6. Partnership

Slowly, Rachel took the PDA from the actuator, and stood up, facing the man standing in front of her. He was wearing a brown trench coat and black leather gloves. He had brown hair with a reddish tint to it, and sunglasses that shaded his eyes. He stood in front of Rachel, smiling. Rachel's eyes widened in awe, as she stood in front of the man she idolized. Otto Octavius. She clasped her hands over her mouth to stifle a squeal, as her eyes sparkled. She was absolutely speechless! She felt so humiliated, for running into him, yet she was somewhat glad she did, since she was standing right in front of him, and he was SMILING! At her! She didn't know what to do! So she just stood there for a whole minute, her hands over her mouth to keep her from squealing, her eyes radiant with enchantment. Otto looked at her for a moment, then pulled out the picture from his pocket. Comparing it to the girl, he found it was Rachel. His partner to be. Standing right in front of him this very moment. He noticed the t-shirt she was wearing, with a picture of himself on it, and thought to himself.

"Wow, this kid's obsessed!" Finally, Otto decided to say something.

"So. I saw you were reading about fusion." Rachel didn't know whether she should answer, for fear of squealing uncontrollably. Otto was laughing in his mind. The way she looked at him, in awe rather, flattered him. "I don't bite, you know. You can talk." Rachel slowly removed her hands and clasped them together.

"You… I… how… oy. I'm sorry, I can't speak and I can't believe I'm meeting you for the very first after all this time I've been trying and trying and I never thought I'd actually make it this far and I can't believe it's really you and you're here in front of me and I just can't… believe it." She stopped here to take in a breath. Otto smiled.

"You're really that surprised to see me?"

"Well… I don't really know. I mean, I am in New York, so the chances were pretty good… I just can't believe I'm standing here in front of you, right now, and, you're here, and… oh, there I go, babbling again. I'm surprised I'm even able to speak! Normally in a case like this if I ever met someone famous I'd be squealing and bubbling all over and I wouldn't be able to do anything but stand there, but this time… well, I've really surprised myself." Otto showed her the picture.

"This is a picture of you, correct?" Rachel slowly nodded. "Were you in a certain chat room this morning debating over me?" Rachel nodded again, eyes wide. "Well then, allow me to introduce myself. I am Double-O." This time Rachel really did squeal. A short one-second squeal, but nonetheless a high-pitched and loud fangirly squeal.

"You mean, I talked with you this morning in a… a chatroom?" Otto nodded his head, smiling. "Oh, my… this is strange. But how the heck did you find me? And what could you possibly want with a giddy fangirl like me?!"

"Well I found the chatroom, and took a look at the conversations. And what do I want with you? Well, I was kind of hoping you would be my… partner in crime." Rachel screamed. It was a piercing scream, high and shrill, and the actuators curled up against Otto. "Shh! Not so loud, please?"

"Oh! Sorry! It's just that me and my friend Anna scream like that all the time and don't usually realize it's that loud." Otto quietly chuckled.

"It's okay."

"But are you really serious? You want me to be your… your…"

"Partner in crime. Yes. Yes I do."

"You're… you're really serious here?" Otto nodded. "I--I--I can't believe it. I.. I don't know what to do. I… oh my gosh!"

"What?"

"I was supposed to meet Anna at Star Bucks 10 minutes ago! I am so sorry, Dr. Octavius, but I have to go! I promised my friend--"

"That you were going to look for me."

"Well, yeah! Anyways, I've gotta go, but is there any way I can meet you again some other time to get a little more acquainted?"

"Do you have a cell phone?"

"Of course! You want the number? Here." Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen from her backpack, Rachel scribbled down her cell number in a hurried frenzy and gave it to Otto. "Now I've really gotta go! I don't want to, but I have to!"

"That's okay. I'll call you later. Better get going."

"Okay! Bye!" Rachel ran into the coffee shop with surprising speed, almost running into other people, screaming "Anna! Anna! You're not gonna believe this!" Otto chuckled to himself quietly, as he walked home.