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ithoughtyouweredifferent · 8 years ago

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Chapter 9 Dinner “Party”

Fact: Dry erase markers take off permanent markers as explained in the story.

Disclaimer: Y’all, I don’t have any idea what is going on in Lin’s mind for the future I made up so much BS for this it’s not even funny. But I think it’s a decent idea, not one that could actually become anything but something me, an amateur little writer thinks might be a cool story. Also, entrance from Lin best friend Chris because we all need best friends

Word Count: about 4,000

part 8

Table of Contents

Chapter 10 (link also at bottom)

Dinner. With Lin. You hadn’t seen him in so long, you didn’t know if you should pick up where you left off, be friends, thank him for getting you your dream job and go your separate ways, honestly all you could do was be thankful that there were going to be other people with you not just the two of you like it would have been if you could’ve gotten away for lunch earlier.

Unknown Number:

We are all meeting at a soup and sandwich place about three blocks from your office. It’s supposed to be good do you know it?

and there was an address at the bottom of it, you had hardly finished reading it when there was another

Unknown Number:

Sorry this is Lin, Probably should’ve told you that before

Well that’s reassuring, how he had gotten your number was a mystery but you went ahead and entered it as a contact you had barely tapped save when it buzzed again

Lin

I found this number on the museum website, I am texting the right person right? If not this is really awkward

you laughed at him and saved him some minor stress

Y/N

Yeah, Lin, it’s Y/N. That place has fantastic Broccoli soup. Who else is gonna be there with us?

Lin

Mostly people from the broadway world, a few people who got me there, old roomate, etc. Family was last week so there shouldn’t be any of them. Meet you there at 8?

Y/N

Sounds like a plan, can’t wait

And you couldn’t. You thought about Tanya’s warning, sure you weren’t exactly a “smiley face and sunshine” person when you had met her, but she had made it out to be as if you had been a sniveling little heartbroken lost child in a world of gray. But this was Lin, someone you hadn’t seen in years. The person who had helped you get this job that brought you as close to the “sunshine and smiley face” person as you had ever been in your life. It wasn’t like you were going out on a one-on-one date tonight, you were probably not even going to actually have more than two words with him tonight. What was the point of haveing a big reunion thing if you, the one who has been gone, won’t even really be able to see but five or so people?

You were not glancing constantly at the clock trying to decide when was the right time to leave. Most certainly not looking at your watch, Or your phone. Or the mantle clock. Or the clock on the kitchen wall. You hadn’t once looked at the clock in your bedroom. Your house was a clock free zone, yeah. No. More like you couldn’t stop checking the time. By the time 7:45 came around you were forcing yourself to walk at a normal New Yorker pace so you wouldn’t get there too early and frankly be attracting crazy attention to yourself by running down the sidewalk in a skirt.

You got to the corner the restaurant was on at almost precisely 8 but you had to be in the wrong place. You checked the address and the time that he had sent you and you were where you were supposed to be, but the place was almost empty. After a few seconds of thought, you went inside the restaurant to see if anyone looked familiar. You were about to make a fool of yourself craning your neck when a hostess appeared

“Hi, I was wondering if there was a large party here tonight? Ideally, he was smart enough to warn you ahead of time, maybe using the name-”

“Y/N!” Lin called waving at you and you smiled up at him,

“Never mind thank you,” you smiled at the woman and walked over to him and found yourself once again engulfed in a hug, “Where is everybody?” You asked, “I was expecting to get in two sentences with you tops because you would have so many,”

“Well, they canceled,” he said bouncing room foot to foot until he pulled a chair out for you,

“You’re kidding right?” you laughed as he sat down in front of you,

“Nope,” he popped the P, “It was so weird I thought this place was going to be packed and then poof everybody got sick or had other plans or an emergency come up, do I stink or something? You and Chris are the only two that didn’t have a sudden reason not to show and he should have been here at least ten minutes ago,” he stretched to see if his old friend had arrived but so far nobody but you, “Until he gets here, and kills you with questions, I wanna know, how’ve you been? It seemed like you were happier today than I think I’d ever seen you,”

“You have no idea, I love it. The people I work with are amazing. They understand me and we all think the same way and we all are just kind of missing something and a little lost and we’ve honestly made a family there. It’s insane and wonderful. And the items that go through our collection you would die if you had seen some of the documents and objects and relics and mementos that I’ve been able to see and touch. I’ve got a life here Lin. It’s amazing. The city is overwhelming at times, a little scary every now and again but I’ve been here for three years and I still keep falling more in love with it every day,” you raved on and on and he sat there his chin resting on his hand as he smiled at you as if he could listen to you talking all day. No, not you talking, listen to someone talking about this. You quickly corrected yourself. “Happy, for such a simple word it has so much meaning to it, so many layers of-”

“Hey miss Happy life rainbows and unicorns, who are you and what have you done to my Socrates?”

