"Where the hell is he at!?" You whispered to yourself, furiously tapping into your phone another capitalized message. Tonight was date night for you and your boyfriend, you were supposed to meet at the local ice cream joint at six.

That was two hours ago.

"Ma'am, are you ready to order yet??" The bubbly blonde waitress asked you, her bright eyes resembling a color close to Violet. You offered her a nod as she once again walked off, manicured nails clicking against her order book. At this point it was quite obvious what was going on, you weren't stupid, but a part of you still clung onto hope.

The feeling of many eyes stung your skin like acid, only making the situation even more humiliating than it previously was. The last thing you needed at the moment was pity from complete strangers, no, you needed the asshole to show up.

"Fuck this" you muttered, typing in an angry message to your now ex-boyfriend as you deleted the contact from your phone completely. The entire parlor seemed to go quiet as bystanders to your mental breakdown looked on with judgmental eyes, boring holes into your skull with whispers and pitiful noises. Tears slightly pricked your eyes as the situation took hold, eliciting a large sigh and grunt from your lips, burying your face into your crossed arms.

An entire month of lies was all your relationship seemed to have been, bittersweet kisses and fake flirting. The sound of shuffling and lighthearted chuckling made you immediately look up, tear blurred eyes catching a figure writhing in the booth across from you. "Sorry babe, got caught in some crazy traffic" they called loudly, successfully causing the heads looking at you to swivel around to their own food. A sound of confusion barked from your throat at the newcomer, not recognizing the voice whatsoever.

"My name is Vincent, just go with it, whoever didn't bother to show up is an asshole" they whispered, slightly leaning across your shared table as hands shuffled to adjust their clothing. The distraction allowed you to wipe at your eyes, sniffling pathetically into your sleeve as red dusted your cheeks quite quickly. Internally you thanked every known higher power that you decided to wear waterproof makeup today, eyeing your tear soaked sleeves.

Out the corner of your eye you noticed the blonde waitress make her way back over, a big smile on her face as she gave you a wink. "What may I get you two?" She chirped, fishing out the tiny book from her waistband quickly and smoothly, placing the ballpoint pen against its surface. You had yet to glance at the phony boyfriend across from you, so you simply muttered your order into the table.

"Chocolate will be fine" 'Vincent' answered, the waitress giving a nod as she left in a flurry of tapping heels and hums. A breath of relief blew from your pursed lips, shaky hand running through your hair with some resistance, "Thank you".

A quick glance upwards inevitably cause direct eye contact, your own eyes staring into white ones. A soft smile shaped the man's face along with shaggy purple hair, his fit form enclosed in a nice jacket along with jeans and a pair of converse from what you could tell from underneath the table. "No problem, as I said before, whoever didn't show up is a twat" He grunted, arms folding politely atop one another on the sticky tabletop.

A couple moments of awkward silence followed the statement, the chatter picking up quickly now that you weren't the center of attention. The embarrassment from before was still there, but now leaning towards the fact you were caught by the handsome stranger across from you in a pity date.

"You don't have to do this, I know you don't want to" You spoke up, picking slightly at the peeling paint under your hands, a frown etched onto your face. A sound akin to that of offense erupted from the other, broad hands shooting out to grab your own. Out of instinct you flinched, eyes flickering towards the stranger in both slight fear and surprise.

"Hey, I want to do this, don't put yourself down like that okay? You are too beautiful to think such things" Vincent growled, eyes staring intensely into your own as he allowed the aforementioned words to settle in. By the time you processed the statement (and caught your breath) the waitress from before came bouncing back over, a platter of ice-cream in her grasp. Vincent was temporarily distracted by the incoming food, allowing you a moment to calm down your beating heart and flushed cheeks.

Doubts still clouded your mind as to why this handsome stranger decided to intervene in your pitiful day, he could be anywhere right now. Yet he decided to stay here with you, eating ice cream in a shitty downtown shop.

"Why?" You asked, gaze trained on your lap as a bowl of desert was slid across the table. A slight hum greeted your question, plastic spoon being pushed over the table with ease. "Why not?" Vincent answered, unwrapping his spoon from its sanitized confines.

Now it was your moment to give a questioning look, hands falling to your lap in a flurry of gestures towards yourself. Once again, Vincent simply hummed, shoving the spoon into the glass bowl before him, "Let me ask you this, why were you dating this wanker in the first place?? He doesn't seem to be your type".

The change of topic was sudden and confusing, your own response falling into the pit of your stomach. You seriously didn't know why exactly you were dating the guy, he was always rude and disrespectful to basically everyone. However, he was the only guy who ever showed any interests in you, so the feeling of actually being wanted overpowered any reasonable doubts. Based on the look you were receiving, Vincent knew exactly what was going on.

