After a month or so of this, I snapped. Finally, I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, dude, you really need to be less creepy."

I was on my break, and grabbing a coffee and a bagel, sat down at his table with a sigh.

He didn't look away from staring at the target of his obsession. "This table is taken." His voice was so cold I thought the room temperature dropped a little.

"Yeah... no it's not. " I shook my head sadly. "You see, at first I was willing to watch you be a creeper and stalk this girl, thinking I shouldn't interfere with true love and all that, but to be honest, it's just way too cringy."

He finally turned towards me, irritated. "Go. Away."

He had an air of intimidation around him. If it were anyone else they probably would have peed themselves and run away.

Unfortunately for Jack, he was facing me.

"Listen, buddy." I leaned forward, keeping my voice low. "You can hear me out, or I can announce to everyone your dirty little secret."

His eyes narrowed, and I sighed. "The one about your drink order. Why on earth would I know any other of your secrets?"

"I don't like that you're threatening me."

"Well I'm sure Darla doesn't like you staring at her like you're a starving wolf looking at a raw steak."

At these words, the intimidating aura around him, dissipated. He leaned back, obviously confused.

"How do you...?"

"Both of you come in every day. You stare at her for hours. It's not a secret that you're in love with her." I clapped him on the shoulder. "I know you mean well and all, but the whole 'dark, brooding, obsessed' thing you have going on is overrated and bad for a healthy long term relationship."

He seemed utterly confused now.

"There's a difference between a girl being important to you, and her being the single only significant thing in your life. One is sweet the other... is a little unhealthy."

"How would you know?" Jack was getting defensive now. "I don't see any reason to trust your advice."

"You should trust my advice because I'm an uninvolved third party. As such, I have no bias, no motive to lie to you, other than pure altruism." I smiled. "I'm rooting for you two to get together, but this is just too painful to watch."

He stared at me intently. "How do I know you aren't trying to sabotage my relationship with her to get me to be interested in you?"

I couldn't help it, at those words I threw my head back and laughed.

"It's not that funny." He growled as I continued laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair.

"It really is." I sighed as I wiped the tears from my eyes. "That was great, I haven't laughed that hard in a while. " Looking back up at his annoyed face I chuckled. "Sorry dude, you're pretty to look at, but the whole dark, mysterious stranger bit you have going on is not my type."

"..." He didn't respond, obviously still irritated.

"So let me help you with your romance of a lifetime, and we'll help you build a nice strong relationship that will last, okay?"

I held my hand out to shake, but he just stared at it silently.

"..."

I didn't move it.

"..."

Finally, with a long, tired sigh, he reached out and shook my hand. "Fine."

"Great! Let's get started." I took a bite of my bagel and thought things over. "Before pursuing your dream girl, let's try to work on you being a well rounded individual whose life won't revolve completely around your partner."

"What do you mean?"

"Besides work and Darla, what are your interests?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He thought for a long moment. "I like managing people."

"That's work."

"Drinking hot chocolate while watching her smile at her book."

"Darla. Try again."

"Making money."

"WORK. You're really bad at this."

Finally he threw up his hands. "I don't know!"

"Star Wars or Star Trek?"

"Pardon?"

I rolled my eyes. "Do you like Star Wars or Star Trek better?"

"What does that have to do with..." He sighed. "I've only ever seen Star Wars, and that was when I was a kid."

"Did you like it?"

He stared at me uncertainly. "Yes, I suppose."

"Good, then we will reconvene tomorrow." I finished my bagel and stood up. "Your homework is to think of any hobbies that you might enjoy."

"But why...?"

"See you tomorrow!" Waving I went behind the counter to clock back in, my break over.

The next day when my break came I approached Jack's table once more, setting down a large pile next to his hot chocolate with a loud thud.

He jumped with surprise, having not noticed me due to his intense Darla watching.

"What's all this?!"

"This is your new assignment." I started picking the pile apart. "Different books and movies that you might enjoy based on what I know of your preferences."

"We only talked about Star Wars."

"Which has action, fantasy, sci-fi and even some romantic elements in it." I placed all the items in a bag, forcing it into his unwilling hands. "Try these, and let me know which ones you like and don't like, and why. From there I'll be able to make better recommendations." I pulled out a list and handed it to him as well. "Also, subscribe to these streaming services and start watching these shows listed here."

He took the list, shaking his head. "What's the point of all this? Weren't you supposed to help me with my relationship with her?"

I sat down with a loud sigh. "Let me ask you something: when you finally work up the nerve to start talking to this girl, what are you going to talk about?"

Jack seemed taken aback. "Well... I mean..."

"Do you know what she likes, dislikes?"

"She likes reading!" He argued back. "I could talk to her about that!"

"And you'll be able to contribute to that conversation about reading?" I laughed. "When's the last time you read a book for entertainment?"

He couldn't answer.

"You need to find out what your own interests are first, and then you'll be able to talk to her like a well rounded human being."

He groaned, holding his head in his hands. "I hate you."

"You're welcome." I patted him on the shoulder with a grin. "See you tomorrow."

And so, every day we sat down and discussed tv shows, books and movies. I slowly narrowed down his tastes, surprised to find that he tended to like the more dramatic and romantic works over action oriented books and movies. As he gained more and more experience he started branching out on his own, trying new books even without my recommendation. And that wasn't the only change. After a few weeks of this, we were in the midst of a long discussion of a new fantasy book series, when he stopped, looking at me with a strange expression.

"What?" I said it with a mouth full of pastry, but I wasn't really worried about being rude.

"What do you like?"

I swallowed the food in my mouth. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we've spent all this time figuring out the books and movies I like, but I have no idea what kind of things you like."

"Is it important?" I was just a side character, after all.

He thought it over before nodding. "Yes, I think it is." Giving me a full-fledged grin, he leaned forward. "Star Wars or Star Trek?"

He had made significant progress.