A/N: Stanford TMI, The Sequel – Students have access to numerous fitness facilities. There are nearly 20 athletic, recreation, and wellness facilities on campus, although some of those may be limited to staff and faculty, not sure about that. The closest one to Roble Hall, as mentioned in this chapter, is Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center (AOERC). Its facilities are as described (but there's actually more there than mentioned in the chapter) and it's just up the road from Roble Hall past Roble Field which is next to Roble Gym which is across the street from our favorite dorm, Roble Hall. Yup, more than one place on campus is named Roble, just as there is more than one place is named Arrillaga. Don't look at me, I'm just the messenger. Go to Atlanta some time, there's a million things called Peachtree. Giving directions there is a bitch.
Disclaimer: If we put Chuck in a box, wouldn't the logic of Schrödinger's cat apply? As long as the box remains closed, would we not both own Chuck and not own Chuck? Since I don't make any money from Chuck, that's how I pay my bills. I send envelopes to my creditors and admonish them not to open them. Applying Schrödinger's cat once more, I've both paid and not paid my bills. If they complain, I tell them to send the bills to Schrödinger. I don't tell them that Schrödinger never really owned a cat, only dogs.
Chapter 8 - Spending Time With You
October 5
Chuck and Morgan were getting ready for dinner and the football game. They had spent their morning and early afternoon pretty much the way they had spent most of their days since arriving at Stanford. Weight lifting at the crack of dawn, followed by shower number one and breakfast. Morgan had gone off to Green Library to get some work done, while Chuck headed to his usual spot at Terman Library. They met back up, at the field, for their small group practice, shower number two, and lunch. Chuck had gone back to Terman and Morgan had gone wherever. When Chuck got back to their shared room at 4:30, Morgan was already there, splayed out on his bed reading a comic book. Chuck looked at the cover and saw the Hulk confronting the Leader and chuckled to himself.
Chuck dropped his backpack on his bed. It hit with a thud, so heavy that it hardly bounced at all. Morgan looked up at his friend and smiled at Chuck stretching out his aching back muscles.
"Back from the salt mines, Dude?" Morgan asked the obvious.
"Yup. Snow White called the Seven Dwarves home to supper, so I figured it was time for me to head out, too." Chuck grinned as he grabbed his towel and toilet kit. "I'm going to take a shower before dinner. Be back in a few."
"Yeah, it wouldn't do for Sarah to smell all that study sweat on you." Morgan said under his breath, smart enough to wait until Chuck had left the room to voice even that.
Chuck powered through shower number three, took his time shaving to avoid any nicks or cuts, and was back in the room in less than thirty minutes. Picking out the proper outfit took him some time to figure out. It was still warm now, but would cool off a good bit once the sun went down. He settled on a dark grey, button-down shirt, jeans, and his Chucks. He picked up his Stanford hoodie to put on when it got colder, if he needed it. Wearing the hoodie would cause him to blend in with just about everyone else in the student section. Chuck didn't mind blending in, at all, as long as he got to blend in with the people he wanted to blend in with. That would be true about tonight. He didn't bother with his hair. It would do what it wanted to do, anyway. He pictured his hair, like Medusa's snakes, grabbing his comb out of his hand and flinging it across the room and figured it wasn't worth the effort. He really did need a haircut, but that was a problem for another day.
Checking himself in the mirror, one final time, Chuck grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone. He playfully shoved Morgan through the door before walking out of the room and locking it. He hadn't noticed Morgan's smirk or tiny head shake. He's so gone and he doesn't even have a clue, Morgan thought. Even I can see it and I'm no relationship genius.
The two friends exited Roble Hall and walked over to Lakeside Dining. Navigating around the buildings of the Lagunita Court dorm complex, they entered the dining hall and made their way to the serving line. After admonishing each other to avoid any food that might cause embarrassment around the girls, which eliminated onions, garlic, beans of any kind, most spices, and anything too hot, they settled on a couple of burgers, each, from the dining hall grill station, with ketchup, lettuce, and tomato and fries on the side. Selecting non-carbonated drinks, they left the serving area. As they made their way over to the tables that had been pushed together, occupied by the Songbirds, voices called out greetings to Chuck. He smiled and waved in the direction of the voices, bemused that standing up to a pushy girl had garnered him so much attention. Not that he was complaining, of course. It felt nice to be noticed and not ignored, for a change. Especially since it didn't involve getting chased all over campus.
When they reached the joined tables, they saw the girls were decked out in their best casual clothes, showcasing their Stanford allegiance with Stanford tee-shirts, polo shirts, and sweatshirts. Some even had cardinal red ribbons in their hair. Chuck noticed that Sarah was wearing a cardinal red tank top with the Stanford 'S' symbol on her chest and her hair was tied up in pig-tails with red ribbons. Jeans and sneakers completed the picture. Her own hoodie was draped over the back of her chair.
"Looking pretty collegiate there, Chuck." Sarah said, frankly assessing him.
Chuck felt his face warming. "I … I could say th—the same about you, Sarah." He gulped. As he sat down next to her, he caught the faint scent of jasmine and vanilla.
For her part, Sarah drank in his scent, too. Ivory soap, cedar, and him. Being around him made her happy, she realized. He calmed her down, too. She knew she had the same effect on him, she could see it in his body language. And his eyes, those beautiful brown eyes. Not a word, Mom, she thought. She smiled to herself and looked up at him through her lashes.
Chuck looked into her eyes and froze. They looked so blue, the deep azure blue of one of those Caribbean Ocean sinkholes he'd been on a public television nature program, that he couldn't look away. He forgot where he was and who he was. He just was.
"Hey, Chuckles, stop it!" Carina called. "You're going to make us hurl before we start drinking. And that will never do." Chuck blinked, slowly, and turned his focus on Carina. He didn't notice Sarah's pink cheeks or the fact that she had been lost staring into his eyes, too.
"Uh … drinking?" He stumbled.
"Yeah, drinking. What did you think people do at tailgate parties, anyway?"
"Well … uh … I guess eating. And hanging out. And … uh … I hadn't really thought about it." Chuck confessed. "It's been a while since we tailgated with my parents up here."
"Why did you stop coming to football games, Chuck?" Sarah asked softly, curious about his answer.
