The Girl From History 404

The door jingled as David entered the gas station store, his eyes already pointed towards the refrigeration section where the source of and relief of his addiction lay.

He marched over to the door containing the cornucopia of energy drinks and heavily caffeinated teas and scanned the collection of ‘wake up juice’ as he liked to call it.

What do I feel like today? He thought to himself as his eyes moved. Rockstar Fruit Punch tastes good but man, those stomach aches I get afterwards are not worth it. Probably should avoid the Rockstars then. At least until I get home. Hmmm, then let’s do something a little weaker and hopefully a bit healthier for me, he decided as he reached for the Yerba Mate tea and removed it from its cool little spot on the shelf.

David turned and headed down the aisle, only to nearly collide with a small, hooded figure.

“Wow! Sorry about that!” He quickly apologized as he instinctively grabbed her arms to ensure he didn’t knock her over. Feeling her tense, he retracted them like he had been bitten. “Sorry. Again.”

“I-It’s okay,” a soft, feminine voice whispered, though she refused to look up.

“Are you sure?” he asked, looking her over for any potential damage.

“Y-Yes,” she assured him before quickly rushing out of the store.

Poor girl, I really should be more careful, David told himself before heading for the counter to pay for his drink. She did look a little familiar though. Hopefully I haven’t literally run into her before.

A few minutes later David got back in his car with his tea and drove towards the library where several hours of fascinating and mind-numbing research awaited him.

*

After two hours of studying Roman military reforms, David stretched with a groan as all the tense muscles awoke from their slumber.

Definitely time to take a break, he thought as he opened his eyes and prepared to get up from his seat. However, as his orbs opened, an unexpected sight greeted him. Isn’t that…?

Just a few paces away, was the girl from earlier, her forest green hooded still raised above her head as she read a book. Or at least, that’s what she was trying to make it look like she was doing. In actuality, it was pretty clear from the way her eyes peeked over the edge of her book, that she was more focused on staring at him. Naturally, this meant that the moment he saw her, their eyes met resulting in a soft ‘meep’ like sound from her, before she hid her face behind the cover.

If it had been someone else, David might have felt creeped out, but in this case, it only piqued his interest.

The benefits of being cute, I guess, he thought with a smile. He decided to play a little game and see if the mystery girl would sneak another peek.

He watched and waited for a few minutes, fully aware that he was now the one staring and that, should he be caught, he was less likely to receive the same generosity he had shown. Yet, despite this, he kept watching as, for some reason, he really hoped that she would peek again.

Probably because the last woman who showed me any interest was Mom’s thrice divorced 50-something friend, he thought, shivering as he remembered all the innuendos and suggestive comments the older woman had made.

That unpleasant memory evaporated the moment he saw the girl shift and ever-so-slowly, lift her head above the book again, only to immediately catch his eyes.

Another ‘meep’ later, and her face was behind the protection of her paper wall. This time though, David wasn’t about to let her hole up in her little literary fortress. No, this time, he was going to do something he hadn’t done in forever, or at least since his thesis had consumed his waking and sometimes unwaking life; he was going to shoot his shot.

Standing up, he strode over to the hooded girl, doing his best to be obvious so he wouldn’t spook her. A few seconds later, he was at her desk and lightly tapped on it.

The young woman jumped and dropped her book with a ‘thud’, and looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Sorry,” he whispered,

“I…I…” she stuttered back, before quickly picking up the book and apologizing to those around them. “I-It’s okay. C-Can I h-help you with s-something?”

“Actually,” he smiled, “I was wondering if I could help you with something, seeing as you were looking at me earlier.” The girl’s face flooded with blood and David was worried for a moment it would come dribbling out of her nose like some sort of anime character. “It’s okay,” he quickly assured her, “I’m not mad or anything. Far from it. It’s not every day that a cute girl shoots you glances in the library, after all.”

The young lady’s eyes widened as her mouth opened in surprise.

“C-C-Cute?”

David almost laughed at the reaction, but before he could, he realized that she really did look familiar, and not just from the gas station.

“Hey…have we met before? I know I bumped into you at the gas station but you seem way more familiar than that.”

She fidgeted for a moment as if debating with herself over something, before she nodded.

“We…we had History 404 - Sumerians to Byzantium together,” she muttered.

His eyes widened in recognition.

“That’s it!” he shouted, earning a crowd of looks and glares from those around him. After quickly apologizing, he grabbed a nearby chair and sat next to her. “You’re the A+ student that Professor Goldsworth loved,” he continued excitedly.

The woman blushed, but nodded.

“I really liked his class, he was always so enthusiastic and invested in the subject matter. I don’t remember ever being bored in his class.”

“Yeah, he was crazy into what he talked about. Either that or he was snorting lines before class,” he joked, making the girl giggle. “Man, that takes me back. Geez, hard to believe it’s already been two years since then. You know, I used to hate you back then,” he stated.

A look of extraordinary hurt filled the woman’s face as her dark blue eyes turned glassy.

“W-What?”

David felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart when he heard the quavering in her voice and quickly moved to correct himself.

“Not actually!” he shot out as quickly as he could. “I was just jealous of you is all!”

She blinked as her pained expression was replaced by surprise and confusion.

“Y-You were jealous?”

“Yeah,” he replied, glad that the miserable expression was gone. “I tried really hard to be the top student in that class. I did all the assignments, aced all the tests, but I suck at essay-writing. The best I ever got was a B+ and that was after four rewrites and a visit to the writing center for help. But you,” he gestured towards her, “not only did you ace all the tests, but you got As on all your essays. I still remember how Goldsworth held up your final essay and said, ‘This is what a historical essay should be.’”

She blushed and started fidgeting again, though this time it was clear it was out of joy.

“I…just really like writing,” she finally said.

