Alan and Beth Discover Each Other

One of a batch of stories I had written but never got round to publish. At some time in my life I was going out with somebody very close to Beth's description. I want to rekindle those memories, so I dusted off the story with a more modern timeline. Both characters are over 18. I am tempted to write part 2 of this story depending on the rating it gets. I really like this. Enjoy reading.

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Alan wasn't an ordinary boy by any means. Despite being eighteen years old, he was thin, bordering on skinny, quiet, nerdish, and preferred to sit alone during his lunch break at school. He was a single child bordering on the obsessive in his school work and spent every hour's lunch break catching up on scientific articles on his iPad, reading and doodling on pdfs filled with formulas very few could understand.

His mother was a single parent, always urging him to make friends, but apart from a few school chums, Alan was quite happy to be alone. Not for the first time, he wondered how his classmates mingled with each other in a rowdy fashion after all that work in class. Surely they needed a break.... didn't they? He didn't for one moment, think that he was also committing literally the same error by continuing to study during the break.

His silent reverie was broken by the sound of a dinner tray being slid along the top of the table he occupied by himself. He looked up, annoyed that his solitude was to be interrupted, but was surprised to find a girl probably within the same age bracket as himself.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" she asked him.

"Yeah, sure. I don't own this table... or rent it. There are plenty of chairs available around it, and you are free to sit wherever you see fit." He had a way with words, although seemingly not in a good way. His IQ was beyond what would be considered average even with high school standards, and he generally used long winded answers when a simple friendly yes or no would have sufficed. It was just who he was. Alan was struggling to beat this habit, although it wasn't easy.

"Thanks. I'm Beth, by the way."

"Hi. I'm Alan. You seem to be new here."

"Yeah. Just moved into town actually. Dad died a few months ago, and mum couldn't stand living in our old place anymore. Too many good memories. So she eventually decided to pack up, and naturally, I had to follow.

I'm just getting the hang of this town. I've biked literally everywhere, although strictly speaking it's hardly big by any stretch of the imagination. It's hard to make friends though. I'm not a girl who makes friends easily."

He looked at Beth. She looked like a female version of himself. Same age, same gangly appearance, apparently small breasts behind a faded Def Leppard tee, and had she not parted her hair in braids, would have been difficult to identify as being a girl. Braces and spectacles completed her ensemble. He found her attractive and comely in a nerdish sort of way.

"Yeah, same here", he replied, "I know what you're feeling. I have classmates, but nobody I would classify as a real friend. I've never been asked to somebody's house. Or invited to a party."

"I get you. Well, I hate parties and there is no reason we can't be friends. I have very few hobbies outside academia. Cycling is just a means to get places, and my hobbies include art, astronomy, spelunking and anything related to computers and rock music."

Alan smiled "Spelunking? Cave exploration?"

"You seem surprised."

"Does it show on my face?" he replied.

"There's no reason to think that I'm not capable."

"Oh it's not that I don't think you can't do it. I just thought that it isn't that popular anymore. I mean, isn't it dangerous? Or not mandatory to be at least two people?"

"Yeah, still quite popular, although as you say it is vitally important to safety that we are at least two in number. Three is the preferred minimum though. Not that I'm going to find two experienced cave explorers in this little town."

Alan found himself warming up to Beth. "With me it's usually anything related to computers, robots, drones and lately, geology."

Beth laughed. "Geology's not a real science according to Sheldon Cooper."

The boy countered her with his thoughts. "Well then tv creators need to learn their stuff, especially when you consider it is literally the bedrock of everything in life. Including your spelunking. Aren't caves geological faults in the earth after all?"

Beth smiled, revealing nearly, but not-quite-straight teeth enmeshed in braces. She hated the metal appendages, due to be removed any day now, and rarely smiled with her mouth open. However she seemed to get a certain confidence from talking to Alan who seemed very much on the same wave-length as her.

"Yeah, they definitely are."

"Loads of caves in this area, as I am sure you are aware." he pointed out.

Beth nodded absently, stuffing her face full of fries.

