Rose's sigh of exasperation echoed through the empty library as she browsed the shelf for the physics reference book that she needed to study for her final exam. She still had a few days to finish it, but she was drowning in all kinds of work. Art History papers and Literature revisions weighed heavily on her shoulders, but Physics was worrying her the most – her grade was just on the edge of passing, and she desperately needed the science credits this semester.

Her fingers trailed along the spines of the books and her eyes lit up just as she found what she needed. She grasped the top corner of it, ready to pull it off the shelf, when another hand landed just on top of hers.

Letting out a startled yelp, she jumped back, stumbling into the person beside her. Strong arms caught her before she could hit the floor, and she hurriedly scrambled to her feet and took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "You scared me."

When she looked up, she felt a hot blush bloom on her cheeks. Oh, god, of course it was him.

James cocked an eyebrow at her, clearly amused, but also concerned.

"Are you okay? It's Rose, isn't it?"

Her face grew even warmer when she realized he knew her name. She'd sat a row behind him in class for months, now, distracted by his thick hair and attractive profile, and oh no, he was staring at her. She needed to say something.

"Um," she stuttered. "Yeah. Rose."

"I thought so," he said brightly, offering her a brilliant grin. "I'm James. We have physics together."

He held out his hand for a shake and she accepted, smiling tentatively.

"Yeah," she said. "Right."

"Are you studying for the final?" he asked. "That's why I'm here, too. Needed the same reference book. I accidentally left mine in the chemistry lab, earlier, and they're locked this late at night, so…"

Rose bit her lip.

"We could…share?" she suggested shyly. Her heart fluttered, nervousness settling in her chest. He probably didn't even want to work around her. She would just be bothersome, and in his way.

"You don't mind?" he asked, vaguely surprised. "You were here first, you can have it if you need it, I can just wait until the morning. I don't want to inconvenience you – "

"I don't mind," she interrupted, and he immediately shut up, looking at her curiously. Her nervous anxiety morphed into something new as butterflies fluttered in her stomach. He was looking at her strangely, wasn't he?

"Thanks," he said finally. "I'm almost finished, anyways, this reference bit is the last thing I need to do. So I'll be out of your hair before long."

She nodded and reached to take the book off the shelf, then gestured toward the table where her notebooks and laptop were set up.

"My things are over there," she said. "If you want to pull up a chair."

As Rose settled back in her chair, she opened up the proper files on her computer and starting thumbing through to the pages she needed. She was hyper-aware of James as she pulled his chair up directly beside hers. His elbow brushed against hers as he set his notebook on the table, filled with scribbled, detailed notes.

They sat in amicable silence as they worked. James' presence still made Rose slightly nervous, but he brain switched gears as she concentrated on the work in front of her. The practice problems were taking her ages to do, and she kept getting the wrong answers. Still, she trudged on with a stubborn determination that would make her mother proud.

After a while, though, the letters and numbers began to swim before her eyes, and she couldn't take it anymore. Time, distance, velocity, acceleration – she couldn't get the formulas straight in her head anymore, and she let out a frustrated groan, dropping her head to the wooden table.

"Um…are you alright, Rose?" James asked, slightly amused. She was too tired and annoyed to even be embarrassed.

"I'm gonna fail this class," she grumbled into the table. "I don't understand any of this. I keep mixing up the formulas and I haven't gotten the right answer on the last seven problems. It's useless."

The stress and panic hit her suddenly, her chest seizing up, and she started to cry. James' eyes widened and he immediately reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. She leaned into his touch, accepting his comfort, and he tugged her into an awkward, sideways hug.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he said quickly. "Rose, you're not gonna fail. Come on, look at me, you're going to be fine. I won't let you fail. What don't you understand? I can explain it to you, I promise. Please don't cry, Rose."

"I'm sorry," she said miserably, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "I'm such a mess, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said. "Just let me help you."

Rose pulled away with a sniffle, wiping at her eyes.

"Really?" she said hopefully. He nodded, smiling at her. His face was slightly blurry to her still-wet eyes, but she smiled back at him gratefully.

"Come on, then," he said. "Let's get to work."

/

They were together in Rose's dorm when they got their grades back. James, an A, and Rose, a B minus.

He was startled when she pulled him down for a thank-you kiss – the first of many kisses to come.