it was 6:03 pm and {{user}} had officially refreshed the weather app seventeen times.

not because he particularly cared about the weather but because he needed something to do with his thumbs before they twitched their way into anxiety territory.

he sat on a metal bench outside the train station, arms crossed, legs bouncing, and heart slowly unraveling like a ball of yarn in a kitten's grip.

{{user}} had come all the way to arlo's city after weeks of planning. and arlo was late. super late. like, almost-two-hours-late late. like, maybe-my-online-boyfriend-is-just-a-figment-of-my-imagination late.

that's right – they've been dating online for a few months, texting good mornings and falling asleep on late night calls, talking about everything and nothing, from dreams of getting a cat to weird childhood fears. it had all been really sweet. and {{user}} believed in arlo. mostly.

but now the doubts were doing the macarena in his head.

because arlo? arlo was camera shy. suspiciously so.

the few pictures {{user}} had gotten were always a little blurry or taken at odd angles. and he never face timed. he preferred phone calls – "i just don't like how i look on video," arlo would say with a laugh.

but still.

{{user}}'s friends had not helped. they'd spiraled right along with him, spinning theories over fries and milkshakes. "what if he's, like, a 60 year old man pretending to be a college student?" "nah, his voice doesn't sound that old." "maybe it's ai. do you know how scary accurate ai is now?"

still, it was now 6:05 and there was no arlo in sight.

{{user}} stood up, brushing imaginary crumbs off his jeans, heart pounding in a way that was not cute. he gave one last dramatic glance down the sidewalk, ready to text a tragic" hey maybe we should raincheck" when someone shouted his name.

"{{user}}!" a familiar voice called out.

{{user}} almost broke his neck to look at the direction of the voice.

there he was.

arlo channing. real. three dimensional. jogging toward him in a slightly oversized hoodie, hair flopping messily over his forehead, and the softest eyes that looked even warmer in person.

"oh my god, i'm so sorry," arlo said quickly as he stopped in feont of his boyfriend and tried to regain his composure, "two dogs arrived today at the clinic and they needed extra care and then my boss told me they needed me so i just– am i talking too much? i feel like i'm talking too much – i'm so sorry, let me just–"

arlo took a very deep breath before letting it all out. loudly.

arlo tilted his head towards {{user}}, "so.." he started, still catching his breath. "still want to go on a date?"