Fuck!
Of all the ways Damian Swift was going to die and of all times, this was the worst possible moment. Damian had a pretty rough go at things life had thrown curve ball after curve ball at him with shitty parents and little to no friends hopping in and out of group homes and placements. Damian was chronically depressed, Socially awkward, a bit of a nerd, and the self-esteem of a naked mole rat (the Non-Crimefighting kind).
Even though He was a bit of a moody disgruntled little shit growing up He always found an escape in a book. But in real life, He figured if no one cared about Him then why should he care about Himself? Although he did manage to bring himself out of his extended stay in his edgy teenage emo phase after high school realizing if life kept throwing bricks he might as well build something with them.
He put himself out there and got a job a shitty job that he hated but at least it put money in his pocket and got him out of his crappy studio apartment. Though very little of that stayed in his pocket because of the aforementioned crappy studio apartment. The job was just a small deli-like store the owner was a mean old Italian guy named Mr. De Luca who may or may not have been affiliated with the mob But Damian never could tell if he was actually involved or if he was playing up the vibe.
He acted like he had walked directly out of The Godfather. The guy he shared Shifts with was a guy named Tom. They started off at the shop at roughly the same time and though Damian was very introverted Tom was far from it. They started hanging out during shifts due to their mutual suffering and lingering edgy teenager vibes since they were the same age and Tom's situation was very similar to Damian's. After A year they were thick as thieves. They had inside jokes, they lived in the same crappy apartment building they even had a work swear jar that they used to pool money to go out on nights when they were both off.
After a while, they ended up making plans to get a nicer apartment together. They started saving money hustling and even taking extra side jobs to make the money amd after another year of hardish work they met their goal, life started getting better for both of them they weren't losing every penny to rent so they were able to pursue interests beyond not starving to death now for our main character Damian that meant comic books, video games and first edition printings of his favorite books.
Now before anyone starts shooting off wedding bells and a trip to Vermont they were strictly just bro's and Tom at the time was dating a girl named Susan which was also where Tom's extra money might have been disappearing off to not to say he was paying her just being in a relationship is so expensive.
But the good times can't keep rolling forever. Tom a bit sick of his roommate and best friend always being the third wheel asked his Girlfriend to set him up with someone.
They decided that if they told him he'd say no so they tricked him into going to brunch with them under the pretense that it was a celebration Susan's 20th Birthday for brunch at this new restaurant to celebrate. As it was her birthday she made him dress up.
As they are sitting down to drink this Gorgeous girl walks in and sits down across from Damian, If Damian had been able to hear Tom's voice over the sound of his own heart pumping like the drummer from an 80's hairband with a nose full of booger sugar just from the very sight of this absolutely stunning woman, he would have found out that the ridiculously beautiful girl in an equally jaw-dropping red dress sitting in front of him went to high school with Susan and that she was currently in college trying to get a degree in education. (I'm going to make a character chapter with pics.)
Now Damian himself wasn't bad looking but He wasn't anything special to write home about Six foot one, Black hair a little chubby, a slightly too big nose, a bit of facial hair but it looked alright. His usual choice of attire left much to be desired but that's to be expected at 20 and have little to no female influence in his life stuff like that didn't matter much to him, a slightly too big nose and a bit of facial hair but it looked alright.
"Hi, I'm Tom...I mean that's Tom I'm Damian yep that's right" Damian Said internally groaning at himself. However, instead of giving him the expected grimace or look of pity, she shot a smirk clearly happy at his reaction.
"I'd hope so or I'd think Susan might be planning a pretty adventurous anniversary gift for her and whoever Tom is" She joked." I'm Angie," She gives Damian a small supportive smile.
She shot a look behind Damian made Him turn to see what it was just to see Susan behind Him who was giving a thumbs up at them, from the bar in a super excited soccer-mom way like her kid just stepped on the field for the first time but doesn't want to yell to embarrass them. Damian guffawed at her joke.
The noise made Him cringe Internally for one it was an ill-timed reaction to her joke and The noise sounded unnatural to his ears making him feel even more self-conscious his thoughts racing a thousand miles a minute.
'I've never heard myself guffaw before, how do I laugh? Does she not like it? how do I usually laugh? how does she smell so good? my heart beating so loud, can she hear it? no the music was too loud did I wear that good cologne? fuck fuckity fuck fuck speak words mouth time memory good?' Damian thinks.
A long pause ensues but not uncomfortable on Angies end as she is mildly amused by his still slightly askew mouth waiting for his brain to catch up though Damian is freaking out his forehead starts sweating, A peak inside his head would show a scene that feels like that one scene from spongebob where they start shredding all the paperwork for and he gets rid of his name and as his brain melts from the fire and destruction of his mental faculties not knowing what to say, The longer the silence goes Angie's smile brightens up almost like she can hear every thought going on in his head. She leans forward just a little and He mimics her a bit leaning forward slightly.
"I See you having a bit of trouble there," She says in a low tone as if Whispering conspiratorially." Don't worry I Don't bite but how about you and me ditch Mom and Pop."
'I'd follow you pretty lady' He mumbles out in the same whispered tone and is immediately hit by a wave of embarrassment as the words come out in a very similar to how you'd imagine the Hulk responding to the black widow all she needs to say is the suns going real low and He'd collapse in on himself like a dying star but a lopsided smile graces Angie's.
