Neighbourhood Watch

Banquet

Alice's POV
The mayor has a banquet tonight so Hal and Alice are meeting all of their 'friends' there. Hal's wearing a dark blue suit, and Alice can admit that he looks good.

She decided on a different than usual dress. Above the knee and form fitting, which is very rare compared to her more conservative wardrobe that her husband approves of.

The dress is a crisp white colour and the neckline dips low enough to get the attention she wants. But there's only one man she wants attention from.

No, not her husband. She doesn't care if she gets attention from that tongue wagging loser. She wants FP. That sexy, muscled God.

Hal was less than thrilled with her appearance but she could tell he liked it deep down, even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Honey-" he starts but she cuts him off quickly with a hand in front of his face.

"Not in the mood, Hal. I'll meet you in the car."

They drive in silence to the banquet.

"You look beautiful, Alice." He tells her once they pull in.

"Thank you, Hal." She says, not looking up from her phone.

Text message to: FP ❤️🐍
Are you here yet?

Hal takes her hand in his and that catches her attention. He runs his thumb across her cheek and leans in to kiss her, his tongue quickly slipping inside her mouth without any preamble. She bites it just hard enough to get him to retract and he winces. "You're not a lizard, Hal. Now let's go inside."

She walks inside and takes a glass of champagne from a waiter. Her phone buzzes just as Hal comes up behind her.

Text Message From: FP ❤️🐍
I'm here. Meet me in the staff bathroom?

Text Message to: FP ❤️🐍
On my way... 💋🍆

Hal places his hand on her back. "You want to dance, honey?"

"Not now, Hal. I have something to do right now, I'll find you later." She places a hasty kiss on his cheek and downs the glass of champagne on her way to the bathroom.

She knocks on the bathroom door. "It's me, let me in." She whispers, loud enough so he'll hear but quiet enough so no one else will.

He opens the door and she looks around the building to make sure no ones looking and when she's sure he grabs her hand and pulls her inside.

Meanwhile, Hal Cooper stands alone on the dance floor, swaying alone dancing to Skinny Love by Birdy.

When the song ends he wipes a stray tear from his cheek and whispers softly, "that was a good one. Very well done."

Penelope Blossom struts up to him. "That was amazing, Hal! Have you ever thought about doing competitions?"

"Thank you, Penelope. I've actually-" he freezes mid sentence when he hears the beginning of his all time favourite song.

No, not "Can I Have This Dance" from High School Musical 3.

No, not "This is Me" from Camp Rock.

"What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction, his favourite band of all time, starts blaring over the speakers.

"THIS IS MY SONG!" He squeals, loudly, in excitement.

You're insecure
He points to Penelope.
Don't know what for
He shrugs.
You're turning heads
He tilts his head rapidly side to side.
When you walk through the door
He pretends to walk downstairs earning a cackle from Penelope.
Don't need make-up, to cover up
He covers his face and plays peek a boo with the crowd.
Being the way that you are is enough
Everyone else in the room can see it
He points around.
Everyone else but you
He takes Penelope's hand and leads her onto the floor.
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
He throws his fist in the air and hops up and down, Penelope copying his every move.
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
He flips his hair, giving himself whiplash but he ignores it.
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
They both smile at the floor and shoot their heads back up.
You don't know, oh oh
They turn and Hal does a cartwheel.
You don't know you're beautiful
They point to each other as the crowd sings along.

He dances with Penelope through the rest of the song.
Na na na na na na na na na na
He gallops through the crowd
That's what makes you beautiful
He punches his arm to the beat and lands in the splits, earning a cheer from the crowd.

He hugs Penelope, both squealing as they jump up and down. The song changes and he instantly knows the first few notes.

Can I Have This Dance from High School Musical 3, which he personally believes is the best movie in the series.

Penelope asks him to dance but he shakes his head. "I would love to Penelope, I really would but this is Alice and I's wedding song and I'm going to go find her."

"I think I saw her go towards the staff bathroom."

"Great, thanks Pen!" He gives a peace out sign as he walks away.

He walks down the hallway to find the staff bathroom and he sees a high heel in front of the door.

He knocks on the door but no one answers. He can hear something hitting the wall in a steady rhythm, there's loud mumbling coming from behind the door.

He thinks she must be getting sick judging by the sounds coming from inside the bathroom and the high heel outside the door.

"Fear not my darling, I am coming in to hold your hair!" He runs into the door and busts it open, the sight in front of him causing him to freeze in place.

Alice's back is against the wall and her legs are wrapped around FP's waist. He's kissing her neck and she yells out his name before fusing their lips together again.

"Alice?"

A/N
Once again co-written with Celine_CooperJones
Sorry for the wait everybody!