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Neil never thought that books would lead him to the biggest crush he’s ever had, but there he was, peeking around a bookshelf just to get a glimpse of the one working at the counter.
It was hard to believe that this man was the son of a well known villain. He was sweet and kind, and he only sometimes blows stuff up. He seemed to care a lot about books and deadlines and order. It was no wonder he fell immediately.
The first time he had to talk to him had been a disaster. He only needed a book for a book report he had to do, and he couldn’t even get out a real word when he went to check it out. He started coming back every week just to see him, even if he still hadn’t spoken to him. He couldn’t believe how far one could get just through incoherent mumbling.
But today was the day.
He was going to ask him out.
… Hopefully.
First, he needed to find a book to check out.
It shouldn’t have been a difficult task, but he couldn’t find it in himself to pick up a random book like he usually did. It wasn’t because he was scared or nervous or anything.
Maybe a little bit….
Maybe he could start a conversation with the book he chooses?
What would he be able to get a conversation out of?
He knew the other drank a lot of coffee. And he usually had his nose in business reports of some kind. He remembered a day when all of his siblings visited him, and they talked a lot about him finally interacting with people. Maybe he was just as awkward as Neil was and he was just overthinking it?
He took a deep breath and grabbed a book.
He didn’t need to overthink this.
He made his way to the counter, seeing his crush glance to him, putting down a book.
“H-Hello, E-Ernesto!” Alright, good start.
“Ah, so you can talk.” Was the quiet, snarky reply. He seemed to realize what he said because he quickly backed off from it. “Um, I-I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
He laughed awkwardly, setting the book down on the counter. “N-No, it’s fine. Heh….”
Ernesto silently nodded before taking the book. He glanced to it. “A comic book fan?”
He didn’t realize that he grabbed a P.O.I.N.T. comic book. “Um… y-yeah….”
The other looked him up and down. “You seem like one of those heroes.”
He gulped. “Is that a bad thing?”
“N-No. I just meant- um…” Ernesto glanced away. “Well, I guess I don’t really know what I meant by that….”
The two were silent.
Neil took a deep breath. Now was the time.
“U-Um, w-well I was, um wondering…” he coughed a bit, “if you would, um, i-if you would like to… hang out… s-sometime?”
Ernesto looked back to him. “Y-You wanna hang out with me? L-Like a d-date?”
“Yes!” He flushed red as he quieted down a bit. “I-I mean, i-if you w-want to?”
“Y-Yeah!” Ernesto frantically nodded before coughing a bit. “I-I’d love to, um, go on a d-date with you.”
“R-Really?”
“Y-Yes.”
He couldn’t stop the smile that grew. “C-Cool! Um, are you free t-tomorrow?”
Ernesto nodded. “Let’s do lunch. Is 1:30 good?”
He nodded.
“A-Alright.” Ernesto handed the comic book over. “Um, th-this is due in two weeks. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “See you tomorrow!”
He left with the biggest smile he had in awhile.