Chapter Text
Lara sat near the front, her focus fixed on the paper in front of her. She chose the front of class as usual—not because she preferred it, but because she realized it made things easier. There were fewer distractions, fewer people surrounding her and interrupting the swift structure of her work.
Her notes were already half a page ahead of the lecture. Much to her dismay, the professor was still explaining something she had read the night before. The slow rotation of the ceiling fan filled the room with a steady, dull hum, combined with the low, constant noise of the classroom. The scribbles of pens scratched her ears, and the other classmates' very faint coughs further disrupted what little quiet the room offered.
The faint click of the classroom doors echoed, cutting through the lecture. Swift and uneven rhythm of footsteps followed. Late. The presence drew closer to Lara, and it registered a few moments too late. Movement, presence, something slightly out of rhythm with everything else in the classroom. Then Lara glanced to the side.
Out of her peripheral vision, recognition came first, not curiosity. She’d seen the person before. Same lecture, occasionally across the library, sometimes passing through halls, laughing with someone Lara didn’t recognize. Not often, but she saw her enough to place her without thinking too hard about it.
That was all.
Her name was…Sam. That was it.
“You’re in this class too, right?” Sam hurriedly made conversation to appear busy, still out of breath from rushing to the lecture.
Lara paused, briefly hovering her pen over the page before continuing. The pause lasted a second too long to be entirely intentional.
“...Yes.” She was short, sufficient, just enough to get through the random conversation.
Sam didn’t look away, keeping attention fully on Lara. That, more than anything, Lara noticed. Sam stayed attentively focused on her, eyes narrowing as if she were trying to analyze her.
“You're kind of…intense, y'know that?”
Lara let Sam’s evaluation sit between them for a moment. She then turned her head fully over to address Sam.
“...I’m taking notes,” Lara said as if it were obvious; they were in a lecture after all. Her tone made it clear the conversation wasn't necessary.
Sam let out a soft laugh, her sleeve covering her mouth as she giggled. “Yeah. Like your life depends on it.”
Lara sat blankly under her remark, not responding immediately. The sound carried just a little too easily in the quiet room. Instead, she turned her attention back to her notebook, continuing where she left off in her notes. Her pen pressed harder into the page than it needed to. She wasn’t sure why the conversation continued, considering most people stopped after that. Sam didn’t. That, more than anything, was distracting.
Suddenly, the room quieted further. The professor's voice boomed through the air, announcing a sudden shift in topics, ending the note-taking session.
“With the notes you took independently, the project will be shifting into duo presentations—” Lara tuned it out from the back of her mind almost immediately, already knowing where this was headed. There would be group work, collaborative presentation, and—once again, Lara would be left alone. She didn’t even look up from her desk.
Suddenly, a voice chimed in.
“We can just work together.”
Lara blinked once. Her head jolted over, glancing at Sam's desperate smile next to her. She hesitated. She was shocked at how easily it had been decided for her.
“Alright.”
It made sense, after all. They knew each other, albeit very briefly, had the same classes, and of course, Lara had no partner. It couldn’t hurt; that was all.
The loud conversation of pairs forming around Lara gave her a typical migraine, and she was relieved to hear her professor dismiss everyone shortly after.
There wasn’t much discussion after that. Somehow, Lara found herself at the campus library with Sam. It was the obvious place.
Once again, silence calmed Lara’s senses. The library felt quieter than usual, despite the fact that they had just been dismissed from class for group study. Fewer groups lingered than she expected, leaving the space open in a way that felt unfamiliar to Lara. The subtle, ambient noise of the old lights flickering and the faint pages flipping filled the library, followed them as they looked around for a spot to study.
Finally, locating a secluded table, Lara and Sam sat across from each other, though the position didn’t last long. Lara soon found herself closer than she preferred next to Sam, close enough that it was harder to ignore her. The space between them narrowed without either of them acknowledging it. The space shifted gradually—their books were right next to each other, almost pushing their respective supplies out of the way. Their chairs were turned outward from the small table, their knees almost touching at this rate, and Sam’s notes full in Lara’s view. Her notes were—messy, to say the least. Not horribly unusable, just… inconsistent. Lara caught a discrepancy in her writing and made sure to help out.
“You missed a section.”
“Did I?”
Lara reached her hand across the table to Sam’s page without thinking. She pointed to the missing area. Sam's supplies seemed very old: things like markers down to the last drop, reused folders.
“Right…here.”
Sam leaned into the table, brushing against Lara’s arm across her space.
“Fix it for me, then.”
Lara’s shoulders tensed, and she scoffed slightly.
“...You could do it yourself.” The assumption caught her more off guard than the request itself.
“I could…” Sam trailed off. “But you're already looking at it.”
Lara didn’t respond; she quickly brought herself to help with Sam’s work.
It was easier that way, of course.
She had no reason to start any trouble. Sam smiled at Lara’s willingness. They sat together for an unspecified amount of time, with Lara mainly fixing Sam’s egregious notes.
Eventually, the conversation stopped being strictly about the assignment. Lara didn’t notice when; she just followed whatever Sam said, her mind more focused on completing the work.
“So, do you actually enjoy this or—”
“Yes.” Lara quickly responded.
“That wasn’t even the full question.”
“It didn’t need to be. I said yes. I meant it.”
Sam smiled at Lara’s bluntness. Lara noticed her smile and refused to comment on it. Instead, her hand reached across the table once again to grab a pen, accidentally brushing Sam’s hand in the process. Accidental, of course. Brief. Just long enough to register. Neither of them reacted. It didn’t matter. Lara adjusted her pen grip anyway, continuing their session, and quickly pulled into action again.
A few minutes later, Lara looked up from her notebook once more. Sam had been staring, leaning slightly forward; her attention was most definitely nowhere near the notes.
“...What?” Lara didn’t like being looked at that directly. Not without a reason.
“Nothing.” The answer came far too quickly to mean it.
It didn’t feel like nothing.
Time slipped by around them, the library growing smaller and smaller as the minutes went by. Chairs emptied one by one, conversations faded into something quieter. Fewer people. Softer sounds. Less chatter. Even Lara’s notes had slowed. She was less focused.
Sam leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms in an exaggerated motion, almost hitting Lara in their confined space. She glanced back at her face.
“You ever leave the library?”
Lara blinked. “Of course.”
“I feel like every time I see you, you're here.”
Lara sat quietly. That wasn’t inaccurate, really.
Sam closed her torn notebook. “Though I did drag you here, so I guess it doesn’t count, huh?”
“I guess so.”
“Come on, take a break.”
“We’re not done.” Lara frowned.
“We will be.” Sam stood up, waiting for Lara, watching as her eyes looked above through her eyebrows, glaring directly at her.
Sam waited.
Lara thought she should say no. They had work to do. Notes to finish. Time wasn’t meant to be wasted. Lara looked to her open page, then to Sam, then the page, then Sam again. She should say no. This wasn’t productive. It wasn’t necessary. And yet—
“Just for a bit,” Lara hesitated. Suddenly, none of it felt as urgent as it should have.