You're standing just outside the house of Daniel Lockwood ("don't call me Dan").
You've known Daniel since you both started at secondary school. Admittedly you didn't know him very well; all you knew was that he was a bit of a geek, he was quiet and withdrawn, and he was actually kind of attractive. You exchanged a few words on a few occasions, but that was as far as your interaction went.
But the other day you were wandering around your university campus and bumped into him again. Turns out he decided to go there too - he's studying chemistry. Makes sense, he was always a bit of a scientist.
You talked for a while and exchanged numbers. Soon you got to know each other a bit better and decided you should meet up. So he's invited you over to his house, which is where you are now.
It's a pretty impressive house, for a student; apparently it used to belong to his uncle, who moved to Japan and left him the property. A nice semi-detached, red brick, a garage which he doesn't use (his motorbike's chained to a rail outside), and plenty of room within - or so you think.
You raise your hand to the door. You don't see a bell, so you just knock three times. A few seconds later the door opens and Daniel appears.
He's looking... well, pretty damn good, actually. His hair is very dark brown, and not so much long as really, really thick. He studies you through his rectangular geek glasses with piercing green eyes. He's wearing a black long-sleeved T-shirt (with a slogan which is probably hilarious to anyone who knows what a bridging ligand is) and black jeans.
"Hi," he says quickly. He's a little bit nervous; makes sense, you suppose. He was always a bit shy.
"Hi!" you say. "Nice house!"
"Thanks," he replies. There are a few seconds of awkward silence. "Oh, come in. Do come in."
He leads you through to the living room, where he's already prepared several large jugs of liquid. He gestures to the jugs.
"I'm afraid I don't have any alcohol. But I've got some juice here. Orange, apple, mango, apple AND mango, grape..." The list goes on.
"Some orange juice would be nice," you say.
"Sure. One orange juice coming up." He pours a glass of orange-yellow juice for you and some deep red liquid for himself. "Have a seat," he says, pointing to the sofa.
You do so, and take the opportunity to assess your surroundings. Daniel has books. Lots of books. There's actually one wall you literally can't see, because it's covered in bookshelves. The Encyclopaedia Britannica. The Oxford English Dictionary. The Complete Chemist. Just a few of the titles you see.
Your observation has not gone unnoticed by Daniel.
"Bit of a bookworm," he says.
"No shit!" you reply. You both laugh a little.
Another awkward silence. Then Daniel speaks up again. "So, what now?" |