× between the sheets

@chan There’s something about Christopher’s sheepishness that made him all the more attractive in her eyes. The little stutters, the questions asked to make sure she was alright, and the awkward coughs that he probably did (though he just excused it as a bad cough) to fill up the silence had brought her to smile to herself in utter amusement. It was new, quite refreshing, and not something she expected to see from him in such short notice. In fact, the persona presented in front of her was, in her opinion, the polar opposite of what he impressed on her the other day. Needless to say, if he wasn’t brazenly showing his upper body on camera, she would have thought of him as adorable. The awkward nerdy type, even.

Though again, a part of her believed he simply did this to catch her attention. As if he knew exactly what this duality did to women. And though she didn’t usually fall for this classic male tactic, there was something about Christopher Bang that intrigued her. She just couldn’t quite put a finger on it yet. Of course, he was—is an attractive man. There’s absolutely no doubt about that. But that was never enough to command her attention as much as he did at the moment. And it pissed her off.

“Nothing’s wrong, I just accidentally deleted something but I reverted it right away,” she reassured with a smile, fingers idly swiping and clicking on the trackpad as she switched from slide to slide as though she were checking each one (of course, that’s not at all what she was doing, but it was the best alibi she had at the moment). She shifted her gaze to his camera and let out a soft, barely audible sigh.

Oh, what she would give to touch that body at least once.


‘God, Lisa. What the hell are you thinking?’ It took a minute for her to shake herself out of her thoughts—as sinful and inappropriate as they were—and focus on the task at hand. Though, embarassingly enough, it took another minute for her to remember what the hell she was supposed to do. Right. Project.

“I think every slide looks good. I proofread it in between classes today.” She nodded, her eyes trained on the slide as it took every bit of her strength to keep herself from looking at his camera.


But alas, she glanced at it anyway after detecting the smallest bit of movement on his end from her peripheral. 



“Let me call you back on my phone,” she said, quickly hanging up the call on her laptop whilst simultaneously unlocking her phone to FaceTime him on that device instead.

@lalisa Chan hummed in agreement, swallowing the lump that had quickly grown in his throat so that he could continue their conversation. "Yeah. It would be," he was interrupted by the sound of his partner cursing.

"What? What's wrong?"

He had instantly perked up, eyes rushing back to stare at her, worried that something had happened. Did he say something unconsciously without realizing? Was something missing from their project and she realized it last minute? The last thing they needed was to stay up even later than needed the night before their presentation. His breathing had sped up without him even realizing, and his palm had flew over his mouth as he couldn't help a choke that eventually turned into a cough.

, the psychical after effects of his situation were always the worst; he just wasn't expecting them to show up this soon. But then again, if these dirty thoughts of his were already making an appearance, why /wouldn't/ he be tortured any further? Pulling his hand back, Chan felt something warm in his palm, something sticky even. His vision grew blurry again, but he still managed to make out what the substance was; blood. Oh no. Quickly grabbing a tissue from one of his baskets nearby, and almost falling over, he quickly tried to wipe away any trace of the fluid. He couldn't afford to panic right now, and most definitely could not afford having Lisa notice and get worried too.

"S-Sorry, bad cough."
His eyebrows furrowed and once he believed he had cleaned himself up enough, a sigh of relief was released from his chest as he tried to regain his composure. Chan's hands moved to adjust his laptop and phone again, unintentionally showing more of his chest than he did originally.

@chan (H) Just as she regained what little composure she could manage, it all soon came crashing down as quickly as it came. Hard. And he was the only one to blame. With his chest now in full view, she was almost completely certain that he was doing this on purpose. For whatever reason or motive, it certainly was not innocent. There was absolutely no way that the positioning was coincidental, as she knew full well that he could have easily set the phone down so that the camera pointed at the ceiling. Yet here he was, showcasing his upper body in all its glory, without a trace of shame. 



She swallowed her saliva as her eyes brazenly glazed over the sight before her. Her inner cheek was caught in between her teeth, and she took in a steady breath. What was presented before her is an Adonis of a man, and at that moment, she knew that there was absolutely no way for her to fully focus on the assignment now.

Lalisa pushed up her glasses, lips pursed to avoid biting down on them. ‘,’ she cursed inwardly, mentally preparing herself for the following half hour or so of their little study session. 



