A/N: Hello! I don't know when I can publish the next chapter, but I do know that I felt like writing a fluff chapter :) And thank you so much for the reviews! They make my day! Please r&r!

John POV

Father approved of my new math grade - an A-. He said that since I worked hard enough to please him with a good grade, I could go to Herc's house to help with the Halloween costumes. I texted Herc that I would be at his house in a couple of minutes. After that was done, I ran out to Alex's house. "Alex!" I called.

"Hey, Laurens. Ready to go?" Alex asked, throwing his computer bag into the backseat.

"Yup," I responded as I too threw my small, black backpack into the backseat. My bag landed a couple of inches away from Alex's.

Alex reluctantly jumped into the backseat and me in shotgun next to Martha, our driver. She said she wanted to catch up with Herc's mom. Alex let out a small "humph" when she said that he should sit in the back. "So how are you boys going to make these costumes?" Martha asked as she turned the engine on.

"I don't know. Herc knows all about sewing and crap like that," Alex said, already on his laptop.

"Laf and Herc already designed the costumes and Alex and I are going to help them sew the costumes," I explained, a little more elaborately.

"Ah. That makes sense," Martha said.

We continued to talk about school and Halloween as we made our way to Herc's house. When we got there we saw Herc running out the front door as a box was thrown at him. Laf came running after him, picking the box up from where it landed and threw it at Herc again. Herc's mom was standing in the window shaking her head. "I thought seniors were supposed to be mature!" Alex called as he put his laptop away. Lafayette and Herc skidded to a stop, looking like deer caught in headlights.

"But Herc called me-" Laf started as Herc threw the cardboard box at Laf. Gilbert ducked just in time for it to fly over him and hit the house. I hopped out of the car and picked the box up.

"How about we get our work done, then we can have a box fight?" I asked, spinning the box with my two index fingers. Herc spoke up before Lafayette could have a say against it.

"Sure," Herc said, shoving Lafayette into the house. Alex shook his head and chuckled. "The fabric and other materials are all in my office."

"You have your own office?" I asked, puzzled to the core. How can a teenager already have their own office?

"Yeah. It was my dad's old office before we got the add-on. His new office is better than mine, but what the heck. It's an office where I can keep my stuff!" Herc explained.

"Herc, how long will it take to make the costumes?" Alex asked, flipping through all of the fabric Lafayette picked out.

"Not that long. Laf and I already cut the fabric to the sizes we need, so all we have to do now is sew everything," explained Herc.

Laf and Herc had already worked on Eliza's costume first, a very light blue dress. We started with Angelica's pink dress, then Peggy's sunflower yellow dress, then Burr's plain costume, Laf's French-designed soldier outfit, Herc's soldier costume, my soldier costume, and Alex's green suit costume. We got the main parts done, and Laf would take them to his house to put the finishing touches on, mainly the details with the weird tuffs of fabric on the sleeves and chest, and random buttons here and there.

We were taking a break (even though Alex didn't want to) when Laf had excused himself to go to the bathroom. "Pardon, but I am going to go use the toilettes," Laf said as he stood up from Hercules's desk, making his way over to the bathroom.

"Did I miss something, but since when does Gilbert excuse himself?" Alex asked hesitantly, looking at us with a mixture of fear, laughter, and hesitance in his deep, hazel brown eyes.

"I don't know… never, really. He's up to something, I know it," Hercules said when something soft but hard hit the wall, "Hide. He's coming. I think he has a cardboard box."

Herc and I scattered around Herc's office, all finding a place to hide. I hid in the closet, Herc hid under his desk, and Alex just sat in Herc's swivel chair, not bothering to hide and typing on his laptop. Of course, classic Alex. He was always the more mature out of all of us.

Alex POV

I watched Lafayette tiptoe into Herc's room holding a cardboard box. He silently made his way over to me and whispered, "Where are they?" I discreetly peeked down at Herc who silently motioned his head towards the closet where Laurens was hiding.

I motioned for Laf to lean down as I whispered into his ear, "Laurens is in the closet."

Lafayette nodded his head vigorously, making his bun bob up and down. He tiptoed his way over the closet ever so quietly before ripping the door open and slamming the cardboard box on Laurens' head. "Ow!" He said before swatting Gilbert away. He grabbed the box and whacked it against Laf, who bent over to brace for pain.

"Ha-ha!" Laf mocked, grabbing the box and hitting Herc who somehow managed to run out from under the desk. I shook my head and continued to type. The three of them ran around me for a while, throwing the poor box around. Eventually, they left the room looking for more open space.

It was too quiet. And when it's too quiet in our friend group, something is up. That's when Laurens ran in, obviously faking since no one else was yelling or running.

John POV

We giggled as we made our way down the hallway, hiding in Herc's bedroom.

"Laurens, you distract Alex. Laf, smack Alex in the head with this, and I'll throw the box at him," Herc said as he handed a large cardboard tube from the fabric to Lafayette. Laf gave a large, evil grin as he took the tube. Herc looked at me with fake regret, "On second thought, this may not be a good idea to give Laf a pole."

"Let's go," I said as I let a soft laugh out. I made my way into Herc's office, pretending to be running away from the others, "Hide me, Alex." I ran under the desk as Alex looked at me with confusion. It almost looked… fake? I could see Lafayette tiptoe in with the cardboard tube with Herc close behind with the box. Alex turned around just in time and grabbed the tube and whacked Lafayette in the arm before standing up and knocking the box out of Herc's hand. We all stood there (except for me, I was under the desk), mouths wide open with astonishment.

"The worst thing you can do in this world is underestimate me," Alex said, twirling the tube between his right hand's fingers, laughing at Herc, Laf, and I's gawking faces. He spun the tube one more time before holding it like a sword. "It was so obvious that you guys were faking. No one was running or yelling after Laurens. I almost believed Laurens, but if it weren't for you guys failing your part I knew it was fake. Now, with that out of the way… Who's up for round 2?"

I came out from under the table, grabbing another cardboard tube nearby, "Oh, you are so on."

A/N: FLUFF!

ALWAYS FIND THE GOOD IN A BAD SITUATION. STAY HEALTHY, STAY STRONG, AND WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC TOGETHER. (and where are those astronauts?)