Many people say that first impressions last forever; that they're the most important thing you should think about the first time you've met someone.
Their first thoughts about you and who who are, those are said to be the things they remember forever. They think about it when someone asks "Do you know this person?" or "How did you meet?"
And again, in the end, the beginning is what people remember; what people think of you, and what their opinions are.
God, I hoped this didn't become his opinion of me. This flushed, tired looking young man in baggy clothes, no doubt looking like a bum.
"Hey, I need your help. Please," I pleaded, practically getting on my knees before the guy, "I'll pay you. I'll do anything."
Asking for help with something so simple as school work was a huge blow to my pride. Though I did have a small fragment of my broken ego remaining simply because it took me so long to reach this place, and allow my pride to take such a low blow.
He looked at me in surprise, slightly down at me because Damn this guy was tall. "You… You want my help?" he asked in a soft voice, and it was a wonderful sound, one I wouldn't mind hearing more of.
Oh knock it off, Kirchstein! You've only just talked to the guy for the first time! Sure, I'd seen him around, and gladly admired the back of his head from the back of class.
Marco was his name, and I'd been wanting to talk to him for a while. My only problem was that I'd never knew what to say to him.
And now, I finally had some reason, and the evidence hung limply in my hand, several ominous F's littering my report card.
He cleared his throat, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, alright," he said after a few moments of hesitation.
I could feel my eyes widen slightly, and I grinned at him, nearly jumping forward and hugging him. I held back that urge though, simply nodding.
"Thank you! Fuck, thanks so much!" I exclaimed, grinning at him like an idiot, "So then, when are you available? I mean, when can we get together?" I asked, realizing it almost seemed like I was asking him on a date or something.
Yeah, right. Marco was as straight as a board, as far as I knew. I'd seen him at the coffee shop I went to daily with some small blonde girl, and they were pretty couple-y looking off in the corner. Or, at least, they had been studying together, and there had been enough hand-brushing and lean-ins to hint at something.
Unknowingly I sort of started to daze off, lost in the thought of if studying with Marco would be the same.
Marco leaned across me, pointing out something on the paper he wasn't even paying attention to. My gaze was focused more on how close the brunette's face was, his lips inches away from my own. "Jean," he whispered, and I snapped then, pressing my lips forward against his. He let out a small squeak of surprise, but didn't pull away.
God, the feeling of his lips on mine were like perfection, the way they pressed and moved against my own. I was intoxicated by his kiss, and longed for more. I felt him swipe his tongue across my lower lip, and I immediately parted my lips, gasping in surprise at his sudden confidence as he ran his tongue along mine. I was far from complaining though. "Jean…?"
"Uhh... Jean?" I heard Marco's voice suddenly, a hand waving in front of my face. Flushing slightly, I snapped my gaze back to Marco's freckled cheeks. "Huh? Sorry, what was that?" I asked, running a hand through the hair at the top of my head.
"I said I'm free every night from 6-8... weekends I'm open all day," he repeated, giving me a strange look. I nodded, taking in the information.
"Can we start tonight then? My grades are crap and I could really use the help," I sighed, waving the paper in my hand as if to showcase my failures.
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded, checking his watch. "Sure, but instead of paying me, how about you just get some pizza or buy me dinner?" The brunette suggested, and I immediately nodded, laughing softly. It was about a half hour before 6, so I had plenty of time to go get pizza. "Meet you back here in twenty minutes?"
He nodded, and I quickly ran off to go get the pizza, not wanting to miss a single second of time he would rather spend studying with Marco.
After getting the pizza and meeting back up with Marco once more, we began to walk to his dorm, chatting idly. (I had just gotten cheese pizza; I didn't know what Marco liked)
Just through mindless chatter, I learned that Marco was in the same year I was, and that he lived in the same building I did, though his room was on the other side of the building.
It didn't take long to reach his room, and he unlocked the door, slipping inside. He glanced around the space, then shrugged. "Huh, Armin isn't here," he seemed to think aloud, gesturing to the bottom bunk of the bed in the corner, before he continued. "Go ahead and take a seat. I'll get my books and notes," he said in that wonderfully calm, gentle voice of his.
I set the pizza on the desk, perching on the edge of the mattress and watching Marco as he went over to a shelf in the corner, grabbing a few textbooks and tucking two notebooks under his arm.
The pizza was eaten rather quickly while we worked, Marco on his own assignments, with my occasional questions or asks for an opinion or some advice.
It was quiet except for our brief conversations and the scratching of our pencils against paper. It was surprisingly nice; for once I found I didn't mind the silence. It was a comfortable quiet, and Marco was surprisingly cool for someone who usually sat in the front of class, paying attention to the lectures like they were the most important thing in the world.
After I finished my Calculus assignment (with a lot of help) and wrote an essay that was due tomorrow, I sighed, leaning back and stretching my arms out. I took a long moment to admire the strong curve of Marco's jaw, and the way it had clenched in concentration, his eyebrows furrowing together slightly as he worked on a rather hard problem, judging by the look of pure determination on his countenance.
