Requested by: rose_gemini2003

The sound of long, drawn out ringing started again for only the third time that day. Students wandered down the halls, some scrambling for their things, others walking with confidence and their heads held high. Chatter was among the air and the atmosphere was quite the usual.

Everyone was divided into their groups. It was a cliche thing, but that's how high school went even in reality. And it wasn't as if someone was going to move into another group. When you knew who you were, that's who you stayed as.

"Say it louder next time, jerk!"

And then there was the misfits. The crowd parted for a guy, with his hands flinging around. His friends had managed to hold him back from the two seniors who were ahead of them. A few people watched intently.

The familiar face, with his fists swinging back and forth, was Alexander. He was frustrated with his opponent on the debate team. It wasn't like he wanted to make a scene, but he somehow always managed to.

"Alex, stop!" Holding his friend back, John tried his best to keep a firm position. He was used to his friends' behavior and how pissed he got with his fellow debaters. Using one hand to tighten the baseball cap on his head, he gave he senior across the hall a deep glare.

Their two other friends were also holding him down. Hercules, with a determined look on his face, pulled back his friend with all the force he could use. Alexander found himself fall backwards, making even more of a fool of himself. There was lots of laughter at his clumsy move.

Though the laughter seemed normal to his friends, just for giggles, it wasn't to him. He had been constantly bullied since middle school, when he moved into the district. Even then in high school, jocks found their ways to make his skin prickle.

But he had made the right friends. Two arms wrapped around his shoulders and he leaned against his friend, Gilbert. They called him by his last name, because he would make them regret their lives if they didn't. "Thanks, Laf."

The quartet of them walked to their next class, which was only a few doors down. Already late, they walked step by step together. When they entered the classroom, a little out of breath from their fast pace, the teacher just rolled his eyes. "Take a seat, boys."

Each of them muttered an apology before finding a seat. Alexander collapsed into a seat besides a girl he knew all too well. She raised her head and beamed. "Do I even need to ask why you're late?"

He shook his head in response. "Best not to even bother." After he placed his book bag on the ground underneath his desk, he leaned across the space between them, as the teacher had begun to teach. She bit the end of her pen and met his gaze. One eyebrow raised in his direction.

"Eliza." At her name, she twirled her pen around. His eyes twinkled when he looked at her, full of blue and hope. She waited a little longer to respond, just to play with him. When she felt the time was right, she nodded her head at him.

"Looking good today." Alex winked in her direction, before turning his attention to the blackboard. Her heart filled with a sense of joy and she too looked up at the board. But they managed to sneak a glance at each other every few minutes for the rest of class.

An hour passed and the bell rang. From the back of class, Hercules woke up. He had zoned out during class and somehow fallen asleep. It took him all the strength he had not insult his friends for not waking him. He was already failing, so it was vital to stay awake.

The three of them packed up their things. John looked around the classroom. "Yo, where's Alex?" Each one surveyed the room. Only a few students were still there. And their friend wasn't one of those few.

"He's probably with that girlfriend of his again or something." Lafayette chuckled cheekily before letting out a long sigh. He barely got to talk to his friend anymore, ever since that girl walked into his life. It wasn't that he wasn't excited about the relationship, just that he was too consumed in the love and everything.

John snorted, but covered it up with a cheeky grin. He remembered the moment Alexander had told him that he had a girlfriend. In that moment something had changed. Though he was all smiles, John secretly felt his heart drop at the news.

He didn't feel an attraction to girls much, and couldn't connect with his friends that way. It was difficult to comprehend his feelings and no matter how much he tried to talk to someone, he stopped himself. It wasn't normal, and he felt like an outcast.

Meanwhile outside in the hallway, Alexander was leaned up against a wall, phone in his hand. His head threw back in laughter as his girlfriend said something to him. She was a delightful spirit to be around.

As he listened to her, another face caught his attention from across the hallway. Red lipped, with mocha colored hair, was a girl he'd never seen before. She looked up from her notebook, making eye contact with him.

Alexander blinked a few times, turning back to his girlfriend and then back at the girl. She was still looking at him with a profound interest, which made him smile a little. A feeling rushed through his veins and then vanished.

But as he was swept away by his friends to their next class, the moment was gone. He didn't even look back to see if she was still checking him out.

Alexander stepped through the door of his history class and grimaced. Sitting in the first desk, where he usually sat, was Aaron. All dressed up, looking fresh and attentive, he looked up from his textbook. "Ah, Hamilton."

"Burr," he replied under his breath. Not spending another second to talk, he took Eliza's hand and pulled her along. They found two seats a distance away from him, barely sitting down before Alexander began cursing about his enemy they had just encountered.

"Hush," Eliza hissed at him. She linked their hands and muttered, "Why worry about Aaron when there's so much to do? You seem to only think of him as an obstacle in your way, when he's indeed just a threat." She shook her head in disbelief.

Alexander whispered back, "Well, he's a threat alright. I can't stand him." He leaned back in his chair and eyed his competitor from across the room. Eliza rolled her eyes and began writing down some notes.

And so he pulled out a pen, grabbing a piece of lined paper as well. The teacher began rambling on about some time period he couldn't care less about. He furiously wrote down the notes from the board, glancing at Aaron from the corner of his eye.

Just when he let out a frustrated sigh, mind running wild, he felt a hand touch his. Eliza.

God, I love you, he thought. He'd never actually told her out loud, but he was really in love with her. It wasn't some one week relationship, it was something more. Love was a strong emotion, but he knew what he was feeling was true.

She rubbed circles into his palm, silently reassuring and calming him. Alexander let out another sigh, staring up at the board at some timeline that had been drawn on.

If there was one thing that was going to get him through the rest of high school, it would be Eliza. She was the one thing keeping him sane and satisfied. There was endless things ahead in his last year, but all that was too far away too see. So for the moment, he'd just take it each step of the way.

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A/N: Thank you rose_gemini2003 for the request! I had so much fun writing a modern one shot, it's a joy to take the aspects they have and make them well, modern.