The two continued talking, mildly surprised by the ringing of the bell which signified the end of break and the five minute warning of classes restarting.

Alan picked up both trays and leftover wrappers and they walked together to dispose of them on the way out of the canteen.

"My last lesson is at three and I will be heading home around a quarter to four. Do you want to walk home together?" Alan didn't want to sound eager, but he had enjoyed his dally with her. It certainly was different than his normal hour's break.

"Sure. I got my bike with me, but we can walk it. I live by Spencer Hill. 522 Maple Street"

It was a co-incidence for sure. Alan didn't believe in fate or luck, but this portent was too good to ignore. He lived on Maple as well, although their home was several doors down the street.

After classes had ended, Alan and Beth walked their bikes home. Living three or four miles away from school, it made sense for them to ride, and a tiny spark had ignited between the two youths.

They were both willing to expand the possibilities of a friendship. As soon as they arrived at Beth's home, she offered Alan a beverage, which he declined, but promised that he would do so the next day when he would have time available and of course, if he was thirsty.

"I'm working on the restoration of an old Atari VCS and I really need to get a move on it if I am to finish it in time for the college science fair", he explained. "I just received some new parts I want to try out."

"Jesus!" she exclaimed. "I'd love to get my hands on one."

"You're welcome to come with me. My mother won't be home before six, and I have a little workshop in a garage bolted on to the house."

"I'll just tell my mum I'll be out, won't be a moment."

Within a minute she was back, a light jacket under her arms. "Let's bike it. We got time to talk."

Mounting their bikes, the youths reached Alan's home within minutes, and he punched a code in the access point and the garage door lifted silently but swiftly. The space inside was jam packed with electronics, and retro-themed posters adorned the walls.

"Wow!" she breathed quietly, but enough that he heard. "Is that an original Metropolis movie poster?"

"I'm sorry", he apologized as he nodded. "I'm a bit of a nerd."

"This. Is. Awesome!" Beth exclaimed.

"It's what I call my Fortress of Solitude. I need this place to unwind when I get back from school. The fact that I am alone between four and six is just the icing on the cake. My mother worries about these two hours despite my telling her over and over that I relish them."

"Same here", Beth replied. "When I get home it's usually straight to my room, and total downtime. Headphones. Metal. And I relax to my heart's content."

"I've never really gotten into that heavy music, although it is quite popular and I like the lighter commercial stuff. What is it that you find compelling about it?"

"This may sound stupid, but I am sure you can wrap your head around it. The music speaks to me. It's the rigidity of the bars, absolute synchronicity, only for a song to burst in full flight with a guitar solo. Gives me goosebumps."

Alan nodded. Understanding her words was easy to him.

"You said you enjoy classical music. Well. In the metal world, Beethoven would be Deep Purple, and Mozart would be Iron Maiden or Led Zeppelin. Classical music is just heavy metal without electricity. In fact, many classical pieces have been converted with astounding success." Her explanation was to the point.

"Makes a lot of sense" he replied, taken aback by Beth's passion for her music.

"Let me show you my present masterpiece." He moved towards something covered with what appeared to be an anti-static sheet.

Beth leaned on the workshop table as he pulled the black cloth away, revealing a partly disassembled 'heavy-sixer' Atari 2600 late 70's console.

"Jesus H Christ" she mumbled.

Alan beamed with pleasure at her evident surprise. Months before he had won two 2600's in an expensive auction, both faulty, but with the potential to get at least one of them working.

He had received the last vital component (A TIA chip) and replacement capacitors the previous day, but he had waited to scrounge a socket from the school labs so as not to damage the valuable device, very much getting harder to find.

As they discussed the merits of the venerable machine, Alan had switched the soldering iron on and had taken the circuit board out to install the socket. This made the chip replaceable, and thus able to be used elsewhere. At first he had debated buying it, but both consoles had this particular chip missing and with old stock being as it was, it took ages to source one, and even then, the price was exorbitant.

