Request: Dude, Jisol. Meme x extra.

Title: Belonging

With a little help from the song by Orianthi- According to you and the many various posts I would see about how people were dropping Joshua because he was way different from the gentleman image the company told him to go with. Well if you ever watched predebut stuff you’d know he was a giant dork who made a song about chocolate and being hungry.

Summary: Everyone he’s ever dated has told him he’s way different than the image he first gave off and they didn’t like it, dumping him. Until he met him that is.

His entire dating history was littered with black marks and people leaving him. He had partner after partner tell him that he just wasn’t the person that they thought he was. According to them he was a gentleman. He was. According to them he was polite. He was. According to them he was nice. He was. But according to them he was too nerdy, too weird at times, and his sense of humor was just too much. And it was true, he was. But they couldn’t, didn’t want to love all of him. They only loved the parts that they saw at the coffee shops, the libraries, and the picture he made when he read by the windows.

Joshua was more than that. But they didn’t like those parts. So he was left with relationships gone sour and people who didn’t see the him underneath.

Joshua tired of that real quick, dropping all needs and desires in looking for a partner. Yet he sat here in his favorite café, waiting on a blind date. How did he get in this situation again? Ah, right. He owed Seungcheol a favor from that one night.

What did he say about this kid again? Kid, because Cheol said that he was a few years younger than Joshua and he tended to go for older partners. He tried to recall some details about him other than the fact that he was half American and went by his middle name Vernon because he was so used to hearing it in his family.

He startled as the bell rang, indicating another customer. Vernon, did indeed look American. More so than Joshua who lived in America for most of his life. But looks were deceiving. Caucasian looks aside, the kid was rather handsome in a way. But his sense of style…

“Hey, I’m Vernon.”

Joshua grabbed the hand that he stuck out and shook it in return. “Joshua. Nice to meet you.”

“I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you look exactly like Seungcheol hyung said you would. Big eyes like a cats and a really pretty face.”

Oh, how cute, the kid blushed a little. “No. It’s fine. I’ve heard that a million times already.” Joshua pointed to the counter, “Did you want something to drink? It’s on me.”

“Nah, I’m not a big coffee drinker.”

Joshua smirked. “Too bitter for you?”

Vernon smiled sheepishly. “A bit.”

Shaking his head, Joshua said with a smile, “I’ll get you a fruit iced tea. They’re tasty and sweet enough. I’ll be back.”

A few minutes later he came with the tea in hand. “Here. Promise it’ll be sweet enough for your taste buds.”

The kid blushed. How cute. “Wait, how old are you again? Cheol wasn’t exactly clear on that.”

“I’m 21. In my last year of college.”

“Hmmm. I see.” Joshua let him take a sip of his drink. “So before we go any further. I’d like to tell some things about me. Things that were deal breakers when I dated other people.”

Vernon nodded.

“Ok. So first of all I like watching anime. A lot. It’s one of my hobbies. Second I’m much dorkier than I come off as. And third I’m not a prince nor am I as quiet as I look. Is that ok with you? Because if it isn’t we’ll have to call this date over.”

Vernon looked taken aback by the torrent of information Joshua threw down on the table.

“Well I like watching anime too so that’s a plus.” He smiled at Joshua, “My friends call me a meme sometimes so I think I might have you beat at the dorky stuff. And I’m not looking for a prince, just a nice boyfriend that I can maybe someday take back to my family.”

“I can do the last one,” Joshua said smiling softly, “if we ever get that far.” He leaned on the table, “So how memelike are you?”

Vernon laughed. “Let me tell about the time I danced to Hotline Bling.”