Music thumped loudly around Jack as he sipped his soda. The meeting with Boston Dynamics had gone swimmingly and now he was free to explore the city. He'd found a well-reviewed goth club and, despite the black X's that marked the backs of his hands, found himself having a good time. It was nice to just be in the dimly lit room, surrounded by people who didn't give him nasty looks and loud music.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw someone approaching him. A young woman, roughly his age, though the lack of black marks denoted she was of legal drinking age, dressed to the nines in traditional gothic garb. He turned to her as she leaned in.
"Hey, are you into guys?" Jack blinked, quirking a brow as he nodded. "My friend thinks you're cute." She gestured back to the group she'd been with. As Jack looked, he felt his heart jump into his throat.
Chase? He swallowed hard as he stared at the figure amongst the goths. No, not Chase. The man was the same height and build, with remarkably similar features but they weren't quite the same. His hair was short and slicked back, his attire simple black dress pants and a button-down that was exposing his collar bones in a rather attractive manner.
He was looking over with a mix of interest, shyness, and embarrassment. Emotions Jack knew would never cross Chase Young's face. With his heart rate settling slightly, he followed the woman over and smiled at the man.
"Hi."
"…Hi."
"I'm Jack."
"Jun Jie, but everyone calls me John..." Jack could see the man was nervous, so he put on the charm and leaned in.
"Want to go somewhere more private?"
Hours later, Jack was staring up at the ceiling of his hotel room, Jun Jie asleep beside him. Emotions swirled in his mind, glancing over at the sleeping man. In the dim light, it was easy to mistake him for Chase. But he knew it wasn't. Before their romp in bed, Jack had learned Jun Jie was an MIT student, a tech nerd like him, from Hong Kong. He had a kindness to him, a soft-spoken gentleness that reminded Jack of…
He rolled up and sat on the edge of the bed. No. That wasn't him. That wasn't his life, and it wasn't his Chase. But maybe…just maybe, this could be…good?