jadam oneshots :')

bookstore run-in

hey hey im back after like 4 months jkhldfj- thanks for the nice replies on the announcement thingy. i appreciate you :]

before i get into the chapter just gonna quickly draw your attention to @KweenGrassi724 who has a book where they finished one of my scrapped oneshots! you should check it out cause it was really well written and adorable :D

anyway, good to be back. enjoy the story.

Non-fiction... biography... young adults... Ah! Romance.

My eyes trail over the shelf at the different books on display, looking for a particular cover. A friend had recommended it to me and it sounded good so I'm checking my local bookstore to see if they have it. They gave me some suggestions for LGBTQ+ books, shows, and movies after I came out to them as pansexual, which was really sweet of them.

I finally spot the cover I'm looking for and reach out to grab it. Before my hand can reach the book, someone else's hand bumps into mine.

"Oh, sorry. My bad," I say turning to the person, an apologetic smile on my face. The second my eyes meet theirs I feel my heart stop. 

"Adam?" I stare at him in shock. 

"J-James?" He stares back at me, also confused. 

"I'm sorry," I say. I quickly become confused as I realise he was reaching for the same book as me. "Wait, you read romance?" 

Adam seems to me like the last person to read romance. 

He shoves his hands into his jacket pockets and stares at the ground. His face gets noticeably red. 

"Well, I- um... yeah. Yeah, I do..."

I cock my head to the side, finding his shyness amusing, "Huh. Cool."

He nods and looks up at me with an anxious expression. 

"You won't tell anyone right?" He mumbles. 

"Tell anyone?" I repeat, confused as to why he'd wanna keep this a secret. "What, that you read romance?" 

He shakes his head. "No, more the uh... the queer bit. I'm not... out." 

My eyes widen a bit at his confession. "Oh uh- No, yeah, yeah. I get it. Of course." 

He nods and, continues to stare at the ground as we stand in awkward silence. 

I quickly turn to the shelf, grabbing the book and handing it to him, "Here." 

He looks down at the book then back to me, smiling and taking it, "Thanks." 

"No problem," I reply. 

Adam fiddles with the book cover, keeping his eyes fixed to the book. 

I look over him, absolutely blown away by this side of Adam I'd never seen. Adam isn't a nervous, not looking you in the eye, slouching and shaking kinda guy. He stands up tall, makes eye contact, and fills awkward silence with ease. To say I'm shocked would be a huge understatement. 

"Hey, um," I start, grabbing Adam's attention. "Do you reckon maybe we could... head to a cafe or something? To... talk?" 

At the word 'talk,' Adam's fidgeting with the pages of his book becomes faster and more desperate. He opens his mouth to say something but as if all the words of the English language had suddenly been wiped from his brain he just nodded his head. 

Adam pays for his book with plenty of fumbling with his credit card before he silently follows me down the street to my favorite cafe. I order my usual drink and Adam just asks for water then we sit down in the farthest booth from the louder part of the cafe.