Authors Note: Hello readers, I hope you are enjoying this. I'm trying to get the first few events from the movie out of the way before I can really start to build on the character backgrounds with Abby and Stuart. I hope you can all bear with me until then. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!
[Abby's POV]
I had picked up a dance class at the Google headquarters so I could spend more time with my dad between him getting used to the area. A friend of mine from the club said it was good money and every bit would help at this point. I didn't think it would be a big deal until I saw one of the guys from my dad's group walk into class. He looked terrified and disappointed as he sat through the hour long dance class.
"Thanks for coming out everyone. To those interning, good luck tomorrow and for the rest of you, don't work too hard." I said as everyone clapped and gathered their stuff and exiting. Lyle fumbled around in the back and made his way towards me as I wiped the sweat off my face.
"Hey-uh nice class. It was pretty supa fly." Lyle was trying to keep a safe distance and I could tell.
"You can relax, I'm not going to hurt you." I said walking over to my bag.
"I guess I just wanted to apologize for letting that whole shenanigans go down yesterday. It was wiggity whack." Lyle said making me laugh.
"I probably overreacted a bit. I'm just really protective of my dad. He's all I really have so when people try to put him down I'm quick to jump their shit. Sorry if I freaked you out." I apologized knowing Lyle didn't have anything to do with it just by looking at his face.
"It's cool. Stuart kinda asked for it but I think your dad is a great guy." Lyle said making me nod my head at him.
"I was wondering if you knew why the last girl quit. She was really good- not that you aren't, I was just wondering." Lyle corrected as we walked out.
"She didn't quit, she just knows I need the money so she gave up some of her classes. We're actually friends and she knows that I'm going through a rough situation right now." I explained.
"Oh is there anything I can do to help?" Lyle offered nicely.
"Probably not but thanks for asking. I'll tell Mar that you said hey." I said smiling at him.
"Oh no you don't have to do that." He said quickly making me stop.
"O-kay." I laughed waiting for Lyle to tell me what the deal is.
"I talked to your dad about her so I guess I just figured you knew I sort of have a thing for her but I mean, look at me. She's a dancer and I'm-" I cut him off.
"A cute, smart and successful guy? Yeah I could see how she would totally not like you. You know she's not a lesbian right?" I teased making him blush.
"I just assumed that girls like you wouldn't be that interested in tech guys like me." Lyle shrugged.
"It's 2013 Lyle, nerds are hot. Didn't anyone tell you?" I winked at him as I started down the stairs.
"Well for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure Stuart has a thing for you. I caught him looking at your Facebook page the other day." Lyle nodded his head and I saw Stuart sit down in some sort of egg chair upstairs. Lyle caught me staring and I looked over at him.
"Good luck tomorrow." I hit his arm and he shook his head.
"You should come and see us in action. Quidditch is sort of ma' game." Lyle popped his shirt and I laughed.
"Well then I'll definitely try and make it." I said as he clapped his hands together.
"Sweet. Catch you on the flip side!" Lyle ran off and I glanced back at Stuart again completely lost in his phone. I figured if my dad was going to get anywhere with his team then I should probably make amends. I walked over to the lunch station and asked for a bag of ice before taking it up the steps and standing in front of the pod like chair he was sitting in.
"Clearly it's occupied, genius. Move along." He said and I knew he didn't even look up. I knocked once more and he sighed.
"Seriously?! There are other-" He threw the front of the pod open and looked up at me.
"You aren't here to further assault me are you?" He asked frozen.
"I actually came to apologize." I held up the bag of ice and he eyed me strangely.
"So you aren't going to beat me with whatever's in that?" He asked cocking his eyebrow and I laughed sitting on the edge of the chair he was lying in moving my hand towards his chest but he covered his nipples quickly.
"Seriously, I'm not above screaming for help." He warned and I rolled my eyes moving his hand and putting the ice on his chest.
"It's ice drama queen, relax." I said making him wince slightly as he moved his hand to take the ice from me and hold it himself.
"I'm pretty sure I'd only be a drama queen if you hadn't attacked me." Stuart said making me frown.
"I'm sorry I attacked you. I should have." I said genuinely and he looked me over before tightening his jaw.
"Well when my nipple stops throbbing I might consider forgiving you." Stuart said looking at his phone.
