A/N: Alright, quick PSA before we begin this chapter. I finally made the spin-off I mentioned in one of my author's notes earlier a reality! It's called "Dear Alexander" and it doesn't really have any Lams, mostly mother fluff. It's also a song fic. Check it out if you want, no pressure!

"Marty!" John poked his head into his little sister's room. "Can you turn that down? I'm trying to study!"

His sister didn't seem to hear him though, because she kept bobbing her head to the Miraculous Ladybug theme song blasting out of her computer.

"Marty!" She ignored him. "Marty!" Still no response. "Oh my god, that's it," John muttered. He marched over and used the mouse to pause the YouTube video.

Marty continued bobbing her head for a few seconds until she realized the music had stopped. She took out her earbuds and glared at him. "Whatchu do that for?" she asked, annoyed.

John folded his arms. "Your music was bothering me."

"I had my earbuds on."

John looked at the computer, then at Marty. "Bish, your earbuds aren't even plugged in."

Marty's eyes trailed to her disconnected earbuds, and her cheeks flushed red enough to hide her freckles. "Oops." She quickly plugged her earbuds into the computer. "There, happy? Now get out of my room."

John grinned. "Thanks." He paused, and ruffled his sister's curly hair on impulse.

"Hey!" Marty cried indignantly, shooing his hands away.

John laughed. "Sorry, couldn't help it. It's so fluffy."

She glared at him, though John could tell she was trying to hold back a laugh. "Touch your own hair, then."

Chuckling, John left her room. He was about to open the door to his own room when he heard two small voices bickering with each other down the hall.

"Give it back!"

"No!"

"It's mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

A little boy came running around the corner, clutching a large green ball in his small hands. John recognized his little brother Jemmy by his fluffy blonde hair. Jemmy saw John, and immediately made a beeline for him. The five-year-old ran and cowered behind his older brother's leg.

"Jemmy," John cried in surprise. "What—"

"Give it back!" Soon, another boy, this one slightly taller than Jemmy, appeared before John. Henry Jr., or as his siblings called him, Harry(I just searched up nicknames for people named Henry and this came up), had straight, brown hair, just like his namesake, and was the only one of John's siblings who didn't have freckles. He pouted at Jemmy. "Give me back my ball!" he cried.

Jemmy aggressively shook his head, and clung even tighter to John's leg. "What's going on here?" John asked, looking back and forth between his two brothers. "Why are you chasing him?"

"Jack, Jemmy stole my ball," Harry complained. "Tell him to give it back!"

"No, it's my ball!" Jemmy argued, wrapping his arms protectively around the green ball.

Harry turned to John. "I was playing with it," he said. "Then Jemmy came and just took it without asking! Make him give it back, Jack!"

Jemmy whimpered, and practically buried his entire face into John's thigh. "It's my ball," he said. "Mommy gave it to me, so it's my ball!"

"Mommy gave the ball to you so you could play with it temporary," Harry corrected, not noticing his misuse of the last word. "But it's my turn to play with it now, so give it back!"

Jemmy squeezed his ball so hard, John saw his tiny knuckles turn white. The small boy desperately looked up at John, his brown eyes pleading. "Please don't take my ball, Jack," he begged. "I like this ball."

"It's not fair!" Harry complained, stomping his foot. "Mommy always takes your side because you're younger and cuter." He turned to John. "Jack, you believe me, right? That's not his ball."

John looked back and forth between the 5-year-old clinging to his leg, and the 7-year-old impatiently waiting for his response. Oh boy, this is gonna be tough. "Well…"

"You're taking Jemmy's side, aren't you?" Harry accused. "I thought you were on my side, Jack! But oh, Jemmy is so cute and obviously he gets to have everything!"

"No!" John said quickly. "That's not—"

"Then you'll make Jemmy give me back my ball?" Harry said hopefully.

Upon hearing this, Jemmy's eyes widened in horror. "No!" he said, backing away from John. "No!" His eyes started watering. John knew he had to do something, and fast.

"Jemmy, please don't cry," he softly comforted his brother. "Listen, how about we compromise?"

Jemmy sniffled, blinking tears out of his eyes. "What's comprize?" he repeated.

John thought carefully about how to word what he was going to say next. "It's when you trade something. You give something, and you get something better in return!"

Jemmy looked doubtfully at John. "But I don't want to give my ball." In the corner of his eye, John could see Harry tilting his head curiously.

