So I needed to take a couple days off and try to write some on my actual chapters, but I actually had this pop into my head this morning when I looked at the prompts. And since I've always wanted to write a Geekward of sorts, this is my little dabble. Hope you like it.

Penname: kyla713
Creative Original or Derivative Fiction: Derivative
Rating/Warning(s): T
Notes:
Disclaimer: All copyrighted, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

Prompt: Phrase Catch: What does the adage "laughter is the best medicine" make you think of? Write it.

The first day she walked into biology class midway through our junior year, there was no denying that she was an absolutely beautiful girl. When she got seated beside me, I quickly learned that she also had the personality of a cactus; all pricks and needles.

Just my luck.

Every day at lunch, she sat alone in the cafeteria at the far table by the window, glaring out at the rain. As if it were the cause of every ill in her world.

Nevertheless, I tried to talk to her, attempting to make our being forced into being lab partners a bit less grueling but to no avail. I was at the receiving end of relentless glares and snarky retorts with every try until I finally gave up.

Over that summer, no one saw or heard from her, even my sister, who was the epitome of a social butterfly. Some claimed she had gone away for the summer, others said she just holed away in her house.

Either way, the general consensus was 'Good riddance'.

So it was much to my surprise when she walked into my senior year English Lit class, and even more so when she voluntarily sat beside me.

"You got new glasses," she said suddenly, staring forward at the blackboard, but shifting almost uncomfortably.

I glanced at her briefly, surprised that she had noticed something so trivial and finally let my eyes fall back to my notebook in front of me. I hummed in acknowledgment so as to not be completely rude, and continued to write, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

"Did you enjoy your summer?" she continued as if she were straining to get the words out.

"Yes," I replied flatly, never looking up.

"Are you okay?" she asked and I could feel her eyes on me.

"Sure, just not sure what's crawled up your ass and made you ditch the bitch," I retorted shortly.

It was quiet for a moment until I heard a soft snort from beside me. I chanced a look over at her to find her biting her lip in restraint, but her shoulders were shaking slightly in laughter.

The teacher walked in at that moment and started the class, so I flipped to a new page of my notebook.

What's so funny?

I slid it across our shared desk toward her, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly as she looked at me. She held out her hand for my pen, brushing my fingers with the backs of hers. Handing it to her, she bent over the desk, her left arm curled around the notebook as she wrote.

My eyes returned to the lecture until I felt a tap on my arm and I glanced over to see her sliding it back to me.

You're the first person to ever call me out like that. And the last one I was ever expecting, was written beneath my note, in an uncommonly neat left-handed scrawl.

And the note-passing continued.

Really? And why is that?

Because you've always been so nice to me. Whenever you were actually talking to me, that is.

I turned to look at her again and her eyes were lowered to the desk, her fingers picking at the wood grain. It was actually the first real hint of emotion I had ever really seen in her, a crack in her steely resolve.

Well, honey attracts more flies than vinegar.

Her hand came up over her mouth to hold back more laughter as the teacher cleared his throat to gain the attention of the class again.

I heard my pen hit the paper with a soft thud and caught her biting her lip in my peripheral vision as she slid it back to me.

Will you sit with me at lunch?

Her hands were wringing in front of her as she stared forward again, and I watched her swallow hard as I looked at her in astonishment. Was she actually nervous? She certainly seemed that way.

I lifted the pen and her eyes moved to my hand as I wrote out 'Yes'.

After that day, she transformed right before my eyes. The more we talked, the more I understood the way she had acted. She had been passed back and forth between her mother and father, between different states for most of her childhood. The only real constant in her life was her Dad, who had remained in Washington as she bounced around the country with her mother. She had learned well not to form any kind of bond with anyone.

And when her mother sent her here from Phoenix last year to stay with her dad, while she traveled around the country with her new 'boy toy', as she referred to him, she immediately put up her guard. Just waiting for the time to come when her mother would get bored and send for her again, tearing her away.

However, over the summer, her mother had married and, with her almost of legal age, had given her the choice of staying with her dad or coming back. Even though she had burned many bridges here in Forks, she chose to stay with her father.

While remaining closed off to everyone else, we grew increasingly closer over the school year, and as graduation was beginning to loom over us, so was prom.

I initially did not intend to go at all, since there was no one who would want to go with an anti-social brainiac in glasses. But the more she tried to shrug it off as no big deal, the more it was obvious that she had really wanted to go.

I summoned up the courage to ask her and was astounded when she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me excitedly.

When I showed up at her door on prom night, her father let me in, giving me a stern look I couldn't understand. I was far from the worst possible prospect to appear at his door for his daughter as if that were even the case with us. Yet, when she came down the stairs wearing the strapless knee-length black prom dress my sister had dragged her out to by, I could think of nothing else. She looked stunning.

Until of course, her arms folded over her chest and her lips pursed in frustration.

"Where are your glasses?" she asked sharply, looking at me expectantly.

"In my pocket, why?" I replied nervously and she descended the last few steps, reaching her hand into my jacket pocket and retrieving them.

Gently setting them back in place, she took a step back and looked me over. "Perfect."

An hour later, I was watching her dancing with my sister, blushing furiously at the spectacle they were making, but laughing all the same. And at the end of the song, she made her way quickly over to me and held out her hand.

"Dance with me?" she asked softly, and I glanced around to several sets of eyes discreetly watching us. I opened my mouth to speak and began shaking my head, but her hand took mine and pulled me up. "Come on, it's gonna be a slow one, and I'd like to dance with my date."

"I really can't dance," I tried to protest as she pulled me to the floor, but as she turned toward me, I saw she had tears in her eyes.

"Can you please just put your arms around me?" she whispered softly as she wrapped hers around my neck and pulled me closer to her.

I slid my arms around her waist, holding her against me for the first time. A smile slowly crept across her lips and she raised her eyes again to meet mine.

"Thank you, Edward," she said as her fingers toyed lightly with the collar of my shirt at the back of my neck. "For everything. Even for calling me a bitch. Well… especially for that."

Without any warning, her fingers wove gently into my hair and pulled me slowly toward her, pressing her lips against mine.

Prom was a night of firsts. My first date. My first kiss. My first time. My first girlfriend and what became the love of my life.

And it all began with a laugh.

And Geekward gets the girl, as it should be! Geeks deserve love too!

Not the best delve into the land of Geekward, but maybe someday I'll figure out something better to tinker around with him in :D

Thanks again :)