Chapter 9
"Alex! Alexander!" Lafayette yelled from outside the diner. He and his parents had been frantically searching for ten minutes now. Meanwhile, Alex was in the diner's bathroom ranting and crying.
The boy turned around, faced the mirror, and sighed. Why did I expect any of this to work out anyway? Why- His thoughts cut off when he heard the yells of his name.
Alex splashed water in his face and calmly walked out of the diner. Outside, his brother tackled him into a hug, almost bringing him to the ground.
"Where were you?!" Laf yelled. "I was so worried. I'm gonna kill John."
"Laf, no," Alex whispered.
"Son, what happened?"
"I- can we just go back to the hotel?" The teen asked. His parents nodded, and they got everyone into the cars after saying goodbye to Francis.
They all got ready for bed, and Alex slept in the girl's room. Maria comforted him until his breathing evened out, and his eyes fluttered shut. His mind wandering to a fantasy where his plan worked out. Where he and John were holding hands and cuddling. Where they exchanged butterfly kisses, and everything was fine. Everyone was happy. Where Francis Kinlock had never existed.
The next morning, Alex woke to a sharp jolting on his legs. He grumbled, and rolled on his side, accidentally rolling off the side of the bed. At least my legs aren't hurting anymore. He thought, a small throbbing in his head distracting him from the events leading to that moment.
"Alex!" A shrilling voice exclaimed, slightly giggling. "I didn't mean for that to happen. Are you okay?" The owner of the voice, Peggy, was kneeling by Alex's side.
"Baby, what'd you do now?" A groggy voice asked.
"Alex fell."
"Well, why'd you push him?"
"I didn't! Ria! Why would you think that!"
"It's just a Peggy thing to do, baby girl."
Peggy fell silent, and Alex's eyes slowly opened to see the blushing, flustered mess in front of him. After Peggy calmed down, the two helped Alex up. They took him to the other room so he could get changed for the day.
"So what'd y'all wanna do today?" Mrs. Washington asked.
"Beach!" Everyone exclaimed.
-
"Okay, so Alex-" Peggy popped her glossy lips, and set down the tube. "-What is your revenge plan?"
"Revenge plan? What revenge plan? Why?"
Maria spoke up. "Alex, baby, he broke your heart. We can't just let that slide."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but why you, Pegs? You and John are best friends."
"Like you said, we're best friends. I can tell there's something off with Kincock-"
"Kinloch," Alex corrected.
"Whatever," she looked up where Maria was puckering her now red lips in front of a little compact mirror. "Babe, help me out."
"Alex, listen to her. You helped me with James, it's the same thing."
Alex fidgeted with his short laces, his annoyed face turning into a frown. "You think Kincock- dammit Peggy- Kinloch's...?" He trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
Peggy and Maria avoided the question.
"Y'know, I'll just go to Laf." Peggy started walking away. "I know he wants to kill John."
"C'mere Alex." Maria stuck her arms out, and Alex crawled into them. "She's not gonna seriously hurt him." She stroked his hair. "I'm sure John's fine, it's just..."
Alex looked up at her. "Just what?"
"He really, really likes you, Alex. It's actually very obvious."
Alex frowned again and looked down.
"Plus, he has something called standards."
-
"Laffy!" Peggy sang, dashing towards the tall Frenchman. "I need your help with something."
Laf, of course, was more than happy to assist, so the two headed back to the hotel. Peggy pulled out a notebook and a pen, and they sat on the bathroom floor. The plan was simple. First, Peggy would interrogate John, and if it doesn't work like they know it won't, they'll interrogate Kinloch. Nothing about it would be suspicious. Francis and John would only think they wanted to know more about their relationship. Common friendship stuff.
Satisfied with their plan, they went back down to meet the others for lunch.
They found a nice seafood place and sat down. They were seated at one booth and two tables, which was perfect for the plan. Peggy, Laf, and Maria sat with John in the booth. Angelica, Eliza, and Herc sat at a table with Alex. Mr. and Mrs. Washington sat at a table farther away from the kids. It was nice. Angelica and Herc were observing the group at the booth, being the typical mom friends, and checking up on everyone. That's where she saw the mischievous glint in her youngest sister's eyes. Although worried, she was amused.
Angelica tapped Eliza on her shoulder, dragging her attention away from whatever cute puppy video she was watching on YouTube. "What do you think Pegs is doing now?"
