Chapter Text
Stan got on the subway to head home from band practice. He's really thankful that the wagons weren’t as packed as they usually are when he returns home. He scanned the place looking for an empty seat and saw that in the next wagon there were a couple empty spots, he walked towards them and sat on the one further away from the exit so he wouldn’t have to deal with people coming in and possibly damaging his guitar, he set the guitar down between his feet and turned the music on his earpod up. He took his phone out and scrolled through different social medias to let time pass by. Eventually the subway stopped and more people came in, he gave a quick glance to all the passengers but stopped on one.
“I’ll call you when I get home dude, I’m getting on. Yeah, see you, bye.” The stranger put away his phone and looked for a seat, landing on the one in front of Stan, Stan watched him sit down a little wide eyed.
Holy fuck he was hot.
The guy was a little taller than six feet and had a beautiful head of bright ginger curls that framed his face just right. Freckles covered him whole, from very light ones on his forehead to a spattered mess on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Stan guessed he had more on his arms but couldn’t really tell since he was wearing a brown jacket that, in Stan’s opinion, really suited him. The guy also wore a white shirt underneath and the great combination of straight blue jeans and black vans. The guy looked ethereal in Stan’s eyes. The ginger opened the backpack he carried with him and pulled out a pair of glasses and a book which Stan couldn’t see the title off. He has never really been one to love books but if this guy asked him to read one he would, without second thought. As soon as he put on the glasses Stan's heart skipped a beat, the rectangular shape suited the rest of his features like the frame was tailored for him.
He decided he needed to tell someone about his subway crush, so he texted the first person he thought of: his roommate Kenny.
KENNY
KENNY IM GOING TO SHIT MYSELF
oh? what happened?
IM ON THE SUBWAY AND THE HOTTEST GUY JUST GOT ON
HES LIKE
EVERYTHING IVE EVER DREAMED OF
is he a ginger
YES
of course
Stan has a bit of a reputation for liking redheads; men, women, dyed or not he loves them all as long as they had freckles and red hair. But this one, this guy sat in front of him, he was otherworldly.
WHAT DO I DO
idk talk to him
NO???
ARE YOU INSANE
I HAVENT SHOWERED IN DAYS DUDE
wow you like him enough to remember
the filthy mess you are
impressive
hey how long until youre here im making dinner tonight
omg
Ill be there in like 10 minutes you can start cooking
anyway, back to the hot out of this planet guy
that is IN THE SAME WAGON AS ME IN FRONT OF ME
dude talk to him, he’ll make conversation trust
how would you know
Ive been manifesting you a bf now go talk to him
wow youre soo funny
Stan pocketed his phone and considered thinking about ways he could start a conversation with the ginger. Wouldn’t it be a little weird if a random guy you’ve never met talked to you on the train? Stan would be weirded out. Let’s see… ask him where he’s going? No, he’d sound like a total creep. Besides, he's probably heading home like everyone else at this hour. He has a backpack with him, a college student maybe? He could ask what his major is. No, too out of pocket. Maybe he could just call him pretty? The most beautiful human that has ever walked this earth? He’d probably call the police on him.
Stan sighed. Why does this have to be so hard? This is why he’s only been in one relationship before this. And she ditched him for her best friend too… Well he guesses it’s okay, they looked really cute together. Whatever, maybe he could just ask him what he’s reading? Yeah, that doesn’t sound that creepy, right? Okay, yeah, that’s what he’s going to do, he’s going to go up to him and ask him what he’s reading. It’s perfect! It's in context and gives him enough insight into what he likes and who he is as a person!
He was about to get up to go ask him when he heard the station at which he had to get off being called. Shit. Stan sighed again, so much thought for nothing. He got up a little saddened that he wouldn’t be able to talk to the guy and he’d probably never see him again. He grabbed his guitar and as soon as he put a foot in front of the other the guitar slipped from his grasp.
“Shit!” He yelled and tried to grab it before it crashed against the ground, but it was too late. It had fallen. And because Stan has the best luck in the world, it fell right on the ginger’s feet, hitting his legs. The ginger hadn’t screamed out in pain though, that was a good sign. Still he felt embarrassment overwhelm him, his cheeks reddened and he scrambled to grab his guitar, not allowing the other to react in any way. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” He apologized, the grip on his guitar case stronger than ever.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. It didn’t hurt.” He shrugged and looked Stan straight in the eyes. And oh god, Stan felt weak. His eyes were a beautiful almost emerald like color. Stan swallowed.
“Are you sure? This thing is pretty heavy. I’m so so so sorry again.” Stan looked like a kicked puppy. He searched for any sign of anger in the redhead’s face but instead he was met with a quivering smile that soon turned into a laugh.
“I promise dude, It’s okay.” He said. Smile still on his face. Stan stood there, frozen, His laugh was the prettiest he had ever heard. This guy was perfect. He could admire him forever. But he had to not be a weirdo and play it cool.
“Uh… okay then, sorry again. I- uh, I have to-” He looked at the doors and the life drained out of him as he watched them close. “Fuck.” He looked back at the ginger. And he must have seen the pathetic look of horror in his face, because he laughed again, louder. He could feel other people’s stares on them, but honestly, the guy’s laugh was enough to make him laugh along with him.
