Chapter Text
God has abandoned this timeline.
That was the only thought that flew through your mind as you surveyed the amount of furniture in your new apartment, or rather lack thereof. The landlord had sworn up and down that when you arrived it would be fully furnished as the previous owner had very suddenly been called back to their home country due to a family emergency.
That was obviously not the case.
You sighed, running your hand through your hair and deciding to deal with this problem later. You piled your bags into a corner and decided to explore your new home. Moving to New York had been a massive step for you. Leaving behind all your friends and family in London, not to mention the fact that you literally knew no one in the big bustling city of New York. Hopefully it would all be worth it in the long run.
The bathroom was satisfactory, in that it seemed to flush fine. Would definitely be better with some toilet paper however, and the bedroom would have been perfect if it had had a bed. The wallpaper wasn’t too obnoxious and there was a large double door which opened onto a small balcony looking over the unsurprisingly busy street below. You were only on the second story, thank god. You might have had to request a different room if you had been any higher.
For some reason the balcony enticed you. Despite having a crippling fear of heights you were still intrigued with the idea of it. You slid the lock open and pushed the doors, stepping out onto the balcony.
Despite only being on the second story, you were still amazed at everything you could see. The shop owners closing down for the day, the office workers tiredly tramping down the stairs to catch the subway, the taxis picking up tourists…
You were laughing at the angry Latino man who was yelling at his son for whatever mischievous thing he had done when you saw another man out of the corner of your eye. For whatever reason, you turned to look at him and stared in disbelief.
He was quite possibly the hottest, yet at the same time somehow the most adorable man you had ever seen.
Your eyes traveled over his long hair tied up in a man bun, his baggy clothes which normally would have turned you off made your mouth hang open at how sexy he looked in them. Your mouth flapped open like a fish out of water as you watched the man stop by the angry Latino man and start speaking rapidly to him in something that sounded like Spanish.
Jesus Christ our lord and saviour he speaks Spanish, there is nothing that could make this guy any more attractive….
Your thoughts trailed off as he leaned his head back and laughed wholeheartedly at something the Latino man said. Of course he had a gorgeous smile and a captivating laugh. As if he wasn’t already perfect enough.
He waved goodbye to the Latino man and his son and began walking happily down the street again, you with your mouth hanging open still staring openly at him. He lifted his arms to take his hair out and you almost fainted. Of course he had muscles and looked like Americas next top model with his hair out. Of bloody course.
You dragged your eyes over his body again before you flicked your eyes back up to his face…. Only for your eyes to lock with his.
You froze, your entire body clenched in fear and everything in you screamed to get the fuck out of there before he got angry at you for staring. However, he just smiled so brightly that you were sure he was a reincarnation of a suns ray, and winked at you.
He bloody winked at you.
You shut your mouth and ran back inside your apartment quicker than you could say embarrassing. You flung the doors shut and sat down in front of them, trying to slow your racing heart. How did you get so lucky to have the hottest guy in the world walking in front of your apartment at her exact moment you happen to be outside?
Maybe God hadn’t abandoned you after all.
-
Later that night, while you were cuddled up in some blankets on the floor, cursing your landlord for his forgetfulness, you typed and posted the following tweet.
@y/n
Was in the middle of cursing out my landlord for leaving me without a bed on my first night in New York, when the hottest guy ever conceived in the history of time walked past my window… I have truly been #blessed.
-
You didn’t see the hot guy again until four days later, when you finally had some goddamn furniture in your apartment.
It was a lovely sunny day, but still quite brisk as it was November after all, so you had brought your favourite blanket and a chair out onto the balcony and you sat quite happily with a cup of tea and the book you were currently reading.
You took a sip of the steaming liquid and surveyed the bustling streets again, only to spit it out all over you as your eyes flitted over to see the unbelievably hot guy strolling down the street again. You quickly covered your face with the book and prayed to whatever gods were watching that he didn’t see you. You waited a few moments before slowly lowering the book to look over and see if he had gone.
