Stuart Twombly x reader

23

To your immense surprise and delight, Stuart is waiting for you outside the library, his attention returned to his phone as he leans against the wall with his hands in his pockets, his bare arms almost white in the brightness of the sunlight. You manage a shaky breath before approaching him and give him a shy smile when he looks up, though he barely responds, his wan grin slightly disappointing.

"Hey," is all you can think to say, and Stuart pushes himself off the wall with a tense jaw, his phone slipped back into his pocket.

"Hey," he responds shortly, the two of you making your way to lunch at the same, slow pace you do everyday. You're trying to figure out how to apologise for your actions - or lack of - the previous night; Neha told you to just explain what the problem was, but you feel embarrassed.

"Look, um... I'm sorry I...walked...away..." you stutter desperately, digging at a hangnail anxiously. Stuart looks at you with raised eyebrows, face unchanging. "I panicked and I didn't mean to stop you from...yeah."

"It's fine," Stuart replies in that same, sharp tone, and you sigh, shutting your eyes momentarily.

"No, it's not. It's not you, okay, it's me," you press, looking at him seriously. Stuart's eyes seem calculating and he looks away from you.

"No, it wasn't the right time," Stuart sighs, focusing on the fringe of interns up ahead, the chattering noise distant. But it was, you want to say, though you can't find the courage to let the words leave your lips.

"Let's just forget about it," Stuart says, eyes back to yours.

"Stuart," you huff, pausing so he stops too and leans closer, frowning. "We can't just do one thing and say 'forget it' all the time. That's not how relationships work."

"Funny, I thought that was the basis for ours." Stuart rolls his eyes. You exhale sharply and your hand goes out to grab at his arm but you realise quickly what you are about to do and stop yourself. When you give him a pouty glare he widens his eyes seriously and tilts his head at you. "Okay, what do you expect me to do? Kiss you now and make up for last night?"

He is sarcastic but you feel a flush in your cheeks, your lips drawing in to fight from doing anything - smiling, pouting to kiss, anything - but he barely notices your reaction. Instead he continues. "We said we'd be friends so let's not take it any further now, 'kay?"

You nod and the pair of you resume walking, leaving you slightly disappointed. You join the others and catch eyes with Neha, who raises her eyebrows inquiringly. You give her a tiny head shake and sit down opposite her, allowing Stuart to sit behind you.

So he definitely wants to be friends.

The thought gives you a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Why does he make everything so complicated? You toy with the idea that he has no clue how to approach girls and relationships, but it still messes with your mind until you feel almost bipolar: angry with him for not giving you what you want, happy when he does the things that make you feel like the relationship is progressing, sadness when he changes direction and confuses you.

And, as you unwrap your sandwich and take an oddly violent bite, trying to ignore the electricity flowing on your skin where your bare arm brushes his and the fluttering of your stomach when you hear his voice so close to you, you decide you are definitely, one hundred percent not okay with just friends. If you kissed him, the dynamics of your relationships would have been completely different. You don't want this thin friendship you have managed to salvage after your 'problems' regarding each other; now you've seen this other side of Stuart, and the feelings he can create inside you, all you want is for him to be yours.

So, as soon as you have finished your sandwich and decided what angle to approach Mission: Make Stuart Twombly Your Boyfriend, you are going to take your confused emotions and lay them on him, finally getting to the point your relationship needs to be at.

Oh, Stuart. Should've grabbed her while you were alone and snogged her face off, bro.

I promise I'll make it more interesting. It will get better. I swear. Hang in there.