Beth sat quietly on the high stool as Alan slipped on an anti-static bracelet onto his wrist and lowered the black device into the socket. He checked it once, twice, then declared it good to go.

"I will also upgrade the main capacitors" he told her. "They contain a sort of material called electrolyte, which degrades with time. Unless changed, they can cause unspeakable damage."

She nodded quietly as she watched him work, totally committed to the task at hand. Desoldering and resoldering such large components was in fact a very easy job, and after inspecting one of the discarded components, could see that the upper dome of the unit had in fact expanded open, a fail-safe to avoid explosions.

He finally leaned back in satisfaction. The old Atari had six capacitors in total, only three of the electrolytic type, but he made sure to change them all.

He inserted a game cartridge into the unit and flipped the switch, the old tv humming to life, and the girl was surprised to see Alan so moved. He had a perchance for old machines and it WAS great to bring them to life. He held his head in his hands, forcing back his emotions.

She knew all too well how much these old consoles cost, so it was a relief to see him enjoy his moment. The two youths spent the rest of the afternoon playing on the old Atari, literally losing track of time. Simple games, not too many rules, rudimentary graphics and sound, but with great playability.

Alan's mother came and went, surprised at the fact that her son had what appeared to be a girl next to him, playing on some console. She offered them drinks but they didn't even hear her.

-0-

Over the following weeks the two youths cemented their friendship as only two like-minded people could.

Weekends were spent at each other's houses, while afternoon and evenings were typically at her home since Beth lived closer to the school and was the first stop. They just wheeled their bikes into the garage, and spent hours poring over school work, as well as other hobbies which fascinated them.

Alan was more than able to explain to her the intricacy of electronics, while Beth regaled him with thrilling descents into darkness and adventure.

This led to a mix of electronics projects and playing text adventures on her computer. They started Zork I as a challenge and the old style game won them over as they studied maps and looked at solutions. The youth had taken the game seriously as any other endeavour, and he drew beautiful locations of their progress.

While Alan was fastidiously organized, Beth was a mess. Her room seemed the aftermath of a bomb as Star Wars, Mandalorian, Space Invaders, Commodore, Atari, Nintendo t-shirts and jeans were littered all over her room haphazardly.

He had asked for and gotten permission to re-arrange her closet. He accomplished this in one evening, puzzled why he had not found any feminine underwear, although he wasn't really looking for them. Very little feminine wear at all, really. And not a single bra. Probably small breasts, he thought. No wobbling. Large collection of running tops though.

He knew she was into running, and the way she looked from day to day, with just t-shirts and the occasional jacket, confirmed that she must indeed be nearly planked. He had mentally shrugged. It wasn't his business although he was naturally intrigued. Many times he pondered whether to ask, but felt it was too much of an invasion of her privacy. His search on the many sites he ashamedly frequented for relief yielded a number of performers with small chests, although only one with the apparent similar 'nothingness'. He was convinced there was nothing beneath Beth's tops.

From October to late May, it was a new voyage for them. Movie nights were often spent cuddled together on the same easy recliner, absent mindedly picking at a popcorn bucket while sipping from twin straws poked into the same huge coke cup.

They were rarely seen without each other, and many joked that they could join them and make half a decent person from the two. Alan usually went home strangely moved on movie nights, many times being sexually aroused. Beth was his first real friend. The fact that she was a girl should not have mattered, but it felt... good. Many times during the movies she would slip away to sleep, resting her head on his shoulder, and it became too comfortable for him emotionally to even think of moving her. Her aloe vera shampoo was a comfort and he came to love the smell.

Despite their close physical being, they did not take the step of intimacy further. In the beginning of November, Beth's dentist had removed her orthodontics, and she beamed constantly, finally free of the cumbersome metal braces. During the same period she had also ditched her spectacles, opting to go for contacts. Her visage had changed dramatically and it was quite a different person visually from when they initially met. Whenever he saw her with her hair down, she was unrecognisable.

At school, despite jibes towards them, the pair continued trashing the other students in academic results and their end of year stats were spectacularly ahead of anyone.