“Yeah,” she responded to his question with a sheepish smile, visibly less enthusiastic than he was. An ironic find, really, as he initially was the less talkative out of the two. Look at them now. And all because he decided to distract her with that astonishingly gorgeous body of his. The nerve of the man, really. If she ever ed up on their presentation tomorrow, she might be inclined to place the blame on him.

“You think so? I think we have a pretty clear shot at an A,” she agreed, minimizing the tab of their Facetime to better focus on the presentation, just then realizing that a small window showed at the top right corner of her screen. “,” Lalisa murmured, eyes widening upon realizing that she said it out loud.

@lalisa "I hear you a hundred-percent," Chan agreed, forcing himself to say SOMETHING so that his mind didn't wander any further. Though, it would be a pretty picture to imagine... . He didn't want to imagine it; he wanted to see it in person. He wanted to feel his hands grabbing at her toned, milky skin, leaving bruises that would have everyone who even dared to look her way wondering who did it. How delightful would it be to see their eyes burning with envy or disbelief, because it wasn't them who even got the chance. He could already practically taste her--

His ears reddened, which he hoped wasn't too noticeable on screen but things never went his way, and he forced out a cough. "Practice was fine as well. Had to be a bit harder on the boys today, but it'll all be worth it for our game in a few days."

His hands finally got ahold of his laptop and he swiftly pulled it out of his bag, flashing a smile at the girl to try and steady his emotions. God, this was already hard as is and they barely started. Who knows what would happen later? It had been too long since he last slipped up, it was bound to happen again soon, right? He wasn't excited to find out.

"Alright, we can make this quick so we can finally get some well deserved rest. Sound good?"
Chan had travelled from his bed to his own desk, placing the laptop on top to rest and adjusting his phone so that she could still see him without him holding it. The only downside was that.. his chest was now visible. Oh, well, it wasn't as if she was staring at him the way he was staring at her. This was strictly for school, and he was the only one who was seemingly being a mess. Fingers typed away quickly at the keyboard, logging himself in and eventually guiding himself to their slideshow.

"God, she better give us a good grade. We deserve it."

@chan (H) To her surprise, he answered almost immediately. It rang only four times until his face came into view, ebony locks and shoulders in frame. The female bit her inner cheek at the sight, his half- upper body taking her by surprise. Though, she never doubted that he had a great physique; he was the captain of the soccer team, after all. A good body would have been a given. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t taken aback. No, not in the slightest. Not when he had the audacity to be cheeky with her the night before. For a moment, she loses her train of thought as she shamelessly ogled at his exposed, milky skin.

“Yeah, I am,” she mumbled absentmindedly, eyes glued onto the his shoulders and clavicle. “Had a much needed shower since I felt too ing disgusting after sweating for hours. Can’t complain, though.”

The female let out a hum as she tore her gaze away with a shrug, nonchalantly playing off the bit of lust she allowed to show through. Embarassed, her eyes darted over to her own video, hastily checking to make sure that her cheeks weren’t as red on camera as she thought they were. Thankfully, the color wasn’t noticeable. But had he caught her in the act, she probably would have hung up the call, or possibly excused it as the heat. Not that he would believe it, she’s sure that he was well aware of how good his body looked.

Now, if he just lowered the camera just a tiny bit…

Lalisa cleared in a feeble attempt to interrupt her own thoughts, fearing that if she were to continue, she would be droolling right then and there. ‘How ing embarassing,’ she thought, mentally reprimanding herself for being distracted. But can you blame her? Christopher was an attractive guy, it didn’t take an idiot to find that out, and she would be blind if she didn’t admit it to herself.

“That’s fine,” She began, looking at his camera with a sheepish smile. This was going to be a hard facetime session indeed. “But practice was good! Got a lot done. How about you?”

@lalisa The phone hopped around in his hands like a bomb at the sudden sight of an incoming call; Lalisa. Even though his reflexes weren't half bad, the shock was enough for the device to almost fall flat on his face. The last thing he needed right now was another source of pain, but perhaps he needed something to give him adrenaline again before anything really set in for the incubus for the rest of the night. Scrambling to press answer, he was immediately greeted by the face of his partner.

"Hey," he flashed a smile, voice cracking in exhaustion after having been overusing it with his team hours before. "you look.. comfortable."