"Look I understand that these internships are hard to get and that guys like you dream of jobs like this-" He cut me off.
"Guys like me? What's that supposed to me?" He got defensive.
"Highly intelligent guys who love technology? Why do you assume everything I say is an attack?" I asked shaking my head.
"Maybe because you actually attacked me!?" He gestured to his nipple and I stood up.
"Okay clearly you aren't mature enough to have an adult conversation so I'm just going to go." I started to walk away but he laughed.
"Mature enough? Are you serious? You gave me a purple nurple because I pranked your dad and I'M the immature one?!" He said in disbelief.
"I apologized!" I threw my arms out.
"Yeah you seem super sincere." He said with a mock laugh.
"I am truly sorry because I hurt you physically and I don't even know you." I said biting my lip. He stared at me for a few moments before speaking.
"Do you often hurt people you actually do know?" He asked. His demeanor seemed to change abruptly and I smiled.
"I try not to but most people that know me know that my dad is special to me. He's all I really have and when someone doesn't give him a chance or takes advantage of him, they might as well have done it to me. So like I was saying before you thought I was trying to offend you, I understand this internship is important to you but if you just give him a chance then you might be pleasantly surprised just how special he is." I said earning a look that almost looked shameful, as if he was trying not to scold himself. I turned my back to walk down the stairs when he finally spoke up.
"Why won't you add me on Facebook?" Stuart asked seeming annoyed.
"I mean you gave me your name and practically told me to add you and then you just…I mean what's up with that?" Stuart asked making me stop.
"You sent me a friend request, do you think I just add anyone who sends a request? I mean technically you were asking to be my friend but you don't even know me." I said making Stuart roll his eyes.
"Wow seriously? It's social networking, not match dot com." Stuart threw his hands up and I smiled moving closer to him.
"You want to be my friend? You want inside my world? Then you've got to earn it." We gazed at each other for a moment before I walked towards the steps.
"Good luck tomorrow." I smiled one last time before leaving Stuart in a slight daze. The truth was that I liked Stuart. I didn't date a lot of guys growing up because I just never had the time. Between dancing and taking care of my dad, it just didn't seem like a priority. I had dated a few guys but none of them really intrigued me like Stuart did. He was smart and pretty cute but it's like he hated living in the moment. I didn't understand it and I think that's why I was drawn to him even though he was rude the first time we met. I had dinner with Nick and dad at their apartment that night but Nick caught me staring at the friend request in my phone.
"I didn't know you were friends with Stu." Nick pointed to my phone as I sat on the couch.
"I'm not really. I actually ran into him the day I dropped you guys off. I kind of jumped him about pranking you guys." I admitted making Nick laugh.
"It's all in good fun. Tomorrow is the sports challenge and you know your dad and I are going to own that." Nick gestured to dad as he lay sprawled out with chips and salsa on his chest completely knocked out.
"I wish he wasn't breaking his back trying to make this happen. If I can't afford school this semester then-" Nick cut me off.
"Hey that's not going to happen. We have a few months to get that money together so keep your head up Abs." Nick his my chin lightly and I nodded. Nick had always been family for us. When mom died, dad was in a really bad place and Nick had been the only one that really helped us out. I had until the end of the summer to come up with half of the tuition which was about $15,000. It would be a miracle if I could make that at the club without getting naked or doing private dances. I tried not to think about it when I went back to my own apartment that night. It was so empty and quiet with my roommate gone for the summer. I enjoyed the quiet but it made my thoughts too loud. I don't know what time I finally crashed but when I woke up after noon, I started running around like a crazy person. I had promised my dad that I would be there for his sports challenge and I knew I was already late. I had called both Nick and dad's phones to see if they made it their without a ride from me and they didn't answer so I assumed they had.
The moment I ran over to the event I saw the score and they were getting crushed 70 to nothing. Dad finally called a time out and I tried to get closer to the action. Stuart had tossed his hat on the ground as Nick and Dad tried giving them all a pep talk. Lyle caught my eyes and I waved.
"Baby! Come here!" Dad yelled and I ran over towards the group as they moved towards the fenced off portion of the game.
"This little manic also spun herself into a dance school and she did it because she believed in her own talent." Dad said making me blush.
"Flashdance?" I questioned looking over at Neha.
"Yup." She confirmed and I nodded my head.