Chuck glanced over at Morgan, but he was deep in a smiling conversation with Alex and appeared to not be paying attention to what was going on with him, at all. That was good. He cleared his throat. "School and work. They got really busy and stopped taking the time to come up for games." He shrugged, not telling them how his schooling factored into it.
"That's too bad, Chuck." Amy bubbled from her place at the end of the table. "College football weekends are the best!" Sarah rolled her eyes at her exuberant enthusiasm.
"I guess." Chuck shrugged. "Not much I can do about the past. I'm just doing my best to enjoy being in college in the present. By the way, thanks for inviting Morgan and me to go to the game with you. It's nice to go with a group, for a change." He looked around at the girls and gave them a crooked smile.
"You're welcome, Chuckles. Think nothing of it. We figured you and Melrose Place would be fun to have around." Carina grinned. And fun for some laughs, she didn't say out loud.
Nodding, Chuck turned his attention to his dinner. In short order, he finished everything on his plate. To the stunned young women around him, it appeared that he had eaten it all whole.
"Damn, Curls." Zondra swore, giving Chuck a wide-eyed stare. "Warn a girl next time if you're going to inhale your food, would ya? One of us could have lost a finger or a hand or, even, an entire arm the way you attacked your food. You're not a werewolf or anything are you?"
Chuck looked up from his empty plate as he wiped his mouth. He looked Zondra right in the eye. "Woof," he said, giving the table a full Bartowski smile.
Amy giggled at Chuck's antics. Zondra's scowl dissolved into a smile. Carina barked out a laugh. He's learning, she thought, good for him. Sarah just snorted and shook her head with a smirk on her lips. What a goof, she thought. It was all she could do not to pat him on the head and run her fingers through his soft curls.
Carina checked her phone. "It's already past 6:00. The game starts at 7:30, so we'll need to be inside the stadium before then. That means we need to get a move on if we're going to hang out at some tailgates before the game. Grab your stuff and let's go!" She got up and grabbed her trash. Other people followed suit. After depositing her trash in the receptacle and plates in the bin, Carina returned to the table and picked up her sweatshirt. People were milling around. "Get a move on, people. There's fun being had and I'm not there having it. Yah, mule! Wa-pishh!" She moved her arm, imitating a cracking whip.
There were chuckles and good-natured griping. "Blow it out yer butt, Miller!" "We always knew you liked the kinky stuff, Carina." "Yes, Mistress. Whatever you say, Mistress." Laughing and cutting up, the group made their way out of the dining hall and began the trek across campus to the student tailgates on Maloney Field. Sarah nudged Chuck. When he looked at her, she pointed her chin over at Morgan and Alex. They were holding hands. Smiling, he gave Sarah a thumbs up. She shyly smiled back at him. It's going to be a good night, he thought.
The walk over to the tailgate area didn't take too long. It took just over twenty minutes as they were moving at a good pace, due to Carina's urging, but it did get more congested the closer they got to the field. Alumni tailgates were located elsewhere, so all of the people around them were going to the same place they were. With all of the foot traffic, they expected a bit of a madhouse. When they arrived at Maloney Field, a madhouse was exactly what they got. The field was a sea of brightly colored canopy tents, each one advertising some student organization or another.
People were milling everywhere, but Carina let the group unerringly toward her chosen destination, a tent with 'Stanford Wine Society' attached to their canopy. Upon seeing the sign, all of the under twenty-one aged students, in the group, groaned. Underage drinking on campus was strictly verboten, which meant underage students violated that rule and drank all the time. The problem at the moment was that there was a staffer from the Office of Student Engagement standing next to the tent checking driver's licenses. He motioned for everyone underage to step back, while he checked the ids of the CATS. Sarah grinned when her fake id passed his scrutiny. After visiting with Carina's friends in the wine society and the four of them procuring glasses of a nice Napa red wine, they rejoined the rest of the disappointed group.
"You dragged us clear across campus just so you seniors could get drinks to drink in front of us, knowing we couldn't have one, too?" Aubrey spluttered. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"That's some shit, right there." Lou grumped, frowning and shaking her head. There were upset mumbles and angry glares being directed the CATS way from a number of the other girls. Chuck, not being much of a drinker, looked over at Morgan, pursed his lips and shrugged. Morgan shook his head and looked at Alex, who was frowning at the older girls.
No one saw the guilty look on Sarah's face. She hadn't thought how the younger girls would react to the seniors 'doing their thing'. Actually, being underage, and lying about it, made her feel even more guilty. She was surprised to realize that she felt bad that they had tricked the younger girls. And Chuck. Particularly Chuck. Then she thought, why should I feel guilty? I'm a senior, aren't I? Don't I deserve to have 'senior' fun? I've been busting my ass for four years at this school. I do deserve to blow off some steam and have some fun. Who is Chuck Bartowski to be making me feel bad? She shook her head angrily and took a sip of her wine. Sarah glared over at Chuck, expecting him to be looking at her with disapproval. What she saw, instead, was Chuck looking around over the heads of the crowd, wide-eyed, with a smile on his face. His whole demeanor was relaxed and happy. Turning to look at her, his smile widened and he walked over to her.
"Is it good?" He asked, gesturing to her glass.
She took another sip. "Mmm. Yes, it is. Do you want a taste?" She offered her glass to him.
He pulled back, slightly, shaking his head and holding his hand up to stop her. "Ah … no … no. I don't want to get in trouble. Or get you in trouble, for that matter, for trying to give an underage student alcohol."
"You sure?" Sarah teased.
"Absolutely." Chuck nodded, emphatically. "You enjoy it. Senior privilege. After all, I'm not even nineteen, yet and you're twenty-one, at least." He smiled down at her.
"About that," She bit her lip, hesitating. Looking around at the crowd, she moved closer to Chuck and lowered her voice. "I'm not really twenty-one, either." Why did she feel compelled to tell him that?
Chuck's eyes flew wide open and he gave a quiet gasp. "You're not twenty-one?" He whispered. "Oh, Sarah Walker, you scamp! Naughty, naughty girl. I have half a mind to report you to Lurch over there." Chuck indicated the tall, unsmiling Student Engagement staffer checking ids by the tent.
