Three years into college, no one is the same person that they were three years into high school. As a junior, Alexander Hamilton's mother died. The same year, he was abused and raped by his cousin who killed himself. Then, to top it all off, his first love, John Laurens, was killed in a car crash. But through all of this, Alex was still standing during his third year of college and going strong.

Not all of his junior year was bad, however. Even though he lost his mom, he gained two new parents through Lin Manuel Miranda and Vanessa Nadal, who he loved enough to call 'mom' and 'dad'. After losing his John, he found a new love in Elizabeth Schuyler, or Eliza, whom he was still dating. The past four years had been quieter than Alex could have ever hoped for. Eliza made him calm, his parents made him feel secure, and his double major in politics and journalism kept him busy.

Here he was, twenty-two, sleep deprived, and incredibly sure of his newest decision. He had a few people to call, however, before the big day arrived. Marquis de Lafayette was the first on the list.

"Alex! It's so good to hear from you, mon ami!" Lafayette was attending a different college than Alex, one that was thousands of miles away in France. Some stuff in his family was falling apart and he felt it was time to go home. Nobody could blame him, but everyone missed him.

"It's been way to long, Laf," Alex smiled. He could pratically see Lafayette's goofy grin through the phone. When he smiled, it was infectious.

"So what is the occasion?" His French accent became heavier through his stay in France, but he kept his English up through conversations like these.

"I have to tell you something important," Alex said slowly. What he was about to do was huge, and he needed advice from all of the people he was close to before moving forward. This was too important to do his normal 'Alex Hamilton' thing and go at an insane pace.

"Well, spit it out!" Laf exclaimed after a moment.

"I'm going to ask Eliza to marry me." And there it was. It wasn't a question; he didn't say 'I think'. Alexander Hamilton was going to ask Elizabeth Schuyler to marry him.

Lafayette was stunned for a moment and he really didn't know what to say. They were only twenty-two, but when he really thought about it, he wasn't surprised. "Alex that is wonderful!"

Ever since Eliza and Alex had started dating, Lafayette and Hercules knew they were meant to be. When John died, they didn't know if they'd ever see Alex smile again and somehow Eliza brought that back for him. If she could do that, then she was the one.

"Lafayette, I'm really nervous," Alex stuttered. "I've never been so nervous about anything in my whole life."

"Alexander Hamilton? Nervous? I find that hard to believe," Lafayette replied. Alex was almost never nervous. Even if he was, he took his nerves out on paper, rarely through his words. Alex had a panic attack every once in awhile, but that was only when it got really bad. Overall, 'nervous' was not a word anyone would use to describe him nowadays.

"I've never felt this way before." Alex had to sit down before saying his next hit. "What if she says no?"

"Mon petit lion, if there is one thing I know for certain, it is that you and Eliza are meant to be together. I cannot imagine a situation where the girl says no."

"But her dad…" Alex argued. "He could stop her."

"Eliza's got a good head on her shoulders now. She won't let her dad stand in the way." Mr. Schuyler was, in polite terms, a difficult man. As a teenager, Eliza dated a boy named Sam Seabury due to her father's demands. He wanted his daughters' to all have 'respectable' marriages that came with money to uphold the Schuyler name. Eventually, they were able to negotiate their way into having only one arranged marriage. Angelica volunteered and moved to the University of London with John Church.

The guilt Peggy and Eliza felt was immense, but they couldn't do anything about it. Angelica had made up her mind and there was no changing it, even if she only got to see her sisters on holidays.

"Do you love her, Alex?"

"Yes," Alex replied immediately.

"Then that is all that matters. She'll say yes, and then you can deal with her pain in the ass father after the engagement. Send me the save the date as soon as possible, oui? I will book a flight as soon as possible."

'Thanks Laf," Alex smiled.

Alex flipped his phone around in his palm. His call with Lafayette was the easier of the two. The next call he needed to make would be a bit more nerve racking. His parent's approval meant everything to him and if he didn't have their blessing then he couldn't ask Eliza to marry him.

As he stared at his lock screen, he changed his mind. He couldn't do this over the phone. He needed to see them. Quickly, he logged onto his computer and pulled up Skype. His parents were busy people, but they had a standing apppointment on Thursday nights to talk at seven in the evening. With a deep breath, he called them.

Suddenly, his Mom and Dad's faces appeared on the screen. His Dad was mumbling, "Old Man Miranda… can't figure out how to work skype. Oh Alex! Look, Vanessa, there he is! We did it!" Then they high fived like the dorky couple they were.

"Hi Mom. Hi Dad," Alex said, giving them a small wave.

"Hi honey!" Vanessa exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!"

"Yeah bud, what's up with the skype? We usually do this over the phone. Not that we're complaining, of course," Lin rambled.

"Well, this is important and I didn't want to do it over the phone," Alex explained. He leaned against his desk chair and ran his hands through his hair.

Vanessa and Lin glanced at one another. "Is something wrong?" Vanessa asked.

"No! God, no," Alex said, shaking his head. "This is a good thing, I swear."

"Well then, let's hear it!" Lin smiled, leaning back in his chair and putting his arm around Vanessa's shoulder and his other hand in hers. That was the love Alex wanted. That was the love he had.