I look over at Tom and he's still blushing at the threesome innuendo that Angie just joked about, I shoot him a pointed look so that he can fade out so that once my Brain reboots it can be just me and her. He doesn't get it for a second then Angie looks at him doing the same eye movement pointing over to Susan is waving him over
"Well me and Susan are headed off, Dinner at her mom's bit of a drive," Tom says rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly then he gets a smirk as if remembering something. " You crazy kids have fun in our Big Empty apartment, Don't do anything I wouldn't do here's the tag for the building just remember to buzz me up in the morning." he says handing me the card As he gets up Angie swats him for the insinuation.
"From what Susan says there isn't much you won't do" Angie Jokes which is probably some joke into the sex life of his best friend that flew right over Damian's head.
After they leave Damian brain starts to catch up and they start talking at first he is a bit guarded trying not to say anything to put her off but the more they spoke Damian realized how much they had in common Favorite music, favorite TV show, Favorite books, Favorite foods same opinion about how the people who made lost were evil to have such a horrible ending and without realizing hours passed and our waitress was changing shift a bit annoyed at us for staying there her entire shift. Damian's perception of Angie kept changing she was honestly amazing and every moment with her was like trying to solve the world's most aesthetically pleasing puzzle box, Every moment, He spent with her she impossibly got even better. She was funny and kind and when she talked about why she wanted to be a teacher she got this passionate gleam in her eye. She talked about her family which was just as dysfunctional as his and if it'd been someone else it was completely inappropriate for a first date but for her it was amazing she was so confident open just incredible.
As we left the restaurant we started walking not really with a direction in mind there was still an hour before sunset as they walked, He spotted a small block party There were a lot of older people 50s and 60s maybe a church event, as they passed she pulled him in the direction of the music before he knew what was happening she had him swaying along to the music the party was outside the gentle breeze a little stronger so he pulled off her jacket placing it around her and he was so focused on her he didn't even notice when older couples started dancing around Them.
She looked even more stunning in the pinkish orange light as the sun set, From the Beautiful smile that graced her face he was having as much fun as he was, After the sunset they slowly pulled away, there faces were close and for a moment it seemed like Damian would lean in but he pulled back slightly when he heard a defeating boom from above, They were setting off fireworks, It was no holiday there was no rhyme or reason A thought passed through his mind that if he tried to create a romantic setting as this every day for the rest of his life he'd probably fall short it was just organic natural beautiful, His eyes only looked up for a moment to see the fireworks his attention refocused on Angie as she stared up at the Fireworks he could see them reflected in her gorgeous eyes and that's when he finally leaned in for a small sweet kiss. The surprise at the sudden kiss was apparent she froze for a moment but then melted into the kiss her hand moving to the back of his neck pulling Him even closer. The kiss gets deeper and hotter different from the gentle start but not in any way less pleasant. They only pull away when they run out of breath.
"You know of all the things that are going on in my life right now I think this might be the best one," Damian his honesty apparent as he takes in a huff of breath.
"Well Damien, you know Tom might get jealous hearing you say that after all the work you guys put into getting a place," she said cheekily but her cheeks became full of color at the kiss taking an equally deep breath. That is when the rain starts soft droplets at first but ever increasingly He grabs her hand and they start walking towards his apartment luckily he is that far away from his apartment.
As they kind of walked like she was skipping which, He found kind of adorable Damian had long strides, and for a second he thought He was walking too fast but even when He walked a bit more slowly she did the little two skip and kind of dragged Him along with her their hands never leaving the other and as the rain came down a pleasant silence fell between them It was apparent how much they liked each other but in the back of his mind and because of his deep seeded insecurities he couldn't tell if it was the romantic atmosphere or him she really liked.
However, that didn't matter much she pulled him out of such thoughts in an instant the rain had increasingly got worse as the few minutes they walked started to pour down on them, forcing a spring of laughter from Angie's lips it seemed she liked the rain her dress was sopping wet but my jacket covered her pretty well all of a sudden she dropped his hand and shot him a look and waving him provokingly with her hand as she started running off not fast but as if teasing him and he took off in chase which made her laugh harder speeding up as he got close and even forcing the odd giggle out of her.
Just as they were coming in front of his apartment he caught her, They were leaning to the front of the awning finally out from the rain, and their faces inches apart.
"Got you," He said breathlessly. Using one hand to angle her face towards him. She smiled equally breathless.
"Now what are you going to do with me," She says wiggling her eyebrows suggestively she leans up to him and gives him a quick peck on his lips he freezes for a moment just enough for her to grab the card to scan to get into the building and break out of his hands and head into the building.
Damian grabbed the door before it closed behind her opening it to walk through to follow her seeing her standing with her back against the door to the stairs to go up to his apartment she was smiling teasingly but then her features twisted into a look of shock and horror at something behind Him. Damian turns quickly.
He sees Tom But this isn't the Tom of Seven hours ago He is in the same clothes but they are dirty and cut up he is holding his left arm to his chest like he was seriously injured, blood pooling with the rainwater underneath him his eyes filled with rage and hatred his face looked like it had been clawed up by a panther, and worst of all was the gun in hands pointing straight at my head.
I don't have much time to process but something inside of me reacts and a protective instinct from somewhere appears as I pull the door towards me slamming it behind me just as Tom pulls the trigger and a hole appears between my eyebrows. I don't have time for the betrayal to register the only thought is a brief moment of satisfaction at least he can't get to her.
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