Same disclaimers as last time: Don't expect a work of art just yet. Leave any and all feedback and ideas in the comments There won't be a lot of sex in the at first, but that should change in the later chapters.
Enjoy!
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This was the first time Alex had ever felt this nervous. Normally there would be a slight sense of pressure when working on a project like this, but it had never been this severe. He felt like he had to prove to himself, the professor and, most importantly, the others that he belonged at the university and wasn't just a nobody that served just to fill the benches. That alone would have been daunting enough, but it turned out his partner has quite the reputation and isn't as easily impressed.
Those thoughts had haunted Alex since he had entered the building that morning and chased him throughout the day into the afternoon. As the hours and lessons flew by, he was filled with a growing sense of dread and anxiety. His daydreams, or more accurately, daymares were interrupted by the muffled buzzing of a phone. Zack didn't share this lesson with him, so it must be his own phone. Alex quickly got it from his backpack and unlocked it. Emily had sent him a message. He thought they had most lessons together but couldn't see her anywhere, so maybe she was letting him know she was sick.
"Don't be late."
No smileys or anything. He hadn't really expected her to treat him like a long-lost sibling or something like that, but a little warmth wouldn't have hurt.
He quickly glanced at the clock and noticed the lesson would only last for five more minutes. The lab was next to the lecture hall, which meant he wouldn't have to cross the campus to reach it like the other facilities. Emily had chosen a time however that overlapped with the end of their lesson and he wasn't sure how punctual that girl was. Alex toyed with the idea of making up an excuse to leave the room early whilst he packed his backpack when he saw an opportunity.
The professor had just finished listing the homework and was making his way back to his chair. The other students had taken the liberty to start chatting and packing their things. Alex swiftly got up and made his way towards the door. He suppressed the urge to sprint down the staircase and kept walking at a brisk pace instead, leaving the room just in time to go unnoticed.
Once in the hallway he briefly pulled out his phone to check the time and saw that he had still had a few minutes to bridge the short distance between the lecture hall and the lab. Alex let out a sigh of relief as he started walking towards the entrance to the laboratories. The corridor wasn't entirely deserted, but the few that he came across paid him little attention besides the occasional curious look. He hadn't been opposed to getting a fresh start when he moved over to the capital, but it really sucked to not have any friends around. At least there wasn't anyone that hated him, so at least he had that going for him.
Whilst he was putting on his white lab coat and the safety goggles, he heard a door slide open and the sound of footsteps enter the room. Alex turned around and was hit by a mix of awe and anxiety by what he saw.
When he had asked her to work with him, he hadn't bothered to take a look at her. A good lab partner was the only thing he was looking for at the time. Her long white hair fell down past her shoulders and was only partially kept in check by the clear safety goggles she was wearing. Safety procedures indicated that anyone with long hair had to be wearing a ponytail or something similar in the lab, but those rules were banned from his mind the moment she walked in.
It was clear that she had a great, slim figure despite the attempts of the lab coat to cover it all up. Beneath the coat she was wearing a black turtleneck shirt and tight-fitting jeans. Alex knew his mind would fabricate visions of what she may look like without those on if he kept staring at her like that and quickly shifted his focus to her face once more. Sprouting a massive erection wasn't the best way to greet someone in his mind.
Her face took his breath away once more with her delicate features, piercing blue eyes and her stunning lips. Combined with the colour of her hair, the nickname of "Ice Queen" started to make some more sense.
Her beauty was the cause of his fear too. Zack had already warned him and if she looked like this it was clear she was at the top of the social ladder. Alex had not even grabbed any of the rungs and she could easily prevent him from reaching them if she felt like it. The sense of pressure he had felt that morning returned in full force and accompanied the dread that had only vanished for a brief moment.
When he saw Emily's lips moving, he feared for the worst.
"You look surprised. Did you think I wasn't going to show up?" she asked him.
"Uhhhh, no..." He could've punched himself in the face for such a lame response, but this wasn't the moment or time for that.
"I didn't think you'd be here before me, since I left before the end of the lesson," he responded in an attempt to prevent any further slip-ups.
"Oh, I just like to be early. It's more or less a family trait at this point. Let's get started now. I've got other things to do too."
Their last lesson was late in the afternoon and few stuck around after it. Most would head straight to the bars or the beach to relax after another tiring day, which left the complex mostly empty. Not exactly great for meeting new people, but it meant there was a distinct lack of distractions and people to bother you. This meant there was little noise besides their own footsteps and the humming of the machines as they entered the lab.
"Do you know what the first assignment entails?" Emily asked him whilst they were setting up the glasswork and measuring out the materials.
"Is this some for of test or do don't you know the details?"
She simply shrugged. "Take a guess."
"I'm guessing it's the former."
His answer was rewarded with playful smile, which didn't exactly put him at ease.
"It's a simple solid-liquid extraction, or whatever you wish to call it. The gist of it is that we keep cycling water through coffee grounds to leech the caffeine out. Whoever ends up drinking it will max out their monthly dose in a single go."
"I can hear you did you homework. That means we can start. I'll make some notes along the way, but I doubt anything will really happen."
The two of them got to work and assembled the set-up required for the experiment. Soon the water was happily boiling and sputtering in the flask as condensation dripped on the coffee ground. As the minutes passed the water grew increasingly dark whilst Alex grew increasingly bored. He noticed Emily seemed less on edge than she had been when they started, and she was idly playing with her hair.
