AN: This isn't my best but enjoyed writing it enough to post it here. I haven't watched all the episodes of TBD but anyway… I tried, right.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not even a box set.
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Professor Macklin watched as his seminar students awaited their class assignment. He had planned on telling them to talk about safety in sex and how that affects the choices they make in everyday life; are they more safety conscious or does safety in their sex life all that concerns them? But as he looked at Richard's face he had an epiphany, he wanted to find out how Richard really felt about Katrina.
"For your video diary, I will pair you up with one of my students and he or she will analyse you, just as you will them, regarding your sex lives. See this is my way of killing two birds with one stone." Macklin smiled as his students wrote down their video diary assignment.
He went back to his desk and began writing a list of the students in this class and his students in his Anthropology class, he matched them up until two of his students remained. Brooke Adamson and Richard Thorne the two banes of his life, the ones who loved to cause him trouble. He drew a line connecting their two names and smiled, even though he knew that together they may join forces and cause him to have a nervous breakdown but he hoped they would connect and cause only trouble for each other and not him.
He posted the names on the door and walked away as they slowly walked up and saw the names they were assigned to spend time with.
Richard looked around to ask who 'Brooke Adamson' was; he walked up to Sarah and asked nicely.
"She's an English transfer"
"Know where I can find her"
"Luke's Coffee Shop, maybe. Either there or the Rat's Nest"
"Thanks"
Richard walked off in search of Brooke.
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He walked into the Rat's Nest and sat on a stool and the bar, he watched as the barwoman got him a drink. He waited for any sign of a story. He had decided that he would leave looking for Brooke especially since he had no idea what she looked like.
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Owen waited for Natalie as her psychology class had just ended. He took a sip from his coffee as he thought about Macklin's assignment. He knew his partner, rather well, and thought it would be a lot more fun to find out more about her. He felt guilty for thinking about Amada that way but she was…
"Hey you" Natalie voice came from behind him pulling him out of his thoughts.
She leant down and kissed him gently. She had just met Eric her partner, he seemed like an idiot, a sexist pig who joined Anthropology under the impression that there would be more girls. She found out who Brooke was and felt sorry for Richard as the girl seemed rather rude as she breezed past Natalie who was trying to introduce herself.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing… just Macklin's task, my partner's a chauvinist"
"Ooooh I love it when you talk dirty"
"Good to know, how about we get outta here"
"Fine with me"
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Richard looked up as the usual 4.00pm crowd came into the Rat's Nest. He watched as Groups sat and talked about the mind numbing tasks they would have to perform, the hoops of fire they would have to jump through, to pass their midterms. He watched as one solitary girl walked in and sat herself on a stool up at the bar. She had black hair, and she wore a plaid miniskirt with fishnet tights and some boots. She looked him right in the eye and smiled.
"Can I get another club soda, and get her whatever she wants" he told the bar wench.
The girl walked over with her drink and sat down one stool away from him.
"Thanks" she said
"No problem…I'm Ric"
"Brooke" she held out her hand for him to shake it
"Is your major Anthropology?"
"Yeah" she answered confused
"Macklin's partnered us together"
"You're Richard Thorne"
"Yep"
"Hah, I always figured he'd be shorter"
Richard looked at her confused before she continued
"You know… you slept with Macklin's wife… it kinda shows you like to show off… so I guess I just figured you for being shorter"
"Okay"
She sipped her drink and smiled. He watched as she looked through her bag for something. She pulled out a pen and wrote on the napkin in front of her. She slid the napkin over to him. Richard looked and realised it was her phone number.
"So we can meet up and… you know…sort out the assignments"
Richard felt himself nodding and looked at her. She finished her drink and jumped off the stool.
"Bye Richard" she said over her shoulder as she left the bar.
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Richard looked at the number on his desk for the 10th time this morning but he just can't be bothered to dial. He continued reading the article on his computer, and smiled.
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"Okay, everyone ready to discuss their assignments" Macklin looked around the room. He smiled as Richard looked down at the desk.
The door swung open and Brooke walked in.
"So sorry I'm late" she said with a smile on her face.
Richard looked up as he realised who the voice was from; she sat down in the empty seat next to him.
