History Has Its Eyes On You ~ A Hamilton Fanfiction (Book 1, Act 1)

Pretentious

(Emily POV)

I scraped at the sides of the dinner plate, feeling no will to eat. Even at the table, Y/N was still the centre of attention, despite her trying to get them to notice me. I suppose I could thank her for that.

I felt her nudge her foot at my leg underneath the table. She nodded her head at my plate, baring a look in her eyes which told me to eat. I gripped the fork, taking small bites of the chicken. "Emily, maybe you should tell Mr and Miss Laurens how you met John." Y/N encouraged.
"Of course." Henry mumbled, acting interested.
"That would be wonderful to hear!" Eliza exclaimed.

I gulped down my food. "Well, we met at a ball back in November. We introduced ourselves to each other, danced, and that was that."
"And Martha?" Mary questioned.
"...His wife gave us permission to dance."
"Psh! If I were his wife, I wouldn't let him anywhere close to another woman!" Henry mocked.

"Martha was good for him..." Mary sighed. "Shame, really."
"Indeed, sister. Letting father down is a witless decision anyone can make, predominantly for him." agreed Henry.
Eliza raised her eyebrows. "Has he done so before?"
Henry scoffed. "Of course he has. Twas April of 1775, when I was a boy. Our brother was intrigued by the revolution and pleaded to our father to join the colonies. Father denied it, demanding John further his education. One night I came into his room in need of assistance with my writing. Yet... He had vanished.

I immediately informed father of this, and it had turned out that John had boarded a ship to The New World."
"I'm sorry..." Y/N sympathized.
"Don't be. We received a letter a week or so later, addressed from him. He convinced that this was his future, and that he would promote the abolition of slavery." -He put down his cutlery- "Alas, we all have dissimilar views upon that."
I glanced at my plate, finding I hadn't even eaten half.

"So, I carried out my studies alone. We settled in France with our eldest sister, Martha, until I came here."
"Tragic." I thought sarcastically.
"Though why must your father be angry?" Y/N questioned. "Yes he was arranged into a marriage, but he wanted to be with one that he loved."
"Father's final decision was to wed John with a capable, well-bred and fertile woman. Not one of his own choosing. Miss Manning was impeccable."

"You don't have to finish your plate, Emily." Eliza reassured. I placed my cutlery to the side.
"Well, I'm afraid we must be going." Henry concluded. Mary looked confused, but stood with him.
"On such short notice?" Eliza collected the plates in.
"Unfortunately so. There are many places we need to be at once, and I would hate to cause a hassle."

"...Yes." his sister sheepishly agreed. Though they had no interest in me, the least I could do was wish them farewell at the door. I drew myself up with them, leading the way. The two hooked their arms in with each other.

"Thank you, again, for coming... It's a shame John couldn't be here; he would've loved to see you." I sighed.
Henry chuckled. "What a pretentious little maiden you are. You have earned my- well- our pity." He didn't even bow his head, opening the door for himself. "Adieu." Mary clung to her brother with a mischevious smirk. I closed the door immediately, wanting no more of them.

°~A Few Hours Later~°

(Y/N POV)

"Pretentious!" Emily exclaimed with fury. "What kind of man would call their soon-to-be sister pretentious?!"
"You should get to bed, Emily, it's past midnight..." I yawned. Her face gloomed in the candlelight, whilst she sat cross-legged on my bed.
She fiddled with the bottom of her nightgown. "...Well I can't sleep."
"You're sixteen, two years from adulthood." -I lunged onto the pillow- "Sleep."
"No!"

Emily rolled her eyes. "I can't get it off of my mind. They were... more interested in you... not me."
"Tell me about it, he wouldn't shut up." I joked. The flame was dimming, so it became harder to distinguish Emily's reactions.
"...What if John loves you instead?"

I bolted up. "That's ridiculous, Emily, do you hear yourself?"
"Did you hear the things they said about you and him?!"
"Yes, but John and I are friends-!"
"What if he doesn't think that?!"

I grabbed the candle and held it between our two faces. "John. Loves. You. Why else would he force himself to separate from his family?!" I took her hand. "You're overthinking. You will be his wife, and you will be happy. I have my own matters to deal with in life, and I don't have time for... love."
She relaxed and grinned. "What about Charles?"
I wouldn't and couldn't marry, unlike my sister. She was a risk-taker. I wasn't. And I didn't want to interfere any more with her life. Next July, Emily was to be 17, reaching adulthood. I had no say over her actions.

"Charles is great. But I won't marry, even if... that disappoints him." I concluded.
"But I can marry?"
"Go ahead. Just don't have children or I'll kill you."
"Sheesh, harsh much?"
"I'm only playing!" I laughed. "But seriously. No kids."

"Why not?! Little Johns and Emilys running wild around the house!" Emily imagined.
"And you never know! Those little Johns and Emilys could cause world domination. Their mother is from the 21st Century."
"Does that make them half-breeds?!"
"What?"
"An 18th Century father, and a 21st Century mother... What's that, a 19th or 20th Century baby?!"

I lively shoved her away. "Go to bed."
She snatched the candle away. "You'll see! We'll be the best family ever!"
"I hope you're joking." I tutted.
"The little Johns and Emilys will come sprinting straight to their Aunt Y/N!"
"Go to bed."
"Okay, okay, I'm going!"

Emily moped to the door, but dramatically spun around, holding the candle just underneath her chin. "Is this the real life~?" she began to sing.
"How do you still remember the words?!!" I whisper-screamed.
"I loved music, in case you've forgotten once again."
"But you didn't like King! Or... Queen... Whichever it was."
"Bohemian Rhapsody was a hit!"

"Sophie? Emily?" Alexander slurred down the hall. Not another sound and Emily had vanished from the room in a hurry.

~~~~~~~~~~

Three things:

1) Thank you all so much for 1K votes! That's absolutely amazing!

2) I'm becoming obsessed with a very very underrated musical called 'Something Rotten!'.

3) After countless votes, Cover #2 has won, and will be our new cover once this chapter is out!