"Look I know you guys aren't excited about us being on your team but I'm here for my little girl and if you can't relate to me then think about her. She had nothing but nice things to say about all of you guys last night and I want to make this work. I believe in you guys." I felt Stuart looking at me and I glanced up at him.
"My dad's right. You guys are insanely smart. If you work together then you can win this thing. I believe in you guys so believe in yourselves and each other." I said making them all smile and look at each other. Someone blew a whistle and made me look up.
"No fraternizing with the crowd during game time." The ref said making Graham speak up.
"Oy Twombly, your girlfriend can't play for ya." He said making Stuart blush. I snatched his hat off the ground and he looked surprised.
"Kick his ass." I said confidently confusing him before my dad and Nick pulled him into a huddle. When the whistle blew again, I silently prayed they would take my dad's advice and work together and they seemed to. Dad grabbed the ball and tossed it to Stuart who tossed it back to Neha, then to Lyle and over to Nick who threw it up for my dad to swat in.
"YES! WOOOO!" I cheered jumping up and down. The whole team got jazzed as they started running back down the field. Stuart looked over at me and smiled. He had a really gorgeous smile that lit up his whole face.
"LET'S GO GUYS!" I screamed feeling my adrenaline pumping just from watching. On the next play, Stuart used his phone to blind some girl as Nick ran it in to score again. I had to laugh as he celebrated because of how he used his phone. The boy who seemed to hate to come out from behind his phone was now using it as a weapon. They continued to work as a team getting more and more points until they finally started to catch up to the blue team. Stuart dove through the air to swat a ball to Nick and I screamed when Nick managed to get the points with the assist. They finally gave Neha the ball and they came up the field guarding her, taking the hits and making sure she could make it all the way to the goal before she tossed it up and finally made a goal.
"YEAH NEHA! YOU GO GIRL!" I shouted and she pointed at me. Graham was yelling at his team as Jump Around started to play on the field and a guy in a golden outfit ran out there dancing. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing but apparently they all knew he was important. That's when it hit me.
"That's the most impressive golden snitch I've ever seen." I said aloud as everyone on the field broke out into a run.
"GO DAD! GET IT!" I was jumping up and down, screaming like a lunatic as he neared the guy but I watched Graham take down Nick.
"HEY! COME ON REF!" I screamed as the people around me also get bent out of shape because of it. He got closer to my dad and before I could even react, he almost flipped my dad over he racked him so hard with the broom before stealing the win. I ran onto the field and fell next to my dad.
"Dad! Are you okay?" I asked as he groaned.
"Yeah baby just help me up. I don't want that bastard to see me down." I helped him to his feet as Nick walked over to us.
"I'm going to kill him." Nick stopped me and shook his head.
"He's not worth it." He kissed my head and I turned around to see the rest of the team looking defeated.
"G-D IT!" Yo-Yo throw his broom down and started messing with his eyebrow.
"Don't you start that Yo-Yo. You guys played your asses off. Today was the first time we worked together as a team. I'm damn proud of you guys." Dad said. Nick patted Yo-Yo on the back.
"Let's keep it rolling. We'll go get a frosty." Nick started to lead everyone inside and I over heard dad asking him to ice his balls but Stuart cleared his throat.
"Hey, could I get my hat back?" He pointed as it hung out of my pocket. I pulled it out and handed it to him.
"You played a hell of a game. That swan dive was pretty impressive." I said crossing my arms over my chest.
"We still lost though." He said crumpling the hat in his hands.
"Haven't you ever heard winning isn't everything?" I questioned and he tilted his head.
"Yeah well you don't know my dad." He said looking down at his feet.
"I may not mean much but you earned my respect. Win or lose, you stepped up." I said making him look up.
"Just your respect?" He questioned making me smirk.
"Abby, you coming?" Nick yelled back and Stuart rubbed the back of his neck.
"I guess we better catch up." I suggested but he started backing away.
"I think I actually need to shower. I'm pretty gross right now so maybe I'll just see you later." He said and I nodded. He turned his back on me and I quickly pulled out my phone, opening Facebook and adding him. He was only a few feet away when I heard his phone beep. He pulled it out and looked back at me smiling.
"Good game Stuart Twombly. Hopefully I'll see you around." I called out as I ran to catch up with Nick and the others. For the first time since I found out about Dad losing his job, I felt like this might actually be an okay summer.