Sarah's eyes widened in panic. She grabbed Chuck's arm and dragged him a little further away from the rest of the group. He felt her warm hand through his shirt sleeve. "You can't do that!" She hissed. "I'd get in so much trouble. I could get expelled, especially because I used a fake id. Please, please don't say anything." She looked close to tears.
Chuck immediately felt guilty. He looked around making sure his body blocked Sarah's distraught face. "I'm … I'm s—sorry, Sarah. I was only t—teasing. I was being st—stupid. I'd n—never do any … thing to get y—you in tr—trouble." Sarah was stunned. She forgot all about being afraid. He was back to stammering and stuttering, again. "I'm so sorry. P—please f—forgive m—me." Now it was Chuck's turn to be almost in tears. She saw them gathering in the corners of his eyes. What was his deal, anyway?
"Shhh. Chuck calm down. It's ok." Sarah whispered soothingly. "I know you were only teasing and that you'd never get me in trouble." She gripped his arm, gently. "You just scared me, is all. I'm not mad at you." She gave him a small smile to reassure him.
Chuck blew out a ragged breath and nodded collecting himself. Tilting his head down at her, he gave her a crooked grin. "So how old are you, really, if you don't mind my asking? I know it's not polite to ask a lady her age, but you've got me curious. You don't have to answer, if you don't want to. Just tell me to shut up."
Sarah smiled up at him. "It's alright. I don't mind. I'm the same age as you, eighteen. I don't turn nineteen until next month."
Chuck widened again. This time in shock. "How can you only be eighteen? That would mean you graduated high school when you were just fifteen. What are you some kind of genius?" He asked, in awe.
Sarah bobbed her head from side to side, smiling. "Yeah, I kinda am. A prodigy, they tell me. Took AP classes and everything." Her smile faded a little. She was nervous that her revelation would intimidate him. She couldn't have been more wrong.
Chuck laughed out loud. She had to shush him, once again. "That's great!" He whispered. "Congratulations! Good for you. Wow! I know a prodigy. Cool!" Chuck gave Sarah his full Bartowski smile, wrinkling nose and crinkling eyes and everything. She was his age! That was amazing. He felt something flutter in his chest. What was that, he wondered?
She was amazed by him yet again. No other guy had ever reacted that way when she had revealed her smarts to them. Not in high school and not at Stanford. They'd always either been jealous or dismissive. Not Chuck. Of course, not Chuck. Why was she even surprised? It felt like a weight she didn't know she was carrying had just been lifted off her back. She felt lighter and freer. How did he keep doing that?
"So, when's your birthday?" Chuck asked, quietly. "My birthday is in November, too. November fifth, to be exact. Do we have the same birthday? Wow! That would be really cool. A joint birthday. My dad used to share a birthday with a kid in his class in grade school, too. They used to have joint birthday parties, since they were in the same class and shared all the same friends. Maybe we could do that." Chuck was spiraling, so she laid a hand on his arm, once more. He instantly fell silent, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry for spiraling there." He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled ruefully.
Sarah smiled. "You were spiraling, a bit." She shook her head slightly to stop him from getting more embarrassed. "Don't worry about it. It's OK. I'm sorry to tell you that my birthday isn't the fifth of November." Chuck's face fell a little bit. "My birthday is the tenth of November. Having the same birthday would have been so amazing and cool, though." She gave him an apologetic pout.
"So, I'm older than you, huh? Cool." He said, smiling again. Sarah gave him a flat look and he giggled before sobering. "Five days apart? Pfft! That's not a big deal. Practically, the same. Close enough for government work, like my dad says." He chuckled and Sarah joined in. It struck her that he wasn't stuttering or stammering any more.
She was going to ask him about his stuttering, but got interrupted by Carina's voice.
"What are you two doing way over there giggling like idiots?" Carina wandered over and put her arms around both of them.
"We were just talking, Carina. No big deal." Sarah said, flatly.
"And that made you giggle? Hmmm? Interesting."
Knowing that Carina wouldn't stop until she had ferreted out some juicy tidbit, Sarah decided to nip the harassment in the bud, and sighed. "We also discovered that we both have birthdays in November." Carina's eyes lit up at her revelation. "Chuck's is the fifth. I told him that mine is the tenth." She decided to delay telling Carina about her telling Chuck about her fake id until they had gotten back to their suite. Sarah didn't need Carina to put on a show and attract any of the typical Carina attention from onlookers.
"I'm older than Sarah, by five whole days!" Chuck chirped with a big goofy grin on his face. Sarah snorted and just shook her head.
"Well, we just might have to throw you a Songbirds party." Carina said, thoughtfully. "How old are you gonna be, Chuckles? Is this the birthday when you get your training wheels taken off?" She teased.
Chuck gave them a half-crooked grin and shook his head. "Nope. I haven't had training wheels since just before I turned six."
"Oooo. Our Chuckles is well-balanced." Carina grinned with her tongue between her teeth. Catching a fleeting expression on Chuck's face, Sarah couldn't escape the feeling that he meant something else entirely with his response. Carina missed it, completely.
Finishing her wine, Sarah threw the plastic glass into the can next to the Wine Society tent. After talking with her suitemates, she walked over to where Chuck was talking with Morgan and Alex. "They want to hang out here for a while." She said, gesturing over at her roommates. "Do you guys want to wander around for a bit? See what else is going on?"
"Sure," Chuck said, smiling. "I'm game for anything. This is the first time Morgan and I have come to the student tailgates since we got to school."
Morgan opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Alex jumped in. "Now that you've had your fun? Now you're interested in us having some fun? Come on, Sarah!" Alex's voice was bitter. Morgan gave her a look, but, for once, didn't say anything.
Sarah had the good sense to look guilty. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that." She reddened. "We were so worked up about coming over here that we didn't stop and think about how it wouldn't be any fun for the rest of you. We got carried away about being seniors and cutting loose a bit. I'm really sorry." She ducked her head in shame.
Alex was about to say more, but Morgan whispered in her ear. She glared at him for a moment, then her expression cleared and she nodded. "It's OK, Sarah. I would have probably done the same thing if I were in your shoes." Sarah's head came up and her mouth held a tentative smile.
"Thanks, Alex, for being understanding. We were being jerks, so thanks." They could hear the sincerity in Sarah's voice. Alex returned her smile with one of her own and nodded.
