Work Text:
Pete hurries down the side road by Beanies, checking the time on his watch with a wince. He’s nearly five minutes late to meet Steph. The main road from the library to Pasqualli’s is blocked, some roadworks going on that were spilling onto the pavement, forcing him to go the long way around.
He turns out of the alley and onto the street and smiles at the sight of the restaurant across the road. He considers the crossing just a bit down from him but the road is clear so he risks a quick jog across. He’s already late, and using the crossing would add an extra few minutes to cut through the parking lot. Through the window he can catch a glimpse of Steph’s hair and her flannel draped over the back of the chair.
Pete quickly straightens out his jumper and heads inside. The hostess eyes him with boredom and he gives her a nervous smile.
“My, uh, my friend is already seated.” His voice cracks slightly and he winces. The woman shrugs uninterestedly and waves him on.
He weaves through the restaurant towards where he saw Steph sitting. He catches sight of her out of the corner of his eye and lifts his hand in greeting. She isn’t looking in his direction, instead she’s scanning the restaurant, the corners of her lips slightly downturned. Pete hurries over to her and he sees the second she spots him. Her posture straightens and her face breaks out into a grin, one that shows all her teeth. He feels his heart begin to pound and his face flush as he slides into the seat opposite her. He sees her eye his jumper but she doesn’t say anything about his missing bow tie and suspenders. He wonders if she knows it’s because of what she said.
“Pete, you made it.” She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and glances away. “I was getting worried, you get lost?” He smiles back at her sheepishly.
“Sorry, I’m sorry! There were roadworks and I had to go all the way round and-”
“Spankoffski, it’s okay, calm down.” She's laughing but it’s not mean. Steph’s face is soft as she looks up at him through her lashes. “I’m just glad you weren’t having second thoughts about helping me. I’m sure you had other plans for tonight.”
“Just studying with Ruth and Richie. We’re doing a physics project together.” Steph tips her head, her brows furrowed in thought. “Richie is Zeke, the Nighthawks’ mascot. And Ruth does tech for the drama club.” He clarifies and her face clears.
“Oh shit! Yeah, I know, Flemwad and-” Steph cuts herself off with a wince and Pete tries not to react. He knows that Steph is one of the popular kids, it’s hard to miss when they’ve been in the same school since first grade, but it’s easy to forget when talking to her. She grimaces apologetically. “Sorry, bad habit.” She clears her throat. “Yeah, yeah I know them. Physics, huh? I actually have homework from that class I think.” She digs through her bag and slaps a pile of crumpled paper and a beaten up notebook on the table with a smile.
“These are all my notes and assignments.” Pete stares at her, agast.
“Do you just… throw everything in your bag?”
“Well, yeah. Why, what do you do?” Pete pulls his binder from his bag and flips it open in answer and Steph blinks at him.
“Christ, okay.” She cracks her knuckles then waves over a waitress. “I’m guessing you’re serious about this stuff. We’re gonna need some food if you want me to make it through this.” He smiles at her.
“Yeah, I’m serious. That’s why you called me, right?” She looks at him for a long moment.
“Not the only reason.” His face heats and he opens his mouth, ready to ask what she means, but she’s already turning towards the waitress and ordering a variety of appetisers. Pete adjusts his glasses and starts smoothing out Steph's assorted papers as the waitress takes their order and leaves.
“Most of the notes I have with me are for physics, so if you have work from that class we could start with that?” She hums in agreement and takes the papers back from him, flipping through them carelessly. He tries not to wince as he hears something rip. She stops halfway through the stack and drops a blank worksheet in front of him. He turns it to face him and pauses from where he had been flipping through his notes. “Steph, this is chemistry.” Her cheeks flush red and she smiles awkwardly, running a finger down the paper as she reads it.
“Oh shit, I guess it is. Sorry.” He smiles at her but she won’t meet his eyes. He’s fishing around for something to say when a basket of breadsticks is slid in front of him. He looks up to see their waitress, arms laden with plates, standing by their table with an expectant expression. The two of them hurry to push the work aside to make room and he pushes the basket towards Steph.
“Breadstick?” She smiles and takes one, her posture relaxing. He takes a bite of his own and tips his head in thought. “Maybe your issues with chemistry are because you’ve been looking at your physics notes?” She twitches, face briefly startled before it smooths back to her usual nonchalant expression.
“You’re still on that?” Pete’s confusion must show on his face as she elaborates around a mouthful of breadstick. “If I can’t tell physics and chemistry apart then maybe I really am a lost cause. We might as well just enjoy the food instead of you wasting your evening.” He frowns, then cautiously reaches over the table to lay a hand on her arm. She raises an eyebrow but doesn’t move away.
“Hey, you’re not a lost cause.” Her eyes flit away and his frown deepens. “Did someone say-” She shakes her head, cutting him off.
“Maybe we should leave science for now.”
“If you want.” His hand is still on her arm, should he move it? Before he can decide, she carefully shifts her arm away to pour a glass of water and his hand slips off to rest on the table. He clears his throat and adjusts his glasses. “W-well, Miss Mulberry will probably make us redo that pop quiz soon, we could start with that?” Steph pulls a face but nods.
“Alright.”
The two of them quickly fall into a rhythm, covering class material between their easy-flowing conversation. He jolts as he catches sight of his watch out of the corner of his eye, they‘ve been studying together for over two hours now. Steph stops in the middle of her sentence and raises an eyebrow.
“You alright?”
“I didn’t realise how late it is, that's all.” She pats at her pockets, pulling a face as she seemingly comes up empty. He suddenly remembers the reason they’re even studying, her dad took her phone. Steph reaches over the table and takes his wrist, turning it over so she can check the time.
“Oh shit! I didn't even notice.” She pauses. “Do you need to go?” Her hand is warm, her fingers idly rubbing against his wrist. He blinks dumbly at the sight, then turns to meet her eyes.
“Uh, n-no. I was planning on staying in the library until late. I’ve got nowhere else to be.” She smiles and he thinks it looks relieved. Still, just in case. “Do you need to go?” She scoffs. She still hasn’t let go of his wrist.
“Where? Back home? No thanks, I’d rather not have to talk to my dad again today.” Her tone is a harsher one than any he’s heard her use so far. He opens his mouth and she turns away, shaking her head. “Anyway, guess that means we’ve got all night.” His ears burn red, but he steels himself and carefully turns his wrist in her grip so he can intertwine their fingers. Her cheeks turn pink and she stares at him, but she doesn’t move to pull away. He smiles at her.
“Yeah, I guess we do.”