In fact, she looked more than comfortable. The sports bra alone left little for his mind to even wander to imagine and while he partially felt guilty, more than anything he was thankful that they were over facetime. For one, there was no way he'd even have much authority over himself with seeing something like this in person. Two, and most importantly, it would be much harder for her to notice if his eyes would drift across her frame to gaze at the oh-so-heavenly sight before him. Letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding inside, Chan forced his eyes away from the screen to search his bed for his laptop.

"Sorry, I'm totally not prepared. My laptop still must be in my bag."

Pushing himself off his mattress, phone still in hand, he began the search for his equipment. Right. Now wasn't the time to ogle her the way he was, even if he much more preferred to do so.

"Practice was good, I'm assuming?"

The best way to keep himself occupied until he found his laptop was to make small talk. As his fingers pushed away at papers hidden deep inside his backpack, his mind drifted to the thought of putting on a shirt himself. It wasn't like she was looking at him the way he was, right? So what would the point be? And, all she could see right now anyways was his shoulders. Chan glanced back at his phone to confirm that he was right.

[post deleted by owner]

@chan (H) Her hair was soaking. Dripping onto her bare legs and carpet, and yet she had not a care in the world. All she really did to take care of it was lay her towel onto her mattress to soak up whatever droplets that would otherwise dampen her sheets, as she herself laid atop her bed. Moreso sprawled on top of it, as her arms were splayed on the mattress around her as though she were a starfish. Her eyes were shut, right hand dangling over the side of the bed as it loosely held her phone. She had finished her shower just minutes before, in a pace much quicker than usual. Having had hastily finished her usually calm night routine, it was clear that exhaustion has made her incredibly impatient to return to the comfort of her bed. And now that she was in it, she had no desire to leave, regardless of what responsibilities she still had to take care of that night.

How could she? Since she finished class, she had barely been able to take a seat, let alone a breather. For hours, she was on her feet to either exercise or practice routines. If she wasn’t doing either of those, she was walking around, barking orders at her team to perfect choreography. It was tedious at best, and though she enjoyed every bit, it didn’t make it any less tiring. Tiring and disgusting, because by the time they finished practice, her entire body, albeit only covered in a sports bra and shorts, was dripping in sweat. When she was finally able to return to her dorm, she wasted absolutely no time and took advantage of every second she had left.

So she laid in bed for the remainder of her hour, only doing what she wanted to since the moment she got home: nothing. Nothing felt good, nothing felt rewarding. Relaxing. Thinking about nothing, in fact, was the most amazing thing to happen to her that day so far.

That is, until her mind, curious as ever, drifted to the boy she met yesterday, and the conversations they shared. She thought about how surprisingly entertaining he was to talk to, and how cheeky he seemed to be. She wondered if they’d converse the same way today. Ah, speaking of which—

Peeking an eye open for the first time in what felt like twenty minutes, she lifted her phone just enough to read the numbers on the screen. 7:57. She was just in time for the little practice session they scheduled the day before. And good timing it was, really, because when she finally pushed herself off the bed to sit in front of her desk, she felt a little bit of energy coming back to her. And maybe a bit of excitement, actually, because the moment she logged into her laptop, she did not hesitate for a second before she pressed the “facetime” button by his contact.

@lalisa Chan collapsed on his bed, having just got out of the shower and much more preferring to lay in only his shorts than to put on a shirt. He had gotten back from practice about 40 minutes ago and as soon as he got inside, he went on to take probably the longest, and more importantly much needed, shower that he's taken in a while. He had always enjoyed playing soccer when he was younger and thought maybe it'd be a good idea to continue it in university. But, with his fast growing and constant problem, things like exercise seemed to work in the moment and then grow to become even more troublesome for him after he was finished. It either made him even more sick or even more prone to acting out of character. Usually, the acting out of character part wasn't a big worry; he didn't talk or interact with anybody outside of his team. That is, until this week where he was working on his project with Lalisa.

They had actually talked not just yesterday in person, but last night over text. They had agreed to go over their project over facetime, both having so much to do today that it just seemed like the easier option. It was an unusual circumstance for him and as much as he'd hate to admit it, he liked it. She was interesting to talk to, but it was becoming increasingly more worrying to him how long he could restrain himself for. The incubus was practically eating himself up at the suggestive text he had sent hours ago, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did anything further. This stupid ing curse of his always had to make things more difficult than ever.

A frustrated grunt bubbled in his throat, hands grabbing his own dark locks at his own embitterment. In another life, maybe they could've been friends. But even then, he wasn't sure life would be fair to him there.

