Gray let out a frustrated sigh as he slammed his foot into the brakes. He was already more than late for that damn blind date, and now this? Damn pedestrians!
His eyes scanned the oncoming flood of people crossing the road, and he leaned back in his seat, knowing this wasn't going to clear for at least ten minutes. Great. Erza was going to string him up by his toes – she'd told him to be there by five.
It was currently five-thirty.
Gray pulled out his phone and looked at the message from her again.
His name's Jellal Fernandes and he's a childhood friend of mine. Trust me, you'll fall in love at first sight.
He rolled his eyes. Erza was strict and stubborn and tough, but she could be such a romantic at times. It honestly killed Gray from the inside.
Sighing again, he put the device away. Nothing interesting on Tumblr anyway, and his friends would all be boycotting the shared Discord servers and WhatsApp groups to make sure he wasn't scrolling through his phone while on one of the bazillion boring dates they'd set him up on.
A sudden tapping sound on his car made Gray start and look around wildly for the source of the sound. "What – who-"
"Over here!" Gray looked to his right to see what was probably the most attractive man he'd ever met astride a black motorbike. He had blue hair, bright brown eyes, a strange red tattoo that ran down the right side of his face, and a wide, innocent smile that seemed like it could light up the entire world.
All Gray could think was, Fucking cute.
"Um, wow, thank you," stuttered the strange man, going so red his tattoo nearly disappeared. "Uh, you're – actually really hot too,"
Gray choked in mortification. "Oh my God – I said that out loud?!"
The man nodded, some of the colour subsiding from his cheeks, and laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, you did. No one's ever said that to me before – definitely not a complete stranger."
Gray couldn't help but laugh too; this guy was so earnest. He'd never met someone like that before.
Well, except Natsu, but Natsu was a can of worms Gray didn't need to open right now. Or ever.
He shook off the sinking feeling that accompanied the thought of Natsu and asked, "So, did you need something? Not to sound rude, but I'm sure you didn't just tap on my window to say hi,"
The man smiled again. "Yeah, actually. Could you tell me how to get to the Mondo Café? I'm terrible with directions."
Gray stared at him in shock. "No way. I'm going there too!"
Blue eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Really? What for?"
"Blind date," Gray explained.
The man choked and gestured between them frantically. "That's crazy. Me too!"
Gray grinned despite himself. "Wow, man. This is one weird hell of a coincidence,"
"It is," his new friend (?) agreed, looking at his watch quickly. His jaw dropped in anxious shock.
"I was supposed to be there half an hour ago. I hope my date doesn't think I stood him up!"
"Your date is a guy?" Gray questioned incredulously.
"Yeah. I'm gay," confessed the other man.
"I'm bi, male-leaning. My date's a guy, too!" he exclaimed. "This is so crazy, dude. So crazy."
"I'm really nervous for it. Not looking forward to the date at all." admitted the man. "All my other blind dates have gone really badly. As bad as they can go, except one guy, who's now my best friend."
Gray couldn't help but tease, "Friend-zoned?"
"Nah, we gelled really well… just not like that," the other explained with a laugh. "What about you? I'm sure with your looks, all the guys and girls are swooning at your feet," he teased.
"Well, that's sort of true, but I'm the kind one calls 'emotionally constipated'," Gray replied, smiling. "I'm a bit scared too. All the other people I've seen have either been stuck-up prigs or too shy to get out a damn word. This is the last one I go on."
"I feel you, man. I feel you." the blue-haired man responded, returning the smile.
With a start, Gray realised he was genuinely enjoying this conversation. He wanted to talk more to this guy, get to know him better – it almost felt like he was best friends with him already, despite not even knowing his name. He didn't want this to be one of those 'give directions to him and never see him again' kinds of things.
How long had it been since he'd felt so comfortable with someone who hadn't wormed their way into his inner circle?
What's the guarantee that you'll get this feeling with that date you're supposed to meet? What's the guarantee that this is the chance Erza's always ranting about?
Gray jolted.
The voice – the voice was back. That voice in his head that had told him to ask out Natsu, the one that had pushed him to make so many of the best decisions. The one that he'd instinctively known to listen to. The one that had disappeared the night of that botched date with Natsu, never to resurface again.
Or so Gray'd thought.
Do you really want to just give him the directions and drive away knowing you'll never see him again? Do you really want to just let this go?
No. No, he didn't want to. He wanted to stay and talk to this stranger, this man who was so different and refreshing and fun , the one who'd made Gray feel something more than stone cold on the inside.
"Uh, the directions, please? Sorry if I sound impatient, I'm just… really bad with them and might need you to repeat," laughed his new friend.
No, no, no. I'm not going to let this chance fly by.
A half-baked plan formed in Gray's mind, and before he could stop himself, he was spitting it out.
"Why don't we go on a date?" he blurted.
