Soft | Lams

Chapitre Sept

About an hour and a half later Alex was sitting in his car outside of the restaurant trying not to freak out. He was dressed pretty casually, in a flannel and, according to Angelica, mom jeans. She must have said a million times how nice he looked and how flattering his outfit was. It was almost amusing after a certain point.

He snaps back to reality when his phone buzzes. It was John saying he had just pulled into the parking lot. Alexander got out of his car and looked around, giving John a brief wave once he met his eye from across the lot.

"Hey, 'Lex! I'm so ready for this! Not even joking, I've been wanting Olive Garden breadsticks for weeks," John was always so outgoing and energetic that sometimes Alexander could barely keep up. He loved it though. His spirited nature constantly made Alex smile. He could only imagine what kind of gym teacher he was.

Alex and John chatted for a while before they got seated at a booth, which was John's request. They decided not to get any appetizers, except for breadsticks. Alex only had one, which he could barely get himself to finish. He scanned the menu and found his saving grace. The waitress came over and took our orders. John ordered a Tour of Italy, and Alex ordered the salad with the least number of calories. The waitress nodded and walked away. Alexander took a sip of water, and looked up to notice John looking at him with an absolutely dumbfounded expression. Alex raised his eyebrow at him.

"You are literally the only person on this planet who goes to Olive Garden and orders a salad. And you only even ate one breadstick!" John threw his arms up in mock exasperation and nudged Alexander's leg under the table with his foot, shooting him a dorky smile.

Alexander laughed and shrugged. "I'm trying to diet right now," Alex told him, slightly uncomfortable. John just cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Why on earth would you go on a diet? I mean, you don't need it," John told him nonchalantly. Alex blushed furiously and looked down.

"I mean, yeah, I really do..." Alex informed him ashamedly. Was John really this oblivious?

"I mean, some people might think so, but I don't. I think you're attractive without having to diet," John shrugged, and the conversation ended. But Alex kept thinking back to the last part. Well, the first part of the last part. John thinks he's... attractive? Whatever. Alex decided that it was just friendly reassurance. He would easily tell one of his friends that they were attractive.

They talked about a few random things and badmouthed a few teachers, and before they knew it their food was there. John made some kind of remark about how he would never be able to eat it all and asked Alex if he wanted some. Alex respectfully denied, which elicited an exasperated eyeroll and a slight head shake from John. Alex put both of his hands up innocently, and then decided to try his salad.

It had been going well for a couple seconds, but then Alexander actually took a bite of the salad. You see, something Alexander always failed to remember was that he absolutely hated almost all vegetables. It was one of the reasons his diets never worked. The second the salad hit his tongue he grimaced and tried not to spit it out. He swallowed and drank as much water as he could.

He looked up at John whose eyebrow was cocked with an amused expression on his face. "So, would you like some of mine now?" He turned the plate so that one part of it was near Alexander. Alex almost denied, but he looked back at the salad and shuddered. 

"You don't mind?" Alex questioned.

"Not at all. Help yourself," John gestures towards the plate and they spend the rest of the night laughing and talking and sharing food. Alex doesn't even think about what he's eating, how much he's eating, or the fact that he was eating at all. He was just happy, and that was a welcome feeling for him.