Hearing his phone go off to an alarm he set just incase he fell asleep, it didn't take long for the device to rest in the palm of his hands as his eyes scanned the screen for the time. 7:58. Should he call her? Was that too early? She did say eight or nine would work best, but should he wait until eight on the dot? Few minutes after?

Chan's finger hovered over Lalisa's contact, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he debated on what would be best.

@chan (H) Lalisa could not help but feel abashed herself as she looked down at the digits written in black ink on sky-blue paper. It was carefully lettered on the sheet, deliberate and not written in chicken scratch. As if she purposefully made it legible, so that there was no chance for him to misread a single number. But it was not necessarily the act that brought her cheeks to their subtle, rosy hue; rather, it was the fact that she gave it to him in the first place.

First impressions stick well to her, and somehow, she ended up giving the biggest jerk she ever met her number. Sure, it was for a class, but regardless, they could have easily emailed each other. She wondered if he was ever going to use the number, or let alone talk to her after this project. Not that it mattered, she had only given it to him in case either of them needed the other’s input for the project. But a part of her hoped he would use it for other than the purpose of discussing their assignment. There is, after all, potential for a friendship. She was quick to shove this idea to the side, though, as she quickly remembered that he was not exactly willing to converse with her from the start.

That is, until the tone of his voice changes. His stutter goes unnoticed by her, and when she turns away from her backpack to face him once more, she picks up on the hint of red that adorns his ears.

‘Adorable,’ she thought to herself, teeth sinking into her lower lip to suppress the itch of a smile.

“Yeah, text me anytime,” the girl remarks, pushing herself off of her chair before tucking it underneath the table. “I’ll see you yea?”

And with that, she walks out of the building, in a much better mood than when she first came in.

@lalisa "Yeah, I guess you could say that," Chan muttered out timidly, rubbing his forehead that he was sure wasn't anymore red than his ears were.

His breathing eventually slowed, having picked up originally because he thought if he held his breath hard enough that the pain wouldn't be as bad. Idiot. Though, this feeling of embarrassment was feeling heavier than the pain was. Thankfully, again, she was sweet about it. Seemingly even concerned? Guilt was beginning to set in about how -ish he was at the beginning of their first interaction. Too much was going on with him today and he didn't appreciate it. But it was nothing but his own fault.

"It's okay. I get headaches a lot and I'm usually more prepared with painkillers myself."
His gaze followed her as she began to write something down, not exactly understanding what was happening until she was halfway done with writing her digits. A libidinous thought began to cross his mind and he silently cursed; he was letting his guard down. Yet, seemingly with his guard even being up these thoughts of his had no end. Then, they locked eyes, his dark eyes boring into her seemingly lucent ones. "Wonder if her eyes will look the same when-" he interrupted the thought and quickly in a breath. Oh, .

"Uh, yeah.. Yeah! That's completely fine with me." His hands quickly, and admittedly shakily, began to gather his items, muttering things about how they both had a lot on their plates and that she was totally right about needing rest.

"I'll text you later," it came out more as a question rather than a statement. Honestly, he didn't care either. Chan just needed enough space, preferably in a completely different location, to clear his head before he ended up saying one of the things he wasn't meaning to think out-loud. Flashing a nervous something-of-a-smile, the boy pushed himself out the building, trying desperately not to trip over his own feet.

@chan (H) If she were to be frank, she would admit that she wanted to be elsewhere. Not necessarily because the company was terrible, but because she desperately needed some rest. To be encased in the warm embrace of her blankets, atop the gentle cradle of her mattress. For the first time in months, she felt weathered down, worn thin from the hours of assignments on top of long, excruciating classes during the ungodly hours of the day. But she wasn’t one to complain. At least, not out loud, when she knew others had to carry as heavy a weight as she. Though, a part of her knew that not as many people would put themselves through what she did, as she also had a part-time job and a routine that included going to the gym five days a week and the dance studio for the remaining two days.

Nonetheless, she wore a smile on her face, though only partially genuine. Because she knew that she had nothing significant to complain about, when she voluntarily put all of these responsibilities upon herself. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

That is, until the pounding of a hammer decided to make itself known in her already muddled head. It wasn’t too long ago that she rummaged in her backpack for a small bottle of painkillers, only to find it empty; only then did she remember that she used it at eleven o’clock the night before, when she was cramming for an exam she took the next morning. And so set the tone for that day. But as always, she wore her exhaustion with a smile, even if her unlikely partner was not acting as pleasant at first.

