A Dreamer's Worlds

Time To Try

 Dalen checked his hair in the mirror, bared his teeth to see if anything was stuck.

"It's a dinner date. If you don't have something in there now, you will later."

He flossed again for good measure. His metal hand gleamed in the mirror. Gloves, he needed gloves.

"He'll leave as soon as-"

"Shut up." Dalen shot a glare at the mechanical parrot perched on the toothbrush holder.

Pagei stared back innocently, blue eyes glowing softly. Dalen huffed and went back to making sure he looked okay.

A blind date... Dalen couldn't remember the last time he'd been on any date, much less a blind date set up by a friend.

"Did she even set you up with someone you'd like?" Pagei squawked. Dalen straightened his tie and took a deep breath. He could do this.

"What if he finds out who you are?"

Dalen slipped his gloves on. There, now the metal hand was hidden, just like the rest of him.

He turned to Pagei.

"Look, he won't find out, and he can't find out." Dalen said, "You're not ruining this for me."

Pagei squawked as Dalen grabbed it and shoved it into his laundry basket. Towels and other dirty laundry joined the parrot until only muffled twittering could be heard.

"I'm going to have a good time today." Dalen told himself.

With a final, self assured nod, Dalen straightened his shirt and strode out the door.

The restaurant was fancier than what he was used to, but

He found his date easily. The man had sat near the entrance and was wearing a nice red button down. Dalen smiled and sat down, adjusting his gloves. He vaguely wondered if he'd have to take them off to eat.

"Hi, the name's Herrik. You look better in person." Herrik offered a hand, a loose grin on his face. Dalen smiled back and shook Herrik's hand.

"Dalen, and you too. Pictures don't do you justice."

A waitress approached them, asking what drinks they wanted. Once they told her, she left, and they were free to talk.

It went better than Dalen thought it would. Herrik was easy to talk to, always keeping the conversation going. Without Pagei whispering in his ear, Dalen felt more confident, more sociable, and he didn't even have to take off his gloves to eat.

It was nice.

Dalen just wished it had lasted longer than the appetizers. As soon as those plates were cleared, something settled in Dalen's stomach.

The weight bore down on him, crawling from his stomach up his back, settling in his skull. Dalen kept smiling. If he kept smiling, maybe Herrik wouldn't notice.

Eventually, Dalen had to excuse himself, hurrying to the bathroom. He needed a break, just a break. He'd figure himself out in the bathroom and then head back. He'd be okay.

No one else was in the bathroom. Dalen looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair and making sure nothing had gotten in his teeth. He was fine.

The weight remained.

A small chirp from the first stall told him why. He froze.

"Go away," he whispered. He didn't need this now. Everything was going so well; Pagei would only ruin it, bringing back thoughts of how Dalen couldn't possibly be good enough, couldn't possibly be the kind of person Herrik liked, couldn't possibly-

Dalen shoved the bird in the toilet's water tanks, cursing the fact that it was waterproof. He made sure his shirt wasn't wet and left the bathroom hoping that Pagei couldn't get out of the water tank.

The sinking feeling in his stomach told him otherwise.

He sat back down and started up the conversation. He could feel Pagei's presence, creeping up on him.

Herrik, for his part, didn't seem to notice anything. In fact, they managed to get to the main course without any trouble.

Halfway through the main course, Pagei darted out of the bathroom. After hovering for a moment, the bird caught sight of Dalen.

Dalen ran. He stumbled out of the booth and sprinted outside. It was all over, Dalen knew it.

He pulled his cellphone out, dialing the number for a cab. His date was ruined, ruined! Even if Dalen hadn't left, Pagei would've landed on his shoulder and Herrik would've ended the date anyway. Dalen was just giving himself control.

Yeah, giving himself control.

Pagei's talons pressed into Dalen's shoulder. He waved the bird away. Pagei didn't budge and chewed on Dalen's hair.

The phone rang.

"Dalen, wait!"

Dalen turned away, hoping Herrik would get the hint. Herrik just stood in front of Dalen.

Dalen took the phone away from his ear, hanging up. Herrik was trying to meet his eyes. Dalen wished he could let the man; Herrik had such nice eyes.

"I didn't know you were a Solar refugee," Herrik said. Dalen shrugged.

"Hey, it doesn't bother me or anything. You could've told me." Herrik reached for Dalen's hand. Dalen let him take it.

"No one wants to be with a Solar refugee," Pagei offered. Herrik frowned at the parrot.

"I can see why you left that behind, though," Herrik said. Dalen smiled.

"Yeah." He agreed.

They stood in silence for a moment.

"You still want to end the date? They might let us go back in and finish eating," Herrik said.

Dalen shrugged. He didn't have anything else to say. Luckily, neither did Pagei.

"Well, if we've gotta end it, let's end it like this." Herrik put a hand on Dalen's neck, pulling him down.

Herrik kissed him.

"I'll call you," he said, heading back into the restaurant. Dalen watched him go, his gaze wandering down a bit.

This time, Pagei had absolutely nothing to say.