12_stories - answers [rpf/edm; joel zimmerman/sonny moore]
prompt - 12_stories/03. answers
fandom - edm (high school au)
characters/pairings - joel zimmerman/sonny moore
rating - pg
warnings - real-person fiction, slash/BL
word count - 1,893
summary - joel is bad at crushes and sonny is bad at dates.
notes - n/a
@DW
Sonny agreed to meet up at one in the afternoon, downtown, at Joel's request. Joel was not a nervous person. He took everything in stride and had a habit and a talent for making people laugh with crude humor. But he was far from being smooth when it came down to Sonny. That, he was damn well sure of. It had been a less than desirable phone conversation, to say the least. Joel tripped over his tongue twice and his act at being casual was so bad he was practically telling Sonny right over the phone all of his well kept secrets.
Still, he tried to drop the hints of this being considered a date, without actually coming out and saying the actual words. Sonny sure as hell sounded like he knew what he was getting into but that didn't make Joel any less nervous. When Sonny showed up at fifteen after, dressed in nearly all the black he wore during school, he didn't feel any better about himself. He felt stupid standing there without the comfort of his hat or a casual shirt and jeans like what Sonny walked up in. His jacket felt too designer and he wished he could hide the shine of his shoes underneath the pressed slacks.
If all of that wasn't the bulk of his worries, it was definitely Sonny's greeting to him. They joined at the entrance of the downtown diner Joel suggested and Sonny's infectious smile and laugh made his heart drop.
"Man are you going somewhere?" He asked with a grin as Joel opened the door and held it for Sonny to walk through. Joel followed after him and they stood at the sign that told them to wait to be seated.
"No, this is it." Joel answered confidently, though he felt anything but.
"Hello!" An older woman, and employee, smiled at them motioned for them to follow. Joel first, Sonny after.
Joel hunched down, feeling like a giant. "Could we have a booth?"
"Of course, young man."
That term felt weird in Joel's head but he didn't comment. The booth was pushed against the back wall, and Joel almost hit his head on the hanging lamp. The woman placed two menus on the table for them and told them to take their time and she'd be back for their orders.
"These seats are really coushy." Sonny bounced up and down, testing out the overall comfort level. "They've definitely seen better days, though. So you're familiar with this place?"
Joel leaned his elbows on the table and picked at his cuticles. "It was recommended to me." He said, looking down at the menu. "I could use a burger."
"Oh man me too. Woah! Joel, dude, look. 3/4 pound cheeseburger. That's huge! Who eats all that?"
There was something contagious about the way Sonny talked and walked and smiled and did everything. Something about the way he just existed as a person that Joel couldn't get enough of. They had been friends, buddies, bros long enough for him to notice these things. Even in photographs they all took as friends, the way Sonny smiled but rarely showed his teeth, tilted his head to the side and let his hair hang over his shoulder. It was simply ridiculous that every time Joel saw it, photograph or not, he felt his own smile appearing, idiotic and sappy and just there at his lips begging to form and he had a hard time stopping it.
Now, though, he remained straight faced. The bottoming out nervous anxiety of his chest and stomach and all of his organs having a bitch fight did not make him want to smile, and even Sonny couldn't fix that. Joel's throat worked.
"Okay I know what I want, you ready?"
Joel looked down at the menu. He wasn't ready. He just nodded, pretending to still be reading other things on the laminated paper in front of him. He shifted his legs carefully, trying to find Sonny's under the table. Joel felt the material of sneakers under the sole of his shoe and he rested his foot there next to Sonny's. The more optimistic part of him said that Sonny definitely considered this a date and he was just bad at them, or the dates he went on weren't special, or he was just too nervous to be acting any differently when they hung out. So of course he had to take the initiative here. It was him who asked Sonny out, after all.
Sonny didn't look up at him when he nudged Sonny's foot. He just picked at the paint on the table. When he pushed a little bit harder, Sonny smiled, goofy, and crossed his arms. "Your legs too long for the booth? Maybe we should have gotten a regular table or something."
Joel instantly felt self conscious and his face heated up all the way to the tips of his ears. "No it's fine. Sorry, man." Joel slouched a little in his seat at that point. When the waitress returned he sat up and remembered he had to look at the menu still.
"So! What'll you two boys have?" She smiled, pen waiting on a pad of paper.
Sonny spoke up first while Joel attempted to look like he was ready and just going over it in his head again. "I want the 3/4 pound cheeseburger with curly fries and a vanilla milkshake."
