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“Right,” Thomas agreed, looking just as relieved to get back on topic as Seong was to move away from the “what if” of the club.
“Do…” he hesitated. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer, but it really wasn’t about him. He might have only known Thomas for a short time, but he knew him well enough to know that if he was asking Seong about this, it was bothering him. “Do you want it to be a date?”
The redness expanding from Thomas’s freckles to his ears was all the answer Seong really needed.
Stop it, he told himself as his heart ached like that blush stabbed him. “Then you should ask him about it.”
“Isn’t that…” Thomas squirmed on his chair, his face almost the same color as his hair. “I don’t know. Isn’t it weird to ask something like that?”
“In the ever-steady words of Dr Stein,” Seong said, smirking as Thomas’s eyebrow flicked up at the mentioned of their shared therapist, “‘communication is the key to any relationship.’ You will only know by asking him. So ask him. See what happens. Worst thing that can happen is it’s just hanging out.”
“Yeah,” Thomas said slowly, thoughtfully. “I guess so.” His lips pursed together, looking at his computer screen. “I… have another question… Since, you know, communication.”
“Sure,” Seong said, chuckling. “What is it?”
Thomas didn’t speak right away, looking up and away in a few different directions until he finally looked at Seong. “You… you had suggested seeing if there’s a club at my school for anything computer science related, remember?”
“Yep, I remember. Good way to learn is to have people to bounce ideas off of.”
“Right, well… There’s not. There apparently was an attempt to make one a few years ago but… it died. I was told by the admin in charge of the clubs that if it was the beginning of the year I could have started a new one, but they don’t allow the formation of clubs halfway through the year and since I’m a senior it would just die when I left.”
“That’s… a rather negative view on a student trying to do something,” Seong said, frowning at him.
Thomas shrugged. “She… doesn’t have the best reputation for being particularly pleasant. Particularly to anyone who comes from ‘gang’ backgrounds.”
Seong’s eyebrow shot up. “Interesting stance to have in this city, of all places. Your neighborhood is the heart of the Clover’s original territory.”
“Yeah… she’s not from here,” Thomas said, then waved his hand. “But not the point. There’s no way to form a club and my aunts and I checked and I can’t join any of the college clubs until I start taking classes next semester. So…” his fingertips tapped against each other. “I was wondering… I know you are busy but-”
Seong smiled as he put together what Thomas was getting at. “I couldn’t do every week, and I mean it when I say I’m not going to teach you any of my hacking techniques, but-” He tilted his head as Thomas’s face went red again, his eyes so bright Seong thought he might go blind if he held eye contact for too long. “We could meet up twice a month? At least to mirror each other, and I can help you guide you through any snags.”
“That would be amazing,” Thomas said immediately, leaning forward. “And I understand. I don’t want to learn hacking. I don’t want any of that side of things.”
“Then-” he stopped himself from saying “it’s a date.” After their earlier conversation it would make things complicated if he said that. For Thomas. For him. “Wednesdays would work best for me.”
Date Night
Danny was already sitting on the picnic table waiting for Thomas. His long legs were swinging in his snow boots. Thomas had seen him in the outfit earlier in the day, had seen his hair standing on end from where he had pulled his cap off. He’d heard that same elevator tune Danny whistled whenever he was waiting for something to happen before, and yet it all felt new. Terrifyingly new.
Thomas hadn’t done what Seong had said and asked Danny if this afternoon was supposed to be just them hanging out or a date. There had been chances, so many chances to ask, and he hadn’t been able to send the text or get the words unstuck from his throat. Every chance wasted.
“Hey,” Danny called, when he finally spotted Thomas. His smile lit up his face as he jumped off the table and jogged over. “Ready to go?”
Thomas smiled back at him. He couldn’t help it. Danny smiling made him want to smile. “Ready,” he agreed, his hands pushing into his jacket pockets to keep his gloved fingers warmer. “Have you ever eaten at this place before?”
“Just once,” Danny admitted, his eyes darting down to Thomas’s pockets before he slipped his own hands into his Letterman. “It’s pretty different from the instant stuff but in the best kind of way.”
“Most things are,” Thomas chuckled as they started to walk. “You never told me how try-outs went.”
We really do need to figure out a common interest outside of school, Thomas thought over his bowl of noodles, smirking as Danny struggled to keep his eyes in focus at Thomas’s explanation of his coding lessons. It wasn’t as if Thomas hadn’t done the exact same thing on the way there while Danny talked about baseball. He’d also be lying if he said it wasn’t adorable, as he dialed back the technical talk to something Danny could follow.
The movie was both a mercy and a curse. It was a limited run of a movie Thomas had seen as a kid, but couldn’t remember most of, so he was mostly distracted from his own thoughts. But they had decided to share the popcorn and every time Danny’s hand brushed against Thomas’s, it sent his mind spiraling yet again on whether this was what normal friends did or something else. At least in the dark, there was no way Danny could see how red Thomas’s face was.
He was still distracted when they left the theater, unable to focus on Danny’s chattering about the movie next to him.
“Earth to Thomas,” Danny sang, bumping his shoulder into Thomas’s.
“Hm?” Thomas blinked and looked around. “What’s up?”