“Shut up,” you poked his arm, “I’m working on being less negative and avoiding people who try to bring me down, you’re bringing me down,”

“Oh did I mention I have confetti and glitter to go with your rainbows and unicorns?” he asked with an adorable grin on his face, and you knew you had a small smile on your face as well, at least one thing hadn’t changed–you always smiled with him around,

“Material symbols of happiness mean nothing to me,”

“There’s the Socrates I know and Love,” he grinned, “Gotta make sure there is some part of you that’s in there, I‘m not sure what I’d do if everything about you had changed,” you tried not to think about that too much, “I mean somehow in three years you got more beautiful, I don’t know how but you did, you’re enjoying your day to day life, you have people that you talk to that will listen to you like you deserve, I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep up,” friendly compliments. He is complimenting you, not flattering you. You do not want him to be doing anything other than complimenting you,

“I only got here because you wouldn’t mind your own business,”

“I swear I never said a word to them about you,” he raised his hands in defense, “You got the job because of you, just like you wanted just like I knew you would,” he dropped his hands and you gave him a small smile,

“Hey-oh,” Lin all but jumped out if his chair at Chris’s sudden entrance, “Chris Jackson,” he stuck out his hands and narrowed his eyes at you, “you’re Y/N, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am,” you tilted your head at Lin after you shook Chris’s hand, “Why would you assume that?” he chuckled,

“Chris knew everyone who was coming and you’re one of the only people I that he wouldn’t recognize, deductive reasoning skills,” Lin said quickly and Chris snorted sitting down beside his friend,

“And you might’ve been mentioned once or twice a while back,” Chris added much to Lins obvious chagrin

“Oh? In a good way, I hope?” You tried to laugh to cover up how incredibly unsure you what was going on and exactly how much you needed to get home and for what reason.

“How about that weather?” Lin suddenly piped up when neither of them answered, “I mean sunnier than London, colder than Florida was, but warmer than Greenland which is good I guess, I mean if it wasn’t that’d be not so good,” Lin rambled bouncing in his seat, and you raised an eyebrow at him,

“You never did tell me where you’ve been since the toothpaste commercials, don’t get me wrong you were great but other than, ‘researching and writing’…” you questioned,

“I mean, I’m not done, nowhere near it. But I think that this one has some great potential. get this,” he leaned in over the table and you couldn’t help but do the same even though Chris reclined back in his chair clearly having already heard this, “So focusing on how intermingled everyone’s lives are, it has several main settings and of course, it stretches reality in some places but that’s a given,”

“Obviously,” you said sarcastically but he ignored you and kept going

“and there are going to be lots of dual roles from the ensemble and supporting leads I’ve spent ages working on wordplay so that it works for multiple roles at once, like how the opening number of Ham. did,” he clarified to make sure you were still with him, "mostly songs but two or three scenes that aren’t necessary to the flow and storyline for people who can only get the OBC soundtrack but some quote un quote ‘normal’ scenes. All of the main characters have completely different backgrounds-cultures, ethnicities, native language, religions, professions, family life, the whole nine yards. I’m taking stereotypes to the theatrical extreme for effect but I think it will still be realistic. But anyway, the characters are all so different there is no way they could possibly have anything to do with those people, being the other characters, but they keep crossing paths and they have common ties that on the surface seem impossible but it’s relatable to people because we all have these people in our lives that from a distance don’ belong. I’ve listened to so many stories and talked to so many people of all ages so I’ve got so many different ideas to pull from and there are always more, I think I have a few people in mind for some of the parts but there is so much to write still so,” he leaned back abruptly, “I’ve got a good solid plan for the whole thing and a fair portion written and a good amount well plotted, it’ll be neat seeing where it ends up,”he shrugged

“Well I’m calling dibs on tickets now,” you tried to sound serious but you couldn’t, “I want to see at least one of your masterpieces before I die,” and he raised his eyebrows,

“Deal,”

“Who am I in this one?” Chris asked, “Do I get to be the bad guy?”

