Crushes Fade, Love Stays

Across A Crowded Room

Zon frowned as he squeezed past the unusually large amount of people filling the small underground bar owned by his friends Tutor and Fighter. Aside from the its opening week, he had never seen the bar so busy before. The main reason he liked going there was because it was a quiet place to get a drink and chat to his friend Tutor.

"You're here?" asked Tutor as Zon finally made it to the bar.

"Tor, what's going on? Why's it so busy?" asked Zon with a huff as he climbed onto a stool.

"I asked a friend to come preform here and help increase our customers," answered Tutor as he busily made drinks behind the bar. "Tonight's his first performance, and so many of his fans have come to see him in person."

"Oh, you're even friends with a celebrity now?" asked Zon with an eye roll. "Where's Fighter? Shouldn't he be helping?"

"He's not a celebrity, he just posts songs on YouTube as a hobby. And Fighter went to make a deal with a brewery and isn't back yet. Don't suppose you fancy earning some cash and helping me out until he gets back?"

"How much you willing to pay me for the night? And what would I be doing? You know I don't know how to mix drinks."

"All I need you to do is clear tables. Just collect empty bottles and put the dirty glasses in the washer so we don't run out," replied Tutor hastily as he took more orders. "Can we discuss payment later?"

Zon sighed. He'd come to relax and have a drink, not work. But... he could use the extra money at the moment. He was currently  pursuing his dream of becoming an author, and so money was tight. "Fine, I'll help out. But at least give me a beer first."

Zon gulped down his beer while looking around the crowded underground bar. He would need to calm his nerves before trying to squeeze past so many people with breakable objects in hand. He was well known for being clumsy. It was a surprise Tor would even ask him to do such a job. It proved his friend was desperate.

Clearing tables was hard work, and Zon found himself sweaty and exhausted after only a short time. He'd gotten too used to just sitting alone at home at his computer writing, and so suddenly doing physical labour in a busy environment was draining. It was taking all his mental focus to not drop anything, and so a sudden burst of cheering almost made him drop the tray he was carrying. It seemed the star of the night had arrived.

Unable to see from where he was, Zon continued his task unbothered about who it was. The clear strumming of a guitar soon filled the underground bar. Zon froze when a low melodic voice rang out and sent a shock straight to his heart. He knew that voice. It had been a long time, but he felt sure of its owner. His heartbeat started going crazy as he continued to listen. Zon needed to see for himself. He needed to confirm he was right.

Putting the glass in his hand back down on the table, Zon stood up on his tiptoes to try and see over to where the singer was performing. He couldn't see anything as everyone was standing and blocking his view. Desperate, he climbed up on the empty stool next to him. Standing high, he could finally see over everyone's heads to the far end of the room. The sight of the long legged man sat on a stool playing his guitar while singing so softly hit Zon like a punch to the gut. He hadn't been wrong. The voice belonged to someone he hadn't seen in person in almost four years... Saifah.

Zon had known Tutor was good friends with Saifah during their first two years of university, but as he rarely saw them together after Tutor started dating Fighter, and Tutor never mentioned him, Zon assumed they'd grown distant.

"He's still unnecessarily handsome," Zon said under his breath. He blushed recalling how big of a crush he'd had on him back in the day. Suddenly Saifah looked up in his direction, surprised, Zon forgot he was standing on a stool and stepped backwards in panic. "Ahh!"

With a hard thud Zon crashed to the floor. It took him a second to catch his breath, and his arm and butt hurt like hell, but the moment someone asked if he was okay, he jumped up and brushed himself off with a silly grin. Assuring them he was fine, he quickly finished clearing the table.

"Oh god that was so embarrassing!" Zon muttered to himself with a grimace as he carried away the tray of glasses and empty bottles. He was so relieved everyone's attention had been focused on Saifah, and so only those near him had witnessed his clownish act.

Dumping the tray by the washer in the back, he went over to the bar. "Tutor! Why didn't you tell me it was Saifah performing? How come I didn't even know you were still in touch with him?" Zon interrogated his friend. He wouldn't have been so taken aback if he'd been warned earlier.

Tutor raised his brows in confusion at Zon while grabbing some bottles from the fridge. "Does it matter? Honestly I didn't think you'd even remember him. You only met him a handful of times during our first two years of university," he replied after serving his customer.

Zon quickly stepped back and sealed his lips at that point. He had never, and would never admit to the near fanboy crush he'd had on Saifah during university. Especially to Tutor. It was a secret between him, his phone, and his laptop only. To be honest, thanks to real life worries, he had forgotten about his crush these past two years, but seeing Saifah right before his eyes once more had brought the butterflies back to his stomach.

Not wanting to risk exposing himself, Zon rubbed his sore arm and went back to empty and reload the dishwasher. His curiosity had been awakened now, and his mind was racing. What was Saifah doing now? Where did he work? What was his YouTube channel called? Where has he been the past few years? And most importantly... was he in a relationship?