The Imperfect Girl

Chp. 24- Dora..(autocorrect) Damon the Explorer

(Author's POV)

Adeline's fingers flew over the keyboard, diligently typing up the notes for their project, while Damon... did everything but help.

From the moment he stepped into her room, it was like releasing a toddler into a candy store. 

He was everywhere. First, he inspected her bookshelf, pulling out random novels and making exaggerated faces.

"Do you ever sit still?" Adeline muttered, eyes glued to her screen.

Damon glanced over his shoulder with an innocent grin. "Sitting still? Never heard of it." 

He started rifling through her things again, touching every knick-knack on her shelves like he was discovering lost treasure like Dora the Explorer.

"Focus," she snapped, typing furiously. "We have a project to finish."

But Damon clearly had other plans. He flopped onto her bed dramatically, sprawled out as if exhausted from all his hard work. "This bed's comfy," he mumbled. "I'm just gonna... y'know... rest my genius brain for a second."

Adeline shot him a death glare. "If you call yourself a genius again, I'm going to choke on air."

"I'm just here to boost morale," Damon smirked, eyes half-closed. "Every group needs that one charismatic person to lighten the mood."

"No, every group needs people who are actually working. So get up and—"

"Is it even possible to fail a storytelling project?" Damon interrupted, looking genuinely puzzled. "I mean, I can talk all day."

Adeline sighed and buried her face in her hands. "This isn't a gossip session, Damon."

He gave her a faux-offended look. "Wow. So we're just ignoring my great emotional contributions now? Rude."

Without bothering to reply, she focused on the autocorrect suggestion popping up on her screen. As she corrected the error, Damon's voice cut in again.

"So, what is synergy anyway?"

Adeline snapped her laptop closed. "You. Are. Hopeless."

He leaned back, laughing. "Come on, Addie. This is supposed to be fun."

Adeline glared. "Well, it's not fun when you're doing everything but work."

Damon pouted like a kid denied candy. "Fine, fine. I'll try to work. Maybe."

She didn't believe him for a second. 

He proved her right moments later, when he began poking around her desk like a curious five-year-old. 

His eyes widened dramatically as he picked up an old photo frame.

Adeline glanced up from her screen, and instantly regretted it. 

Damon had found her childhood photo—the one where she had an unfortunate haircut and an awkward smile with braces.

"Put that down!" She lunged for the frame.

Damon dodged her grab, holding the picture above his head. "Look at you, lil' Addie! Adorable."

Adeline snatched it back, cheeks flaming. "Keep it up and you'll get kicked out."

"I'd like to see you try." Damon plopped back down on the bed, grinning as he stretched.

"Great," Adeline muttered, pulling up their presentation notes once more. "Now the project's going to fail because someone would rather nap and probably make fun of me in his sleep."

"Just wake me when it's time to turn in my brilliance," he said, curling up as though preparing for an actual nap.

Adeline wanted to scream. How did I get stuck with him?

Hours passed, and Damon was still more interested in her room than their project. 

He inspected her bookshelf, threw in some useless opinions about her decor, and even started tossing pillows around the room at one point.

Adeline tried to focus on their project, but between Damon's antics and her dwindling patience, it was a losing battle. 

She glanced over at him, lying flat on her bed, fast asleep.

"How am I supposed to survive this?" she groaned under her breath.

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