Shadows From the Abyss

"You going out tonight, Shawn?" Mama K asked her grandson as she put the last of the groceries away.

"Yeah, Art wants to go to dinner at Hop's," Shawn replied, tossing his keys between his hands.

"Who?"

"This guy that messaged me on a dating app thingy,"

Mama K sighed. "Lord. Well, at least y'all are meeting in public."

"He'll be fine, Kelly." Papa Dave said as he walked through the back door. "He's a big boy and knows how to throw a punch."

"I'll be fine. If something happens I'll call you, okay?" Shawn smiled, doing a final pocket check. "Alright I gotta roll out."

"Remember, be back by two. Not just after two, by two." Mama K smiled. "Have fun, sweetie."

"Later tators!" Shawn strolled out the back door and down the driveway to the awaiting Mustang.It was weird not having to walk around a building or across a busy street to get to his car.

"Shawn!"

Shawn looked up and saw Papa Dave coming around the side of the house to sit on the front porch with a beer in his hand. "Be safe, okay? And home by two, please. Love you."

"Love you too," Shawn grinned back as he unlocked the car and got in. He checked his messages and made sure he was going to the correct Hop's before revving up the engine and pulling off. He knew it was better to meet in public but it wasn't any less nerve wracking. What if he had googled him and already had so many assumptions that would be damn near impossible to overcome straight out of the gate? Fuck, maybe this wasn't a good idea. No, he needed to put himself back out there and meet someone nice. He couldn't just lock himself in his own personal hell.

Finding parking was a nightmare but he finally pulled into a spot at the end of the strip mall and cut the engine. He sat there for a few minutes, the air slowly cooling down as the sun started to set. This could either go really well or be a bust. If it was a bust, just get up and leave. What's the worst that could happen? He slowly eased out of the car and locked the door behind him, scanning the parking lot as he walked towards the restaurant.

Hop's was packed as always, a line of people out the door. When you're voted one of the best burgers in the country, that's bound to happen, but this was ridiculous. No burger is worth an hour wait. Shawn popped his head inside and glanced around but didn't see Art's blonde hair anywhere. Maybe he was in the line somewhere. After walking up and down the growing line several times to no avail, Shawn was about to give up and assume he was being stood up.

"Hey Shawn!" A voice called.

Shawn looked up and saw Art walking down the sidewalk towards him, a broad smile on his face. Shawn felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at Art, taking in his blonde hair that was spiked up in the front, his slender frame, cute goatee, milk chocolate brown eyes....fuck, don't stare, that's rude.

"H-hey," He stammered.

"Sorry I'm late, parking is shit around here. Good to finally meet you," Art's smile was warm and inviting, the sweetest Shawn had ever seen.

"Oh no it's....it's cool."

"How long's the wait tonight?" His voice has a slight rasp to it, but was otherwise bight and clear.

"About an hour," Shawn looked back at the line stretching out the door of the already overflowing restaurant and grimaced at the idea of being smashed between tons of people and trying to hold a conversation.

"So, I'm gonna be honest, I'm not exactly over the moon about this place. Why don't we go somewhere else where we can actually sit and talk and get to know each other?"

A wave of relief washed over Shawn and he relaxed. "What did you have in mind?"

"Do you like hibachi at all?"

"Oh hell yeah!"

"It's not as nice as Arigato but Tokyo Grill is right up the street and it'll be a lot quieter. Or we can get it to go and have dinner picnic style somewhere."

Shawn smiled at Art. "That sounds fantastic. I'd love that."

****************

"So, I'm not gonna lie, I did google you," Art said before popping a piece of zucchini in his mouth. The pair sat at a picnic table at Lake Daniel Park, the lights from the tennis court their only light source.

Shawn's heart sank a bit. Oh please don't know everything.

"Not for dirt or anything. I just try to avoid jailbirds, ya know?"

Oh if you only knew the half of it.

"So, I'll start with sorry about your mom. And your half brother can go fuck himself straight to hell," He concluded with a slight smile, not sure if he had just rocked the boat or not. "But if you don't want to address any of that, totally understand and respect that."

"Kinda hard to avoid when it was so public," Shawn sighed, dumping white sauce over his fried rice and veggies.

"Well, let's start on a small scale. Do you work anywhere?"

"Nope. Do you?"

"Uncle Sam used to sign my paychecks," Art began, pulling out his chopsticks. "The US Army isn't exactly the best place to be when you're trying to figure yourself out, ya know? Nothing like toxic masculinity with a side of confusion. Played that game for four years before I got a lovely piece of shrapnel in my leg and hardly any hearing in my left ear before I said fuck this shit I'm out. Now I bar tend at 913 at night and do security at Target when the sun's up."

Shawn looked at Art in the dim light. He didn't look old enough to have served four years of duty. "Question. How old are you?"

Art grinned. "Take a guess."

"Well you look 22. Please don't tell me you're secretly 40."