He was not gone.
You squeaked as his eyes locked with yours and he grinned goofily at the embarrassing sound you made. This time he waved, and you gathered all of your confidence and flimsily waved back, before burying your head back in your book in the hopes he would get the hint and move on.
He did.
You looked up again a minute later and he was no where in sight. Breathing a sigh of relief you packed up your belongings and hurried back inside just in case he decided to walk past again. You prayed he was just visiting a friend and that you would never have to see him again, to avoid further embarrassment.
Yes, you could definitely do without him in your life… right?
-
@y/n
That super hot dude walked past my apartment again… I guess this is what I was gifted for surviving three days with no bed. Thanks to whoever is watching over me, but I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough to last two lifetimes now.
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@y/b/f/n
@y/n honey!!! Approach this guy next time you see him or you will 100% regret it. Don’t make me fly over to New York and do it for you!
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@y/n
@y/b/f/n I think I’ll save myself the pain from being rejected by the reincarnation of the word perfect thank you very much.
-
The next evening, you found yourself in a dilemma.
Pros of sitting out on the balcony again: you might see hot guy again, and he might notice you.
Cons: you might see hot guy again, and he might notice you.
They were both strong arguments.
-
You wrapped yourself like a burrito in your warmest blanket as the cool night began to settle on New York. Apparently seeing a hot dude is worth the numb fingers and crippling embarrassment. This time you had a game plan, however. You were not going to shy away and you definitely weren’t going to do anything to embarrass yourself. Who knows, maybe he would even talk to you this time….
You waited half an hour in the freezing cold before he came, and this time he wasn’t alone.
A tall, olive skinned, muscly man walked beside him, the both of them wrapped up in their warm clothes and laughing gleefully and whatever conversation they were having. You felt a large smile form on your face. He looked so happy, like there was nothing else in the world that he needed more than that friend by his side and a roof over his head.
You felt a sneaky feeling slide it’s way up your stomach and you swallowed. Oh dear, you might actually have a crush on this unknown man.
Then he saw you, and somehow, his smile grew even wider. He nudged his friend and pointed up at you, talking fast and making large gestures with his hands while his friend nodded and watched gleefully. He waved at you and you took a deep breath, smiled at large as you could and waved back. The friend said something and the man’s smile instantly dropped, and he seemed nervous. He looked back down again before grabbing his friends arm and pulling him along. Your smile dropped. Maybe he didn’t want anything to do with you after all.
Your sadness turned into utter despair as you watched him drag his friend through the door to your building.
No way, he lived in your building? And he hadn’t come to say hi…. You sighed and stood, going back inside and closing the door gently behind you. Guess he wasn’t interested after all.
-
@y/n
I’ve discovered eating ice cream and watching Brooklyn 99 is a great way to drown your sorrows about a man who was never yours.
-
You didn’t sit outside on the balcony again for two weeks. You convinced yourself it was because it was getting too cold, not because you couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him again and knowing for certain you would never have a chance.
But one day, it was suddenly a decent 65° outside, and your best friends had been begging you for a photo of the guy all week, desperate to see who had stolen your heart. You decided that since you were definitely 100% over him and it was warmish (definitely for December), you would give it another shot.
Just for the picture though.
You sat with your phone ready, in a position that wouldn’t look too suspicious if he spotted you again. You didn’t have to wait long. It was mere minutes before he came ambling along the side walk once again. He spotted you almost immediately, and his face lit up like a sunrise after a night shower. He began to wave frantically to get your attention, thinking you were caught up in your phone.
Could he just stop moving for two seconds so you could get a decent picture?
Eventually, he stopped, seeming disheartened, and you quickly snapped a few pics. Taking a deep breath, you squared your shoulders and pretended to look up and just notice him standing there. You forced a smile on your face and waved awkwardly as he beamed over at you. How was he so deliciously adorable god dammit.