The waitress turned to Joel, but he tilted his head towards Sonny. "Hey how about we make it a large milkshake and we can share it?"
"Joel, I'm getting a vanilla shake."
"Yeah I heard you man."
"Joel, you hate vanilla."
Joel turned to the waitress, "Get me fish and chips and a coke, and make his shake large with two straws."
"You got it!"
When Joel turned back to Sonny he was scowling a little bit, but they sat in a mostly comfortable silence. Sonny hummed a tune or something now and again, Joel asked for a pen and doodled stick-figure mice on the napkins. At one point Joel attempted another try at footsie, but Sonny just said to stop kicking him, so he tucked his legs against his own side of the booth in defeat.
Before the food came, the waitress set down their milkshake with two straws. Joel's face heated just at the idea of sharing a shake with Sonny, but Sonny just pushed his hair back and sucked in shake through the straw. He really blushed when Sonny's cheeks hollowed out trying to get the still half-frozen ice cream part of the shake through the straw. When Sonny sat back, he looked at the shake like it was some mystical being, like a prize but also because he knew he'd have to fake liking vanilla for this to work.
He pulled the straw closer to him so he didn't have to lean over as much and drank decidedly less than Sonny, surprised and proud of himself that he didn't even make a face. Hopefully the soda would wash it down.
When their meals arrived, Sonny dug right into the burger. It was a strange sight that Sonny could even pick up the thing, being as tiny as he was. It didn't fit him at all. Joel picked at his food here and there before dipping a fry in ketchup and steeling his nerves, holding it out for Sonny.
"Hey ah, a fry for a fry?" Joel asked, trying not to sound nervous. After all, all of his other plans at making this date work seemed to fail, so why shouldn't this? Sure enough Sonny just laughed at him.
"No man eat your own fries, I'll eat mine, okay?" Joel just stuck the fry in his mouth and withdrew. "Dude you're seriously acting weird today."
"I guess so." Joel answered. It was hard to eat. It was hard to force food down his throat when it swelled so thickly. He lay his hands flat on the table and stood up. "You're right Sonny, I'm acting completely weird."
Sonny carefully put his cheeseburger down and watched Joel, pushing hair from his eyes again.
"I'm sorry man, I just don't know how these things work I've never done this before. I'm a horrible date. I need to go to the restroom." Joel hesitated, but he walked to the restroom faster than necessary. He ran the water and splashed some on his face, and watched his reflection. His face was red from embarrassment and he looked like he was trying to hard with his clothes. Irritated, he messed up his hair as best he could and unzipped his jacket, roughing it about so it looked like he hadn't saved it for a special occasion. Then he realized it was really late for that so he smoothed the material back out and re-combed his hair with his fingers. Fuck he was seriously pathetic.
Wasn't this how dates usually worked? Didn't you bring out your date for lunch or dinner at a diner or similar place that looked like it was stuck in the 50's and then go to a movie? Didn't people still do that? Or did everyone go clubbing and drink alcohol illegally, now? All of his fears were confirmed, probably. Sonny had looked at him like he didn't have a clue in the whole world that this was a "date". It was supposed to just be two friends hanging out, not this pathetic excuse for Joel pining after his best friend.
He turned the faucet off and dried his face, trying to get himself under control. Deep breaths, right? Either way it didn't calm him down or offer him much comfort. His heart thudded in his chest and he felt sick, having to go back to Sonny and deal with all this awkward. He sat down, narrowly missing the hanging lamp again, and he didn't want to look at Sonny.
"Hey."
Joel didn't want to look up at the prompt but he knew he had to. He didn't lift his head up far but his eyes traveled to Sonny across the table. He was holding out a curly fry in ketchup.
"Trade you?" He smiled, and Joel felt that inevitability of his own at the sight of it.
"What are you doing, Sonny?" He asked instead.
Sonny took a drink of milkshake out of a single straw (the hell did his own go...?) before pushing it Joel's way. "I'm fixing this." He said simply. "Go on and have some."
Joel's face heated up again just staring at the straw. The straw Sonny's mouth was just on. Eventually he leaned down to take a drink and it was freshly cold chocolate shake in the metal cup. He smiled around the straw and then pulled back and looked up at an equally delighted looking Sonny.
