Behind the Eight Ball (On Hiatus until BTSV comes out)

ACT 1 - Prologue: Beck

It all started one regular July morning, in the train station. Beck Rosario, a young freelance artist, was waiting their train, leaning on one of the pillars and listening to some music, tapping their foot to the rhythm, not really paying too much attention to their surroundings aside from the railway.
Until finally Beck saw their train come and they stepped forward towards the sliding doors, when suddenly...

THUD

Someone immediately bumped against them and fell onto the ground with a yelp.

"Hey, watch it!" Beck snapped, taking off their headphones and looking down at the man.
He had shoulder length wavy brown hair and a rather unkempt beard; he wore glasses and a very colorful button up shirt.

The man immediately got back up, and they noticed he stood just a few inches shorter than them "O-oh god I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump against you!" he said, half-panicking "Now your shirt's all-"

"What?" Beck looked down at their shirt, which used to be white, and now was dripping in coffee, and its chest area had been completely stained. "Oh- i-it's nothing, really!" they said, already heading into the train, knowing it wasn't going to wait for either of them much longer.

"N-nothing? Coffee stains don't get off so easily I-" he kept stammering, following after Beck onto the train, his shoulders tense and his arms stuck to his sides as he fidgeted with his sleeves.

Beck turned to the man, looking down at him "Dude, I told you it's cool- it's not like you ruined it forever y'know? I can still wear it" they calmly said, sitting down on a free seat.

"You- huh?" needless to say, the man was puzzled at that statement, and for a moment simply stood in the middle of the wagon, unsure on what he should've done, until the train began to move, and he sat down in front of Beck, sighing. "How would- you even do that?"

"Well... I could draw something on it, for example... a portrait! It'd become sort of a pop-arty shirt, it'd look cool!" the artist said, with a little grin, though the man still didn't look convinced.

"Would that... actually look good?" he asked "Oh! N-not that I don't think you'd do a good job, I have no clue regarding your artistic abilities but- they're most definitely better than mine but-- actually no, never mind, forget I said anything"

Beck couldn't help but laugh, amused by the man's awkwardness "Don't worry maaaan, it's not that deep!" they said, still chuckling "By the way... what's your name?" they eventually asked, a smile on their lips.

"M-me? I'm... Johnathon Ohnn..." he replied rather awkwardly.

"Johnathon...? That's a pretty cool name!" Beck grinned "I'm Beck Rosario, they/them!" they said, holding their hand out for a handshake.

Johnathon looked at them in confusion, before connecting the dots "Oh! P-pronouns, right- uh... he/him, nice to meet you" he replied, shaking their hand. It was rather obvious that he still felt a little nervous, but Beck appreciated how he'd shared his pronouns as well, without judging them or questioning their gender. That instantly made him cooler in their book.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Beck replied, letting his hand go and keeping up the conversation while they took out a little sketchbook from their bag. "So... where are you headed to, if I can ask?"

"M-me? Oh... well, it's nothing too special just... a job interview, yes" Johnathon replied, still keeping his arms on his sides and his shoulders up, tense, almost as if he was trying to take up as little space as possible. His posture changed however, the moment he noticed Beck taking out their sketchbook, clearly curious about what might've been inside, though he kept silent for now.

"A job interview you say?" they grinned, opening on a blank page "I hope it'll go well for you, dude!"

The man rubbed the back of his head, muttering a 'thanks' it was so weird... how Beck was talking to him as if they'd been friends for a while, he could never hope to feel so comfortable around someone new- still, he was going to try his best... they didn't seem to have bad intentions after all, well, if they had, he would've probably been dead the moment he spilled coffee on them! 
He shook his head, he had no reason to be anxious!
"Ahem- and... what- what are you going to do, once you reach your destination?"

Beck looked up from their sketchbook, where they'd already drawn what looked like a very barebone structure of a woman's face. "I'm just heading back home, I spent this last week helping a friend of mine with a cosplay project, we had fun!" they replied with a smile.

"A cosplay? That's... interesting-" Johnathon muttered, looking over at the drawing, tilting his head. "W-who's that going to be?"

The artist grinned a little, seemingly happy that he'd asked them about their art "Nobody in particular, just a pretty woman... that's what I want to draw on my shirt once I get back home!" they explained, pointing at the coffee-stained shirt they were still wearing.

"Y-you're going to draw that on it? That's- i-impressive!" he replied, widening his eyes.

"Not at all! Just requires a bit of patience!" Beck grinned, going back to doodling for a bit, until they had an idea and went back rummaging through their bag.

Johnathon tilted his head, trying to understand what Beck might've been looking for, before he was suddenly handed a black sharpie. "I- w-what am I supposed to do with this?" he asked, completely confused.

"Dude, sign the shirt!" they said, holding their oversized shirt out, so that he could write down something on it.

Needless to say, the man was taken aback, signing their shirt? What for? "A-alright but... why?" he muttered, writing down the initials of his name on it: 'JO'.

"Well, you did play a part in customizing this shirt" Beck chuckled, letting the fabric go once Johnathon was done writing on it "Plus, I wanna remember our meeting!"

"Y-you want to remember me?" the man didn't know if Beck was being serious or not. He was just a random guy they met... not even an hour ago, it felt so silly, but also kind of sweet at the same time- they were definitely making it difficult for him to forget this meeting as well, it had to have been the weirdest train talk he'd ever had!

"Yeah! You're a cool dude, and the world is a small place; we might meet each other again one day, and when that happens... I want my brain to recognize you" they explained with a chuckle.

"W-well I'll... definitely remember you as well, heh" Johnathon awkwardly replied. Both Beck's looks and attitude definitely made it hard to forget them, that was for sure.

Suddenly, the speakers on the train announced the next stop, and in hearing that, Beck got up, stretching a bit before grabbing their bag "My stop's coming up- I'd better start heading to the exit" they said with a smile.

"O-oh I see-" Johnathon replied, surprised their time together was over already "Well- goodbye then!"

"Goodbye! Good luck for that job interview, dude!" they grinned, before heading off to the train's doors.

Johnathon looked as they walked away, eventually smiling to himself. Such an odd encounter, but it weirdly put him in a good mood- he wondered if he'd ever actually get to see Beck again someday.