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After a long day at his university's lab, Theo was trotting down the street on his way home. He passed a bench underneath a tree. A handsome young man and a woman were sitting there, chatting amicably. The eyes of Theo and the young man met for a short moment, baby blue eyes blinking back at him. If he weren't so tired and if the two on the bench didn't look so awfully cozy with one another, Theo might have stopped to talk to the hot guy. But he didn't Theo just kept walking home, where a nice hot shower was waiting for him. Dressing in a comfy sweater and sweatpants, he heated up some leftovers and put on a show on Netflix, the handsome guy long forgotten.
And the handsome guy remained forgotten for a couple of days until Theo saw him again. He had to do some research for a paper, so he was sitting at one of the tables in the library, typing on his old, battered laptop. Suddenly, Theo's skin started to tingle and he had the feeling that he was being watched. Looking up, he saw the same guy from the bench, staring at him. The other guy quickly lowered his head as Theo looked at him. And even though, he was sitting at least 40 feet away, Theo could see that the other guy was blushing. Theo continued to look at the guy for a few moments, waiting if he'd look at him again. But he didn't, so Theo turned back to his paper with a small shake of his head.
From that afternoon on, Theo felt as if he was seeing that guy everywhere. More than one time, Theo saw the guy walking down the street his apartment was at. And more than once it seemed like the guy was following Theo around. On a few occasions, Theo saw him on campus again, which wasn't too weird. The guy looked to be around Theo's age, so it made sense that he'd be a student too. However what was weird was that the guy suddenly started to hang around Theo's favorite coffee shop.
"Look, guys, you know I'm not frightened very easily, but that guy is creeping the hell out of me. "
"God, you're such a drama queen. " Tracy said rolling her eyes.
"Worrying about your fucking stalker is not being a drama queen. " Theo cried out dramatically, making his friends snort.
"You don't have a stalker, Theo. " Corey said.
"How do you know? That guy is everywhere! "
"Think logically for a moment, T. Why would someone stalk you? " Corey asked.
"Must be his winning personality. " Tracy muttered.
Theo shot her a glare, before saying to Corey:
"I don't know! Why do people stalk random VIPs? I'm hotter than most famous people. "
"And so modest. " Tracy added.
"Oh fuck you. " Theo said without real bite.
"You wish. " Tracy retorted, sticking his tongue out.
"Don't worry, T. He probably just lives close to you and that's why you see him everywhere. " Corey tried to reason with his friend.
"He's staring at me all the time! "
"Didn't you just call yourself hot? " Corey retorted, making Theo huff.
"You guys suck. "
"Love you too. " Corey and Tracey said in unison.
Theo wouldn't admit it, but his friends' calmness did help him. That is until he was taking the bus home... Where he saw the guy again.
A couple of nights later, Theo was at working, mixing drinks and flirting with the bar's customers for better tips. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another customer sitting down at the bar. Smiling, he turned around and came face to face with his stalker. His smile faltered a bit, but nonetheless, he asked politely:
"What can I get for you? "
"A b-beer. "
"Sure thing. "
Theo handed the guy his beer and collected the money before he moved on to the next customer. For the next twenty minutes, it was very busy and Theo had barely time to think about his stalker, sitting at the bar. But when there was a lull, Theo gathered his courage and went over to the guy with the now very familiar face. Leaning against the counter, he casually asked:
"So, is there a reason you are stalking me? "
The guy spluttered, choking on his beer. Coughing, he croaked:
"I'm not s-stalking you. "
Theo raised his eyebrow.
"Really? Cause I swear I see you everywhere I go. "
The guy blushed.
"I live in the same street as you, a couple of apartment blocks down from yours. "
"And I should just believe that? "
Still red as a berry, the other guy dug out his ID, showing it to Theo.
'Damn... Corey was right. This guy really lives in the same street. He'll never let me live this down...'
"Your name's Liam? Liam Dunbar? "
Liam nodded.
"Okay, this explains why I see you in my street. But why are you constantly hanging out at the same coffee shop as me? There are others closer to where you live. And by the way, why are you here? "
"My best friend dragged me to the coffee shop once. And I liked it there. So I went back. "
"And your appearance here? "
"A coincidence? I swear I'm not stalking you! "
Theo snorted.
"Yeah sure. Even if that were true, which I am not convinced it is, you were constantly staring at me. "
Liam rubbed his neck, smiling sheepishly.
"I... Well, you see... You're hot! " he blurted out.
"Excuse me? "
"I mean, you are really attractive and I was thinking about asking you out. But I was never brave enough to actually do it. "
"Huh. " Theo just said.
Liam sighed.
"Look, I get that you're creeped out. I'd probably be too. And I know I fucked this up. So, if you want I'll go now and keep my distance. "
Theo took a close look at the young man. He looked sincere and for some reason, Theo believed him.
'Must be because of his pretty blue eyes. But still... He's really weird. Cute though. '
"What about a drink? " Theo offered.
Liam looked shocked and asked:
"Wait, what? Really? "
"Yeah, I wanna see if you really are as weird as you seem. "
Liam blushed again, chuckling.
"I kinda am. "
"I'm excited to find out. "