Albert could hardly even sleep last night since he was so nervous and excited for today. Excited because he'll see Denis and possibly see him sing onstage, but nervous because he has a plan to sing a song in front of everyone himself. Sure, karaoke is already a bit scary, but singing in front of your crush only amplifies that anxiety.
It's already 7 PM. Denis will be here in 30 minutes. Today flew by for Albert. Even though he had to go to work, he was very VERY excited for tonight. Almost too excited, because a couple of people noticed and pointed it out. Albert doesn't care though, because he knows tonight will be great.
"I hope I look nice enough." Albert says to Socks, who sits beside him watching an episode of Reno 9-1-1 on the TV. Albert made sure to wear something nice to this event. Not a suit and tie, but not a t-shirt and sweat pants either. He's dressed in dark jeans, one of the nicer shirts he owns, and a black casual coat over it.
Moses walks into the room and lays down at the foot of the couch. His grey and white fur is growing back nicely, and the stitches in his leg have already started to dissolve.
"Hey Moses." Albert greets. He reaches down to pet him to calm his nerves a bit more. He decides to zone into the show to make the time go by faster. To Albert, waiting for this type of thing is always scary, but hopefully as soon as he gets there, his nerves will disappear.
About 30 minutes of TV later, Albert hears a polite knock at the door. He opens it to see Denis, who had also decided to dress nicer than usual for this.
"Hey Albert!" Denis greets him, a smile on his face.
"Hey Denis. Make sure to throw Socks a treat." Albert says.
"Oh, right." Denis grabs a bone from the treat bowl and throws one to Socks (when Moses isn't looking).
After Albert locks the door, The two get into Denis' Jeep. Albert notices that it has a butterfly air freshener hanging from his rear view mirror and fuzzy seat covers.
"You look nice today, Albert." Denis compliments after getting situated.
"Well, so do you Denis!" Albert says, returning the compliment. "I was worrying that I would be too overdressed compared to you."
"To be honest, I was too." Denis says as he starts the car, the radio providing a nice ambiance to their ride.
After they begin their drive down the road, Denis asks a question.
"So are you planning to go onstage?"
"Yeah, I'm kind of nervous." Albert admits, looking at the scenery flying by through the passenger window.
"I don't think you should be." Denis says to him. "If it makes you feel better, I'm going up there, too."
"Oh, really?" Albert asks. "Well that's a little more comforting."
"You shouldn't be so scared about it." Denis chuckles. "It's not a contest or anything, It's all about having fun."
"Yeah, you're right." Albert says, looking at Denis now. He notices the sleeves to his button-down shirt are rolled up, revealing a partial tattoo sleeve on his arm.
"Hey, when did that happen?" Albert says, pointing to Denis' arm.
"Oh! I guess I never showed you.." Denis says, glancing down at his arm for a second.
Three butterflies drawn in black ink appear to be flying around his arm. They aren't like usual butterflies, though. They have a more of a mystical and fairy-like appearance to them.
"I think it's very beautiful." Albert says, looking at the illustration.
"Thank you. I got it a few years ago before I moved here." Denis says, his eyes fixated on the road (as they should be).
YOU ARE READING
Stonetor, Canada.
RomanceThe story follows the perspective of Albert Aretz, who currently works two jobs. His main passion is to foster dogs with his friends, since Stonetor has a major stray problem... but he has to work at an arcade part-time to make ends meet and to coll...
