Our Shot (LAMS school au)

Chapter 29: Actions and Words

John's POV

"What the hell Eliza!" I groaned, shooting her a death glare from my side of the couch.

She shrugged, and only focused her concentration on the screen. "You've gotta get your head in the game, John," she joked, smirking, and I rolled my eyes.

I gripped the controller tighter. "Ha!" She exclaimed suddenly, as the words 'You're dead' flashed across my half of the screen.

I threw down the controlled on the cushion beside me. "Now now John," she began teasingly, "Don't pout."

I rolled my eyes. "Rematch," I said, and she shrugged.

I started a new round, and we were at it again. "So," she began, "How are things?"

"That depends, what things?"

"How are things with Alex?"

I shot her a split second glare before concentrating on the game again. "Oh, I see," I began sarcastically, "Trying to break my concentration, are we?"

She smirked. All of a sudden, I heard a shriek from out of the room. "What the.. where did that come from?" I asked, pausing the game and spinning around on the couch.

"Sounds like Peg's room," she said simply, shrugging.

My jaw dropped. "Peggy's room?" I repeated, "You guys have your own rooms back there?"

She smiled. "Dad's the super intendent," she reminded me.

I had been to the Schuyler's dorm many times; it was practically a penthouse. Three rooms, one for each girl, branching off of one center room. That was where Eliza and I were now, playing video games off of their flat screen television.

"Well, is something... wrong?" I asked Eliza, and she turned around as well towards the hallway.

"Peggy?" She called out inquisitively, and suddenly Peggy appeared in the doorway.

She was in a yellow sundress with her hair done up. I wondered why she was dressed so nice. "Yes?" She responded sweetly, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Are you... alright?" Eliza asked uncertainly.

At this, Peggy groaned. "She's going to be here in five minutes, Ellie," she complained, and then rose her voice to shout down the hallway, "But Angie is hogging the straightener!"

After a brief moment of silence, I heard another door slam. "I need it just as much as you do!" It was Angelica's voice.

"Well I need it more!" Peggy screamed back, and then turned to look back at Eliza, and her smile fell.

"What is it?"

"You look like a bum," Peggy told Eliza, who was wearing jeans and a mint tee, "When Sarah gets here I don't want her to think that my sisters are slobs. And pick that jacket up off the floor!"

Eliza rolled her eyes. "I look fine," she told her sister, waving a hand dismissively, "And so does this dorm!"

Peggy scowled, and threw up her hands in exasperation. "I'll wait outside," she finally said, grabbing a purse off of a counter near her and making her way past Eliza and I, "How does my hair look, John?"

I turned around in surprise as she passed the couch behind me towards the door. "You look great, Pegs," I told her, "But why are you-"

I was cut off by the door shutting. Eliza chuckled behind me.

"Why's Peggy so anxious?" I asked her, "And who's Sarah?"

Eliza smiled. "Peggy has her first date this evening," she told me, "She's very nervous; she met Sarah on the second day of school in her home-ec class. Apparently she's a poet."

I raised my eyebrows. "Does she have a last name?" I asked, and Eliza shrugged.

"Starts with an R, I think. Peggy told me."

"And what about Angelica?" I asked, a little bit quieter and glancing towards the hallway door, "Why is everyone in this dorm on edge?"

At this Eliza laughed. "She's going on a date too," she told me, "Some Paine guy in her Advanced Placement Composition class, a real braniac; perfect for her, really."

I grinned. "I guess we need to get you a date now, don't we?" I asked, and Eliza scoffed, "Well I hope I get to meet them soon."

"Me too," she admitted, "Now, unpause the game Laurens, I need to beat you."

I did so, and we resumed our battle.  "So," continued Eliza after a few moments, "About Alex..."

"No," I stopped her right there, "I'm not gonna talk about it."

"Okay fine," Eliza responded simply, "Let's see how long you can hold it in."

I narrowed my eyes at her slightly. "Fine," I replied smoothly.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven-

"Okay fine," I groaned, and paused the game.

"You can play and talk at the same time," Eliza told me smugly, and I resumed the game and sighed.

"He won't talk about it," I told her, "I even tried to talk and I brought it up, but he shut it down!"

"What is it?" She replied, and while I thought about it the only sound in the dorm was the clicking of our controller joysticks.

I shrugged. "The facts," I said slowly, and she laughed.

"But seriously," I continued, "I... I really like him, Eliza."

"And?"

"And I don't know what to do about it! I never do. I want to talk about it, but there's no way he'll take me seriously. And I can't just blurt something out, because..." I stopped myself.

"Because why?"

"Because I'm afraid," I admitted, "He's my friend; I don't want to make things awkward between us."

"Things are already awkward, John," she said.

"You got that right," I scoffed.

"So are you satisfied? With being friends with him, I mean."

I thought about it for a bit, contenting myself with focusing on the game for a bit before replying. "I don't think so," I admitted quickly, "But what if there's nothing I can do? Whenever I try to tell him-"

"Then don't tell him," she interrupted me shortly, "Show him."

"Show him?"

"If he won't listen to words, he'll respond to your actions."

"And how do you know that?" I asked her.

She gave me a look. "I'm the psychic Schuyler, remember?" She joked, and we both laughed. 

"Okay," I began, "So what exactly do I do?"

She scoffed lightly. "How should I know?"

I looked at her, dumbstruck, and she shrugged, not turning from the screen. "Use your imagination," she continued, and I saw the shadow of a smirk forming on her lips.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, and when she turned and saw my expression, she sighed. "I don't have much experience in relationships," she chuckled, "but it seems like most of my advice so far has done well for you guys..."

"You've got me there."

"Now focus, John, the game's no fun when I'm creaming you."

"Yeah, yeah!"