Some of the other girls had wandered off, but there were a number of them still in the vicinity. Sarah walked over and after offering her apologies to them, invited them to come along to see what they could see.
The truncated group of Songbirds, boyfriends, and friends ambled around the crowded soccer field. There were all sorts of student groups who'd rented spaces. Those that offered food samples, along with their information brochures, got most of the group's attention. They tried everything from egg rolls to kufta kabobs to Swedish meatballs. There were even a number of interesting fruit punches on offer from some tents. Guaranteed alcohol-free by the ever-present Student Engagement officials. A little before they needed to go into the stadium, one of their missing members, Beca Mitchell walked up with two boys in tow.
"Hi, you guys!" Beca said a little breathlessly. "I didn't think we'd find any of you. Do you mind if we tag along?" She asked, hopefully.
"You're a Songbird. You don't even have to ask. You're part of the group already." Sarah assured her with a smile. "Who're your two escorts?" She looked the two male students over, expectantly.
"Oh, sorry." Beca blushed slightly, turning to the guy on her right. "This is Jesse Swanson. He was the first person I met when I arrived on campus last month." Turning to her left, she said. "And this is his roommate, Benji Applebaum." Both men were about Sarah's height with curly hair. Jesse's black and Benji's light brown. They waved at the group. Several of the girls waved back.
"Nice to meet you, both." Sarah said, shaking hands with both students.
"Hi y'all. I'm Chuck Bartowski …, " Chuck pointed over at Morgan. "and this guy is Morgan Grimes. How's it going?" Chuck and Morgan exchanged handshakes with the two men.
Several of the other girls called out their names and waved. Jesse and Benji smiled, nodded, and waved back.
Then Beca dropped the bombshell. "Jesse and Benji are in the Choirboyz." She cringed a little as she spoke.
"What the hell, Beca? These guys hate us. And you bring them here? With us?" Sarah frowned, stunned.
"Noooo. No. No." Jesse shook his head and waved his hands in front of his face. "Please, Benji and I aren't the enemy. We don't hate anyone or anything." He pleaded. "That's all Bumper and his ego. We like to sing, but we don't like his rivalry crap."
Several of the girls were muttering. Sarah looked doubtful. "So, you say." She said, flatly.
"I promise." Jesse said, firmly. "We promise. We're not here to cause trouble or do anything. We just want to hang out and go to the game." Benji was nodding.
"No trouble. Honest." Benji said.
"OK, you can stay." Sarah decided. "But you better behave yourselves. I suggest you stay away from the other seniors when they come back. We have a long history with Bumper Allen. And it isn't a good history. You catch my drift?" She eyed the two men.
"Got it. Stay away from the seniors. Absolutely. We'll behave. Promise." Both men nodded. Sarah noticed that Beca looked relieved.
The Songbirds walked on for a while longer, wandering randomly, but always in a westerly direction, toward the football stadium. Reaching the edge of the tailgate area, Sarah called a halt and asked everyone to wait for the rest of the CATS to join them.
They didn't have long to wait. Chuck's height allowed him to stand out in the crowd, so Carina and the others found them easily enough. Sarah introduced Jesse and Benji, being sure to leave out the part about them being in the Choirboyz to avoid histrionics on the part of her suitemates. With everyone now knowing each other's names, the extended group swiped their student ids through the reader and passed through stadium security. Walking toward the student section of seats, their excited chatter increased as the time for kickoff grew closer.
Once everyone got to their seats, Chuck discovered he was nearly surrounded by the CATS. He had Sarah on his left and Carina on his right. Amy and Zondra were behind him. Morgan and Alex occupied the seats in front of him. The rest of the Songbirds, in their group, were arrayed around, and in front of, Morgan.
Chuck leaned over and spoke in Morgan's ear. "How's it going, buddy? Are you ready for some football?" He grinned.
Morgan twisted around and, after eyeing Chuck's situation, spoke. "The question is, buddy, are you ready for some football? Be careful back there, you don't want any bumps or bruises." He smirked.
"Why would I get bumps or bruises just sitting here watching the game?" Chuck said, holding his palms out flat, confused.
Morgan pressed his lips together and shook his head. He whispered in Alex's ear and she turned to look at Chuck, shaking her head at his cluelessness, before turning back around to look out to the football field.
Carina had watched the whole exchange and smiled to herself. They had Chuck boxed in. Time for some fun. She turned slightly and caught Amy's eye, before nodding her head in Chuck's direction. Amy grinned and elbowed Zondra to get her attention. Their eyes danced as they waited for Carina's first move.
Glancing in Sarah's direction to make sure her focus was elsewhere; Carina leaned toward Chuck and blew softly into his right ear. He swiped at the affected ear and turned toward Carina.
"Are you enjoying yourself, Chuckles?" Carina asked breathily.
"Yeah, I am, Carina. It's fun going to the game in a group. Better than being alone." Chuck replied, honestly. "Although, it'll be more fun once the game starts." His comment caused Sarah to glance over at him before turning away, a thoughtful expression on her face. She didn't see what Carina did next.
Carina leaned a little closer before speaking again. "What sorts of games do you like to play, Chuck?" She cracked the 'k'. "Besides, baseball and football, this is." Carina ran the tip of her tongue around her lips, before taking her lower lip between her teeth and looking at Chuck through her lashes.
"Oh, well sure. Um … I like to play Call of Duty and World of Warcraft." Chuck said, enthusiastically. Carina's eyes widened somewhat in dismay. "Then there's Halo, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed." Zondra was snickering behind them. Amy just sat there with a dumbfounded look on her face.
In an effort to regain control, Carina put her hand high on Chuck's thigh and gently squeezed before reaching up to grip his forearm. When Chuck turned more toward Carina, Sarah felt him shift and looked over to see what was going on. Her eyes narrowed, watching, but she didn't say anything, yet.
Carina tried again. "No, Chuckles. Don't you like any games that don't involve PCs or game machines?" She pursed her lips at him.
"Oh, yeah. There's Risk and Monopoly. Axis and Allies. Hmmm. Settlers of Catan." Chuck scratched his chin, thoughtfully. Sarah was starting to grin. Amy was giggling and Zondra was about a second away from laughing out loud.
"No, no, Chuck. Aren't there games you like to play that only require two people?" Carina batted her lashes at him.