"But you'll get something better instead!" John reassured his little brother.

"But what am I going to get?" Jemmy asked.

Actually, what am I going to get him? "How about…" John's eyes lit up with an idea. "My turtle! You can have my stuffed turtle to play with!"

Jemmy's hands loosened slightly on the ball. "Turtle?" Jemmy loved stuffed animals, almost as much as he loved balls.

John nodded. "Mmhm. And you can keep my turtle. But in order for you to have it, you need to give the ball back to Harry. Ok?"

Jemmy looked down at his ball, then at Harry, then at John. Finally, he nodded. "Okay!" He walked over to Harry and handed the ball to him. Harry happily scampered away with the ball, shouting a "Thanks, Jack!" before he disappeared.

John smiled. "Now for your prize," he declared, and entered his room. He plucked the stuffed turtle from its shelf and gave it to Jemmy.

The little boy squeezed the turtle and gave John a toothy smile, dimples appearing on his cheeks. "Thank you, Jack!"

"You're welcome, little bud," John said, grinning back. He paused, before adding, "Don't steal anything next time, ok? Harry's right. You shouldn't take things that aren't yours."

Jemmy pouted. "But the ball is my ball!"

John sighed. "Just… don't steal anything in the future. Okay?"

Jemmy rubbed his fingers over the stuffed turtle's patterned shell. "Okay," he said, and ran out of John's room.

John waited until his little brother was gone, before he leaned on his desk, and rubbed his temples. "Siblings," he sighed.

Siblings, Angelica thought. Why do they have to make things so complicated? Eliza still wouldn't talk to Alex, and nothing Angelica tried was working. She attempted to loop Eliza into a conversation with Alex, but Eliza wouldn't so much as glance at him. Angelica even tried the cliché "push her into him and hope he catches her" trick, but Eliza, who was not as delicate she looked, held her ground and gave her sister an indignant look. It was… getting really frustrating.

Just talk to him, Angelica thought desperately to her sister as they continued exploring the mall. Don't make this any harder than it already is. Seeing that Eliza was not interested in discussing Harry Potter with Alex, staying at the bookstore was pointless, and so the group decided to just kill time in the mall.

"Is Eliza okay?" Alex asked Angelica after they exited a Japanese stationary store. "Maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel like she's ignoring me."

Angelica was about to answer "No, Eliza's fine" to spare her sister the embarrassment, when she thought better of it. "Actually, I don't know what's going on with Eliza. I tried talking to her, but she won't answer. Maybe"-she looked directly at Alexander-"you should try talking to her. Maybe she'll open up to you."

Alex looked taken aback, then shook his head. "I dunno. You two look pretty close. If she won't open up to you, I highly doubt she'll open up to me."

Angelica shrugged. "Well, you never know. There are just some things people don't share with their siblings that they'll share with strangers. Not that I'm saying you're a stranger, of course," she added quickly. "I-if you know what I mean."

Alex chuckled. "No, I know what you mean." He leaned towards Angelica, and dropped his voice to a whisper. "I never told anyone this, but when I was six, I tried to fly my brother's wooden plane model." He shook his head, mirth glinting in his eyes. "It broke. I was so scared that my brother was going to kill me, I buried the plane in our yard and to this day, my brother still doesn't know what happened to it." Was that sadness Angelica detected in his voice? "Those were the good times. So"-he cleared his throat-"yes, I do know what you mean."

A smile graced Angelica's lips. "So, can you try talking to Eliza then?"

Alex looked over at Eliza, then back at Angelica. "Alright, I guess I'll give it a try. Don't expect me to, like, discover the cure for cancer in our conversation, though."

She laughed. "I wouldn't expect anything more from you."

She gave Alex a small shove in Eliza's direction, and the boy went over to talk to her sister. Eliza looked a little surprised that Alex had approached her. However, Angelica saw the tension ease out of her sister as she and Alex started to converse with each other. As she passed them by, she caught snippets of their conversation, though they were too deep in discussion for her to tell exactly what they were talking about.

"I think it's pretty," Angelica heard Alex say, and she saw he was looking at Eliza's bracelet. "You shouldn't be ashamed to wear something that you're proud of."

Eliza blushed, some of her black hair falling into her eyes. "T-thanks."