Art laughed and shook his head. "Oh I wish I was still 22. And no, I'm nowhere near 40, hun. I'm 24."

Wow. You can't even take me into a damn bar. This is gonna be short lived.

"But since I already know your very basic information, I didn't waste my time suggesting a bar to start with. Happy early birthday though."

"T-thanks?" Shawn was somewhat put off by how smooth and charming Art was, with just that hint of asshole sprinkled in. Kind of like Billie Joe. Oh God, he had a 'type'. "I'm slightly concerned you know so much about me already."

"You didn't google me? Shit, I could be a murderer for all you know," A grinned crept across his face. There was a silence and all Shawn could hear was his heart pounding in his ears as he glanced over at the mustang sitting under the street light. Home was only two miles away. He could run it if needed. "Oh my God, I'm kidding, sweetie. So do you have any pets?

"Surprised Google didn't tell you that," Shawn smirked before taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh come on, that's not fair," Art laughed, "Shit, I can see if it comes up!"

"I have a dog named Bayley. She's a hugger."

"Good choice. Although I prefer Asuka."

Shawn laughed, glad someone got the professional wrestling reference. "Okay, so now that I know you also waste your Monday and Tuesday nights in front of the TV for five hours, what kind of music do you like?"

"Oh that's a long list," He thought about it for a minute while chewing on a piece of steak. "Lot of classic rock because that's all the older guys would play at base camp if they could get a signal; lot of heavy metal too. Not so crazy about country, but if it comes on I won't turn it off by any means. Blue Grass is better."

"Are they really that different?"

Art cut his eyes up to meet Shawn's in shock. "You're joking, right?"

Shawn smirked again. "How dense do you think I am? I'm well aware they're pretty different. Also, Allison Krauss has the voice of a damn angel."

Art straightened up and folded his hands in front of him. "You know what, you're alright, kid. You get my smart ass comments and I like that. Alright, tell me about your itunes library."

"Well, recently I've been listening to a lot of Trash Boat and Baretooth. Coheed and Cambria when I want something less depressing and more epic."

"Ahh, Trash Boat. A more yelly Billy Talent."

Shawn rolled his eyes and smiled. "Pretty good description, yeah."

"Okay not to cut you short, but what are your thoughts on Nickleback? I'm gonna judge you on this one."

Shawn thought about it for a second. "The State, Silverside Up and The Long Road were pretty decent albums but then they got very commercial."

Art sighed and shifted in his seat. "I can accept that answer. Leader of Men was a kick in the teeth type of jam.”

"What were you expecting?"

He just shrugged. "Nothing specific, really."

They sat and ate for another half hour before tossing their trash and going for a walk along the paved bike trail. Shawn finally pieced together that Art was a giant dork who played himself off to be a lot cooler and smoother than he actually was. And he did it very well.

"So where are you from originally?" Shawn asked as the two walked side by side in the dark, hands shoved in their pockets.

"Originally Kentucky, but Mom didn't like the rolling hills too much and we moved to South Carolina. I spent some time in Viriginia as well before I ended up here."

"Well I'm glad you did."

Art stopped walking and grinned. "Well, my dear sir, now that I've met you I'm pretty glad I did too. Hey, can I see your hand for a second? I wanna show you something neat."

Without hesitation, Shawn offered Art his hand and blushed as their fingers laced together.

"Trick complete!"

"You smooth mother fucker!" Shawn laughed.

"A little less awkward then confessing you just really wanna hold someone's hand, I think. Now I just have to figure out how to kiss you without you catching on to me and I'm golden." Art grinned.

Shawn’s heart practically stopped with delight and he tried to hide his smile. Then he had an idea. Art seemed like the type of person where you had to beat him at his own game to truly gain his respect.

“So what’s you’re favorite TV show and why is it The Office?” Art asked.

“Parks and Rec is better, but back up a second. You want to kiss me?”

“Well yeah, obviously. And there’s no way Parks and Rec is better tha-“

Shawn took a leap of faith and gently but firmly pulled Art closer to him, their eyes locking before Shawn leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on Art’s lips. He held it there for a few seconds, feeling fireworks going off in his soul. He gently pulled back and smiled.

Art stood there in stunned silence for a few seconds. “Well I’ll be damned. That was...pretty fuckin cool.”

“We should do that more often,”

Art raised an eyebrow and let a sly smile slip. “Yeah we should,” He whispered before pulling Shawn back in for a much longer kiss. “I could get used to this.”

“You’re gonna be bad for my health with all this,” Shawn smiled back, feeling himself getting lost in Art’s eyes again. It suddenly dawned on him he had no clue what time it was. “Shit!” He whipped him phone out of his pocket and checked the clock. Only 11:40.

“What time do I need to have you home by?”

“No later than two.”

Art took Shawn’s hand again and pulled back. “I’m done kissing you. For now. We can do more of that later. Come on, let’s keep walking. I have much more to learn about you, love.”