Francis POV, Four Years Earlier

"John? Babe, are you okay?" I call out as I wander around my apartment. I enter the bedroom to see him curled up on the bed, crying a little bit but mainly just staring at the sheets. I sigh and sit down next to him. "John, come on. You know I didn't do it to be mean. You just...you had to learn sweetheart."

He stays frozen as he stares at the bed with his cheeks stained with tears and his knees hugged tightly to his chest. I frown and rub his shoulder gently, but he grabs my hand and moves it away.

"Don't fucking touch me." He mutters under his breath.

I furrow my eyebrows at him. "Watch your tone, John." I warn.

He finally looks up at me and glares. "No, we're done, Francis. I can't do this anymore, I'm going home."

"Don't lie to me, John." I scoff. "You said it yourself, you'll never go back home."

He sits up slowly and shakes his head. "No, Francis, I mean it. We're through, I can't do this anymore."

He stands up but I grab his hand, causing him to wince and look back at me. "Baby, don't be like that...Don't leave me, I love you."

"This isn't love!" He shouts, looking terrified. I hate seeing him like this.

I frown. "John, please stay... I need you, and you need me."

"That's where you're wrong, Francis. I thought I needed you, but I don't...The only thing I need is to get away from you." He says through gritted teeth as he tries to wiggle out of my grasp.

"John, I can see that you're stressed. Sit down, let's talk about this." He continues to try and pull his hand away, but I tighten my grasp. "I will not ask again."

He freezes and slowly sits down next to me. I pull him into a hug and he tenses up, so I rub his back to comfort him. "Shhh....Shh, it's okay, John.. I know there's a lot going on right now, but we'll get through it together."

He doesn't answer so I sigh and kiss the top of his head. "Come on, John, why don't you get some rest?"

He nods slowly and we go to get changed. We climb into bed and I cuddle him, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Timeskip brought to you by Abuela struggling with English

I wake up in the middle of the night to feel the other half of the bed was empty. I look around and see John is nowhere to be found, so I get up and go look for him. When I see he isn't in the kitchen like I suspected, I get a bit upset. "John?" I call out.

No response.

I scowl and grab my phone, pressing his contact and calling him, only to be sent directly to voicemail. I send him a few texts before thoroughly checking the apartment one more time. I then grab my coat and run outside, having no luck in finding him.

He most likely went back home, but I know his father would kill me if I showed up there, so that's not really an option. Instead, I just go home and begin my plan on how to win him back.

~~4 years later

"Hello, I'll take a hot chocolate, please." I say to the brunette standing behind the counter.

She tilts her head at me. "Really? This early in the morning people usually only get coffee." She giggles slightly.

I nod. "Ah, yes. Well, I can assure you I'm not like other people." I smile at her and she smiles back. "I'm Francis, by the way." I tell her, holding my hand out.

She blushes gently and shakes my hand back. "I'm Elizabeth." She replies softly.

I already knew who she was, but I couldn't tell her that obviously.

"I'm sorry, this is kind of straightforward, but any chance I could get your number?" I ask, pretending to act nervous.

She blushes madly but smiles. "Y-yeah, sure!" She says. She goes to make the hot chocolate and then writes down her number on the cup before handing it to me.

I hand her a ten dollar bill and she opens the register to give me change. "Keep the change." I wink at her.

She blushes even more and I smile and wave as I exit the small building. I turn the corner and plug her number into my phone before tossing the drink into the trash can. I don't drink hot chocolate, that stuff is nasty.

I then head to my hotel room and text her.

FK__: Hey, it's Francis. Text me when you get a chance :)

Timeskip brought to you by Martha being free tonight

"Liz, we've been hanging out for a little bit now...I wanted to know.." I rub the back of my neck as I pretend to be nervous. "Will you be my girlfriend?" I ask her.

She smiles brightly and then bites her lip and looks to the ground. "Oh, Francis...I like you, I really do. I like you a lot, actually, but there's someone else I'm actually in love with..." She says the last part quietly.

