Where Did You Come From? (p)

Jerome and his date, Charlie, a son of Cupid had made plans to go on a date at Pomona's a popular pub in the restaurant district in New Rome. Jerome was dressed in a yellow Ralph Lauren shirt and khakis while his date was wearing a pair of white jeans and a pink shirt. It was around 7:05 when they finally got a booth and got in.

They started talking for about thirty minutes before Charlie got up to go use the bathroom.

All Friday morning was spent underneath my covers, silently debating about the "Jerome situation". As the time of the date came close by, I grew more desperate and more angry at myself from being unable to stop it. At around 6:30, something in me just snapped. I grabbed my black jacket, put on my shoes and went after them. I had to wait for a while, sitting on a bench behind some bushes with my hood pulled up before they came by. Damn you perfect looking couples. I slipped inside the pub about 5 minutes later - 5 minutes spent on trying to convince myself not to take this any further. I easily found a seat on the other side of the bar from them, which allowed me to see without being seen. And then the stupid son of Cupid had to leave Jerome all alone to go wherever. Don't do it, that's too far, even for you. With a sigh I stood up, putting on my most sincere surprised look. "Jerome!"I called out as I approached. "Hey! I was passing by and saw you, thought I'd say hi. You still waiting for the guy? Sheesh, kids these days!"

Jerome jumped when he heard Robin's voice. He couldn't believe that Robin was here! "...What at you doing here?" He asked him with a confused look onh his face. He didn't know whether to be happy or creeped out. "Who's the creeper now, huh?" He shook his head. "And no, he's in the bathroom. He'll be back in a few minutes. I can't believe you actually came here on my date."

"Chill, dude, I told you, I was just passing by. There's this thing called a glass window, you know. Really lets you look inside"I rolled my eyes as I pointed towards the glass covering practically the whole wall. "Why would I want to stalk you and your boring little date anyways? I have much better stuff to do"

Jerome raised an eyebrow. "If that was true, then you would've kept walking instead of coming in just to talk to me." The son of Apollo sighed and leaned back in his booth, running his fingers through his dreads. "...And our date isn't boring. We plan on taking a walk later." Jerome took a sip of his mango tea and smiled some, looking Robin up and down. "Uh, well," He turned to see the son of Cupid start to walk toward him. "There he is."

"We're supposed to be friends, you know. Besides, you wouldn't have seen me if I waved"I shrugged and started playing with a napkin in a nervous habit as the other boy returned. "Well, I guess I should just leave you two to it. Have fun, kids."I gave an awkward wave and left, contemplating a memory spell to rid myself of such humiliation.

Jerome waved back as Charlie came back to talk with his date. They had a few laughs and soon the son of Cupid got a stain on his shirt from the nachos he ordered and rushed to the bathroom to get it cleaned. Jerome just smiled and leaned back in his seat with a grin on his face. He was happy the date was going well.

Please remind me, what are you still doing here? I sighed as I ate another spoonful of ice cream, still sitting on the bench and observing my so called friend. Yup, no idea. But dude, this is creepy. Running a hand through my hair, I contemplated going back inside when the son of Cupid left again but decided against it. Oh, so now you're thinking you might be too obvious?

Jerome waited a bit longer and looked around the pub. He turned his head when he saw that the son of Cupid was talking to another guy at the bar. With a sigh, he knew what that meant and sighed. Jerome started to play with one of his fries.

"No hard feelings?" Charlie asked.

"No, no. Go ahead. He's super hot." Jerome gave him a soft smile and watched as Charlie left with the guy.

I hate myself for saying this but this is your chance dude. And you could just say you were coming back from a late night stroll or whatever. High fiving my inner voice, I went back into the bar, holding my nearly empty ice cream bowl as a show of my honesty. "What, lover boy had a date with the bathroon again?"

Jerome looked up at Robin with a sad smile and shook his head. "He, uh, find some hot guy at the bar over there and cut our date short. He apologized, so, yeah." He laughed without humor before eating a fry and avoiding eye contact with the son of Trivia.

"Ouch"I muttered and sat down on the now empty seat, taking a fry for myself. "Wanna go get some ice cream or pizza whatever? Or both, even better. Isn't that what they do in movies when a date goes bad?"

Jerome shrugged and threw a twenty on the table and stood up from the table. "Sure, why not?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets and headed toward the door. He felt really bad how the date ended, bu at the same time, he was happy that Robin was there.

I followed him outside, quite confused about how to handle the situation. Bumping my shoulder into his, I gave him a small smile. "His butt wasn't all that great anyways. I've seen better, trust me"

Jerome couldn't help, but smirk. "Better, huh? Like who?" He asked, walking toward the nearest pizzeria. "Yours?" He asked teasingly, shaking his head.

"I could be one example, yeah"I chuckled and took a step back, making a show out of observing him as he walked. "You ain't thst bad yourself either. Certainly not on my level, but you can try"

Jerome laughed a bit, looking over his shoulder at Robin and shook his head. The son of Apollo bit his lip. "Those pants don't do your justice, I'm sure." He smiled and turned the corner and continued to walk down the street.

"Come on, these are the tightest jeans I own! If this doesn't do me justice, nothing will. Maybe you're just not looking all that well."I smirked as I sped up to walk in front of him, trying to shake my butt with every step before bursting out laughing in the middle of the street.

Jerome's eyes went wide and he resisted the urge to reach out and grab it. He quickly looked away with his face burning up. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever." The son of Apollo turned into the pizza place, opening the door for Robin, then walking in himself. Jerome looked around and sat down in a booth. "We can just get a whole pizza. It's up to you?"

"Just one?"I asked, feigning surprise and widening ny eyes. "Yeah, one whole pizza sounds good. I may not show it, but I eat a lot. Probably where my nice behind comes from"

Jerome laughed. "That's what I was going to say. If that's the case, then continue to eat. Be my guest." He shrugged his shoulders and moistened his lips. He scratched the back of his head and leaned back against the cushion of the booth.

"Maybe you should eat more too. You could certainly use the extra fat. Maybe the Cupid boy wi cone back to you then"I shrugged, folding and unfolding a napkin in a nervous habit. Welcone awkward silence.

Jerome frowned a bit and looked down at the table. He thought about what Robin said and knew that he didn't mean anything by it, but it still hurt. "...Maybe this was a bad idea."

My face fell as he frowned, finally realizing my mistake. "Shit. J'm sorry, Jerry, I didn't mean that. I just have a thing with boundaries and lines. If he was stupid enough to leave you, it's his loss"I rushed to explain, worried I might have ruined everything. "Please don't be mad at me"

Jerome shook his head and covered his face with his hands. He got himself together before pulling his face away and taking in a deep breath. "No, no, you're fine. Maybe you're right." He chuckled without humor and avoided eye contact with Robin.