We Should Be Together - Lams AU

3.

I went over to Alex's to pick him up. His brother James was using their car, so I'd agreed to drive him. He opened the door to me shirtless and was holding two different shirts in his hands.

"John, help, help, help, which shirt do I wear?" Alex pulled me inside and closed the door. He dragged me up to his room.

My eyes were too focused on his chest to even consider the shirts. His well defined abs invited me to run my hands over them. His skin was so smooth.

"John?" Alex waved a hand in front of my face.

"I don't know," I snapped. I just wanted to get tonight over with, even if I was going to spend it with one of the smartest girls in senior year.

Alex shrugged. "Thanks for the guidance, Johnny Boy." He turned back to the mirror and continued to panic about his shirts. I found myself not being able to care less.

I sank down onto his bed, sighing. I'd already had enough.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" I whined. "It's only Eliza Schuyler!"

"Yes, precisely what you said, John. It's only Eliza Schuyler! It's only the prettiest girl in our grade! It's only a Schuyler sister! Yeah, I don't know why I would be caring, either." Alex shot me red-hot side eye.

"All I'm saying is Eliza isn't even that pretty," I said airily, "And you're wasting your time."

"Thank you for the confidence boost, John."

"Alex--"

"John I don't want to fight. Not today. Not right before my date with the prettiest, smartest and artiest person in our grade." Alex hadn't thought that through.

Tears sprang into my eyes. I was artier than Eliza. I was prettier than Eliza. Alex was just trying to make me jealous. A silence fell over us both.

"OK, then," I mumbled quietly. I blinked the tears out of my eyes. I wasn't going to give Alex the joy of seeing me cry.

He finally decided on a plain white t-shirt to go with his blue jeans. He also slipped into a leather jacket and he grabbed a black coat to go over the top. He left his wavy hair loose and grabbed a pair of white Nikes. He looked so good. I wanted to grab him and spin him onto the bed before--

"John? Are you ready?" Alex asked, a sparkle in his eyes. I nodded, and dragged myself to my feet.

When we finally arrived at the restaurant, I immediately saw Eliza in this cute blue dress smiling, with her hair long and loose as well. Alex smiled at her, and sauntered over. I followed him, and then realised I couldn't see Angelica.

Alex greeted Eliza with a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Eliza, you look amazing!" Eliza blushed and hugged him.

"You do too, Alex."

I became aware of a presence next to me. I turned to see a small girl in a yellow dress beside me, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"Hey! You must be John; I'm Peggy!" She said excitedly. She grabbed my hand and shook it.

Alex and Eliza had gone inside, and so I motioned towards the door.

"Do you think we should go in?" I asked.

"Yes, definitely!" Peggy agreed.

The atmosphere inside the restaurant was buzzing. It was a cute Italian style restaurant that was stylish but also authentic.

"So have you been here before?" I asked.

"Yes, we come here all the time." Peggy said. "It's really nice; the food is sooo good."

Alex was seated across the restaurant, near a window which looked out over New York. Him and Eliza were deep in conversation, with her clasping at his hand. They were smiling at each other, and I felt the jealousy erupt in my stomach. I felt sick with envy. How dare Eliza come into his life and take him from me! I had spent the whole of middle and high school trying to get Alex to want me, and I really thought he did. But now, that Schuyler Skank had appeared out of almost nowhere and completely stolen him from me.

Peggy and I sat down at a table that couldn't have been more far away from Alex if it tried. The waitress handed us menus, and we casually sat and looked at them.

"So... what would you recommend?" I asked, trying not to sit there in awkward silence.

"Umm... I like to try something new each time we come here, but I would definitely recommend the spaghetti aglio e olio," Peggy responded, looking up from the menu to meet eyes with me. I nodded and looked down at what she'd suggested. "Although, the spaghetti alle vongole is good too... in fact, all their spaghetti dishes are amazing!"

How the hell was she so energetic?!

The waitress came back to our table, and we both ordered our food and two bottles of Coke.

Peggy babbled on about things I couldn't care less about. I was too busy worrying about Alex falling for Eliza to concentrate on what she was saying.

"What about you?" She suddenly asked me.

"What?"

"What about you?"

There was an awkward silence. I panicked, because she might figure out I've been focusing on Alex. Oh God, what if she tells Eliza?

"Were you even listening?" Peggy demanded, hurt evident in her voice.

"Yes!" I shot back.

"Well what was I talking about?" Peggy folded her arms and stared at me. I swallowed.

"I'm really sorry, it's been a long day." I tried to save myself. Peggy looked down at her lap, looking wounded. I felt a pang of guilt. "I really am sorry."

When I thought that evening couldn't get any worse, it did.

The waitress brought out the bill at the end of our date and I was pretty horrified at the amount of money it was for. I pulled out my card, only then realising that I only had enough money for gas for my car for the rest of the month.

"Hey, do you think we could split the bill?" I asked Peggy. "Only, I don't really have enough money for that and gas for my car."

There was another awkward silence.

"I don't have any money with me," Peggy said airily.

"What? Why?" I demand.

"Because a gentleman will always get the bill." I sighed and irritatingly paid. I was completely wiped out in my account after that, only with about ten dollars left. It would take me months to save up that much money again - my job doesn't pay well and I only have one shift each week.

I was so glad to get out of that restaurant and get in my car. I had to wait for Alex, but at least I didn't have to pretend I was listening to Peggy's inane talk.

Almost an hour later, Alex came out of the restaurant holding Eliza's hand. He kissed her goodbye, and she skipped off to her own car. He swaggered over to me and climbed in.

He also wouldn't stop smiling.

"How was your date?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"It was amazing! Honestly, Eliza is the nicest girl I've ever met. She's just so smart and witty. We've already arranged a second date!" Alex beamed. I felt myself squeeze the steering wheel tighter.

He didn't even ask about my date. He didn't even care. Eliza had made him not care.

That was the final straw. I hated Eliza.

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Word Count: 1254 Words

I've just realized that I should specify that the Hamilsquad and Eliza are in their junior year, Angelica is a senior and Peggy is a sophomore. John wasn't going out with someone in like, 5th Grade. That would just be a bit weird.