I tilt my head and try to hide my frustration. I have been hanging out with this girl for two months now and she still won't date me? "Who is it?" I ask calmly.

She sighs. "My best friend... The one who's birthday party I'm going to in a few days?"

I nod slowly. "You mean the one who might not even go to his own birthday party?" She nods and I sigh. "Well..Why don't you date him, then?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "He isn't interested in dating anyone. You see, five years ago, he dated his roommate and he just up and left without warning or explanation. It kinda ruined it for him.."

I scoff. "It's been five years, he needs to get over it, then."

She chuckles gently. "I've tried telling him that...He's been through a lot already, though." She smiles up at me. "Listen, Francis, you're a great guy. I really enjoy hanging out with you, but-"

"At least let me take you out on one date?" I ask quietly, interrupting her.

She smiled at me. "Okay...One date, and we'll see how it goes."

I smile back at her and hold her hand, kissing it gently. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at 8."

Timeskip brought to you by the Reynold's Pamphlet.

"I had a great time tonight." Liz says after she finishes giggling.

"I did too." I hold both of her hands and smile at her. "So...Have you given any thought to taking us a step further?"

She smiles brightly. "Yes, Francis. I'll be your girlfriend." I smile even wider and kiss her cheek.

Step one complete. Now time for step two.

After I drive Liz home, I make a phone call to a man who has no idea who I am.

"Hello?" They ask in a groggy voice.

"Hello, may I speak to Henry Laurens, please?" I ask.

"This is him, what can I do for you?"

"That building you have going up in New York City, we actually need a signature from you right away sir." I tell him. He sighs. "We need it by tomorrow afternoon."

"I can't make it to New York by then. Can I come this weekend?" He asks.

"No, it has to be tomorrow." I smirk. "Any chance you could send someone else? Don't you have a son in the business?"

"Ah yes, I'll send John!" He says, chuckling gently. "He and his fiance Carrie can make a trip out of it."

I grit my teeth at this. How could I not know he was engaged? "Fiance, huh? How nice!" I say.

"Yeah, they're very happy together." He says. "Don't you worry, I'll have John over there by tomorrow to get that paper signed."

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice day." I tell him before hanging up the phone and hitting the steering wheel. "Dammit.."

I sigh and check my phone again, seeing it was getting kind of late. I drive to my apartment for the time being and relax on my couch, going to do my natural routine of looking through John's and Eliza's social media accounts. I then decide to search up Eliza's friend, Alex's account to see it was luckily a public account.

I read his bio quickly.

Alex
I haven't been on
this account in God
knows how long.
Go suck a toe.

I then click on his last post to see it was from the year 2015. It was a picture of an (I'm assuming) younger version of him, John, and two other males I didn't know. It was captioned,

"Mr. Lafayette - Hard rock like Lancelot.
Mr. Mulligan - His pants look hot.
Mr. Laurens - I like him a lot.
•
•
Gang's all here!"

Very cliche if you ask me, but I guess he was probably new to Instagram seeing as there were only three posts. I look and see only two comments and click to view them.

TurtleLuver God, I always forget how short you are!
     Alex..Hamilton @ TurtleLuver                         Shut up, John!

I chuckle gently. I didn't know John had a different account. I click on it and see it's a private account and I sigh. He would never let me on his private account. I'll bet Liz is on there, though.

I put my phone away and then hop into the shower, wondering what would happen next.

Timeskip to September 1st, 1989....Jkjk it's to like next week or something

Welp, Eliza's friend, Alex, is in the hospital. I barely got her to leave, and apparently John is there constantly as well. This was not a part of the plan.

I was supposed to somehow get John to stay in New York and convince him to fall back in love with me, but there's no way I can do that if he's engaged and going back to South Carolina tomorrow. Liz was supposed to be a way for me to get closer to John, not further.

