Author's Note:
We're rapidly approaching the end of the semester. After this, there will be part 2 to this chapter, and then a blippy chapter covering the break. Please also note that this will be BY FAR the longest semester. Please don't expect 200K words for each of the eight semesters. That's not happening.
You can assume that Amy invited Izzy to Shauna's play, but that he declined, having developed a distaste for the theater through Shauna. Amy happily went by herself, and didn't mention the names of anyone in the play, as she gathered that Izzy was not interested. Matt and Mimi gave Izzy a hard time for letting his girl go alone, but Amy didn't care. Nothing important happened. I tried to write a scene about it, but it was going nowhere, so… Yes!
INTERESTING FACT/INFO: Do you follow my tumblr? There's a link in my profile. If you don't, you should! I am working on a whole new fic during nanowrimo, and so I will only be updating my current stories one more time during the month of November. But don't panic! You can see Digimon fanfic writing from me EVERY DAY for the month of November on my tumblr, as I post a small portion of what I wrote that day for my upcoming fic! That's right, there will be a little dash of new material EVERY DAY for a whole month! :D Wooo! Also, I draw fanart :D So get tumbling!
Winter Plans, Pt 1
Amy was sitting, cross-legged, on her bed, her face buried in a massive, bright red biology text. Ear buds clogged her outer canals, since it seemed that even the innocuous shifting sounds from other people in the room broke her concentration. She was too pale, too twitchy, too snappish, and prone to frowning into the glossy pages. Not at all the sweet, even-tempered girl that Izzy had gotten to know over the semester.
Izzy, Amy, Sora, and Matt were all in Amy's room, studying or working on projects for finals. Izzy was seated at Amy's desk, programming. Matt was studying on Sora's bed, and Sora was at her desk, working on an outfit design. Although his program did need to be completed, despite the fact that he was skipping more difficult classes, Izzy was having trouble focusing. It was too simple a task, and he was much more interested in Amy's recent behavior.
Given her conduct preceding midterms, Izzy had expected high tension and stress from Amy before and during finals, but this seemed a bit… much. If she wasn't in class, she was holed away somewhere, studying and growing irritable at interruptions, working feverishly until she collapsed into bed. Yesterday, Amy had asked Tai to bring her back some food from the cafeteria. He denied, opting instead to toss her over his shoulder and haul her there for a group dinner, forcing her away from her studies. Izzy spent the entire walk pretending that she wasn't giving him pleading puppy dog eyes from her perch. What could he hope to accomplish, anyway? He was far too scrawny to interfere with Tai's agenda, even if he wanted to.
Worse yet, she grew quiet and distant whenever the holidays came up in conversation, and they were a common topic in December. Amy seemed the type to love festivities, and she had certainly been eager about Halloween, but, for some reason, Christmas seemed distasteful to her.
"Izzy, you okay? You're spacing out."
Izzy tore his eyes away from his laptop display and looked over at Matt, who was leaning towards him. It suddenly occurred to him that answers may be at hand, and he saved his work and edged closer to the blond.
"I'm fine, thank you, but I was wondering if I might have a word with you." Izzy tipped his head towards Amy, and Matt's brow rose slightly. It would seem that Matt understood, and thank goodness for that. Matt's intuitive nature was becoming a true source of relief to Izzy, and he often found himself wishing for a share of the boy's social aplomb.
"Let's go to your room, then," Matt suggested. "We wouldn't want to distract the ladies, and I'm starting to see double from reading these tiny words, anyway."
Matt, I appreciate you more and more each day, Izzy thought, his feelings inching towards reverence. That was exactly what he had hoped to accomplish, and he nodded and rose in an instant. Before long, they were in the hallway, and the girls had hardly glanced up from their tasks.
"What's up?" Matt asked, heading for the nearest stairwell. "You really seemed lost in thought, there."