“Can’t say I’m surprised, you really were something in that class,” he complimented, “but hey, where’s my manners? I’m David,” he introduced.

“I know,” she answered, rather quickly he noted. “I-I mean,” she sputtered out, “I r-remember you from class.”

“Well now I feel like a real ass since I’m blanking on your name, cutie. Do you mind reminding me?” David asked with an apologetic smile.

Her blush brightened at the ‘cutie’ addition, but after a moment, she shyly answered him.

“I’m R-Raven.”

His smile grew.

“Fitting, ravens are the smartest bird after all.”

Raven began to fidget more, though he could just see the smallest smile growing upon her pale, full lips.

“I-I…” she began, “I would have been happy to help you with your essays…if you had wanted.”

“Really?” he asked.

She nodded.

“You…you helped me out on the second day of class, when I forgot my pencil bag, so I…I would have been happy to return the favor.”

“Did I?” David thought back. “Oh yeah. You looked so distraught that day, I was honestly worried that something bad had happened. When you told me about the bag, I was honestly relieved and more than happy to help you out. But that’s hardly something to write home about, I’m sure anyone would have done that.”

Raven shook her head.

“No one even noticed, only you,” she looked up and David’s breath caught as her green eyes captured his light blue ones. “So…I would have been happy to help you.”

They’re the same color as her hoodie, he realized as he swallowed.

“Oh…um…well,” he cleared his throat, “now I feel like an even bigger ass, and a stupid one at that.”

“You aren’t,” she quickly reassured him, her voice surprisingly firm for someone who had been so painfully shy until that moment.

David smiled.

“Thanks, that’s very kind of you to say.”

For a moment, a comfortable silence passed between them as they just stared at each other before David blinked and looked back towards his desk.

“I’m…currently working on my thesis so…if that offer to help with my writing is still open, I would really appreciate a second pair of eyes, especially from someone as smart as you.”

Raven’s eyes lit up and she began to vigorously nod.

“I-I would be happy to!” she cried, causing a loud ‘shhhh’ to be sent their way. She blushed and ducked her head, “I would be happy to,” she repeated as a whisper.

David smiled and quickly ran back to his desk to grab his things.

*

The next few hours flew by as David and Raven talked, wrote, discussed, and worked on their respective projects together. At last though, the library overhead speakers announced that the library was closing and the two had to pack up.

A short time later, they were both outside, both smiling, but also both clearly reluctant to part.

“Thank you for your help today, Raven, I can’t begin to tell you how truly grateful I am.”

“I-It really was my p-pleasure,” she replied shyly, “besides, you helped me too.”

“Only with the research, which I’m sure you would have aced regardless,” David responded.

Things fell silent again, though this time it wasn’t nearly as comfortable as before as both knew that it was time to part.

“I-I…hope I’ll see you at the library again,” Raven finally muttered.

“Definitely,” David assured.

Raven nodded solemnly.

“Then…I guess I’ll be seeing you,” she said before turning to leave.

“Yeah,” he replied as he watched her turn. She had taken only three steps though when he suddenly called out, “Hey!” Raven stopped then turned back curiously. “Would,” he swallowed as his cheeks heated up. I did say I wanted to shoot my shot, right? He took a deep breath and pushed forward. “Would you like to meet up tomorrow? Before going to the library? I know this really good cafe just down the road. They have the best chai I’ve ever tasted.”

Raven’s eyes lit up like emerald stars.

“Yes! I would love that!”

The enthusiastic response made David smile stretched so much that it felt like it would tear his cheeks.

“Then,” he strode back over to her as he pulled out his phone, “can I get your number?”

Raven didn’t even respond this time, she just desperately worked to pull out her phone. A minute later, the two had exchanged numbers and were smiling like happy little idiots.

“I um…guess I’ll see you tomorrow for some tea…or coffee, whatever you want!” David quickly stated.

“I like chai too,” Raven replied sweetly.

“Great…great,” he responded, “then um…tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” she agreed.

With that, the two finally parted, though they both kept sneaking glances each other’s ways until they were out of sight.

*

Raven entered her apartment, walked straight into her room, dropped her bag, and then squealed as she began doing a little happy dance.

“I can’t believe it!” she cried as practically jumped with glee. “Not only did he notice me, not only did he talk to me, but he asked me out!” she squealed again as she continued dancing around her room. “I never thought this would happen. I was content with just watching him from afar and occasionally daring to say hello to him in the store, but this!” she let out another squeal. “It’s more than I ever imagined!”

She continued dancing around her room until she remembered something.

“Oh, I should still save the new pictures though. No point in wasting them.”

She sat at her computer and connected her phone to it. A few moments later, she opened up her ‘Special’ folder and inserted the newest pictures into it.

“There,” she said before clicking on the newest photos.

The photos were of David at the gas station and the library. At no point in any of the pictures was David looking at her or in any way aware of her presence. One was of him grabbing a bottle of tea, several more were of him working intently on his thesis. At least two were candid shots of his butt, which Raven took a few moments to admire before sighing happily.

“Soon I won’t need to take pictures like this anymore. I’ll be able to do it openly,” she bubbled before opening up her favorite picture. It was the first she had ever taken of him and had sparked her obsession. It was of his sleeping face resting on the desk before Professor Goldsworthy’s class. She had learned later that day that he had been working all night on perfecting his essay, which was why he had taken a nap before class. She also remembered how disappointed he was when his hard work had only gotten him that B+ he had mentioned earlier.

“I felt so sorry for you back then, my sweet David. Had I known, I would have happily helped you,” she affirmed as stroked the picture with the back of her knuckles, “but now I can help you. I’ll make sure your thesis is absolutely perfect! I just hope,” she blushed as she leaned closer to the picture, “that you’ll reward me when you get your A,” she finished before kissing the picture on the lips.