Something caught Alex's eye, and he turned to look into one of the store windows. Angelica and Eliza followed his gaze, and found themselves standing in front of a particularly bizarre-looking shop. Angelica recognized this shop. She wasn't exactly sure what it sold, but she occasionally got glimpses of unusual silverware and small figurines in there.

"Something you wanna get, Alex?" Eliza asked.

The boy blinked and looked at her. "Well, I don't know…"

"Don't buy anything if you don't even know what the shop is selling," Angelica advised him. "This shop looks pretty shady, anyway. Let's go-Alex?"

Alexander had his hand on the doorknob. "Um, in a sec," he said absentmindedly. It was as if Alex's feet had a mind of their own. He found himself walking into the shop, against his better judgement.

A young girl sat at the counter. She looked up and grinned upon seeing Alex. "Hello, how can I help you?" she asked him cheerfully.

"Um, how much is that figurine in the window?" Alex asked nervously, pointing at the object that had caught his attention earlier. Angelica, Eliza, and even Church, who Alex forgot existed, had quietly followed him into the shop, and stood a wary distance away from the counter.

The girl looked at where Alex was pointing, and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Um, I'm not sure. Lemme ask." She hopped off her stool and opened a door to a hidden backroom. "Mom! How much is the figurine in our window?"

"It's $25!" a woman's voice called from the backroom.

The girl looked back at Alex. "$25," she answered.

"Oh, um." Alex shuffled his feet. "On second thought, nevermind. Sorry for wasting your time." He turned to leave.

"But… I'm willing to give you a 50% discount," the girl continued. She gave Alex a sly wink. "I know a broke high school student when I see one. So how 'bout it? $12.50. Actually, I'll round it down to just $12."

"But isn't that unfair?" Alex stammered, caught off-guard and now suspicious of the sudden reduction in the price.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, we still get some profit. Besides, everything here is overpriced anyway. So, do we have a deal?" She looked at Alex expectantly.

"I—alright." Before he could think it over, he had already handed the girl the money. She grinned, and grabbed a small plastic shopping bag from the counter. She plucked an identical figurine from behind the counter and dropped it into the bag, then handed it off to Alex with a flourish. "Here you go. Nice doing business with ya!"

Alex stared at his new prize as he exited the shop. Why did I waste money on this? I thought he might like it, but now I'm not so sure.

Angelica peeked into Alex's bag. "I didn't know you liked turtles," she said.

The tips of Alex's ears turned red. "Um, I don't. It's… for a friend."

Angelica's eyes widened slightly. "Oh."

"I noticed he was feeling down the other day, so I want to cheer him up," Alex explained quickly.

"I see."

Eliza smiled. "That's really sweet of you. I'm sure he'll like it." I kinda wish he bought something for me, though, she thought with a slight twinge of jealousy, then sighed inwardly. Oh well.

Alex shook his head. "I dunno. It looks kinda stupid now."

"I think it looks really cute," Eliza countered. "Besides, it's the thought that counts."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He snickered. "Honestly, that sounds like something he would say." Church nodded in agreement, still looking out of place in the group.

They continued walking about, until it was time for the movies.

The AMC Theater was just as big as the Plaza, only it was more on the tall side than the wide side. Unlike the crowded white Plaza, the black building only had a few people waiting in line for their tickets.

"What movie are we watching?" Alex asked while they were waiting in line.

"Everything, Everything," Angelica answered. "It's a romance about this girl who can't go outside her home because of a disease she has, and how she longs to go outside and see the world. She then falls in love with a boy living next door to her, and she gets even more determined to escape her house."

"Sounds interesting," Alex said.

"A romance?" Eliza whispered to Angelica, exasperated. "Seriously?"

"I wanted to get Alex in the mood," Angelica explained. "So, yes, we are watching a romance."

Eliza shot a quick look at Alex, then back at her sister. "I don't even think Alex is into that type of stuff."

"Hey, you never know."

While the Schuyler sisters continued their hushed discussion, Alex snuck a peek at Church. I swear, this guy is just gonna turn to stone if I don't at least try to make conversation with him. "Um, John, was it?"

Church blinked, surprised he was being addressed. "Yes, it is," he responded. He made an awkward gesture. "Alex, right?"

Alex grinned. "Yeah, that's my name." He shuffled his feet a little. "So, John, tell me a little bit about yourself. Like, what do you do in your free time?"