“I’m guessing you had to get down there?” Stan nodded. “That’s a shame.” The redhead smiled with amusement. “But you can get off on the next one, right?”
“Yeah, I can use the subway that goes the other way. It’s just inconvenient.” Stan said and realized that the next station was approaching. “Well, uh, sorry again for the guitar.” He reiterated and started backing away slowly. “I’m getting off now, see ya.”
“Oh, bye!” Stan waved at the stranger, who waved back with a smile. The subway stopped, swaying everyone who was on it, Stan got off and walked up the stairs to make his way back. He watched the train go, following the wagon he had gotten off of with his eyes. Once it was out of sight he let out a heavy sigh. He covered his face with his hands.
Why is he so stupid?! That was the worst! Now he looks like a lame loser and he’ll never be able to correct it.
Not like he wasn’t a loser. He just didn’t mean to show how much of a loser he can be.
“Whatever.” He grumbled, but kept repeating the encounter in his head the rest of the way home.
He opened the door to his apartment. The noise alerting his roommate of his arrival.
“Finally!” Kenny’s voice could be heard from the living room. “What took you so long, dude?” Stan walked to the living room where he was received by Kenny sitting on the slightly miserable couch Stan had bought on Facebook marketplace with two plates of tuna fish rotini on the small coffee table they saved from the trash, one plate half eaten and the other still intact. “Be thankful that I made a cold dish.” Kenny patted Stan’s spot on the couch.
“Kenny I’m going to kill myself.” He left his guitar on the corner between a bookshelf and a wall, dropped his backpack on the floor and plopped on the couch with a groan. He put his head on his hands “I’m going to quit the guitar. I’m going to burn her.” “Her” meaning the guitar.
“Right.” He said, taking Stan’s glass of water and handing it to him, he accepted it and drank almost half the glass in one go. “Does this have anything to do with the ginger you saw in the subway today?” And after hearing Stan groan again he let out a chuckle. “That’s a yes.”
“I dropped my guitar and it hit him!” He screamed, he looked at Kenny to see him holding a laugh. “If you laugh I swear I’ll kick you out.”
“No, you’re right, sorry. But hey, at least you talked after that, right?” Kenny tried to shine light to his situation with a pitiful smile.
“I mean yeah, but- god Kenny, I apologized like a gazillion times.” Stan decided to take a bite of his food to calm himself down. “I don’t know if I’m happy I’ll never see him again or sad.” He said with his mouth full.
“Well, how do you know you’ll never see him again?”
“Because I had never seen him before? I don’t know dude, I don’t ever see most people I encounter on the subway again.” He ate more of his rotini. Kenny was really good at cooking, well, he’s good at most things.
“Sure, but I already manifested a beautiful ginger into your life, now I’ll manifest him appearing again on the train tomorrow.” Kenny said and took a big swig of his drink.
“I hate you.” That wasn’t true. He internally thanked Kenny for always being so supportive of everything he did because without his unwavering loyalty and encouraging nature Stan probably wouldn’t be where he is now.
“Sure, sure. Anyway, How was practice without me today?” Kenny had skipped today because he had some serious amount of homework to finish, Stan and the rest of the band told him not to worry and sent him home.
“You know? So much better, I realized you and your poor bass playing skills really bring the band down.” He claimed with a smug smile.
“Oh you don’t mean that, you love my precious Tiityhonker3000!” Kenny bumped Stan’s shoulder. “Tittyhonker3000” or “Tit” for short, was Kenny’s bass. He’s had it since sophomore year of high school. It had a beat up appearance but was great at its job.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, dude. How was your homework filled evening?”
“Super shitty. Calculus is kicking my ass just as hard as it did in high school.” He said and Stan noticed the huge pile of books and papers stacked just behind Kenny. “The rest has been great though. Real fun stuff.”
“I’m glad.” He took another bite of his dish. “Dude this is so good.”
“I know right? You gotta thank Kevin for teaching me how to make this. It’s so good for no reason and the easiest shit to make.” He took the last bite out of his own plate and got up to take the dishes to the kitchen. “I’m down for practice tomorrow by the way. I’m finishing the rest of the shit I have to do tonight and I’ll be free tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you walking like a zombie all day tomorrow.” Stan managed out between munches.
“Dude, chill, it’s not much. I’ll stay up until maybe two, no more.” Kenny stated with a dismissive tone, turning on the faucet and quickly washing his dishes with a sponge that had a decrepit appearance.
“Okay then. So do you wanna watch an episode of Adventure Time before getting to it?” Stan offered, they had started this little ritual a few months ago and so far they were 96 episodes into the show. They would come home, eat dinner (or not, depending on how good they were on money and spirits), and then they'd watch an Adventure Time episode. Some were sad and some left them in a mental spiral but the routine kept them sane. Knowing they had something to look forward to at the end of their chaotic days was incredibly comforting.
“Of course dude! Let me get some more water, you want some?”
“Yeah, thanks man.” Kenny came back into view and Stan handed him his glass, then the blond went back to the kitchen and poured some water on each glass.
When Kenny returned and they started watching the episode Stan felt at peace, tomorrow was another day and his embarrassing encounter with that guy would be forgotten.