Twenty-Years Ago

Andrew hesitated. He raised his hand to knock on the door but then stopped. He had been debating whether or not he should knock for the past five minutes.

He was sure he could convince her that he just came by to wish her a Merry Christmas and tell her to have a good break.

That sounded kinda stupid though.

But Andrew Hayes was desperate, very desperate.

She hadn't agreed to go on a date with him all semester long. She'd turned down every single advance he'd ever made.

But then again, his advances consisted of walking her to class, buying her coffee and stealing the cookies out of her lunch when she wasn't looking.

He wasn't sure if it'd be different this time.

Letting out a long sigh, he knocked. Twice.

He crossed his fingers as the door opened, slowly. His mouth parted and his eyes widened. Every time, all the time, she managed to take his breath away. He wasn't sure why or how.

She just did.

"Um, hi?" He smiled at her, acting like he wasn't nervous. He was though, he was extremely nervous.

He mentally palmed his forehead. Um, hey? That was a great start. It was no wonder she hadn't agreed to go on a date with him all semester.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Anisha raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Andrew knocking on her door, a little past ten at night.

Clearly, she hadn't been expecting any visitors considering the fact she was dressed in her gray Mickey Mouse pajamas and her hair in a messy bun.

She had planned on spending her night studying, cramming, for her OChem final. There was a list of reactions she hadn't even started memorizing yet.

Andrew gave her a small nod, smirking as he eyed her outfit.

He sure as fuck didn't feel as confident as he was acting to be.

He had to get that date.

"I just got out of Physics. I finished my final a little early and I thought I'd visit my favorite study buddy." He gave her a smile, an easy kind of smile, enough to make her swoon.

He simpered again, looking at her Mickey Mouse pajamas as then back at her as she quickly looked away, a tinge of red coloring her cheeks. "Nice outfit."

Anisha folded her arms across her chest. "Shut up. My mom bought them for me." She looked back at him. There was a hint of tease in his sparkly blue eyes. She gave him a smirk of her own and narrowed her eyes at him. "Besides, I'm not the one who has Batman underwear."

"And how do you know what kind of underwear I have?" He smiled, slyly this time. His raised an eyebrow at her, teasing her, watching as her eyes widened and she shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I'm just kidding Anisha. But you know, if wanted to see me in my..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Anisha punched his arm, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing furiously.

"Ouch! You're always hitting me." Andrew pretended like her small punch hurt as he continued to rub his arm.

"What did you get on the Econ final?" She tried to make it sound like she wasn't too eager. Anisha slightly hoped he had failed. Not like failed, failed. But just like a lower grade than her.

It wouldn't even matter if he had failed the final. He already had the highest grade in the class.

All semester long, her only goal had been to score higher than Andrew Hayes on an exam.

Just once. She just wanted to get a higher grade than him.

"98."

She gave him a wide smile. Maybe she had finally succeeded. Her voice was filled with accomplishment.

"98 out of 150?" She stuck her tongue out at him, childishly. "Haha, loser. I got a 99."

"No, 98 percent." He gave her an arrogant smile as her eyes widened.

"98 percent? Percent? Like out of a 100 percent?" Anisha shook her head with irritation. She should've known. There was no way she or anyone else could score higher than Andrew.

"I'm pretty sure that's how percents work." He laughed, a hint of arrogance around him as she rolled her eyes at him.

School, Andrew was good with that. School was one of the few things he was good at. But Anisha? He hadn't been able to get her to go on a date with him. That he was not good at.

"98 percent? How? I really hate you." She narrowed her eyes at him, playfully. Anisha had gotten a 99.

A 99 out of 150. It was a little over 60 percent. She felt silly for thinking she had finally gotten a higher grade than him. Now, she was sure she wasn't going to be getting an A in Econ. It would all be Andrew's fault considering the fact that he had set the curve so high.

He leaned against the door. "Lies, you secretly love me."

"If you're done boasting, you can leave now. I have my OChem Final tomorrow." She stepped to the side, letting him see her messy dorm.

Papers were thrown everywhere in a pathetic attempt to memorize all the reactions she was supposed to. Even though she had all semester to do so, Anisha found herself trying to memorize all the reactions she needed to the night before her final.

She rubbed her forehead, in irritation. It was definitely going to be a long night.

"Do you want some help studying?"

"You haven't even taken General Chem yet?" She yawned, her eyes blurry as she looked back around her small dorm, debating if she should even bother studying or just go to sleep, hoping on the fact that the final would be curved.

She was tired. Very tired. And stressed.

He shrugged, smirking. "How hard could it possibly be? Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Acids, Bases, electrons, protons. Basic shit."

"Cocky ass." She mumbled as she waved for him to leave. She needed to study. She should study.

Otherwise, her mother would surely give her a mouthful over break as to how unmotivated and lazy Anisha was.

"Wait Anisha, I...I um...what are you doing over break?" He stared at her, eyes wide with expectation. He had spoken without thinking, his words jumbled together.

He was just getting more and more nervous. But he really wanted that date.

Being around Anisha, it was easy. It was natural.

He really, really liked her. And maybe, it could be something more. He really wanted it to be something more.

"I'm going home on Saturday. My dad's picking me up Saturday morning."

Andrew nodded, he already knew that. "Um, are you free tomorrow night?"

"Not really. I just have to finish packing. I'm staying in an apartment next semester." Anisha shrugged as she yawned again.

It had been a long and tiring semester. She really needed a long break. And maybe a mug of hot chocolate.

"Do you want to hang out? I mean, as a date. A date date. Like with me." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated, so much for being confident. "Fuck, I don't know what I'm saying. There's a coffee shop downtown. I think. Fuck."

He stared back at her, her brown eyes filled with wonder and a small smile on her lips. He really wanted a chance, just one chance at least, with her.

Andrew let out a deep sigh, trying to control his nervousness and stop stuttering on every word.

"Will you go on a date with me?"

He could feel his heart beating, erratically, skipping a beat as he waited for her to answer.

"Andrew, I..." Anisha wasn't sure.

Sure, Andrew was fun to be around. She really did like being around him. But dating, she wasn't sure if she was ready to date again.

It had been quite a few months since Sebastian had broken things off with her. She was over it. That was for sure.

But dating, she wasn't sure if she wanted to date again. Even if Andrew Hayes was fun to be around. Even if he made her stomach flutter with butterflies. She wasn't too sure yet.

For now, she just wanted to focus to school.

"One date, just one date. I heard they have really good chocolate muffins." He stuck out his lower lip, almost pouting.

Anisha smiled, nodding slowly. She liked being around him. He was different, a good kind of different.

"Okay, fine but only because I really want a muffin. And you have buy me hot chocolate."

Andrew looked taken back, surprised. He really hadn't expected her to say yes.

"I'll pick you up at seven."He smiled, his eyes shining as she shook her head, laughing as she closed the door.

He let out a small whoop as the door closed. He still couldn't believe that she finally agreed to go on a date with him.

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Hi guys! I'll post the next chapter on Tuesday around 3 pm PST. I didn't want to post it today because no one wants to be sad on Christmas lol :)