"Lin! That was amazing!"

You rush over to Lin after the announcer guy says that they're taking a ten minute break before the closing speech. (And after you saw Vanessa go talk to someone)

"Really?", he asks.

"Yeah! I'm so proud of you," you say, smiling, and looking into his beautiful eyes.

"Thanks, Y/N. That makes me feel better."

"Wait." You grab him by the shoulders. "You weren't discouraged by the people who laughed, were you? Because there will always be people like that. But with those people, there will be people like me- and Vanessa, who one hundred percent believe that what you're doing is amazing, and those are the people you need to listen to. Not the laughers."

Lin gives you the same sweet look from the stage, then hugs you.

Immediately, you feel warmth spread through you, and you hug him back.

"Thank you," he says softy. "For everything."

For once, you say the first thing that comes to mind. "Anything for you," you whisper back gently, hoping that he'll see that that was true.

You hear his breath hitch in his throat. You hoped that was a good thing.

"Mr. Miranda!"

Surprised out of your tender moment, you both let go and back up a few steps.

You are speechless to see the First Lady, Michelle Obama.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?", she asks kindly.

"N-no, ma'am," you say, still not able to wrap your mind around who just talked to you.

"Well, Mr. Miranda, that was an incredible performance. I really liked your song," she says.

You could tell that the Mrs. Obama just wanted to talk to Lin, so you try to excuse yourself. "Well, it was nice meeting you, but I should-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, how rude of me." Mrs. Obama sticks out her hand. "Michelle Obama."

"I-I know," you stutter. "I'm Y/N L/N."

"Wonderful to meet you. Are you Lin's girlfriend?"

So first the flight attendant, and now the First Lady? Maybe they were just picking up your feelings for Lin.

"Actually, no, ma'am. But my girlfriend, Vanessa, is right over there. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to meet you," Lin says, then leads her away.

You look around and spot Alex, who had played piano for Lin.

You make your way over to him. "Hey, good piano playing," you say, smiling.

"Thank you." Alex glances over your shoulder, then looks back at you. "Did Michelle Obama ask if you were dating Lin?"

You look at him in surprise. "How did you-"

"I could tell when I saw Lin look all fidgety then take her away. It's very obvious, you know."

You look at him, confused. "What is?"

Alex seems to look deeper into your eyes, and even squints. After a moment, he looks at you in disbelief. "You really can't tell?"

"What?", you ask, getting more confused.

"That Lin likes you."

You hadn't heard that one before. "He doesn't, Alex."

Alex lowers his eyebrows. "Have you seen the way he looks at you?"

"I think I would notice if he looked at me in a special way."

"But Lin-"

"Okay, Alex, one second." You take out your phone, and scroll up to see your chat history with Lin. When the find the text that had ripped out your heart, you show it to him, reading it again as you do.

Alex glances at it then looks back at you, eyebrows raised. "And you believed him?"

"Well, yeah-"

"How well do you think Lin knows Vanessa?"

That's a random question, you think. Why would that matter? "Pretty well? I mean, she is his girlfriend."

"Do you think Vanessa has gotten jealous of Lin with other girls before? Like women that acted as his romantic interest?" Alex crosses his arms.

"Probably?" You almost add, "I would."

"Then don't you think Lin probably knows the drill with Vanessa? Goes to that girl, tells them to text Lin and ask if he likes them. He knows what to do by now. He knew Vanessa would see that text."

You feel like your whole world was just flipped upside down. The tiny flame of hope you had grows a tiny bit bigger. "But... he can't- he couldn't- he doesn't like me."

"Gosh, you're blind," Alex says, almost frustrated at the fact. "If you really think that, I suggest you ask him in person. Face-to-face."

You shake your head. "Lin's dating someone. I don't want to mess up their relationship."

Alex shrugs. "Whatever floats your boat. But I think it would make you feel a little better to know for sure."

You glance back at Lin, just in time to see Vanessa kiss him.

You sigh, then turn back to Alex. "Um, I think I'm going to go."

"What should I tell Lin when he asks?"

"If he-"

"When he asks."

You don't say anything for a moment, frustrated. "I'm starting to have a migraine. Just tell him that."

"Okay," Alex says, then pauses. "Even though you might not believe me, Lin cares about you a lot. Don't hurt him."

You? Hurt him? More like the other way around. "I won't."

You wave goodbye, then quickly make your way through the crowd. You hadn't been lying. You really were starting to have a really bad headache- mainly because of how confusing your life was becoming.

Once you get out of the White House and onto the sidewalk, you take in a deep breath of fresh air. That room had been really stuffy. It felt nice to be outside.

But how were you going to get back to your hotel? Lin had the keys to the rental car- not like you would take it and drive away anyway.

You look on your phone for bus routes, and find one that wasn't too far away, and would take you pretty close to the hotel.

The walk to the bus stop took only five minutes, and the bus was there, luckily, after only a few minutes of waiting.

Just when your left foot lands on the first step, you hear, "Y/N!"

You turn, confused, and see Lin running to you.

