The Nerd and The Frog

Request

The next morning, Alan awoke while laying on his back in his bed, staring up towards the ceiling. The house was still fairly quiet, his family typically sleeping in on the weekends. He turned to look at his alarm clock, which read 9:24am. He sat up carefully, stretching after doing so, before he reached over and grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand. 

He had sent Daniel a text message later on the previous evening, after he had spoken with Nikki regarding his plans and thoughts on his next steps. He wasn't expecting such a turn of events. The two people he wanted absolutely nothing to do with having forced themselves into the situation that Daniel and himself had been trying to keep secret. Even moreso, his feelings toward Daniel were something he wanted to hide for much longer. But, maybe, this was his moment to be honest with himself. He knew he wasn't going to be able to get an opportunity like this again and he may as well take the chance while he had it, even if it meant that there could be consequences.

He looked at his phone, seeing that Daniel had texted him back after he sent his message and went to bed, not waiting for a reply. He knew Daniel would be willing to meet him, considering they had much to discuss after their last encounter at the hospital.

Alan: Hey, sorry to text you so late, but I wanted to let you know I was out of the hospital. If you have the time, can we meet up tomorrow morning? Say around 11? I can meet near your place, if that's ok.

Daniel "Fucking Beautiful" Lang: I'm glad to hear you're out of the hospital! Are you sure you want to meet so soon? Are you up to it? I can always come to you, if you really want to.

Why is he so fucking nice?  Alan sighed to himself, not helping but to smile to himself at Daniel's offer.

Alan: I'm good, really. I don't mind coming to you. I can easily catch the bus there. It would be nice if we could talk in private. Have a place in mind?

Daniel "Fucking Beautiful" Lang: There's a park near my place, if that works for you. I can send you the location and meet you there around 11.

Alan: That works. Thanks Daniel. I'll see you soon.

He placed his phone back down onto his nightstand, swinging his legs over the side of his bed as he sat, looking out of his bedroom window.

"It's now or nothing, I guess."

-

Getting off at the nearest stop, Alan began to walk to the park that Daniel suggested. Instead of dressing in the clothes that Daniel had gifted him, he returned back to his standard attire of a graphic tee, jeans, comfortable Converse and a hoodie. However, he did indeed wear his contacts, thinking it best to not wear his glasses. With his hands tucked into his pockets, he walked down the sidewalk in silence, crossing the street as soon as the small park came into view, glancing down at his phone in his hands to see that it was 11:03am. However, he slowed his pace as he saw a text message appear on his screen.

Unknown: So, are you meeting with Daniel now? I have already asked him for his answer, and he stated that he would get back to me soon. I expect to hear good news.

Alan raised an eyebrow at the text message, figuring it was Mika. He opened the messaging app and began to reply back, his body tense.

Alan: Don't worry, I'm meeting him now.

Oh, you're going to get news, bitch.

He entered the park area carefully, looking around to see if Daniel was there, only to see him sitting on a bench near a fountain.

As long as... things go the way I want.

Taking a deep breath, Alan made his way over towards Daniel, before he stopped near the other end of the bench. "Hey, Daniel..."

Daniel, having been staring down towards his phone, looked up quickly to see Alan, a small smile coming to his face. "Hey, Alan. Glad to see you're feeling better." Daniel stated, genuinely, but for some reason, his demeanor was rather pensive, unlike his usual, cheerful nature.

That made Alan nervous, his hands becoming fists as they rested in his pockets. Trying not to be phased by it, he took a seat next to Daniel on the bench, but chose not to get too close. "Thanks for meeting up with me... sorry to ruin your morning."

"Not at all... I don't have much going on, save for planning for homecoming this evening." Daniel answered with a shrug. "My mom is getting my suit dry cleaned and will have it ready for me this afternoon. She's excited about this, for some reason."

"You already have a suit? Geez... I'm not prepared for this at all." Alan stated with a smirk. "Maybe I shouldn't bother going. Nikki and Manny are going together, apparently."

"I figured as much. I already teased him enough about it." Daniel replied with a smirk of his own, but soon frowned. "You're... not going? Why?"

"I... well... it depends, Daniel." Alan spoke with a sigh, his gaze looking down towards his shoes as his hands began to fidget in his lap slightly.

"Depends? I'm not sure I follow..." Daniel proclaimed, confused as he watched Alan carefully.

"Daniel... I already told you that I like you, and while I know you needed some time to sit on that, I would... like to know... how you feel." Alan slowly forced out, not helping but to take a longer exhale as he did so. He looked over towards Daniel calmly, only to see him stare back quietly. "But... don't answer that, just yet."

"What...I don't understand." Daniel spoke, a puzzled look coming to his face.

Alan sighed softly, keeping his eyes on Daniel before he spoke. "You owe me a request, Daniel."

Daniel eyed Alan carefully as he listened to him speak, but his expression remained calm.

"I... I'm not supposed to be doing this. I didn't agree to this, really." Alan stated, his hands clenched into fists once again, his expression softening. "But, I don't care. If this is my only chance, then I'm going to take it. I'll face the repercussions later."

"Alan, what are you talking about?" Daniel asked, growing concerned.

Alan smiled calmly. "Daniel... I want to use my only request for you to honestly... tell me how you feel about me."

Daniel's expression shifted from confusion to surprise, having not expected that at all. "You... want to use your request... for that?"

Alan remained silent, staring back at Daniel as he did so.

"I don't... understand. You could use it for anything, Alan. Why would you use it for this?" Daniel asked, shocked.

"Because... I just want you to be honest with me. That way, if what I think will... no... what I want to happen... does come... then I made the right choice in using it this way." Alan replied. "That's all I really want from you. I already told you how I feel. I... like you, Daniel... a lot. So... please... tell me."

There was a mixture of emotions going across Daniel's face, his gaze having averted elsewhere. He actually appeared nervous, which was something Alan had never really seen. Having seemed to come to no other option, Daniel looked back towards Alan slowly, his eyes showing uncertainty.

"I would've told you without using this request, Alan." Daniel answered, with a deep sigh, keeping his eyes on Alan the entire time.

Alan sat there in silence, but his heart was beating madly against his chest. 

Fuck... I... I screwed up... I'm totally fucked. I shouldn't have been so fucking confident and cocky, thinking this shit was gonna work. Mika is going to fucking kill me and bury my body in a ditch somewhere. Unless Thomas gets to me first, and that's an even worse fate. Shit... I'd rather be dead... and Daniel's going to tell me he fucking hates me and it will be my own damn fault. Just... tell me you want nothing to do with me, Daniel. Tell me, so I can accept my fate.

"I like you, Alan."