strings attached ; firstprince

chapter seven

The day before the charity ball, Alex, June, and Nora find themselves at Boston University's hall, ready to transform it into a starry night-themed ball. The hall is extremely spacious and a load of decorations they ordered are arriving today, days later than initially planned. Thus, June and Nora recruited Pez and Alex for backup on their time-crunched plan.

Pez is already there before Alex arrives with June and Nora, overseeing the delivery of decorations and supplies. His excitement is palpable, and he can't help but grin when he sees the trio arrive. Alex doesn't know how someone can be so cheery this early in the morning.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence. Hop to it! We have a lot of work to do," Pez says with a clap of his hands and Alex makes sure to groan loud enough for it to echo.

"You're early," June comments, her eyebrows raised in amusement.

"Organising parties is my thing," Pez grins with a rub of his hands. "And I'm expecting to see Henry wasted by the end of the night."

"How do you have this energy at..." Alex looks down at his watch. "Eight am."

Pez chuckles, unfazed by Alex's morning moodiness. "Early bird gets the worm, Alejandro."

"You hang out with June and Nora too much," Alex mumbles.

"Anyway," Nora says with a roll of her eyes. "Let's get this shit started."

June and Nora immediately get to work with Pez, hanging up stars, arranging twinkling lights, and draping shimmering fabrics. Alex attempts to help set up tables, with emphasis on the word attempt as June critiques his choice of table centerpieces to the point that she ends up taking over.

As the hours pass, their efforts begin to pay off. The hall slowly transforms into a breathtaking celestial dreamland, complete with twinkling stars and a giant moon backdrop. June and Nora gush at their own work and Alex craves a date with his bed for a few hours.

"Lunch break?" Alex loudly offers as he is sitting on the stage watching Nora, June and Pez put together the balloon arch.

June huffs, clearly exhausted. "Fine."

After a quick visit to the local cafe, the group sit at one of their set up tables, silently eating and sipping at their coffees.

"What are you guys wearing tomorrow?" Nora asks, her eyes blank in exhaustion. Alex feels her pain.

"I'm wearing a suit with a moon tie," Pez tells them proudly.

It suddenly dawns on Alex that he doesn't have a clue what he's wearing. "Oh. Um."

"Alex, are you kidding?" Nora deadpans. Alex gulps audibly, preparing himself for the wrath he's about to incur from Nora and June.

"I've just had a lot going on... I forgot," Alex says, only half lying.

"You're going to perform at our ball without an outfit?" June asks with a look of pure disbelief. Nora mirrors her expression, coping each other's mannerisms without even noticing.

"We're going shopping after this," Nora tells Alex.

"No, it's fine I–"

"End of discussion," Nora interrupts. Alex shuts up for the rest of lunch.

Once they finish all the decorating, June and Nora turn their attention to Alex's outfit for the ball. They drag him away from the decorations, much to his protests, and lead him to a nearby clothing store. They spend hours going through various suits and outfits until they find the perfect one for him—a midnight-blue suit with a constellation-patterned tie that matches the theme perfectly.