Barista Boy (boyxboy)

NINE

Zayden had gotten the two reservations for a very fancy restaurant. One that Landon couldn't even pronounce. He was confused how the other could even get a reservation so quickly since he agreed just hours before but maybe Zayden just paid them millions of dollars. Whatever the reason, Landon didn't care. The food was too good to even remember why he was there. But then he felt his burning gaze.

Landon glanced up to see Zayden gazing longingly at him, not taking a second to blink. Like he wanted to take in every ounce of the boy he could. And to Landon's surprise, it didn't bother him in the slightest. But he couldn't let Zayden know that. So, he set his fork down and raised a brow at the other.

"Can I help you?"

"... You don't even know." Zayden mumbled, almost inaudible.

"What?" Landon was caught off-guard by the sincere look in Zayden's eyes as he spoke.

The male didn't even flinch when he realized what he said, maybe he meant to say it. Landon didn't know. Zayden simply sighed and lazily played with his pasta, looking down at it.

"Are you okay? You seem kinda... sad." Landon tilted his head in curiosity. He was suddenly very interested in Zayden's non-hyper attitude.

"I'm fine."

"... Okay. Well, uh, how was your day?" The two had exchanged a few words since they arrived but Zayden seemed more down than when they were at Landon's apartment. He wondered if he said something wrong.

Zayden shrugged, "Normal. Performed for this really cute barista but he didn't really say anything about it. I dunno..." Is that what he's upset about?

"I'm sorry," Landon mumbled, "Is that what's wrong?"

Zayden stayed silent for a moment, almost like he didn't know how to answer the question, before shaking his head. "I'm fine. Nothing's wrong."

"What's the point in lying if you're just moping around as you're saying it," Landon gave him a pointed look, one that surprised the male. Suddenly making him sit up straighter and glancing around the restaurant.

"Sorry..." his voice was barely a whisper. "Just... thinking."

"About?" Landon began twisting his fork on his food but he paid no mind to what his hands were doing, instead taking in every small detail of the male's face. His sharp jaw, his pointed nose, his naturally shaped eyebrows, the strands of hair covering his forehead, his pink lips.

Zayden slowly met Landon's gaze, "You."

Landon bit his lip and glanced down, too shy to look the other in the eyes now. "Wh- Why?"

"Uh, just- I dunno. A lot. Just stuff that doesn't leave me alone, I guess. I'm sorry for being super boring. I can take you home now if-"

"No," Landon reached out to place his hand on top of Zayden, stopping him from getting up. "I like... hanging out with you. Even if we aren't doing anything." His voice got quieter the more he spoke, too embarrassed by his confession to continue.

Zayden felt a smile sneak onto his lips, the male was too happy by the other's words to have the power to stop it or even hold some of it back. He smiled from ear to ear. The brunet couldn't believe Landon actually spoke about his feelings. Even if it was brief and almost nothing, Zayden couldn't be happier.

And don't even get him started on how he felt about what the words actually meant. He was just glad that the boy had opened up about something other than his home life. He never even spoke about how he felt when his dad left. Just that he did and his mom hadn't dated since then.