"Who knows? That kid is crazy."
-
"Mon ami, so tell me, how did you and Francis meet?" Laf asked, looking up from the menu.
"Mon ami, so tell me, how did you and Francis meet?" Laf asked, looking up from the menu.
"Ooh! Yes, tell us. You guys are so cute together!" Peggy exclaimed, fighting a gag. This was already getting hard.
"Oh, you know what, it's not that important," John responded, not wanting to talk about him.
"Ah, but we are amis! Surely you are able to tell us something." Laf put down the menu.
"Exactly!" Peggy agreed. "Plus, I'm your best friend." She gestured to Maria. "We're all friends here, Johnny."
John looked down, his mind racing. What would they think of him if they knew? What would they do? What would they say? "Uh, we met at a party." A little white lie never hurt anyone. (Me writing this and not fully knowing the backstory.)
"Ooh, what kind of party?" Lafayette asked.
"Just like you know...a party."
The four of them exchanged questions like that, John mostly lying on all of them. Eventually, they got their food and ate mostly in peace. Somehow, Peggy found her way to the booth Alex was at and snuck under the table without anyone noticing. She started playing weird music and ghosting her fingers on his legs. Everyone at the restaurant stared at Alex as he burst into laughter and kicked. He ended up kicking Peggy in the face and giving her a bloody nose. Of course, Peggy would have to make a scene.
-
"Hi, Francis..."
I have a task for you, baby.
"Uh, okay."
Good. I need you to pick up something for me, and meet me at my hotel room. I'll send the address.
And the call ended.
John sat up from his place on the hotel bed and picked up his small backpack. Inside, he stuffed a twenty-dollar bill, a sweatshirt, sweatpants, his hotel room key card, and his phone. He left the room, accidentally shoving Angelica on the way out. He ignored the calls out to him, his mind already occupied with his task.
The walk to a nearby store was hot and sweaty. He felt relieved when the rush of cool air finally hit his skin. Although wanting to savor the lovely air conditioning, he quickly got the items needed, paid for them, and put it in his backpack. He wanted to get his encounter with Francis done and over with. Francis had offered to pick up John from the store, so he waited. (*sticks pencil behind ear*) Francis came by ten minutes later, and John was quick to jump into the passenger seat of the car, the heat starting to get to him. Luckily, the ride was silent. John stared out the window, wishing he was on the beach, wishing he could feel the wet sand in between his toes instead of Francis' hand on his thigh.
-
(⚠️)
Francis pushed John to the locked bedroom door, kissing him roughly. John stood there, eyes wide, eventually shutting them once tears were pricking at his eyes from the pain of Francis' thumbs bruising his hips and pinning him to the door. The two made out for about half an hour before Francis threw the freckled boy onto the bed.
Francis fell onto the boy, grinding on his leg. "Mm, you got the stuff, baby? Imma make you feel so good." He sat up, pulling off their clothing. He examined the other's body. "You put on a bit of weight since we last fucked; we need to fix that. You're lucky I love you. Others wouldn't be so nice. Ready?" John stayed quiet. "Alright."
(TW over)
-
"John wouldn't lie to me! Not like that!" Peggy (why did Peggy auto correct to PegGY??) argued, back at the hotel room.
Although getting screamed at, Herc didn't flinch. "He's just being secretive, Pegs. Jesus, calm down."
"You're supposed to be the mom friend! You're supposed to know when something's off, and I know something is."
"I-" Herc started.
"If I may," Angelica interrupted. "I am like, 1/4 of a mom friend." Peggy nodded. "There's something off with John. He shoved me earlier, and one does not simply get away with shoving Angelica Schuyler." She glared at Eliza across the room who was playing UNO with Alex and Laf. "He knows that. People know that."
Alex was trying to distract himself. He didn't want to hear about John, especially if it was about his new relationship. Unfortunately, the keyword is trying, and he was failing miserably. Eliza was there next to him and could feel him being uncomfortable. She tapped Lafayette on the shoulder to get his attention and jerked her head towards the small boy. The two tried their best to keep him focused on the game, and it worked for the most part.
Maria was tired of all the screaming, so she took her laptop to a nice little cafe. She opened it and began searching for Francis. She knew something was wrong, and she was going to act now; whether everyone else agreed or not.