Jared was a happy guy. He appreciated everything that he has received and thankful for the opportunities he has had. He was getting his B.A at Vassar College in Economics, and eventually transferred to Stanford for his fourth year. He was thankful for finding people to talk to right after his transfer: Aly Dutta and Jason Sutton. They were also seniors, but they were getting a degree in Computer Science. Jared wouldn't call them friends necessarily; they were the ones who sat with Jared occasionally at lunch, and would have small conversations. He is thankful for the classes he takes, as he would have never met Richard were it not for the fact that they both ended up in the same Linear Algebra class in room 4-1011 with Professor Graham.
Linear Algebra was a regular maths class; regardless of being on two very different paths in life, there they were sharing one classroom. Linear Algebra may have been a slightly more advanced mathematics course then Calculus 3, but it still had a possibility of different majors, even if most were junior Math majors, or Engineers, or Physicists for that matter. Jared wondered what major Richard had.
Jared sits in the eleventh row, but Richard is right up front, at the third row and Jared wonders why the area Richard sits in is so alone. It's as if people intentionally sat a row or two behind him, or sat with a gap of seven chairs to him.
By the third week, Jared really gets a good look at him then for the first time, and notices the unusual ticks Richard had. He was always writing, or typing on the computer or rubbing his wrists in a particular manor. Every class, Richard was either coding in his laptop as the lecture went on, or aggressively writing something down on his notebook. When he wasn't doing that, he'd be tugging at his sleeves or rubbing his wrists. Jared could count the times he saw Richard actually look up at the Professor in the lecture. Immediately Jared realised that Richard was probably a CS major or a Software Engineer to be that invested. He knew that Aly and Jason would also sometimes pull out their laptops to fix their code in the middle of lunch, but they weren't as obsessive as Richard seemed to be. He didn't even notice if Richard was actually taking notes or paying attention to the class.
Jared spends a lot of time watching the boy in class- who he quickly finds out is named Richard-from then on out, as he seemed like a very interesting person. Of course, Jared would only observe him if he finished writing down all of the key notes in each slide.
He notices the way Richard looks kind of young and boyish, speaking as if he was apologetic for everyone who had to hear his voice. He stuttered from time to time, words spilling out of him. Richard's never wrong when he opens his mouth, although he certainly is often quiet. Slowly Jared became fond of Richard's voice and presence.
Their teacher certainly seems to like Richard more-so than he does other students, and Jared wonders if it's just pity for a student so clearly different from the rest of them, until he notices that he always smiles when Richard speaks, like he's talking to an old friend. Like he's talking to someone who understands, almost. Jared likes watching that part especially.
Richard was one of the last people to leave the class, so Jared never got to see him leave or randomly bump into him leaving class. Every now and then he would see Richard around the campus, but not as much as Jared hoped for.
Jared eventually got to see Richard leave the classroom, as he had a question and stayed after class to ask the Professor. Richard waited until there were a handful of people in the class when he began to put his laptop away.
"Goodbye uh-Doct-Professor Graham." Richard stated with an awkward wave towards the professor. The professor looked away from Jared and gave Richard a bright smile, and a wave back.
"Goodbye Hendricks."
Richard gave a curt nod, bit his lip, and adjusted his satchel and went towards the door.
"Thank you Professor." Jared gave him a smile, and went towards the door, hoping to catch up to Richard.
Once he reached the door, he saw Richard approach a shorter brunette man.
"Richie! Hey, you ready to go buddy?" He asked as he gave Richard a hug and grabbed his left wrist as they walked towards the stairs.
Jared then came to a realisation that Richard might already have a boyfriend.
After a holiday, Jared finally got the courage to sit next to Richard. When he began to approach Richard, some students nearby began to follow him with their eyes. Once he reached a seat next to Richard, Richard flinched and rejusted himself as Jared began to pull out his laptop.
Richard didn't look back at who sat next to him, he just cleared his throat and continued to code.
