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[Ok I change my mind. I'll add more chapters so enjoy and don't make me regret it.]
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfwE58g6qH
“Centrosomes are only present in animal cells. They…-”
The cytology lecture droned on, the professor’s monotone voice blending with the hum of the air conditioning. Aurelia sat in the middle rows; her eyes glazed over as she stared at the intricate diagrams of cells on the projector screen. Her mind, however, was miles away from the world of cells and their structures.
Cytology was never a very interesting subject, but it came with the biochemistry package - what was she supposed to do about it? The only entertainment it gave her was calling lysosomes ‘suicide bags’, and various other analogies.
Her phone buzzed, jolting her out of her daydream. A flicker of hope sparked in her heart as she discreetly pulled out her phone under the desk. But the excitement quickly faded as she saw the sender - Walmart. Just another spam message about a sale on home goods. She sighed; her hopes dashed. She had been hoping it was a message from a friend.
With a soft click, she locked her phone and was about to tuck it away when it buzzed again. This time, her heart skipped a beat as she saw the name on the screen - it was Nicky. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she unlocked her phone to read his message, the boring cytology lecture forgotten for the moment.
‘Busy?’ read the text.
Aurelia couldn’t help but smile at his formal way of initiating the conversation, without any casual greetings like ‘hi’ or ‘hello’. She quickly typed back, ‘Busy being bored of cytology. How about you?’
‘Safety and Ethics of Magnetism… I don’t get why we even learn this…’ came the reply.
‘Haha, sad.’
‘Shut up, as if ‘mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell’ is any more fun.’
‘Fair enough. You excited for tonight?’
‘I’d do anything to get out of class right now… even if it means a double date with you of all people…’
Aurelia couldn’t help but chuckle at his response. She quickly typed back, ‘Same here… and yes, even if it means enduring a painful double date with you.’ She added a playful eye-roll emoji at the end, mirroring her own reaction. ‘We can rest assured Selena and Gallus will have fun together though.’ she added.
‘More than I can say for myself. I can’t put up with sitting next to you for two hours straight in a dark room - even if there’s a fun movie playing.’
‘Too bad… you’d better put up with it.’
‘Unfortunately…’
‘Just admit it Nicky, you love me.’
Nicky’s response was almost immediate, ‘In your dreams, Goldie.’ His message was followed by a laughing emoji and a heart.
Aurelia rolled her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. She quickly typed back, ‘Keep dreaming, Nicky. See you tonight.’ With that, she put away her phone, her mind now filled with thoughts of the upcoming double date. Despite their playful banter, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement about the evening. Little did she know, it was going to be a night full of surprises.
As the lecture finally came to an end, Aurelia gathered her things and made her way out of the lecture hall. The campus was bustling with students moving between classes, but her mind was still on the upcoming double date. She couldn’t help but wonder what the evening had in store for them.
Meanwhile, Nicky was just as distracted in his magnetism class. He found himself doodling on his notebook, his thoughts drifting towards the evening plans like two like magnetic poles repelling from each other. He was looking forward to the movie, but the thought of spending two hours next to Aurelia was both exciting and nerve-wracking. Their playful banter was a constant in their friendship, but recently, he had started to feel a different kind of tension between them.
On his test paper, he could answer each question clearly and concisely, but he was about as smart as your average ball of aluminum foil when it came to people in general, let alone romance. He didn’t know how he was supposed to accurately put his feelings into points and score an easy A+ here.
After his class, Nickolas headed back to his dorm room. His roommate, Gallus, was already there, humming a tune while pulling something out of his bag. “You seem cheerful,” Nick commented, dropping his bag on his bed.
“Just excited about tonight,” Gallus replied with a grin. “You ready for your ‘painful’ date with Aurelia?”
Nickolas rolled his eyes, “As ready as I’ll ever be. Also, did I mention… you’re not the only one who can copy powers.”
“What do you mean?”
“I figured out a way to hover in the air like Aurelia.”
“Oh, I actually can’t copy helium powers, considering it’s a noble gas. It won’t react with my francium unless I’m actively trying.”
“Speaking of which, make sure to keep your pills on hand,” Nick added, sitting on his bed. “Selena has a reputation for making your circuits go crazy.”
“Hehe, I do have to be careful with that.” Gallus replied, sheepishly. “Thanks, man.”
“Too bad those things only help with radioactivity-related glitches and not social glitches.”
“Nicky, there will never be a pill strong enough to stop your social glitches.”
