"You're breaking up with me!?" Indignantly Travis asked as he rose from his seat, looking at Veronica, his girlfriend of five years who sat beside another guy who looked rather punchable. He had this wide grin to his stupid face that asked 'Please Punch Me'
"Yes i am, Travis, You're... Bland. Besides, I've found someone better." She smiled at him and he knew- This whore has been sleeping with him, hasn't she? "Well, be fine with this guy, whore- You're so worthless I'll ask out the very first person that walks into this shop!" He grinned, the raised eyebrow alongside the shocked expression was worth it! "Anyone?" Asked the asshole beside her, what does he mean by that? "Anyone!" Travis almost growled to the man in annoyance, after all, anyone else was better than this cheating whore of course!
"Well, here comes your date!" The new douchebag that Veronica was dating smirked, which made Travis look back at the door as a small, skinny, nerdy-looking kid entered the coffee shop, he had this large headset on his head, black bag on his back- He was wearing this long sleeved red sweater in the middle of the fucking summer, a pair of glasses in his face and a bandage on his left cheeck, he also had black curly hair and a pair of weird eyes- not ugly, just weird? Yeah, there was something about his eyes, they were like a crystal color, so blue that it looked to be made out of fucking glass! "Go on there, big boy, ask him out- Aren't you going to, faggy?" Travis turned around, looked at the man in his eyes and turned around again and began to walk towards the boy- He might've looked very intimidating because of his anger, or just because when a buff and tattooed 6'6 foot tall guy walks up to you with an angry expression on his face you normally assume he's going to punch you, but Travis was, in fact, really nervous.
Like, okay, it's just asking the guy out- Right? It's not like he actually has to go out with him, he just needs to pretend to go out with the kid- He is like?18? Yeah, probably, he looks old enough to date so he won't be considered a pedophile if the guy actually accepts going out with him. "You." Fuck- He knows how to ask a girl out, but what the fuck does he do with a man!? He doesn't know how to ask a guy out- He normally flirts with the girl and then throws the offer of going out with him, well, that was until he started dating Veronica 5 years ago! And the bitch was cheating on him- "Y-yeah?" The kid looked nervous, he should not try to make this harder on the poor guy, right? Compliment him, Goddammit! "Your face..." Shit, it got awkward really quick, he didn't know how to follow up to that, so he awkwardly tried to finish: "Looks... Good."
"Thank you...?" He now looked a little bit confused more than terrified, which was slightly adorable- wait what? "Can i help you?" He must've used all his courage because his legs were trembling a little bit, it looked like Travis was bullying the boy into giving him his lunch money or something like that- "Out." He said a word and the blood drained from the guy's face, like he had just told him to leave the place- oh fuck, he must've thought he was kicking him out of the coffee shop? "Is everything good here, Jackie?" Soon, a voice of a woman he knew very well spoke from behind him- He froze instantly. "Emily?" Jackie, the boy he was trying to ask out, looked behind him towards the woman at the counter who was also the owner of this coffee shop and part-time terrifying woman. "Is he bothering you?" Emily looked at him and back at Jackie with a questioning expression.
"He was just-"
"With me!" Travis almost face palmed, he wanted to die then and there, he has never done something so bad! "Out. With me." Travis was sure he was sweating and blushing from nervousness, his lips were quivering as he tried to formulate his words: "Out. With me. Now? Coffee!" He must look ridiculous because his fingers were trembling as he suddenly didn't know what to do with his hands anymore and started to stare at them like they were the most interesting thing in the world while trying to find out how he became a caveman... "I... sure." Jackie whispered and Travis felt like he had won the lottery- This was the hardest shit he's ever done in his entire life! Fuck, should he offer to pay too? Would he get offended or something like that? Isn't the man that normally pays!? Then who the fuck pays when it's two men- "Well... Let me guide you to your table then." Emily smiled at Jackie while coming out from behind the counter and making a 'follow me' gesture, which Jackie did and Travis had to take in a deep breath as he tried to pep talk himself into not turning into a mess of nerves.