"I'm extremely impressed with your ability to read a situation," Izzy admitted, thanking Matt as he handed off the door to him. "I've actually been noticing some odd things about Amy, and I wondered if you could help me understand them. I do, of course, understand if you'd rather not engage me in this topic." Izzy had to add the option of retreat for Matt out of politeness, but he was already forming plans to convince him to go along with this conversation, anyway.
"This again?" Matt said, and Izzy could see his back muscles tensing up through his tight shirt as they descended the stairs. Izzy quickened his pace so that he was beside him, and he made a pacifying hand gesture.
"I'm merely concerned for her. This isn't at all like the last time. And, for what it's worth, I do apologize for putting you on the spot like that. I was… I was very upset at the time."
Matt searched his face for a long moment, his expression cool and contemplative. His upper lip drew back as he came to his conclusion. "Fine. But there are conditions. The first is that Sora is going to ask about this, and I don't keep secrets from her, so keep that in mind. The second is that I will walk away from this at any time if I feel like it. Got it?"
"Understood." That all seemed reasonable to Izzy, and he appreciated Matt's need for escape clauses, given the way he had interrogated him after Halloween. They exited the stairwell, and Izzy unlocked his door, glad to see that Joe was out, doubtlessly hidden in a library to escape Mimi and her demands on his time (Mimi did not take her schoolwork at all seriously, and seemed to have endless time on her hands, which did not sit well with Joe, who was working as hard as Amy for finals). He took a seat on his bed, inviting Matt to take his desk chair with a glance.
"First," Izzy said, jumping right down to business, "I don't know how to say this delicately, but… Amy, ah, seems to be spending more time than usual in the ladies' room."
Matt sighed and draped his forearms over his thighs, elbows bent, hands hanging loosely between his knees. "Damn it… Yeah, she gets physically sick when she's too stressed out. Guess she's really taking finals hard. Might be best to discretely leave some stomach meds in her closet, or something. Do you know if she's sleeping alright?"
"She hasn't said anything. Sora might be the better person to ask." It would figure that Amy could emotionally overtax her body to the point of illness. Izzy wanted to help her, but she would hardly spare a moment to talk to him unless they were walking to class together. She also seemed to want to see him before she fell asleep each night, and she would often appear at his door for a quick hug or kiss on the cheek before trotting off, looking bleary-eyed and weary. "Do you know why she's so obsessed with her grades? Joe wants to be a doctor, and the competition is stiff, so I suppose I can understand his fixation on schoolwork. But, if Amy has some kind of academically demanding goal, she never mentions it."
"Well, she is here on scholarships and grants. It's not a full ride, but still, since she's paying the rest herself through loans, I guess she needs to keep her grades up. She'll lose her financial aid if her GPA gets too low." Matt leaned against the backrest and averted his eyes, looking thoughtful. "But, you know, she's always like this. She can't accept anything less than her best effort. I dunno if it's pride or just that she's uptight, but…" Matt shrugged, as if to say, 'there you have it.'
"Hmm…" Izzy stared into space for a moment, absorbing that information, leaving it to digest in his mind. No conclusions were forming, so he moved on to his next point, hoping for a more straight-forward answer. "Does Amy dislike Christmas?"
"Yeah," Matt said at once, and Izzy edged back, surprised by his ease and offhandedness. The bassist made this sound so obvious and normal, but active dislike for the holidays seemed unusual, at least when you had loved ones to celebrate with. His confusion must have been evident, because Matt began to explain unprompted.
"There's sort of… family stuff for her, and now that she's had time to be on her own, going back is probably going to be even more difficult. And obviously she's going to miss being so close to all of us. Tai and I talk it over sometimes, but we don't think we'll be able to convince her to spend winter break with us at our places, and we know she won't have the backbone to tell her parents that she's staying at the dorm instead of her bedroom at home. Not without some sort of reasonable excuse, anyway."
Izzy hesitated, unsure of whether it was really wise to ask his next question. For one, he wasn't even sure if his relationship with Amy was developed enough to make this offer, but, if he could be sure she wouldn't feel awkward about it, he would happily ask. "Do you think… Do you think she'd spend the break at my home?"
