The next 6 encounters with random strangers passed in a blur of mostly boring conversation. No matter where the conversation ventured or how lovely his partners were, his mind kept wondering back to the tall stranger in the dark shades. The next 18 minutes went by in a flash, and a short break was announced in order for everyone to have a drink and get away from the tedious chit-chat for a few minutes while the organisers arranged the next line ups.
John had another glass of water while he sat at the bar, glancing every now and then at Dave, wondering what was up with the mysterious blonde. The tall stranger kept worming his way into John's train of thought even when he was pointedly thinking about something else.
The break was called to a close as Feferi announced the next line ups, which would be called as they go so everybody meets everybody. John was hardly thrilled at the prospect of meeting more people he didn't know. More than anything, he just wanted another 3 minutes to talk with Dave. Never mind being obsessive, he was just curious, that's all. Maybe he wanted to be friends with Dave? He just thought he was fun to talk with. Sighing defeated, John decided to stop trying to fool himself. He was undoubtedly at least a little attracted to the blonde stranger. And maybe a little curious.
Another 30 minutes passed, and John met the rest of the 10 people. He tried to seem interested, he really did, but by around 7 he was borderline falling asleep. He wouldn't have made it to 9, except 8 was an overenthusiastic redhead in a schoolgirl outfit who cut to the chase by muttering something in broken English and groping him under the table less than a minute in.
In one hand, he was grateful for the wakeup call, but on the other he was thoroughly disturbed.
Thank god the next 2 went back to being rather ordinary.
Time was up quicker than John could keep up with, and while it was nice to meet some of the people and he had a few phone numbers in his pocket, but as he stood from the last table, he searched the room for the tall man in the red shirt. He spotted those reflective lenses on the other side of the room shaking hands with a toned, swarthy man wearing a black wifebeater and faded blue jeans. Not moving, John continued to watch Dave interact, waving or nodding lightly with a smile to various other attendees until the blonde turned and fixed his gaze directly to John's. He had obviously noticed the brunette staring at him, and started crossing the room toward the other.
"Hey, John." He greeted with a sly smile, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Dave." John responded, getting a little sheepish after being caught ogling the taller male.
"Look, I know it's probably getting a little late, and that experience was probably tiring as hell, but how do you feel about grabbing a coffee or something?" He proposed, shrugging casually. Heart speeding up a little, John felt himself blush.
"Yeah, that sounds cool." He agreed. "Can we just walk somewhere close by? I think I need to stretch my legs a bit." Dave smiled warmly at the brunette. It wasn't the smug, 'I'm cool' smile he'd thrown all the other speed-daters, it was a genuine smile. John felt a little thrown off. He really didn't know what to make of this guy, but he did know that he really didn't mind his company. Even if he did turn out to be a total poser sometimes. They made their way toward the elevator, thanking and farewelling Feferi on their way. She smiled at them knowingly, and bid them goodnight as they got into the elevator together. The trip down to the ground floor felt like it lasted forever as John tried not to glance over at the taller male.
"Do you know any good places for coffee nearby?" He queried, giving himself an excuse to look in the blonde's direction. Dave just shrugged again, continuing to stare ahead. Or so John guessed. He couldn't tell with those obsidian lenses obscuring Dave's eyes.
"Yeah, I know a few okay places we could chill at." The elevator doors opened and he stepped out, turning back to wait for John to follow before they walked side-by-side out of the building.
It was a short walk down the street before the duo found a café they both agreed looked accommodating enough, and headed inside. They sat down at a lounge seat toward the left side of the room and flagged down a waiter. Dave ordered a regular coffee for himself, and John ordered a latte. He always preferred something sweeter than just coffee. The waiter took their order up to the barista, and as soon as he walked away, Dave removed his glasses and placed them on the table. John figured he may as well ask;
"How come you wear those shades, at night? And indoors? Isn't that breaking like, 3 separate rules of basic etiquette?" He wondered. Giving a light chuckle, Dave just shook his head.
"I wear them around people I don't know, don't trust, or don't know if I can trust." He explains. "And I figured I can definitely trust a nice kid like yourself." He smiled. John's eyes went wide and he felt his ears grow hot.
"Oh." Was all he could manage. "I guess I'm honoured."
"You should be!" Dave joked with a light laugh. The coolkid façade gone, he was just being Dave now, and John thought he was getting a better understanding of Mr.I'm-Cool-But-Actually-I'm-Just-A-Bit-Shy.
"Well, I think you need to tell me a little about yourself, Dave. You've learnt a heap more about me than I have about you!" John challenged. Dave inhaled deeply as if preparing for a really long story.
"Well, if you insist." He warned. "I come from a pretty big family." He began.
"We were all raised by my dad, cool guy. Pretty distanced, but he looked after us, so we didn't mind. I've got 2 older brothers, an older sister and a younger sister. We don't all get along at the best of times I guess. We had a huge fight when I was 16 and I moved out. My oldest brother was already on his own by then, so I moved in with him until I was finished school, then I moved out. I got a job in a game store, and that's about it."