Hamilton One Shots

Fondness

Requested by: DoctorWho618
OC: Isabella Winters

"Don't presume you know anything of me, Laurens." A joyful giggle echoed around the square as the woman spoke. Easily satisfied with her own words, she was intrigued in keeping a conversation with the man seated across from her.

Shaking his head, the man replied, "Oh, I am well aware of your character, miss. You should know that by now." There was a pause before he burst out laughing. The woman pursed her lips together, stifling a laugh.

With a lighthearted smile, the woman interjected, "Do you ever stop laughing? I don't think there has been a complete sentence, not finished with a laugh, that has come out of your mouth this whole time."

He seemed a little offended, so she quickly said, "I'm only playing with you, John." His features relaxed again and he walked over to her, sitting on the edge of her chair.

A strand of her hair had managed to fall out of the cap it was in. John noticed, immediately taking the strand gently and tucking it back under her cap. As he did so, she leaned back, uneasy with how close he had become.

When he pulled back, he seemed pleased. He traced on finger on her cheek gently, looking at the women he had known almost all his life with a profound smile. Feeling the touch, she chuckled, "John!"

It wasn't common for friends to touch one another in that manner. And it certainly wasn't something the two of them did often. So it startled her, which was very understandable.

Going to apologize, the words on the tip of his tongue, John opened his mouth just as there was the sound of shouting from the other side of the towns square. A lump in his throat grew, but the anticipation in his stomach did also.

The woman looked behind her friend and barely had enough time to make out the figures who were running towards them. All of a sudden there was lots of hooting and three men jumping on the table beside them.

"Hush now!" She waved her hands about as they all scrambled to find a place to perch upon. One leaned against her chair, while the other sat atop the table. The third man wrapped an arm around Laurens."

"Isabella, it's been a while." The man who had his arm around her friend beamed. He held out his hand, which she accepted. Pressing a soft kiss to her hand, he murmured, "Always a pleasure."

Though to any other woman the gesture would have been utterly romantic, she felt herself shaking her head. "No, dear, you must do better than that. You're getting married in barely a week. Pull yourself together, Alexander." She giggled as the man rolled his eyes in response.

"You never fail to educate me, now do you? I would be lost without you." Tightening his grip around his friend, Alexander looked down at the young woman.

Isabella crossed her arms. "Eliza won't care much for your instincts. By what the word in town is, you two have already well acquainted yourselves." Her petite figure was crowded by the other two men who begged for more information.

Blushing profusely, Alexander stuttered, "I dread to know where you hear such things, miss. Your father certainly wouldn't approve."

She avoided his eyes at that. Someone always managed to bring up her father, a strict businessman, who protected her until she could barely stand it. He made sure to know everything of her, which drove her mad.

The men could sense the tension radiating from her within seconds. One of them said rather loudly, "Lafayette's got himself a lady too." The man leaning against her chair started making noises in protest.

Isabella shifted her attention to them. "Oh, really? Does this lovely creature have a name or are you going to keep it a secret?" She wasn't trying to be intimidating, only trying to get some fun out of the whole situation.

"Adrienne. That's all you are aloud to know."

All of them began shouting and demanding more. But with his French accent loud and sharp in tone, Lafayette silenced their cries.

"And what about you, mademoiselle? Have you got anyone in your love life or someone on that mind of yours?"

Love. Isabella didn't have time to think about love. At least that's what she told herself every night when she stared up at her bedroom ceiling. She wasn't allowed to grow up, her father would never let her. And she wouldn't let herself.

Everywhere she went, all she heard was talk of men. People asked her who'd she like to marry one day. She knew that anyone in the town could certainly be a future husband.

As her friends leaned over shoulders, her eyes fell upon John. He hadn't said anything since the rest of their group had showed up. Twirling a spoon in an empty cup on the table, he made eye contact with her.

Even though she tried to hide the blush that grew on her cheeks, Isabella knew that the others had seen. She felt Alexander's hand tighten on her shoulder, a whisper in her ear barely a second away, "May I speak with you?"

And so she found herself a few yards away, getting a lecture from her friend. The words seemed useless, mostly turning into nonsense.

"Alexander, why do you care? I blushed, that doesn't mean I love the man!" Realizing how rude it had come across, she wiped her eyes angrily. "I-I'm sorry. Honestly, I don't know what I feel for John. We've known each other for so long and..."

Her gaze went back to Laurens. He was socializing with his other two friends. When he sensed someone watching, he turned around and saw her looking at him. Something in his eyes changed and he managed to break a smile.

Alexander watched her face brighten up when she saw the younger man smile in reply. His heart began beating faster as he stuttered, "I don't think it would hurt to try it." Now you're hesitating, he told himself.

Isabella didn't need his affirmation for an answer. She had already bounded back to Laurens, a spring her in her step. For once she felt confident about something in her life.

If she was right about one thing, she could sense the increase in her heart when John pulled her close to him. And that had to be a good sign, if nothing more than a step in the right direction.

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A/N: Thank you DoctorWho618 for the request! Hope you liked how it turned out! And to just my readers, if you have requested one and I haven't posted it yet, don't lose faith in me, I'm working on it! Finals are coming up for me, but I'm gonna get these one shots written!