Matt's eyes widened for a moment, and then he looked off to the side, his pointer finger tapping his knee. "Hmm," he said at last. "While I think she would want to, I don't think it would work out. She probably hasn't told her parents that she has a boyfriend, and they're… They wouldn't take it well. Her staying with a boy, I mean, particularly one they don't know. And Amy would cave under their guilt trip."
"She… She hasn't told them?" There was a sudden ache in Izzy's chest, and his fingers flicked towards his heart, but he forced them back down before they made contact. The hurt was a bit silly, seeing as how he hadn't actually told his parents, either. His mother had caught him smiling as he read a text from Amy one weekend, and she immediately asked him to tell her about his girlfriend.Of course, he had planned to tell them, but he was hesitant to do so, after the disaster of his previous relationship. Perhaps Amy had the same motive for keeping quiet.
Matt offered him a half-hearted grin. "I wouldn't take it personally. She has a lot of reasons to keep herself to herself."
Izzy hesitated for a moment, then released his wounded feelings, trusting Matt's judgment. "Alright. Now, what's this about her parents not wanting her to spend time with a male? She would have her own bedroom and shower. I'm not suggesting that she share my bed for a month and a half." And, even if I were, well… She's eighteen, almost nineteen. An adult. That choice should be hers to make.
Matt shifted, looking uncomfortable, and ran his hands up and down his thighs. "Well… Her house is… Sort of… oppressive. It's always, 'it's not safe for girls to go out alone,' or 'it's a sin to do this,' or 'you'll get hurt if you do that.'" He cleared his throat, then began toying with his hair. "Growing up, she spent a lot of time at Tai's house, and also at mine."
Izzy's brain sparked into activity, creating hundreds of follow-up questions, but Matt leaned forward and began speaking, cutting off his window. "Didn't you say you were staying here for the winter semester?" Matt asked, tossing his head to get his bangs out of his eyes. Izzy tensed, then smacked his forehead and hissed.
"Ahh, of course. It's ridiculous that I constantly forget about my change of plans, given the effort that went into them." Even Izzy could tell that Matt was trying to drop the subject without directly saying so. Letting go of his curiosity was the last thing Izzy wanted to do, but he was aware that Matt would walk away if he pressed too hard, and that might make it more difficult to get information from him in the future.
"Hmm… You know… We all have to pay rent and board for December and January, even though most people go home for our break." Matt seemed to be trying to catch his eye, and he lifted an eyebrow slightly.
Izzy wasn't quite sure where Matt was going with this. "I'm aware," he said, allowing an upward inflection to convey his confusion. Matt shook his head slightly, as if to say, 'C'mon, Izzy, this isn't that difficult.' Izzy grit his teeth against the frustration forming in his gut. Social nuances just weren't his forte, and he wished Matt wouldn't rub his face in that fact.
"There are probably a lot of professors who need students to help them with their science experiments over the break. You know, keep the mice alive, or whatever it is they do." Matt waved a hand airily, a perfect imitation of his younger brother, as Izzy had learned when TK practically interrogated him a little while back. "Didn't Amy, ah, help you with your schedule the other day?"
And, of course, that was enough for even Izzy to climb aboard Matt's train of thought. Amy had gone out of her way to quietly help him in a way that he would have rejected, had he known about it. She couldn't reasonably object if he did the same thing. He could find her a job for the winter break, allowing her to stay in the room that she was paying for, anyway, rather than going home. This plan would provide Amy with both money, which she apparently had very little of, and a strong financial argument for staying on campus. And it didn't escape Izzy's notice that this would gift him with plenty of alone time with Amy, since no one else was planning on staying for the break. Frankly, it was perfect, and Izzy felt more than a little stupid for failing to think of it on his own.
Izzy stood automatically and moved towards the door, his mind abuzz with people to visit to find Amy a position for winter break. His hand was on the door knob before he remembered that there was someone else in his room. He turned around and found Matt smirking and shaking his head. Heat rushed to Izzy's face, and he cleared his throat noisily before speaking.
