Soooo... (Elliot)

[Caleb Green]

10:57 p.m.

It had been a few days since having finally met and conversed with Elliot. Cale hated being ‘that guy’, the guy who waited a few days to call. It’d always been stupid to him. But he didn’t want Elliot to think he was a stalker. So he was forced to wait.

And of course, the day he did finally call had been the most difficult wait so far. Because he had promised to call before eleven at night. And by gosh, he was going to push that line.

Weathering his bottom lip, Cale finally hit send. Listening to the ring, that was making him more nervous than he had been, he stared at his feet, hopping from foot to foot.

[Elliot Morrow]

Honestly, Caleb was the furthest thing from Elliot's mind that night. He was curled up in his computer chair at his desk, headphones on as he worked. As usual, he was working on schoolwork. One more hour, and perhaps he'd think about going to bed.

In his tank, Gamatatsu hopped from his branch to his little water pool in pursuit of a cricket. Elliot glanced up at the motion and smiled at the little frog. Sure, he wasn't cuddly like a cat or rabbit, but he was neat. And didn't make the Irish boy sneeze. Bonus.

With Dubstep playing in his ears, it was a miracle he even realized his phone ring. He caught the flash from the corner of his eye, and felt the vibration. Sliding the headphones down around his neck, he picked it up. The number wasn't familiar, but curiosity got the better of him and he answered. "Hello?"

[Caleb Green]

Caleb felt a rage of butterflies in his stomach when Elliot answered. And he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, only answering after half a beat of quiet. "Heeey Elliot. It's Cale. From the coffee shop."

He tacked on the last bit at the end, fearing he might've been forgotten. And if he had, he didn't want to know. Ignorance is bliss, right?

"I'm not disturbing you, am I?" What if... What if there was a reason he wasn't supposed to call after eleven? Aside from it being late, of course.

"I'm horribly sorry if I am. But it is before eleven after all." Maybe it had only been cutesy in his mind to do that. Maybe it was just stupid.

[Elliot Morrow]

When the voice finally came through, Elliot arched an eyebrow and glanced at the clock on his laptop. 10:58 pm. ... Well, wasn't that adorable? "Yes, I remember." Even without the mention of the coffee shop. Managing not to sigh, he leaned back in the chair and draped his arm over his face.

"No, not really. I was doing homework." Yes, this late at night, and no, it's not because he's late on assignments. He's just that lame.

Another glance at the clock showed it was still technically before eleven. Was Cale just playing games? "Barely before eleven," he corrected. "But it's all right. You have my attention." After a beat, he had to smile as he moved his arm from his face to the back of his head as a makeshift pillow. "You seem fairly proficient at gaining it."

[Caleb Green]

A smile took over Cale’s face when Elliot said he remembered. That actually helped to calm the raging nerves in his stomach.

“Ahhh, the late night sessions. How I do not miss thee. Sorry for interrupting though.” Which he truly was. Cale used to hate being interrupted during studying or homework. He would lose his motivation too easily. But Elliot didn’t seem that type.

Chuckling, Cale nodded despite the fact Elliot couldn’t actually seem him. “Yeah, I know. I was going to wait until after eleven to see if you’d stick to your rule. But I didn’t want to risk you not answering. I think I made the right choice.” The smile on his face was so big that he wouldn’t be surprised if Elliot could actually hear it.

“So um… I have a non-computer question for you if that’s all right. I know, it might be an abuse of the number, but I figured I’d take a chance since you never set any ground rules other than what time I could call.” Cale had managed to hop from foot to foot out of his room to the other side of his apartment and was in the process of hoping his way back.

[Elliot Morrow]

Of course he’d remembered. It was hard to forget something like that, even if half your life is spent with your hands chained to a laptop.

“It’s all right. I was probably only going to go for another hour before bed.” Thankfully he hadn’t been in the middle of coding. Had that been the case, the phone would have gone unanswered. Nothing was going to distract him when he was coding. “The assignment’s not due until next week, anyway.”

He had to smile at the near-challenge. “I didn’t recognize your number, so had it been past eleven, I probably would have ignored it.” He smiled. “You’re lucky I got a little curious as to who was calling.”

