Drunk Without Cause

Forty-Two.

"Venice?" Nessa looked at him with an expression of content and hopefulness in his rosy cheeks.

"Yeah?" He replied, holding his gaze.

"This is probably going to sound so stupid."

Venice didn't care what Nessa said. He would never think that he was dumb. "What is it?"

"I've been on about a million dates." He admitted. "But this feels like my first date, because it's the only one I've ever genuinely wanted to be on."

That made Venice relax a bit. He was relieved to find that Nessa was also worried about it. "This is my first date. Obviously."

Nessa smiled. "I'm glad that I get to share that experience with you."

Venice reached out and took Nessa's hand, hoping it conveyed the emotions his face would not. Judging by the wonderful glint of euphoria in his eyes, it worked. "There's this tea shop a block from here. Do you like tea?"

"Of course I do." He giggled, allowing for Venice to start guiding them in that direction. The crowd of both busy and listless people caused for them to become nothing more than a pair of young lovers out on the November afternoon. Perhaps onlookers saw them as an unlikely pair, or maybe they didn't see them at all. Venice didn't mind as long as Nessa was the one who did see him.

They didn't talk much, but that was often the case between them. It was almost easier for them to simply understand each other through the quiet, rather than try to find a meaning behind the noise. Because it was in their nature to find comfort in a person's existence, regardless of the frequency at which they decided to open their mouth.

And that was precisely why Venice couldn't have asked for a more perfect first date. Even if they had pretty much been going on dates for a long time.

Then suddenly, his arm was dragged behind him as Nessa's feet stayed rooted in place.

Venice instantly began protectively attempting to decipher the emotion on his face, trying to confirm whether or not it was something to be alarmed by. He was almost certain that it was shock and anxiety.

Following Nessa's gaze, he began searching the crowd in front of them. It was noon after all, so the whole city seemed to be awake and exploring on the chilly Saturday.

Then he finally spotted what seemed to be the cause.

There was a pair stood a few yards away, staring right back at Nessa with mirrored shock in their eyes. One was a boy with ginger hair and freckled cheeks. The other was a girl with bulky glasses and olive skin.

"Nessa?" Venice said, hoping for him to snap out of it. At the sound of his voice, Nessa tore his eyes away from them and towards Venice. He sucked in a shaky breath.

"Charm?" The ginger boy furrowed his brow, hesitantly heading towards them. "Holy shit, is that actually you, Charmer?"

Nessa tightened his grip on Venice's hand, as though wanting to turn heel and run away with him. Instead, his feet were too heavy to lift. He just stood like a deer in headlights, not knowing what to do with himself.

Stopping only a few feet away from them, the two people continued staring at Nessa as if he was the craziest thing they had ever seen before. Then finally, they smiled in pure relief. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Swallowing slowly, Nessa forced his throat to clear itself as he tried to speak. "What are you guys doing here?"

Having no idea what was going on, Venice kept silent. It was what he was good at, and he didn't want to interrupt whatever was happening in front of him. Especially when Nessa seemed so reluctant, like a wild animal trying to remember the face of the person in front of it.