Chapter 2

Third Person P.O.V. (John)

Sometimes you gotta bleed to know, that you're alive and have a soul. But it takes someone to come around...

John had heard Twenty One Pilots all the time come on the radio at work. He worked at Starbucks for god's sake. Modern, new music like Twenty One Pilots played almost 5 times every shift. But after that subway ride, John knew that he would never hear that band in the same way again. It was 3:30pm, almost 4 hours since John met Alex, and he hadn't stopped thinking about him the whole time. Working at a coffee shop, John met a lot of people during the course of a day. But no one ever left as much of an impression on him, as Alex did. The way his long hair went almost passed his shoulders, but not quite. The way his eyes looked like they hadn't shut for more than 3 hours a night. Most importantly, the way he made John feel when he smiled. His thoughts were interrupted when, from behind the counter, he saw two men loudly approaching the Starbucks. John rolled his eyes to himself, knowing what was about to happen. They walked in, voices loud.

"Johnny Boy!! How's work been treating you so far today?!"

"You know you don't have to be so loud and obnoxious when you enter places, Herc. You aren't the only one in this building." John had been friends with Hercules for almost three years now, and every day, he swore Herc was louder than the previous.

"Mon ami, take a chill pill. We are just trying to have a good time before college starts in a week."

"Laf has a good point. Columbia is a tough school. We are lucky that we got accepted, but we are going to have to put a lot of work into it. We need to have all the fun we can before it starts."

As much as John loved his two friends, Lafayette and Hercules were some of the most obnoxious people he has ever met. Lucky for them, John was in a particularly good mood, and didn't feel like arguing.

"Fine. But just dial it down a bit. Oh and to answer your question, Herc, work hasn't been all that bad today. Actually, it was pretty good."

She's the tear in my heart, I'm alive. She's the tear in my heart, I'm on fire.

Focusing back on the song playing through the coffee shop caused John to smile. I wonder when I will see Alex again, John thought to himself.

"Monsieur Laurens? You gonna take our orders or are you just going to keep standing there smiling?" John snapped out of his thoughts.

"Oh, uh, yeah sorry. Um, alright. Herc, what would you like?"

"I would like to know what has got you so happy today."

"Oui. I will take the same."

"Laf, you don't need to put french in every sentence you speak. We get it, you're from France. Now, drinks. What would you like?"

"John. I believe I told you what I would like, already. Why are you so happy?" Hercules was always very persistent. If he wanted answers, he would get them. Even if he needed to act like a spy to get them.

"The subway ride here was better than usual. Nothing special." John knew that if he told his friends what had really happened, they wouldn't leave him alone. Did John even know why he was so happy? He knew it was because of Alex, but WHY was it because of Alex. Alex. John couldn't stop wishing that he would run into Alex on campus. Maybe Alex would even come to Starbucks when John was working.

"Herc, mon ami. He zoned out again. "

"I can see that, Laf. Omg... Laf look, he's blushing!"

"You guys, I'm not deaf. And no, I'm not blushing. It's just a little hot in here." John was blushing, and he knew that his friends knew it too. But he was hoping to move on from the conversation.

"Yeah, okay. Forget it. Umm, I will take a medium coffee frappacino."

"Okay. What about you Laf?"

"I will have a large vanilla bean, with three pumps of raspberry, s'il vous plait." Lafayette always ordered drinks with all these added syrups and flavors. John really didn't understand why the regular menu wasn't enough for him.

"Is that even good? You always get these weird concoctions."

"Who cares? Just make my drink." John laughed, but reluctantly made their drinks anyway.