"Thank you for your time and advice. I suddenly have something to attend to, so, at the risk of being rude…" He nodded towards the door, using Matt's obvious superior attitude as an excuse to feel perfectly fine with kicking him out.
"I'll bet you do," Matt replied, flashing his teeth in a broad smile. "So glad to see we're on the same page. I have to get back to studying, anyway, so don't worry about it." The bassist rose to his feet, and Izzy opened the door for him. On the way out, Matt paused long enough to look him in the eye.
"Thanks," he muttered, and then he was off, making his way towards the stairwell.
Izzy watched him go for a moment, then locked his door and walked towards the elevator. He wanted to consider his new information, particularly the parts about Amy's home environment, but he forced himself to focus on the task at hand. If Matt was to be trusted, then Amy could use his help, and he was determined not to fail her.
A Few Days Later
There was a knock on Amy's door, and a whine of frustration popped out of her lips. Why always with the people?! Nevermind that this was her first interruption of the day. She slammed her stack of index cards, labeled with carefully drawn organic chemistry figures, onto her desk and went to the door, frowning at it. She longed for a space where there was no entry for anyone else, where she wouldn't hear snippets of conversation from the hallways or music from nearby rooms. She had tried the libraries on campus, but everyone talked there, and she had to pack up whenever she needed to pee for fear of having electronics and textbooks stolen.
She pressed her eye to the peephole and saw Izzy. Amy took a deep breath, trying to soothe her nerves, irritation, and stress, knowing that her boyfriend had done nothing to deserve them. But still, her smile was a bit forced when she opened the door and let him in.
"Hey," she said, bending to brush her lips against his cheek. "What's up? Is it dinner time already?"
Izzy shut the door, turned the deadbolt, and moved to Amy's desk. He left his backpack by her chair and placed a stack of papers on top of her textbook, and Amy twitched, immediately offended by the nuances of the gesture. This is more important than your studying, he seemed to suggest. Amy sucked a breath in through her teeth, then rubbed her forehead, trying to talk herself out of the freak-out episode building up inside of her.
"It's a bit early for that, unless you're hungry." Izzy sat on her comforter, removed his shoes, and lined them up parallel to the edge of her bed. He sprawled out, then patted the empty space beside him. Amy hesitated. She knew these signals. Izzy was planning to stick around for a while, and she still had so much material to memorize for the day…!
"Umm," she said, shifting awkwardly and inching towards her desk chair. "Are you here to work with me? I can get you your laptop." She bent to retrieve it, not allowing Izzy a space to answer. A hand closed around her wrist, and she turned to face her boyfriend.
"I'm not here to work," he said, his tone and face expressionless. Amy knew him well enough to guess that he was on guard, and, when he pulled gently on her arm, she almost considered slipping away. But it occurred to her that an argument might take more time than yielding, and that hurt feelings would frustrate both of their efforts to get things done. Accordingly, she slipped beside him, but her muscles remained rigid, and she had to force herself not to glance back over at her books and notes.
Izzy placed a hand on her face and offered her a small smile. His touch moved down her neck to her back, a caress that suggested ease and an abundance of time. Anxiety moved down her body like a physical thing, almost like Izzy's hands, and she fought the urge to shudder. "Relax," he murmured, rubbing her shoulders. Amy could feel the skepticism rushing into her expression, as well as the obstinately tight cast to her muscles.
"Amy, really. There's no need for all of this stress. You've worked hard all semester, and you're going to do well on all of your exams. Why not spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with me? If you don't mind my saying so, I think you could use the break." He leaned forward, clearly moving in for a kiss, but Amy pulled away. Working so hard was torturous enough without her boyfriend reminding her how very kissable he was…!
"You don't understand," she whined, pawing at his caramel-colored sweater. It was soft and pleasant to the touch, and her fingers sank into the weave greedily. "I have a schedule written up, Izzy, and if I fall behind, I won't be able to cover everything, and then I'll bomb the tests."
