30 Seconds To Mars ⨺ *IMAGINES* ₪ Ø lll ·o.

IMAGINE: Shannon going the extra mile for your first date

The snow ruined our first date. He was supposed to take me out somewhere fancy, but driving conditions were near enough impossible, and all public transport had ceased.

"I'll walk to yours." Shannon had said on the phone, like a three hour hike through a snowstorm was no big deal to him. I didn't think he was serious, and more to the point I was anxious he might slip and fall, or hurt himself.

Thankfully, he turned up at my door unscathed, wearing an enormous parka, and an enormous smile to go with it. He shuffled inside and whacked the snow off his boots on the tiles. 

"Hey, pumpkin." He said, muffled under his hood. 

"Hi, Shannon." I laughed, watching him peel off the layers of warmth until he was standing in his faded jeans, leather jacket, and a slightly ripped Snoopy t-shirt. 

"Sorry I'm late." He grinned.

I frowned at his sunglasses.

"Do you have some kinda medical condition? Like, is the glare from the snow too much for you or are you wearing those because you enjoy being a pretentious ass-hat?"

He removed them slowly, with one thick eyebrow raised the entire time. A little smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. 

"Maybe the future is so bright I gotta wear shades." He said, tucking them into the neckline of his t-shirt so that they weren't too far out of reach should he need them urgently. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help smiling at him. He was a goon. But he was my goon.

"Coffee?" I suggested, eyeing the direction of my poky little kitchen.

"Coffee's what it's called is it? Well then sure, that'd be real nice." He said. I pulled him by the shirt, and led him through. I don't understand how after such an arduous trek through the snow he still smelled so good. Whatever cologne he was wearing, it had faded from a woody ethereal smell into another layer of heaven that I couldn't put my finger on. 

"What kinda coffee you brewing?" 

I eyed him, knowingly. "Only the best from the Leto coffee connoisseur." I waggled the packet of Black Fuel at him. "I was hoping you could show me how to make the perfect cup."

His face lit up and he bounded over to help. He talked animatedly about coffee for a good ten minutes, to the point that it was more interesting to him that it was to me. He was still talking as he concocted something magical from his coffee blend, and when he caught my bored eye he trailed off.

"Sorry, I just get real fucking excited about this stuff." He said. "Here." He poured what he'd made into my favourite mug and let me taste.

My eyes bulged. "Wow, that's strong. That's good, Shannon. Like, really good." I drank some more and stopped to appreciate the flavour. It was rich, earthy coffee. It tasted bitter. It tasted brilliant.

"Yeah? You think so?" 

"Yeah. Here." I reached into the cupboard to find him a mug. "Well you've got the choice of a Little Miss Sunshine mug or a Little Miss Naughty mug." I held both options up to him, with glee.

"Fuck, how do I choose?" He said, pretending to think really hard about his decision. "I'll be naughty." He said, eventually, "If I'm allowed to be?" 

Suddenly his phone buzzed in his pocket. I adored the way he peered so urgently at the screen. 

"It's Jared." He frowned. "I better take this."

  ₪ Ø lll ·o. 

Later on in the afternoon, we were perched on the edge of the sofa, wildly engrossed in a game of Mario Kart. The storm had got gradually worse and it looked like night time outside even though it wasn't that late. Shan was furiously beating the controls to try and keep his lead, but the second I passed him he yelped and stood up to finish the race. 

"Ah you cheeky little fucker. Go faster, dammit!" He overtook me again and tried turning the controller as if he was actually driving but he didn't realise I had turned motion steering off. 

On the final bend of the final lap I overtook his character at the last second.

"No way man I'm gonna kick your ass at the next race!" He slumped back down, defeated. He began to tickle me to the point where I couldn't breathe from laughing. "There's no way I walked all this way so that I could lose to you on Mario Kart, little miss!"

"I'm glad you did walk all this way, though." I said. His eyes caught mine for a few seconds longer than a normal fleeting glance. 

"Me too, sweetheart." He said. 

Suddenly, the storm cut off all the power in my house. The room went dark. The TV died. All that remained was the howling of the whirling snow through the windows. Shannon pulled me close on the sofa and ran the ball of his thumb over my shoulder in circles.

"Looks like it's getting worse out there." He said. 

"Let me find some candles." I stood up to go but his hand caught mine.

"Let's enjoy the dark for a little while." He whispered. "The dark has secrets."

"What kind of secrets?" I asked, as he pulled me onto his lap. I ran a hand through his messy hair and drank him in. 

"Ones you don't tell my little brother Jared." He laughed. "Ones where I get to explore you all to myself and nobody else knows where I am or who I'm with."

"Where did you tell him you were?" 

"At home. Don't worry, he won't try and come round he's not in town anyway. He wanted to make sure I was okay, you know, what with the storm and all." He brushed some stray hair out of my face and grinned up at me.

"That was sweet of him." I said. "You are crazy for coming though, Shanny, you know, you didn't have to take such a big risk just for me."

"Sure I did." He closed his eyes and smiled. "You're worth every slip and stumble. So can I kiss you now or do I have to wait until the storm's over?"