Alex opened his desk drawer and took out a small, black box that he began to play with in his hands. "I have to ask you something important and I need your approval." His parents raised their eyebrows and waited for him to continue. "I want to ask Eliza to marry me."

Lin and Vanessa both opened their mouths in shock, but the little tilts to their mouths said that they were happy. Lin was the first to say something. "Alex, buddy, that's fantastic!"

"Certainly the best news of the week," Vanessa added with quite the grin.

"So you're okay with it?" Alex asked, blushing.

"Okay with it? We're more than okay with it! We're estatic. Eliza's a great girl," Lin said, nodding and using his hands while he talked like he usually did when he was excited.

"You're one lucky guy if she says yes," Vanessa agreed. "Although, I don't know why she wouldn't. Did you buy the ring?"

"It's right here." Alex took it out of the box and held it up to the camera. When he picked out the ring, he had a mental picture of the promise ring that Sam gave Eliza when they were teenagers. He knew I couldn't look anything like that, so he bought a gold band with one, large diamond sticking up in the center. Vanessa gasped at the sight of it.

"That's beautiful!"

"It should be. It cost a fortune," Alex mumbled as he stared at it once more and placed it back in the box.

"When are you proposing?" Lin asked.

"Saturday night. We're going out to dinner at her favorite restaurant here in Philidelphia, a sushi place downtown. It's fancy and expensive. I want it to be intimate."

"That sounds wonderful, honey," Vanessa sighed. She was a sucker for love stories, her own being her favorite one of them all.

"It does sound amazing, mijo," Lin agreed. He then hesitating before saying, "Not to be a downer, but, how are you paying for all this? I know I haven't sent you a lot lately."

Alex sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I picked up a couple extra shifts at the coffee shop. No big deal," he shrugged. In reality, he was having sleepless nights trying to balance work, classes, and studying.

Vanessa and Lin both frowned. "Alex, we don't want you overworking yourself."

"It's fine, mom. I'm fine."

"We don't want you to pick up extra shifts. I can send you more money, Alex. It's not a problem," Lin tried to reason with him.

Alex immediately shook his head. "No, no I don't want you to do that. You're already paying for most of college. I've got this covered."

Lin tried to interject. "But, Alex-"

"I really don't want your money. I can do this on my own. But, listen, if I pick up an unpaid internship with a senator or a governor or something, then I'll let you pay for a few things," Alex laughed.

"Alright, it's a deal," Lin said, laughing in return. Then, he turned to Vanessa and exclaimed, "Our boy's getting married!"

Just then, his roommate and best friend, Hercules Mulligan, walked through the door. Quickly, Alex said, "Hey, Herc's here, I gotta go. Talk to you later?"

"Love you, mijo," Lin replied.

"Talk to you soon!" Vanessa beamed, and then the call was cut. Hercules put his keys down by the door and took off his jacket while Alex closed his laptop and shoved the ring box in his back pocket.

"What's the deal? You know you don't have to stop talking to them when I get here," Hercules said. Herc was studying at the Art Institute of Chicago, majoring in fashion. He was really fucking good at it too. Eliza and Alex were both studying at the University of Chicago, an 'almost' ivy. Alex was double majoring in politics and journalism while Eliza was majoring in social services, though she was thinking about getting her masters in early childhood education. She lived down in the street in an apartment by herself, which Alex hated, so he tried to spend as much time there as possible. He didn't like the idea of her being alone. But, she said yes to his proposal, she would never have to be alone again.

"I know, I know." Alex hadn't told Herc yet. He was telling everyone today, so there was no better time than the present. With Hercules, the less talking there was the better. So, instead of telling him, Alex took the ring box out of his pocket and placed it on the kitchen counter.

"What's this?" Herc asked, picking it up and opening it. "Holy shit. You proposing to me bro? You know, I'm sort of committed to Laf."

"Very funny," Alex replied, rolling his eyes.

"Is this serious?"

"I'm proposing Saturday."

Hercules took a seat at their kitchen table and Alex did the same. Hercules still had the ring box in his hand. He paused for a moment, looking it over. "That's great, Alex, but what about Angelica?"

Alex suddenly became incredibly interested in his hands. "What do you mean?"

"I've seen your letters."

"They're nothing. I mean, they're not nothing, but there's nothing there," Alex stuttered.

"Then I believe you." He slid the ring over to him. "Congrats, man. I can't believe you're getting engaged."

"Honestly?" Alex laughed. "Me neither."

Eliza's phone buzzed next to her notebook once again as she sat at her kitchen table, studying. It was Saturday, and she knew that if she didn't study that afternoon, she wouldn't ever get to. The text was from Alex and it was the fifth one he had sent her that day making sure they were still on for dinner. Since she had responded 'yes' every single time, she decided to pick up the phone and call him this time. Tucking the phone under her ear, she let it ring.

Alex picked up after only a few seconds. "Eliza! Hey!"

"Alex, what is going on?" Eliza laughed. "You've texted me like a million times." It was five o'clock and Alex was picking her up at seven. She wasn't even dressed yet, although she was starting to feel like she should get going.

