We Should Be Together - Lams AU

14.

Despite Alex and I making plans to end Lee, we still had to enjoy a normal day in Paris. And first up, the Eiffel Tower. The queues, oh the queues! They were the worst. The only person who could cope was George King, and that was because he was British.

I awkwardly stood in like with Alex and Eliza in front of me, and Laf and Herc behind me. I was wedged in between the two couples, and I felt awkward and unwanted. But soon, that would change. Alex and I would be together. Just like I wanted.

Laf was squealing and being all fangirly because he was in Paris. Aww, it was cute. He bounced up and down on the spot, his curly bun bouncing with him. Oh, why did I have to be a dick to him? He only cared about me. Maybe I should stop being a dick to him?

Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

"Je suis en Paris!" He squealed. "Je suis heureux!"

Herc looked to me, completely confused. "Ah, the joys of dating a French guy. Ultimate. Confusion."

I laughed and silently shipped them even more. If they broke up, God, I wouldn't even know what to do with myself. Yeah, sometimes I'm awkwardly third-wheeling, but soon enough I would be with Alex and then I wouldn't be third-wheeling anymore. Eliza - and Charles Lee - would be out the picture, leaving me with exactly who I wanted in the first place.

I was in really good spirits after what Alex had proposed.

Who cares about Lee anyway? He was just a bully. A high-school has-been waiting to happen. He constantly picked on people who he felt were below him - Alex, me, Herc, Laf... countless others that I didn't necessarily know about.

Although, killing someone is pretty final. You can't exactly apologize and bring them back. Once they're gone, they're gone, leaving you with the guilt of killing them left on your conscience which you can never escape until the day you die. And besides, if we got caught, that's both our futures down the drain, and Alex deserves better. He's going to go further in the world than I am, whether or not either of us have a criminal record.

But the thought of Lee going on to have more children, little mini versions of himself who just pass on the bullying and make other people feel as equally miserable as I spent the majority of middle school feeling... no, this stopped here. This world couldn't improve until it was rid of monsters like Lee who just make people feel miserable because of how miserable they are themselves. Lee was going to die, and it would be Alex and I to do it.

Fully resolved, yet again, I thought of the ways of not only making the kill, but also how we disposed of the body afterwards. That would probably be our undoing, because the authorities would find him, and they would figure it all out before arresting us and... oh God, could we really pull this off?

Then I remembered, I was tempted to push Eliza into the Seine, so why not Lee's dead body? It would sink, and the current would carry it along, before depositing him neatly on some beach somewhere. And it would work out even better if he ended up in a different country by floating in the sea. England. Yeah, that's nice and out the way.

These thoughts occupied me for the majority of the way up the tower, with me occasionally looking at the elegant, white Parisian buildings below us. The lifts were mildly disconcerting, though. They were small, and didn't feel particularly stable. In my moment of claustrophobia, I jostled towards Alex, nudging him with my body. It felt safer than standing alone, and besides, Eliza was completely distracted by the view below us.

Alex smelt like his bedsheets and lynx, which made a delicious combination. It almost excited me to be close to him, let alone when we'd be together. I couldn't wait to stop pretending to the others that I was hopelessly in love with him.

Alex's POV
John pushed closer to me, probably being shoved by someone behind him, although both of us remained fixed on the sunny view below us. It was beautiful, but not as beautiful as Eliza. I glanced at her as she leaned against me gracefully, dressed in her elegant blue cotton dress, the sweet smell of vanilla and rose radiating off her, as well as her warmth and delicateness.

God, I loved her.

I wasn't sure how to tell her, but one day I wanted to marry her. We could have kids! Oh my God, can you imagine? Little versions of both of us running around the garden of the house that we would have one day. She could be an artist and I could be a lawyer. God, it would be perfect.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Laf fangirling about Paris still, with Herc trying to contain him. They were cute and all, but I promised John that if he helped me I would help him get his crush. That meant that Laf would have to cut his losses and move on. Herc and John would be cute as well, so it was a win-win.

And Charles Lee? He had to die. He was a monster.

Throughout middle school, I went home most days completely distraught, before I locked myself in my room and cried, feeling like hell. There were still scars littering my arms from those years, although they were fading now. He knew exactly what to do, exactly what to say and exactly where to hit. The words "Bastard" and "Whoreson" still swirled around my head, as well as being mixed with Jefferson's decisive insults about my family and Madison relaying everything to George King and Samuel Seabury. I wanted all of them to die.

I just needed John to help me. He was easy to convince and hated Charles Lee too, although not as much as me. And if Mullette was the price to pay, then it was cheap. I would pay it in a heartbeat to see the world marginally improve.

John's POV
Alex looked so peaceful, lost in thought like that. His eyes had glazed over slightly, although not enough to make him unattractive, and his lips were slightly pursed. Oh, he was so kissable. I wonder if he was thinking about our future together. I couldn't wait for our first date.

It all seemed so easy!

---

Word Count: 1101 Words