Beth had placed literally first in every class, including a subject most girls dreaded, athletics, more accurately, cross-country running. She was lithe, quick, and had the stamina of most boys. There was no chance that Alan could ever be called athletic by any means. The chess club was his arena and his cold, clear, logic trumped everyone in sight.

School finally broke up for the summer holidays, and they looked towards fourteen glorious weeks of nothing much except enjoying each other's company and working on their various projects together.

For their first Saturday out of school they planned a weekend bike trip, exploring the suburbs and the surrounding hilly countryside. The plan was that they would get the train out of town and use their bikes for exploring. Sleeping bags would take care of the night, as they felt that a tent would be too cumbersome on two wheels, and the weather was already hitting them with high temperatures anyway.

Beth's mother had offered to take them to the station to save time and energy and they accepted gleefully. It was already warm enough by eight in the morning, and the ride to the station would have taken up at least forty minutes. Alan was looking forward to the time when he would be able to buy his own car, albeit an electric vehicle.

Beth and Alan loaded the bikes in the bed of the Ford F150, a gleaming silver machine kept clean by regular visits to the local service station. They pressed in together on the front seat despite the rear cab being glaringly empty. Both of them were slim enough that they fit without a problem on the huge front seat of the Ford. The girl's bare arm against Alan's made him comfortable.

Beth's mother was pleased that her daughter had found somebody to talk to with this confidence so quickly. It wasn't a given that she would do so. Her geeky daughter had never talked so much about anybody, and she seemed genuinely interested in Alan. The fact that he was a polite guy who bent over backwards to help them in anything that was needed around their home was not lost on her.

She was also confident in the fact that if anything arose between them, call it love, infatuation, desire, whatever, there was absolutely no worries that her daughter would have problems. Her physical condition precluded children being conceived. She sincerely hoped that Beth would tell Alan if something did come up between them. She couldn't understand what type of genetics must have been passed down in her family. Her late husband's genealogy tree was not slim pickings for sure.

Her in-laws were blessed with large bodies and numerous children. Strangely enough, Beth seemed comfortable in who she was, and had never as much as complained once.

Secretly, she was hoping that the young man sitting next to her on the front seat of the SUV was the one her daughter would call 'the one'. She wondered whether the two had indulged themselves in each other, quietly rooting for them both.

When they talked about their electronics and computer stuff, she knew that it was English, but had no idea what it all meant. They were on a different plane to everyone, she thought. She let their chatter slip away from her thoughts and concentrated on the road. Too many crazies behind the wheel these days. And she couldn't even understand what subject they were talking about anyway.

The drive to the local station was short and uneventful, and both youths jumped out of the truck, and dragged their bikes out of the truck bed, waving to her before entering the converted old mill which served as the railway station.

Two tickets and forty minutes later and they were deposited at the last stop before the train's long haul to the city.

The woods in front of them loomed large, but the tourist path was marked clearly and Alan led the way. Beth was close on his heels as they rode deeper between the trees, with not a sign of anyone around. It was very hot despite it being only late May and within minutes, they were flushed.

An our later, Alan pulled up to the side, huffing, and dismounted. He fished around for a fresh bottle of water, still half-frozen from the night spent at the bottom of the freezer at home.

Cracking open the top, he took a swig before handing over the bottle to Beth, similarly red in the face.

"We might as well drink up. I have another two and there's a number of water fountains along the way."

Beth rolled the bottle against her forehead before tilting it up and drinking deeply. The liquid rolled down her throat, and as she gulped, Alan looked at her mesmerizingly. He'd never even looked with interest at a girl before, but in the last months, she had become his best friend, and were already nigh on inseparable. His interest in her was budding beyond a simple friendship, although he was painfully unaware of what his emotions meant.

She caught him looking at her and decided on a dare, letting the water flow out of her mouth and down her white shirt, the wetness rendering it practically transparent. She was aware she had no charms there, but it still felt good to tease him. She was aware of his growing feelings towards her. Beth was sure that her erect nipples could be seen, a darker pink on her body behind the white shirt.