Non-computer question? Elliot arched an eyebrow and toyed with his headphones. “Oh? What kind of non-computer question?” He had no idea what to expect, but Cale certainly had his attention now.

[Caleb Green]

Cale offered a simple ‘Ah’ at the information that Elliot’s assignment wasn’t due until next week. Though, he was truly relieved. Interrupting somebody’s concentration to ask them out on a date? Probably not the best way to start.

With a chuckle, Cale chewed his lip harder for a moment to try to get himself to just not smile so damn big. “Lucky me. But now you have it. So you can answer whenever it is I call.” Though, he didn’t honestly expect that to be the case. Especially if called at some ridiculous hour. Cale would have to remember to put a lock on his cell to be safe for those nights when he drank a bit.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I rather enjoyed myself the other day, talking to you. Looking at you. The whole thing.” After taking a breath to steady his nerves, he continued. “I was wondering if you’d want to do it again? Perhaps get a drink with me at this bar I know.” There, that wasn’t so bad. Except waiting for his answer left a sickening feeling in his stomach.

[Elliot Morrow]

Yes, he was really working on an assignment that early. Ellie just didn’t like rushing at the last minute. It led to sloppy work, and lower grades, none of which he particularly enjoyed.

“True. Even dire emergencies.” Elliot smiled to himself and leaned forward again to pull the lid off of Gama’s tank, giving the frog a few little strokes before resetting the lid. He just stared at his owner before hopping back onto his branch. “Though I still can’t image what’s an emergency this close to eleven.”

Oh Ellie. You’ll see.

He leaned back again, smiling a little. “No, you weren’t the only one.” It had been surprisingly enjoyable. The offer made Elliot grin. A date? Really? The only issue was... “A bar?” He rubbed his neck. “I’m not very good with the drinking thing, but I’d like to see you again.” Oh, what the hell. They served pop at bars still, right? “You know what? Sure. I’d like that. What’s the name of the place? And when were you thinking of going?” He sat back up and let one hand hover over the keyboard, ready for instructions.

[Caleb Green]

“Oh, I’m sure I could come with a dire emergency that needed your immediate attention. I’m fairly creative like that.” Especially when it came to something (or somebody in this case) he really wanted… to be around of course. And talk with. Nothing more. Yeah.

Cale’s smile grew, happy to hear he wasn’t alone in enjoying their time together. “Well, I’m glad to hear that.” And yes, Cale did do a little jig, wiggling around a bit in his in excitement.

His excitement would’ve turned into disappointment, but Cale was flexible! Anywhere would be fine. But that didn’t seem necessary as Elliot amended what he said. “That’s wonderful. I promise, I won’t get you drunk. It’s a place called Honest Abe’s. I was thinking of going Friday? Eight, if that's a good time for you.”

[Elliot Morrow]

“I’m sure you are,” he answered with a little smile. Wow. It had been a while that a guy had wanted to spend time with him enough to make up little lies to do so. Normally it was girls that tried to get after him. It was surprising how many of them seemed resilient against the word ‘no.’

He really had enjoyed talking with Caleb. It was nice to meet a guy that was, well, cute, for one, but also intelligent and mature. Mostly. It had been dismaying how many guys still seemed stuck in their high school mentalities during their first year of University.

“Good. I don’t think you’d like me drunk.” That wasn’t entirely true. He was a nice drunk. Happy. But he also got a little too brave, said things he wouldn’t normally say, and danced up a storm. Thankfully not on the tables. “Honest Abe’s.” He typed it into Google as he spoke. “Eight should be fine.” He found the location easily enough. He’d just have to map it out on his phone later, and put a reminder in for the meeting. ... Date. Wow. “I’ll see you then?”

[Caleb Green]

And now that Cale had answer, and that it was ‘yes’, there were no nerves. The worst was over and the rest to come was simply to be enjoyed.

“Oh no, I’m sure that’s not true. Pretty sure I’d like you no matter your state of being.” He chuckled. What? He was sure enough that it was. “Yeah, I’ll see you then. I’m kind of excited about this.” He’d been about to say goodbye, when he had one thing to add. “Oh, and please leave the laptop at home.” Chuckling, this time he did say bye, then hung up.

And the big smile? Didn’t leave his face all night.