I've been obsessively watching Miranda since a friend told me about it. But I keep wondering, what exactly happened in University when they met? How did they meet, and how did their relationship progress? So I decided to write it. I'm going to say immediately that this will probably diverge from the series right away, just because of the idea I had. So think of this as an alternate timeline. Thanks for reading!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Just playing with the characters.
"Oi, what about her? She's got a nice pair on her."
Gary glances to his right at the other man who was speaking, one of his dorm mates who had been trying for the last hour of this Freshman mixer/party to get him to choose a random girl to kiss. He'd only been half paying attention to the others who were being rather crude and embarrassing if they asked him. Which they didn't. In truth, there was a girl who had caught his eye and who he had been trying to subtly watch for the last half an hour or so.
She was taller than the friend she was talking to by quite a lot, but the blonde friend was pretty short so he couldn't get a good judge on her height.. Gary had watched as she had only stood by the bar area and talked to her friend. One or two men had approached her, but the conversation looked awkward and they quickly walked away with a look on their face that said everything. They were freaked out by whatever the taller woman said. Gary was intrigued. He noticed that she hadn't been to dance either, at least on the dance floor, though she had done a little awkward shimmy during a few songs.
"Don't worry about it, Mike. I have made my choice." Gary decides, gulping down the rest of his drink which made him bolder than he normally would be. Putting his glass aside, he takes a deep breath and starts to head toward the woman. This could end up really bad, he realizes, and is not something he would normally do, so he hopes it doesn't go as poorly as he thinks it might.
When he reaches the woman, realizing that she's almost his own height which is unusual but will work better for this, and he quite likes. "Excuse me.." He says, standing closer than he needs to and his heart pounding as he rests his hand lightly on her shoulderblade.
Stevie is apparently in shock as she stares at the man who just came up to Miranda, poking her friend and trying to turn her around a little when she doesn't immediately hear the man.
Miranda finally turns toward Gary, and he smiles a little as he sees her face, and the surprise that registers on it. "Hi." He says before he takes advantage of her surprise to lean in quickly press a kiss to her lips, keeping his eyes open just a little to be able to see her, and notices Stevie grin before she quickly disappears onto the dance floor
Responding automatically to the kiss, it takes Miranda a moment to figure out what is happening, and then she yanks back and gasps a little. "Oh!" She says as she takes a slight step back, but bumps into a stool and, well, being her, she starts to lose her footing.
A little shocked at the delayed reaction, Gary reaches out when he sees her about to step into a stool, grabbing her arm and pulling her back toward him with on hand, and reaching for her waist with the other. Unfortunately he pulls back a little too hard, and she stumbles into him. Not expecting that, he takes a slight step back to try and brace himself, but it doesn't work out as planned and they both end up falling backwards.
Gary grunts a little as he hits the floor flat on his back, hands now resting on Miranda's waist where she landed on top of him, his legs bent on either side of her body. If there wasn't pain it might be somewhat intimate. After the initial shock, he can't help but laugh a little at the ridiculous situation, looking down at Miranda's head. At least she had leaned forward a little so they didn't end up head-butting on top of it all. "Are you alright?" He asks with a little chuckle.
"Oh.. I am so sorry." Miranda mumbles, her hands resting flat on Gary's chest, and she lifts her head a little to look up at the ridiculously attractive man who came out of nowhere and kissed her.
Gary smiles a little as he looks down at her. "Hello." He says as he meets her eyes. "Alright?" He asks, not seeming to mind her weight on him at least. And this being the party that it is, no one really seems concerned or anything, too worried about themselves and either making friends or finding someone to sleep with.
Staring at him for a few moments, Miranda blushes and then nods quietly. "Yeah.. sorry.. are you alright?" She asks as she realizes their position and starts to sit up, getting her knees under her at least to be halfway upright.
Gary follows her, hands staying on her waist as long as he can as he watches her. "I'm alright." he reassures with a little grin. "I'm Gary." He offers as he looks at her, smiling again as he scoots back a little and gets up on his knees and then stands slowly and offers his hands down to help her up.
