Stuart Twombly x reader

10

I'm kind of dying to watch the Kingsman: The Secret Service film right now, not to mention the new Avengers film, ugh. Desperation.

 You strolled around the shelves as nonchalantly as possible, praying nobody you knew would spot you lingering in the section you had promised yourself before you wouldn't venture into. Poking your head around the corner, you peeked at the other readers silently concentrating on their own books, and bit your lip, scanning the shelves for something as quickly as possible before anybody noticed.

 It was a ridiculous embarrassment, particularly when they all reading up on similar topics, but after all you had been through with Stuart so far, you felt on edge every time you were even near these books.

 You picked up one and flipped through it, eyes scanning quickly. Computer Science: Simplified. You decided this was the one and slipped it under your arm, marching back to the desk you had abandoned and scanning it, fumbling with the stamper. You practically threw the book into your bag and settled at the desk, breathing hard and loathing yourself.

 The lengths you are going to for Stuart.

*

 That night, you finally plucked up the courage to look over Computer Science: Simplified, picking the book up in your fingertips. As you stared at the words on the blurb, you couldn't help but hear Stuart's voice in your head reading them out; some of the words you recognised from his conversations with your friends.

 You took a deep breath and let the book fall open onto the first page, wrapping your head around the new words and the explanations, so engrossed you barely notice the moon peaking higher in the midnight sky and the night stretching deeper.

*

 You are the first at the table next lunch, and you take the book you have been attempting to learn from out of your bag, still trying to understand the entire thing. You can't believe your friends understand this: it's a smart nightmare.

 You bite your thumb agitadedly as you read and fail to notice Billy striding over to you, adopting his own frown when he catches the title of your book.

 "Wow. You're taking Google more seriously than I thought," he says, and you jump, snapping the pages shut, your cheeks tinting.

 "I was just...curious," you reply lightly, tilting your head so your hair covers your flushed cheeks. Billy raises his eyebrows and looks at you wisely, a smile playing on his lips. He nods towards Computer Science: Simplified.

 "Really? You are curious about all of that?" Billy gestures and then looks around at some of the interns discussing their tasks, the words falling from their lips foreign to you. You shrug and open the book up again, returning to where you last read.

 "Sure. Why not?" You don't look at him, sensing his calculating stare.

 "So you're not just doing this to impress Stuart?" Billy questions, and you throw him a glare, cheeks darkening again.

 "I'm not impressing him. I'm trying to prove him wrong about me. I could understand this stuff if I wanted to," you say sharply, looking back down at the book without reading.

 "Oh, well, okay, if you say so," Billy soothes quickly. He pauses, then speaks again. "It just looks like you're trying to make Stuart think better of you because you like him, that's all."

 "No! I don't like him, I hate him!" you deny vehemently, wishing Billy would just stop talking. You refuse to like Stuart.

 "I'm just saying, if you hate him so much, why are you trying to make him think you're just as smart as him?" Billy presses.

 "I'm trying to prove a point!" you correct angrily, your voice cracking.

 "Yeah, you're proving my point that you like him; it's very obvious, y/n," Billy shrugs, holding up his palms. You don't say anything and clamp your lips shut, ignoring him and focusing on some of the words, but they won't go in. The next few minutes are silent and thoughtful, and you finally have the uncomfortable panic in your stomach settle.

 "I'm just saying,  if someone was to try and impress Stuart, they should just be themselves and not go through all the trouble of learning something they're not interested in just for his benefit," Billy says casually, looking down at his drink. You sigh and mutter, "Yeah, well, some people don't seem to be good enough for him when they are themselves."

 "Y/n, if I'm honest with you, I don't think Stuart means what he says to you," Billy says sympathetically, looking up at you. "The only reason I think he's being so rude to you is so he can -" He breaks off and you turn around, following his eyesight to see Stuart walking towards you both, phone by his side instead of glued to his face. You panic as he gets closer and throw the book on the floor, letting it slide over your lap and land on the ground with a papery thump.

 When Stuart reaches the table, he raises an eyebrow. "Y/n! I thought you'd inform the police if anyone else dropped books like that!" he mocks, sliding into the seat opposite you and staring at you over the table. You grumble to yourself and kick the book closer to you with your heels before putting it into your bag before Stuart can see exactly what you have been reading up on.

 "Where is everyone?" Billy frowns, looking around the sunny tables and unhooking his legs from under the table. "I think I'll go and look for them."

 As he gets up and leaves you alone with Stuart, you notice him winking at you behind Stuart's back, giving you the thumbs up before walking away, leaving you mouthing obscenities at him.