Stuart Twombly x reader

7

 Everything goes from bad to disastrous when Neha descends on you and Stuart the next day, forcing the two of you to face each other over the table.

 "Neha, what are you doing?" you question, but she merely continues to push Stuart into his chair briskly, making him bat her off to get her away.

 "I've been thinking: I can't let my team mate and my best friend continue like this," she insists, sitting at the top of the table between the two of you. You and Stuart exchange an equal expression of distaste and confusion. Neha crosses her leg and looks between the two of you, tapping the edges of a pile of cards in her hands onto the surface of the table promptly before holding them out to read off them.

 "What are those?" Stuart complains, seemingly already regretting his own question.

 "Questions you two are going to answer to each other. I am going to get you two friends and talking by the end of this hour," Neha replies smugly, wriggling with excitement in her chair. You sigh and slump back. "Ready? What is your favourite colour?"

 "Neha!" you moan, unimpressed.

 "Just answer it!" Neha begs, nodding at you vigorously.

 "Uhh...blue*," you decide, humouring her. Stuart looks at Neha with disbelief then groans.

 "Purple**," he answers. The rest of the hour is painfully slow and drags as Neha forces the two of you to talk about your favourite things, hobbies, funny stories, sad stories and pretty much anything she thinks you two could relate to. Despite some similarities between the two of you, there is no denying the cold look in his eyes he fixes you with, and you get up to get back to work with a fresh niggling in the pit of your belly.

 "Did it work? Are you two going to get along now?" Neha asks gleefully, hope shining in her brown eyes. Her smile falters, eyes flickering sadly. "Or are the two of you going to kill each other tonight at the Lord of the Rings marathon?"

 "I'll see you later," is all you say, turning to walk away.

 "Can't catch a break," you hear Stuart mutter, referencing to you hanging out with him once again later tonight despite hopes you wouldn't, and you clench your fists, trying to keep yourself calm for tonight.

*

 "I hate you! I can't believe I agreed to seeing your stupid face again!" you shriek, storming out of the intern accomodation angrily, still tugging your jacket over your body. The air is cold and uncomfortably crisp, biting your skin, and the moon is sharply high in the black sky above your head, the glittering stars visible.

 "Well, sorry, princess, but I didn't make you come here!" Stuart mocks from behind you, still following you down the path. After trying to get through the first film without beating Stuart with a pillow, the comments he made, challenging everything you say and every opinion you state about the film, pushed you over the edge, and you were soon arguing across the bodies of Neha, Lyle and Yo-yo. It all exploded when Stuart compared you not only just to a hobbit but also an orc, which wasn't so bad - merely childish - but got you riled when it added on to the total of things he had said that pissed you off.

 After an enormous screaming match in the living room, the film barely touching the end, you decided to go home, Stuart insisting he was going to as well.

 You stand at the edge of the curb and grab your phone, dialling furiously and turning your back on Stuart, who breathes heavily next to you. Once your phone call has ended, you turn to see him with one hand in his pocket and the other still on his phone, tapping away as always. Your anger burns again and you hit out at his arm, knocking his phone to the ground. You feel satisfied at the smacking sound as it bounces off the floor.

 "Always on your damn phone," you growl irritably, and Stuart scowls as he picks it up and wipes it carefully, looking as if he wants nothing more than to punch you in the face.

 "I wish you'd never sat with us," Stuart sneers, gripping his phone tightly. You hug yourself against the cold and look away from him, trying to imagine he doesn't exist. "I don't know what it is, I just don't like it."

 "I thought I was stupid," you mimic scornfully, rolling your eyes.

 "Yeah. That would be it," Stuart corrects himself, but before you can retort with the things you dislike about him, the cab draws up slowly, headlights too bright in the dim darkness of the night, and your heart lifts, ready to go home and pull your covers over your head, where Stuart can't get to you.

 "Freezing," you hear him mumble to himself, as if it is your fault, and you open the cab door sharply.

 "Why did you bother waiting with me then, dipshit?" you want to know, and Stuart's eyes widen, looking around himself at you, the cab and outside in almost shock, realising where he is and what he did.His expression drops and without another word - just another scowl instead - he turns on his heel and marches away inside, hands jammed deep in his jacket pockets so he can get back to his room. You watch him leave and slip into the cab, hoping Magda isn't home to ask you how the 'date' (as she called it several times, despite the fact there was Yo-yo quoting the film word for word, Lyle acting parts out and Neha curling her hair while you wondered how high her sexy hobbit costume would go) went tonight.

*my favourite colour, obviously change it to yours.

**I read it was Dylan's favourite, idk.

Phone hitting is not condoned. Also, I just realised that Magda is Miranda's cleaning lady from Sex and the City (which I love); I didn't even link that myself.