"I'm Miranda. Nice to meet you." She says automatically, blushing a little as she takes his hands and uses them to steady herself as she gets up, glancing up into his eyes. "I'm very sorry about that. But in my defense, you did surprise me, you shouldn't go around kissing people like that!" She halfway scolds as she looks at him.
Seeming somewhat chastened by that, Gary keeps a hold of Miranda's hands as long as he can, thumbs stroking across her skin. "If it's any consolation, that's the first time I've ever done that.. and I have had a drink or two." He chuckles a little, then finally releases her hands as he remembers himself.
Considering everything, Miranda pulls her hands back and rubs her palms against her hips a little to get rid of some of the clamminess. "Well, maybe this will be a lesson for you, you shouldn't do it." She says, both in an attempt to be playful but also a haughty. Worked for the girls at boarding school and this boy is the most attractive one that has ever even talked to her. Plus, he seems nice, so she would like not to drive him off. She's aware that this makes no logical sense but her boarding school has given her a bit of a twisted world view when it comes to boys.
Luckily for Miranda, Gary is pretty easy going, and intrigued by her rather than repulsed. "Yeah. You're probably right." He admits with a sheepish smile, looking down a little before lifting his eyes to hers, having the look of a little boy that has done something wrong but is trying to charm his way out of it. "Want to dance?" He asks as the music shifts to something h knows and likes.
Once again very confused, Miranda glances at the dance floor and shakes her head. "Did you hit you head? Did you see what just happened here?" She asks as she motions between them to indicate the recent disaster.
Grinning at her and shrugging slightly, Gary reaches out and takes one of her hands. "I think I'll risk it. Come on." He takes a step back toward the dance floor, eyebrows going up in challenge.
Having had a drink or two herself, Miranda decides that if the cute boy wants to risk it, she will dance like it's 1999. Which it's not. Of course. Obviously. But that's not the point, the point is.. Miranda mentally shakes her head. "Well, if you insist. But don't say I didn't warn you." She says as she steps onto the dance floor with him. She quickly finds out that he's just as odd and awkward a dancer as she is, which is good and makes them both laugh.
Gary does his best dance moves quite seriously, though they get a little goofier as the song goes on and he sees that Miranda is just as awkward. He keeps a straight face as long as he can before he starts to giggle along with her.
Of course, there can only be so much physical activity with Miranda involved before something goes horribly wrong. She moves forward at the same time as Gary and they bump into each other, stumbling for a few steps. And while they manage to balance each other out, still giggling, they do end up knocking into one of the other dances, causing the woman to spill her brightly colored, fruity drink on the guy she was dancing with. Unfortunately the man is not pleased and looks like he's had one too many steroid injections.
Still giggling a little, Gary takes a quick step back as he sees the angry man. "Sorry, mate." he says with a little grin, glancing at Miranda who is standing behind him a little. "Shall we go?" he asks with a little nervous grin as the song shifts to something slower.
"Yes, can we?" Miranda asks with her own giggle, turning to follow Gary as he grabs her hand and jogs toward the door. When they burst out onto the street, they don't stop for a block or so when they have to stop, laughing and clinging to eachother's arms.
"Life is never going to be dull around you, is it?" Gary asks Miranda after he gets some of his breath back, grinning as he looks at her.
Miranda bites her lip a little as she looks at Gary, taking a few deep breaths herself. "You are a horrible, horrible dancer." She says with another little giggle as she looks at him. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I told you that things would end horribly." She says in a worried tone as she looks at him, and while this is the most fun she's had in a while, she knows that he's bound to run away at any moment.
"Oi, not like you were exactly styling out there." Gary teases as he looks at her, grinning and chuckling a little. "Having fun is all that matters." He looks around the area of campus they're on, considering. "Are you hungry? There's a place a few blocks from here that has the best burgers."
