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The heavy downpour beyond the window masked the detailing of each person as they manoeuvred past, presenting them only as simple shadows.
Despite his obscured view of the street, Phil continued to gaze through the mist of water droplets that trickled down the glass to his right. As each blurred figure approached his direction, Phil would attempt to make out their features and build an image of their face.
Suddenly, the bell above the entrance sang out its delicate tune and the wind slowly whispered it's way through the room. As the large, cream door opened wider, a particularly powerful gust of wind blew a tall stranger into the restaurant.
His light skin illuminated the hair across his pastel face that was the deep brown shade of bark. His matching eyes danced as they explored the room, examining each face in turn. The young man wore tight black jeans and a buttoned white shirt which was embroidered with black detailing.
The brown haired man stepped further into the room, his eyes focused on one particular face. He continued farther until he stood beside a single vacant chair, beside a pale wall, decorated with an intricate work of art.
"Phil?" He cautiously questioned, causing the man from across the table to jerk in fright, rousing him to his feet.
"Urm, yes," Phil replied, still recovering from his slight scare.
"Hi, I'm Dan," he beamed, a smile forming across his lips as he held his right hand towards the other man.
"Hi," he replied awkwardly, returning a weak grin as he shook Dan's hand. The two men took their seats across from each other simultaneously, pulling themselves into the table.
Dan studied Phil over his menu. His jet black hair was stood slightly but flopped forward over his forehead, his eyes were a rich blue with small fragments of green and the smile that reached across his slightly rouged cheeks was bent to the left. Phil also wore a buttoned shirt, but his was a rich navy blue in colour and had shorter sleeves that had been rolled past his elbow.
Phil noticed Dan's wandering eyes and proceeded to observe his pink lips, black earrings and rounded dimples. The collared shirt that Dan wore was made up of minute black stars of different shades.
Dan looked up briefly once more, noticing Phil's sparkling eyes exploring his own face.
"Urh, please excuse my hair, it got wet and decided to curl up, its, urm, all a bit of a mess really," he stated, his cheeks flushing the colour of embarrassment as he spoke.
"I like it," Phil laughed, "it makes you look sort of fictional," he observed, attempting to avoid offence by letting out a modest snicker.
"Why, thank you," he returned, "I guess after the weather calms down I could go on a quest," Dan mocked, chuckling as he did so, "save a few princesses, recover a realm, you know, the norm."
Both Dan and Phil turned their eyes to the window that sat between them. The light, wooden frame gave a shrouded view of the street beyond that had now been fully plunged into darkness. The rain was no longer running down the glass in delicate streams but was rather pounding against and flicking from the transparent material, beating much stronger than before, like a constant blaze of bullets.
"Can I confess something?" Phil asked shyly after a few moments of silence. Dan raised his left eyebrow, intrigued by the question. "I feel a little out of place here, do you know what I mean? I feel as if everyone is watching us and like I'm underdressed and...am I being paranoid?" Dan let out a small giggle in response.
"No, I feel the same. The atmosphere is kinda wrong too, too sophisticated? I don't know," Dan replied, looking around towards the other diners, "did you want to find somewhere else?" Dan suggested, looking back towards the companion opposite him.
"Yeah," Phil smiled, rising slowly and pulling on his jacket. Dan picked his own from the chair back, having to ring it out slightly from the previous downpour, mumbling about the state of it to himself slightly. Phil grinned towards the brown-eyed man as he complained further, cursing under his breath quietly.
"Do you want my hat?" Phil offered, still smiling.
"Urm, like, would you mind? Dan replied, attempting to fix his hair.
"Of course not," Phil chuckled, passing the black beanie to Dan, "I don't really like it but I brought it as a just-in-case."
Dan thanked him as he fixed the hat into place, covering the main of his hair, only revealing his curled fringe that fell across his forehead.
The couple emerged from the restaurant together and stepped into the emptying street. The rain had, finally, began to settle and was now fizzling in the air above them. Phil was now able to make out the details of the street that he had been pondering prior to Dan's arrival. The faces that maneuvered passed him were much more visible to him as the individual features were clearer without the misted screen.
"Well, this is a different first date," Dan initiated as they began to follow the sodden pathway, "I turned up late, looking like a tramp, we ditched the original plan and now I've stolen your hat when we've only just met. Sorry," Dan sucked his lip nervously, peering towards Phil.
"Well, this is kinda my first proper date, so I wouldn't know..." Phil's sentence trailed off as he averted his eyes from Dan's gaze and down the puddled street.
The lighter haired man perceived his date's nervous complexion and moved the conversation along to getting to know one another instead.
"My favourite band is Muse, who I have seen in concert once; I'm left handed; I read a lot, sometimes too much actually; I can play the piano and I wear black a lot of the time," Dan gestured to his jeans and jacket with his hands as he concluded his list. "There," he beamed proudly, "five facts about me, your turn," he remarked.
"Well, most of them apply to me too, but here goes," Phil started, "I prefer dogs to cats; I am extremely clumsy, ask anyone; I have an addiction to plants; I love anything sci-fi and I can't deal with matching socks," Phil replied with a slight giggle.
The couple exchanged answers to each others questions about hometowns, education and first jobs as they ambled through the abandoned streets of London. Without any sense of direction, Dan and Phil continued through the main roads that were illuminated by the late closing shops.
"Can you believe it's gone eleven already!?" Dan exclaimed after glancing towards the clock tower that loomed above them.
"We've been walking for hours!" Phil replied in an alarmed voice, how had they managed to lose track of time so easily?
At the sudden realisation of their time together, both men turned the conversation to food, and more specifically, the lack of it on their date.
"Where'll be open?" Phil enquired. He stepped backwards and studied each shop that surrounded them in turn. The square, in which they stood was enclosed by an array of shops, however many of which had been abandoned and left in darkness for the night.
"Looks like we've only got one option," Dan commented, gesturing towards the only illuminated strip, smirking slightly.
Phil followed Dan's gaze towards the large yellow 'M' in the window that almost screamed out. "I could go for some chicken nuggets," he laughed, stepping back onto the path that led to their destination.
At first, the couple were alone in the restaurant. They stepped forward, one after another, and scanned the room for any others. After a few moments a dreary, worn out looking woman - a complete contrast to Dan and Phil - invited them towards her counter. The couple decided to indulge in chicken nuggets and milkshakes after their long get-to-know-you walk.
The two men felt much more at ease getting to know each other here as the setting was much different to that of their previously agreed restaurant; the music of the radio could be dimly heard, a lack of judgement surrounded them and their food did not have any fancy, unpronounceable names. Dan and Phil both felt more comfortable in this environment; in only each others company.
The delicate patter of rain could still be heard faintly by each man as the muffled drops and distant dripping fell into the morning.
"So," Dan started, reaching for his drink, "same time next week?" He proposed, an innocent smile climbing his cheeks.