"Of course. Only two people. I didn't know you meant those kinds of games. Sure. Well, I like to play chess. Tennis. And ping-pong. But I haven't played either of them for a while, so I'm a bit rusty." He said apologetically. The other three CATS were trying valiantly to keep from laughing.
"Ping-pong? Oh, good grief." Carina shook her head slightly. She gave one more try. "Chuck, I was talking about games you like to play indoors with just one other person. No computers or game machines or board games. Those kinds of games." She cooed as suggestively as she could. Pulling out all the stops, she licked her lips again.
Chuck sat looking at her for a second, before starting to speak. He seemed hesitant. This is it, Carina thought, smiling to herself. Leaning in, she waited.
"Carina, are your lips chapped?" Chuck sounded concerned. "I don't mean to be rude, but you keep licking them. Do you want to borrow my ChapStick?" Chuck dug in his pocket for the lip balm.
Carina's mouth fell open and she stared at him, wordlessly. She had no idea what to say. No one had ever reacted to her the way Chuck Bartowski did. Unable to contain themselves any longer her suitemates started laughing. Soon, they were laughing so hard that tears rolled down their faces and they had to hold their sides to stop them from hurting. People around them looked at them as if they'd gone crazy.
The commotion got the attention of the other Songbirds around them. Morgan and Alex turned around to see what was going on. Carina was blushing and frowning, shaking her head dejectedly. The other three girls were laughing too hard to answer any questions. Chuck just shrugged indicating he didn't seem to know why they were laughing either.
Sarah was the first one to regain enough self-control to be able to lean over and recount the exchange between Carina and Chuck. Before she had finished her tale, Alex and Morgan were laughing. Once Sarah was done talking, they relayed the story to the others until all of the Songbirds and their friends were laughing, too.
Fishing a tissue out of her purse and dabbing at her eyes, Zondra continued to chuckle. Patting Chuck on the shoulder, she said. "Curls, you're amazing. How do you keep blocking, Carina? Your banter-fu is strong."
Chuck smiled and shrugged, not sure what the fuss was about. "I guess watching all those martial arts movies wasn't a complete waste of time, after all." That brought out another round of laughter from the people around him.
"You're a piece of work, Chuck. That's for sure." Amy giggled, shaking her head. Chuck just grinned at her.
Sarah touched his arm and they both felt their little jolt. Turning toward her, Chuck saw the mirth and awe on her face. She was so beautiful. Breathtaking. "My God, Chuck. You are a genius. How do you do it? You foil Carina every time. If you had been around four years ago, our time at Stanford would have been completely different." Inwardly, she winced. Why did I say that last bit? How does he do that? How does he disarm me so easily? When I'm around him I let my guard down completely.
"I just offered her my ChapStick. I really thought her lips might be chapped, since she was licking them so much. I don't know what the big deal is." Chuck smiled, innocently, and shrugged, again. Everyone else started laughing once more. Except for Carina. She just sat there pouting. Some fun he was to have around. Humph.
Their laughter carried them right up to the beginning of the game and kickoff. The game was very exciting with Stanford pulling off an upset win over the 15th ranked Washington team. It was an impressive victory with Stanford surpassing Washington in all of the statistical categories, which, unfortunately, included penalties and penalty yards. Despite doing well statistically, Stanford did struggle, early on, to score points, but once going ahead in the two thirds of the way through the second quarter, they never relinquished the lead. Chuck, Morgan, and the Songbirds had a great time cheering themselves hoarse in support of the football team's efforts. People happily chattered with each other reliving their favorite moments from the game, as they followed the crowd making their way out of the stadium.
The Songbirds had just crossed Galvez Street and turned in the direction of Campus Drive, when they heard a male voice calling for Chuck's attention. "Bartowski! Bartowski! Wait up!" Chuck turned in the direction he thought the voice was coming from and saw Daniel Shaw walking toward him. He had his arm around none other than Jill Roberts. They both wore their patented smug smirks. Trailing slightly behind, in true toady fashion, was Bryce Larkin with one of the girls who had been with Jill when she tried to confront Chuck the other night.
Chuck sighed and waited, along with the rest of the group, for Shaw to catch up. It was pointless to ignore him as that would just cause him to be more of a jerk at the first chance he got during practice. He noticed that none of the other players were with Shaw and Larkin. Morgan noticed, too.
"Oh, look. It's the Brick and the Stick. And Igor, too. Yay. Now our evening is complete." Morgan said sarcastically, frowning. Next to him, Alex frowned, as well. She had known Shaw for going on four years. Sarah snickered at Morgan's comment, but saw Chuck's uncomfortable posture when she glanced in his direction.
As they walked up, Shaw spoke. "Well, Bartowski. Grimes." He nodded imperiously to both men. "What did you think of that? Quite a game, don't you think?"
Sarah looked at the new arrivals. Shaw was a little shorter than Chuck, good looking with black hair and brown eyes. But his eyes weren't warm and kind like Chuck's and his looks were marred by his condescending attitude. The other one, Larkin, was much the same. Much shorter than Chuck, closer to her or Carina's height, objectively good looking with wavy brown hair and blue eyes. He might have been attractive except for the sneer on his face and his obvious obsequious demeanor toward Shaw. Both of them had matinee idol looks, but with rotten centers.
"Shaw. Larkin." Chuck acknowledged. "Yeah, good game. I'm glad we won." He could feel the eyes of the Songbirds on him. Particularly the CATS. He hoped the other group would continue on their journey. No such luck.
Shaw looked around at the assembled singers. "Don't be rude, Bartowski. Introduce us to your friends." He stuck out his hand. "Daniel Shaw. Baseball team captain." His lips curled into an oily smile.
Chuck was about to speak, when the CATS stepped in front of their group, as one. Shaw rubbed them all the wrong way. Carina spoke first, sweetly. "We can't shake hands with you. We haven't had all of our shots yet and don't want to catch whatever she gave you." She pointed at Jill.
"How dare you!" Shaw spluttered, jerking his hand back, angrily. "You don't know who you're messing with."
"Of course, we know who you are, Shaw." Zondra sneered. "We've been here for four years and have heard you blowing your own horn before now." She gestured at Larkin. "Or is it your toady's job to blow your horn for you?" She batted her lashes at him, innocently. "And such a little horn, too." Amy laughed. More than one of the surrounding Songbirds joined in.
