alippaphabet ✎

u for unexpected

Lin embarrassed himself. Though he'd never admit it, he felt so embarrassed.

Mental note: remember to check around for people listening before you sing Sonya Alone in your most horrible voice, Lin, he thinks to himself, heat still rising to his cheeks.

Earlier, Pippa was having a normal run-through act one when she swore that during the five-minute break, she heard a cat shrieking a song from Great Comet. Turns out that it was Lin-Manuel Miranda, out of all people, not bothering to sing it properly, in the right tune, or in the right pitch. He was joyfully on his way to where Chris Jackson was, and now that he arrived in the president's dressing room, he was flustered.

"Chris, hi, I need to talk to you, ASAP." The writer said this with such a speed that Chris thought he was rapping.

"Okay, dude, chill out. What happened?"

"I don't get why people say that to me all the time. I literally have no chill whatsoever. Some people think I tweet to much but that just proves my point. Or sometimes I tweet in the middle of the night and people immediately think that I pulled an all-nighter. Like, hello, I always do. It's funny, but I don't get how most people don't know right now how I can never calm down." Lin babbld  these words, much to his friend's dismay. Now, Chris knew that Lin did something he regretted (or simply embarrassed himself, which was rare, because the man literally doesn't care what people think about his weirdness), but he wasn't going to push it.

"Um- okay. But why did you want to talk?"

Lin snapped his fingers. "Right. I forgot. I babbled again, I'm sorry."

"Left."

This caught Lin off guard for a moment and Chris started chuckling, a hand to his mouth to muffle it. Lin rolled his eyes at his friend. He might be the brother from another mother he gets the best advice from, but he can be the most childish man on earth too. He loved him either way.

"Dude."

"I'm sorry, go on."

"She left me her phone number. In my dressing room."

Instead of a tiny chuckle, Chris now bursted into laughter. He throws his head back, letting his 'HAHA's escape his lips as Lin sighed. I swear, this guy has just as much chill as I do, and I don't have any!

"I'm sorry," The taller man wiped a fake tear away from his eye. "It's just, I expected you to have her number by now since you are her boss."

"I already told you before, I'm not abusing that title."

"You said you'd fire me when I tried to ask Pip for her number for you."

Lin blushed.

"And then you went off asking other people for her number but nobody would budge because everybody knew you like her. Except her, of course." Chris smirks. "You still act like the same love struck man I met up with the day after you watched Comet."

"That's all on you. You told me to watch it because the lead was good. So I watched it."

"The lead was great, you mean."

Lin face palmed himself. "You didn't."

"Oh yes I did. PUNS!"

The older man waved his arms crazily in the air, making Lin cringe because of the sight of his friend mimicking him, drunk. Jeez, sometimes I forget this man is my friend, Lin laughs to himself. Once the craziness died down, Chris stared at Lin who was looking at the phone number and was done with his friend, and lets out a small laugh. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Lin looked up. "I'll see you in the other side of the war?"

Chris ignored the reference. "Text her or something! Play the 'my friend told me to' card."

"Thing is, she wrote something on the back of the paper. I already embarrassed myself just a moment ago and I don't want to do it again."

Lin handed the note to his friend who was eager to read it. Chris raised his eyebrows as he read.

"'Here's my number since I didn't know you didn't have it and Renée and Jazzy kept telling me to give you it?' Damn, Angie and Peggy here are snitching! You gonna fire them too?"

"Shut up, Jackson." Lin replied, now joining Chris in laughter because the contagious laugh the general of the show had finally got to him. Chris was some matchmaker of sort without even knowing it.

"I'll just leave it to you, then. Good luck, bro." Chris said, patting Lin on the back and then leaning back on the couch. He closed his eyes, hoping to get a nap before rehearsals start up again. Tommy probably extended the 5 minute break to 10 or something.

Lin typed Pippa's phone number on the keypad and saved it as a new contact. He then fiddled with his phone, not knowing what to do next. He didn't have to text her. She was probably just in her dressing room which was pretty near!

Regardless of this, he starts making a draft.

Lin: Hello hello hello, Sooperstar!

It was simple, but he was fine with it, and he already hit the send button anyway. No turning back now.

Within a matter of seconds, he got a reply.

Pippa: I can already tell that this is Lin just because of the greeting. Hi Lin! Scratch that- hey, Sonya! 😜

"Oh my god," Lin whispered to himself, feeling the embarrassment coming back.

Lin: That never happened.

Pippa: If you say so. It never happened, then. 😄

Lin sighed in relief. Putting the stupid last behind us.

Pippa: I'll see you back onstage, Sonya.

Nope, she'll never get over it.

Lin: 😑😂

Pippa: You make me laugh all the time, Lin. I swear. Thanks for that. Do you wanna get some pizza when rehearsals are over?

Right then, Lin heard Renée and Jasmine screaming in the room beside them, since the door was ajar. They were there the whole time?

Pippa: I mean, it's cool if you're busy. It's just the least I can treat you with since I really am thankful for your exilinsecnce

Pippa: existence* omg

Lin's heart fluttered and his lips were pulled into a smile. He was definitely so enamored with this woman. Hopefully, she asked him this because she likes him too.

He was filled with so much joy that he typed the first thing that came into mind and sent it right away.

Lin: Cool beans. See you later!

"Who on earth uses cool beans? What the fu-" Chris stated, startling Lin. He was hovering over his shoulder, now awake. "You really need to chill before you send your messages, bro."