First Date

A story I wrote back in January based on a writing prompt. Wrote it in two weeks, and I'm happy with how it turned out! Enjoy!

Vanessa
Hey

Johnny
Good evening
how you doin?

Vanessa
perfect as usual
You?
Up to no good again?

Johnny
Of course
got some achievements to earn, wanna help?

Vanessa
Not today
Need to get to sleep at a reasonable hour
besides
don't you remember what's happening tomorrow

Johnny
How could I forget?
can't wait to see your face <3

Vanessa
me too

Johnny
did you need anything?

Vanessa
nope
just wanted to talk with you one more time before bed
goodnight

Johnny
goodnight
WAIT
you are a girl, right?
can never be sure on the interwebs

Vanessa
what?
of course LOL
if theres one good thing about meeting in person its that you can't make that joke anymore.

Johnny
i'll make that joke whenever I like mister
lol
goodnight for reals

Vanessa
see you tomorrow <3

Johnny
<3

- Vanessa is now Away


"This'll be either the best day of my life, or the worst," Johnny said to an empty car. Afternoon sun beat down on him as he drove toward Joe's, towards her -- towards Vanessa.

They had met… was it really only a year ago? He had been searching for a someone to play Borderlands with, and she had been looking for a Rocket League teammate; a mutual online friend matched them up and they had been talking ever since.  Things had started off slow -- it was a full two weeks before he even knew she was a girl (broken mic), and three months before they traded names, and she still refused to use video-chat -- but it had taken only a day to realize he was in love. She could snipe like nobody's business, too.

And not only did she feel the same way, but she also lived only a town or two over. Practically next-door neighbors! They had no reason not to meet, and as much as she had tried to put it off the day had finally arrived. Just ten minutes more, and he be face-to-face with the love of his life… 

"Hey, watch it!" someone shouted. Someone swerved away in the right lane, and honking horns brought him back to reality. Don't want an accident on the first date, he thought. 

Seven minutes of distracted driving later he arrived at his destination. Joe's. Not the best restaurant in town, not by a long shot (that would be the Red Lion Pizzeria down the way), but it had fresh baked bread, a pleasant atmosphere, and only a moderately expensive price tag. Whether it was a good choice for a first date he had no idea, but his friend had gone there with his girlfriend, and they're married now, so presumably it had gone well. Finding a parking spot only two blocks away, he pulled over, stopped the car, and started stepping slowly towards the restaurant. 

What did she look like? Since their first shared gaming session a reasonable picture had started to form in his mind -- mostly stereotypes of course, with only text to go by. Pale face, warm smile, a bit chubby, very perceptive eyes, average nose and mouth and hair; when he finally heard her voice he toned down the chubbiness a bit, but mostly the face had stayed. It didn't matter to him what it looked like, not really. It was just a placeholder, and it wasn't like he had gotten attached to it. Johnny saw the scene in his mind: her sitting at a cloth-coated table, cradling a water glass in a long-fingered hand, watching for his arrival with night-blue eyes, tapping an unknown rhythm on the corner, ready and waiting…

"Really sorry," he said to the man he had crashed into. A shooting pain ran up his side and he winced. The man just stumbled back, muttered a derisive "Watch where you're going," and set off. Back in reality, Johnny shook his head and resumed walking. Stay focused.

The last block passed without incident, and before he knew it he was there, standing in front of a double door, neon sign flashing "Open" in the window to the left. Vanessa was already inside; he could feel it in his gut. Swallowing, stretching his fingers, straightening his shirt, he braced himself and grasped the door handle, holding it for what felt like years before finally pushing inward and entering Joe's.

Today seemed to be an average day for the restaurant. A few full tables, more with one or two patrons; he saw some kind of birthday party going on in the back, partially obscured by the hostess station. A glance at the waiting area: empty. In the station stood a young lady in a branded white uniform, wearing a tired smile.  He walked up to the station, stepping purposefully and praying he didn't look as nervous as he felt.

"Good afternoon," she said as he approached. "Welcome to Joe's. Will you be dining alone today?"
Johnny took a short breath before speaking. "No, I'm eating with Vanessa Parker, has she arrived yet?" Calm down, calm down.

"Yes sir, she has. May I have your name, please?"

"Johnny, er, Johnny Simms."

She stopped to mark something down on the station and looked up. "Right this way, Mr. Simms." He followed the hostess as she guided him to his love.

Then he noticed the table they were approaching and he stopped.

It sat by the window. A white tablecloth graced the wooden surface, with a menu resting in front of the open seat beside a full water glass and table settings. In the center lay a small vase of flowers and an unlit candle, completing the romantic atmosphere. All that was standard. On the other side, a menu lay splayed open, and some… some creature sat reading it.

Johnny's first thought (once his brain rebooted) was that there had to be some mistake. This -- alien was the only word that came to mind -- could not be her. Two green arms sprouting from an Overwatch tank top, resting on the table, propping up a green head. Another green hand grasping her water, occasionally bringing it to her mouth for a sip. A fourth drumming against the wood. And that face: a green oval with four deep black eyes, deep as night, only broken by the sun's white glare. Those eyes pored over the menu, as far as he could tell; which, hopefully, meant she hadn't seen his reaction. He could still try and play it cool. 

Raising his right hand to wave, he grabbed her attention: "Vanessa?" Her head snapped upwards, and the widest smile he had ever seen spread across her face. 