Alex paused for a moment. He had texted her too many times, she thought something was up. Quickly, he found a way to cover it up. "I'm just excited, that's all. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever, 'Liza. I miss you. You've been studying non-stop and I've picked up extra shifts at the coffee shop and I just…"

Eliza cut him off. "Okay, I get it. I miss you too, Alexander." His name rolled off her tongue beautifully. "I'll see you at seven."

"I'll see you at seven," Alex repeated, and then, he was gone. Eliza tenderly placed her phone down on the table and continued to highlight her pyschology notes. However, her mind was distracted now. Instead of highlighting, she started to tap her pen on her paper. Alex had been talking about the future a lot lately. The places he wanted to see and the people he wanted to work with, but most of all, he made it very clear that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Eliza.

For some reason, it didn't scare her at all. It should have- she was young and still figuring her life out. But when she was seventeen, she knew that Alex was the one and nothing had changed since. Thoughts of marriage had always been in the back of her mind, and she intended to keep them back there so that she wouldn't get her hopes up. Even on a night like tonight, she wouldn't let herself expect anything.

It's times like these when she missed her sisters. Peggy was in Boston, majoring in gender studies and working on changing the world. Angelica was still in London with her boyfriend, John Church, finishing up her senior year at the University as she double majored in business and publishing. More than anything, she wished they were there in Chicago with her. Holidays certainly weren't enough.

Eventually, she gave up on studying and retreated to her bedroom to pick out a dress for dinner.

It was funny, Eliza was always the one to calm Alex's nerves, but tonight she was the one making him nervous. She was only a few blocks away and the sun was just beginning to set, so he decided to walk. He had a suit on, and a really nice on at that. It was the one he wore to the Tonys the year after 'Adams' premiered. He took Eliza as his date, and his dad won a bunch. It was a great night, but honestly nothing could top the night he was adopted.

When he finally reached Eliza's door, he double-checked that the red roses in his hand looked okay, took a breath, and then knocked.

Faintly, he heard Eliza yell, "Coming!" through the door. Then, he heard the pitter patter of her feet around the apartment.

Suddenly, she was there, standing in its frame. By some crazy concidence, she had the dress on that she wore to the Tonys. The both shared a moment of laughter before Alex said, "You look amazing."

"So do you," she replied. "I'm feelng a bit of déjà vu, you?"

"A little bit," Alex laughed. Then he stammered, "Here, these are for you." He handed her the flowers and her eyes lit up the way they did whenever he did anything unexpected for her.

"They're beautiful, Alex. Let me go put them in water before we go." He followed her into the apartment where she pulled out a small vase and filled it with water. Suddenly, the ring in his pocket felt like the heaviest weight on the planet. It was all becoming real.

His hands started to vibrate and he tried to stop them by shoving them in his pockets. Eliza gave him a look. "Are you okay?"

"Better than ever," Alex replied, masking his nerves with a smile. She still had a concerned look on her face because she knew better, but chose to let Alex tell her with time. She interlocked arms with him as he led her downstairs to call an Uber.

"This. Is. Delicious," Eliza said through bites of sushi. She was obsessed with it. She ate it at least once or twice a week. Alex, on the other hand, liked it but wasn't the biggest fan. He ate it because she liked it.

"Yeah, it's really good," Alex agreed. "Should we get dessert?" It was posed as a question, but if she said no he really didn't know what he'd do. When they first got to the resturaunt it was crowded, so Alex told Eliza to wait outside while he went to the hostess. Secretly at that time he slipped the ring to the hostess, who was instructed to put it on the chocolate cake Eliza was about to order.

"Oo, yes!" Eliza beamed. Alex sighed out of relief.

He then picked up the menu and posed the question, "Chocolate cake?"

"You know me too well," Eliza smirked as she finished off her sushi. Chocolate was another one of Eliza's weaknesses. She just couldn't get enough.

At this point, Alex was getting restless. He kept patting the ring in his pocket, just to make sure it was there. Eliza took notice and took hold of his hand. "Hey, I'm glad we're here together," she said with a smile.

"Me too," Alex replied, smiling back. There was nothing in this world that made him smile more than Eliza.

Within minutes, the waiter brought their chocolate cake. He placed it front of Eliza, who picked up a fork, saw the ring, and then stopped with her fork in mid air. Alex was shaking more than you could believe, but he was ready.

He took the ring from the chocolate cake, stepped out from the table, and knelt down in front of her. Eliza brought her hands up to her face and gasped as tears began to form in her eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening. Everyone's eyes in the resturaunt were on them now.

"Eliza, I fell in love with you when I was seventeen and haven't fallen out. You've been there for me through everything, and I couldn't be happier to be kneeling in front of you right now." Alex paused, trying not to let tears fall down his face. "There's not a lot of constant in my life, Eliza. But you are. You're my steady rock that keeps me going and keeps me inspired. I love you, Eliza. I guess, what I'm trying to say is, will you marry me?"

Then, there was the pause to end all pauses. The pause that made sweats break out on Alex's forehead.

And then, there was an answer.

"Yes."