Chapter Text
Charles Lee was an asshole.
Well, at least that’s what his tour guide, Alexander Hamilton, told him.
Samuel Seabury had just moved to New York from Connecticut, and because he happened to transfer in the middle of the year, he was the new kid.
Samuel had never been the new kid before. The idea that he would feel isolated from the rest of the school made his stomach churn.
He was currently being shown around the school by Alexander, the student council treasurer and tour guide. Alexander wasn’t the ideal person for the job; he seemed to be emotionless and was never enthusiastic about anything in the school. However, while walking through the halls, they ran into Charles, who smirked and flipped Alexander off.
“Ignore him,” Alexander said, rolling his eyes. “He’s an asshole.”
Samuel frowned; foul language was typically discouraged in his religious household. But, he figured there was a reason for Alexander to describe Charles as such, and made a mental note to attempt to avoid him.
He continued following the tour guide until he stopped in front of a classroom labelled “203.” For the first time throughout the entire tour, Alexander smiled.
“This,” he said, gesturing to the classroom, “is Mr. Washington’s classroom. He teaches history and is my favorite teacher.” His face quickly turned from that small hint of joy to a scowl. “Charles Lee, back there, always badmouths him. It’s very frustrating to see him constantly mock him.”
Samuel’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Why does he dislike Mr. Washington?”
Alexander shrugged and rolled his eyes. “How should I know? The guy does whatever he wants! I mean, it’s not like Mr. Washington doesn’t like him; he definitely does! From what I can tell, there’s absolutely no reason for his hatred! His claims aren’t even accurate! If he were a bad teacher, surely he wouldn’t be the most popular one in the school!”
Alexander continued rambling on, but Samuel had to admit he had stopped listening long ago. He was staring off into the distance, studying Charles. He supposed it did make sense that Charles was considered an “asshole,” with his overdramatic body movements (such as slamming his locker shut) and judgmental eyes that darted around the room in every which way.
But, then, those deep, dark eyes locked onto his. It only lasted for a sliver of a second, but it was enough to tell Samuel that there was more than just an “asshole” within him.
“Samuel? Are you even listening to me?”
Samuel snapped back to reality, his head shaking back and forth.
“Sorry!” he replied, flushing in embarrassment. “Just… an overwhelming school!”
Alexander nodded in understanding. “As an immigrant from the Caribbean, I understand.” He then gestured for Samuel to follow him once more. “But, our tour isn’t finished yet.”
Charles had no idea why the redhead was staring at him.
It wasn’t like he could blame the guy; someone as attractive as himself would obviously get some stares.
But, something told Charles that the new kid wasn’t staring at him for his looks.
Maybe it was the way he was studying him instead of admiring him. Maybe it was the way his eyebrows scrunched up as if he was confused by something. Maybe it was the fact that there was a tiny silver necklace in the shape of a cross around his neck. Hell, it wasn’t like Charles would know why! All he knew was that this stare was different than the usual stares he got.
He shrugged the thought off, turning to his locker to fiddle with the lock. However, once he opened his locker up, he immediately slammed it shut again.
‘I don’t even need anything from my locker!’ he thought in confusion. ‘Why in the world would I open it again, then?!’
He rolled his eyes at his own confusing actions and headed to his first class of the day, which happened to be his least favorite class: History.
Charles scowled at the idea of sitting through another awful lecture. The subject itself he didn’t mind, but Washington just made him so annoyed to the point where he hated the subject altogether.
To put it simply, Washington was the most boring and bossy teacher in the entire school. Sure, his teaching style was immersive and all, but the guy acted like a general because of how commanding he was! He acted like every class was a military bootcamp rather than a lesson! He even assigned each student ranks based on how good their grades were!
Charles threw his bag down to the floor and slumped in front of his desk in the front row. Unfortunately, Charles managed to become a “general” within the class, which even straight-A Alexander Hamilton couldn’t get. He tried his best to do horrible on his tests, but he couldn’t help but be so interested in history!
So, Charles was forced to sit in the front row, right next to Washington’s desk, which was a less than ideal situation for him. The fact that his classmates envied his position concerned him.
As the bell to signal students to start heading to their classes rang, Charles spotted a familiar figure with red hair tentatively walk through the door. The teen’s eyes flashed with recognition when he spotted Charles, and he immediately started scurrying away to the desk with his name on it.
‘Just great,’ Charles thought. ‘I’m going to have to spend a whole class knowing the guy who was staring at me earlier will be staring at me again!’
And, then it struck him. It all made sense now.
Charles didn’t open his locker again because he needed something from inside. He opened his locker again because he wanted to avoid the eyes of the new kid!
‘Stupid new kid! Why do your creepy eyes have to always be on me?!’
But, then, Charles hummed to himself. Maybe this new kid staring at him wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. In fact, he could use this to his advantage! If the kid was so interested in him, he could finally get someone on his side who would back him up in case trouble arose!
‘I mean, he definitely wouldn’t be of any use in a fight with such a lanky build, but even a shrimp would be better than air!’
Suddenly, Charles felt much more excited about getting to know this new kid. He would get to work as soon as he survived history class.