"Johnny? Oh my gosh it's so great to see you! Was your drive okay? You look a bit shaken or something."

S**t, she noticed. "Had a few close calls here and there. Almost tripped once or twice." He hung his coat on the back of the chair and started to sit. "Good to see you too. How was yours?"

 
"Got my mom to drive me; don't have to fight over parking spots that way."

"That's the way to go.." After adjusting the chair, Johnny picked up his menu and hid behind it, pretending to read its contents. "I guess you come here often, then?"

A glimpse of movement on the other side. "Sometimes. I haven't been in the area long." She paused. "The fried shrimp sounds good."

"Shrimp's always good." Both nodded, and he went back to scanning the menu until a waiter approached, notepad in hand.

"Good afternoon," he said, sounding much less chipper than he looked. He set a basket of fresh bread and butter on the table. "My name is Alex, and I'll be your server today. Have you decided what you'd like to order?"

Johnny set down the menu, took a quick glance at Vanessa -- still unsettling -- and spoke. "I'll take the grilled chicken strips, with shrimp and broccoli on the side." 

Alex scribbled his order down. "Excellent choice. And you, miss?"

"Let's go with the fried shrimp plate. With… with fries and carrot slices."

"Understood. Could I possibly interest you with a drink?"

Vanessa looked at Johnny over the menu with a questioning look. "What's your opinion?"

"Hmm… Wine sounds like good date drink. Two glasses sound good?" She smiled and nodded; he turned back to the waiter. "Two glasses of red wine, please."

"I'll get those for you straight away. Let me just take your menus" -- no more cover -- "and I'll be back in a moment." Both guests thanked him as he walked away.

Beads of sweat had started to form on Johnny's face. He needed to escape. Looking into her four black eyes as best he could, he started to stand, pushing his chair back a little too sharply. "Just need to run to the bathroom for a minute, if you don't mind."

"Sure, it's fine," she said, though her smile shifted to a frown when he turned away, and he walked purposefully over to the men's restroom and shut the door.

Empty. Not a person in sight. Good, because it was all Johnny could do not to scream. He slammed both hands into edge of the granite vanity and stared into the mirror. As he stared, her face seemed to replace his own, peering into his soul, wearing the same fanged smile she'd worn when he arrived; her hand tapped out of the corner of his eye, and despite the gravity of the whole situation he found himself idly wondering what song she had been following. Fingers tightened. He took a long, deep breath to try and calm himself.

"She's not that strange, you know."

He jumped, and her image vanished. Water started to flow from the sink next to him; a shadow appeared on the edge of his vision. Something told him not to look up. "What do you know?"

"Enough."

More silence. More flowing water. Her mirage appeared once more, this time wearing a frown, and this time Johnny thought he saw sadness behind her shadowy eyes. He didn't meet them. "Are you here to lecture me?"

"No," his visitor said, still washing his hands. "Only to tell you what you need to hear."

"To tell me that I need to just get over the fact that she's an alien and talk to her like a normal human being."

He paused. "Not quite."

"Then tell me."

The water stopped, and the shadow stepped back. "She's an alien, yes. I understand that. But she's still the human you met online. The exact same girl you thought she was; just a different package, that's all." Johnny heard the sound of a paper towel ripping beside him, then footsteps.

"How do you know all this?" He whipped around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the philosopher but only catching a flash of green through a closing door. Shoulders drooping, he returned to the sink, stuck on what the man had said.

Inhale. Exhale. Johnny gazed into the mirror, saw her smile again -- but this time it changed. The fangs vanished; blue irises formed in multiple eyes; her talons shifted into fingers on hands; green skin turned a pale tan. And when it was done, he realized he was staring at the face he had imagined. It had more eyes than before, along with a few other differences, but underneath they looked exactly the same. Maybe this would work after all.

Frowning at himself, he stepped away from the sink, clenched and unclenched his fists, and shoved open the door, as ready as he was ever going to get.

It took him about ten seconds to reach their table, and he loved the way her four eyes glowed as he approached.

---

From the embassy website, one week later:
Hello! My name's Vanessa, and welcome to my homepage! I'm not from around here (by trillions of miles) but that doesn't mean Earth isn't my home. My family's lived here for about five years now and this has been the most wonderful experience of my life -- especially the video games :D

As for me, I'm just your average girl: I love shopping, clothes (and modifying them to actually work on me), and crushing noobs in Counter-Strike. On that subject if anyone needs a teammate for pretty much anything on PC I'm interested; I've got sharp eyes and arms to spare, so I hope I won't let you down.

Also looking for something more… Now officially taken! Thanks to all who offered.
Especially Johnny <3.

Original Prompt:

Write a story about a man who virtually chats with an alien unknowingly. The man starts to fall in love with this mysterious stranger. What happens next?

Author's Note

How are the scenery descriptions and sentence structure? I mostly feel satisfied with the dialogue, but I wonder how I could improve my writing style.

Reviews

[MelGo30~]

This is someone who doesn't like video games that much and I was unsure of the story because of that at the start, but then you surprised me and I was hooked to the story. Everything is fantastic and very well written. Good job!

[Cass Ashe]

I was pleasantly surprised by this story when I read it, and it was really good. The sentence structure was nice, not too long and not too short, with just the right length and style in the right places. I was able to follow the story easily because of that. The scenery descriptions are also really good and I personally liked all the ways you included the video games within the story. I thought it was a nice short story to read. Keep it up!