"Hey there partner" she whispered to him.
"Brooke, since you decided to be late to my class; why don't you start us off?"
Brooke stood up and cleared her throat.
"Well, I never really got the chance to meet with Richard to discuss the assignment but I think I made do without his help. Richard uses sex as a release, he's good at it and likes to use his 'talents' to escape his everyday life, instead of writing or debating or whatever other talents there are, he uses sex like a talent. However he hasn't mastered the true talent of keeping his feelings out of the bedroom, for him sex is a way of getting to know the person rather than finding out who they are over a dinner, he likes to use his 'talent' as a way of finding out more about the person…." She paused and looked over at Richard "which is why I am glad that I didn't meet up with him to get to know him better, cause that would have been a disaster waiting to happen" She looked up from Richard and looked directly at the Professor.
"If you never met with Richard, how did you come to this conclusion about him?"
"I interviewed his past girlfriends, who weren't that hard to find"
Macklin looked Brooke up and down, she may have been a pain, but she knew what she was talking about. He turned his attention to Richard.
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Richard watched as students celebrated the end of mid-terms, sure he was happy they were over but he couldn't help but wonder about Brooke. He hadn't seen her outside of class yet, and he really wanted to get to know her better. Over dinner, just to show her that he can indeed be normal. He watched the door as more students piled in and sighed. He felt someone sit next to him but didn't want to be distracted away from his search.
"Hey partner" he heard from beside him.
He turned to look at her, her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, with a few strands framing her face, her brown eyes were surrounded by eyeliner and she wore tight black jeans with a backless gold top.
"Looking for me" she said.
"How did you get in here?"
"I was here before you." She said simply
She turned to the bartender and order two drinks, a club soda for him and a beer for her.
"How do you know what I drink?" he asked
"I know a lot about you" she said looking directly into his eyes.
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1 year later…
Richard watched as Brooke walked into his room, He smiled as she leaned against his desk right next to him. She sighed frustrated as he didn't look up from the article he was proof reading. He felt something hit his head.
"What the hell was that?" he asked straightening up
"A pencil" She said bluntly.
"Oh… so what's up"
"Well" She said whilst standing up "I have a problem" she said opening a drawer of his desk
"Okay…" he waited
She continued opening and closing drawers. She gently pushed his chair away from his desk to get to the drawers on the other side. He watched as she opened and closed the drawers.
"What are you looking for?"
"Something"
She walked away from his desk and walked over to the stacks of drawers on the other side of the room. She began opening and closing the drawers.
"You won't find it in there… they're old copies of the Bugle"
"How do you know what I'm looking for?" She said facing him
Richard held his hands up in surrender.
She continued to open another drawer.
"Do you even know what you're looking for?" He asked
"Nope" She closed that drawer after rifling through the drawer "But you never know… I might just find some hidden treasure"
"Brooke… Brooke" he called as she continued looking through drawers "BROOKE"
"What?"
"Will you stop?"
"This is really bothering you isn't it" she said facing him
"Yes"
"Too bad"
Richard chuckled as she turned back to the drawers and continued searching.
He watched as she reached the last drawer. She closed it and turned around to face him.
"So are you gonna help me or not?"
"With what, searching my drawers"
"Why Richard you shouldn't feel bad about your size… size doesn't matter"
"Funny" He looked back down at his work
"Okay… seriously" She walked back over to his desk and stood directly in front of him
"How do I look?" she said meekly
Richard looked her up and down. She was wearing a black A-Line skirt with a white blouse and some black high heels.
"You look great…but should I be worried"
"Why would you be worried?"
"Well you only dress like that… for a job interview and I worry because you're in my office."
"Richard you're the freak with words not me… I'm up for an assistant to a curator job"
"Snore-fest"
"Coming from you, gets you a slap"
"I'm joking… hey I got a surprise for you"
"Really… colour me intrigued"
"I've got tickets to see your favourite band"
"You've got tickets to see Queen in the good old Freddie Mercury era" She stated doubtfully
"No, I should be worried"
"No… so whose tickets do you have"
"Foo Fighters"
She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"I love them" she said as she pulled away.