But when the latter makes a comment about their professor’s preferences, she smiles genuinely. For the first time that afternoon, Lalisa laughs. It’s nothing overly boisterous or hysterical, but it was enough to express her bit of amusement towards their conversation. Though, she doesn’t know why she laughed either; the latter did not really say anything particularly funny, nor was he being facetious of any sort. Perhaps what she did find amusing, however, was the bit of misery that they shared towards the class. Not that the course was difficult by any means, but it’s doubtful that either of them were enthusiastic about it in the slightest. It is busy work, after all, and no one liked to do that when they had something else to worry about.

“Yeah, she can be a little high maintenance at times, but I get her point,” the girl remarks whilst shaking her head, eyes on him. “But yes, that sounds good. Very organized.” 


Lalisa brings her attention back to her screen to jot down a couple of more notes, only to soon halt her actions when her peripheral picks up on the male’s clear display of discomfort. She turns to him, concern once more etched on her features.


“Headache?” she inquires with a softened voice, brows knitting together behind a set of wispy bangs. Slowly, she lifts her hand to close her laptop, offering him a reassuring smile.

“I have one too. I’d offer you a painkiller, but I ran out last night.” The girl pauses, lifting a finger up while her other hand scribbles something down on a baby blue sticky note. “Tell you what, why don’t we exchange numbers and see if we can set up another time tomorrow? If not, then we can easily call each other and work on it? I mean, we already know what to put down. And—uh, we don’t have to meet. But just in case…”

This time, it was her turn to smile sheepishly, as she pulled off the piece of paper from the pad, before reaching over to stick it on his laptop right below the keyboard. She glances at the ten-digits on the paper, before looking up at him with a brighter grin. “What do you say? Because it looks like the both of us are in dire need of a nap, don’t you think?”

@lalisa Chan was grateful that she believed him, or at least pretended like she did. It eased his conscious in a way. He nodded his head slightly in agreement to her comparing their project to a short essay. Regardless of how stressed out and sick he was, they had to do good on this project. He had to push through. This class, unfortunately, was a course requirement for his major and had the most weight than 60% of everything else they had did before this.

"Was thinking the latter. You know how our professor is and how crazy she goes about original ideas."
Chan was thankfully on their professor's good side. Having always done well on his assignments himself, the only issue she seemed to have with him was his unwillingness to make friends or acquaintances with his fellow classmates. Whenever it came to group projects, he always opted out. So, at least it seemed, she purposely paired him up with the chatterbox of the class. Glancing up from his work to look at his partner, he was eventually back down to looking at his own writing. Well, he was appreciative that she didn't put him with one of the es. Or, the people who never showed up to class, same difference.

"I seen on the paper our professor passed out that we would get extra points if we interacted with the class in someway. If we decided to do that, you think we should save the last five minutes for a question and answer?"

Chan looked around the table, not being able to see if either of them had the paper out to double check, but he was sure it was in his bag himself. He planned ahead when it came to things like projects, so that his partners could never say he was unprepared. He leaned off the side of his chair to begin digging in his bag, but he grew dizzy at how fast he was moving and hit his head on the oak table they sat at. A hand shot up to grab his forehead, hoping to steady his vision as well as calm the stinging pain in his forehead. This was embarrassing. This was humiliating.

"Ouch," Chan hissed through clenched teeth, being too embarrassed to even open his eyes and watch for the female's reaction. He could feel his face growing hot and the blurriness of the world before them seemingly wasn't changing, either. Slowing his breathing, he finally opened his eyes to stare sheepishly at Lalisa.

"Guess I deserved that," he broke out into a shy laugh.

@chan She didn’t believe him. Not in the slightest. His excuse would have been believable if it weren’t for the trembling timbre in his voice. It’s very slight, almost undetectable, but the shortness of his words paired with his very noticeable, agitated state confirmed her assumptions as likely. But she would never be one hundred percent sure; he could easily be enduring something simple. After all, she had only met him that day, which meant that she hadn’t the slightest idea of how he was normally like. Perhaps he had an awful start to his morning. Or maybe fatigue? If not, then he might just be enduring the same damn headache that’s been rapping at her skull for the past hour.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t her business to figure it out. Even if she had an urge to pry, the last thing she wanted was for the male to lash out at her in the middle of the library, before storming off to a place that didn’t have her in it. She was sure to lose a partner then and would have to do the project on her own. Of course, that was the last thing she wanted, though she could easily do the project on her own, but there was no way in hell that she’d allow it. It was far too much effort.