Jared finally understood why people didn't sit so close to Richard a fourth way into the lecture. Richard randomly made the smallest of noises. He would hum a single note when he would rub his wrist, and stop when he began to type again. Richard was quite a fast typer, and Jared could hear a constant clicking on the keyboard and an occasional mutter to himself. Jared couldn't help to find that quite cute.
Richard caught Jared looking at him near the end of class, when Richard was humming. He stopped, and looked at Jared, then blushed before looking back at the computer. Jared smiled immediately, knowing that Richard has made Jared's presence something he is fully aware of now.
Because of the fact that Jared sat next to Richard, he began to appreciate the other man's intelligence even more. Even though Richard was quiet, he had a quick brain that probably didn't shut up. When the Professor would ask a question, Richard almost immediately knew the answer, and muttered it under his breath.
"Frick." Jared muttered to himself one day. The Professor was explaining partial integrations, and the history of it when Jared wrote the example down wrong, without knowing where to solve the mess.
Richard must have noticed his fellow struggling, as soon afterwards he cleared his throat and said, "You forgot to add +c, and you took the derivative of the wrong equation. We are taking the derivative of acceleration, not the position."
Jared was surprised by the reply he got from Richard, as Richard had never really talked to Jared forwardly. He was so excited, that he didn't know how to reply to Richard. "Oh uh, thank you so much!" Jared replied as he looked back at the other man with a blinding smile.
"Mmhmm." Richard replied, rubbing his wrists, then writing something in his notebook. Jared couldn't read a single thing Richard would ever write on the notebook, as it was chicken scratch.
"Hey Richard," Jared called out as he waited for Richard to leave.
"Oh-uh, yeah?" Richard looked back while they walked towards the door.
"Thank you so much for the help. This sure is a hard class huh?" Jared asked as Richard pushed the door.
Richard frowned, and looked at Jared, still avoiding eye contact. "Not really." He then began to scan the hall until he found what he was looking for, and began to walk towards the man. The guy looked at their interaction, frowning a little, before looking back at the programmer.
"Richie! Hey, we should get going, we are running a little late to Erlich's dinner, but that's okay, we will get there soon enough." Ron greeted, giving Richard his full attention before pulling Richard into a hug.
Richard tensed up a little before saying, "No." Ron immediately let go of Richard, and grabbed his wrist.
"Okay?"
"Okay." Richard replied, and they soon began their ritual.
Jared wondered if Richard's boyfriend had realised how Richard had a secret admirer.
"Jared, right?" A guy asked as Jared walked into his Abnormal Psychology class. Jared looked around the classroom, and realised that he recognised who called him out. It was Richard's boyfriend. Jared knew that the guy's face was familiar, but couldn't remember from where.
"Yes, hi there." Jared gave him a smile, as he walked towards the guy.
"Ay, hello! I'm Ron LaFlamme."
"Nice to meet you Ron." Jared replied as they shook hands. "You're Richard's partner, right?"
Ron laughed, "I guess you can put it like that."
Jared nodded, a bit disappointed by the fact that it was official: Richard had a boyfriend.
"Come on, become my buddy too." Ron stated as he gestured for Jared to follow him. "What major are you?"
"Economics, you?"
"Law, or I guess Pre-Law. Same thing though." He smiled, and found a seat. "Year?"
"Senior." Jared replied as he organised his spot.
"Same. Nice to see you man." Ron stated before he greeted another student.
"Is Richard also a senior?" Jared asked after consideration.
"Nah. Boy genius is a sophomore." Ron replied. "Have to take this dumb course for requirements." He continued as he took his laptop out.
Jared nodded, and smiled. Soon into the lecture, Jared realised that Ron was far more talkative and just social on average compared to Richard. He was also quite popular amongst their peers, it surprised him that someone so shy like Richard would date such a talkative person. He realised that Ron was quite a cool dude. Once the lecture was over, and Ron almost immediately began to pack up, Jared thought that it was the end of their conversation.
"Nice to meet you Ron."
