âyour friend set you up on a blind date and i happened to be eating alone so you thought you were meeting me and you were cute so i went along with it but you just got a text from said friend that theyre sorry your date stood you up and now i have some explaining to doâ au
I got a lot of requests to do this one so:Â
Eating alone wasnât as refreshing as everyone said it would be. Will was a people person. He liked having people around to talk to and fall into conversation with. While he didnât feel awkward or judged for sitting alone, he just didnât enjoy it.
Heâd brought a book to read, but he could exactly focus on turning pages when he was planning to use two hands to eat. Then what would he do while he was eating? He didnât want to turn on his phone and watch Netflix in the middle of a restaurant. Not only would that look incredibly stupid, but he didnât even have enough data to do so.
He stood up and decided to simply get some takeout and eat it at home in his room where he would be able to be half asleep, watching TV in his shorts and munching on his food without worrying about how to keep busy.
As he walked, someone behind him said, âOh, uh. Hi. Are you Alex?â Will turned in confusion and stopped short, gasping softly. In front of him, biting his lip nervously, was the most beautiful human Will had ever seen.
His eyes were such a deep dark brown, they looked nearly black with long dark lashes surrounding them. His skin was a smooth olive tone, his cheeks splattered with a few very light freckles. His hair was a messy of curled waves sticking out in different spot in a way Will could never hope to pull off. He wore a long sleeved shirt with the Marauderâs Map depicted on it, and torn dark jeans with combat boots.
It was a perfect mix of mysterious bad boy with adorable dork.
âS-Sorry?â Will responded, forgetting how to form words.
âIâm Nico. Uh, Jasonâs friend? For the uh, blind date. Wait, is it you, or⌠Iâm sorry if-â
âNo, no, yeah. Yeah, itâs me,â Will said hurriedly, only realizing how stupid, short-lived, and completely insane the lie was after heâd blurted it out.
âOh thank God,â Nico breathed. âSorry, I get nervous. I donât really go out much.â He smiled nervously and Will bit his lip. âDid you get a table yet?â
âUh, yeah. Yeah, over here.â He led Nico to the table heâd been sitting at previously and chuckled nervously. His eyes kept flitting to the doors, hoping that whoever his actual blind date was wouldnât recognize him or come in. But then, if he didnât even know what Nico would look like, and they saw Nico with Will, they wouldnât even think to ask, right? So he was safeâŚ. For now.
âSo Jason said you went to school with him?â Nico asked, skimming the drink list.
âYeah. But, I mean instead of going off what Jason said, letâs just start new between us, yeah?â
Nico smiled awkwardly and nodded. âSure,â he said with a small chuckle. âI mean he hadnât told me much anyway. Just that he knew you from his last high school and you were a really great guy. So⌠are you going to go to college?â
âI sure hope so,â he answered. âI want to go to UT maybe. I want to be a doctor, but Iâm not sure what Iâd specialize in. Thereâs a lot of fields within it, you know?â
Nicoâs eyes shone with excitement. âYeah, I get that. Completely. Iâm really into health as well. Iâm good with gore, but I think Iâd be more in the psychological area, like mental health.â He shrugged. âIâm still not sure.â
âI mean weâre high schoolers. I donât think weâre supposed to be sure.â
âThank God you agree,â he muttered. âEveryoneâs trying to go down my throat and force me to choose something specific right now and itâs driving me crazy. Is it such a bad thing to want to stay in arcade and blow off steam for a while?â
âAn arcade?â Will repeated.
âI can play Pac-Man and Galaga like no oneâs business, dude. Iâm a pro.â Will laughed and shook his head. âWhat, you donât believe me? We can go to an arcade after we eat and I will prove it to you.â
âYouâre saying it like you need to defend your honor,â he chuckled.
âIt is,â Nico said, trying not to laugh. âIâm sorry, Iâm being a dork.â
âDonât apologize,â he said. âItâs⌠endearing.â Nico scoffed and focused on the menu. âSo⌠why did you agree to a blind date? Didnât anyone ever ask you in person? Oh- uh, not to be rude, itâs just⌠this is going to sound so lame, but you really donât look like someone whoâd struggle to get a date.â
Nicoâs cheeks burned bright and he bit his lip. âAh⌠thanks. Um, letâs go back to the âIâm awkward and dorkyâ part, tell me where I lose you.â Will burst into laughter and covered his mouth to stifle it. Nico rolled his eyes and smirked. âWhy did you agree? You definitely shouldnât need to.â
Will smirked and raised an eyebrow. âI donât know. I never really paid attention to anyone at my school. I want to broaden my horizons I guess? I donât know. But Iâm glad I did.â Nico smiled ran his hand through his hair.
