down on his bed and Peggy plopped down next to him, taking his hair out of its usual ponytail. "Let's get this washed first, shall we?"

The girls led Alex to the bathroom to get him all cleaned up. John finally landed on the perfect outfit- black ripped jeans, converse, and a white t-shirt accompanied with a blue bomber jacket. He smiled and tossed the clothes into the bathroom.

"When you're done, get changed into these," John called. He turned back to look at the outfit options that he had brought for himself.

"Which one of you is free to give me a quick opinion?" he called. A second later, Maria popped out of the bathroom.

"What should I wear?" John asked, holding up the outfits. Maria tapped her chin.

"Well," she said, "this one will bring out your eyes, and this one will bring out your natural glow and freckles." She looked at the third and final option. "But THIS one is giving us both of those and MORE," she said. "Go with that!" Maria headed back into the bathroom.

John put the other two outfits on his bed and held up the one he was going to wear. Maria was right- it was perfect.

"OW!" Alex shouted from the bathroom. "Angie, don't pull so hard!"

"That's what she said!" Angelica shouted back. John chuckled to himself.

"How much longer will you guys be?" he called into the bathroom. "Is it safe for me to change without being walked in on?"

"Oh yes," said Eliza. "His hair is a project in itself."

John smiled and took off his shirt. He changed into a yellow flowing top, black leggings, black shoes with a small heel, and his signature flower crown headband. He also put in small stud earrings and eyeliner.

"Alright, ready to see?" Peggy called from the bathroom. "Close your eyes!"

John turned around and closed his eyes, smiling.

"Okay, 3, 2, 1- open!"

John opened his eyes and almost fainted at the beautiful sight before him. Alex was wearing the outfit John had picked out, but his hair looked much cleaner and was in a neat bun in the back, a few strands of hair poking out from the front. He had a slight tint to his cheeks that John assumed was blush, but it was just Alex's face.

Alex was as star struck as John was when he stepped out. John looked so pretty and perfect and adorable- how was it even legal to look that amazing? He felt his cheeks heat up, but there was no way to hide his blush this time. Eliza's voice shook them both back into reality.

"Aw, John! You look adorable!" she cried, rushing over to give him a hug.

"Oh, thanks Eliza!" he said, smiling and pulling her closer, but his eyes and thoughts were still on Alex.

"Alex- you look- wow. You look wow," John said, blushing. "You girls did a great job with him."

"Not so shabby yourself, John," Alex said, smiling. Not so shabby? How about "you're fucking beautiful?" God Alex, get it together.

John smiled and looked down at his shoes.

"Yeah, yeah, you both look great, we did amazing, we know," Maria said. "How about grabbing dinner before the party?"

They all agreed and headed out to a small pizza place. John and Alex sat next to each other, both in the car, and in the restaurant.

They couldn't keep their minds off of each other.