A Hamilton Spy AU

Olive Garden

John's POV thanks for requesting @LaurenslikesAlex :)
I feel genuinely bad for this poor guy.
He clearly dislikes his girl.
He clearly has been with her for way to long where it's getting to the point that he's super annoyed with her.
He clearly is having a lot of problems in his life right now.
He clearly likes me.
I'm not blind, I can tell he has a little crush in me.
I know I wanted him to like me, he was supposed to like me, he does like me.
I calm myself down as I approach Olive Garden to begin my half hearted date with Alex.
Don't bring anything up, unless he does.
I tell myself as my phone buzzes.
I grab it, not looking at the ID, but instantly knowing who it is.
Dinner, my place at 8?
I huff, responding.
Can't tonight, reschedule?
I wait a second, watching those three agonizing dots pulse through the screen.
Sure tmrw?
I sigh, a little piece of my heart wishing I didn't have this date tonight, wishing I could go to this dinner.
Yeah.
I respond simply, before shoving my phone in my pocket and trudging towards Olive Garden.
I wait in a booth munching on bread sticks before Alex arrives, looking frazzled.
Poor guy.
We begin to talk about some plan I spun, as we went, of course. No way was I planning for this break up planning date. I have other things to do aka watching tv.
His gaze wanders to my lips a few times, making me uncomfortable at first but as the night drags on I slowly get used to his not so secret crush on me.
And it's kind of nice.
Only I shouldn't feel like this...there is someone else.
Someone I never expected to come into my life all those years ago.
Someone Alex would never expect to be in my life.
He never said it was a date.
I never said it was a date.
Just two friends sharing free salad and bread sticks at Olive Garden.
Right?
My thoughts are interrupted by Alex "Hey umm John..."
"Yeah?" I ask as I place my to-go box in my lap, in a bit of a hurry to get out of this place...to get this all over with.
"Do you want to catch a movie or something tomorrow night?"
Crap.
"I actually have plans tomorrow." I respond quickly.
His face falls. "Oh."
"My umm...grandma is visiting and she signed us up for a grandma and grandson baking class." I lie, pretty proud of myself for spinning an interesting tale...the fact being that my grandma has been dead for five years.
"Oh okay...see you at training tomorrow?"
"See you at training." I respond.
I wait for the check as he walks off to his car, and I swear he looks back at me a few times.
"You and your boyfriend make a cute couple." The waitress says.
"What?" I say chocking on my own spit.
"Yeah you guys are cute."
"Oh we're not..."
"Oh..." she says as both our faces go red with embarrassment.
"Well I totally ship it." She says with a wink. "I mean the way he looks at you."
I shake my head as I head towards my car, thoughts swirling around my brain.
Maybe I am just paranoid...maybe he doesn't like me.
But he probably does.
He definitely does.
Do I?
This may be much harder than I thought.
Sorry if this was a little confusing...it'll make sense as the story builds.