Alex was very relieved that it was an art day. He hated going into the gym, and he didn't think it would help his insecurities to see John in peak physical condition. After all the kids had funneled through his door and through the hallways, Alex walked down to the art room. There were a few kids still there working on what looked to be clay. As much as he enjoyed it, Alex was never very good at art, so he didn't remember a ton from it. He knocked on the doorway and peeked his head in. John looked up, along with a few students.

"Hey Al- Mr. Hamilton," he laughed, looking at the students. "How has your day gone?"

"Long, and repetitive, and I'm glad it's done," Alex laughed, trying not to get nervous. "How about yours?"

"Pretty much the same. If I had a dollar for every time somebody tried to use slip without cross-hatching first then I would be able to pay for a very nice meal at a very nice restaurant," John chuckled. Yes, this was perfect, this is a perfect transition.

"Well, since we both had such long days, maybe we should go out and get a very nice meal at a very nice restaurant. I think it's well deserved," Alex tried as hard as he could not to stutter, and he surprisingly didn't. Then again, he wasn't the picture of confidence either.

"Yeah, that sounds awesome. Where at, what time, and can I wear sweatpants without getting harshly judged?" He laughed. Alex internally sighed out of relief.

"How about Olive Garden, 5:30, with sweatpants being completely acceptable?" This was going very well.

"Sounds good. I'll see you there!" John told him before he left. He walked a small ways away from the classroom and sighed of relief, leaning back on the wall. He was startled out of his joyous state by a young girl who had just left the art room too. He recognized her as one of Eliza's favorite students, whose name was Theodosia.

"So was that your way of asking him on a date or what?" She raised her eyebrow at Alex.

"What? No. Why would you think that. We are not dating, and we won't ever date.." Alex babbled on, slowly becoming more and more defeated by this little girl who managed to make him so flustered. She didn't seem convinced.

"Uh huh.. sure.. anyways, have a nice day, Mr. Hamilton," she walked away quietly laughing and shaking her head.

Alex dismissed the conversation, and hustled over to Angelica's classroom. She was still there, she never left before 4:30, and he told her anything.

"Alex, that's awesome! But, will you be okay with, you know.." she trailed off. "Do want to come over to my place so we can talk it out a little more? I could leave early, and you could go get changed and then come to my place," she said all of this very sympathetically.

"Um, yeah, sure. That sounds fine. I'll see you at like 4:15," Alex stuttered. He didn't know how to say no, and when he thought it over, he wanted to be as comfortable and ready for this as he could possibly be.