So she kept shut and nodded in compliance. She swiped her fingers on her laptop’s trackpad to scroll through her pages of notes, before she switched over to another window to view their empty presentation. As he spoke, she quickly typed up the title page and their names, along with a separate slide that would later serve as a temporary guide for their work.

“Yeah, it’s kind of stupid, but it’s doable,” Lalisa spoke in a distracted murmur, as most of her attention attached to the screen in front of her as she switched once more to the previous window to add to her notes. The sound of his apology, however, brought her to look up at him with a raised brow. She paused, then lifted her hand up for a small, dismissive wave.

“You’re good. I understand," she spared him a faint simper, then fell silent once more. She maintained such quiet for a moment, save for the soft clacking as her fingers flew over her keyboard. She doesn't speak until she finished about ten bullet points of notes. Only until then did she lift her gaze towards the male to address him again.

“It’s like writing an essay, but a lot shorter. It’s a, what, fifteen minute presentation? It shouldn’t be too hard,” she shrugged, shifting her eyes to his computer screen whilst humming in approval. “Would we place the information on the influences in its own section, or should we use it as supplemental information to support our main argument? I don’t want her to think that we took the easy route out instead of actually doing our own analysis, you know?”

[post deleted by owner]

@lalisa On a good day, Lisa's (that was her name, right? who cares) wandering mind might've been a bit funny to him. However today it was rapidly growing bothersome; ears beginning to ring as her voice echoed in his brain like a song stuck in his head, to the point where he subtly had to flick himself in order to not say anything that would further push his (already) jerk-like imagine of him to her. It was interesting, though, how he noticed other people perceived her; because she was popular, it was often that somebody would assume she followed the typical bimbo-cheerleader stereotype. As much as he liked pretending people didn't exist and that he himself was simply a figment of their imagination, the static of their stupid conversations always seemed to find it's way to his ears anyways.

Chan's two fingers continued to move against his computer mousepad, orbs eventually studying her over his rigid laptop screen. Don't mean to pry or invade? That was an interesting way to put it. "I'm fine," he spoke again, "just frustrated is all." His vision fell back to his monitor, finally finding what he needed and double clicking so that he was able to see what was inside.

"We were only allowed barely even 2 days to work on our presentation, which.." he cut himself off, trying to decide if he was really gonna say what he thought he was gonna say next, "is pretty ed up considering we have exams starting next week."

His lips quipped up into a smile, but as quickly as it happened it was gone just as fast. It was only Wednesday and their presentation was on Friday. Sure, they were in college and were more than capable of making this assignment work, but the stress on the both of them and fellow classmates was heavy. "That's just where my stress is coming from. Didn't mean to put it on you." Hopefully she would buy that not-entirely-a-lie response from him. He was sorry and he was frustrated over school, but she didn't have to know the rest of it. Clearing his throat, he turned his device slightly so that could see his work if she so desired.

"I put in some links of what I was able to find in his interviews as well as the connections and analyses I was able to make to what he said and we read. Even if you didn't wanna use the interview information, I just thought it'd be interesting to look at."

@chan There’s an intelligence in the way he speaks. It ultimately surprises her, not because he didn’t look the part, but because of his overwhelming disinterest in both socializing, and the assignment. But of course, the latter is debunked, as the information pouring from his mouth is far more articulate than she would have expected. Shame on her for assuming; she really did make an out of herself. So she kept shut, making it known that she would pay attention before she took her turn to speak. After all, she has been the chattermouth between the two by far.

“I don’t usually talk about the author’s background, because I try to avoid intentional fallacies in my argument,” she begins. “But maybe you’re right, since the ideas contained in this book were new and revolutionary at the time it was published. There /has/ to be some sort of influence in his life that wasn’t totally societal.”

And yet here she was, speaking a thousand miles per hour as if she wasn’t talking enough. It’s clear that she is in her element, as excitement radiates in both her eyes and voice. Her lips are stretched out into a smile—it’s an odd image, really. How could someone be so enthused by a book? Only a bore would find them interesting nowadays, no matter if they were an english major or not. And she, a cheerleader who spent as many hours as she did on social media, did not look like she would pick up a book by choice.

