Chapter Text
You’re probably in over your head in this class. Why did you choose a 200 level class to complete your math gen ed course? It was even worse that you chose Statistic II, completely skipping over Statistics I, you’re surprised the university even let you do that. You registered late and there were not many classes available, thinking back you should have just waited until next semester to complete your math gen ed. Either way you are here, in the CompSci building, every Monday and Wednesday, from 12:00 PM to 1:45 PM, surrounded by people who probably know what they’re doing compared to you. Still, you’re not one to throw in the towel, and you definitely do not want your money to go to waste, so you try your best to understand statistics.
It is still really hard, you are in the middle of the semester with constant terms being thrown around that you don’t know, and the professor not explaining certain concepts in detail because they were “covered it Stats I”. Almost every class you leave with your head feeling physically heavy with the amount of new information you learned, and a list of terms to look up so your homework assignment doesn’t just sound like gibberish. Though, in the midst of all this stress there is one thing outside of your own determination to pass that keeps you from giving up on the class entirely. That being your classmate, Mac.
You’ve noticed them since the first day of class, already seated inside the classroom, being the first person to show up with you being the second. Aside from that they definitely stood out from the rest of your classmates. Having this computery aesthetic with their wheelchair and glasses looking like RGB lights, the back cushion of their wheelchair resembling a monitor, not to mention they wore almost all black daily, with short or folded up sleeves, displaying the sleeve tattoos they have on each arm. Mac tended to sit around the edges of the middle rows in class, near an outlet to charge the laptop they always had out. Constantly doing something it, occasionally taking notes but often it was something unrelated to class. Random articles they read, cat videos, chats with what you assume are their friends opened, some smart-looking graphs that you assume are analytics (of what though??), and what you are sure is a livestream of their pet mouse in a cage chilling back in their dorm.
Other than appearance they participated the most in class, with how often they knew the answers to questions you would have guessed they already took this course. Mac seemed so smart but also effortlessly cool, always having a neutral, yet friendly, expression on them. You might have a bit of a crush on them… though you convince yourself nothing will ever happen and Mac can just serve as some eye candy for this class until the semester ends. You say this, yet you have actively made the effort to sit in any row in front of them each class or else you find yourself staring at them, losing focus and only regaining full attention to class when they participate.
You doubt you would have ever said a word to Mac until one day at the end of class your professor announced the midterm will be a group project presentation, it was a small project so only groups of two. You sat directly in front of Mac that day, not by choice as you usually sat a few more seats or rows away to avoid them distracting you, but thank god you did. You watched as your classmates started those awkward introductions while asking to be partners and you were about to do the same with the person next to you when you heard Mac’s voice behind you.
“Hey Y/N, would you like to collaborate on the project with me?” You turned to the sound of their voice and see Mac giving you a friendly smile.
For JUST a second, you didn’t say anything, this was the first time you were face to face with them, and they were looking straight back at you, and they knew your name, and they wanted to work with you.
You quickly snapped out of your thoughts. “Oh… yeah okay”
“Great, do you mind if we exchange numbers? We can also go over where and when to get started. My schedule is fairly empty this week, how about you?”
You wrote down your number and handed it to them. “I’m a little busy this week with the midterms for my other classes. Is it okay if we meet up tomorrow? It allows us to get started as soon as possible and I can make an appointment for one of the study rooms at the library. One of the ones with a small projector so we can also practice presenting whatever progress we make.”
Mac smiled seemed to grow a little bigger, but that was probably your imagination. “Sounds like a productive plan, I’ll text you later to ask which study room you were able to schedule”, they answered. With that you both exchanged goodbyes and went on your separate ways.
You walked to your next class feeling like you were on cloud nine. You tried remembering every detail of their face while replaying everything you two said. It felt like you just got asked out, nope, don’t think about it like that. Remember, unlike you, Mac knew what they were doing in class and were definitely cable of doing this project alone if they cou—
Oh shit.
It finally dawned on you that you are going to do this project with Mac. The smartest person in your class is your project partner and tomorrow you two are going to work together and Mac will see how little you actually know about statistics. They’re going to become frustrated when they find out their project partner is someone who is just barely getting by. You have a lot of studying and research to do before tomorrow.
.
.
.
Little did you know, Mac was just as excited about being partners.
During the first day of class, Mac also noticed you, they thought you were cute and would have left it at that until you sat a row ahead of them 2 days later. They noticed your laptop, everything so clearly labeled and categorized, organized. You took notes with such precision, unlike other students you were not furiously typing, you broke down the material in such a clear manner, structured. Later, Mac would often see you going up to the professor after class to ask follow up questions, inquisitive. In a few instances they saw you at the library, studying for your courses, dedicated. Mac could tell there was more to you than your cute face, they wanted to see that, and this project was a great opening.
Though, that didn’t mean they weren’t nervous themselves. They felt you two would click if y’all just got closer, but in their mind you allowing them in meant proving to you that you’re both equals. Mac was confident in their abilities, in the proper setting they could possibly even sweep you off your feet(figuratively) with their intelligence. But, after your first official conversation something became clear to them, they became, as others have put it: stupid with love. Their heart skipped a beat when you finally made eye contact and hearing you come up with such an efficient plan so quickly made their face feel red, god they hoped it wasn’t obvious.
Nonetheless, Mac finally got their chance to be alone with you, talking and working one-on-one, and they are ready to make a superb impression.