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Leon absolutely hated concerts.
They were loud, crowded, sweaty, and gross. The lights were too bright, and the only good thing about them were the drinks he'd order in the back of the bar.
Ever since his friends had gone and made a band together it was always 'Leon can you drive us' this and 'Leon can you be our photographer' that. He didn't even like the music they were playing, but he'd always gotten himself roped into being there for them.
He was a nice friend, he'll give himself that. Nice enough to sit through shows every weekend of the same songs and taking pictures left and right. Nice enough to give them rides because his car is the only one that can fit all of their equipment in it. Nice enough to go to concerts every weekend despite the fact that large crowds were one of his biggest fears.
Too many people in one room, too many eyes on him and his friends. So much room for embarrassment and failure and ridiculing. He hated it. Not to mention just how sweaty and gross it would get because of how many people were in a bar venue at once. He was sure the bartenders at all the venues were equally as annoyed by their music as Leon was by now.
One night he'd been dragged back into a concert, a far away venue this time. It was at some place a few miles out of town. Chris said something about this being their 'big break' and how they'd get super rich and famous after this. Leon hoped so, he'd never have to drive them to venues if they were rich enough to buy their own van. But it was annoying nonetheless. At least Claire would pay him back for gas after this.
The venue was smaller than their regular ones, the bar a bit crowded and dance floor a bit small. But there was comfort in knowing that at least the crowd tonight would be smaller than the crowds that came every other weekend.
Leon helped unload all their equipment onto the stage as he always did, careful not to drop anything. He was not only their unofficial photographer but also their unofficial drum tech. He and Chris were the only people who knew how to set up the drumkit anyways, so he was always asked to do it when Chris was busy with other things. Things like flirting with the workers or bartenders or just plain slacking off. Leon was too nice to tell him how much of a pain it was.
And then he'd been freed to wander off with his camera, taking weird pictures and fiddling with the lenses like he always did. It was stupid, but Leon was good at photography. Always had been, ever since high school. All his classmates always took shaky pictures, with dumb angles and funny filters. But Leon would always be precise about what he did. Making sure everything was absolutely perfect, down to the smallest details.
He was a nice guy, a bit of an alcoholic, a pushover, and a control freak. The perks of being a twenty something art major, he guesses.
He'd wandered off to the bar, camera in hand. Ordering whatever looked appealing on their menu, not really caring what it was just how it would make him feel later. Maybe if he got drunk enough he wouldn't have to drive them back home.
A man sat beside him at the bar, hair curly and down to his shoulders. He had long dangly earrings and a smile on his face. At first, Leon had noticed his earrings and how well the color complimented his hair color. Then he noticed how soft his smile looked, how long his eyelashes were, how curly his hair had flowed down the side of his face.
He'd only realized he may have been staring for a bit too long when the man turned towards him.
"You here for the show too?" The man asked, his eyes flickering up and down Leon's body.
His eyes were a blue-ish grey. An eye color Leon had never seen before. Kind of like how the moon looked late at night when Leon would stare up and yearn to be up there.
"Yep, stuck on photo duty." Leon points to the camera in his lap.
"Ah, what a shame. A man as pretty as you should be the one getting his picture taken, no?" He smiled.
His accent sort of reminded Leon of his grandfather. He was an old Spaniard that would read Spanish literature to Leon when he was a kid to try and get him to speak Spanish more than English. Too bad he never really grasped it all that well.
"Hah, yeah, I guess so." Leon blushed awkwardly, never really knowing what to say to such compliments.
He wasn't exactly opposed to pretty guys like this complimenting him and all, he was just not that great at socializing. Claire always did say he had a nice face. What a shame he didn't have the skills to put that to use. Oh well, not like he'll ever see this guy again.
"I...I really like your side profile. You're a very photogenic person. You have...um...a nice face shape." Leon attempts to flirt, hoping it didn't come off as weird.
He wasn't the best at these kinds of things. But he tried his best. And who knows, maybe one day he'd get lucky and find the person who'd get him out of this shitty photography gig. Get him somewhere he actually wants to be.
The man laughed, a faint blush on his cheeks. Of course the photographer would say something so silly. He was such a predictable person. Always relating everything to his interests and whatever he knew best. Maybe he'd taken things too far saying that kinda stuff. Leon never really realized if what he was saying was too creepy, hence why he didn't bother flirting all that much.
"I'm sorry, was that too weird?" Leon apologized, feeling like crap for saying such stupid things.
"No, no. Don't apologize, amor. I think it's sweet. It's just...no one's ever told me that before." The man assured him.
Leon pretended he didn't understand the nickname he'd used.
"Well, I guess there's always first times for everything." He trailed off, feeling even more embarrassed now.
The man held his hand out for Leon to shake, a warm and inviting look in those blue grey eyes of his. He had a lot of rings on his fingers. No wedding ring though, which was good.
"Me llamo Luis."
The name suited him, Leon couldn't really guess any other name that would fit someone as charming as him. Luis, Leon would remember that. Maybe over time Luis would forget this moment ever happened, but Leon always remembers minuscule things like this.
"I'm Leon." He shook his hand, an awkward smile on his face.
"Good luck tonight, Leon." Luis winked.
And then he was gone, waving goodbye as he wandered off into the ever growing crowd. Leaving Leon alone to wonder what the hell just happened to him. Wondering if he'll ever see him again. If Luis will ever remember him after this night. If he was even interested in talking more.
Leon looked down in his palm, a small slip of paper with a little note on it. He guesses this was his confirmation of that. He hadn't even said much and he'd already gotten this guy's number.
Maybe concerts weren't so bad after all.