I groan and read the text Liz had sent me once again before throwing my phone on the couch and running my hands through my hair. "This shit sucks..." I mumble.

I could go visit them in the hospital, but that wouldn't do me any good... John's not in a stable enough state to pretend everything is fine.

Timeskip (I'm sorry there are so many there's a lot of little pieces I want to fit into one chapter) brought to you by the rest of Mr. Eacker's show

"So, anything new on the whole story with your friends?" I ask Liz before taking a bite of my food.

She smiles brightly. "Actually, yeah. Alex convinced John to stay in New York. We're having a small get together to welcome him back tonight." Her eyes brighten up and she gasps. "You should come tonight! That way I can finally introduce you to everyone."

I sigh and look down at my food. "Ah...Liz, I still think we should wait. I'm not sure I want to meet your friends yet.." I tell her, rubbing the back of my neck.

She smiles politely and grabs my hand. "Francis, there's nothing to be scared about. My friends are all pretty accepting..My sisters, too."

I chuckle gently. "I know, I know. I want to meet them, I'm just not ready yet." I tell her.

She sighs and nods. "Alright, alright...We can wait then."

I smile at her. "Thanks, babe." I lean back in my chair. "But you should go to the dinner thing, have fun!" I tell her.

She tilts her head. "Really? You wouldn't rather do something together?" She asks.

I shake my head. "Please, go have a nice night."

She smiles. "Thanks, Francis. I promise we'll get together tomorrow."

Timeskip brought to you by Nigel's nice metaphor (bro)

"Francis, I don't understand why you don't want to meet my friends!" Elizabeth asks in a very upset tone.

She was sitting across from me on the couch, her arms crossed over her chest with an angry look on her face. We'd been together for three weeks, John being here for two weeks, and I still refuse to meet her friends. I don't want to scare John away, not until I can guarantee Eliza won't leave me.

"Liz, I'm just not ready, why can't you understand?" I ask, sighing and rubbing the bridge of my nose.

"Okay, and what about my family? My father always said not to trust a guy who doesn't want to be around people you know-"

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm scared to!" I say.

She rolls her eyes. "I don't believe you, Francis." Her voice grows quiet and she looks down. "Are you....Are you cheating on me?" She asks.

My face drops. "Oh, God, Elizabeth, no! I could never!" I tell her. She looks up at me with furrowed eyebrows and then stands up.

"You know what, I can't do this anymore." She says before turning and starting to walk away. I frown and chase after her, grabbing a fistful of her hair and bringing her back to me. She looks at me with a terrified expression on her face.

I scowl. "You think you can just leave like that?" I ask her angrily.

"No, no, I didn't mean it, Francis.." She says quickly. "I just needed to take a breather outside.." She stutters.

I scoff and then throw her to the ground. She tries to get up but I place my foot on her stomach gently, just enough to keep her on the ground. "That's what I thought."

She whimpers and I sigh and pull her up, holding onto her waist as I pull her closer. I look into her eyes and then kiss her forehead. "Sorry, baby, I just can't have you leaving me." I assure her.

"You can't stop me from leaving you." She says under her breath.

I growl and force her to look up at me. "Watch me." I say before pulling her into a very rough kiss.

Timeskip brought to you by a hero and a scholar.

"Oh my God.." I hear Liz mumble as she stares at the test in her hand.

I smile and walk over to see it had come back positive. "See? I told you you I could stop you from leaving me." I smirk down at her and she starts sobbing.

I roll my eyes and throw the test away. "Oh, get over it, Liz. Come on, get ready let's go on a date."

2471 Words

So obviously there's more that he's in, but this chapter was getting really long and I only wanted to cover kind of what his true intentions were the whole time. The first part with John was actually an idea given by Krypto32 in the comments section of an earlier chapter, so thank you for that! Alright, I'll end this now.

PS I didn't spell check cuz I had to get to class and I won't be on very much today. I'll edit any errors later