Flower (LAMS)✔️

Chapter 3

"So do you think you're ready?" John asked as Alex paced around his room.

"Well, I mean yeah, I should be. Gosh, I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's Eliza, for crying out loud! One of my best friends. This shouldn't be so bad, right?"

He continued pacing around while John watched him. Eventually Alex's phone vibrated from a text.

Elizard: I'm here

Alex pocketed his phone and took a deep breath.

"Do I look ok?" He asked, turning to John.

"Lex, you look fine. And remember, this is Eliza. If it doesn't end up being her, you're still gonna be friends."

"You're right. Well, I should probably head out there."

John gave a small wave as Alex left his room and headed outside. John sat there for a few moments before heading to the front door to head back home. Martha was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for him, a suspicious look on her face.

"Hey John. You heading back home?"

"Yeah. Alex left, and I think I did what he wanted me to. Honestly, I have no idea what that was though."

"Alright, alright." She suddenly pulled out a notepad and pencil. "So tell me John. Do you have a flower?" She asked, taking note of his hair being down.

He looked at her confused.

"Um, no....?"

"Interesting." She muttered, writing something down on the notepad. "Have you ever had a flower before?"

"Yes? Where is this going?"

"Unimportant. Now, how important is Alex to you?"

"Martha. He's my best friend. He's very important to me. Why does this sound like I'm being interrogated?"

Martha acted like she didn't hear the last part as she scribbled something else down.

"That was the last question. You can go." She said, waving him to the door.

He slowly moved towards the door, looking very confused, before heading out. Martha watched him leave with narrowed eyes.

"Martha, what in God's name are you doing?"

Martha jumped, turning around to see George.

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean, why were you interrogating John?"

"I was being a detective, George."

"Uhuh........"

•°•°•

"So, where exactly are we going?" Eliza asked, following Alex as they walked down the street.

"There's this little cafe down the street. It's supposed to have live music tonight, so I thought that'd be cool."

"Is it a specific band, or.."

"No, I think it's just some people coming in doing covers of songs."

They finally arrived and walked inside. Sure enough, near the back were some people setting up guitars and drums. A waiter seated them and that's when the date got, well.....

Very awkward.

They tried having a normal conversation, but it failed each time. The moment was shortened momentarily when the waiter came to take their orders, but then it came right back. It didn't help that the band was playing slower songs, giving the whole room a more romantic feel.

Eliza sat there fidgeting in yet another awkward silence before she spoke.

"Hey, Alex. Can we maybe just, agree that this date isn't working and just act like two friends going out to eat?"

Alex let out a breath. "Thank God you said that. I didn't want to say it because I didn't know how you'd feel. But yeah, I'm fine with that."

The atmosphere lifted between the two as they ate their food and talked, not as two people on a date, but just as two friends who you might have thought were catching up, seeing how much they talked. The dinner ended a lot better than it began.

It was late when they left and started back, both once again in a silence that was no longer awkward.

"So," Eliza asked, "we know it's not me who you're in love with."

"Yeah. But now, I have to see if it's Angelica. If it's not her, I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Well hey, if it isn't her, then you've got all of us to help. I'm sure John can help the most, him being your neighbor and all."

"True. Well, this didn't turn out as I expected it to be, but I still had fun hanging out with you."

"Me too."

They stopped in front of Eliza's house, giving each other a quick hug.

"See you tomorrow?" She asked.

"See you tomorrow."