"Just make sure I'm home by ten or my mom'll freak." Sonny laughed, and Joel startled as he felt Sonny's sock rubbing against the ankle of his slacks.
fandom - edm (high school au)
characters/pairings - joel zimmerman/sonny moore
rating - pg
warnings - real-person fiction, slash/BL
word count - 1,893
summary - joel is bad at crushes and sonny is bad at dates.
notes - n/a
@DW
Sonny agreed to meet up at one in the afternoon, downtown, at Joel's request. Joel was not a nervous person. He took everything in stride and had a habit and a talent for making people laugh with crude humor. But he was far from being smooth when it came down to Sonny. That, he was damn well sure of. It had been a less than desirable phone conversation, to say the least. Joel tripped over his tongue twice and his act at being casual was so bad he was practically telling Sonny right over the phone all of his well kept secrets.
Still, he tried to drop the hints of this being considered a date, without actually coming out and saying the actual words. Sonny sure as hell sounded like he knew what he was getting into but that didn't make Joel any less nervous. When Sonny showed up at fifteen after, dressed in nearly all the black he wore during school, he didn't feel any better about himself. He felt stupid standing there without the comfort of his hat or a casual shirt and jeans like what Sonny walked up in. His jacket felt too designer and he wished he could hide the shine of his shoes underneath the pressed slacks.
If all of that wasn't the bulk of his worries, it was definitely Sonny's greeting to him. They joined at the entrance of the downtown diner Joel suggested and Sonny's infectious smile and laugh made his heart drop.
"Man are you going somewhere?" He asked with a grin as Joel opened the door and held it for Sonny to walk through. Joel followed after him and they stood at the sign that told them to wait to be seated.
"No, this is it." Joel answered confidently, though he felt anything but.
"Hello!" An older woman, and employee, smiled at them motioned for them to follow. Joel first, Sonny after.
Joel hunched down, feeling like a giant. "Could we have a booth?"
"Of course, young man."
That term felt weird in Joel's head but he didn't comment. The booth was pushed against the back wall, and Joel almost hit his head on the hanging lamp. The woman placed two menus on the table for them and told them to take their time and she'd be back for their orders.
"These seats are really coushy." Sonny bounced up and down, testing out the overall comfort level. "They've definitely seen better days, though. So you're familiar with this place?"
Joel leaned his elbows on the table and picked at his cuticles. "It was recommended to me." He said, looking down at the menu. "I could use a burger."
"Oh man me too. Woah! Joel, dude, look. 3/4 pound cheeseburger. That's huge! Who eats all that?"
There was something contagious about the way Sonny talked and walked and smiled and did everything. Something about the way he just existed as a person that Joel couldn't get enough of. They had been friends, buddies, bros long enough for him to notice these things. Even in photographs they all took as friends, the way Sonny smiled but rarely showed his teeth, tilted his head to the side and let his hair hang over his shoulder. It was simply ridiculous that every time Joel saw it, photograph or not, he felt his own smile appearing, idiotic and sappy and just there at his lips begging to form and he had a hard time stopping it.
Now, though, he remained straight faced. The bottoming out nervous anxiety of his chest and stomach and all of his organs having a bitch fight did not make him want to smile, and even Sonny couldn't fix that. Joel's throat worked.
"Okay I know what I want, you ready?"
Joel looked down at the menu. He wasn't ready. He just nodded, pretending to still be reading other things on the laminated paper in front of him. He shifted his legs carefully, trying to find Sonny's under the table. Joel felt the material of sneakers under the sole of his shoe and he rested his foot there next to Sonny's. The more optimistic part of him said that Sonny definitely considered this a date and he was just bad at them, or the dates he went on weren't special, or he was just too nervous to be acting any differently when they hung out. So of course he had to take the initiative here. It was him who asked Sonny out, after all.
Sonny didn't look up at him when he nudged Sonny's foot. He just picked at the paint on the table. When he pushed a little bit harder, Sonny smiled, goofy, and crossed his arms. "Your legs too long for the booth? Maybe we should have gotten a regular table or something."
Joel instantly felt self conscious and his face heated up all the way to the tips of his ears. "No it's fine. Sorry, man." Joel slouched a little in his seat at that point. When the waitress returned he sat up and remembered he had to look at the menu still.
"So! What'll you two boys have?" She smiled, pen waiting on a pad of paper.
Sonny spoke up first while Joel attempted to look like he was ready and just going over it in his head again. "I want the 3/4 pound cheeseburger with curly fries and a vanilla milkshake."
