Eccentric Minds Think Alike
By Ayashi Doto
A BTTF slight AU story
Disclaimer: I don't own Back to the Future. If I did, I would almost immediately steal Doc Brown. C:
Notes: In this particular fanfiction, I am using (with permission) Dr. Donald Patrickson, an original character that was thought up for Flaming Trails' fanfic Unsolved Mysteries. The only character I own is that of Adelaide Pierce, the short redhead that teaches Biology over at the University.
The wind was blowing softly, as the neighborhood seemed silent. Dead leaves danced in spirals as they slowly twirled down from up high in the trees. The colors of the trees were beautiful shades of red, orange, and some light brown. Hill Valley was quite nice in the fall, especially to one whom did not usually get to visit.
Walking down the road now, was a short female about the age of 29, with semi-long tangerine orange hair, with purple hair dye in some of the tips, and a facial expression is full of what seems like paranoia. Her outfit was slightly mismatched, with a green and yellow striped shirt, purple skirt, and black and white striped tights. She held papers to her chest as she frantically scanned the houses, looking down at the papers once or twice. Her eyes come upon a long driveway, and she checked the number. Her lips curling into a weak smile, she started walking along the driveway, until she got to the door of a garage. She curled her thin fingers into a fist, and lightly rapped on the door. Soon after doing that twice, she heard two distinctly different voices.
Inside, Doc was contemplating whether or not to open the door. In the past years, it had been an annoying risk, either a prank or a worried citizen at his door, almost commanding him to stay away from something or other.
"It's probably another childish prank, played by those kids that seem to love wasting their time," an older sounding male said.
The female stepped back as she heard movement. She was quite scared, and had not thought the whole plan through. See, she had a problem with talking with the opposite sex, as if she were fearful of them. As the footsteps reached the door, the older man's voice called out to her.
"Look, I would not like to purchase any electronics or anything you may be trying to bribe me to buy," he said before swinging open the door. The girl nearly reared back as he spotted her.
As he looked at the girl who stood cautiously before him, he waited for the usual, maybe a scream, maybe an insult. Maybe this strange female would surprise him with a punch, who knows. Oddly enough, he was confused by her dress, and surprised to see her lips curl ever so slightly. Maybe he was quick to judge the young woman. Interest perked inside his brain.
"Y-Y-You're D-D-Dr. Brown?" The interest died as she spoke, and he knew she was petrified of the 'local madman', or 'freak', as everyone seemed to call him.
"Yes, I am miss. If you've only come here to gawk at m-," As he began to speak, his words were almost cut right off as her face suddenly brightened, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He was taken aback by her forwardness, and was about to push her off when she unlatched herself, her face seeming to immediately turn a shade of deep red.
"I-I-I'm so s-sorry, sir! I j-I just have always wished to meet you…"
Her words struck him as odd. She had seemed almost disgusted with him just a few moments before. Had he mistaken the disgust and scared stuttering for shyness? He doubted that he had ever met anyone who was actually a fan of his, and this really made him almost mad. She was probably put to the task by her school friends. She did look quite young, and seeing as it was a Tuesday, she was probably skipping school with a few friends.
"I'm sorry miss, but do I know you? What high school do you attend?" He had an almost cold tone as he straightened up, the sparkle in his eyes before getting duller. His normal air of eccentricity seemed to fade a little, as defensive arrogance took over.
The female's eyes reverted to fear again, and he thought he had been right. Her next sentence both shocked and proved him wrong.
"I-I'm so sorry, Dr. Brown. I completely forgot to introduce myself beforehand… I am Adelaide Pierce, I am a Biology professor at the University," She finished, looking up cautiously, wishing for him to accept her to some degree.
That was the thing that blew his mind. She looked a bit too young to be teaching college. Pondering a moment, he came up with an idea. He himself had never wanted to utter the name again, yet he knew he was probably the dean as of now.
"So, I must ask then," Doc spoke casually, "you must be under the observance of a certain Dr. Donald Patrickson, right?"
A nervous look confirmed Adelaide's story. So she had heard of him… The bastard of a man who leered at females and strived only for physical love. Never did the more important aspects of a relationship interest him. Almost the definition of modern man, or so Doc thought, reminiscing on the many arguments the two scientists seemed to love to get into. All that thought had made Doc's attention stray from the female conversing with him. Her soft voice snapped him out of his trance.
"I-I actually think I would be much better off not knowing him… His presence makes me want to throw my non-violent personality to the wind for a few moments, long enough for me to put a fist through his face."
His eccentric air almost immediately came back as he started to chuckle. Adelaide looked up at him in confusion, letting her lips curl into a goofy grin. "I actually thought you'd be furious at me for that, being a fellow scientist like him," she admitted, playing with her fingers shyly.
He stopped for a moment. "Me, be furious about that comment? Why, that was a completely amazing comment. How I would have liked to do the same thing while I was a professor at that same University." Adelaide's face flushed lightly as Doc complimented her comment. It shouldn't have been a big deal, yet any compliment usually made her go pink.
Her mind then seemed to suddenly remember the reason that she had come to his garage home. She smiled brightly then, which made Doc confused. What made her so happy? It was just a normal conversation.
"Dr. Brown, sorry. I almost completely forgot the reason I had originally come to your home," she said, pushing some papers towards him. As he took them in his hands, he examined them. They were well done sketches and drawings of some of the world famous scientists.
"Drawings of scientists?" His amused question made her gasp ever so slightly, looking down at the remaining papers in her hands. She had given him the wrong papers. Adelaide had mistaken her bored doodles for the actual papers. With that, her cheeks became crimson again for the third or fourth time.
"I'm sorry, I must have mixed them up in my hands…" She spoke, trying hard not to stutter in her embarrassment.
He smiled warmly, catching her off guard.
"Would you mind if I kept them? I lost all of the paintings when my house burned down," he said, examining the pictures again. He smiled an even brighter smile as she nodded quite readily.
"If you'd like, maybe you can help me a bit with some of my inventions?" He didn't know where that came from, but he went with it.
"Y-Y-You mean l-l-like a job? We-well, a non-paying job of course," her excitement and shyness melted into one emotion as her face brightened.
"Of course. Now, you should come in, so that we can talk a little more on your papers, okay?"
Adelaide timidly followed Doc into his garage after a moment.