You step off.

"Are you getting on the bus?", the bus driver asks impatiently.

"No," you say, still looking at Lin. You run over to him, and when you meet, he grabs your forearms with his hands.

"Why were you leaving?", he asks breathlessly.

"You should sit down," you say.

Lin shakes his head. "Why are you leaving?", he repeats.

Not wanting to answer the question, you ask, "Why are you here? Isn't the president giving his closing speech right now? You should be there."

"You should be there too." He looks into your eyes, confused and still a little tired. "Why are you leaving?", he asks again, more firmly.

"I have a migraine. Didn't Alex tell you?"

"You wouldn't have left if you only had a bad headache. I know you, Y/N."

"Well, if you know me so well, then why am I leaving then, Lin?" It was the first time you had snapped at Lin, and although you liked him (a little too much for your own good), it felt good to finally say what was on your mind. Like when you said that you would do anything for him.

Lin runs a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know," he says in exasperation. He grabs your hands, you feel tingles spread through them. Those are never going to go away. "Don't you trust me?"

"You know I do."

"Then how come you can't tell me?"

How could you make him understand? Make him understand that you liked him so, so much, but couldn't tell him in fear of ruining your friendship? In fear of ruining his and Vanessa's relationship? In fear of being rejected?

"It would ruin everything."

He shook his head, a small, but sure movement. "It couldn't."

You looked into his deep brown eyes and felt compelled to tell him everything: how you first starting liking him in Mexico, and your feelings had only grown since then. How every time you saw him, your heart fluttered and you couldn't help but smile. How you thought he was the most amazing human being to ever exist, and whenever you were apart, you missed him.

But you couldn't. You just couldn't. At least not yet. "It could. And it would." You close your eyes in annoyance at yourself, then open them again. "I wish I could tell you."

"But you can," Lin whispers. "Whatever it is, it won't change what I think of you."

Um, it might. A little.

When Lin sees that you're still debating with yourself whether to tell him or not, he lets go of your hands and puts his hands on the sides of your face, forcing you to look at him. "Y/N, I care about you. I just want to know what's wrong."

Your lips part, and you begin to seriously consider telling him. Lin was the most kind person you had ever known. Even if he were to say that he didn't like you back, he would do it in the nicest way possible.

But something was still holding you back.

Instead of answering, you say gently, "I care about you too, Lin, but I can't..."

Lin pauses, then lets go of your face and backs up a few steps. Again, he runs a hand through his short hair. He looks back at you, and his expression is a mixture of a million different things: sadness, curiosity, desperation, confusion... and a tiny bit of hope. But for what, you didn't know.

"Y/N, do you like me?"

You don't say anything. Had it been that obvious? How come he hadn't asked you sooner?

He takes a step closer. "Do you like me?", he asks again.

You look to the left, to the right, down, anywhere but at Lin.

"Y/N."

"Yes, okay? I do," you spit out. You can't believe you told him! After keeping it in for so long, Lin finally knew. But the weird thing was, instead of feeling immediately guilty, you felt relieved. You had kept it in for so long.

Lin doesn't say anything for a second, then walks over to you, puts his hands on the sides of your face, and kisses you.

You are transported off Earth. Just like the showcase, your mind goes blank. All you can think about is Lin.

You connect your hands behind his neck and kiss him back, in total euphoria. Why was Lin kissing you? You didn't know, and in the moment, didn't care.

Lin kisses you like he had this passion buried inside him for a long time, and could finally take it out. This time, there are no tingles. Instead, only happiness. Only relief. Only longing.

He deepens the kiss, and this time, you didn't have to break it off. Because this time, neither of you were acting. This time, it was real.

After a few minutes, Lin pulls away, still cupping your face. "Why didn't you tell me?", he whispers.

"I didn't think you liked me. And you were with Vanessa. I didn't-" You stop. "What about Vanessa?", you ask softly.

Lin pauses. "I should've broken up with her when I started liking you. I could-"

"You like me?", you ask in amazement. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the most incredible person in the world, liked you.

Lin smiles, and you finally see it. The way he looks at you. Like you're everything to him. The same look from the stage- you just didn't realize what it meant. "How could you not tell?"

"It just really didn't seem like you did. I guess I just assumed you liked Vanessa because she's your girlfriend."

"I did. But after I got back to New York, I began to think that I liked you. But I decided to not read anything into it. I thought it would just go away. And then we kissed, you know, at the showcase, and it was all over for me." He gets the sweetest look on his face. "I like you, Y/N L/N."

"And I like you, Lin-Manuel Miranda." You smile, but then you think of something. "But I don't want to be the reason you and Vanessa break up."

"But you are." Wonderful. Thanks, Lin. "Because I would rather be with you, and she deserves to know."

"When will you tell her?"

"Probably when we get back to New York. It wouldn't be very fun to get dumped at the nation's capital."

"That's probably a good idea."

You both smile, then Lin presses his lips to yours again, and you feel absolutely helpless.

Gosh. You were so blind.