Homework (Lams AU)

Careful As I Walk Away

"Laf, you know it's just a high school Halloween party and not a costume contest, right?"

Laf gasps dramatically and takes a break from applying his makeup to look at me. "How dare you, I just want to look fabulous!"

Herc and I both laugh at him as I fidget with my shirt. I wasn't wearing a costume, naturally. Just an old jersey that belonged to my dad forever ago. It was a Saint Kitts and Nevis National Football team jersey, and the only one I owned. 

Herc gave in and ended up wearing a tuxedo, figuring he'd let people guess what he was and just go from there. It was pretty smart, because he could be anything from a business man to a mafia boss, and no one would know the difference. 

Once Laf finally finished getting dressed, Hercules drove us to the house it was being held at, which happened to be Charles Lee's house. His parents were out of town for the weekend or something, so what else was he supposed to do?

We walk in and the smell of alcohol is very prominent as a bunch of teenagers were talking and dancing with each other. Parties were never something I particularly enjoyed, but I didn't mind going every once in a while. 

Hercules immediately dragged us to the kitchen and filled up two glasses of water from the sink, handing them to us. "This is the only thing you guys are allowed to drink all night." He warns. 

"Oh, please. It's a party, Herc. We'll be fine." I scoff, but still sip on the water he provided. 

"Yes, but I'm driving you guys home and I do not want you throwing up in my car. I also don't want to be the only one sober." He frowned. 

"Well, I can't promise anything." I mumble, finishing off the water. 

Laf nodded. "Yeah, same here. We're at a party." Herc pouted and Laf sighed. "But if I do drink, I won't drink that much I promise. I'll stay sober with you." 

"Thank you, Laf." 

I look at the crowd of teenagers and then back at Laf and Herc to see they were already walking to join that crowd, leaving me all by myself in the kitchen. I sigh and lean against the counter as I got more water, sipping on it carefully. 

I scan the crowd and see Peggy looking at me from the crowd. She walks into the kitchen and gives me a weird look. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Lafayette and Hercules-" I freeze. "Are you dressed Heather McNamara?"

She nods. "Yeah, my sisters wanted to go as the Heathers, so here we are."

I nod and sip my water. "So you three are here..Does that mean John is here, too?" I ask. 

She smiles a bit. "Why do you ask?" She asks, giggling gently. 

I raise an eyebrow at her. "So I can avoid him if need be."

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Yes, yes he's here. Why do you want to avoid him, though. You two could actually be pretty cute together."

I blush gently and give her a concerned look. "Did you really go from hating me to shipping me with John?" I ask. 

She nods, smiling a bit more. "Indeed I did. I'm going to try and make it happen between you two. Just you wait." 

Before I could object or say anything, she was gone, disappeared into the crowd. I sigh and enter the crowd, of course bumping right into the person I didn't want to see. Well, I did, but he didn't want to see me. 

"Oh, Alex, uh, hey." We awkwardly look at each other. He was dressed up as Jason Dean, and I can only assume the Schuylers roped him into dressing up with them.