He lightly swiped his tongue across his lower lip, before he nibbled on the skin in thought. My face heated up slightly and I looked away, realizing I had been staring at him.
Oh, dammit Kirchstein. Knock it off, he's straight, not to mention you barely know the guy. And while it was true that I really had only started talking to Marco that day, I kind of felt like we had met before; almost as if we had been old friends.
Marco then looked up at me, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "Jean? Do you need help with something?" he asked, blinking those large doe eyes at me.
God, this guy was smart and cute? Couldn't he have just picked one? Definitely unfair. Shaking my head, I could feel my face flush just a bit darker. "Oh, no no. I'm good. Sorry, I just spaced out for a few moments there," I muttered, looking away to hide my embarrassment at having been caught.
In my peripheral vision I saw him nod, looking back down at his textbook. "You know, this is actually really nice," Marco muttered softly, "I mean… I expected you to be a total ass, or playing loud music, or something like that," he admitted.
I'll admit at first I was a little offended, though I pushed down my ache for a fight and shrugged a bit. "Well, I don't mind the quiet too much. This is a very… I don't know, nice; sort of comfortable. I'm enjoying this though."
Marco seemed surprised when I said that, nodding his head a bit. He looked impressed, and that definitely boosted my pride from its shattered state. "Huh… I wouldn't mind doing things like this more often," he said, shrugging a bit," Maybe even spend time with you other than homework."
I perked up slightly, nodding. "Yeah, definitely!" I smiled, closing my calculus book. Marco smiled back at me, nodding his head. "Okay, good. Then do you want to join Armin, Eren, and I this Friday? We're going to the movies and… you know, the more the merrier," he asked me. Now it sounds like he's asking me on a date.
I felt my face flush again at the thought, mentally kicking myself. He was just asking me to a movie. Friends do that all the time! I nodded, pulling out a slip of paper and quickly jotting my cell phone number down on it. I rested it on the book he was working out of, smiling at him and nodding.
"Yeah, that'd be nice," I began to gather my things together, "I should probably get going now, it's getting pretty late." Marco glanced at his watch, eyes widening in surprise. "Wow, Yeah. Armin must be staying with Eren tonight, since he's not already back," Marco seemed to think aloud, shrugging.
"Well… I'll see you tomorrow in class then?" The dark-haired young man asked, and I nodded, getting up from Marco's bed and tucking my things under my arm. "See you tomorrow," I lifted my hand in a small wave, then left for my own dorm room.
The next day was rather simple, I was woken up by my roommate with a loud screeching noise and a short young man man with closely shaved hair landing on me, the breath knocked out of me as he flopped onto my stomach.
"Fuck! Connie, what the hell?" I choked out, pushing the small man of of me and sitting up. He hit the floor with a satisfying thump, and I heard him groan, rubbing at his lower back. "Shit, rude," he muttered, pouting up at me.
I rolled my eyes, getting up out of bed and going over to my dresser. I pulled on some black jeans and a plain dark grey t-shirt.
I slipped my finished assignments into my backpack and hitched it over my shoulder, heading out of the room and to my first class of the day.
I turned in my homework for that class, the professor giving me a surprised, yet pleased smile. After receiving a promise that my grades would be adjusted, I nodded and headed out of the classroom.
I made my way across campus to my next class, running straight into a brunette that seemed to come out of nowhere. There was a slight grunt of pain that slipped from my lips as I felt my tailbone hit the concrete.
My things hit the ground after I did, papers that were previously (although messily) organized spilling over the concrete.
"Hey! Watch where you're going, jerk!" I yelled instinctively, glaring at the guy who had run into me. "Shut up! You should have watched where you were going, horse face!"
I felt my blood freeze, then just as fast come to a boil. I nearly saw red, letting out a low, menacing growl. "What the hell did you just call me?" I practically snarled at the brunette.
His eyes glinted slightly, and he jumped to his feet as well, looking excited by the prospect of a fight. "You heard me!" he yelled, grabbing on to the front of my shirt. "You need to watch where you're going, Asshat," he said.
Oh, this guy was definitely going to get his ass kicked. "Fuck you!" I screeched, swinging an arm around to hit him in the stomach. Before I knew it I was back on the ground, and blood dripped down my chin from my newly split lip.
Someone was yelling at the brunette, I vaguely realized, before a blonde young woman entered my field of vision. Hey, that's the girl Marco was studying with. I realized, then blanched when the blonde started to talk.
"Hey, are you okay?" he, it was definitely a he, asked, looking over me with an almost motherly worry evident in his face and voice.
I blinked in surprise at him, nodding. "Yeah, Yeah, I'm okay," I said immediately, despite my lower lip throbbing in pain. "I uh... I gotta go," I said quickly, practically scrambling to my feet and rushing to gather my things.
He continued to try and get my attention, practically fussing over me. I persisted in reassuring him that I was okay, running off after my things were back in my arms.
I was not looking forward to showing up to class with a split lip and bruised ego.