"You can never go wrong with a burger." Miranda says with a smile and then nods. "That sounds good, actually." She admits, turning a bride shade of red as her stomach gives a grumble. "Oh, I'm so sorry.." She says as she wraps her arms around her stomach.
Eyebrows going up in surprise as Gary looks down at Miranda's stomach, he chuckles a little. "Right then. Come on, you. Lets get something to eat." He smiles and turns toward the place he's thinking of, glancing over at her to make sure she's following.
Even though she was the one to let go first, Miranda feels a little bereft at the loss of his touch, but she walks with Gary down the street. "So since you were at that party, guessing you're a Freshman, too?" She asks as she tries to figure out some sort of conversation. The party was supposed to be for Freshmen afterall, so they could get to know their class and mingle a bit to try and break awkwardness and find friends.
Gary nods, putting his hands in his pockets as he walks to resist the urge to take her hand. He's starting to come down from the slight buzz that was giving him confidence before. He still finds it comfortable to be around her, though. She's definitely not like any other girl he's met before. "Yeah. I'm sort of taking the easy route right now. Business. Not sure what I really want to do, to be honest. Well, I sort of have an idea, but it's silly." he says in embarrassment, running a hand through his hair, reminding himself that he needs a haircut.
"Yeah.. I haven't decided on a major, m'self. I think I sort of did this to spite my mother. She would much rather I find a husband and get married than mess with any of this." Miranda rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "I'm 18 years old! It's way too young to be married, there's so much more out there to experience!" She lifts her arms up to encompass the University and everything beyond. Glancing over at Gary she smiles a little. "What's your silly idea, then? Keep in mind that it is probably in no way silly, and I have thought of a dozen things that are ten times worse." She reassures with a little smile.
"I don't know. I'd like to run a restaurant one day, I think." Gary admits before he sighs. "Never told my parents that. I really like to cook, though. There was no way they would support me going to get formal training, but a business degree would help me in the long run, and it keeps them off my back." He explains with a little smile and a small shrug.
Miranda listens to him and tilts her head to the side a little with a smile. "Are you any good? At cooking, I mean?" She asks skeptically as she looks at him. "After you finish here, how are you going to learn to cook enough to get your own restaurant?" She asks, figuring the two are connected since he connected them. Not like she knows anything about it either way.
Gary shrugs slightly as he continues to walk, steering her toward the little restaurant. "Not sure. Think maybe travel a bit after I'm done here. Get some experience that way. Like you said, lots to see out there." He jerks his head toward the vague horizon, smiling a little as he looks over at her.
With a small nod, Miranda considers that and smiles. "You know I do love a hotel, but I don't think I'd actually be cut out for traveling. I know lots of people are, I'm sure you'd be very good at it, but I have a lot of anxieties about going to strange places, and it's not likely I'll have anyone to go with except for Stevie maybe. She's the friend I was with at the party.." She then gasps, putting both her hands over her mouth. "Oh my gosh, I just ditched her at the party!" She says, stopping in her tracks to turn and stare at Gary.
Listening to her with a little smile, Gary idly wonders what it would be like to travel with Miranda, if she had someone there to help soothe whatever anxieties she has. Ah-hah. There's the alcohol still in his system. Yep. Because Gary Preston does not think things like that about women he just met half an hour ago. Clearing his throat a little to pull himself back to the present, his eyebrows go up and he chuckles as he turns to face Miranda when she stops. Reaching up, he gently puts his hands on her wrists to pull her hands away from her face. "I'm fairly sure she'll be alright with it. Technically she ditched you first." He offers as he looks at her. "When I kissed you, she slipped off onto the dance floor." He says with a sly grin as he watches her. "If she was the short blonde girl you were talking to.
Blushing a little at the thought, Miranda lowers her hands at his urging and then ohs a little, smiling shyly as she looks away from him. "Oh. Right." She nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "Well, that's good, then." She says distractedly as she turns to head back on their previous course, trying not to think about that kiss.
Gary smiles a little and turns to follow her. "So what did you mean, anxieties about traveling?" He finally asks as he puts his hands back in his pockets. "I'm sure it can't be as bad as all that." He says skeptically as he looks at her curiously.