Shaw gasped in shock. People just didn't talk to him that way. Jill pulled on his arm and whined. "Daniel, baby, let's go. These girls are those acapella losers I was telling you about. They don't know their place." She pulled a pout when Shaw looked over at her.
"Know our place? Who the hell do you think you are?" Sarah growled. Chuck started to move between the angry parties, but Sarah stopped him with her hand. She knew what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it. "No, Chuck. This isn't your fault. You've done nothing wrong. We've done nothing wrong." She shook her head. "This arrogant asshole thinks he can go around telling people what to do? Well, he can't. Then, he insults them when they don't put up with his bullshit. He can go fuck himself." Sarah swore. Chuck eyes opened in surprise. Morgan was trying to keep from laughing. "Furthermore, Shaw. Did you know that little Miss high-and-mighty here spent a good bit of time chasing after Chuck because she thought he'll get another big payoff next time he gets drafted? That is, until Chuck asked her to please stop bothering him. Did she tell you that she's a gold digger? Or did she leave that part out?" Sarah flung her hand out in Jill's direction, shook her head, and snorted in derision. Shaw glared over at Jill.
Shaw started to speak, then paused. Changing course, he looked over at Alex holding Morgan's hand. "Does your dad know you're dating Grimes, Alex? I bet he'll be really pleased when he finds that out." He sneered.
"Shaw, my life is none of your business." Alex was furious that Shaw brought her dad up before she had a chance to talk with Morgan about it. "Who I date or don't date is none of your business. You were a douche when I first met you four years ago and you're still a douche now."
"We'll see about that, won't we?" Shaw smirked. "Let's go, Bryce. Jill, you and I need to talk." He turned to go, but looked back at Chuck over his shoulder. "See you at practice, Bartowski. You, too, Grimes." He frowned to himself. Jill gave them some furious stink eye before turning away. Larkin eyed Sarah for a moment longer, before he, too, turned and walked away. They could see Shaw and Jill having a spirited discussion, before losing sight of them in the crowd.
"What was that all about?" Amy wondered. She looked at Chuck expecting him to have an explanation.
Chuck shook his head and shrugged. "Don't look at me. I have no idea." Turning to look at the other CATS, he asked. "Why did y'all yell at him? He just wanted to say hello."
"No, Chuck, that's not what he wanted to do, at all." Sarah shook her head, emphatically. "He wanted to boss you around and embarrass you. Whether he wanted to do it for Jill or for himself, either way, that's what he was all about. A big bad senior throwing his weight around. We weren't having it."
"That's right, Chuckles. He can't embarrass you. Only we can embarrass you." Carina pointed her finger at him and chuckled.
"Damn straight." Zondra agreed. "You're our mascot. We look out for our own. What do you say to that? Huh, Curls?"
Chuck thought for a moment and then deadpanned. "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." Zondra blushed and gave him a faux-glare before laughing. Carina just shook her head in frustration.
The whole group cracked up. "More points for Chuck." Someone giggled.
Morgan looked at Alex. "What was Shaw talking about? How do you know him? You're only a freshman. How could you have known him for four years?" Alex wore a sheepish expression and pulled Morgan away from the group.
"Morgan, don't freak out. I'll answer your questions, but, first, I need to ask you some questions. Is that OK?" Alex asked.
Puzzled, Morgan, nonetheless, nodded.
"Morgan, you like me, right?"
"You know I do." Morgan said, firmly.
Alex smiled and gave him a peck on the lips. "Yes, I know. Just wanted to hear you say it. OK, now, have you ever done anything mean to me? Hurt me? Been anything other than a gentleman with me?"
"No, no, and no." Morgan answered, his confusion growing. "Alex, what's going on? Why all of the questions?"
Alex gave him another quick kiss and then took a deep breath before answering. "The reason for all of the questions is, I like you, too, Morgan. Even though it's only been a few days. I like you."
"OK, that's great! But I still don't understand." Morgan grinned; a bit confused.
"The other reason is about my dad." She looked him in the eye.
"What about your dad? I've never met him." Morgan shrugged.
Alex took another deep breath. "That's not true. You have met my dad." She bit her lip. "My dad is Coach John Casey." Alex winced at the look on Morgan's face.
"WHAT?" Morgan felt all of the blood rushing out of his face.
Chuck looked over at his friend in alarm. "What's wrong, buddy?" The concern was evident in his voice. Morgan took Alex's hand and walked back over to the rest of the group. They all could see the shock on his face.
"Chuck, Alex just told me her dad is Coach Casey. I'm a dead man." Morgan moaned.
Chuck was confused. "How's that possible? Your name is McHugh and his is Casey." He asked, without thinking.
"Chuck …," Sarah began, but Alex cut her off.
"No, Sarah, it's OK." Turning to Chuck, she continued. "My parents got divorced right after I was born. Dad was still in the Marines. Mom couldn't take him constantly extending his overseas tours. He didn't want to leave his men behind, but she was worried about his safety. He put himself in danger all of the time to support his troops. Kept getting wounded. Nothing major, but still. My grandmother told me that my mom was frantic. So, she filed for divorce. Preferring an uncertain financial future over the constant fear and worry of not knowing whether or not Dad would come home the next time. It was eating her up." Alex shrugged, sadly. "They were apart for a long time. Then, Dad retired from the Marines a little over six years ago. Coach Graham hired him not long after that. Mom and Dad have been slowly reconnecting ever since." A small smile lit up her face. Morgan pulled her in for a gentle hug.
Chuck's surprise slowly faded from his face and he blew out a breath. "That's too bad, Alex. A tough way to grow up, but, at least, they're back together. Or getting closer, anyway. What happens now?"
Alex stepped back from Morgan and squinted her eyes in thought. "I'm gonna call my mom. We gotta get ahead of Shaw. I've known him ever since he arrived on campus four years ago. That's what he and I were talking about earlier." Morgan nodded his understanding. Alex pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed her mom.
"Hey, Mom, it's me." Alex listened. "No, nothing's wrong. Where are you and Dad, right now?" More listening. "OK, don't move. Stay right there. I'm bringing Morgan over. Daniel Shaw was just here and he threatened to tattle to Dad about the two of us." Listening. "Yeah, you're right. He is a little shit. Tell Dad to wait. Don't drive off. And keep him calm and off of the phone." Listening. again. "Yeah, we'll be right over. Bye." She dropped her phone back in her purse and grabbed Morgan's hand. "Come on!"
