This fiction is co-authored by AuditoreanGhost and UKChuckster

Enjoy!

Chapter III: Friendship

"Thank you."

Chuck's emotions got the better of him as he saw the look on her face. A look so caring and touched. Her eyes were watery, her stance a little crooked. Chuck deduced that she was expecting an answer. "It's nothing, Sarah," he wrote, earning him a slight grin from her.

Sarah straightened her figure, still looking at Chuck. He had been so sweet for her, basically defending her in front of Jill. Sarah thought that Jill must have been a severe annoyance for him, since he acted so cold to her. The only thing that still intrigued her was the fact that Jill had undone her buttons. Why would she undo them if Chuck was so cold to her? Was she really that desperate? No matter the answer, Sarah liked him.

"What's the story between you and Jill?" Carina asked as she sat down next to Miranda who was writing her first essay. She was taking the Advanced Law module, and had an assignment on the 2nd Amendment, specifically the right to bear arms. Her teacher wanted her to write an analysis about it, due on tomorrow, Friday.

"She's been hitting on me for years. Morgan, my best friend caught her trying to slip some," Chuck said lifting his fingers to form quotation marks, "knockout powder into my drink. After that we've been in this current... situation," he added, calmly.

Carina listened carefully, admiring his calmness about the situation. She wouldn't be so calm with the situation especially when she knew that Jill was a pretty popular in Stanford. The rumours had reached Harvard about 8 months back, when she had 'bargained' her history teacher to let her through the first module. Even Carina considered that very low, which spoke volumes about the issue.

"And you don't like her one bit?" Carina asked, calmly.

"Not even in the slightest, Carina," Chuck replied, feeling a tug from his shirt. That meant that Sarah probably had something to ask, so he turned to look at her.

"Lunch?" Sarah's pad said. "Is there an cafeteria or..." she added, as she saw Chuck's confusion.

Chuck turned towards Miranda, watching her intently. "Miranda?" He asked.

Miranda raised her head from her text, dropping her pen on the pad. "What is it, Chucky?" she asked.

"Are we going to your Dad's cafe for lunch?" Chuck asked.

"We are. I already called him to get something sorted for us," Miranda replied, turning to Sarah. "I hope you like chocolate croissants, Sarah!" she added, happily.

Sarah saw her sincere smile, which was infectious to a fault. Her lips formed a smile almost instantly. Sarah was smiling more and more frequently by the hour. The fact intrigued her immensely, since in Harvard the only look you could get from her would have been a slight grin or a serious look. Maybe the company was just that much better. Well, Carina was still around but she was an exception. She had been an excellent best friend since High School.

"Couldn't hurt to try," she wrote, smiling at her.

Chuck rose up from his chair, moving behind Sarah's wheelchair. He pulled her back from the table slowly. Miranda and Michael took the cue, rising up for their chairs which caused Carina to stand up too.

The group walked out of the library, heading for Miranda's father's café. Henry, her father, had started up the café after Miranda moved to Palo Alto. Although the shop was making an incredible profit, Henry still wanted to help her when he could. Strolling along the now abandoned city streets, Chuck pushed Sarah's wheelchair along as she was writing on her pad. This was a red pad, not the usual one she wrote in. Chuck deduced that pad must be a diary of some sort so he didn't want to look down. Sarah deserved the privacy.

Dear Diary (1st Day in Stanford)

I've made two new friends today. Miranda and Michael. They have been a couple since High School, which intrigues me quite a bit. Chuck told me that he hasn't ever heard them argue about anything, like they were a dream couple. Perfect for each other... I hope that I can find someone like that someday.

I really like Miranda. She is a wonderful person with a really nice personality. She's been so helpful to me since we first met. Michael too. It seems that Chuck's friends are all very friendly and sincere. It's nice to have reliable people around.

Carina showed up too. She said something about my non-academic life being ruined without her, but the fact of the matter is that I never enjoyed parties. One time we had a Philosophy test, but Carina opted to visit a frat-boy party the night before, when I stayed home reading. She didn't pass the test.

We're going to this café that Miranda's father runs. Chuck told me that I would meet his best friend Morgan and his girlfriend, Alex, there.

The Rising Sun Cafe

As the group of friends arrived at the café, Sarah looked up from her red notepad expecting to see a small corner shop style coffee-house. As it turns out, the place was rather larger than that, and the furniture reminded her of a cafe she had once regularly visited back in Harvard. Opening the door, Miranda strolled in. She spotted her father, cleaning a large jug with a linen cloth. He was wearing a white apron and dark jeans, which he often wore.

"Dad?" Miranda said, walking towards the counter. Her father turned around to look at her, smiling.

"Morning, darling. I see you brought your friends," Henry replied as he placed his hands on the counter.

"Dad, I'd like you to meet Sarah Walker," Miranda said, pointing with her hand at Sarah.

"It's nice to meet you, Sarah," Henry said offering his hand. Sarah's smile got wider, as she shook his hand. Henry seemed a very nice father. No doubt Michael thought that way too, since he was his future father-in-law. Sarah took her pad from her pack and wrote on it.

"It's nice to meet you too, Henry."

Henry rose up from the ground, still looking at her.

"How do you like your coffee?" he asked, "We have those special brews too."

"I'd like a cappuccino then," Sarah replied, smiling at him.

"Great. I'll be back soon with your lunch," Miranda's father called back as he was strolling away to the kitchen.

