Chapter Text
If Awsten was totally honest, he wasn’t the best at getting the required hours of sleep. He had much better things to be doing anyways, like bugging his roomate whose sleep schedule was somehow worse than his own and making shitty demos on his ages old computer!
The problem with that, however, is that Awsten cant operate without a good nights sleep, which leads him to his current predicament, halfway asleep on the bustop bench at half past 6 in the morning.
He had only just moved into his new apartment with his friends, Geoff and Otto, about a week ago, deciding he needed someone to live outside of the college campus. The only problem that was transportation. Usually, he could wake up at 7 and get to his 7:30 class with ten minutes to spare, but now he needed to be at the bus stop at the crack of dawn to just barely make it.
So now, he sits on the bench, head dropping down onto his small bag that held his computer and class materials, barely registering the man sitting next to him before drifting off to sleep.
He didnt dream of anything, and he probably didn’t sleep long enough to do so anyways, but he was jolted awake by a gentle push at his shoulder and a soft voice.
“Hey mate… the bus is almost here…”
Awsten slowly opened his eyes, turning to the source of the voice and push, being met with someone around his age with blonde hair. Awsten just smiled and nodded, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He was way too tired to hold a conversation right now.
Lucky for him, the guy seemed to understand, not speaking to him again as the bus approached and they got on, the guy choosing a seat far in the back while Awsten sat in the very front. He liked being the first off.
This became a routine of sorts, Awsten falling asleep at the bus stop and the blonde guy waking him up. They never exchanged names, but each time Awsten noticed more about him.
The second time, Awsten noticed the black streak peppered in his hair.
The fourth time, Awsten noticed the faint accent in his voice, probably Australian.
On the seventh time, although Awsten isn’t sure if it counts, he learns the guy’s name. This time, by some miracle, he went to bed at a reasonable hour, having enough energy in the morning to not need a quick nap.
By the time the bus was rounding the corner, the guy turned to him, looking surprised at Awstens fully awake state.
“Look at that, you’re awake for once!” He joked, a smile on his face as he laughed over his own words.
Awsten smiled, a small chuckled leaving his lips. The guy was well, beautiful. Awsten didn’t do very well around attractive men.
The guys gaze lingered on Awsten for a moment before he spoke again, the lights of the bus coming closer and closer, illuminating the bus stop as the both stood up and grabbed their belongings.
“I’m Michael, by the way… Michael Clifford,” He smiled, hoping for a response out of Awsten.
“Oh! Im Awsten, it’s spelt all weird thought…” He said as the bus doors opened, signaling the end of the conversation as the two boarded, going to their usual seats.
Awsten felt like he was losing his mind. Ever since that morning, all he could think about was Michael, Michael, Michael! Even his roomates knew about him!!
“Geoff!! You don’t get it!!” Awsten borderline yelled, slamming his head on the frame of his bed. Geoff didnt even look up, much more focused on whatever game he was in the middle of playing on his DS.
“You’re right, I don’t.” Awsten just groaned in reply, shoving his head into his bedsheets this time. He was hopeless.
Asking Michael out wouldn’t hurt, at least thats what Otto told him, but Awsten didn’t want to risk it. If Michael thought he was weird, who else was going to wake him up at the bus stop?! Plus, he doesn’t even know if Michael is gay!
Awsten ended up sleeping early again, so now he sat at the bus stop, fully awake thinking about Michael. Michael sat next to him, glancing over every few seconds, as if he wanted to say something. After a couple minutes, he finally broke the silence.
“Hey, uh, Awsten?” He began, getting Awsten’s attention, “Would you like to get coffee or anything… with me later today…?” He sounded a bit nervous, fidgeting with the string of his hoodie.
Awsten nodded, almost completely sure his face was bright red.
“Yeah! Totally!!” He smiled, grimacing internally. He came off way too strong… now Michael’s going to think he’s a complete weirdo!! Maybe he didn’t even mean it in a date way…
Michael just smiled wide, his canines peeking out of his mouth, catching Awsten’s attention for… no reason.
The two got on the bus, heading to their separate seats as per usual, but god Awsten couldn’t stop thinking about Michael and their (maybe) date. He went about his day like normal, half paying attention to his lectures. He’d assumed Michael wanted coffee today, since there was a small café on campus. The only problem, however, was that Awsten had no clue what time that would be.
Suddenly, he got a text from an unknown number
UNKNOWN
> Hey, it’s Michael… the guy from the bus stop
> completely forgot to say what time lol!!! is 4 alright with you???
> also i got your number from otto… Just so you know
(sent 2:18)
Awsten smiled, looking over the texts… he found it cute how Michael had taken the time to actually find his number…
God his standards were low.
He just shook his head, changing the contact name before responding
MIKEY
No worries!!!! 4 totally works 4 me ^^ !! <
(seen 2:23)
>Kay!! i’ll see you there <3
(sent 2:24)
So it was a date. Great. God Awsten was totally fucked.
You may not believe it, but Awsten hasn’t been on a date in forever. His last relationship ended pretty badly… he hasn’t tried getting back into the dating scene since then. Until now, obviously.
He took a deep breath. His last class ends at 3:00, so he has an hour to kill before their date. Great. He’ll totally be fine and not freak out during that window of time.
By the time his class ended, Awsten was just walking around campus to get rid of his nerves. He needed the excess energy gone before he met with Michael so he won’t make a fool of himself. At one point, he even played some shitty game on his phone mid walk, but he bumped into someone so he gave up on that idea.
By the time 4:00 came around, Awsten was walking into the café, and he saw Michael sitting in the corner, his eyes glued to the door, lighting up as soon as he saw Awsten. Awsten smiled, walking over to the table as quick as he could without drawing too much attention to himself, sitting across from Michael.
“Awsten, hi!” Michael grinned, his leg bouncing under the table as he took a sip from the drink he already ordered, pushing one to Awsten, “Uhm, I didn’t know what you want, so hopefully this is fine…”
He looked nervous. Very nervous. Awsten took a sip, his eyebrows raising in with the surprise.
“Woah! This is great…!” He smiled even wider at Michael, who faintly blushed in return, taking another sip of his coffee.
The two talked for a while, about music (which they had many agreements and disagreements about), and school. They meshed together well, Awsten bringing out Michael’s more talkative side the longer they were together.
When 5:30 came around, the café was closing soon, and not wanting to be a bother to the employees, the two decided to call it a night.
“Uhm… I’ll see you around…?” Michael asked, as if making sure everything went alright.
Awsten smiled, practically bouncing one his feet ,
“Yeah man, totally!”