Mindy stopped just outside the Genetics classroom, pausing to use her phone's selfie-mode to check for any flyaways. This was the first time she was gonna see Danny since they kissed, and she wanted to look perfect. They had been texting back and forth, but it took Danny ages to respond because he still had that Nokia. Mindy made a mental note to convince him to get an iPhone later, smiling as she dreamt of all the kissyface emojis she could send him.

She reapplied her lipgloss, taking one last glance before putting her phone away.

"Not a bad sight," she heard behind her. She smiled, whirling around before she was immediately disappointed.

"Oh. Um, thank you?" She replied awkwardly. Her TA Brandon stood in front of her. "I, uh, better go get settl-"

"You know, if you ever need help studying, I'm available." He cut her off, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "Anytime." He winked.

Mindy gagged. "Ugh. Okay, number one, gross. Second of all, how dare you? If you were really doing your job you'd know I don't need a tutor. Touch me again and I'll go Buffy on your ass." She threw his arm off of her, storming into the classroom.

She didn't have to look long before she found him.

"Ohmigod, Danny, you won't believe what just happened," she gushed, sitting next to him. Sure, it wasn't the most graceful way to pick up where they left off, but she was skeeved out.

Danny stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge her presence.

"Danny?" Mindy waved her hand in front of his face. "Danny, are you okay? Did you eat too many corn muffins at lunch again? I told you, you have to slow down or you're really gonna mess up your digestion."

Danny turned to her, eyes steely. "No, but I do think I feel something coming back up." He paused. "Next time you need help studying, why don't you ask your boyfriend Brandon instead of using me?"

"Danny!" Mindy gasped. "What the hell? Of course I'm not dating him! He's disgusting!" Mindy gaped up at him as Danny picked up his stuff and moved to the back of the class. She watched as he sat down, folding his arms and refusing to look at her.

She whimpered, sinking into her seat all alone on the front row, spending the rest of the class imagining various ways to dismember a certain T.A.

"Oi, why the frowny face, Brando?" Sam looked up as Danny slammed his messenger bag down on his desk. "Someone actually refuse your offer?" Sam chuckled to himself, proud of his joke.

"Actually, kind of, yeah," Danny sighed, sitting down and rubbing his eyes. He paused. "I saw Mindy flirting with our TA before class today."

"What? I thought you guys were goin' out!" Sam looked confused.

"You and me both, buddy," Danny shook his head. "I don't know where I went wrong. Did I not text enough? Does she hate me for not knowing who Don Draper is?" Sam shrugged.

"Well, what's this TA got that you don't?" he asked.

"Who knows. The guy's a creep, to be honest. I have no idea why Mindy was talking to him. She's so strong and smart…" he coughed. "I did hear him offer her round-the-clock academic assistance," Danny rolled his eyes.

"Well my man, then you gotta offer her round-the-clock lovin!" Sam smirked.

"What? No," Danny waved him off. "She's obviously made her choice."

"Didya put a ring on it?" Sam asked knowingly.

Danny froze. "What? Did I ask her to marry me?! OF COURSE NOT! Marriage is a sacred institution and shouldn't be taken lightly, you know too many people are getting hitched willy nilly these days –"

"Alright, alright, Saint Michael, calm down," Sam replied, cutting Danny's rant short. "I was simply saying, have you guys defined the relationship? You know, say whether you're exclusive or not?"

"What? No. I took her to Luigi's. I kissed her on her front doorstep. I thought that defined it enough." He folded his arms defensively.

"Nah, man! These are different times from back when your Head Honcho walked the earth!" Sam replied, gestured up towards the ceiling briefly. "Now, you gotta discuss the relationship's boundaries. There are open relationships, exclusive relationships, and until you have That Conversation, you are both free to do as you please."

"So Mindy's not my girlfriend?" Danny asked, confused.

"Not yet." Sam smiled wickedly. Danny smirked back, already sweating as he brainstormed his next move.

"So we had to have a chat about 'our relationship', and really, Mindy, it was just horrific. The poor girl thought we were exclusive," Jeremy explained, flipping idly through his textbook. He leaned back into the trunk of the tree they were sitting under, sighing.

"How silly of her, to assume that you might actually be interested in something serious!" Mindy scoffed. "You said working on the project went well! Why don't you just try dating her?"

"Mindy, how could anyone expect me to stay tied down with this jawline and charming accent?" He brushed his hand along his cheekbones. "Really, it would be a crime against humanity to keep myself locked up." Jeremy shook his head, shrugging. "Guess I'll just have to get back on the ol' horse, as they say."

Mindy sighed. "At least you have a horse to get back onto. I think mine left the stable."

She flopped onto her back, staring up into the tree's leaves. Jeremy landed next to her.

"Danny hasn't called, he hasn't texted, and he refused to even sit next to me in lecture today. I can't believe he thought I was dating that creep Brandon." Mindy huffed, frowning. "I don't know what happened. Our date was amazing. Or at least, I thought it was."

"Don't be so down on yourself. You could always take a ride on my stallion," Jeremy added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, god no, Jeremy, we've already been down that road," Mindy turned to look at him. "And we all know how that went."

"I can't help that I was born to run free," he replied. "I guess you could say I don't care to be saddled down just yet," he chuckled to himself.

Mindy rolled onto her side. "You are so cheesy," she shoved him playfully. Jeremy nudged her back, thinking aloud as he brainstormed more puns.

Mindy was smacking him with her textbook when she heard his voice.

"Mindy?" He repeated, stopping a few feet from the tree.

Mindy froze. "Hey Danny," she replied, dusting off her cardigan as she stood up. She turned towards Jeremy, who was pulling some leaves from his hair as well. "Uh, Danny, this is Jeremy. He's in Genetics with us."

"Pleasure," Jeremy held his hand out to Danny, who grunted in response. Jeremy narrowed his eyes, pulling his hand back. "I'll leave you two to it," he nodded, gathering up his books. "See you later, Mindy. Dinner, right?"

"Yep! 6 oclock." She waved as he walked towards the sidewalk. "So, what's up?" she turned back to Danny.

"I was gonna see if you wanted to get dinner tonight," Danny shuffled his feet and glanced up at Mindy.

"Oh Danny, I'm so sorry, I already made plans. Do you wanna come eat with me and Jeremy?"

"Nah, that's okay. I've got some lasagna back in my room," he shrugged.

"Oh, okay." Mindy frowned, big puppy eyes searching Danny's face.

Did she sound disappointed? Danny shook his head. No, that wasn't disappointment. That was pity. She probably thought he was so pathetic, asking her to dinner when she had foreign men taking her out. He sighed.

"Well, I gotta get going." He gestured back towards campus.

"Big ballet competition?" Mindy teased halfheartedly.

"Uh, yeah," Danny replied, already backing away. Mindy stood there, confused, watching as he disappeared in the distance.

A/N: I know guys, I'm sorry the angst lined up with the show, I totally didn't mean for it to! But, like in the show, good things are to come... :)

thank you for all of your reviews! I feel like a broken record, but I truly love them! xoxo