"You're home!" Eliza, Mulligan, John, and Lafayette all seemed to call in unison as Peggy and Angelica came walking through airport security.
"Hey guys!" Peggy said, addressing the whole group even though she was already tackling Mulligan in a hug. Angelica chuckled at her youngest sister and turned to give Eliza a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi, everyone, long time no see," she smiled, pulling Laf and John into a joint hug. The two of them laughed, hugging back for a moment before offering to help with bags.
"No, no, I insist," Laf said, swatting at Angelica's hand on her suitcase until she allowed him to carry it. Once that was settled, though, the collective group made their way towards the parking lot.
"Alright, everyone's invited back to our place," Mulligan said, an arm still wrapped around Peggy's shoulders. "We have alcohol!" The group all cheered to that, except for John, who had suddenly become quiet, as if lost in thought.
Angelica, ever observant, gave him a quizzical look. "Are you alright?" She seemed to say with her eyes.
John shook his head, a clear "It's fine" type of expression. Angelica gave him a slightly worried glance before returning her attention to the rest of the group. In all actuality, John really was fine. He was just debating on weather or not to ask if he could bring Alex. Sure, the guy had quickly become one of *his* best friends, but he didn't really know how the rest of the group would react to the fiery tempered, quick witted writer. Just because he nearly tripped over his own feet around Alexander didn't mean that others would. "Fuck it," he decided, they'd just have to get used to it.
"Hey, uh, guys," Laurens began, interrupting the previous conversation.
"Hmm?" Eliza asked, turning around to look at him.
"I was wondering if I could bring Alex over. Most of you haven't had the chance to formally meet him, and I've been meaning to bring him over eventually, so..." He left the statement open ended, waiting for a response. Peggy and Mulligan looked between eachother, smirking slightly, before nodding with a shrug. "Thanks, guys," John said, grinning, "I'll text him and let him know!" before giving Peggy a quick, appreciative hug and heading towards his car. In all his excitement, though, John missed the way Angelica and Lafayette smiled and chuckled. And he also missed the look of sadness that crossed Eliza's face, if only for a moment, as they did so.
Okay, this is a 100% shameless filler chapter. I'm sorry... But, knowing that it actually holds some significant foreshadowing might make things slightly better. If you didn't catch the little hints (including the description, the quote mentioned a few chapters back, and the link) then check the last line of this chapter!