She wasn't the new kid at SFIT. She was a year behind Hiro, now a sophomore in the same college. She shuffled her feet along the hallways, her pale blue Converse were scuffed. Her backpack seemed as though it dragged her down, physically and emotionally. Her pale blond hair always fell down into her light gre:en eyes, and she never brushed it away from them. Penelope was her name, he knew that much. He'd never spoken to her, except for a 'hi' in passing. He'd also never seen her smile. Something inside of him knew he should help her, or try to, but he just didn't know how. He wasn't good with emotional matters or helping people like Tadashi had been.

But when the opportunity arose to talk with her, when she was transferred to the same lab that Honey, GoGo, and Wasabi worked in, Hiro jumped for it.
He heard of the transfer when a table was roped off and reserved for a certain Penelope McMillan, two days before she came to the lab. When he saw the blonde struggling through the door with a load of boxes, he ran over and took two from her load of four.
"Here you go. You can't even see over those!" he grinned awkwardly.
"Oh, uh, thanks, but I can take them," she said, waiting for him to put them back in her arms.
"Your lab space is right over here," Hiro struggled with the heavy boxes, plunking them down on the metal table. She set the rest of them down gently and stared quietly at them for a moment. "So, heh, ah, it's really great to have you at the lab. We're pretty close-knit, all of us, so if you need anything, I'm in Private Lab Number 5. That's Honey Lemon over there, Wasabi No-Ginger there - oh, you might not want to disturb his system, though. He's friendly, just don't mess up his system. And GoGo Tomago's over there. Fred's our mascot. He frequently comes in wearing weird costumes, so if a random dragon or freaky thing comes walking in, that's him!" he explained.

"Thanks," Penelope's wide eyes took in his information. "And thanks for carrying the boxes for me."
"Not a problem," he said. "So, are you excited? You never seem to smile!"
She bit her lip. "I guess." she said shortly. "I better let you get back to your lab."
Hiro knew he'd hit a nerve, but he also knew that what she'd said translated roughly to leave me alone now. So he turned on his heel and rushed back to his lab, focusing on the new design for Baymax's new, more aerodynamic and lighter-weight suit.

When he went home that evening, he and the gang went to the Lucky Cat Cafe just as Aunt Cass was locking up. She waved and smiled excitedly as she saw the group knock on the locked door, and quickly opened it up again.
"Hey, you guys! Need to feed those hungry brains? I have some unsold pastries here. Nothing like a sugar rush to keep you awake for a few hours!" she greeted them ecstatically.
"Thanks, Aunt Cass," Hiro grinned.
"How was your day, big guy?" she asked, pulling up a chair beside the group's table. "Tell me all about it!"
"Eh, same as always. I don't have any assignments right now, so I'm working on Mark 3 for Baymax. More aerodynamic suit and I'm using a flexible, yet tough, material for it. Oh, and Penelope moved into our lab today. She's a year behind me," he explained between mouthfuls of donut.
"Ooh. Penelope...is she a cute girl?"
Hiro choked, leaning forward to cough. "No! Well-no. I'm not into her, if that's what you mean."
Cass giggled like a school girl. "That's what they always say."
"Ohh! Hiro! You can tell us if you like her," Honey cooed, obviously excited at the idea of a science-lab romance.
GoGo rolled her eyes. Fred started rambling on about how this could be an origins story that ended in tragedy, Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy style.
"Guys!" Hiro yelled. "I'm not into her! Geez! I'm only fifteen."
"I had my first crush when I was thirteen," Fred announced.
"And we all know how well that turned out," GoGo said, her voice thick with snark.

"Guys," Wasabi said quietly, "I don't think he likes her in that way. I've noticed something about her too. Something off," he added when Fred gasped at the idea of a love triangle origins story.
Honey calmed down and thought a moment. "She always looks sad."
"Yes," Hiro said. "Exactly."
"Do you think something's wrong at home, or is she just that way?" Aunt Cass asked. "Some people are just really quiet."
"Yeah, but not quiet this way. She's really reserved and never smiles." Hiro said.
"Well, you should talk to her!"
"I tried to, aunt Cass, but she was really short and I think I hit a nerve," he said.
"That's because you said directly that you knew she never smiled," Wasabi pointed out. "Her table's across from mine, so I couldn't help but hear."
"Hiro," Cass sighed. "The last thing you want to do when approaching someone is point out what's wrong! You have to go about it subliminally."
"But how else am I? 'Oh, so you never make any other expression so I'm assuming you have a terrible home life and this or that'...?" he asked, frustrated. "Tadashi would be a pro at this."
"But Tadashi's not here," Honey said softly, "so you have to figure it out, Hiro. I know you can do it!"
"We'll see about that," Hiro said, running a hand through his long, messy hair.

"Why don't you just try to befriend her before you start interrogating her about why she never looks happy?" GoGo asked. "That's obvious, genius."
"Maybe if you're good at stuff like this," Hiro said, but then he realized who he was talking to. GoGo wasn't good with people either.
"Well, I'm good with stuff like this and I know it's a good plan," Honey spoke up. "We'll all chip in to make sure she feels wanted. Regardless of what might be going on, everyone can use the feeling of belonging."
"Agreed," Aunt Cass nodded. "You guys will figure it out! You're smart cookies."
"Fred, don't." Wasabi stared at Fred, who had opened his mouth to speak...likely of cookies that were literally smart.