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.
"You said you had plenty to do, so what are you going to do tonight?" he asked her.
"Hmm?" She fixed her hair before turning towards Alex. "I'll be going out with Cherry tonight. Should be loads of fun." Her eyes had lit up with excitement and Alex couldn't supress a slight smile.There might be some hope for him after all.
"You might have seen her actually," she continued. "Maybe not. She is pretty short after all and you are..." Emily paused for a moment, taking a good look at him. It felt a little odd being stared at like this, but he couldn't blame her. It wasn't as if he could take his eyes off her when she entered the lab after all.
"...tall. Anyway, if you see a cute little redhead then that's probably her. Have you got any plans yourself?"
"Not really. I hardly know anyone here and I barely know the place, so I wouldn't know where to go. Job hunting is on my to-do list, so I suppose I could start there."
"You really are new here, huh," she said without the sharper tone she had used earlier. It was a lot softer this time with a hint of genuine concern.
"Yeah, I sort of wanted to start anew. It's unfortunate that that means there are no familiar faces around. Apart from you now, I guess."
"It's a good thing, Alex. Social hierarchies suck, a lot. At least you don't have to worry about that for now."
Hearing that from someone that was at the top of that structure was a little weird. He was wise enough to keep his mouth shut despite that. A ringtone rang out from the other room and caused Emily to run towards it. Soon she was excitedly talking to someone on the other side. The distance prevented Alex from eavesdropping, not that that was what he had in mind. He was surprised that he could keep his condition in check despite her proximity, although it probably had to do with the fear that she might ruin his social life before it had truly started. That fear had slowly ebbed away during their conversation but had never truly disappeared.
Emily hurriedly re-entered the room and started stuffing her notebook in her bag.
"I'm sorry about this. Cherry called because it looked like I was going to run late. Could you clean this up, please?" she asked him whilst putting extra emphasis on the "please". He knew he could never refuse her, not that he was planning on doing that.
"I'll clean the lab up, so you can visit your friend without having to worry about that. Just send me the notes once you get home," Alex responded. Her gloomy expression lit up considerably and the closed the distance between them and gave his hand a light squeeze.
"Thanks for showing up, Alex. It may sound stupid, but you're the first to actually threat me like a normal person."
After that she quickly disappeared in a flash of white hair and tight jeans. Alex pondered over her words whilst cleaning the glassware and putting away the extreme cup of coffee they had made. He wracked his brains, but couldn't quite work out what she really meant by that and gave up when he left the building. Another buzz from his phone let him know that he had another notification waiting for him. This time it was an email from the clinic, which asked him to come by that day. He wasn't exactly sure why he would need to return, but it wasn't as if he had other plans for the rest of the day.
