Notes: Everything up to "Say Something" is fair game. There are some very brief references to the upcoming episode, "Pulp Friction", but nothing too spoiler-ish. Lyrics/Title by Better Than Ezra, "Get You In". I recommend it. :) This is complete, by the way.

Thanks: Becca, for the inspiration. And of course, the E, for everything.


At five o'clock you come shuffling in.
And when I lock you out, I want to get you,
Let you, get you in.


"If I were to date you, there would be no dating.

It would be something, right away … and I'm not that guy."


He runs his hand through his hair, breathes in deeply, and realizes.

He's never been more afraid in his entire life.

He watches as she leaves his dorm room; there's a little skip in her step, causing her curls to bounce on her back. She looks back for a split second before she steps out and smiles at him. He returns her smile with a small one of his own.

When she's gone, his lips falter because he knows he's in way over his head.

He begins to pace around the room, trying to make sense of it all.

He thinks about things that do make sense – Math (2 plus 2 equals four), Science (organisms can only come from other organisms), English (complete sentences are composed of a subject and a predicate), and a million other things …

He's trying to grasp something solid, something tangible.

He's trying so hard to find the word for this.

But there isn't one.

And he's never been more afraid in his entire life.

The possibility that he's wanting more from this is scaring him. This is why he was trying so hard to convince her, to warn her. Maybe he was just protecting himself all along. Maybe he's just that selfish. Maybe.

She's scaring him. A lot. The fact that she's gotten under his skin, under the cool façade that he'd spent years perfecting is unnerving. He wants to push her away, rid himself of this "hassle" once and for all, but he can't seem to bring himself to tell her no.


He goes to New York later that week, a function that he was told he had to attend. He meets a girl, an attractive girl, blonde and wide-eyed and she makes him an offer; something about drinks at his hotel later on that night. (Right. Drinks.)

And he surprises them both when he refuses.

"No, sorry," he lies, "I have to fly back right after this."

"Oh," she says, nodding. "Maybe some other time then."

"Yeah. Some other time."

They both know it'll never happen. And with that he walks away, climbs into the limo, and goes back to his hotel to pack for the flight home.

He comes back to Yale five days later.


Why he refused her is still a complete mystery to him. She was pretty enough, and he had been flirting with her all night. Had Finn been there, he would have gotten a good smack on the head. Shrugging off the incident, he glances at his blinking alarm clock (11:30 PM).

He walks over to his desk, finds his phone, and dials her number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ace."

"Hi, there. Did you just get back?" she asks, yawning.

"Yeah. Did I wake you?"

"Nah, I'm just watching a movie … "

He smiles into the phone. "Sounds fun. With Paris?"

He hears her shifting in the background, and then "No. She hates 'Monty Python' movies."

"Ah … never seen them."

"Really? That's about the saddest thing I've ever heard," a pause, then, "Why don't you come over?"

His eyebrows furrow in surprise as he thinks about her offer. "Really?"

"Sure. I mean, if you'd want to ….you don't have to."

"No, I'll be there in a few."

Her voice is soft as she replies, "Okay. See you soon."

He finds her in blue pajamas and elephant slippers. Smiling, he regards her silently as she takes his hand, and shyly leads him to the couch. They plop down on her bed, and she goes to show him the DVD case.

"Nice," he says, smiling at her.

She blushes, though he doesn't know why, and she goes to put in the DVD. When she comes back, she sits beside him on the bed, tripping over the shoes that he'd discarded in the process.

"Ouch," she bites out, glaring at his Doc Martens.

"You all right?" he asks, smiling at her still flushed face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

She's next to him now, and she finds his hand again. She glances over to see if he's okay with it, but he's busy looking at the television. He looks at her from the corner of his eye and catches her smiling and biting her bottom lip.

As he watches the movie, something inside him drops.

This is what he's succumbed to: watching movies and holding hands with a girl on her bed.

Wonderful.

What happened to the fact that he wasn't boyfriend material?

Apparently, it got chucked out the window ever since she kissed him good-night a week ago.

He hears her measured breathing as the movie plays on. Her head comes down to rest on his shoulder; strands of hair that escaped from her pony tail cover her face, and he goes to tuck them behind her ear. He reaches over, turns off movie, and tries to disentangle himself from her grasp.

As he does, he hears her whisper, "Don't go."

He knows he shouldn't stay.

He has to go (he never thought he'd be thinking such things).

He has to think.

He can't think when she's around.

"Sorry, Ace," he says softly as he squeezes her fingers. He feels her grip tighten, and he's suddenly being pulled down. Her lips come up to meet his and he finds her soft, warm, and sweet. Always sweet.

"Good night," she whispers back, eyes still closed.

Then he pulls on his shoes, leaves her dorm, and smiles, in spite of himself.


He's never been more afraid in his entire life.

He can't think anymore.

There are no words.

This is not making sense. Frustrated, he relapses and does the only thing that he can think of. He picks up the phone, dials a number, and waits.

Sighing, he breathes out, "Hey, Cynthia? What are you doing today…?"


END