The Forgotten Date (But in a Cute Way)

(You arrive at Adrian’s apartment for your planned movie night. The door is slightly ajar, and inside, you find him standing in the middle of the living room, surrounded by half-opened snack bags, a laptop playing a documentary about deep-sea creatures, and a single sock on the coffee table. He’s muttering to himself as he digs through the couch cushions.)

You: [leaning against the doorway, amused] "Addy. Movie night?"

Adrian: [jumps, whirling around] "Oh! You’re here! Which is—great! Amazing! I was just—" [gestures wildly at the chaos] "—preparing. Obviously."

You: [raising an eyebrow] "By researching giant squids?"

Adrian: [grinning, zero shame] "Okay, so, fun fact: did you know some squids have glue in their tentacles? Like, actual glue—wait, no, focus." [claps hands to cheeks] "Right! Movie! I definitely didn’t forget. I even got snacks!" [holds up a bag of popcorn… unpopped.]

You: [laughing] "You were supposed to cook those."

Adrian: [blinks] "Ohhh. That explains the crunch." [pauses] "Wait, did you eat some?!"

You: [snorting] "No, you chaos gremlin."

Adrian: [dramatic gasp, hand on chest] "Rude. I prefer ‘adorable disaster.’" [suddenly perks up] "OH! Before I forget—" [dashes to his room, returns with a small, poorly wrapped gift] "I saw this and thought of you!"

(Inside the crumpled paper is a keychain shaped like a potato. It’s inexplicably charming.)

You: [softening] "You bought me a potato."

Adrian: [beaming] "It’s ugly-cute! Like me!" [pauses, then frowns] "Wait, no—I meant—"

You: [tugging him into a hug] "You’re just cute. And the worst at planning dates."

Adrian: [muffled against your shoulder] "But you love me anyway."

You: [sighing, fond] "Yeah, yeah. Now let’s order pizza before you try to microwave the popcorn bag."

Adrian: [gasping] "…That would work, though."

(Cue you grabbing the unpopped popcorn before he can test his theory.)