Work Text:
Joel was a lot of things.
Tall. Handsome. Smart. A feminist.
But he was also, unfortunately, a coward and an introvert.
Which is why he's been stealing glances at the cute girl at his univesity's library instead of talking to her.
She has long pink hair, tied up into braids. A notebook and laptop open. Scrawling notes with a wobbly pink pen with a flower on top. With every movement she made, the flower bounced around.
It was hypontising.
She was hypnotising.
Her nose occasionally scrunched up in confusion.
Someone had bumped into her chair earlier. Instead of being mad, she made sure that they were okay. When they offered a drink to apologise, she politely declined, then firmly declined when they insisted.
The nerve of some people.
That's why Joel was only looking from afar.
Gem sat down next to him with a loud thunk, as her backpack met the hard floor below the long table he was sitting at.
"Jesus, Gem," Joel hissed. Despite it being a library, the two of them were studying in one of the "collaborative spaces". So thankfully their noise didn't draw them much attention.
"It's not my fault you were daydreaming," Gem rolled her eyes. She unzipped her backpack and started unpacking her own study materials, "By the way. Did you ever do Maths IB? Because I swear that professor is trying to kill me,"
"Whatever happened to Gemini Slay, High Distinction Superstar?" Joel quirked his eyebrow.
"Gemini Slay had to do maths, that's what," Gem said. The two sat in silence. Seeing Gem pull up her maths assignment on her laptop inspired him to do the same.
Or try to.
The pink haired girl shook her head, drawing Joel's attention towards her immediately. The girl pulled out some white-out from a fluffy pencil case that she had sitting on the table, as she aggressively removed the mistake from her notebook.
He was rudely interupted by a slap upside the head.
"What on earth, Gem!" Joel complained.
"You're being weird. Who are you staring at anyway?" Gem tried to look in the direction Joel was looking earlier.
"No, stop. Shut up. You're making it weirder," Joel tried to get into her line of sight, but all it achieved was starting a fight.
One of the librarians approached the duo during this kerfuffle, "This is a library. I need you both to behave or leave,"
"We'll behave! Won't we, Gem,"
"Of course. Perfect angels from now on," Gem gives the librarian a smile.
Warily, the librarian walked away. Taking another quick look, the girl looked mildly amused by the entire situation.
At least someone found the situation funny.
The duo sat back down and continued their studies. Mostly.
"Was it a girl?" Gem whispered.
"Ssssshh," Joel shushed.
"You should just talk to her. Women like it when you talk to them," Gem said.
"And I'm sure you and Pearl are happily in a relationship then," Joel snapped.
Gem went quiet. The two sat in relative silence, the scratching of pens and clicking of keyboards being the only noises produced.
"That was harsh, sorry" Joel said.
"It's fine," Gem said, "but seriously. Think about it,"
Joel did think about it.
A lot.
He didn't get a lot of sleep last night.
As a feminist, he didn't want to be seen as weird.
The girl isn't studying there to start dating someone. She's there to study! What kind of feminist would he be to approach her like that?
So he had to get her to make the first move.
He had rummaged through his desk drawers for ideas until he spotted something.
Stickers.
Specifically, old laptop stickers he had never used.
Well, it looked like he had finally found a use for them.
Joel arrived to the library the next day. After spotting the pink hair in a similar spot to yesterday, he set up his study materials.
Including his laptop.
Proudly displaying stickers that say "GRL PWR" and "the future is female".
This showcases one of his many qualities. He already had handsome and tall down - Lizzie didn't seem to be using any assistive technology that would indicate that she was blind. So it was time to showcase his feminism.
For once he did get some work done. Hopeful that his laptop would do all of the talking for him. Between questions, Joel looked over at the girl, taking note of all of her laptop stickers. She had a few band stickers, her own "girl power" sticker and a bi flag.
Bi. Of course.
He can't just rely on being a feminist. He needs to show that he's not a bigot.
"I like the new stickers," Gem says, startling Joel from his daydreaming.
"Does it make me look more attractive?" Joel asked, tussling his hair in an obviously sexy way.
"No, it makes you look like a twat. Just talk to her," Gem rolled her eyes, sitting down next to Joel.
"Or I could get her to come to me. I can't offend her this way," Joel points out.
Gem stares at him, "Do you remember the first words you said to me?"
"Uh, something about being partners??"
"You said, and I quote, "oi red, wanna pair up,""
"Well obviously I didn't mean relationship-wise. We were in class together. Besides you look very…" Joel trails off.
"Very?"