They ordered their drinks and food and spent the time talking about different topics, from Harry Potter to music to TV shows to their favorite movies and their families. Will was surprised to find that Nico had actually had a very horrible past, which he tried to downplay by brushing over details instead of delving into it, but Will knew how much it mattered. Losing family and being bullied wasnât easy. And something told Will that his awkwardness was actually anxiety, and he simply didnât pay attention to it.
But Will wouldnât push. He enjoyed hearing him talk, enjoyed making him laugh and being made to laugh. He didnât remember the last time he laughed so much. When they finished lunch, Will stood and said, âSo, are we testing your arcade skills?â
Nicoâs smile widened and he stood to follow Will out of the restaurant.
They walked to an arcade across a pizzeria and Will could see the excitement and relaxation flood through Nico. It was like he was somewhere comfortable, somewhere he could be himself in. âGet ready to get your ass whooped,â Nico said, smiling cockily.
And sure enough, Nico beat Will at every arcade game they tried and at every rematch they had. He was skilled in every game, and won quickly or by a large margin. âHow the hell are you that good?â Will said in shock after his hundredth defeat.
Nico chuckled and rubbed his hands together. âUm. Well, when bad stuff happened, Iâd always go to an arcade to sort of⌠I donât know get away from it? I spent a lot of times in arcades when I was little. Theyâre still a good place to go when I get upset.â Will nodded.
âWell it is now my mission in life to beat you at at least one arcade game.â Nico laughed and sat beside him.
Suddenly the score for Harry Potter went off and Nico pulled out his phone. âHello? Hey! Look the- wait. What? What are youâŚ?â Nico stood up and looked at Will with wary and shock. âNo. No itâs fine. I said itâs fine! I have to go.â He hung up and suddenly, Will saw the dangerous bad boy side get emphasized in his demeanor. âWho the hell are you?â
âUh⌠what?â Will questioned.
âYouâre not Alex. Apparently Alex stood me up. So who the hell are you and why did you tell me you were?â he growled, his expression darkening as he stepped toward Will.
Immediately, Will stood up and bit his lip, his entire face reddening from embarrassment. He was positive he looked like a blond tomato. âUm⌠N-Nico, I-â
âAre you some sort of fucking psychopath?â he snapped.
âNo!â he protested. âGod, no, Nico! Iâm sorry, okay? Iâm sorry I lied. I⌠Please stop looking at me like that.â
âNo! Iâm angry! Iâm embarrassed, and honestly a little fucking scared! Who are you?â
âMy name is Will,â he started. Nicoâs eyes widened in anger and he put his hands in his hair. âWait, justâŚ. Dammit. Look, I was eating alone, okay? And I got really uncomfortable, so I was going to leave but then you ran into me andâŚ. Youâre insanely attractive and I could barely think so when you asked if it was me you were meeting I said yes, And then we were sitting and talking and laughing and I laughed more than I have in a long time, and⌠I didnât want just blurt that I wasnât actually supposed to be your date.â
Nico narrowed his eyes, and clenched his fists. âWhat were you planning to have happen? Have me call you Alex for a few months? Have me gush to Jason about how great things went with Alex? Were you ever planning on telling me anything? Ever?â
âI⌠I donât know! I wanted- no I still want to see you again, to hang out with you again. I wouldâve told you, I just⌠I donât know how or when.â Nico furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms, standing alert and defensive. âIâm sorry, Nico. But everything else I said was true. Me wanting to be a doctor and loving Harry Potter and the jokes and⌠all of the rest was real. Didnât you⌠I meanâŚ. If I was Alex⌠would you have been okay with seeing me again?â
Nicoâs lips parted but he didnât say anything. He looked away from Will and stared at the ground, his breaths slowly turning back to normal. âAlex stood me up,â he muttered. âI⌠I did have fun. But now I feel very stupid because I went up to you and assumed you were supposed to be my date and spent all this time thinking your name is Alex, and itâs actually Will, andâŚ. I feel stupid.â
Will cleared his throat and rubbed his arm. âWell⌠I was so dumbstruck when you talked to me that I pretended to be some guy named Alex and I just got found out soâŚ. I feel pretty stupid too.â
Finally Nicoâs eyes returned to him. He was still angry, but not as much. âThen I guess weâre even.â Will wasnât sure what that meant.
He gulped and took a breath. Then he stood up and held out his hand. âHey, Iâm Will. Iâm eighteen. Nice to meet you.â Nico furrowed his eyebrows and stared at his hand. Hesitantly, he shook it.
âWould you⌠maybe like to go on a date sometime? I promise not to stand you up or use a fake name.â
Nicoâs eyes, dark and big and endearing flickered up to him. He as suppressing a smile, but eventually it became a smirk. Will could feel butterflies in his stomach. âOkay,â he said softly. âI think thatâd be nice.â