Chapter Text
Mischa stared at the Taco Bell near his apartment that he could barely afford, why was he getting Taco Bell? He didnt even know himself, affordable Mexican cuisine wasn't his taste, but if he wanted to stay afloat he would need to save up money, that crappy pizza place that he worked at didn’t pay much anyways, it was February fourteenth, and he got someone he could spend it with, Talia Bolinska. They were really going to go and call each other, instead of some big grandiose gesture, they kind of couldn't do much, that was the struggle of a long-distance relationship, it may not have seemed like a lot, but to Mischa, someone who had been ignored and ostracized his whole life, to have one person, at least one person, who could call him for hours and hours on end
His phone chimed, it was his fiance Talia, whom he had met a year ago, he was hopelessly in love with her, she was the light of his life.
talia <3: how are you, my love?
His face lit up as he answered her text, texting her gave him an escape from the world, he didn’t have any friends in his school, well, when he was still there, he moved to Canada, and the same thing happened, everyone found him scary, no one was there for him when his adoptive parents sucked except for Talia. So he gave her all of his attention, puppy love was hard to ignore.
Mischa: I'm doing good, what about you, love? He texted her, then pocketed his phone as he entered the Taco Bell, This stupid Taco Bell he had to go to if he didnt want to starve to death,
Noel had sobbed in his bed last night, he felt hopeless, bound to be stuck in this cold, crappy town, he wanted to move to France so badly, it was calling his name, but the money he got wouldn't allow him to. Then he got up and remembered that it was February fourteenth, and then he also remembered that he wouldn't have anyone to spend it with, Karnak called him the most romantic boy in town, so why was he alone? why couldn't he be loved?
He was still living with his mother, and he supplied for both of them at once, with money he only got at Taco Bell, at this point, it really felt like his own house, his mother was out most of the time anyway, working long shifts, he appreciated it, but sometimes he wanted her, sometimes he wanted her to hold him, and tell him that everything was going to be ok, sure maybe he wouldn't believe it but that wouldn't hurt would it? He took a shaky breath in if no one else was going to do it, he was going to say it to himself,
‘Everything, is going to be fine, you will get out of this crappy town’ he said, staring at the multiple sticky notes that he placed on his mirror, which said the same thing, he wanted to believe that if he said it and placed it everywhere it would come true. He put on his uniform, his disgusting, Taco Bell grease-filled uniform, even though the usual customers were bad, he thought the uniform was worse, he knew the regulars, he knew what to expect, that one Karen who always asked for a pup cup, when there was a Starbucks a block away, there was always a family with annoying children who were watching Coco Melon on their Ipads with the tired adults just hungry for something that was affordable, sure it wasn't the healthiest but anything would do at that point, Noel knew them, they looked very desperate.
the usual homophobic bullies from his high school years came back and tormented him again, great, he was 19 now, and he did not want anyone to remind him of his pathetic 17-year-old self, he at least still had the choir from when they were 17, Ocean went to college, so did Ricky, Penny stayed with Constance, after they became girlfriends last year, and Constance let her work at the blackwood cafe with her, they didnt hang out as much as they used to but they still tried, he knew that the next time they’d hang out would be somewhere this month, and those days were the days where he could finally be free.
And then there were the random people who came, he didn't pay them any mind, they just came in, ordered something..that was on the menu at least, and then left, they were his favorites, they just wanted to leave and so did he, he knew that he should appreciate his life, considering that he almost died, but he hated it sometimes, he still worked at Taco Bell, he had no one to love, and no one who loved him, he had stayed this way for 19 years, maybe a meet cute could happen? But no, there were no cute guys in Uraninum, or even moderately nice guys who could give you a break, well that's what he thought until he saw the hottest Ukrainian guy enter the door.
Mischa stared at the guy standing at the counter, hey, wasn't that the guy who died for a day? He asked himself, the face being so recognizable. He remembered him from high school, he hated everyone in his high school, but this dude was..tolerable at least, they were paired up for a project in history once, and he was pretty chill, not thinking he was stupid, and letting him have a chance to prove himself, he was ok to work with, what he did thank him for was that he got a 100 on the project, which saved his grade, he was too busy working on his rap career to care about grades, he turned in a lot of assignments late, and the teachers hated him for it, that was one of the reasons why he hated his school. The teachers hated him, the students hated him, and the only person who didnt hate him was Talia, his perfect Talia, and even then she was all the way in Ukraine,
“Hello! May I take your order?” he said in the peppiest voice he could muster after crying all night to Promise by Laufey, he usually saw middle-aged women who screamed at him, or crappy people who yelled at him, (they thought that if it was about him being gay, he’d take it better, spoiler alert, he did not) but here they were, this was his meet cute, he smiled at his phone, his smile was so cute that Noel couldn't help but blush.
Mischa smiled at the text Talia sent him
Talia<3 I'm good! In honor of Valentine's Day, I’m going to call you for the whole night >:)
He loved how Talia used the silly faces, they were super cute in his eyes, he was startled by the voice of the guy he met for one history project that one time.
“Hello! May I take your order?”He read the guy's name tag, Noel Gruber? He didn't remember that name, but then again he didn't want to remember any of his classmates' names. He didn't bother to in the first place.
“Uhh could I have a Baja blast and a breakfast burrito?” He asked, fishing his wallet out of his jacket
“Is that it for your order today?” Noel asked, staring at the hot Ukrainian in front of him, Mischa didn't even notice how Noel looked at him, absolutely smitten.
“Yeah!” Mischa tried to say with a smile, but it was hard to smile when you were so broke you had to eat at Taco Bell, he definitely took advantage of the fact that he worked at “Slice Sensations and The Dough Divas” yeah you could see how it was understaffed, he had to do everything there, and in turn he got free pizza and like 5 dollars
“That's 5 dollars and 73 cents, can I get a name for this order?” Noel said this was his very subtle way of trying to get this cute stranger's name.
“Mischa, Mischa Bachinski” he said, bringing his credit card to Noel Gruber, hoping that he had enough to pay for even this lousy breakfast Taco burrito, he waited in suspense as it eventually went through, he waited at a little chair in the corner of the room still texting Talia
Noel, however, while making the hot Ukrainian’s stupid Baja blast couldn't help but stare, Mischa bachinski, the one random hot guy who was scared of his card declining on a six dollar purchase honestly Mischa bachinski was the whole package.
“Here you go Mischa Bachinski, hope I can see you again,” Noel said with a smile, Mischa was a pleasant change from the middle-aged women who screamed at him a thousand times,
“See you soon, just know I'm going to be back,” he said, texting Talia with a smile.
Noel was falling hard and fast. He didn't know why this hot Ukrainian took up his mind, but he did, and he couldn't stop blushing and smiling.