"Hey you too Jared." Ron replied as he began to walk towards the exit, before he paused. "Hey actually Jared," He looked back down the stairs, where Jared was walking up.
"Yeah?"
"I forgot I was gonna talk to you about that.." He began as he walked down to meet Jared. "Remember the last class you had with Richie?"
"Yeah." Jared nodded, a little worried that Ron was a mind reader who knew that Jared might be a little too fond of Hendricks.
"Don't take that conversation badly. Richie probably didn't understand that you were trying to make conversation with him, so he simply answered the question. Just try again, he's a chill dude." Ron explained.
"Oh. Okay." Jared replied, relieved that Ron couldn't read minds.
"Okay, now that that's done, I must go, again nice meeting you Jared!" Ron called out as he quickly went back upstairs towards the exit.
The next class Jared had with Richard was one of the most memorable. Jared went to class a few minutes earlier, hoping to get there earlier than Richard and plan out a conversation starter(s) to try to have a conversation with Richard. Once he got there, he realised that Richard had the same idea, as he was already sitting in his spot, typing away.
"Hi Richard." Jared greeted as he walked into the row, moving towards his spot. Richard hummed, and then replied, "Hi."
Jared sat down and began to prepare for the class.
"I am uh-I'm Richard Hendricks. I'm a sophomore majoring in CS. W-what about you?" he asked.
Jared noticed that after several weeks of observing (read: stalking), they had never actually exchanged names. They knew each other's name because of the professor, but never bothered with introductions.
"Well nice to meet you Richard Hendricks. My name is Jared Dunn. I am a senior in Economics. I transferred from Vassar."
Richard nodded, and looked at his notebook. "It must be nice to be a senior. You know? You'll get your degree very soon."
"Yeah. I am very excited, but that means I have to start paying my student loans and… getting internships and other stuff. I think I would rather continue school." Jared explained. "And you don't have much left anyways. Those two years will fly."
Richard hummed, and nodded, "Yeah. I heard. Ron uh, the uh- Ron's going to immediately into Law School after this year because of the loans. He doesn't want uh-or plan to start with them just yet." Richard awkwardly laughed.
"That's a smart choice." Jared commented. "Are you aiming for a masters?"
"Nah," Richard shook his head. "If I am being honest Jared, I don't even know if I am going to finish my Bachelors."
"I understand. This is quite hard." Jared replied.
Richard bit his lip and nodded, then went back to typing on the computer. After class, Richard packed up sooner, and followed Jared to the door.
"I will see you." Richard commented as Jared pushed the door.
"It was a pleasure to talk to you." Jared stated, walking with Richard towards Ron.
Richard gave a curt nod, and approached Ron.
"What's up Jared?" Ron greeted, waving at Jared. Jared smiled and waved back.
"Richie, hurry, I have to pick something up from Stanford Law School. The office closes in like twenty minutes." Ron greeted as he once again grabbed his left wrist, and headed to the stairs.
The next time Jared saw Richard, it was in the coffee lounge, which was surprising because he rarely saw Richard out of the class. He was making himself coffee, unaware of the fact that Jared walked into the room. Jared was about to greet him when Jason and Aly walked into the Lounge. Richard somehow was aware of their presence, as after looking back at the door, he shifted, and muttered.
"Brogrammers." Richard muttered. "Oh no no no no noooo.."
"Ay uhhh double macchiato for me dude." Jason stated as they walked towards the coffee machine.
Aly approached Richard for a coffee cup. "Hey Rico, have you been working out?" He asked as he touched Richard's arm.
Richard flinched, and pulled away, "No, no I have not. I-I don't have time to even if I wanted to, I am too busy working on my website. I just don't want to end up as a Hooli lifer you know? I don't want to be there forever." Richard rubbed his wrists together and looked up, avoiding them as much as possible.
Jason and Aly looked at eachother, then back at Richard. "Uh yeah, working for the most innovative company in the world with, top pay, vested stock options, I can see why you wouldn't want that." Jason stated.
