multifandom oneshots/preferences

lvi. ap art history-- jim root part 2

"I don't know what Lemmy from Motorhead really wants our response to him to be, like does he expect me to find him backstage and say 'god, I'm not usually into middle aged men who look like they don't shower, but there's some animalistic desire within me to take my clothes off now that I see you'," Y/n and Jim walk in and sit down. Jim laughs at what his companion just said out loud with no shame.

I breeze past them with a little "Hey there, Y/n."

Y/n's eyes widen as they clap their hand over their mouth before slowly lowering their head to the desk in embarrassment. Jim looks over at Y/n, stifling a laugh for a few seconds before he loses it and cackles as other kids file into the room. 

For the entire class, Jim can't look at Y/n without chuckling, to which they always roll their eyes and give him a playful slap on the shoulder. 

If they don't kiss soon, I am going to have an aneurysm. 

At the end of the class, Jim approaches me and asks to stay for office hours. He's got some homework to do and people to avoid. 

"This is a haven for that. I'm here til 4," I reply. 

We both work in silence for about 20 minutes until I see Jim's head drop to his desk in my peripheral vision. He doesn't move for 15 seconds, so I slowly approach his table and tap it a few times. His head rises so his gaze can meet mine. 

"Something wrong?" I ask. 

"Ugh," the student groans, pushing himself up as I lean back on the desk behind me. "You're a woman, right?"

"Last time I checked, yeah. Why?"

"How do I, like, talk to a girl I'm interested in?"

"I thought you've dated someone before. A couple times, actually," I say without thinking. Jim raises an eyebrow and tenses. 

"You've noticed?"

"You're hard to miss, and I've had you all your time here for study halls," I shrug, not mentioning the multiple times his bandmates have tried to coerce me into going to one of their shows...and the couple times one of his exes spent half an hour complaining about him to me. Jim is oddly oblivious to how much I know about his personal life. 

"You think I'm hard to miss?" he cocks his head to the side. 

"'Course I do," I smile a bit. "It's been quite rewarding to see you grow and evolve the past couple years. You're a good student, too, and I think you've got pretty admirable qualities."

"Thanks," Jim looks away and smiles to himself. 

"Anyway, what about your person of interest is on your mind?"

"I don't know, it's just, like I know they won't be super mean about it if they reject me, but I'll miss the friendship if they do. A-and I don't even know how to ask them out, this is the first time I've ever waited this long to ask someone out. Usually Corey pressures me into it two weeks into developing feelings, but I haven't told anyone about this new person."

I take a second to think about my next words. Having dealt with a good amount of teenage panics, I know the first words after the initial moment of vulnerability need to be perfect.

"Is that because you have doubts about how they and others will react? Is this like a Capulet and Montague situation?"

Not my best...

"Corey mostly gets excited when I prove to him I can score a date, so I'm sure he'll be psyched about this one, y'know?" Jim chuckles a bit. 

"Yeah, I had that kinda friend growing up too," I nod. "So are you gonna ask them out?"

"I want to."

"But...?"

"What if they say no?"

I take a breath. "Well, you accept their answer and move on. Stay friends for as long as you can and take care of the friendship as you would any other."

Jim picks at his lip as his eyebrows lower in sadness. 

"Listen, I can't say much without breaching confidentiality I've established with your crush, but I an tell you that you can be optimistic in this case," I reassure. 

"You know who it is?" the student's eyes widen.

Yes, kid. I put you two next to each other for a reason. 

"I have reason to believe I do," I flick my gaze to the spot next to Jim. 

"Yep, you got it," he rests his head in his hands. 

"Do something small and low pressure for them. If by some work of the devil you get rejected, I'll give you 20 bucks and let you yell at me."

"I want that in writing," he grumbles. 

"They'll appreciate anything genuine from you, I promise."

Jim doubts me for a few more minutes before he decides he's got some vague thing to do. I can tell at least one thing I said stuck with him, which is really all I can ask for. 

...

We didn't have class yesterday, but as far as I can tell, there's been no progress on the Jim and Y/n front. 

The infamous duo take their seats before most other students get to my classroom, talking as they always are. 

About 15 minutes into the class, I spot Jim take out a folded piece of paper from his flannel's breast pocket. He fidgets with it for a little bit before placing it on the table. Y/n, diligently doodling and writing as always, doesn't notice until Jim taps the table with his pen. 

They look over at Jim and then the piece of paper before taking it and unfolding it in their lap. 

I watch Jim and Y/n's expressions change over the next few minutes, both going from neutral to near tears with anxiety and blushing respectively. 

Y/n takes a few moments to grab a sticky note, scribble something onto it, attach it to Jim's note, and push it over to her companion. Jim takes one look at the sticky note and a little blush tints his face. He smiles as he continues to read the sticky note. 

Guess I'm not getting yelled at. 

After the class ends, Y/n walks out to the parking lot with Jim. They talk for a second and then I observe as Y/n reaches up and gives Jim a little chaste kiss. There's a few cute little seconds of presumed goodbyes before Y/n leaves Jim alone in the parking lot to cover his flushed face with his hands. 

Well now I know I'm not getting yelled at.

...

yall...i'll edit this later don't worry.