A thick eyebrow rose and twitched at her, and Amy fought the urge to poke it and press it back down. "A schedule," Izzy repeated, his tone bland. "May I see it?" Huffing, Amy rose, retrieved the document from her desk, and offered it over with a flourish. See, her gesture demanded. I'm a busy girl with lots to do.
Izzy's dark eyes widened as they scanned the paper, and Amy tilted her head, wondering what was so surprising. "Amy," Izzy cried, "you've allocated two hours for every orgo lecture you've had!"
Sighing, Amy reached for her note cards, shuffling through them absently. "Yeah, I wanted it to be three, but there just isn't enough time. I mean, I have to prep for calc and my bio classes, too…"
Izzy made a choking sound, and his hand convulsed, crinkling her carefully drawn schedule. "Amy- This is far too much. You've gotten high grades all semester. Even if you performed poorly on the finals- which you won't- you'd be likely to still have A's. There's no need to work yourself to the point of illness."
Amy colored, unsure of how Izzy knew about her difficulty in digesting anything properly these days. Then she focused in on his criticism towards her study habits. "I'm only doing what I have to do to get good grades," she said, struggling to keep her voice even. Lately, her temper was worn so thin, she felt like she had morphed into another person. "I'm not naturally gifted. If I don't work hard, I won't do well."
Izzy stared at her for a long moment, then returned her schedule. His hand began to travel slowly over his forehead, rubbing it along the temples. "Amy. You are naturally gifted, even if you won't allow yourself to think so. You should learn to trust your intellect, rather than assuming that you need to resort to rote memorization. You may only score thirty points above the average, instead of your usual fifty, but you'll still receive an A, and you'll have more time for me."
Suddenly, his hand froze, and his eyes flicked to hers, then looked awkwardly anywhere else. "Ah, for yourself," he corrected, clearing his throat. Amy hesitated, then came back to the bed, lying beside Izzy. There was something strange happening in her chest. It felt like her heart was stirring from hibernation, stretching and yawning with the effort. Her eyes drifted shut with the sensation. It felt so nice to feel something other than stress, especially when it was so warm and pleasant.
"You… You've missed me." As soon as the words left her mouth, Amy remembered saying something similar back in early October, before they were dating. The last time, Izzy hadn't said anything, and she couldn't help but wonder what would happen now.
"That's within my rights, I should think," he said, his voice going strangely gruff. His arm wound over her waist, pulling her in, locking her into place against his body.
"Oh, stars," Amy sighed. Guilt was spiraling through her, and she clung to Izzy, belatedly offering the attention she had been withholding. "I already promised to be better about this, didn't I. I'm so sorry, Izzy. I'll really try to be better."
Izzy leaned in and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. Heat gathered in Amy's cheeks as she realized that he was smelling her perfume. "Could you be convinced to begin improving now…?" The words were delivered in a nasal monotone, but they still caused a faint stuttering sensation in Amy's chest.
Perhaps he knew he had already won, or perhaps the shiver that worked down her body was answer enough, because he didn't wait for words. He tipped her into the mattress, pinning her beneath him, trailing soft, feather-light kisses from her collarbone, up her sternomastoid muscles, to her jaw. A strange sensation spread over her skin, and it was almost ticklish, except that it caused tremors instead of laughter. There was only time for one gasp before his lips fell on hers, before his tongue spread her mouth open and slipped inside.
I don't understand how he's so good at this. That was the last thought Amy managed before everything blanked out, and her hands rose to his cheeks. For a moment, they rested there, lightly, like butterflies landing on flowers. Then, something stirred inside of her, and her fingers tensed, indenting rapidly warming skin and ruffling his hair, pressing him into her.