"Well, lets just forget about him, tonight is just about you" He smiled, eyes softening as they met your own, skin crinkling at their edges. At that moment you nearly cried once again, eyeing this stranger who offered you a genuine smile where you needed it most. "Thank you" You chuckled, grabbing onto your spoon as the ice cream around it began sloshed in a melting state.

No words were offered as the calming chatter of the parlor's customers created a comfortable atmosphere. Conversations about family and each other's day drifted to your table, catching onto a few of the people's names and job's.

The lady near the window had two boys and a little home nearby with her husband, she loved her job as a pediatrician due to her adoration towards children. Two tables over sat a little old lady with her grandchild, the laugh lines along her mouth proved she smiled often. People watching was your favorite thing to do when going places, little details about strangers could open up an entire world you've never discovered.

Through a mouthful of spoon, you temporarily changed your eyes direction, landing on the man across from you. Many things stood out about him, from his bright eyes to the way he shifted from leg to leg. Tiny creases resided along the man's eyes, most pronounced underneath them, showing that he didn't really get alot of sleep. The update didn't nothing to sway his charisma, in fact the little blemish seemed endearing and sacred to his everyday life, a way of showing his true personality.

You were never one to jump to a conclusion but based on the slight jerky movements of big hands meant he was either an insomniac or simply had to much coffee this morning. There was a very reasonable assumption it could have been both, an attempt at staying conscious throughout the day.

Body movements told a lot about a person's personality, for example if someone continuously shifts their eyes they are cautious and careful, little details go a long way. So the way Vincent continuously tensed up at every loud noise proved something along the lines of PTSD, but he didn't seem like the soldier type.

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you do?" You asked, casually taking a bite of ice cream as Vincent hummed. "I'm actually a firefighter, in fact I was on the way home when I stumbled across you" He answered, noticeably shifting in his seat as a nearby child began screeching.

The job position explained quite a bit, when going into a burning building they are trained to heighten their senses and listen for anything that could mean structure failure. The screaming child probably reminded him of times where he had to rescue kids and adults from the engulfing and destructive flames.

"Wow, that's incredible, I'm still trying to power through college, I decided to apply late" You explained, polishing off your bowl of ice cream with ease, pushing the bowl away as Vincent powered through his own last bites. A sheepish nod was all he had to offer, chuckling slightly behind his spoon. The choked back noise made you raise a questioning brow, watching the man push his own bowl away.

"Sorry, you just have something right here" Vincent chuckled, picking up a napkin from its dispenser as he crowded your space. Amused eyes were trained on a spot just below your eyes, napkin hovering over your cheek slightly. The rough texture rubbed across your face gently as the man gave a hum, running off whatever was there with a swipe. "There" He spoke, sitting back as he discarded the napkin into his empty bowl, a playful smile dancing across his lips.

The next hour was spent in laughter and frivolous stories, other customers dispersing from the parlor in small increments as time passed. Time didn't seem to be of any concern once stories were exchanged and light flirting was thrown into the banter, leaving the both of you oblivious to the inevitable closing. At some point the shop had emptied, leaving only you and Vincent along with a few leftover employees who were beginning to close up.

"Ah! They are closing in five minutes" Vincent exclaimed, pulling out his wallet as fingers pulled out a ten along with a five for a tip. The quick exchange made you sputter, reaching for your own purse with practiced ease, "You don't have to pay". He simply scoffed, pushing your hands away from their position hovering over your own money.

Before anything else could be said the waitress who you'd come to know was named Chica quickly came over, wishing the two of you a good night and slight wink. The gesture made you blush, being ushered out gently by a broad hand on your back, leaving the giggling waitress to her own assumptions.

The crisp air of fall fell heavily along your face, nose scrunching as cold air quickly numbed the nerve endings to nothing. Glowing streetlights illuminated the puffs of breath emancipating from the both of you, cars zooming by quickly on their way home.

Warmth spread along your fingertips as a hand brushed your own, coming to intertwine with gentle hope. Out the corner of your eye you noticed Vincent's tired eyes brighten significantly, shy smile gracing his lips as he looked away. Bashfully, you returned the gesture with a slight squeeze, a genuine smile forming on your lips as the moon stared back at you.

After a short walk back to your apartment and a quick goodbye hug, Vincent gave you his number and asked you if you would like to do it all over again. Inside you knew that you'd do it a million times, just as along as it was with him, so a quick nod was what you offered.

That night you dreamed of firefighters and ice cream, an odd mixture but to you it was the start of something both wonderful and enchanting all at once.

EXACTLY 2000 WORDS OF ONE-SHOT HELL YES!! Also I actually just updated two days in a row so I feel accomplished (I'm supposed to be packing guys wtf), also I can slightly relate to this chapter cause my ex was quite the asshole, needless to say my self confidence is literally nonexistent at this point (Fuck relationships man). I hope you enjoyed this cheesy ass chapter cause I put my soul into it (lol what soul???????)