The Twitterverse followed a man's tweets on Valentine's Day as he chronicled getting stood up by an imaginary date.

(WTHR) — It started as a tweet: "if I went to Outback Steakhouse by myself tonight and asked for a table for 2, then got progressively sadder as the night went on alone, do you think they’d give me my steak for free?"

The poster "Phteven," whose Twitter handle is @baconflavoring, posted the question around dinnertime on Valentine's Day.

if I went to Outback Steakhouse by myself tonight and asked for a table for 2, then got progressively sadder as the night went on alone, do you think they’d give me my steak for free? — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 14, 2019



What followed was an adventure shared on social media throughout the rest of the night as Phteven (he doesn't share his real name) posted his progress — waiting for a table for two at an Outback Steakhouse, then finally sitting down to what he presented to be a romantic dinner.

After ordering two drinks ("...she loves chardonnay") he continued to build his ruse.

got my table pic.twitter.com/8KdypncH31 — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 15, 2019 when I parked, I took the jumper cables in my trunk out of the bag they came in and stuff some shoebox paper I had in the backseat into it to make it look like a bought a present — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 15, 2019





After eating two loaves of appetizer bread and finishing "her" wine, he finally ordered a steak just before the kitchen closed.

the waiter just talked to the bartender. i’m sitting in a booth at the bar and every single person within eye range has glanced at me at some point during the evening. — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 15, 2019



For the benefit of other patrons, he continued to leave fake voicemails for his supposedly tardy date. He invents a backstory on how he and "Katherine" met. The steak arrives.

steak’s here. blue cheese crumbles melted on top. restaurant’s closed. how long can I stare into the distance before taking a bite? pic.twitter.com/w7bhvIAyne — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 15, 2019



After the restaurant closes, he's still sitting alone, but no check comes to his table.

UPDATE: a couple at the bar paid for my meal for me.



this mission?



SUCCESSFUL. — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 15, 2019



The evening ends with Phteven taking his uneaten meal in doggy bags. He said he tipped the waiter $20 and will donate $50 to the American Civil Liberties Union as a token of thanks to the couple who bought his dinner.

i took all my food to go. all. of. it. ate three bites of mac n cheese and never once touched the steak. my mans gave me a to go Dr Pepper so I’m leaving him a $20 tip pic.twitter.com/9tjOy7K0FG — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 15, 2019



one last thing - the waiter came to clean my table as I left. he put his hand on my shoulder, looked me dead in the eye like a father about to tell his son that grandma died, and said



“take care of yourself. don’t let them get you down.”



put this man in the waiter hall of fame — Phteven (@baconflavoring) February 15, 2019



Reactions in the threads to his tweets ranged from outrage at the ruse, to criticism of his choice of the ACLU for his donation, to offers to date him for his sense of humor.

In the end, Outback Steakhouse was fine with it. The restaurant replied to his tweet inviting him to go on a real date on their dime. The only catch is he has to find his own date.