Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
Her lecture hall is filled with upwards of two hundred people, and of course the most attractive person in the entire room has taken the seat beside her. They're two months into the semester and Madge has yet to learn a single thing because she's too distracted by Gale Hawthorne.
It's the beard. It's got to be the beard that makes him this good looking. It's true that he looks good withoutthe beard, but now that he's let it grow in he looks older, more mature, and a lot more (for lack of better word) like a sexual deviant. And she adores it. He doesn't seem to notice. If he does, he doesn't say anything. He sits beside her quietly, typing out his notes into his laptop and looking bored.
Sometimes he'll make a face and she'll laugh, or he'll type something up on his computer and tilt it in her direction so she can read it. He does it now, turning the screen toward her. She reads the kid snoring two rows up is starting to drool. She bites back her smile and peers over the heads of her classmates to confirm his observation, and then Madge giggles. He and Madge are friends, sure, but that isn't enough for her.
"If you don't make a move on him sooner or later," Delly had told her the night before, "he's going to find someone else to admire him and his beard. Or he'll shave it off! And then what!"
So today is the day she's decided to act.
Before Gale can pull his laptop back to himself she reaches over to the keyboard and types up something for him. The girl next to you has spent all semester admiring your profile. Gale chuckles and rolls his eyes, turning his head to the girl who blushes when he realizes he's spotted her and looks away.
"You can't blame her," Gale whispers under his breath. "Can you?"
Madge starts fighting off her own blush and shrugs, trying to return her attention to the lecture. She drums her fingers on the table and casts glances at Gale who's resumed taking notes. She opens her mouth to say something, and then closes it suddenly feeling like the world is closing in on her and her stupid plan of saying something to Gale. But he catches her. Gale cocks an eyebrow at her and turns his head.
"What were you going to say?" he asks.
"Nothing." Someone behind them shushes them and Gale shoots them a dirty look before returning to Madge. "It's just… cold. In here. I'm cold, is all." He reaches down to his backpack and pulls out his jacket, offering it over to her. "No, Gale, honestly—"
"Take it," he insists, pushing it into her hands. Madge can very much relate to the blushing girl on the other side of him. "C'mon, you've got goosebumps." Finally she accepts the jacket, sliding it over her arms and shivering further. She wasn't really cold, but he definitely gave her goosebumps. "Better?"
"Yes, thank you."
It's too big for her. Adorably big, actually, she feels like a toddler and loves it. And it smells like a campfire. She's never giving it back. Gale resumes his notes again, rolling his eyes as the lecturer in the front of the room starts to go off on a tangent about his life.
Gale reaches up and drags a hand through his hair before reaching up and scratching his beard. Madge wonders if it's itchy. Or if he trims it. Do you have to shampoo a beard? She's never known. He tilts his head and catches her staring at him, cocking his eyebrow once more. She tightens her arms around her chest and returns her attention to the professor.
Beside her Gale kicks out his feet and stretches backwards, throwing his arms up and sighing in relief at his shoulders and back pop simultaneously. His shirt creeps up his stomach and Madge nearly dies right there in the lecture hall. Why would he ever go for her? He's got the body of a god and all she has is a mess of curly hair and too-pale skin. She lifts her hands to her cheeks and presses firmly, trying to calm herself down. Delly told her she has to make her move and she does, she just doesn't know how.
Something small. Something easy. Not intimidating.
"Gale," she whispers. He turns to her. "We've got a test coming up. Next week."
"Mm-hm," he nods.
She gestures in front of her. "I don't take notes."
He studies the open area in front of her and his lips curl upwards. "That's your fault," he says with a smirk.
Her cheeks turn red. "I know." She hesitates. "Maybe you could, um. We could study together?" His smirk stretches into a genuine smile. This is dangerous. "If you want. If not you could just email me the notes. Or not at all, I deserve not having them because I haven't… taken… any. That's my fault. Entirely."
Gale laughs and the panic in her veins dissipates. "Sure, Undersee. We can study together." He reaches down to his backpack and grabs his phone, sliding it across the table to her. "Give me your number. We can arrange something." Her hands shake as she picks up his phone. She smiles goofily when she sees his background, a picture of him and his three siblings, and wonders if he's watching her.
She types in her phone number quickly before handing it back to him. "Thanks," she exhales. "I'm really bad at studying."
"Studying," he echoes with a short laugh. The person behind them shushes them again and Gale makes a very unkind gesture in his direction.
They fall back into silence, Gale taking his notes quietly though he now has a smirk that won't release his mouth. That counts as making a move, right? At least it's progress. She can get him alone, see how they are when they're by themselves, figure out the next step to take. Maybe she'll even suggest getting some ice cream when they're done or something.
When the lecture ends Madge goes to leave when she realizes she still has Gale's jacket on. She turns to him as he's sliding his laptop into his backpack and he waves his hand as though he knows what she's going to say.
"Just keep it. I'll get it back when we study."
"Right," she squeaks. "Are you sure? It's not, I'm not that cold, it's just—"
"Madge," he cuts her off with a laugh. Gale stands and slings his backpack over his shoulders. "I'll see you soon, yeah?" Knowing her voice will crack if she says anything Madge just tips her head forward, smiling as brightly as she can. He laughs again and nods his head in her direction before retreating from the room. "I'll text you," he calls over his shoulder. Madge stumbles over her own feet as she exits in the opposite direction. She has to text Delly immediately.
A/N: Dedicated to Swishywillow! She knows why (;