Beauty and the Physicist ( old )

Chapter 11: Strange Behaviors

Andrew noticed that something was up with Charlie. How could he not?

She was acting... Weird, to say the least. She'd flinch whenever their hands made contact during experiments. She'd duck her head down when her friends came around them, and she hardly ever looked at him anymore.

He never really said anything about it. Yes, something was wrong, but he didn't really want to pry. Although they were close friends, he still knew that their friendship hasn't lasted long. Four months was terribly short, if you asked him.

More time passed. Charlie would be more awkward than ever, and he'd put up with it. Judging from the way she was acting, someone probably said something that made her uncomfortable in their friendship.

What it was, he wasn't sure about. It could have been someone telling her a random and false 'fact' that would shatter her respect for him, or it could have been someone telling her that he liked her.

Not that he didn't. Andrew was very fond of her, but... Not in that way. They were friends, and that was all there was to it. Sure, she was pretty, funny, and... No, stop.

He sighed to himself as he continued jotting down notes, looking up at the board every so often. And there she'd be, twiddling her thumbs as she looked down.

She was biting her lip, clearly deep in thought. Andrew paused his note taking for a moment. He wondered what was going through that mysteriously complex mind of hers.

Knowing her, she was probably thinking of some more pranks to pull on her friends.

He looked back at the board, a frown making it's way to his face as he noticed how much more information he'd have to write down. See, this is what distractions do to you, Andrew.

With frustration, he copied down everything written by their teacher. His hand ached from all the writing he was doing. But if he stopped just to have his hand feel normal again, he'd take even longer with the notes.

And so he continued, ignoring the pain. This will all be worth it when he's done. He'll pass the test, and all will be well.

Sort of.

He snuck a glance at the tomboy, noticing that she had now shifted her attention to the clock. Her face was filled with impatience and boredom, her fingers lightly tapping the table as she waited for class to end.

Unfortunately for her, school didn't end for another fifteen minutes.

"Hurry up," she muttered, hoping that maybe the clock would obey her and time would go by quicker. But that wasn't possible.

"It'll be over soon," Andrew replied, looking at the chalkboard. "If you don't think about it, time will go by faster."

Charlie is silent as she turns her head slightly to look at Andrew.

Heat rises to his cheeks. He doesn't understand why, of course. But this is the first time she's laid eyes on him without embarrassment for quite a while.

That's a good reason to be blushing, right?

"You sure 'bout that, Doc?" She'd inquire skeptically, brows furrowed as she awaited his answer.

He paused again, turning his attention to her. He adjusted his glasses, nodding curtly. "It works for me. I like to distract myself. And for the record, it works rather well."

Her signature smirk returned to her face, and Andrew can't help but grin. There was the Charlie he knew.

"Can you prove it?"

"I'm not sure if that's possible, Miss Charlotte. You can try, if you want. I won't be too surprised if I turn out to be right," he shot back with a cheeky smile. His notes were long forgotten.

"Did you just call me Charlotte?" She said, now sitting up straighter and leaning closer to the male. "No one calls me that besides my grandma."

"Well, looks like that's changed, obviously. I don't know why you don't like it, though. It's a beautiful name for an equally b-"

He was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing, and both jumped, startled by the sudden sound. Embarrassed by their closeness, Charlie backed away, scooting back in her chair as she picked up her backpack.

"I, uh, gotta go," she said quickly, avoiding eye contact.

Ah, this again.

Andrew nodded, his face red and his eyes glinting with sadness. "Alright. See you tomorrow, then."

She briskly walked away, not looking back to even say goodbye. He let out a soft breath of air, running a hand through his hair. "Bye, Dashie."