His smile was so freaking wide and glowing, was he ever unhappy?
Was he shouting something at you? You focused on his lips (bad idea, he has gorgeous lips) and tried to hear what he was saying.
Goon? Bumblebee? What on earth was he saying. You shook your head to show him you couldn’t hear and his shoulders slumped. Damn this bustling city, couldn’t everyone just stop for five minutes? He tried a few more times before waving you off and walking dejectedly to the building door.
You contemplated going down to see him, but you decided that was a stupid idea because why would he want to see you anyway and he probably had better things to do with his life.
Not like you wanted to talk to him anyway. What being totally over him and everything.
-
@y/n
Is it normal to feel like there's someone out there who like, would be the perfect match for you? Hypothetically speaking, that is.
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@y/n
@y/b/f/n @y/f/n the pictures you so graciously asked for. Enjoy.
{Insert adorable pictures of lin here}
-
The next morning, you woke up to the sound of your phone ringing.
Strange, its only 7am, who would be calling you this early in the morning? You picked up the phone and answered, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, not even bothering to check who it was.
“Hello?”
“Y/N? Oh my god I’ve been trying to reach you for hours!” You rolled your eyes at the sound of your best friends voice over the speaker.
“You realise its only 7AM here right?”
“Unimportant, once you hear what I have to say you’ll be thanking me. I know who he is, Y/N." She seemed to pause, as if waiting for your amazed reaction.
“Who?”
“You dimwit, that mystery man you’ve been pining over for almost a month now!!”
You sat up right in bed, your throat going dry and the breath leaving your throat. You couldn’t believe what you were hearing.
“I… you, what?”
“I can’t believe you didn’t recognize him; he's a bloody celebrity. And a big one at that. Check your Twitter account! It’s probably blowing up right now!!”
You were utterly speechless. Unbelievably hot Latino man was famous? That’s probably why he wanted nothing to do with you, he could probably have any girl he wanted with looks like that.
“Who is he?” You managed to stutter out, your hands barely able to hold your phone as they were shaking so much.
“His name is Lin-Manuel Miranda,” God even his name is hot, “and he wrote this really popular Broadway musical about a founding father. I’m surprised you’ve never heard of him before.”
“That is do unimportant right now y/b/f/n, does he have Twitter?” She was silent for a moment and your heart began to thump louder than humanely possible.
“Don’t get mad.”
“What did you do?”
“He has a Twitter… he uses it a lot. And when I saw it was him in the photos I may or may not have… tagged him in them?” she trailed off at the end, unsure how you would take such big news.
“So you’re telling me it’s possible that hot Latino guy who I’m pretty sure already rejected me has probably seen all my thirst tweets about him?”
“Oh he's seen them alright. He liked and replied to a few of them last night.” Your heart stopped.
“My life is over. I’m done for. I’ve never been more embarrassed in my entire life.” You flopped back onto your bed, feeling especially disheartened.
“Please read the replies… trust me, it’s worth it.”
-
It took you two hours to muster up the courage to even open your Twitter app, and when you did, you were flooded with thousands of notifications. Retweets, likes, followers, but three stood out from the rest.
@lin_manuel liked your tweet
@lin_manuel retweeted your tweet
“Was in the middle of cursing out my landlord for leaving me without a bed on my first night in New York, when the hottest guy ever conceived in the history of time walked past my window… I have truly been #blessed.”
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You’re telling me that the girl I’ve been trying to work up the courage to approach for a month but was too scared to do so because pretty girls are intimidating likes me back? *first pump*
Ignoring your palpating heart, you clicked on his profile and began to scroll. Damn this man was addicted, he tweeted anywhere between 2 and 10 times a day. You came across his retweet of you and taking a deep breath, decided to scroll through the comments.
@hamilfan1800: @lin_manuel are you living in a rom com?
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@lin_manuel: @hamilfan1800 if so I never want it to end.
