~SkepHalo Oneshots~

Spontaneous

Darryl sat down at his table in the restaurant, butterflies filling his stomach. He and his boyfriend were going on their first actual date.

"I'm here," he texted. "Can't wait to see you!! <3"

He then put his phone face down on the table, expecting his boyfriend to walk through the restaurant door any minute.

Darryl looked up expectantly at the sound of footsteps approaching, but it was just the waitress. "Hello, my name is Mary, I'll be taking care of you this evening. Can I start you off with something to drink?" she asked with a sweet smile.

"Could I just get some water for now? I'm waiting for someone," Darryl requested, gesturing to the empty chair across from him.

"Of course! I'll be back with the water in a moment." The waitress left, and Darryl turned his attention back to the entrance. He perked up as it swung open, but it was just a family looking to get dinner for the evening. Darryl sighed and flipped his phone over to see if he had missed a text. However, the Notification Center was as empty as it had been when he first arrived.

"Here you are, sir." Darryl put his phone back down and smiled at the waitress as she set the water down in front of him. "Any sign of whoever you're waiting for?"

Darryl shook his head. "Probably just bad traffic or something."

"Do you want to go ahead and order, or do you want to keep waiting?"

"I'll keep waiting; I'm sure he'll be here soon."

The waitress nodded and left again.

Darryl frowned, leaning back to look at the door. Where was he...?

——

It had been an hour. An hour. There was still no sign of Darryl's date. Darryl had texted repeatedly, asking what happened, if he would be there soon, etc. No response.

Darryl checked his phone for the billionth time that evening and was again met with an empty screen. He felt like crying. The two hadn't been together that long, but he'd hoped that his partner would at least be willing to put in some effort.

The waitress had checked in regularly, asking if Darryl wanted to order, but Darryl kept requesting more time. As the night went on, the man became more and more aware of the people around him. Many people were staring at him with pity, wondering who stood him up. He wished he could just disappear into his chair. He didn't want people's pity; he wanted his boyfriend.

He removed his glasses and wiped the building tears from his eyes. He put them back on and began to stand up, but before he could, a boy sat down in the empty seat. "Sorry I'm late, babe, the traffic sucked."

Darryl sat stunned, staring at the boy. He had short, fluffy black hair, dark brown eyes, and tan skin. He was very cute, but Darryl was mostly focused on why a stranger was suddenly sitting across from him, acting like they were together.

His unspoken question was answered when the boy leaned in and whispered, "I'm Zak. Just go with it, k? Whoever didn't show up is a [CENSORED]."

Darryl smiled and whispered back, "Language. I'm Darryl."

Zak smiled back, his brown eyes twinkling.

——

The two had a lovely date, getting to know each other and enjoying themselves. Darryl was incredibly grateful that Zak had joined him, since the other patrons had stopped staring at him, and he was feeling better after the heartbreak he'd gone through.

When they finished eating, they spent a while arguing over who would pay the bill before agreeing to split it. They then exited the restaurant, hand in hand like a real couple.

"Thank you, Zak. You didn't have to do that for me, but I'm really thankful you did," Darryl said, smiling.

"Don't mention it. You seemed like you needed someone, and if the person you were waiting for wasn't going to care about you, someone might as well."

Darryl blushed slightly, then gasped and pulled his phone out. "That reminds me, I need to text Vincent and tell him we're through."

"Is Vincent your boyfriend?" Zak asked.

"Not after tonight," Darryl responded. He sent, "We're done. I found someone who actually cares," and put the phone away with a small smile. He looked back up at Zak. "Well, I'll see you around?" he said, starting to turn around and head back to his car.

"Darryl, wait!" Zak stopped him. "Um, I know we just met tonight, but... would you be interested in going on an actual date with me sometime?"

A grin broke out on Darryl's face. "I'd love to."