"It was nice knowing you, Chuck. Sarah. Bye, everyone." Morgan wailed as Alex pulled him along.
Chuck stood at attention and saluted. "He has but one life to give for his beard." He chuckled.
Sarah slapped at his arm. "Chuck, shame on you. It sounds like Alex's father is going to kill Morgan. Aren't you afraid for him?" She looked at Chuck in consternation.
"Yeah, Chuckles. We thought Melvin was your friend. What gives?" Carina frowned.
"I am concerned about him. He's my oldest friend in the world. But I also know that Morgan has a way of always landing on his feet. I don't know how he does it, but he does." Chuck shrugged. "It's like his superpower or something. What can I say? Coach Casey is a hard ass. He's the one in charge of our weight lifting in the morning and our conditioning in the afternoon. Still, I think Morgan will come out OK. It's just what he does." He held his palms up.
"Do you want to wait on him?" Sarah asked, feeling a little more relaxed.
"No, I don't think so." Chuck gave a slight shake of his head. "They could be a while."
"They'd probably like the alone time once it's over, so they can walk back to Roble in peace." She reasoned.
"Yeah, you're most likely right. Might as well keep going. I'll catch up with him when he gets back to our room."
"You'll give us all the juicy details, won't you, Chuckles?" Carina had a hungry look in her eye.
"Uh, maybe. I'll let you know the news, if there is any news to tell." Chuck nodded, noncommittally.
The group started walking again. Sarah was curious. "Chuck, how did you and Morgan meet, anyway?" She looked up at him expectantly. A smile split his face.
"He had just moved into the area. A new kid. We met when we both went to take the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Test. We were five years old, not yet six. Thirteen years ago." He grew wistful at the memory, before pushing it back in his mind and closing one of his mental doors. "We've been friends ever since."
Chuck launched into a series of stories about some of his and Morgan's youthful antics. Soon he had the Songbirds laughing at the funny faces and wild gestures that went along with his entertaining tales. It made the remainder of their walk across campus so enjoyable that they let the bitter thoughts of their encounter with Shaw fade from their minds.
Sarah thought back over the entire evening from dinner through the tailgate, the game, and, now the walk home. She realized that she'd had a great time. It was one of the best times she could remember having. Sure, she'd been to football games and tailgates before. The difference this time was Chuck. He was different from any guy she'd ever known. Nothing like those assholes in high school like Handsy Hank. And certainly not like the egotistical jerks at Stanford like Shaw or Larkin. Chuck was kind, considerate, never pushy, and funny. Boy, was he funny. He certainly could give Carina and Zondra a run for their money. And he liked her. Well, she thought he liked her. OK, maybe not liked liked, but liked her just the same. Thought well of her, at least. Huh? Where had that come from? Doesn't matter. She liked hanging out with him and he seemed to like hanging out with her. And she could still get her work done, so she was on track. Where could this go? Especially now that he knew that they were the same age. Was there a this to go anywhere?
October 6
Zondra took a drink from her water bottle. She had just finished her last set on the elliptical machine and was taking a rest break before moving on to the next machine in her circuit. Amy was on the other side of the room performing reps on one of the leg machines. Zondra checked the clock on the wall and shook her head. Carina and Sarah were late. She'd give them a couple more minutes and then she'd call them to get a move on. Workout time before noon on Sunday was a precious thing and they needed to take advantage of it.
Zondra enjoyed coming to the Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center (AOERC). The first thing she liked was it wasn't too far from the dorm. Just a short walk up Santa Teresa Street. Secondly, it had a pretty good fitness center and the pool, outside, of course. The third thing was it usually wasn't too crowded on Sunday mornings, especially Sunday mornings after home football games. Even less crowded then Stanford won those home games and students had stayed up late Saturday night celebrating the victory. Luckily or unluckily, Zondra and the other CATS hadn't overindulged the previous evening. Which was why she didn't understand where Carina and Sarah were. Sure, Carina wasn't really a morning person, but Sarah certainly was. She was sure that Sarah would be working out with them by now, but, for some reason, she wasn't.
Glancing at the wall clock one more time, Zondra walked over to the windows that looked out on the pool to where she and Amy had dropped their bags. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. As she got ready to call Sarah, she looked out of the window in front of her and froze. There was Chuck Bartowski walking along the side of the pool from the direction of the men's locker room. He was wearing a warm up suit and carrying a towel in one hand and some other, unidentifiable objects in his other hand, with a kickboard under his arm. He had a pair of aqua socks on his feet. Walking alongside Chuck, and talking with him, was Mr. Vidgen, the staffer in charge of the pool.
Zondra hissed loudly and waved her arm to get Amy's attention, then waved her over. She turned to the phone in her hand and dialed Carina's number. After a few rings, Carina picked up.
"What's going on, Zondra? Why'd you call me?" Carina sounded pissed.
"Where are you? Is Sarah with you?" Zondra demanded.
"Yeah, Blondie's with me. We're almost there. What's got you so bent out of shape?" Carina sounded confused. Zondra didn't usually call and bug them about working out on Sunday mornings. They got there when they got there.
"I'll tell you what's got me bent out of shape. Right outside the fitness center is our very own curly-haired mascot getting ready to swim."
"What?" Carina exclaimed. Zondra could hear Carina turn from the phone to tell Sarah what was going on.
"Chuck's getting ready to go swimming. You better hurry up if you want to see the show." Zondra grinned at her phone.
"On it! Be there in a few. Bye!" Carina said, a little breathless. It sounded like she was running. Then the line went dead. Zondra turned to Amy. This could prove interesting. They grinned at each other. The handful of other people in the fitness center looked on in curiosity, wondering what was going on.
They watched as Chuck reached the end of the pool nearest them, before dropping the things he was carrying on the deck and draping his towel over the rolled-up pool covers that were against the wall at that end of the pool. He started shaking out his arms and legs, one at a time, alternating from one limb to another. Just as he began to move his arms in slow windmills, Carina and Sarah hurried up to them, out of breath. Pulling back from the window a bit, they settled in to see what their friend was doing.