The stranger stared at him. "I – what? And… ditch the guys who are waiting for us?"
Gray could feel himself going redder than a tomato. "Uh, not really. It wouldn't be ditching if we told them," he offered, and immediately wanted to smack himself. It was sounding worse by the minute.
"I… I don't know what to say." The man scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, tilting his head. Doubt shone in his beautiful brown eyes – but there was also hope. And a desire. He wanted to go along with Gray; it was just his gentlemanly personality that was stopping him from doing so.
The words came out of nowhere, and they began to spill out of Gray's mouth like water.
"We're both attracted to each other. We both don't really want to go on our 'blind dates'," he said in a rush. "And – and this feeling, this ease I'm finding in talking to you – I haven't felt it since forever, and I can tell by the look in your eyes that you feel the same. I think this is it – this is our chance, and if we let it go," he looked directly into those honey-brown eyes as he spoke, "it may never come again. So, will you take a chance with me?"
The man's eyes widened. "I – I-"
"Say yes," Gray whispered. "Please, please say yes."
"I-" He seemed lost for words.
Gray held out his hand, not saying a thing. It was up to the other now -
The man's breath hitched in his throat, but his eyes shone like a thousand suns.
"Yes," he breathed, and took the outstretched hand.
They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like eternity, unable to look away. Gray took in every slant and contour in his new date's face, trying to memorise it all so he'd have an image of this beauty to keep for himself forever, even if it didn't work out between them.
They were rudely interrupted from their staring by a loud honk and a shout of "Save it for Valentine's Day, lovebirds!" from the cars behind them.
The man released Gray's hand immediately, turning a million shades of red. "We should go," he stuttered. "Let's pull over there and decide where we want to go for the date? I'll call my friend and tell her I met someone and I'm skipping the blind date."
Gray smiled. "Sounds perfect." They both turned and parked next to the curb, the not-really-a-stranger-anymore stationed in front of Gray so as not to take up road space. He got off his motorbike and slid easily into the passenger seat of Gray's car, murmuring quietly, "I don't have another helmet, so I hope you don't mind driving." The angelic smile on his face more than made up for it. Not that Gray minded driving when such a beautiful creature was sitting so close to him.
Mentally, Gray took back all the curses he'd hurled at that stop sign. Everything was worth it. After all, he wouldn't have met this beautiful man if he hadn't had to stop at that signal.
Of course, now there was the matter of calling Erza and telling her he was sort of (okay, that he was) bailing on his date.
He pulled out his phone, ready to dial her. Beside him, the man was already talking to his friend about the date.
Gray decided to do some new-date-watching before he called Erza. His date was just so cute when he was talking on the phone.
"Bye. Tell him I'm sorry, okay?" the man smiled and pressed 'End Call', placing his phone in his lap. "So, uh, I-"
Gray's phone buzzed suddenly with a call from Erza, and he frowned. "Give me a minute, sorry. My friend, she's calling," he explained and pressed 'Accept'.
"Your date bailed. He found someone else. Said to tell you he's sorry."
Gray's brows rose. "Funny. Because I was just about to call and tell you I'm bailing on him too. And to tell him I'm sorry."
"Wait. What?" Erza sounded incredulous. "Gray, that's-"
"A crazy coincidence. I know. The guy I'm with, he was supposed to go on a blind date at the same café me and my date were going to meet at. He just called his friend to cancel on the other guy."
"Ask for his name. Now." And Erza cut the call, leaving Gray to stare at his phone in confusion.
Ask for his name? Well, okay…
"I never caught your name," he said, plastering a brilliant smile to his face as he turned to his new date.
"Jellal. Jellal Fernandes," replied the beautiful man with an equally wide smile.
Gray choked.
"W – what?" he got out in a strangled voice.
No freaking way.
This was his blind date.
"I – are you okay?" Jellal looked concerned, reaching to touch Gray's cheek. "Did I – did I do something?"
Gray shook his head in amazement, unable to help the shocked smile that came onto his face. "I – no, nothing. It's just – my name is Gray. Gray Fullbuster."
Now it was Jellal's turn to freeze. "Wait, what?" he whispered slowly. "Gray is the name of the guy I bailed on. Or… or was supposed to."
Gray nodded, a rush of excitement shooting up his spine. "And Jellal is the name of the guy I was supposed to bail on."
"So – so-" Jellal whispered, unable to get the words out.
Gray grinned. "Looks like this blind date worked out for both of us."
"Looks like it did," Jellal said with a stunned smile, grabbing both Gray's hands in his. "I was cursing that stop sign, you know? And even if it hadn't been there, we would've met. But – I don't think it would have worked out so well without it. So, I take it all back. It's all worth it for you."
Gray laughed.
"I guess you could say it was a sign from above," he joked.
Jellal smiled widely. "It really was," he agreed. "It really was."