(MEANWHILE WITH ALEX)

Alex had arrived on campus on time so that he could check into his dorm. When he arrived at his dorm, he noticed that his roommate had been there and already unpacked all his stuff.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" No answer. His rommate must have been out. So, Alex started unpacking the two bags he had full of clothes. He lay his laptop on the empty bed next to his roommate's. He wondered who his roommate would be. What classes would he take? Would he have any with Alex? Was he nice? Alex decided that he shouldn't worry too much about it, so he finished unpacking. He found an outlet next to his nightstand and plugged in his phone to charge. Removing his laptop out from his bag, Alex was reminded of the subway ride. The way he held the strap of the bag tightly to release some of his nerves. John had been easy to talk to, but something about him just made Alex nervous. Almost like he needed to impress John. In the few minutes they spent together, John had made Alex feel so full. Full of happiness and hope. Alex did however notice that John was fairly skinny. Maybe it was just what he was wearing, Alex thought. He hoped that he would see John around this year.

Alex's eyes were burning from looking at his computer screen. He had been typing away for almost four hours, but he kept going. Nothing would stop him from typing. He wrote everything down. He wrote about the city, the college, the nice man named Aaron that Alex had met on his way to his dorm, that helped him find where he was going. He wrote about home, back in Nevis. But he mostly wrote about John. Just thinking of the name made Alex smile, and even blush a little.

*Back to John's life; after the drinks are done*

"Here you guys go. So, did you guys check into college yet?"

"We actually just came from there. Laf and I actually share a dorm!" Lucky, John thought. He really dreaded the idea of sharing a dorm with some weirdo this year.

"Did your roommate show up today?" John had been staying in his dorm for the past two days. After a week of begging the administration, John was allowed to settle in early. But his roommate hadn't done the same, so who that roommate was, was a mystery.

"No. I was out all morning, and then came straight here afterwards. Haven't been to the dorm since around 8am so, maybe someone showed up. I don't know."

"Well, let us know mon ami. Me and Herc are gonna head back to finish unpacking."

"Alright. Have fun you guys! See you later!" As Lafayette and Hercules picked up their drinks and left, John noticed something. Every time Lafayette opened his mouth in the slightest, Hercules would watch him. He would watch Laf like he wanted to listen to him forever. He had seen this before, but every time it happened, it made John even more curious. Sometimes it would be Lafayette watching Hercules. And sometimes it happened like it did today where Herc watched Lafayette. John had a feeling the two liked each other. Lafayette had come out as gay to the two of them almost two years ago. Hercules however, was straight. Well, that's what people thought anyway. He never came out as gay, so everyone just assumed he was straight. But John knew Hercules too well. He had a feeling the two liked eachother, and now that they would be sharing a dorm, John hoped that Laf and Herc would finally get together.

As for John? Well, he didn't really know to be quite honest. His whole life he had been raised to believe that men should love women and nothing else. Of course, John had never listened to his dad when he said these things. John thought that anyone can, and should, love anyone they want, man or woman. There had been times when John would see a girl as attractive, but never anything more. He saw beauty, but never felt anything romantic towards them. It was people like Alex that he felt strongly towards. As far as John knew, he wasn't gay. In fact, he was scared to be. Just because John didn't agree with his father's harsh words, didn't mean that they didn't scare him. They did. Which led back to Alex. If and when John ever saw him again, well, he didn't really know what he would do. Alex affected John in a way that John was not familiar with. In a way that his father made John fear.

The clock hit 4:00 and John's shift was over. On his way back to Columbia, he wondered if his roommate would be there yet. Once John got back to his dorm, he pulled out his key from his back pocket, and unlocked the door. When he opened the door, he saw two empty bags on the floor, at the foot of the bed that would belong to his roommate. I know these bags from somewhere, thought John.

Alex P.O.V.

I was snapped out of my typing trance when I heard the door to the dorm slam shut. I looked up at the man standing in the doorway examining my empty bags. I immediately stopped typing, and was taken back by the skinny figure I saw."Laurens?"He looked up and straight into my eyes. His mouth dropped open slightly and his beautiful brown eyes widening."Hamilton."

(A/N yes i know i updated today already. Oh well. so these first two chapters were super fun to write. also, they were both 1000+ words so... yeah. This story will probably be a decent length. Again, thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed.)