Church thought for a moment, before he answered, "Playing golf."

"Oh, nice! Are you good at it?"

It didn't take long for them to reach the front of the line. They got their tickets, and were about to make their way to the theater, when Church quietly asked, "Do you guys want popcorn?" He nodded at a theater worker who was standing in front of a popcorn machine.

Angelica grinned. "How could I have forgotten the popcorn? Good idea, babe!" Church blushed, and looked down at his feet.

They ordered two large bowls of popcorn(with butter flavoring, because what is popcorn without butter), one for Angelica and Church, and the other for Eliza and Alex. Angelica winked when she handed them the bowl. "For you two to share," she said, smirking. Eliza felt the back of her neck heat up. Before she could retort, Angelica brushed past her into the theater.

As they sat down in the cushioned seats, it occurred to Alex that this was his first time in a movie theater. He took a moment to survey his surroundings. The theater was dark, save for the large, bright screen that was currently playing a Coca Cola ad at the front. He was surprised to find that there was barely anyone else in the theater. A few rows in front, three girls were sharing a giant bowl of popcorn. In the far back corner, there was a couple holding hands. Alex looked to his sides. Church and Angelica were seated next to each other, and Alex was seated between Angelica and Eliza.

Alex popped some popcorn in his mouth, right as the movie started playing. As it progressed, though, he found his eyelids drooping lower and lower. He tried to pay attention to the conversation between the characters on screen, but fatigue and boredom soon overtook him, and he fell asleep.

Angelica was also feeling her tiredness catch up to her. I really should have gotten more than four hours of sleep. Maybe four and a half would've been better, was her last thought before she, too, drifted off to sleep.

Eliza was enjoying the movie. She inwardly squealed when the two main characters kissed under the fireworks, and silently wished that could be her and Alex. She snuck a peek at Alex's hand, which was resting on the arm of his chair. Her sister's encouraging words ringing in her ears, Eliza made up her mind. She was going to make a move. No more stalling.

Very slowly, Eliza reached out her hand and, without looking at Alex, rested it on top of his. When he didn't react, Eliza felt her stomach do complicated acrobatics. He's not pulling away, she thought excitedly. Maybe… maybe I have a chance. Then something else occurred to her. Or… he just doesn't know what to do now, and is too nice to say something. Ugh, I don't wanna look at his face to know the answer. Still, it's nice to hold his hand. So she kept it there for the rest of the movie.

Church was simply watching the movie, unaware of the love triangle that was literally sitting less than five feet away from him.

When the credits rolled in, the lights came on, and Eliza looked over to ask Alex what he thought of the movie. She froze. Alex, to her horror, had fallen asleep, so he had been unaware of Eliza holding his hand. But what was even worse, was that Alex was sleeping on Angelica's shoulder. Eliza quickly withdrew her hand, her stomach starting to sink. It's okay, she assured herself. It was an accident. Surely, they wouldn't actually-no, they wouldn't. They're gonna wake up any moment now, and Angelica's just going to brush it off. Yeah, she's going to-

Angelica blinked her eyes open, and so did Alex. It took them a moment to comprehend the position they were in, and when they did, a fiery blush overtook Angelica's face. "A-Alex?!" she nearly shrieked.

"Angelica!" Alex quickly lifted his head up from her shoulder. "I am so, so sorry!"

Angelica stared down at the spot on her shoulder, where his head had been. "I-it's okay," she mumbled, her cheeks still red. Then she looked up and saw her sister's face, and felt her insides sour.

Eliza's mouth was hanging open. Her stomach had just plummeted faster than a roller coaster. She saw that blush. She knew what that blush, along with her sister's stuttering, meant.

"Eliza!" Angelica exclaimed, guilt and regret in her eyes. "I-"

"I… need to use the bathroom," Eliza managed to get out, before she quickly stood up and practically ran out of the theater.

"Eliza!" Without thinking, Angelica chased her sister out of the theater. This caught the attention of one of the three girls from earlier. "Damn, you can tell shit's about to go down," she commented, more to an unknown audience than to her two friends.

"Let's not gossip about strangers, AJ," one of her friends reprimanded. "Anyway, what did you think of the movie? I thought it was pretty good…" The three girls exited the theater.

Alex looked apologetically at Church. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on your girlfriend," he apologized.