"I know" he said smirking
She looked carefully at his face and then jumped slightly on the spot.
"What time is it?" she gasped as she grabbed his arm and looked at his watch "Oh crap, I'm late… I gotta go"
She ran from his office.
He walked to the door to see her talking to a freshman by the office doors.
"Thought you were late" he shouted to her
"Who said I was late?"
"You did"
"No that was just for me to get out of your office before you decided that I should spring for lunch today"
He chuckled as he shouted "How did you know I'd ask you that?"
"Because you got that look on your face" she shouted as she walked through the doors.
Richard shook his head and walked back into his office.
"So who's that?"
"Oh that's Brooke," the male freshman watched as the cute female he was talking to got a far away look "She's his best friend" he said grumpily before walking away.
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Brooke waited in the Quad; she pulled a drag from her cigarette and smiled as yet another co-ed winked at her.
"Wanker" she whispered to herself
"Who is?"
"You…" Richard looked at her confused "For making me wait, 'cause by my watch lunch started 10 minutes ago"
"I'm editor… you really expect me to leave when stories are happening."
"No, I expect you to notice when the college newspaper, that last year you probably couldn't have given a rats arse about, begins to take over your life…because when that happens tell me and I'll leave you to the dark side" she smiled as she took another pull of her cigarette
"Do you really have to smoke that?"
"I'll quit when you quit hiring pretty little freshman girls as proof readers just so you can get them into your office for a little alone time."
"Yeah that ain't gonna happen anytime soon" he chuckled
"Exactly"
He watched as she watched the students of Bedford College meeting and leaving the Quad for lunch.
"Are we going, because I'm starving?"
"Sure" she said as she looped her arm through his and walked off the Quad.
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"So did you get the job" he asked as she looked over the menu.
"I don't know yet" she looked at him "there's a problem though"
He looked at her and motioned for her to continue, he chuckled as she sighed.
"Turns out my boss is extremely hot… and by that I mean a guy I wouldn't mind using as my own personal jungle gym"
Richard couldn't help but laugh; she had no problem saying something like that. He looked up at the waiter who had gone bright red as he heard what she had just said.
She looked up at Richard and smiled as she turned her attention to the waiter standing next to her.
"I'll have the chicken salad with a still water" she said with a straight face.
"I'll have the same"
"Thank you" she said as the waiter shuffled off.
Richard looked at her; he hadn't looked at her like this since that night a year ago. She was undeniably beautiful, but he realised in that moment that even though she matched him so well, they could never cross the line of friends. They were so far into the territory of friends that he couldn't even see the line anymore. The waiter interrupted his musings with the waters.
"So how is the paper, you know the one that you seem determined to believe that if you leave it for more than two minutes it will sink?" she asked
"It's good" he looked her directly in the face "are you sure I can't get you a job there, I mean you are better than most of my proofreaders, with words of course"
"Of course…" She agreed "I may have to take you up on that… 'Cause at least at the Bugle I won't feel the need to jump the boss in a sexual way"
He chuckled.
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They had finished there lunch and had gotten their coffee, they were currently sitting on a bench outside of the Beagle offices. She smiled at him as yet another co-ed walked past trying to gain her attention.
"Wow, to live a life like that must be joyful" she sighed "I mean walking past the same girl over and over just to gain her attention" she looked at him with a smile on her face.
Richard watched as the same guys walked back past them, "How do you know he isn't trying to get up the courage to come into the building and meet the dreaded Richard Thorne"
She chuckled "Watch this" she said standing up and walking away from the bench, she dropped her lighter onto the floor. Richard watched as the student in question dived to capture it and return it to the maiden in question. Little did the man know, the maiden he was returning it too, was the ice-queen in disguise.
She walked back over to Richard with her lighter, a lit cigarette and a piece of paper. She smiled as she balled the paper up and threw it into the bin beside him. Richard couldn't help but smile as she looked at him.
Her phone began to ring, she scrambled through her bag to find it and answer it.
"Hello" she paused "yes… I understand… no that's fine… of course I will… thank you" she disconnected the call and looked at him
Richard shook his head
"Not enough experience" she said simply throwing her cigarette onto the floor "Is that job offer still on the table?"
