This Love Is Ours

Sparks Fly

"Where's Cole?" Penelope asked Darren. It's Saturday afternoon and they were in one of the city's public library. She was supposed to tutor their school-- Brightson University's-- resident heartthrob. But instead of him, his nerd cousin is now the one who's in front her. And she didn't like it. Not one bit.

"He can't come. He said Stella needed something from him, so, uhm, he can't come." Darren nervously smiled at her. He is wearing his nerd uniform: black rimmed glass, white t-shirt with painting of an anime character she cannot remember who, old skinny jeans, dirty white converse, and his ever beloved red messenger bag.

Instead of smiling back, she just raised her eyebrow. She's not amused. Cole didn't come to their first tutoring session and he didn't even have the decency to text her about it. Or just apologize. Or just thought about her waiting for him in the library. And worse, he's with his new "bunny of the week", Stella, at the moment.

Penelope was hurt, because she'd been preparing for that moment all her college life. She's been preparing for Cole all her college life. And the chance to tutor him, that she instantly grabbed, was her only way to fulfill her plan of making him appreciate her as a girl. Of making him see her as a potential bunny-- a potential girlfriend.

Penelope saw Darren sat at the chair in front of her. "What are you doing? If you're staying in here, get a table of your own." She told him coldly. She doesn't care if she's acting like a bitch. She's mad and she wants to take it out on Darren.

Darren bit his lip, so her eyes roamed to it. He's got beautiful lips, she observed. It's reddish, thin and pouty, but Cole's lips is better, she thought.

"Uhm, actually, it's, uhm..." Darren stammered.
She rolled her eyes. She cannot believe he is Cole's cousin. They are so different in many ways. If Cole can charm even the nuns in their school, Darren can't even make Redford smile and he's the school's resident clown. Redford laughs a lot at anything ike a lunatic.

"Spit it out." she told him irritably. She saw Darren swallowed which pissed her even more. What's so hard in talking? Why can't this guy talk like a normal person?

He bit his lip again, and again, it got her attention. The nerd really has beautiful lips. Has he ever kissed a girl already? she wondered. Nah, she thought. She doubts the idea. There was a rumor going around that he's gay and she believes it.

They've been studying in the same university for three years now, and she hasn't saw him chummy with any girl yet. Well, there's this one girl he's been hanging around. Her name is Lilly, and her personality is as dull as his, so she doubts they are romantically involved.

Unless it's how nerds fall in love with each other, of course. She wouldn't know, she's not one of them, will never be.

Nervously, Darren played with his keys that he's been holding since he arrived. "Well, Cole told me to sit down with you this afternoon so you could... you know, teach me."

She stared at him.

"B-But it's, uhm, if you don't want to. I just thought, you know, maybe you could tutor me, too, like, uhm, Cole."

She kept on staring at him. She was shocked by the request. Darren is a smart boy. Everyone in Brightson know it. He's a consistent Dean's lister, so she's very surprised that he actually wanted her to tutor him in Literature-- the only subject she's excellent at.

"Are you freaking serious?" out of daze, I asked.
"Uh, yeah, but you know it's alright," He stood up fast that his knee hit the corner of the table.
"Whoa, there!" I exclaimed.
He winced. "I'm alright, I'm alright! I gotta go! Uhm, yeah, thanks and uhm, I'm sorry."

Darren was talking to her while walking backwards from her. It would've been comical and Penelope would've laughed if she didn't see his red face. The situation is making him utterly uncomfortable, and she's giving him hell, by making it even worse with her being bitchy. She felt a little guilty about it. She has to take it easy on him next time, she thought.

Penelope watched Darren vanished out of the library. That was probably the most awkward conversation she's had in her entire life. She's had forced conversations with him at school, but it was never that long. Mostly they talked about school stuff. It has always been awkward, with him always stammering and her always annoyed by his stutter.

She wondered if there will ever come a time when they will have a decent conversation. Thinking about it, she now feels sorry that she didn't grab the opportunity to tutor him, and probably get him ease up around her. Her eyes widened with the thought, a brilliant idea just sparked in her mind. How come it didn't enter her mind before? She grabbed her books and put them in her black leather bag. She will get in Darren's good graces, and he will help her win Cole. Yeah. Brillian idea.