"Oh it's just... There are so many unfamiliar people, and opportunities for me to make a fool of myself." She explains as she looks down at the ground. "And say you go to the beach, you have to worry about getting sand on your towel, then there are the hornets, sand and towel in your face and it all turns into a horrible disaster!" She whines, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "It's just awful. Much better to just stay at home and enjoy the tellie." She says with a small shrug as she glances over at him.
Adorable. That's the thought that comes to Gary's mind as he watches Miranda, smiling a little as he looks ahead, then says, "Here we are." As he points to the small sort of hole-in-the-wall burger place that has very little seating inside, but some outside as well. "What if you had someone traveling with you? Surely they could help with some of that." He notes as he opens the door for her and then follows her into the little restaurant, glancing up at the menu. "Go ahead." He offers as he nods toward the cashier.
"Well, I've never really.. had anyone willing to go on holiday with me." Miranda glances sideways at Gary warily. "I went to an all girls' boarding school, and even then.. interactions with.." She motions vaguely to Gary. "Men... have always been difficult for me." She says before she steps forward to cut off that conversation, giving her order to the person behind the counter.
Gary gives his order as well before he pays for them both, looking at Miranda and smiling, maybe standing a bit closer than necessary. "I think you're underestimating yourself." he says with a small shrug. "I'm sure you'll get better. Interacting with the men-folk I mean. You seem perfectly fine with me." He points out as he looks at her with a little smirk.
"Maybe.. you're not like others, though. You're easy to talk to, and you don't laugh at me, or look at me like I'm some bug to be avoided." Miranda explains as she looks at him for a few moments. "And you laugh with me, rather than at me." She says with a little shrug.
"And I'm a good kisser?" Gary can't help but tease her, nudging her with his elbow and grinning, thanking the worker as their burgers are brought out. "Shall we sit outside? It's a lovely night." he offers, waiting for her to agree before leading her outside to a table.
Miranda blushes again at the teasing. "Well.. I mean.. it was a very nice kiss.." She says hesitantly, avoiding looking at him as she sits down. "Not really sure how to rate good or bad though.." She adds before she takes a bite of her burger to keep from being able to say anything else.
After sitting down, Gary freezes for a moment as his brain puts together a few puzzle pieces, and he stares at Miranda for a moment. "Oh.. Oh, bloody hell.. Miranda.. don't tell me /that/ was your first kiss?" he asks in a bit of a panic, since that was not a very good kiss at all, and it was with a perfect stranger. But he does remember she responded which either means he was more tipsy than he thought, or women have some secret ways of practicing that he doesn't know about. Quite possible, that.
Mortified, Miranda gulps down some of her drink to get it past her tight throat before she shakes her head. "No! I mean.. technically.." She hesitates as she avoids looking at Gary. "Technically it was my second."
Groaning and covering his hands with his face, he looks at Miranda apologetically. "Oh.. I'm so sorry. I feel like such an ass now." He says as he looks at her. "I mean, I didn't think about that.. that wasn't even that good of a kiss, really, I was just teasing earlier. And with someone you didn't even know. Oh, God.. I am so, so sorry..." He says as he looks up at her, feeling a little sick about the whole thing. Not that he doesn't want to kiss her, but these things are generally important to women, and he thinks he's ruined it.
"It's fine, Gary." Miranda reassures, smiling a little at how sweet he's being. "It was just a kiss, right? And I'd rather just forget that this conversation ever happened because it's completely mortifying and I don't want you to see me as some pathetic girl. I really did like the kiss. Just because I can't tell you how good you are, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it." She says before she takes another bite of her burger.
Gary just shakes his head and starts to eat some of his food. This won't do. It really just won't do. He can't let that be her memory of kissing him. He's still got enough alcohol in his system to even have that though. "Alright. New topic." He says as he sees how uncomfortable Miranda is. "Do you live on campus? Just realized how late it is, I should probably make sure you get home alright." He says with a little smile as he looks up at her.
