Peppermint - |Jamilton|

Just a Favor

|Hamilton|

I lied awake until I had to get ready for work. I couldn't sleep. Thomas was the only thing on my mind. I was about to get up my room door was kicked open. "ALEX! WAKE UP! YOU GOT WORK!" John yelled. I groaned in response. "I'm already awake, stop yelling. Why are you trying to wake me up?" I sit up. "I'm driving you to work today. I wanna see Pegs. She told me her house is almost done with renovations," John replied.

"Yeah okay. Give me a moment, I'm tired."

"Of course you are! You stayed up 'till three talking to pink guy."

"It's magenta, and he's a fun person to talk to. His view on politics is- interesting, to say the least."

John rolled his eyes and left my room. I quickly get dressed for work and grab my phone. "John, get the hell up- I'm ready to go," I say loudly. John is laying face down on the couch. "Yeah yeah whatever," he says, sitting up. I roll my eyes and grab his keys.

"H- hey! Those are mine!"

"Really? Huh. Get the fuck up and get them."

I run out of my apartment with John chasing. Basically falling down the stairs, I push open the doors out of the complex and run to John's car. I slide in, put the keys in the ignition, and turn on the heat. It's freezing. After a few seconds, John comes running out, panting. "Ugh- don't touch my keys," he says. "Move out of my apartment," I respond. He rolls his eyes once more and starts driving.

---

We arrive at the shop in time to see Angelica trying to get in. It doesn't actually open until seven so we're an hour early. "Hey Angie!" I say as I get out of John's car. Angelica turns and waves at me. She opens the door and let John and I in. Eliza is already in the kitchen, doing her usual baking for our normal customers. I was about to go help her when Angie stops me. "Stop right there Alex," she says. I freeze with my back facing her. She spins me around and grabs my shoulders. "Look at me," she says firmly. I meet her eyes and a hint of anger are present in them.

"Did you stay up late again?" she asked after a moment. "Would you believe a no?" I ask. "No," she glared at me. "He stayed up 'till three talking to his boyfriend~!" John shouted. I heard Laf gasp from the doorway and Eliza squeal from the kitchen. I blush a deep red and stare at the floor. "You have a boyfriend?" Angelica asks. "Well- not technically. He came into the shop yesterday and after my shift I sat down and we had a date. We may or may not have another one this Saturday-" I say the last part quietly. "He asked you out again?!" Eliza shrieked from the kitchen. "It was really just us flirting, but yes," I say. 

"Glad to know you're dating someone Alex!" Angelica says happily. For a split second, I was hopeful that she wouldn't scold me for staying up late. I was wrong. "Oh and, by the way, I'm putting you on a two-day leave. Boyfriend or no boyfriend, it's not an excuse to deteriorate you're health. Love you Lexi!" Angie kisses my cheek and walks off to her office. "Dammit... John, you gonna drive me home? John?" I look around to see John no where in sight. "Guess that's a no then... dammit. Now I don't have a ride home. I guess I'll hang out in the shop," I say, mainly to myself.

I sit at a random table and pull out my phone. After a moment or two, I basically feel a burst of happiness and energy sit right in front of me. "Hey Lizzie, aren't you supposed to be baking?" I ask, not looking up from my phone. "Yeah, they're in the oven. In the mean time- why don't you tell me about your date and I'll share mine?" she asks. "Uh- okay..." I say, slightly unsure.

"So, what happened?"

"Well, it wasn't long, as you know, because he had to get to work. We really just talked about ourselves. He paid the bill and left for work soon after. I was cleaning up the shop and found a napkin he left with his phone number so I texted him and we started talking and ranting and that's about it."