Nicholas lifted his head, hearing his classmates' laughter surround him, shadows towering over his lanky frame. When Nicholas glanced at the source of their laughter, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

It was the Younes twins, making their titles from the playful jokes the brothers played on each other. Their audience was enchanted by the alluring personalities of the most popular guys on campus. Admiration laced the eyes of women, deep chuckles echoing off the enclosed walls surrounding the campus garden, and the sharp fangs of hatred in Anthony's demeanor. 

In the small garden that the students chose to study in, Anthony seemed to be the only one who was off. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyes blazing with fury, but he managed to suppress his internal jealous rage. 

Nicholas shook his head, closing his book as he stood to watch Haroon and Humaid's antics. As he walked, he gazed at the campus garden. Flowers of emerald green and ruby red collected around every corner, planting its gems deep into the enriched soils. The sweet, almost therapeutic, smell of flowers cut through the soft scent of spring air.  

Following their voices, Nicholas stopped behind the crowd, his tall frame towering over the girls before him. Haroon, the older twin, wore his signature beanie, strands of inky hair spilling in waves over his forehead, peeking out from the cloth. 

On the other hand, Humaid wore his casual white t-shirt covered by a flannel. Nicholas knew that the crowd that had gathered were not the typical fanclub of students that harassed the twins for their numbers, but rather a group that was just like Nicholas, a collection of nerds who escaped college stress through Haroon and Humaid. 

These students were humiliated by others who sat on a throne of tears, these students were haunted by society's judgment of them, these students were overwhelmed with their own need for perfection.

They were just like him. 

"Heed not the rebel who screams revolution. He has not your interest at heart," sang Humaid as he pointed to his brother, brown eyes gleaming. 

"Oh my God tear this dude apart," grumbled Haroon, trying to hide his own smile. 

"Chaos and bloodshed are not a solution. Don't let them lead you a-"

Haroon suddenly leapt in front of the crowd, making their audience rumble with laughter, even Nicholas couldn't suppress his smile. "You'll be back. Soon you'll see. You'll remember you belong to me!" yelled Haroon in his melodic voice, ebony hair falling over his forehead.

Humaid mockingly gasped, a hand on his chest to feign hurt. "You will never be satisfied!"

At this point of their charade, Nicholas wasn't sure how much longer the audience would last before they burst into a fit of giggles, but he could care less. Nicholas loved history as much as he loved books. Pages and pages of historic events were written, building the blocks that were needed to create the empire that he called home. America. 

He read through many legacies, many wars, many men who fought for the ones they loved, and the women who stayed firm to their beliefs in equality even when their hope was distinguished by bruises and flames. None of that seemed to stop any movement from progressing into an amendment, to a glass to the future. 

America had blood staining her land, bodies of injustice littering her soils, screams of torment traveling through her winds, yet the country flourished through every type of difficulty, becoming better than the last, adapting to the future quicker than any other country. Built by the hands of immigrants, America honed her way into a prodigious leading power.

Nicholas wondered if Alexander Hamilton, the man the Younes twins were singing about, had felt the same pride that Nicholas did while at the same time worried for the future of the nation and its inhabitants. 

"Pardon me, but are you Aaron Burr, sir?" smiled Humaid as he held a hand out to Nicholas. 

Nicholas stared at the hand. "I'm watching you burn," he quoted the musical in a monotone voice, void of emotion.  

Humaid pinched Nicholas's cheeks.  "Oh look at those eyes!" he sang.

"Down for the count and I'm drowning in them," continued Haroon, his grin widening.

"Helpless!" the brothers said simultaneously as they each grabbed one of Nicholas's arms.

Men in the crowd were crying out of laughter. Some of their professors had walked out of their classrooms to see what the commotion was about and even they couldn't stop smiling from the free entertainment they were receiving. Nicholas felt his cheeks heat up as students gazed at him.

He knew he couldn't get out of the sheer embarrassment unless he joined in as well. The Younes twins always managed to push Nicholas out of his comfort zone, shoving him into society's blinding lights without warning like he was an actor on stage. Nicholas felt all eyes on him, judging and scrutinizing gazes. 

Humaid noticed Nicholas's hesitation to join them. "Relax," whispered Humaid. Nicholas glanced up at him, staring at the amable presence in his dark eyes. "No one can judge you harshly if we're here."

"Yeah," agreed Haroon, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, smiling. "We're a team now, Nick. There's no need to worry about judgement."

The twins let go of his arms, choosing to stand on the benches that were on opposite sides of each other. Slowly, a larger crowd began to form, but Nicholas became distracted as the twins' words hit him. 

Ever since his attempted suicide, Nicholas began to understand the blessings that he was given, the new people he met, the new relationships he enhanced without even knowing. Dina had been right. There were people who cared, people who felt his misery, people who would risk their lives for him, and even people who would love Nicholas till his last dying breath. 

Nicholas smiled, feeling the elation rise within him, its flowers of hope blooming in his heart and filling his body with an ease that he had never felt before. 

"Raise a glass to the three of us."

Nicholas raised a brow from below Humaid. "A glass of what? You don't even drink."

Humaid scoffed. "Orange juice of course. What other drinks could top that?"

"Tomorrow they'll be more of us!" continued Haroon, choosing to ignore the minor disruption that Nicholas caused. 

Laughing, Nicholas shook his head amused. His classmates eagerly watched the boys perform in a joking manner. Nicholas glanced around the crowd. Although the boys were making fools of themselves, their folly had managed to bring the geeks and nerds of the school closer together. In the eyes of the audience, despair had been erased in their eyes and was replaced by ineffable relief. 

Nicholas smiled, just like me.

----

IT'S A SNOW DAY! Sorry the descriptions aren't as poetic, I got really lazy and wanted to play video games >.<  If you didn't get the references, I advise you to watch Hamilton in 7 minutes on Youtube.

It's been a while since I included fandoms, so here you go. Enjoy the bucket of Hamilton jokes.

Anyone helpless for the Younes twins?

*wink wink*

Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!