She didn't know what was happening here, not really. They had spent plenty of time pressed up together in private, usually engaged in reading, gaming, or watching sci-fi shows, and they had kissed, but nothing that qualified as making out. And ever since mid November, Amy had cut off those innocuous activities, spending her free time on finals preparations. But this…! She tried to remember if Halloween had felt like this, the sudden feeling of lava substituting for blood in her veins, the shortness of breath, the tingling building up between her legs and rapidly branching outward. Although she remembered that night well, it was difficult to make comparisons between sober experiences and drunken ones.
I thought he didn't want this. Most of Amy's happiness in her relationship with Izzy came from her respect and affection for him. Being near him, with the assurance of mutual regard, was enough to satisfy her for now. Since he didn't press for anything sexual, she assumed that he wasn't interested, and, since their relationship was so new anyway, Amy hadn't taken offense or read into it. Besides, he was a cerebral sort of person, probably with little interest in physical interactions, at least when sober.
But I guess… Maybe a boy is still a boy? Somewhere along the line, Amy had spread her legs, encasing Izzy's hips between them, and he was moving against her, his rhythm slow and teasing, almost absent-minded, as if he didn't realize what he was doing. Amy swallowed hard when she noticed his arousal, and her throat went tight and dry. Definitely a boy, totally a boy. Her heartbeat went from fast to frenzied.
Suddenly, Izzy moved off of her, cutting all physical contact. "I apologize," he said, breathing hard around the words. His eyes were wide, and there was panic in his twitchy motions. A hand reached for her shoulder, closing around it comfortingly, only to release her, as if the touch had burned. "My intention wasn't- That was something of an accident."
Amy stared at him, her mouth slipping open. Disappointment crashed through her pleasure like a rock through a window, leaving sharp, cutting slivers of confusion and hurt. I thought he was enjoying that. "Uh? W-why did you stop?" she managed at last, turning onto her side, facing him. She scooted close, nearly shoving him against the wall. She knew she wasn't that good at kissing yet, but she plunked one on him anyway, eager to slip back into their interrupted activities. Somehow, that instant connection didn't form, and her lips seemed clunky against his.
He gently pushed her back, giving himself some room. "Your body seized up." Izzy's tongue passed nervously over his lips, and his hands moved to his hair, smoothing it out. "I shouldn't have gotten on top of you. I'm sorry. Are you alright?"
"It did?" Amy scowled at him, more in confusion than displeasure. "I didn't notice anything like that." True, her nerves had built up as the kiss intensified, but that couldn't be helped. This was all so new to her, so overwhelming.
Izzy swallowed hard, then sat up, crossing his legs to fit into the small space on the bed. "I… I want you to understand that I would never… If you're ever uncomfortable, simply let me know, and I'll do whatever you ask of me. I don't want-"
"I was fine, Izzy." Amy scrambled onto her knees and placed her hands on either side of Izzy's hips, placing herself right in his face. "I… I liked it. I kind of thought that you weren't interested in kissing me like that, but, but… If you are, um…"
Taking her courage in both hands, she touched her lips to his, shimmying even closer, plopping herself onto his crossed legs. She was, of course, neglecting to factor in their difference in size. It wasn't long before he stiffened beneath her and tipped his body so that she fell off of him and onto the bed.
"W-what?" Amy's eyes began to water in the face of his rejection.
"No, no," Izzy said soothingly, rubbing his legs all the while. "It's not that I minded the kiss. It's merely that my ankles can't handle your weight-"
His mouth snapped shut so hard that the contact of teeth on teeth was audible. Amy could feel herself coloring and going a little cold. She tried to tell herself that he probably didn't mean it badly. After all, she was much bigger than him, and she should try harder to keep that in mind when she moved into his personal space. But still, she couldn't seem to stop herself from feeling hurt.
"Ah- Ah- It's not- I meant- Damnation- You're extremely attractive, Amy." He laughed, but the sound was so high and nervous that it was creepy, rendering his compliment moot. Amy forced herself to smile and nod, but there was suddenly a heaviness to her body that had nothing to do with gravity. Her eyes drifted back over to her desk, where her books were waiting.