Nickolas raised an eyebrow at Gallus, “Hey, only Aurelia gets to call me ‘Nicky’. You stick with ‘Nick’. And that’s only because I have no way of stopping her from calling me that…”
Gallus chuckled, “Alright, ‘Nick’ it is. But remember, you can’t stop Aurelia from calling you ‘Nicky’…”
Nickolas smirked, “Well, if she can handle my ‘social glitches’, I guess I can handle being called ‘Nicky’.”
“You two are cringe in the most adorable way possible…” Gallus remarked, trying to stifle a chuckle.
“I don’t know how to reply to this…” he answered.
“You wouldn’t know how to reply if Aurelia sent you a quick hi either.”
“As if you’d be much better at replying to a text from Selena.” Nickolas snapped, a smirk playing on his features, before the smirk turned into a frown. “I don’t know, Gallus… I’m like a well-oiled machine when it comes to studies, but when it comes to social interactions, I’m about as good as a bucket of rusty nails…”
“Aw, don’t say that. I’m not any better, honestly. Girls are the worst, be it high school, college or for all we know, even in our sixties.”
Nickolas continued, “You know, Gallus, it’s just… when I’m around Aurelia, I feel like I’m in a different world. Her presence just lights up the room. Literally.” (see chapter 2) He paused, looking down at his hands, “I wish I could tell her how I feel, but every time I try, all my words just get flushed down the toilet. And it’s not like I had many words in mind either. It’s like my brain short-circuits and all I can manage is a stutter or a lame joke.”
Gallus listened quietly as Nickolas vented, “I just… I want to be more than ‘Nicky’ to her, you know? I want to be someone she can rely on; someone she sees as more than just a socially awkward friend.”
Nickolas sighed, “But for now, I guess I’ll just have to be content with being ‘Nicky’, the guy with the social glitches worse than your radioactive ones.” He ended with a small, resigned smile. “No offense.”
“None taken. It’s not like high school was much better for me. I never really like-liked anybody, but I couldn’t control my powers.” Gallus chuckled, “I remember those days. It was a nightmare trying to control my powers. Every time I got nervous or excited, I would accidentally cause a mini explosion. It was especially bad around girls. I remember this one time, I was talking to this girl I liked, and I accidentally scrambled her phone’s circuits. Needless to say, she never talked to me again.”
Nickolas laughed, “Well, at least you didn’t repel her away from you. Do you know how embarrassing it is to have everything you touch float away? And don’t get me started on the high-pitched voice Aurelia or someone may have had. Or Selena, in fury, would have turned her enemy’s phone case into-”
“Aluminum foil…” Gallus cut him off, remembering his first encounter with her.
As they continued to chat, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation for the upcoming double date. They knew it was going to be an interesting night, filled with laughter, playful banter, and maybe even a few surprises.
As the clock ticked closer to 7 o’clock, the boys found themselves growing more and more anxious. The dorm room was filled with a tense silence, broken only by the occasional sigh or nervous chuckle. They busied themselves with trivial tasks - fixing their hair for the trillionth time (at least), pacing around the room, and repeatedly checking their phones for any messages, and half-hoping the girls would cancel so they wouldn’t have to bother.
Nickolas found himself regretting not getting flowers for Aurelia. He had thought about it, but then dismissed the idea as too cliché. Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if it would have been a nice gesture. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. ‘Next time,’ he thought to himself, ‘if there is a next time…’
Gallus, on the other hand, was busy looking up pickup lines on his phone. He scrolled through a list of cheesy lines, chuckling at the absurdity of some of them. “Hey Nick, listen to this one,” he said, grinning at his friend, “Are you a magician? Because whenever I look at you, everyone else disappears.”
Nickolas rolled his eyes, “That’s terrible, Gallus. Please tell me you’re not actually going to use that.”
Gallus laughed, “Of course not. I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Besides, I don’t need pickup lines. I’ve got my charming personality.”
Nickolas snorted, “Charming personality, huh? Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
Their banter helped to ease the tension in the room. As they laughed and joked around, they found themselves feeling less nervous about the upcoming date. After all, they were just going out with friends. What could possibly go wrong?
Little did they know, the evening had quite a few surprises in store for them. But for now, they were content with their lame jokes and playful banter, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Aurelia and Selena. The night was young, and the possibilities were endless.
[cover pic scene:
"Wait... Darth Vader?! Stormtroopers? This will be an interesting crossover." Nickolas nodded to Gallus after watching the trailer, who sighed.
"Oh, you and your deranged Star Wars obsession. Dude, get over the fact that Anakin Skywalker's life is irreparably damaged."
"But in the sixth--"
"No spoilers, Nicky!!"
"Shut up!" he groaned, tossing a pillow at his roommate.]
ns 15.158.61.48da2