Well, Travis has always been an emotive guy- He got angry easily, got sad easily, and got happy very easily (Wait, now that he thinks about it, isn't that also called Tripolarity? The one above Bipolarity?), but he never got nervous- Well, except all the times when he does get nervous, in which case is now! He stiffly sat down on the table at the end of the coffee shop, close to the window, this was such a nice seat because he could see everything in the shop from here but he didn't see this seat from where was! A perfect place to observe others while hidden- "Have you decided what you want?" Jackie seemed to be hesitant but also a little eager in this date, which made Travis think how much of a terrible person he would be if he just pretended to enjoy the date just to get back at his whore of an ex! "I-i don't know." He quickly tried to grab the menu just to bump into the table and knock over a box of paper towels onto the ground, he cursed as he went to grab the box only to accidentally grab the smaller guy's hand- He raised his head and they had this awkward eye contact and Travis had this weird sensation- It was like the uncanny valley, but he knows he doesn't experience Uncanny Valley, that's why it was weird!
There wasn't an urge to fight or flight, he just froze there and had the urge to keep looking into his eyes. "Hey? Big guy?" Jackie called out to him and only then did he notice that their faces were too close, he pulled back only to hit the back of his head on the wall and wince in pain: "Fuck!" He cursed loudly as he patted the place where he hit his head, feeling the place sore. "Pffft..." Jackie suppressed the urge to laugh and Travis suddenly got angry, he was about to shout at him and ask him what in the sadistic hell was his problem when he saw his smile- It was an adorable smile. "Aren't you clumsy, big guy?" He felt... Giddy? Yeah, giddy, like he was lying on a cloud... He caught himself before he could do something stupid like kiss him- Wait, no, he's straight! He's straight, right? "Well, i think that's cute in a guy like you." Fuck- He might not be as straight as he thought he was.
"Sorry..." He apologized, trying to keep that blush out of his face, because he surely knew that he was not cute Goddammit! "Well, what if we both get the same thing? Is that good for you? I know Emily can make these delicious sundaes with milk and banana that should be considered a murder weapon." He was talking so much that Travis then noticed that he had dimples! "Yeah." Travis just agreed ro whatever he was saying because sincerely, he was too lost looking at his lips moving and questioning his own sexuality at the moment. "Great!" Then he smiled again and Travis thought to himself: 'That smile should be considered a murder weapon... what?' He caught himself mid thought as Jackie begn ordering their drink, Travis tried to keep his eyes on the menu while trying to also make himself as small as possible so he could think.
"Hey...?" He raised his head to look at him almost too fast, he tried to smile but it looked rather- Stiff. "Okay... My name's Jack, but my friends call Jackie, and by my friends I mean only Emily. So what's your name big guy?" Travis hummed as he rested the menu on the table and scratched the back of his head as he stuttered: "T-Travis. My name's Travis." Okay Travis, you can do this, just say something about yourself that you think its cool or that might make him more relaxed, or even something just to open a window to speak about something he likes- "Do you like sports?" The face that he received was enough of an answer that he needed, but Jack answered anyway: "No, i don't like sport that much... You know? Not very athletic myself." He raised his arm and tightened the loose red sweater to show his skinny arm.
"But can you tell me something you like?" Travis fought back a small smile to answer the question, but apparently he failed because Jack was looking at his lips- Or maybe he was just thinking about kissing him, and that thought had him thinking for a second if he would like to be kissed by him, and he for a moment didn't know! Normally he would say no, or consider it as a joke for a few moments, but now he was really considering it and the answer he came to was: He wasn't opposed to it in any way, shape, or form. "Well, i like... I like books, and some stories too." Then Travis remembered... How much he changed from High School to "survive" that terrible infernal reality humans call public school. He used to love books in Middle School and would always bring one with him whenever he went, but it was seen as nerdy or uncool by his peers in High School, so he stopped doing it and focused more on being good at sports and being hot so girls could sway and swoon over him-
Which looking at this strangely cute boy he is talking to (who thinks he doesn't know that he is looking at his muscles) seems a little stupid- He focused so much in girls that the boys went over his head, and now that he has found one that he has some interest in, he seems to take all of his interest in a minute- It was faster than him reading his first Eldritch Horror Novel of H.P Lovecraft while trying to ignore the Racism in there. Now that he stops to think about it, The Portrait of Dorian Gray is pretty Gay. "Like which books? I've read a lot of them, but my favorite series is definitely the Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and The Olympians books, i mean, that's why I learned Greek in the first place." With just this phrase he gave a lot of information about himself! Go, Travis, give him some information about yourself so you might look more interesting! "That's great! It only took me 2 years to relearn Greek and be Fluent in it, since we had to move out from Greece after my dad got a promotion that required us to move out... I've read so many books growing up, I even own some of the classics like The Odyssey, The Illiad, but my favorite ones are Sappho's Poems and-" He paused, was he talking too much? "Sorry, i just- Sometimes i get a little bit excited about things."