“Maybe he had an epiphany?” She continues, rambling at this point. “An existential crisis? I wouldn’t know. Or maybe he’s...” 

Her words die down when her partner voices out his frustration. Her smile falls, and she leans forward, opening once more to express her concern. But before she can get a word out, he utters an apology. The girl manages a smile, and allows him to continue.

“I didn’t know there were interviews, but I’m sure they would be helpful for our project.” She pauses, hesitating for a brief second. “Hey, I know we just met—and I don’t mean to pry or invade your space—but if you need to vent about anything, I’m all ears.”

@lalisa The male's gaze remained on her, unwavering until she pushes her laptop into his view. His eyes took in the screen, eyes sliding down the list as he took in what was available to him. He already knew she was smart and attentive. Even though he barely paid attention to anybody in their class, the one thing he did take note of were the ones who he would often hear scored the highest on their quizzes and analysis's. Chan's hand reached out to further scroll on her laptop until he felt like he had seen enough of what she had to offer.

"Was thinking one of the big parts we could cover were what influenced the author to write the book, and how those influences showed up in their writing," he pushed himself up, gaze falling back on his own screen as he tried his best to find what he needed to show, his brain already halfway submerged in his despicable fog. He felt disgusting no matter how hard he tried to omit the ache he felt. Chan knew it was useless to avoid and run from, but he rather drop dead than have somebody else do so for him and his sake.

"I can't find the ing thing I was looking for," he grunted in frustration, the voice in the back of his warning him to calm his temper. At this point, it seemed like anything was enough to push him over the edge.

Closing his eyes that he allowed to be briefly accompanied with a heavy sigh, he spoke up again before she could ask, if she even was going to, "Sorry, just cranky today."
He sure didn't sound sorry. In fact, he was so sure his usual default tone couldn't get any flatter than it already was until just now.

"I had notes as well, but more so about what she's said in interviews and what I was able to find that related to them in the book." His eyes flickered open again. The amount of times he told himself to relax in such a short amount of time and the amount of times it didn't ing work was astonishing. Nonetheless, he shook his head and tried to take one more stab at finding his work.

"What are your thoughts on that so far?"

@chan There is a bit of curiosity in her eyes as she examines him. She studies him like a book, taking in the impassive expression that permanently rests on his visage, which only once shifted in the slightest bit when the male picks up on her accidental slander. It was a bit of offense, maybe? Anger. Vexation. Whatever it was, she knew full well that this was, by far, the worst first impression she has given someone in a long while. But she didn’t mind. Not when she at least got him to acknowledge her as yet another human being. It was progress, at the very least, and she was optimistic that she could figure him out. Not that it was important or an obligation of hers, really. It was just a little bit of entertainment for her, a minigame that could possibly get her through the laborious task of this awful project.

Plus, she was able to get him to give into her, anyway. Not that that’s much of an accomplishment, but again, baby steps. “Perfect,” the girl quips in satisfaction before bringing her gaze to her own screen.

As he speaks, she busies herself with the assignment before them. It’s clear that her attention is diffuse, as she is able to flawlessly multitask between typing information on one of the slides whilst listening to him speak. She only ever pauses when he confesses his previous carelessness.

“Yeah sure,” she said, unbothered though she has every reason to be. Though she maintains patience, her words hold true: he is a , which he somehow convinced her within a few minutes of their time together. But she’s well aware that it might be a mask—or not. Likely not, but no matter. It’s not her place to assume so quickly.

“I said we can easily wing it if you’re confident enough in your own analysis,” she reiterates. “I don’t think we’ll get points marked off if we read the quotes off the slide, as it would be stupid if the professor expected us to memorize every single word in the ing book.” 

Lalisa turns to the male, whose attention has now shifted to her; a development that she quickly to surprise, as he had barely looked at her just minutes before. It’s interesting indeed.

She reaches out to swipe three fingers on her trackpad, switching tabs to display the notes she jotted down days prior. She pushes the device so that the screen is visible to him, then asks, “What topics do we want to cover?”

@lalisa Even without looking up he could practically /feel/ the smile in her voice, enough to make him attempt to stifle an eye-roll. He's sure he wouldn't have been this agitated if he wasn't fighting such a horrible migraine at the current moment. He was a jerk, sure, but it seemed like when he was avoiding his incubus "duties," he was more easily irritated that usual. And anyways, he was a jerk for the safety of those around him. Chan started to zone out again, pushing away any trace of her voice to focus on the new document he was pulling up for their slide show. Yet, there was one sentence that was able to pull him out of his thoughts faster than he thought was possible. His hand that he dropped from his chest to start typing paused.