“Since when do I have ‘bad guys’?” Chris just looked at him, “What makes you think you’re a part of this?”

“I distinctly remember you promising me on multiple occasions that I’ve got a job as long as you do,”

“He’s right,” you added and Cris high-fived you across the table,

“Yeah listen to your woman, If she can call dibs on tickets I’m calling dibs on the antagonist, no more of this friend showing you the right way mess,”

“You’d make a nice stagehand,” you cackled at his wounded expression, “watch it Socrates or I’ll force you to be a swing. A Super Swing at that, maybe just a lead,” he threatened and your laugh only got worse, he knew that you would die before you got on stage especially to star in the show

“I promise, you do not want me on your stage,” Chris nodded far too enthusiastically in agreement, “You’ve never even heard me sing,” you exclaimed at his reaction

“Neither has he and he’s giving you my spot!” He protested, “and you laughed at my expense,” it was insane how easy it was to talk to these two people one of which was an absolute stranger you were more than mildly star struck by and the other someone that you were very starstruck by and your friend and your ex that you hadn’t seen or heard from in years

“Whatever you say, are we planning on actually ordering food tonight or are we just taking up table space?” you asked

“I dunno, you said the soup here is good?”

“Broccoli soup is my favorite but I’ve had a mean roast beef sandwich and they’ve got an insane Shepard’s pie,” you suggested, both of the men looked over the menu, upon seeing you actually get serious about the food a waiter came over,

“What can I get you this evening?”

“Diet coke, and stuffed mushrooms for me,” Chris put his menu back on the end of the table,”

“I’ll have broccoli soup and Sprite thank you,” you smiled at him as he scribbled it down.

“I guess I’ll have a diet coke and Swedish meatballs thanks”

“I’ve never had that here,” you told him when the waiter walked away

“Neither have,” you gave him a no duh look, “You can try some of mine,” he offered and you could swear that your eyes popped out of your head, “on the condition I get to try this broccoli soup you speak so highly of,” you tried not to react other than nodding your head,

“Sure thing,” ignoring Chris’s guffaw

“Smooth,” you thought you heard him murmur to his friend, after that you didn’t know what to talk about,

“So you’ll never believe what Taylor did to a vase about 3,000-year-old yesterday,” you blurted, they wouldn’t care about this but you couldn’t stand the silence, Lin looked somewhat interested but Chris coughed,

“nerds,”

“Please tell me he didn’t break it,”

“Oh no worse,” Lin looked surprised

“What can you do to an ancient vase that is worse than breaking it?”

“He dropped it and a modern replica that is obviously a fake - as in it was probably made in a middle school art class out of red clay and the creator probably didn’t even realize what it looked like, and so, Taylor, dear Taylor broke this replica almost the same when he dropped it - but of course not exactly so it didn’t fit right at all but he thought that he did and he used a tube of Gorilla Glue, very messily, to glue the modern piece to where the original was missing a shard,

“No” he gasped,

“Oh yes, I mean, breaking it could have happened to anyone I suppose - although it shouldn’t at that got the whole place in serious trouble because it was 100% irreplaceable - but it was the method of repairing the problem that iced the cake,”

“What are you going to do?” He asked

“Wish I knew, we don’t want to break it further, but how else are we going to remove the gorilla glue from this incredibly fragile piece?”

“You know that that glue is activated by water right?” Chris asked, “Just lightly mist it or wipe it with a wet cloth,” He shrugged and you looked at him like his ears were on backward,

“water and gorilla glue?” you wondered

“Yeah,”

“I never knew,” Lin commented in amazement, “that explains so much, I have this old pair of flip flops that I have kazy glued the left shoe back together a hundred times and they’ll be fine until I wear them to the beach or something..I’d always thought it was something about the minerals and stuff in the salt water corroding them again or something,”

“For people so incredibly intelligent…you know that if you color over the permanent marker with a dry erase or washable and wipe the dry erase off the permanent marker will come off too, right?” he asked,

“Very funny Jackson,” Lin rolled his eyes,

“Seriously, hand me a sharpie,” he told Lin holding out his hand,

“Why would I have a sharpie on me?”

“Lin,”

“fine,” he turned to go through his coat pockets on the back of his chair while Chris pulled a compact mirror and looked to you,

“You have an expo or something?”