"Lesbian,"
Gem opened her mouth as if to protest, but was caught off-guard by the carebiner attatched to her jeans and the green flannel she had thrown on today. Joel could see the cogs turning in her brain, before she finally settles on, "Okay, straightie,"
"Fair," Joel shrugs. The two fall into silence once more as they continue their studies.
"Talk to her,"
"This could work!" Joel insists.
Gem rolls her eyes.
A few days later, Joel purchased some queer ally stickers from one of the political clubs at the university. After narrowly avoiding other events the members were pushing, he slapped the stickers on his laptop and went back to the library.
The girl wasn't always there, presumably at classes or at home. But when she was, she almost always sat in the same spot.
So he was disappointed when he arrived and didn't see her there, but started on studying anyway.
He was going to finish this assignment or die trying.
He had missed when the girl had first entered, but he definitely didn't miss her set up, as her laptop had started blaring a song she was obviously listening to last night.
She hastily muted her laptop. Joel tried to give her a kind smile. It was the kind of mistake that anyone could make.
The girl smiled back, making Joel's heart skip a beat or 20.
But she quickly got stuck into her own work, leaving Joel to replay the song snippet over and over in his head. It sounded so familiar but he couldn't quite place it. It was only as he was humming it that he finally had that lightbulb moment.
It was his favourite band, Armor Stands. A indie rock band that frequently played at the university's pub. They had become just popular enough to sell small merch items, like keyrings and stickers.
Which Gem definitely has.
Beanz: GEM
Beanz: GEN
Beanz: DO YOU HAVE THAT ARMOR STANDS STICKER FROM THEIR LAST CONCERT
GeminiSlay: yeah why?
Beanz: LIBRARY GIRL LIKES THEM TOO
Beanz: I NEED TO WOO HER
Beanz: SHE OBVIOUSLY HAS GOOD TASTE
GeminiSlay: just because she has good music taste doesn't mean she has good taste in men
Beanz: >:(
GeminiSlay: i'll bring them tomorrow, hold your horses
Beanz: LIFE SAVOUR
Beanz: I'll even ignore your horse comment because I'm so nice
GeminiSlay: right…
Joel was all set up at the library. Gem had announced that she had just arrived on campus. All he needs to do it wait.
Patiently.
Joel was many things but he wasn't very patient. He had almost bolted out of his seat at the arrival of Gem.
"There you are," Joel greeted, "do you have my sticker?"
"Hi Joel. Yeah I'm doing great Joel, how are you?" Gem said sarcastically.
"Yeah yeah. Sticker please," Joel held out his hand.
"Fine," Gem pressed some stickers into his awaiting hand, "I got you some other ones. Thought it might help,"
"See, I knew you'd come around," Joel grinned, before turning them around and spotting two rather large stickers.
The first was a vine reference sticker. It had an outline of the boy with the text "Hey. I think you're really cool. I like you a lot. Maybe we could hang out or something".
The second one just had the words "To the girl with the pink hair".
"Is this not a bit, on the nose?" Joel's voice definitely didn't crack.
"This sticker game has gone on long enough. At least this one is more direct. Just try it,"
"Fine," Joel huffs, "but if I get yelled at, I'm blaming you,"
"Fine fine. Now scoot. I missed yesterday's lecture," Gem said, setting her bag down in the ground.
Shuffling, Joel closed his laptop long enough to place both the Armor Stands sticker and the vine sticker. Chucking the backing of them in the bottom of his backpack, he opened it back up and got to work.
He was quickly interrupted by someone clearing her throat.
He looked up, and the library girl was standing in front of him.
"Is this about me?" She asked, pointing at the newest sticker.
Joel wasn't exactly proud of how quickly his entire face turned red.
"I mean yes. But not in a weird way. In a very respectful way," Joel stuttered.
Gem snorted next to him, but he tried not to pay her any mind.
"I have to go to class now, but I was wondering if you wanted this. You know. So we could hang out or something," the girl said, passing over small, folded piece of paper.
Opening it up had both her name and her phone number.
Lizzie.
"Definitely," Joel smiled. It was only as Lizzie walked away when he realised that he had forgotten to tell her HIS name.
Thankfully, ever patient wingwoman Gem, came to his aid.
"HIS NAME IS JOEL BY THE WAY!" Gem yells towards Lizzie's retreating figure.
"THANK YOU!" Lizzie yells back.
"I owe you one," Joel says.
"You owe me, like, seven," Gem rolled her eyes, "But it's okay. I'll make it even if you give me your firstborn child."
"Deal,"
Beanz: what if I told you that Lizzie knows Pearl
Beanz: and for being so nice and helping me out
Beanz: she can arrange a double date
GeminiSlay:
GeminiSlay: when and where