Instead of the annoyed expression he was hoping to receive, Jack was looking at him with a curious, caring, and awed expression that shot right through his heart: "Oh, no, it's okay!" That damn adorable smile returned to his face and Travis was slowly starting wanting to touch his face- "So, you're from Greece?" He suddenly changed to Greek, making Travis nostalgic since it has been a few years since he talked in his mother language! "From the Island of Lesbos actually, my dad and mom had met there after my mom broke up with her girlfriend-" Just like they just did. "And tried to get her jealous by instantly declaring she could get anyone else to go out with her..." Which he also did- Damn, mom, is this our family curse!? "And here we are..." He chuckled awkwardly as Jack smiled, Emily came along and placed their sundae in the table, which made Jack release this small excited cute giggle as he grabbed the spoon and tasted it: "Soo good!"
Chuckling to himself, Travis took a bite and pasued- "Gelato?" He whispered, he knew the difference between ice cream and gelato, gelato was like the mixture of an angel kissing the clouds of heaven, it tasted like the best orgasm you'd ever experience in your life- And ice cream? Ice cream tasted like sadness in comparison. "Gelato?" Jackie tilted his head and stared at him with his weirdly crystal blue eyes: "This is gelato!? That's why it tastes better than any fucking Ice cream I've ever had in my life!" His eyes had this weird glow to them that was weird, until Travis noticed it was the light- "I'm half Italian and that's the first time I've eaten gelato, and i didn't even know this was gelato- My ancestors must be ashamed of me, I'm sorry i disappointed you, grandma!" Dramatically crying in Italian, Jackie turned to look at him as realization sank in, only for Travis to say to him, in Italian, with his thick accent: "Well, that was cute."
...
It took him a second to realize what he said, and that time was enough for Jackie to slowly let his face be filled with red as shame filled his heart: "Kill me now!" He cried into his arms as Travis tried to think of a way to revert the situation: "Great Job Jackelin! I'm dying of embarrassment here..." He sassily praised himself before being consumed by embarrassing thoughts and memories of saying 'you too' to the delivery guy after he said 'Enjoy your lunch' three years ago. "Wait! I know something embarrassing about myself- Don't die yet!" This got him Jack's attention, who turned to look at him as he slowly said: "You know... My name isn't Travis, at least not entirely Travis, my whole name Is Aristoboulos Panteleimon Rondiades Lichas de Theophano, which is a bigger mouthful for children to say! So when i got into the U.S Elementary School, a kid called me Travis and i rolled with it, and it kinds became my nickname because it's a very hard name to pronounce for people who don't know how."
"Wait- Aristoboulos Panteleimon Rondiades Lichas de Theophano? Well, my name's Jaqueline Zenobio Monaldo Naro La Franchi!" Jaqueline, isn't that a feminine name? "I know what you're thinking, 'Jaqueline isn't that a feminine name?' but yes, it is, and my mom named me that regardless- I was so fucking bullied in school that i started to call myself Jack... And here we are!"
In the end, this date was... Fun.
Well, Jackie wasn't just "Anyone", he was certainly more than that.
He was a fun guy... Maybe he was falling for him slowly, or maybe, he already had it bad and didn't even know it.