The waitress turned to Joel, but he tilted his head towards Sonny. "Hey how about we make it a large milkshake and we can share it?"
"Joel, I'm getting a vanilla shake."
"Yeah I heard you man."
"Joel, you hate vanilla."
Joel turned to the waitress, "Get me fish and chips and a coke, and make his shake large with two straws."
"You got it!"
When Joel turned back to Sonny he was scowling a little bit, but they sat in a mostly comfortable silence. Sonny hummed a tune or something now and again, Joel asked for a pen and doodled stick-figure mice on the napkins. At one point Joel attempted another try at footsie, but Sonny just said to stop kicking him, so he tucked his legs against his own side of the booth in defeat.
Before the food came, the waitress set down their milkshake with two straws. Joel's face heated just at the idea of sharing a shake with Sonny, but Sonny just pushed his hair back and sucked in shake through the straw. He really blushed when Sonny's cheeks hollowed out trying to get the still half-frozen ice cream part of the shake through the straw. When Sonny sat back, he looked at the shake like it was some mystical being, like a prize but also because he knew he'd have to fake liking vanilla for this to work.
He pulled the straw closer to him so he didn't have to lean over as much and drank decidedly less than Sonny, surprised and proud of himself that he didn't even make a face. Hopefully the soda would wash it down.
When their meals arrived, Sonny dug right into the burger. It was a strange sight that Sonny could even pick up the thing, being as tiny as he was. It didn't fit him at all. Joel picked at his food here and there before dipping a fry in ketchup and steeling his nerves, holding it out for Sonny.
"Hey ah, a fry for a fry?" Joel asked, trying not to sound nervous. After all, all of his other plans at making this date work seemed to fail, so why shouldn't this? Sure enough Sonny just laughed at him.
"No man eat your own fries, I'll eat mine, okay?" Joel just stuck the fry in his mouth and withdrew. "Dude you're seriously acting weird today."
"I guess so." Joel answered. It was hard to eat. It was hard to force food down his throat when it swelled so thickly. He lay his hands flat on the table and stood up. "You're right Sonny, I'm acting completely weird."
Sonny carefully put his cheeseburger down and watched Joel, pushing hair from his eyes again.
"I'm sorry man, I just don't know how these things work I've never done this before. I'm a horrible date. I need to go to the restroom." Joel hesitated, but he walked to the restroom faster than necessary. He ran the water and splashed some on his face, and watched his reflection. His face was red from embarrassment and he looked like he was trying to hard with his clothes. Irritated, he messed up his hair as best he could and unzipped his jacket, roughing it about so it looked like he hadn't saved it for a special occasion. Then he realized it was really late for that so he smoothed the material back out and re-combed his hair with his fingers. Fuck he was seriously pathetic.
Wasn't this how dates usually worked? Didn't you bring out your date for lunch or dinner at a diner or similar place that looked like it was stuck in the 50's and then go to a movie? Didn't people still do that? Or did everyone go clubbing and drink alcohol illegally, now? All of his fears were confirmed, probably. Sonny had looked at him like he didn't have a clue in the whole world that this was a "date". It was supposed to just be two friends hanging out, not this pathetic excuse for Joel pining after his best friend.
He turned the faucet off and dried his face, trying to get himself under control. Deep breaths, right? Either way it didn't calm him down or offer him much comfort. His heart thudded in his chest and he felt sick, having to go back to Sonny and deal with all this awkward. He sat down, narrowly missing the hanging lamp again, and he didn't want to look at Sonny.
"Hey."
Joel didn't want to look up at the prompt but he knew he had to. He didn't lift his head up far but his eyes traveled to Sonny across the table. He was holding out a curly fry in ketchup.
"Trade you?" He smiled, and Joel felt that inevitability of his own at the sight of it.
"What are you doing, Sonny?" He asked instead.
Sonny took a drink of milkshake out of a single straw (the hell did his own go...?) before pushing it Joel's way. "I'm fixing this." He said simply. "Go on and have some."
Joel's face heated up again just staring at the straw. The straw Sonny's mouth was just on. Eventually he leaned down to take a drink and it was freshly cold chocolate shake in the metal cup. He smiled around the straw and then pulled back and looked up at an equally delighted looking Sonny.
"Just make sure I'm home by ten or my mom'll freak." Sonny laughed, and Joel startled as he felt Sonny's sock rubbing against the ankle of his slacks.