"Hey, Y/N."

You smile. "Hey, Lin," you say as you walk over to him on the stage.

It had been a week since the beginning of rehearsals. "Hamilton" was just as much work as you thought it was going to be. But Lin was taking it slow, and making sure everyone understood and got their parts. Honestly, you couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else. With anyone else leading this thing, you would've had a panic attack and quit before you even started.

"So, um, can I ask you a question?"

You feel an irrational pang on your heart. "Yeah, of course."

Lin sticks his hands in his pockets, then looks away and back at you before asking, "Are you and Leslie dating?"

Not the question you expected. "Um, no."

"Really?"

"Yes...? Why?"

"I don't know. I was just wondering."

"Well, are you and Pippa dating?"

"No, but I am dating someone."

You feel yourself deflate. Lin was dating someone. You haven't had a crush on anyone in a long time, and when you do, they're dating someone. Of course.

But you couldn't like him that much, right? You haven't known him that long. Nope. No need to blow this out of proportion. "Oh. Who's the lucky lady?", you ask teasingly, even though you were dying inside.

"Actually-"

"Lin!"

You both look over and see Tommy waving Lin over, a script in hand.

"Can you take a look at this?"

"Sorry, I'll just be a second," Lin says to you, then walks away.

You nod absentmindedly. How long has he had a girlfriend? Why didn't he tell you about her sooner?

Well, to be fair, you've only known him a couple weeks, but you'd think that dating would've come up sometime within that period. Why didn't he tell you?

Finally, after a couple hours, you have your twenty minute lunch break. Of course, you had forgotten your lunch, so for you, it was really just a twenty minute suffering period as you watched people eat their amazing smelling lunches.

You walk into the break room, and freeze. You suddenly feel cold. You pale. You almost can't accept what you're seeing. You wonder if you're dreaming.

Right there, standing in front of you, holding hands and making goo-goo eyes at each other, are Evy and Lin.

Evy. Your best friend. And Lin. Your crush.

Why can life never just go your way?

"Y/N!", Evy squeals, then runs over and hugs you. She lets go, a wide grin on her face. "I came here to introduce you to my new boyfriend, Lin."

Lin. Lin was her new boyfriend. Of course.

"Couldn't you have guessed that we knew each other? Since we're both in 'Hamilton'?", you ask a little coldly. "Wait, did you come here to see me or Lin?"

"Well, Lin, but then I remembered that you would be here too!"

"...Did you only remember when I came in here?"

"Yes, but it doesn't matter." Evy sighs, then looks back and forth between you and Lin. "What a small world we live in," she says almost dreamily.

"Keeps getting smaller," you say, but she just ignores you.

Evy walks over, grabs Lin's hand, then brings him over to you.

"So, um, how did you guys meet?", you ask uncomfortably.

"At a party. And oh my gosh, it was love at first sight." Evy slings her long hair over her shoulder. "Tell her about it, Lin."

"Well, I mean, it- it wasn't, um, it wasn't exactly, um," Lin stuttered.

"Fine, since you're all tongue tied, I'll tell the story. Don't worry about it, sweetie," Evy says, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "So, I was at this party like a week and a half ago, oh! Jessica's party! You were there, right, Y/N?", Evy asks, pointing at you.

"Yeah, but then I had to leave early-"

"Oh, right, yeah. For the art class. Anyway," Evy says, getting back into the story again. "I was walking around, then Jess comes over and is like, 'You know that guy over there?' and points to Lin, who's sitting on the couch, scribbling away in some notebook. I say no, of course, 'cause I didn't know him yet, then she says that she thinks we'd a good match. So she walks over to him with me and I introduce myself, then out of nowhere, Jess is like, 'You guys should go on a date. Just see what happens.' Both of us were too polite to refuse, and now here we are! Ten dates later." Evy sighs. "A fairytale romance."

Neither you or Lin says anything.

You could've been the one to get set up with Lin. If you had just stayed, you could've been the one with Lin right now.

Evy doesn't seem to care that no one is talking though, because she keeps going. "You know, when I really got to know Lin, I thought that you guys would be the perfect match. Like Lin is good with people, but also values his time alone, and you don't like talking to people, but like to spend time with people you care about. And you both love theater and like writing and reading, and you both play piano and sing. Not to mention, Lin's like a bright ray of sun, and you're like a...a... moon... ray? I don't know. But know what I mean? Like Lin's very few weaknesses are your strengths-" Wait- "-And your weaknesses are his strengths and all that stuff."

You and Lin lock eyes. You quickly look away.

"But it turns out, me and Lin were the perfect match!", Evy squeals, interrupting your thoughts. She wraps her arms around Lin.

You manage a tight smile.

Was it possible to talk yourself out of a crush? Now would be a very good time to have that skill.

"Well, um, it was great to meet you, Evy's boyfriend," you say with fake happiness, shaking his hand. When you feel tingles shoot through your palm, you pull your hand out of his grip. You hadn't felt that before.

Lin looks at you, confused, while Evy's wide smile is still stuck on her face.

"But I'm going to go back to the stage to work on a... song." You put on another fake smile. "Yep, okay, I'll see you later, Mr. Miranda."

You walk away awkwardly.

As you're leaving, you hear Evy ask, "Why did she address you so formally?"

"Um..."

No one was on the stage when you got there. You sat on on the edge, buried your head in your knees, and let out a small scream.