“Why would I-oh whatever,” you pulled three from your purse, “Green, blue, or black?” you laid them on the table and Chris took the green one and the sharpie Lin had retrieved. He signed his name on the mirror and gave it a few seconds to prove it was dry before he opened your expo and covered it completely mostly in a circular loop-de-loop pattern. He then took a napkin and wiped the mirror clean,

“woah,” you and Lin looked at the clean compact in fascination, “Just on mirrors or does it work on normal glass too?” You asked

“If it’s something you would normally be able to wipe dry erase markers off of then this works,” he promised

“Woah,” you repeated with Lin

“Nerds,” Chris scoffed right as the food arrived, As soon as the server had walked away with a promise to be back if you needed anything Lin jumped right in grabbing a spoon taking some of your soup,

“ha-ha-hot!’ Lin exclaimed waving his hands around his head and you couldn’t help but laugh,

“Glad it’s not cold,” you snickered, “that’s what you get for taking my food,” and you swiped one of his meatballs while he took large gulps of his drink “you didn’t even taste it did you?”

“no,” he said and he actually looked sad about it, “what if in two minutes I take another spoonful of it and you can have half of another meatball,”

“Why do I feel like a third wheel even though I’m the best friend who didn’t think anyone else but coworkers and crap was going to be here? Oh right, because you’re acting like you’re on a date and I’m the best friend that joined the party late,” Chris complained but snickered when both yours and Lins faces turned eight hues darker “What happened to all of the other people who you said were coming?”

You carefully took a spoonful of your soup as you waited for an answer other than the ‘everyone canceled’ excuse you had gotten earlier,

“I don’t know, I sent everyone pretty much the same invite and a couple wanted to know who was going to be here and when I told them they all canceled-except you and then their closest associates canceled and then down the chain it went,” he explained seeming genuinely confused and you felt sorry, all of his friends that he had been hoping to meet up with again had bailed on him probably because of some stupid issue between each other

“Yep. Definitely, the best friend third wheel that missed the memo,” Chris sighed, “These mushrooms are gross, why did you let me order them?” He accused staring at you,

“How was I supposed to know you wouldn’t like them?” you defended, “Lin if you want some soup to take it now, or it’ll be gone,” he shook his head, “Chris?” That felt awkward but it would be rude to just ignore him but you and lin had switched food around like an old married couple countless times so it was normal for you both buy you didn’t know Chris like you had known Lin and you were a little grateful when he declined,

“Nah, I’ll pass,” from there it was relative silence. Chris talked about a gig he had been looking at and was probably going to take, Lin talked about Germany for a bit but for the most part, it was quiet, you hated the quiet but you weren’t going to be the one to break it again. By the time you had all paid and were ready to leave it felt like you had a heavy tension suffocating you,

“How long are you going to be here?” You asked Lin as you all three walked out the door,

“A while I think, I think it’s time to stay in one piece and try to get it all on paper and to live a little, make amends with some friends it seems,” you nodded and were about to all three go your sperate ways when Chris grabbed your arm,

“I am not really sure what is going on between you two, but he is my best friend and he can be a bit flighty and scatterbrained and very very happy to see the best in people and ignore flaws. But you need to keep in mind it has been three years, no matter how often you would come up since then between me and him, he has a lot out there for him and he doesn’t deserve to be as tore up as he was when you two broke it off. You two had a nice thing for a few months, but it’s been three years and you can’t try and pull him backward. He’s a good man and he doesn’t need you or anyone to mess up his mind or his gentle heart, okay?” He wasn’t using a threatening tone but he was warning you and he was serious and worried for his friend and maybe a little uncomfortable,

“Don’t worry. I just like seeing him happy okay, I had a nice time tonight but the ceremony Thursday will probably be the last I see of him. I’m not going to hurt him, what kind of sick person do you think I am that would want to hurt him?”

“Just be careful,” Chris warned and then he hailed down his own cab leaving you to walk to your place. He was probably reading way more into it than there actually was. Sure you and Lin had been good together once, but that was a long time ago. He had much better people out there for him and while you knew you knew it was unlikely that you would ever find someone better for you that could make you as happy and lift your spirits like he did, there was someone else for you out there. Besides, it’s not like you still had feelings for him or that they could be so easily unearthed? Hopefully, but probably not. It’s hard not to fall for a guy like him and some impressions are going to last.

Chapter 10

#lmm #lin manuel miranda #lin x reader #chapter 9 #i thought you were different

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