Relaxing a little at the change in subject, Miranda glances at her watch and nods. "Yeah, I suppose it is. And yeah, I'm living in on of the dorms. These really are excellent burgers by the way." She says as she seems to recover from earlier topics, looking down at her mostly finished burger. "What about you, do you live on campus?"
"No.. just off. I got a place with a few guys I knew from school." Gary says with a shrug. "Well, one guy I know from school. We had four, but two didn't make it in like they thought they would, so we had to advertise for two others, had already paid the deposit." He admits with a sheepish smile. "We'll see how it goes. Still, gives me a place to cook if I want to." He offers as he looks up at her with a little smile, finishing his food quickly.
Finishing her own food, Miranda licks her lips and sips at her drink. "Well that sounds nice. I think I'd rather have someplace I can go for food, I'm a bit rubbish with cooking, and there's so many good take away places, I don't really see the point." She says thoughtfully, forgetting for the moment what Gary said about cooking.
Eyebrows going up, Gary shakes his head disapprovingly. "I'm going to have to change your mind on that." he says as he stands to throw away their trash. "Come on, lets get you back to your dorm safe." He says as he offers her a hand up.
Miranda takes his hand and stands, holding on a few moments too long before releasing him, pointing. "It's this way." She says as she starts to walk. "So if you're going to change my mind, does that mean I haven't scared you off yet?" She asks with a sheepish smile, finishing her drink and tossing the empty cup before she starts to walk.
"I'm not that easy to scare off." Gary reassures with a little grin. "Besides, I have had a lot of fun tonight. More than I have in a long while actually." He muses as he walks with her. "I think you'd be a lot of fun to hang out with. If you wouldn't mind having me around." He glances at her and shrugs. "Besides, someone has to be there to catch you, you're far too prone to tripping, I think." He chuckles a little, ducking his head to look at the ground as he thinks about it.
"Rude." Miranda says as she looks at him. "I suppose I could tolerate you being around a little more." She nudges him with her shoulder and grins slightly. "I had a lot of fun tonight too, actually." She reassures, taking a deep breath. With their long legs, even at a casual pace, they eat up the distance to her dorm and she pulls a set of keys out of her pocket. "I'm just here." She says as she points to the building, going up and smiling a little. "You going to walk me all the way in or ditch me here?" She teases a little as she watches him.
Gary shakes his head a little. "When I walk a lady home, it's all the way to her door. What would I do if someone accosted you in the hallway?" He points out. Of course he also won't know what room she's in if he doesn't walk her all the way to it.
"Well aren't you the gentleman." Miranda smirks before she opens the front door and glances back at him, leading him inside and up the stairs to where her room is. "Here I am." She says as she turns to face him at her door.
Following her up, Gary glances around at the various doors, most of them closed at this time of night and the dorm quiet. "Well good. No one suspicious about." He says before he pulls out his phone. "Here. Put your number in, and I'll text you so you have mine. Then if you want to hang out again, you can just text, or call." He offers casually as he looks up at her.
Miranda takes the phone and nods, starting to punch in her number. "Right, of course." She says as she does that, not thinking anything of it, smiling a little as she puts her information in and then hands the phone back to Gary.
Taking the phone back from her and sending her a quick text so she has his number, Gary smiles as he looks up at her. "Well.. goodnight, then.." he says, turning halfway away before he snaps his fingers. "One more thing." he says as if he is forgetting something, turning back to her and cupping her cheeks with his hands before he leans in to give her a more thorough kiss than earlier.
Again taken by surprise, Miranda has nowhere to stumble off to this time. She isn't wholly sure what to do with herself, besides returning the kiss and grasping the front of his shirt.
Pulling away, Gary takes a deep breath. "Had to leave you with a better memory than that other kiss." he says with a little grin as he steps back from her. "Night, Miranda." He says before he turns to walk down the hall, hands in his pockets and a pleased grin on his face, leaving a shell-shocked Miranda to stare after him.