The Retribution Chronicles

A d e | e l e v e n

Ade could count the number of first dates he'd been on on one hand. Three, more specifically. The first when he was seventeen and thought of Nando's as haute cuisine; the second a week into freshers with a girl who ordered the most expensive thing on the menu and then flat out refused to pay half; and the third with Angie. But he didn't like to think about her, so she didn't really count. In truth, none of them did, leaving him with about as much knowledge of first date etiquette as he possessed about sanitary products.

Unfortunately, Ade's personal first date expert was otherwise occupied by the time he woke up, so he settled for the next best thing.

"Excuse me?" Ryan laughed while he and Ade pushed through the turnstiles into the library's large foyer. "You want what?"

"Help," Ade ground out.

"You, asking for help?" Ryan's laughter climbed, becoming more taunting by the second. "Hell must've frozen over."

"Haha," Ade laughed dryly. "Get it all out now."

"Come on man." Ryan sobered slightly and nudged Ade's shoulder. "Don't take it personally, I just never thought youwould ask me for help." They took a seat at the first available table they could find and began unloading their belongings onto the smooth white surface. "So?" Ryan said while his laptop booted up. "What do you need help with?"

If Ryan were Daniel, the truth would slip out with ease, unburdened by the necessary embarrassment. Unfortunately, he wasn't, so Ade fought through the knot in his stomach and asked, "Where would you take someone on a date?" Cringing almost immediately, he added, "A first date."

Ryan was silent for a moment, blinking pointedly until a flash of incredulity bloomed on his face, bright like a neon sign in a sixties diner. "You asked Miriam out?" he practically spluttered.

"Yep." Ade shrugged like it was no big deal and hoped the fake it till you make it mantra was true.

"And she said yes?" Ryan was still surprised. Surprised enough that Ade's smugness melted away to reveal something razor sharp and glinting. "Of course she did," he bit out with a barely contained glare.

"It's not like it was a given," Ryan said, lifting both hands while he tipped back on his chair until the hind legs wobbled. "And now I'm out fifteen pounds."

Ade merely rose a brow at the illicit gambling and said, "Well? Are you going to help me or not?"

Ryan shrugged, still rocking on the chair, and typed something on his laptop. "Sure," he said, "for fifteen pounds."

Ade's glare intensified. "Forget about it," he said, almost growling.

"I'm joking." Ryan smiled lazily and offered Ade a piece of gum. "You're going to need all the help you can get."

As much as Ade wanted to throw his mechanical pencil at the centre of Ryan's forehead, he settled for gripping the edge of the table and grinding his heels into the scratchy blue carpet until the desire floated away. Then he repeated his original question and trained his gaze on his laptop screen, lest he want to throw the pencil again. Or, worse yet, actually do it, only this time he'd be the pencil.

"If I were you," Ryan said with the utmost authority, albeit undeserved, "I'd take her to do something fun."

Ade's face dropped. "Fun?" he asked, mouth twisted into an almost frown.

"Yeah, like mini-golf or something."

"Who plays mini-golf on a first date?" Ade scoffed.

"Someone who wants a second."