Anthony was in too deep.

It hadn't even been a full week since he 'met' him, and Anthony was absolutely positive that this was what love at first sight felt like.

He had no idea who the pretty boy was, and yet Anthony was completely smitten. Or maybe he's overreacting? There wasn't much of a way to tell. All he learned, in the span of three days, was that they had art together, and that his name was Steven.

Steven.

That's a cute name, Anthony had decided. Steven was cute. A cute name for a cute boy, it made perfect sense.

What wasn't cute, however, was how Steven had caught Anthony staring multiple times during class. Steven had been talking with that one kid, Bryce, and then suddenly Steven just turns and then they made eye contact for a few seconds, and Anthony wasn't sure if he should be really excited or really embarrassed.

He also told Galm about it. Galm was pretty trustworthy, he wouldn't tell anyone.

"Chilled. You barely learned his fucking name, and you're saying you're in love. That's both really impressive and kinda creepy." Galm glances down at Anthony, and then goes back to playing whatever game Galm had recently been hyped about.

Overwatch? Dark souls 3? Anthony wasn't sure anymore.

He rolls over on the couch, Galm's couch to be specific, and stares up at his shorter friend.

"But Galm! I swear, he's adorable. Like, if you ever meet him, you will see what  I when I call him pretty. And what do you mean by 'barely learned his name' ? Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?"

Galm sighs, pauses his game, then turns himself to face Anthony.

"Anthony. Chilled. Listen to me when I tell you, you're gonna want to get to know this guy first. Just because he's pretty on the outside doesn't mean he's pretty on the inside. What if he's secretly a douche? You don't wanna date a douche."

Anthony shrugs.

"I could always marry the douche. Who even said he was a douche?"

"All people are a douche until proven... innocent?" Galm snickers and shrugs.

Anthony gives a laugh and nods. But then his stomach growls, and he looks over at Galm's phone.

"We should order a pizza."

Galm glares at Chilled, shaking his head.
"I'm not ordering you a damn pizza. I know you're not gonna pay, and there's no way in hell that I'm paying either."

Anthony frowns, then glances at his phone. Galm was right, neither of them was willing to pay for a pizza. But he was hungry, so what other options did he have?

"You wanna call Smarty or Tom over? We can trick them into buying us food."

Galm stares at Chilled, then sighs.

"Go for it. "

Chilled groans lightly. "You're not gonna come with?"

"No, Tom and Smarty are too lovey-dovey with each other. You can suffer with them by yourself. Besides, what if Steven shows up? There's not many interesting places to go on a Thursday afternoon, you night run into him."

Anthony smiles as he texts Tom. Running into Steven wouldn't be so bad.

.

Half an hour later, the three are sitting at a little restaurant, Smarty having convinced Anthony with the promise of "the best milkshakes you'll ever have."

To be quite honest, Smarty was right. These milkshakes were absolutely amazing, but there was no way Anthony would admit it out loud. The Great Chilled Chaos would never admit that Smarty was right.

And apparently, Tom wasn't going to either.

"You know, I can tell that you guys like the milkshakes. Why can't you just admit that i was right?"

Tom blinks once or twice, and then stares over at John. "Because it'll go to your head. God knows you two have big egos."

Smarty pouts slightly, " I do not have an ego, alright? Chilled has one, if anybody. I'm just here to look cute while he fucks everything up."

Tom nods quietly in agreement, and Smarty just smiles, looking straight at Tom. The two stare at each other for a moment or two, just smiling like a couple of idiots.

It's actually kind of cute, Anthony admits to himself.

But the thing is, they don't stop, and it leads Anthony into wondering if he accidentally made himself the third wheel. Then again, Galm did warn him about this.

He looks around for some kind of distraction, and instead finds a familiar face walking in.

"Hey, is that Minx?"

Tom and John instantly turn away from each other, and look towards the girl in question.

"Hey! Minx!" Smarty waves his hand, a big smile on his face.

Minx turns, then grins. She turns and says something to somebody behind her, then begins to walk over. As she nears, Anthony's heart begins to pound as he sees who Minx had been talking to.

Steven.

And as Steven nears, Anthony can't help but tense up slightly, his face heating up more and more with every passing second.

Minx pulls up a chair, sitting next to Smarty. Steven is left with no choice but to sit next to Anthony, and something about it is oddly pleasing to him.

Steven shifts in his seat awkwardly, staring down at his lap.

Minx just laughs, smiles, and gestures towards him. "Alright guys, this is Steven. He just moved here. He's pretty shy though, so don't be mean to him."

Steven gives this tiny little smile, waving awkwardly at Tom and John. He's avoiding eye contact, Anthony notices.

It's kinda sad how Steven is so shy. That means less people get to see how beautiful  he is.

Anthony decides to take a chance, and turns to Steven to speak. Only issue is, he gets cut off by none other than Steven himself.

"Hey, I-"
"Do you-"

The two stop abruptly, and stare at each other for a moment. Anthony can't help but smile at Steven, and his smile only grows bigger when Steven smiles back.

His smile is cute. He should do it more often.

"Do you want anything? The fries here are really good, and the milkshakes are pretty nice too." Anthony pushes the menu towards Steven.

Not as nice as you, but yeah.

Steven shrugs, eyeing the menu hesitantly. "I, uh, I don't know. I'd love a shake, but I don't think I could finish one, and I'd hate to make Minx pay for something I'm not gonna eat..."

His voice is quiet, and he sounds embarrassed. But why?

Did Minx bribe him to come over here?  Or is he just that shy?
Whatever.  This is my chance. Don't fuck this up.

"That's alright, you know." Anthony finds himself unable to look Steven in the eyes, instead distracting himself with the menu as he continues.  "We could share a large one. If-if you want, I mean. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Steven gives a small laugh, his eyes sparkling and smile big and bright. He shakes his head, then grins up at Anthony.

"I don't mind. Can we get a chocolate shake, though? I like chocolate."

Anthony's absolutely positive that this boy will be the death of him.

He nods, and Steven giggles happily. When he looks at Anthony, Anthony could've sworn he was about to melt from the other's gaze. 

"Are you two done flirting over there?" Anthony can feel his face heat up quickly, glancing over at a smirking Minx.

Minx laughs and leans back in her chair. She looks around, then sighs.

"You're gay. All of you are extremely gay."

.

(yo yo yo..... i have no idea what I'm doing don't hurt me.)