"Um, Amy. Have you considered finding a job on campus for winter break?" There was a slightly desperate sound to Izzy's voice, and it pulled at Amy's attention. She stared at him, needing a moment to digest the question. He was blatantly changing the subject, but that was fine with her. Anything to get her mind off of his slip of the tongue…
"Uh, I haven't really been thinking of anything but finals." She forced herself to consider it, not to dismiss Izzy's words as unimportant in the face of her studies and her lingering hurt. Her brain stalled for a moment, then reluctantly puttered into activity. "Well, uh… Getting paid would be nice, and I guess it wouldn't cost anyone anything more than what we're already paying... But staying here alone doesn't sound all that fun. Everyone's going home."
Izzy managed a small grin. "At least I'm not the only forgetful party here. I'm staying here for the winter semester, if you'll recall. I believe I could manage keeping you company in the evenings." He inched closer ever so slightly, and a trace of interest finally broke through the storm of nerves around Amy's brain. His fingers lifted the hem of her shirt, then trailed lightly along her thigh. She shivered and moved towards him, drawn to him by some desire in her body that her mind hadn't quite gotten wind of yet, his renewed affection making her forget his insult.
The typical distance in Izzy's face slipped away, and Amy was strongly reminded of a magician vanishing a member of the crowd, much to the delight of those who remained. So easy to be pulled in when his expression opened up... His eyes warmed by degrees, as visibly as an oven with an electronic temperature display. Zeus above, I am the moodiest person in the universe. What even is wrong with me? Can't I just pick an emotion and stay there? Am I turned on, annoyed, or hurt? And what, is it that obvious to him when he's got me eating from the palm of his hand? Look at him, he knows he's got me in his power. He knows!
Her heart began to bounce like a drunk dancer at a club, and she stuttered all over herself. "I, I... I would really like that. And I think I could even get my parents to give me the go ahead, since it's economical." She wasn't sure how to interpret the emotions overtaking her. There was warmth and pleasure from Izzy suggesting that he wanted her around, as well as lingering anxiety from finals. Then there was excitement and relief at the thought of avoiding being at home during January. "Oh!" she cried, taking hold of Izzy's hands, forgetting everything under the force of a sudden revelation. "I could be with you on my birthday!"
"Your birthday," Izzy echoed. "Right. Right. Would you be offended if I programmed my cell phone to remind me of that?"
"I'll remind you," she said easily, not taking offense from Izzy's absentmindedness for dates. She was far too busy with the energy and bubbly euphoria overtaking her. To be delivered so suddenly from something she had been dreading almost since coming here…! She felt like hopping to her feet and dancing, but she would probably fall or knock something over, and Sora's expensive sewing machine was out.
"Why didn't I think of this?!" she cried, her voice lilting jubilantly over the words. Izzy opened his mouth, no doubt to offer a comment, but she came to a sudden halt. Her stomach seemed to freeze over with an errant thought. "Oh, but- It's such short notice! Do you think there are any jobs left open?"
"Well…" Izzy hesitated and stood, picking up the papers he had placed on her textbook. "Most of the positions were occupied, yes. There were a few left, but they all seemed somewhat… Well, I hope there's something here that would appeal to you." His tone wasn't confident, and Amy felt her spirits sink a little as she reached for the papers.
As she flipped through them, the reason for his hesitance immediately became apparent. Most of the offers focused on caring for lab animals while the professors were away, ranging from rats to insects. Luckily for her, she wasn't afraid of critters that most people found nasty, but phrases such as responsibilities include scrubbing cages daily weren't particularly attractive.
It was beginning to seem that the price for her freedom would be rather high. Then, her eyes landed on a bold header that had her gasping. "Izzy!" she cried, plopping beside him on the bed. "Look! Undergrad needed for study on reciprocal altruism in vampire bats!"
Izzy grimaced. "I'm sorry. I very much doubt that you'd want to get anywhere near a vampire bat, but I decided that picking up all of the offers for you was the best course of action."