Miranda guided her friends to the far most table, which had an all-access spot on it so Sarah could easily maneuver her wheelchair. When she went for a cup of coffee or lunch for that matter in Harvard, she almost always sit in a 'normal' seat. Two of the seats were already occupied by two people. Morgan and Alex were already seated in the table waiting for them. Sarah gazed at them, receiving full-blown smiles from them. Their smiles were so infectious that her lips rose up.

"Sarah?" Chuck said, lowering himself on his knees next to her. "I would like you to meet Morgan Grimes. He has been my best friend since Elementary school. He's the guy that confronted Bryce a couple of years back," Chuck said, motioning for him as Morgan and Alex rose up from their chairs. They both squatted down to her level, taking their cues from Chuck.

"It's nice to meet you, Sarah. Chuck's told me a lot about you!" Morgan said, winking at her. Sarah's face got confused for a millisecond as she tried to comprehend what he had just said.

Chuck told his best friend about me? Sarah offered her hand to him. Morgan's smile got wider as they shook hands. He knew that Sarah would be just what Chuck needs. A reliable and faithful friend, even a girlfriend in the future.

The brunette next to Morgan spoke. "Alex," the brunette introduced herself also shaking hands with her. Sarah started writing on her notepad, which Alex had been waiting for.

"It's nice to meet you both. I'd like to ask something, if that's okay?" Sarah's pad read.

Morgan and Alex looked at each other briefly before replying in unison. "Go ahead, make my day!" they both said, sharing a short laugh at their sneaky movie reference. Sarah recognized the joke and laughed a bit herself. Her father had shown her Dirty Harry last summer.

"How long have you two been together?" Sarah wrote on her pad. Since Miranda and Michael had been together since High School, she thought that these guys probably met here.

"2001," Morgan said immediately and without hesitation, generating a laugh from Chuck. "We met in our first mathematics class. One day, when I used my Da Vinci, Alex asked me to help her in some equations..." Morgan said.

"Well, I asked him to modify TI-89 with the 'Da Vinci' too. The next morning he gave me it back, modified of course. I gave him a peck on the cheek as a prize... but well that turned into a kiss soon afterwards. And here we are fourteen months and eighteen days later, dating happily. I even got into video games!" Alex joked, making the group erupt in slight giggles and chuckles.

Sarah's expression got confused afterwards. Da Vinci? She thought. Sarah wondered if her calculator could get the same 'upgrade'. Sarah's thoughts were interrupted by Miranda's father. He arrived with a tray of drinks.

"A double espresso," Henry said, offering her daughter a cup. "Two coffees with cream," he added, handling to cups to Morgan and Alex. "A cappuccino for Charles..." Henry pressed on, knowing full well that teasing with Charles wasn't a bright idea. "And a cup of cappuccino with some sugar." As Sarah's face got confused, since she didn't ask for sugar, he added, "Trust me, it's better with sugar."

"Thank you, Henry," Sarah wrote, looking up at him.

"I'll come back with your lunch. It's our special. Chocolate croissants and a strawberry smoothie," Henry said as he lifted the tray of their table.

As the conversation went on, Sarah poured her heart to the group retelling her story to them all. Chuck took this as a first step to a mental recovery. She was becoming okay with the fact that she was in a wheelchair, mostly due to them. His friends were so welcoming that you could feel comfortable around them. Sarah had written something on her pad, so she decided to use Chuck as her 'amplifier'. Pulling his sleeve, she got his undivided attention. She handed her pad to him, which he glanced through, before reading out.

Hi guys!

I thank you all for being so open and honest with me. It's nice not to be fussed over, but just treated normally.

Michael, I appreciate your express notes, they really help me with my writing hand. Miranda, what can I say? You've been just great. Morgan, thanks for promising to 'Da Vinci' my calculator. Alex, I hope we can become friends. And Chuck, thank you so much for helping me. I couldn't have asked for a better person, and I am so grateful Beckman chose you to be my chaperone. I couldn't ask for a better friend.

Sarah Lisa Walker

Chuck looked intensely at the word 'Lisa'. She had told him her second name. It fit her perfectly, Chuck thought. He looked on her and saw the knowing look on her face. She knew that Chuck was staring at her middle name, which had been a deliberate reveal. She wanted to give her new friends something back. Although her middle name wasn't much, she wanted to give them something. Chuck's face showed her wrong, since it seemed that revealing her middle name meant so much to him.

"What's up, Chuck?" Sarah wrote.

"Your middle name, Sarah," Chuck wrote back, "it's beautiful." This time he was in a normal conversation.

"Thank you, Chuck," Sarah said placing her hand on his. Yet again, they both felt the electricity between them. Sarah didn't know why her heart rate always increased when she was touching him. Maybe her heart already admitted her feelings for him, she should probably admit it herself: she was falling hard and fast. She had already thought about asking him for a 'friendly one-on-one dinner' with him, but was currently fighting with the possibility of rejection.

"It's nothing, Sarah," Chuck said, looking intently at her eyes. He could see that Sarah had wanted to reveal her middle name. Maybe she was wondering why it meant so much to him. People don't normally just tell you their middle names. In fact, it took him a whole three years of knowing Morgan before he found out his middle name was 'Guillermo'. He took it as a sign of how comfortable she was becoming around him.

"I think it was a bit more than nothing," Sarah replied, seriously.

Chuck merely smiled cryptically, and grabbed a chocolate croissant that Henry had just placed on the table.

A/N AG We're both sorry for the delay but it seems that someone has really something against RL-wise. I'm being delayed by philosophy/mathematics exams and UKC's reading so much.
Glad to see you back!