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Regulus was excited, nervous even. He had planned the perfect date, first they would watch the game, then go to dinner and…well let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
As he drove to the stadium he kept checking the time, would he be late? What time did the game start again? He spent the whole drive in this loop of checking the time and stressing and checking the time and stressing some more.
When he arrived he stepped out of the car and walked up to where Barty had said to meet him. Oh and god did he look perfect. Not just perfect but cool. His leather jacket, baggy pants, the way he carried him self to the cigarette he put out. Everything about him oozed with quiet confidence. “Hey, Regulus.” He said cooly, “Ready?” “Yeah.” Regulus replied excitedly and then winced at his own eagerness.
They walked side by side into the stadium and went straight for the concession stand. Barty got a bucket of popcorn and Regulus only got a Diet Coke. Barty raised an eyebrow, but raised no further questions.
They continued walking until they reached an elevator and stood in awkward silence as they waited for the elevator door to open. “So…what do you do for work?” Regulus inquired. “You know nothing much.” Barty replied vaguely. Regulus was puzzled, why did he not seem interested in anything. Barty did not seem bothered enough to ask Regulus about himself, so they stood quietly. He awkwardly shuffled into the elevator as Barty made his way to the very back. Regulus sighed and pressed the button for level two. He thought that level two was the best to see from and somewhat less expensive than level one, not that money was a concern of his. His parents were ungodly wealthy, but he preferred not to think about them.
They took their seats and all that was left to do was wait for the game to start. Regulus turned to his left and opened his mouth to talk to Barty, but quickly shut it when he realised that Barty had already pulled out his phone and was typing away. The appeal of his mysterious nonchalance was fading quickly, but Regulus would still give him a chance to redeem himself…even if it was a painfully boring experience. He sighed and turned to watch the field as the game started.
…
Regulus had never been a particularly big fan of football, he in fact had only organised to go because he knew Barty enjoyed it. So, it was no surprise when the game glazed over into one incredibly boring match. Barty had not spoken a single word to him since the match started, which fine. Whatever! He was just fine being ignored by the guy he did all this for. It was no help that the person directly behind him was a massive fan of the football and cheered loudly whenever his team scored. And as it seems the people who surrounded Mr. Number one fan were just as excited by the game. Regulus wanted to sink into a puddle on the ground, groan and sigh until he could finally go home. Anything was better than being stuck in a stupid stadium, with stupid fans and stupid Barty. He sat in silence for a bit mulling over the best way to make up an excuse to leave. Until he looked over to see Barty talking to the man next to him about a player. Oh, so he could talk to people. But only when he deemed them worth his time. Fine. That was just fine by Regulus.
…
It reached a break period he realised after some time. He looked up to the big screen to see them doing dumb games like comparing people in the crowed to characters. Some old man that looked like the guy from up, another one that looked like gru. Typical half time stuff he guessed. Actually he didn’t know because he didn’t like or know anything about football.
Eventually the screen swapped to a “Kiss Cam” which ew. He watched couples on screen kiss, ranging from old couples to people who looked like they were on their first date. Well theirs were going a lot better than his. He looked back at the camera to see his and Barty’s faces, which would have been fine for him, he was just about to lean into kiss Barty. But Barty was waving his arms around in a “No thanks, no really I’m good” gesture. He glared at him, really? Subject him to torture such as football and not even a kiss despicable really.
The kiss cam was about to move on, until Regulus feel someone behind him turn his face and kiss him hard. He was too taken aback to think about what happened until after. He turned back to see the man who kissed him and…oh gods above that’s not any man that is James potter.
Plus, the rest of his injured teammates. He knew very little about football, anyone would know his face from the front page of the daily newspaper. His face turned bright pink, James just looked at him. Regulus started to say something but James cut him off “Sorry for not asking, I just didn’t want you to feel embarrassed.” The person sitting next to him nudged him in the elbows. “Also could I get your number.” He added on. Regulus was so shocked he just nodded and handed over his phone number. “Thanks, Im James by the way.” He said to Regulus. This pulled Regulus back to himself. “Yeah I know who you are…Im Regulus.” James smiled at him and it was warm enough to outshine the sun.
He felt a hand grip his arm and he twisted around to see Barty looking furious. “Did you seriously just kiss him while, we are on a date?” He spat out. “I don’t see why you’d care. You haven’t asked me a single question about myself, and you refused to participate in some stupid kiss cam.” Regulus retorted. He crossed his arms and went quiet, as Barty stormed off. With Barty no longer there obligating him to stay he said goodbye to James and left. He got to his car and sighed loudly and started his car.
…
Regulus got home and flopped down on his bed and pulled out his phone. One new message.
James potter: Hey nice to meet you would you like to go out some time?
Regulus a. Black: that sounds great, thanks again for today.
James potter: np! Does Friday work for you?
Regulus a. Black: yeah it does, where do you want to go?
James potter: it’s a surprise ;)
Regulus went to bed that night feeling better than he had in a while.