"It's okay," Church responded in his monotone voice. He frowned. "I wonder what that was all about, though." He looked toward the theater exit.

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "I don't know what happened, but I hope everything's alright."

"Eliza!" Angelica called. "Wait!" Nononononononononono. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. "Eliza, please wait up!" If her sister heard her, she didn't show any sign of it. Eliza pushed the doors to the girls' bathroom open. Angelica ran in and grabbed her sister's wrist before she could lock herself in one of the stalls. "Eliza, listen to me! It's not what it-"

"You like him," Eliza whispered. She had her head turned away from Angelica, her eyes trained on the tiled bathroom floor.

"No, no I don't!" Angelica said too quickly. "You misread the situation! I was just-"

"Don't lie to me," Eliza growled, making Angelica flinch. She had never heard Eliza use that tone before. "I saw how you looked at him. Why didn't you tell me you liked him too?"

"I don't like him! Trust me, Eliza, I'm telling the truth!" Angelica insisted desperately.

Eliza ignored her. "Were you planning to get Alex and I together, all while suppressing your feelings at the same time?"

"Eliza, I don't-"

"Stop lying to me!" Eliza finally looked up, and Angelica felt her heart shatter. Tears glimmered in Eliza's eyes. "How could you?" she choked out. "Do you think I'm stupid? I know you, Angelica! You've never been this flustered around a boy before, not even around John! And you're still denying it? And you still tell me to trust you?" She wrenched her hand free from Angelica's grasp. "I can't do this anymore. I'm going home."

"Eliza-"

"Don't try to stop me," Eliza interrupted. "I'm going home, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"But what about"-Angelica swallowed- "But what about Alex? And John? We can't just leave them there!"

Eliza paused, her hand on the door handle. "We'll just tell them something came up, and that we have to go," she answered without turning back, and left the bathroom.

Tears trailed down Peggy's cheeks. I… I can't. This… this is too much for me. I'm not sure if I can handle this. She stared down at her phone, trying unsuccessfully to hold in her tears. This… this… this webtoon is too sad for my heart to handle! Gah, why you gotta break her heart, Jaemin! Mari loves you so much! I shipped you guys so hard! Oh well, at least Mari still has Shi-hoo.

She heard the door to the mansion open. Oh, Angelica and Eliza are back. She expected her sisters to come in chatting excitedly about Eliza's new boyfriend and discussing their next date. She did not expect her sisters to come in arguing at the top of their lungs.

"Come on, Eliza," Angelica pleaded. "You're being irrational. This isn't like you!"

"I'm being irrational?!" Eliza shouted. The two sisters stopped in front of the couch, where poor Peggy sat, gawking at them. "Look who's talking! And since when did you know what's like me?" Servants started edging slowly away from them, not knowing what to do and not wanting to be caught up in whatever fight they were in.

"Of course I know what you're like!" Angelica retorted, her voice rising in volume. "I know my sister like I know my own mind. I will never find anyone as trusting or as kind!"

"Oh yeah?" Eliza countered. "Well, I know my sister like I know my own mind. I will never find anyone as brilliant or as kind!" She glared at Angelica, tears rapidly pouring down her cheeks. "You're smarter than this, Angie! If you wanted to get with Alex, you should've told me!" Peggy's jaw dropped open. Eliza's voice grew quiet. "I-I could help you, y'know. You don't have to stay with John. You date Alex instead."

"No," Angelica said, tears forming in her own eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I won't have it!"

"Can someone please tell me what's going on? What's this about Angelica dating Alex?" Peggy asked, but her sisters ignored her.

"Well, I won't have it either!" Eliza screamed, and stormed off to her room without another word. A moment later, a slam sounded through the whole mansion.

"Ugh, this is so frustrating!" Angelica shouted, and also stomped upstairs. Peggy heard a second slam. Then all was quiet.

"...what the fuck just happened?"

A/N:Y'all better know what webtoons are. I will personally send you a double smiley face if you can correctly guess the webtoon in this chapter:))

As for the guest who asked "When does this update?" my answer to that is: I update whenever I feel like it. I don't have any particular schedule because it usually takes a while for me to type up a new chapter. But when I do finish a chapter, I upload it as soon as possible because I'm just that excited to share a new chapter.

Me:Yes, school is over, so now I can update my fanfics more frequently now!

Summer Jobs (holding my schedule at gunpoint):We're about to end this bitch's whole career.