"I don't know, maybe we should go check at the restaurant" he replied smiling.
She hit him in the arm.
"Time to get you back to your obsessive compulsive job" she said smiling, pulling him up from his seat.
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She slumped down onto the couch in his office, and began searching through her bag.
He sat at his desk; he noticed that everyone in the offices stared at the back of her head. She pulled her hair loose and smiled at him. She sat on his desk, which he always allowed her to do even though it annoyed him worse than anything.
"I get why I didn't get the job" she smiled sadly "I was perfectly qualified, but I was flirting with the gay curator"
"How do you know he was gay?" he asked not looking up from the paper in front of him.
"I did this" she stretched her legs in front of her and rested one foot in between his two legs. The line was getting blurrier and blurrier every second that her foot was placed there. "And he didn't even flinch" she sighed as he looked up at her.
"You made it obvious you were flirting with him, he may not want a nymphomaniac on his payroll" he said standing up; all of a sudden his seat was uncomfortable.
"Ha-ha" she said sarcastically as she slipped into his chair. She placed her feet on his desk and smiled at him. He couldn't help but notice that those butterflies, that he hoped had disappeared over the past year, came back and caused havoc in his stomach. He watched as she picked up a pen and placed it between her lips, she began reading the articles in front of her and began circling the mistakes with a pencil, all the while that pen; his favourite pen, remained in between her lips. Damn butterflies.
He sat on the couch and watched as she tapped her feet to the tune she was humming. She smiled as she held up the first article.
"Richard, I'm not sure that this article is right for me…" the sophomore that just walked in, unexpectedly, trailed off. He was staring at Brooke. Richard could feel a swelling grow in his chest as Luke, the unlucky sophomore, continued staring. He walked up behind Luke and startled him as he pulled the papers from his hand. Brooke looked up confused at all the noise.
"Luke, get out" Richard ordered.
He stared Luke made his way through the door, as he turned back around he watched as Brooke made her way over to him.
"What's up with you" she said as she pulled the papers from his hand. "You've been acting weird since I walked in" She placed the papers on his desk; she slipped her shoes off and walked over to the drawers.
"Nothing's wrong"
"Are you sure? I do have a father and the idea that men don't have PMS… is a whole lotta bullshit" she said whilst looking through the drawers.
She pulled out some more papers and walked over the desk. She began cross checking the papers. "Didn't you guys do something like this before…" she trailed off
Richard couldn't move, he continued to stare as she bet over the desk to pick up the pencil and underlining things on the papers. He knew that everyone was watching them and didn't know what to do. She hadn't even noticed that everything had gone silent; everything, the news room, the people, the street and him. Richard couldn't think.
"So why the hell couldn't Luke do this article? It's already done for him right here." She said looking up at him.
Richard couldn't stand it anymore. He wasn't going to spend the rest of his life wondering what would have happened if he missed this moment. He walked over to her… and stopped. He couldn't do it.
Brooke turned around and looked him up and down. She was sick of this; she'd been dancing around this with him for a year and she wasn't doing it anymore. She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door off to the side of his office. Archives.
"Okay now what is wrong with you" she exclaimed as she brushed past him to shut the door.
He'd never noticed before but her eyes looked more golden than brown and she was only 5'6" and never had she looked more beautiful than she had staring at him right now. Realising that he hadn't said a word, and that she may be getting more worried about him, he decided to do something. For once, he wouldn't be scared of her.
He stepped forward "Umm this…" he trailed off as he slowly lowered his head. He noticed that the butterflies stopped as soon as his lips brushed against her soft ones. He waited for her to pull away and was ready to brace himself for the slap, which would immediately follow.
He stopped dead as he felt her respond, softly at first then with more enthusiasm. Her hands felt their way up into his hair. He pulled back, even though his body was screaming at his brain to stop, he had to find out what she was thinking.
"So…" he whispered, watching as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Well… um… that took you long enough" she whispered back, standing on tip-toe to kiss him again.
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AN: Wasn't how I wanted to end it but it's been annoying me enough that I felt the need to finish it. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. And please Review!!!