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The game was supposed to start in two hours and he still had yet to find the stadium. Derek looked at the map on his phone and squinted his eyes, trying to understand where to go next. He had just exited the metro station and was walking along s Hill St, looking for 1st St.
Erica, his best friend, had told him that if he went to Los Angeles, he absolutely had to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall and take a selfie as proof. Since the stadium wasn’t too far away from the building, Derek had decided to leave his hotel on Hollywood boulevard early and to stop at the Concert Hall first.
After a few minutes of walking, he started to see the building appear. It really was a chef d’oeuvre of architecture. He crossed the road without a problem since it was blocked for some show that night. The man guarding the barricades was helping a couple to find their way and was waving his arms around wildly.
Derek chose the camera mode on his phone and took several pictures of the building and a selfie. He sent the selfie to Erica with a text “See! Happy now?” before looking up the fastest way to go to Dodger Stadium. Apparently there was a bus stopping not too far from it but he had to find where to take it. He looked around, completely lost when a voice called him.
"Hey sir! You lost? Need some advice?"
It was the guy from the barricades, a smile on his mole covered face and a hand in his wild hair. Derek was happy about the sun in LA because he was wearing sunglasses and thus couldn’t be seen checking out the guy. He was wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and a black tie. Probably a uniform for the job but it must still have been uncomfortable under this warm weather. The guy was also wearing sunglasses but he took them off when he approached him. His eyes were the color of melting amber, almost gold, while reflecting the sun.
"Do you need help to find something?" the guy repeated.
Derek looked down at the map on his phone. "Yeah, I’m going to the game tonight so I was looking for the bus stop that can bring me there."
"Oh man that’s awesome! Is this your first time in LA?"
"For fun? Yeah. Usually I’m here for business reasons so not that much time to visit." Derek explained. It wasn’t really in his personality to talk about himself with a stranger but the guy’s smile was kind of intoxicating and really appealing.
"Cool! Yeah usually that’s not my job but I’m helping a bro out. I go to UCLA." The guy told him. "So Dodger Stadium, right?"
Derek nodded and listened to the explanation. Actually, it wasn’t too complicated. He just had to walk ten minutes to find the right bus stop.
"Thanks."
"You’re welcome." The guy said. He looked like he was going to say something else but finally he just smiled at him.
Derek smiled back and walked toward his destination.
"Go Dodgers!" The guy screamed.
People in the street screamed back and some cars honked. Derek looked back and saw the guy wink at him before putting his sunglasses back on. If his heart missed a beat, nobody had to know.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
It was a good game. The Dodgers won against the Pirates. Derek was glad to be there for their victory. But if he had to be honest with himself, he couldn’t stop thinking about the guy at the crossroads. That’s why he took the exact same bus back and walked ten minutes to the Concert Hall. His heart was beating fast. He didn’t know why, because never had someone made him feel so giddy just by thinking about them. So he had to see the man.
By chance, the guy was still there. The road was still busy but there were less pedestrians around. When Derek started to cross the road, the guy saw him and a big smile took place on his face.
"Hey Dodgers fan! So how was the game?" He asked.
"We won." Derek answered.
"Awesome. What are you gonna do now? Were you just here for the game or are you now meeting friends or a girlfriend for a drink?"
"My friends aren’t here and I don’t have a girlfriend." Derek said. "Or a boyfriend for the matter."
The guy looked him straight in the eyes before lowering his gaze and biting his lip. "So." He started. "Maybe we can meet later for a drink?"
Derek felt his heart beat really fast and could practically see his ears reddening.
"Yeah I would like that."
The smile burst out of the guy's face and he offered him his phone.
"My name is Stiles." The guy, Stiles, said. "Give me your number and I can text you when my shift ends, if it's okay with you?"
"It’s cool." He said.
They exchanged numbers and Stiles, still with a big smile, asked.
"Hey, you didn’t tell me your name?"
Derek could feel himself blushing.
"Sorry, I’m Derek Hale."
Stiles's smile disappeared to be replaced by an expression of surprise. Derek felt a cold sensation running through his body.
"What?"
"By any chance, do you know someone named Laura Hale?"
"She’s my sister. Why? How do you know her?" Derek began to panic. Of course! It was too good to be true.
"Dude calm down!" Stiles started to laugh. "It just caught me off guard. I’m Stiles Stilinski. My dad’s the Sheriff of Beacon Hills."
Derek’s eyes grew round and Stiles started laughing. "Oh my god! For a coincidence! Dude we are living in the same town! What could be the chance of that? I say it's fate."
Derek started to relax. He knew the Sheriff, not personally, but Laura told him a lot of good things about the man and how he was talking a lot about a son studying in LA.
"Yeah."
"Not a talker, are you?" Stiles mocked him nicely. "Don’t worry I talk enough for two."
A car honked, making them startle.
"Okay, that’s our cue I guess. I’ll text you as soon as I’m done working. See you!" He ran over the barriers to let a truck pass.
Derek walked out of the way to stand on the sidewalk and watched Stiles talk with the driver. A smile appeared on his face and he kept walking to the metro station.
Right before he entered the underground station, his phone chimed.
“I wasn’t totally honest with you earlier” the text message said.
Derek didn’t have time to panic before another message came through.
“I am not a Dodger supporter. My team is and will always be the Mets”
Derek couldn’t stop laughing at that before stopping and looking around, blushing.
“I hope it’s not a problem in our incoming relationship?” the third text asked.
A nice sensation came waving through Derek’s body while he answered the text.
“As you said yourself, our encounter was fate."
“Duh dude! We literally met at a crossroads. How romantic is that?” Stiles even added a winky face at the end of his text.
Derek shook his head and entered the metro station with a smile on his usually serious face.
THE END