"Are you sure you're ready?" Alex asked John one Friday night while the others in the group got ready for bed. John nodded.

"Well... I'm as ready as I'll ever be," he said, uncertainty seeping into his voice. Alex rubbed his arm.

"Hey, it'll be fine. I mean, it's not like this will be a shock to any of them," Alex chuckled. John let a small smile slip onto his face. "See, I'm hilarious. Don't you want to tell them that you have a new, hilarious boyfriend?" At this point John was laughing a little bit. He nodded.

"Yeah, I do," John said, sounding slightly more sure in his words. They went back into Herc and Laf's living room. Angelica looked at them.

"What were ya talkin' about?" Angelica asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh, nothing. We had just been thinking about announcing something tonight," Alex hinted. Her mouth dropped open as she simultaneously raised her eyebrows.

"You're kidding!" She whisper-yelled. "Tonight? When?" Alex shrugged.

"Pretty soon. I mean, it won't be super extravagant, it's not like it's gonna be a shock to anyone," Alex reasoned. Angelica made an exasperated noise.

"That doesn't mean it's not a big deal!" She exclaimed. Alex looked over at John, who was across the room talking with Peggy. Alex leaned in towards Angelica.

"He's nervous. Like, REALLY nervous. He had some jerk "friends" in college, and he gets really nervous about these types of things," Alex tried to explain it as best he could, without seeming insensitive. A look of realization struck her and she started apologizing profusely.

"It's really okay, Angie. There's literally no way you could have known that," Alex said, slightly confused as to why she felt so bad. She shook her head.

"No, I should've- it's just that you would have to have a good reason to treat it like such a small thing. I don't know why I brushed over it so much, I just... wasn't thinking," Alex still couldn't figure out why she was being so hard on herself. Now that he thought about it, she had been acting like this all day, especially when Alex was around. He shrugged it off. Angelica was pretty sensitive most of the time, so she might just be having an emotional day.

After about a half an hour of everybody talking and winding down, and Alex trying to discreetly comfort a panicking John, Alex stood up and clapped his hands together. Angelica whipped her head around, while everybody else casually turned their heads towards him.

"So," Alex began excitedly. "I have something to announce!"

"Wait," Hercules cut him off. "Is this actually important, or is it one of those times that you're so tired you start acting hyper?" Alex rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha, very funny," Alex responded. "But it actually is important, and it even has to do with someone else in the room." A few eyes tried to discreetly glance at John, who was clearly trying very hard to look casual. Alexander took a deep breath in.

"I have a boyfriend," Alex started, noticing Peggy's eyes light up. "And that boyfriend just happens to be John Laurens!" Alex made jazz hands at John who was blushing furiously. Everybody clapped and whistled, and nobody worried about getting noise complaints, even though they definitely would at this time of night. Everyone was happy and accepting, and the two could've never asked for more.

So, a friend of mine brought this to my attention when she was reading over this chapter and I wanted to clarify something: When it comes to flaunting their sexuality John and Alex are total opposites. From each other and from their normal selves. John, usually confident and outgoing, is very shy and uncomfortable with his sexuality. His first impression of being out of the closet consisted of homophobic people and judgement, and it takes a lot for him not to feel that way.

Alex is very different however. He grew up in a rough background, but with very liberal parents. They were less concerned about him being gay, and more proud that he didn't let his difficult circumstances keep him from being who he is. That being said, he is much more comfortable and confident in his sexuality. That, on top of the fact that dating John is making him feel like the luckiest person in the world, makes him a damn happy camper. So yes, their personalities are sort of switched in this chapter, but that's because of how they react to their sexualities being known to others. Just wanted to clarify! :)