After my first bad date story, I thought I’d write another one. If you’d like to read the first one too, you can read it here:
I have never met a single person who has had a worse dating life than I’ve had. Whether it’s a boyfriend or a first date, I learned very quickly that many men are simply not right for me. Which is perfectly okay! But sometimes I think boys need to be called out to their mothers for their behavior. Or a reality check.
I’d like to go ahead and shout out my current partner for being the most phenomenal partner I could ask for.
I’d also like to remind all of you guys as well to keep your head (and standards) high. The right person will find their way to you soon! Just make sure to focus on yourself first.
For the sake of this post, I will be using aliases for all the people mentioned in these stories.
My date with gerard
Like most of my bad dates, I met Gerard online. We had been calling and texting for weeks since we both swiped right. During this time, I learned that he liked video games, played guitar and had a one-eyed chihuahua named Cheeto.
He wasn’t the type of guy I would typically go for, but he seemed sweet enough for me to meet up with him. He lived in Hartwell, Georgia, which is a more rural area with lots of farmland and a gorgeous lake. However, it also does not have many good public meeting spots. So, Gerard and I decided to meet at the Walmart close to his house.
I got all dressed up, put on some makeup and rose-scented perfume. The entire time I was getting ready, my roommate heard all of the romantic music playing from my room.
She leaned up against the door frame between our rooms and said, “You got another date tonight?”
“Maybe,” I replied happily while applying mascara.
When I arrived at Walmart, he looked exactly like his pictures: tall, thin, had long black hair, wore all black clothing and enough rings to cover every finger. At the time, I wore lots of black clothes, accessories and thick eyeliner. Gerard and I looked like two peas in a pod.
I remember complimenting the barbed wire necklace he wore around his neck. He told me that he’d give it to me once I was his girlfriend.
We walked around Walmart for about 15 minutes, talking about how excited we were to have finally met.
“You look even more beautiful than your pictures,” he said. “Your eyes are the brightest I’ve ever seen.”
I was eating all of that up. We didn’t spend too much time walking around before we decided to head back to his place so I could meet Cheeto. When we approached our cars, it began to rain heavily. He told me to drive slower on the dirt roads and that he’d keep an eye on me from behind as he led the way to his house.
When we arrived, I saw that Gerard lived in the middle of nowhere, on a dirt road with no street lights and not another house in sight. We walk inside and are greeted by Cheeto and a tuxedo cat that could not get enough of me. Gerard’s dad, Mr. Way, also greeted me at the door. He exclaimed that he’s heard so much about me, then asked us not to be too loud.
His bedroom was plain with with a full-size bed, large TV and a guitar standing in the corner. He promptly grabbed his guitar and began playing Minecraft music at me. I thought it was romantic for the first five minutes, but then he just kept playing. Each time I tried to start a conversation, he’d ignore me and continue playing. At one point, he said that if I wanted to talk to him so bad I should have gone home and called him on my phone. He then laid his guitar on the floor.
He tossed me a bag of lays potato chips and said he wanted to play a game. I assumed he meant I’d play with him. I was wrong. He hooked up his VR headset to his TV so I could watch. He began playing Blade and Sorcery, which is a medieval fantasy game where the only objective is to kill NPC’s with a variety of different weapons. He talked about how cool the game’s physics were and that it was his favorite way to release his stress. Gerard went into gruesome detail about how he wished he could do it in real life.
At this point I was extremely bored (and scared) and wanted to leave.
Right before I planned to announce my departure, Mr Way, Gerard’s Aunt and two younger cousins walked into his bedroom. She shook my hand and said she couldn’t wait to meet me. Her and Mr. Way commented about how pretty I was and that Gerard was a lucky boy to have such a pretty girl in his room. All the while his two little cousins stared at me and giggled about how Gerard can’t keep a girlfriend.
Mr. Way said I should try on one of Gerard’s rings, seeing that I didn’t have one on my finger yet. Gerard chuckled and said he’d love to put a ring on my finger. I laughed a little and declined the offer. His aunt insisted that I try on his ring, or his jacket, so she could take a picture of us together. Gerard looked at me and saw the look of discomfort on my face before shooing them away.
He shut off his game and suggested we watch some YouTube. I declined his offer and said I needed to drive home. I told him it was already 11 p.m. and I had a long drive home. He begged me to stay for a little bit longer, so I reluctantly agreed.
At first, we started watching some Markiplier gameplay videos and he put his arm around me. I finally started to really enjoy the time we were spending together.
He quickly ruined it by turning on a youtuber called Meat Canyon. If you don’t know what Meat Canyon is, I highly suggest to lose your curiosity. It is some of the most unsettling animated content that I have ever seen. What was more unsettling was Gerard’s fascination with the videos. He took his arm off me and moved to the foot of his bed, staring at the screen without saying a word.
I knew that I needed to get out of there. I sent an SOS alert on Life360 to all my friends and told them everything that was happening. I moved to the foot of the bed and sat next to him. I told him it was about time for me to leave, he said I couldn’t yet.
I looked away to text one of my friends could help me escape his house before Gerard grabbed the back of my head and forced me to face the screen with him. He told me to watch the video in a monotone voice and kept his hand gripped on my head. We sat like this watching what felt like every video that Meat Canyon had ever posted.
At 2 a.m., Mr. Way walked into the room and said I needed to leave. He claimed that Gerard had to get up early and start applying for jobs in the morning. Gerard huffed and paused the video before leading me outside, where the dirt road was covered in a dense fog. I couldn’t even see through to his house from the driveway.
Gerard told me that he couldn’t wait to see me again. He hugged me tightly and told me to drive “low and slow” in the fog. I said thank you and hopped into my car. He asked if he could kiss me before I left, but before I could say no, he laughed and said he actually wanted to make me wait until out second date. He laughed and disappeared into the fog towards his house.
I texted my roommate that I was finally on my way back to our dorm. I had the most terrifying blind drive of my life, idling through the dense fog for half an hour. He tried calling me twice during my drive.
As soon as I parked in front of my dorm, I deleted Gerard’s number and removed him from my socials. He tried to reach out to me several times, but never heard back.
A note about dating safety
I made a million and a half mistakes during my dating life and these stories stand as proof. Oftentimes, I put myself in dangerous situations and give the other person plenty of opportunity to cause harm. Here are some things I learned from my experiences that have helped me lead a safer dating life:
- If you are ever in an uncomfortable situation, you need to leave or have someone come get you.
- Make sure someone has your location while on the date, especially if it’s with someone you met online.
- Be sure to be respectful and to expect the same in return.
- Keep some kind of self-defense mechanism on you. It could be a pocket taser, pepper spray, baton, emergency whistle, etc.
- Don’t settle. There’s billions of other options out there, so don’t be disappointed by a couple bad dates.
- Be safe and have fun!