Sarah noticed that there were some patches on Chuck's jacket and 'USA' in big letters on the back. She had a thought. "Z, would you pull out your phone and search for Chuck's name as part of the national junior Olympic swimming team? Not sure what year. Put the team first and Bartowski second. See what you can find, OK?"
"Why the junior team, Blondie?" Carina wondered.
"My mom is a big fan of the Olympics. Huge. I've never heard her mention Bartowski. Not once. So, I'm guessing that if he has that warm up suit, it might be from the junior team. If not, he probably just bought it off of the Internet as a fan."
"Why did you say to put Chuck's name second?" Amy asked.
"Because the order of the words matters when you're searching online. Remember the other night, we didn't find much online about Chuck Bartowski."
Zondra chimed in, as she typed. "One sec, guys, almost got it. Bingo! Good call. Sarah. There's a number of articles that hit on the team and the name Bartowski."
"What'd you find?" Sarah grinned.
"He was named to the national junior team a few years back." Zondra scrolled her phone a bit. "Decent times. Kind of middle of the pack in everything. Not the best, but not the worst. He's got times in all of the freestyle and some of the butterfly events, looks like from different qualifying meets. That's it for that article. Let me open the next one." More fiddling with her phone and a bit of reading. "OK, this one says he competed in the freestyle events as part of the team. Did well. Won some events. Came close to winning in others. Blah Blah Blah. Nothing else interesting in that one. There's one more." More time on the phone. "Alright. This is about something the writer calls a 'gatekeeper' meet. The people with the best times get a chance to stay in the training and competing process for the regular Olympic team. It says that Chuck put up personal best times, but fell short of the podium in all of his events. That's it. That's all there is." They all were a little saddened by Chuck's coming up just short of his goals, but were also surprised at discovering a new facet about their mysterious friend. He had once been one of the best young swimmers in the country.
"Looks like, from the dates of those articles, Chuck's swimming at that level was kind of over before he started to get noticed in baseball." Zondra said, thinking. "At least, as far as I can figure from what he's told us and the few comments from Morgan and Dr. Beckman. Maybe, he was around fourteen or fifteen when he was doing that." The rest of the CATS nodded in agreement.
Turning back to the window, they saw that Chuck was doing jumping jacks, toe-touches, push-ups, and some squats to loosen up his muscles. He then proceeded to stretch, slowly and methodically. Arms, shoulders, back, and legs. He sat on the deck and carefully stretched his legs and hips until he was able to sit with his legs nearly straight out to the sides. The girls all gasped.
"Chuckles, sure is flexible. Mmmm." Carina whispered. Sarah reddened, feeling a little self-conscious spying on Chuck like this. Not enough to look away, just yet.
Standing, Chuck shook out his arms and legs once more. Toeing off his aqua socks, he reached up and unzipped his jacket, shrugging it off. He draped it next to his towel, before doing the same with his warm up pants. The girls gasped, again. He was wearing a small swimsuit. A very small swimsuit. It looked tight. Sarah blushed and put her hand to her mouth to cover the nervous smile growing there.
Even from the back, they could tell that Chuck was in fantastic shape. His broad shoulders narrowed into slender hips which flowed into lean, muscular legs. They could see the muscles in his back ripple when he moved. Chuck dipped down and snagged a couple of objects from the pile on the deck, then walked over to the edge of the pool.
Dropping the items at the pool's edge, he jumped in. Coming to the surface, he shook his arms again before brushing his curls away from his forehead. Chuck hopped out of the pool again, picking up the pool edge items. One of them was a swimming cap, which he bent down and filled with water before emptying it and fitting it on his head, making sure to push all of his curls under it. The other item was a pair of swimming goggles. He dipped them in the water and emptied them out. Then he did something that surprised the watching CATS. He licked the inside of the goggles before dipping them in the water and emptying them once more. Then he stood up and finally turned in the direction of the fitness center.
The CATS let out a collective gasp. Chuck was as impressive from the front as he had been from the back. Nicely muscled without being bulky like a body building gym rat. That wasn't what got most of their attention, though. Of course, it was Carina who gave voice to what they all were thinking.
"I was right!" she crowed. "Big boy, indeed!" She did a little dance and thrust both arms in the air.
"My, oh my, oh my." Amy giggled.
Zondra let out a low whistle. "Damn, Curls. You're full of all sorts of surprises."
Sarah turned beet red and quickly looked away. My God, she thought. He's just gorgeous. She smiled to herself. She had thought he was in good shape when she saw him that first day in his tight tee-shirt, but seeing him in that tiny swimsuit, there was no doubt. It wasn't the most important thing to Sarah, not even close, but it didn't hurt, either. I'm only human, after all. Smart, funny, nice, and cute. A killer bod, too. She glanced back out the window, but Chuck was now in the pool, swimming.
"I told you, he's a keeper," mental mom joined the party.
Sarah's blush deepened, if that's possible. "Could be, Mom. Could be." She felt a flutter in her chest. She also realized her face wasn't the only place she felt warm.
A/N2: Chapter title comes from the song by Janet Jackson. Kind of says it all, even if Chuck and Sarah haven't figured it out, yet.
A/N3: Stanford has over 650 student organizations. One of them is the Stanford Wine Society. For real. There's even a website.
A/N4: If anyone out there is a (former) competitive swimmer, I fudged the stuff about the junior Olympic team and there being a gatekeeper meet to reach the next level. That happens naturally through the various meets around the world and the times people put up. There is a junior team, but there is no specific 'gatekeeper' meet, as far as I know. Chuck hit his peak in swimming at a relatively early age. Not really a conflict with baseball, either. Once you reach high school age, travel baseball is strictly a summer activity. Swim meets go on all year long.
A/N5: More gratitude and thanks for WillieGarvin for his yeoman-like beta work. Tote that spelling and lift that punctuation. Tie off that grammar over there! He helps me make my million monkeys and their million typewriters produce something coherent.
A/N6: Thank you, gentle readers, for your continued engagement with this story. If you wish, please drop me a PM or leave a review. Let me know what you think.
A/N7: If you enjoy Chuck fan fiction here on the fanfic site, why don't you mosey on over to Facebook and join the Chuck Fanfiction group that's there. You'll find all sorts of nice folks who share your interest in continuing the story of our favorite spy couple.