@linnamonroll: @lin_manuel THIS IS THE CUTEST SHIT IVE SEEN ALL MONTH!! YOU GET THAT GIRL MAN
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@lin_manuel: @linnamonroll believe me I’m trying.
@jeffersonsbxtch: @lin_manuel you two will make gorgeous babies one day.
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@lin_manuel: @jeffersonsbxtch no need to look that far ahead… I would be happy if I even got to meet her properly in person.
Before you could become any more flustered, a notification popped up at the top of your screen.
Direct message from @lin_manuel
“Hi… God this feels so weird. I’m sorry if I come off as creepy or weird by doing this but I don’t know which apartment is yours and I don’t feel like paying a visit to all your neighbours and when I saw your tweet I was so relieved because I was worried you weren’t interested in me. Anyway I’m rambling again…. Come visit me in room 406? Please? I have pizza..."
This had to be a joke. Someone was pranking you. Any moment now a guy with a camera will jump out and everyone will laugh because who would honestly believe the most attractive man you’ve ever seen in your life would actually like you.
Your trembling fingers managed to type out a reply.
@y/n: Is this a joke?
He replied almost instantly.
@lin_manuel: it isn’t I swear. I didn’t mean to upset you, I’m really sorry for being so forward, we can totally start at square one.
@y/n: I feel like cameras will jump out at me any second.
@y/n: did you really mean what you said when you retweeted my first tweet?
@lin_manuel: every last word.
You lay back in your bed, your mind racing as you ponder what to do next. Could there be a chance that Lin-Manuel actually likes you? Your heart skipped a beat at the very thought. You took a deep breath and put down your phone, decisions whirling around your brain.
-
Lins POV
I paced back and forth in my living room, anxiously waiting for a reply from y/n. I cant have screwed it up already, we haven’t even met yet. Ay dios mio, pretty girls make me nervous. I tried to calm my shaking hands and wildly beating heart by scrolling through Twitter, but nothing could seem to distract me from y/n.
When I saw lots of people tagging me in the same tweets I was intrigued, but it wasn’t until Chris texted me telling me to check out my mentions did I actually look at the tweets properly. I couldn’t believe my luck. When I retweeted y/n’s first tweet Twitter went crazy with fans already creating ship names. Everyone was rooting for us it seems.
I liked and replied to some of the funniest replies before allowing myself to daydream about what even being friends with a gorgeous girl like y/n would be like.
My train of thought was abruptly disrupted when there was a timid knock at the door. I felt my heart leap to my throat and a cascade of sweat began to shower my body. Hands shaking, I opened the door to reveal y/n.
She stood in black sweatpants and a white GAP top, with fluffy pink slippers and her wavy hair cascading down her shoulders. Impossibly, she was even more beautiful in person. Her hands were stuffed awkwardly in her pockets, and I could see her fidgeting nervously. I got so caught up in staring at her that I didn’t realise I had yet to say anything to her.
“Lin-Manuel?” The way she said my name sent an electric shock down my body.
“Hi? Sorry I don’t look my best, I forgot to make myself look nicer and by the time I realised I was already here and I thought you wouldn’t mind. I can always go back and change though, it’s no trouble.” She breathed out shakily and turned to go back go her room, but I suddenly came back to my senses and quickly grabbed her arm.
“Stay. You look incredible.”
She looked down at my hand holding her wrist, and I channeled every last bit of luck I could and slid my hand down to hold hers. She didn’t wince; a good sign. But instead just stared at our entwined hands for a long moment.
Then she lifted her eyes to meet mine and gave me a dazzling smile, holding my hand tighter and allowing herself to be guided inside my apartment.
-
@lin_manuel: “the sun shines when you smile. Don’t ever stop you beautiful creature. Someone out there is obsessed with the way your eyes crinkle when you laugh. Trust me. Goodnight.”
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@lin_manuel: “P.S. Life is fucking great.”