"What! I like bats!" Amy's smile grew as she read the paper, and she failed to notice the quizzical expression that her boyfriend was giving her. "Izzy, this is an actual experiment! Do you know how important this stuff is?! I mean, okay, probably this doesn't have much to do with white nose syndrome, but-"
"Beg pardon?"
"White nose syndrome. Uh, it's like this fungal disease that we don't understand, and it's seriously killing off bajillions of bats. To the point of extinction for some species. That's really bad, because bats are ecologically important- in some species, each bat can eat about a thousand bugs per day, so if the bats die, the bug population goes of control, which is bad for farmers, for one. Anyway, the more we know about bats, the better."
Izzy slipped an arm around her waist and tipped the paper towards himself. "You're legitimately excited about this." His tone was a mix of deadpan and skepticism, but Amy ignored that, choosing to take the words at face value.
"What?" Amy looked over at him, then dropped a kiss on his cheek. "Are you joking?! Yes! I would love to stay here with you, and I would love to have an opportunity like this. I'm really excited about this, Izzy." She could feel herself smiling at him, and she could tell that it was going too big and too goofy, but she just couldn't help herself. "Thank you so, so much for doing this for me. I'm going to go talk to this professor right now, and I really, really hope he'll let me work for him."
Izzy's smile faltered. "Right- right now?" he repeated. His hold on her waist tightened, and he shifted closer to her. "It's after five, Amy. He's probably gone home for the day. And I was hoping… I was hoping that we could go out. Would you like to get dinner and go roller skating…?"
Amy swallowed hard and looked from her pile of textbooks to her boyfriend. Half-hearted denials were forming in her brain, but, before she knew what was happening, the papers were being pried out of her hands, and she was being nudged back onto her bed. Izzy leaned over her, running a hand lightly down her face, fixing her with an entreating look. An uncomfortable sound began to slip out of Amy's mouth, and Izzy sighed and moved in closer.
Then there were hands on her waist, moving down to her hips, and he was kissing her softly, entreatingly. Her brain seemed to flop around pathetically, trying to choose between her desire to be with Izzy, to give him whatever he wanted, and her compulsive need to study. Then, Izzy spread her lips open, and the scent of his breath filled her nose, short circuiting her frazzled thoughts.
Her hesitance fizzled out, and her body went limp and relaxed beside his. Izzy must have recognized his victory, because his lips formed a smile against hers.
"Let's get ready, then," he said, standing up beside the bed. He held a hand out to her, and Amy frowned and breathed deeply as she accepted help up.
"That's not fair," she whined. Izzy grinned and began to argue the point, and Amy didn't even have time to cast one last longing look at her desk before they were out the door.
Author's Note: But seriously, though, have you ever had someone dump their entire body weight on your ankles? It hurts!
Ahahaha, I might have half-assed this chapter. I hope there was still something redeemable in that mess you just read. Part two is much better. The scene with Matt and Sora, especially, is very sweet, I promise, so yay for all you Sorato fans. And who doesn't like watching Mimi flip out?
Okay, so this chapter wraps this semester up for Amy and Izzy. Tune in for part two, in which Matt says goodbye to Sora for the break, Mimi pitches a complete fit/melt down at Joe, Tai feels sorry for himself, and Izzy desperately tries to just stay the hell out of the way of all of this freaking drama, abandoning his girlfriend right in the middle of it (way to go, lover boy).
By the way, the experiment Amy is working on actually happened a few years ago, and I extremely doubt that a professor would let an undergrad have so much control over it in his absence, lol, but work with me, here. It's a really interesting experiment, but the data indicate that it may actually be kin selection, rather than reciprocal altruism. Essentially, related organisms share DNA, so it is sometimes worth decreasing your own odds of survival/reproducing to support a close family member, since their reproductive success is related to your own reproductive success, by virtue of sharing genes and such. The blood sharing was strongest among related bats.
This is the kind of stuff I like D: D: XD
The next chapter is about 70% complete, and will be posted on 11/17, unless something major happens.