Richard nodded and bit his lip, rubbing his wrists harder. "Yeah, you're like an artist." Aly replied, "An entrepreneur."
"An iconoclast." Jason stated.
Richard awkwardly laughed, "I don't know. Uh-maybe."
"Dude we are messing with you. But we really wanna help you with your site. What's it called?" Jason asked.
"Uh-Zelle." Richard stated.
Aly looked at Jason, and Jason looked back. "Dude that sounds amazing."
"Yeah." Aly stated. "Why don't you shoot it over to us and we can take a look at it? Maybe we can help."
"Uh really?" Richard asked, slowly pulling out his phone.
"Yeah!"
Richard nodded, "Okay. Yeah-I mean it's always good to have another person look at it." He began to send it to their emails. "That's uh-sent it."
Jason and Aly nodded, before laughing. Richard looked at his surrounding, and then nodded, "Ohhhhhhh." He stated, before rubbing his left wrist hard. "You guys were making fun of me."
"Dude," Jason began as Richard walked away.
"Noooo." Aly replied. "Ricky,"
"Yeah Ricky," Jason said, "Come back!"
Richard looked back for a second and said, "You know it's actually Richard, but that's…" He stopped and walked away. Jared frowned, and looked back at the two guys.
"Oh Jared, there you are! Bro, you should have come and met Rico." Jason gestured to Jared.
Jared frowned, and walked towards them. "Yeah. I know him. Why…..how do you know Richard?"
Aly laughed, "Rico is some CS student. He's an intern at Hooli, even though he's barley a sophomore."
Jason nodded, "Weird dude that guy. Hey, let's go get lunch." He pat Jared's arm, and they began to walk towards the exit.
"Aren't you getting coffee?" Jared asked as he pointed to the machine.
"Nah, we just wanted to mess with Rico." Aly replied. Jared's frown deepened as he saw a mug-Richard's mug-with coffee on the machine.
Next time Jared saw Richard, he felt as if he should apologise. Richard doesn't talk to people, yet when he does, some are very disrespectful. Once Jared sat down next to Richard, he took a deep breath and looked at him. "Hey Richard."
Richard darted his eyes towards him, then back. "Jared."
"I saw what Aly & Jason did last time. I am so sorry for their actions. They were very mean for doing that." He explained.
"I um… It's fine. It's normal, and I mean what else do you expect, they are brogrammers." Richard bit his lip and laughed, "They are meant to be douchebags you know?"
"I didn't know they could be so harsh, especially because you didn't give them an incentive to." Jared explained.
"Well thank you.. Jared." Richard looked back at the tall man next to him.
"Of course." He replied. "I noticed you accidently left your mug at the lounge."
"Oh yeah." Richard nodded, "You know I didn't even realise until like-a few hours later."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, which sucked because it took longer to find, but uh.. I found it."
Jared smiled. "I noticed." He looked towards the cup next to the notebook.
Richard rubbed his wrists together, thinking. A few minutes later, Richard hummed, and then stated, "W-we should uh-exchange numbers. J-just in case you know? Or for things like with what-the programmers, or like the-"
"Yeah! I agree! Here," Jared pulled out his old iPhone.
"Oh that was… eas-efficient." Richard stated as he reached for Jared's phone. He quickly typed out his phone number and texted himself.
"There we go… okay." Richard handed Jared back his phone.
Jared smiled brightly. "Thank you Richard. I hope to hear from you soon!"
Richard gave him a half smile. Jared was so happy and distracted for the rest of class, thinking of excuses to text Richard.
"Bye Jared." Richard waved at him before getting up and leaving class, at an unusual time.
"Oh uh, bye Richard!"
"You know the drill buddy." Ron stated as he gave Richard a jacket.
"It's uh-it's raining?"
"Yup. I knew you forgot your sweater so…" Ron stated as Richard put on the jacket. "Let's go Richie."
Comments are always appreciated!