"A ?" he started, finally lifting his gaze to pierce hers, almost being too overcome by agitation to take in that it was apologetic. His brown orbs softened in the slightest, dropping an eyebrow that raised in accommodation to him almost saying something he didn't mean to her.

Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he gave a slight nod, a sure sign that he was surrendering to her idea but still wasn't as wholehearted as she might've been about it. "Fine," he eventually answered vocally.

Chan's gaze fell back onto the screen in front of him, pulling his hand from under his arm to finally start working again, with both hands this time. He quickly typed something in and pressed send on the document.

"I sent it to your school email because I don't know your personal one. That way, we can both edit it at the same time and see when each other are online working." He swallowed the lump in his throat, not sure if it was there because this had been the most he spoke to somebody in a while, or because somebody finally had the balls to say something back to him, accidental or not.

"Could you repeat what you said earlier about the index cards, wasn't listening." Chan pushed his laptop to make space for his elbow on the table, allowing his chin to rest in the palm of his hand as he fully gave his attention to the woman in front of him.

@chan The clock is a cacophonous pacemaker in the midst of a still environment. The air is thick with silence, hushed breaths drowned out only by the deafening tick of each second. Occasionally does the tapping of a pencil join in steady rhythm, along with a makeshift cymbal of a little scratch. The sounds altogether echo in irregular succession from the other, accessorizing and further agitating the pounding in her head. It takes an immeasurable patience for her to keep her thumb away from the top of her pen, a habit she has recently begun to attempt to get rid of. At least, in front of people, that is.

Her curious gaze shifts over to her partner, ever as silent as usual. Not once has he made any effort to lift his nose from the screen of his laptop, refusing to acknowledge her existence as if they did not share a class all this time. So she opens with the intent to break the ice, but he beats her by a mere second.

“Slides sound good!” The girl piped up with an enthusiastic smile, opposite to the male’s monotonous intonation. “I think both of us know what we’re talking about, so if anything we can put quotes in the—oh wait. No, I think we can easily read the quotes off on the slide and analyze it from there? I might not use index cards anyway.”

The male’s next remark receives an unimpressed scowl in his direction, followed by an equally exasperated sigh.

“I mean, sure, you can do that. But I don’t want to be a cheat.” She remarks and leans against her seat, mirroring his stance by folding her arms across her chest. “Look, Chan. I know you’re probably not the type to like group projects, but you don’t have to be a about it—“

She catches herself too late, and her expression shifts that of regret as her eyes bear an apologetic glint. “Sorry, that was harsh,” she takes in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry. But we’ve only been here for, what, fifteen minutes? I’m sure we can finish this really quickly if we, I don’t know, talk to each other and work this out?” A smile cracks once again, and she leans forward to place her fingers atop her keyboard. “Plus, I’m not some dumb girl who needs an easy A, so I’m pretty sure I can keep up with you if you didn’t think I could.”

@lalisa They had only began working 15 minutes ago, but it already was feeling like it had been at least an hour. They sat inside their campus's library, the cozy atmosphere and quiet sounds of the clock ticking nearby on the wall enough to make any regular person slip into a deep sleep. Though, Chan wasn't a regular person, if he was even still a person at all. How dearly he wished he felt like one for once, but no; this agony he felt, this itch that he oh-so needed to scratch slowly burned him like the sun, the paresthesia growing worse as the days passed making it difficult for him to concentrate. Speaking of which, that's what he probably should've been doing instead of getting lost in his thoughts.

in his breath, Chan ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to regain his patience.

"Do we have any idea how we wanted to present out project? I think our best option is slides and we just have our own index cards incase we forget something," the boy started, voice low as he groggily mumbled what he had in mind for their class.

He hadn't even made eye contact with the girl since they sat down, finding it useless and wanting to work through whatever they needed to as trouble-free as possible. Then, they could go about their ways and never have to contact each other again. Easy, right? Almost too easy that it slightly worried him, seeing that nothing ever went his way.

"I could easily just make the slides myself, email them to you and there, an easy A for the both of us," Chan huffed again, arms folded over his chest as he wore an expression that was nowhere close to lukewarm.

@lalisa @chan Happy roleplaying!