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“Okay, which one is she?” the slight British man questioned as he looked around. This crowd of science nerds was definitely not his scene, but he was happy to help his best friend and roommate use his self-proclaimed ‘impeccable gay-dar’ to feel out if her newest crush had any sapphic leanings. The pre-semester mixer’s free booze wasn’t hurting either.
The tiny brunette’s eyes swept the room and tried to find the perfect blonde curls above the mass of mostly bespectacled heads, but came up empty.
“I don’t see her. Maybe she’s not coming,” she sighed.
“Well, let’s not waste this opportunity. Run some pick-up lines by me.”
“Um.. You’re accent is really hot. I read your paper on host-parasite relationships and was totally blown away. I’ve never actually met or talked to you but I think you’re sure gorgeous and amazing and your hair smells so good.”
“Christ, Cosima, you wanna scare her away forever or actually get in her pants?”
The brunette sighed. She’d been completely smitten with the French woman who had caught her eye in her microbiology lab a semester earlier. Her thesis had captured her attention and later, finding out that the same brilliant mind belonged to the most gorgeous women she had ever set eyes on left her enamored.
Just as she had given up hope that the blonde would be a no show, she saw her practically floating through the double doors of the science wing. Delphine hastily grabbed a glass of sparkling wine from a tray of a passing server, looking out of place and awkward even among the gaggle of science geeks.
“She’s here, Fe! Right over there,” Cosima gestured.
“Wow,” he released a breath. “Damn girl. It makes total sense now. Okay, what’s the game plan?”
“You could introduce us… and we could casually strike up a conversation?” she suggested.
“Your wish is my command.”
Felix grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her over to the blonde.
“Hi,” he said unceremoniously to the surprised blonde. “I’m Felix and this is Cosima. We were scoping out the ‘normals’ of this party, and wanted to know what brings you here.”
Delphine looked confused but instantly recognized Cosima Niehaus, the rising star of the biology department and flushed slightly at her gaze.
“I, erm, am in the immunology department. My name is Delphine,” she thrust her hand out to Felix who nimbly shook it, scoping out the firmness of her handshake and analyzing her fingernails. She offered her hand to Cosima, shyly running her eyes over the petite brunette’s colorful dress, scarf, and multiple bracelets adorning her wrists.
“Oh! Delphine as in Cormier?” Cosima feigned ignorance as she took her hand. “You’re French, right? You know if you ever need help translating any science-y stuff, I’m totally available for that kind of thing.”
Delphine felt a slow burn rise across the back of her neck. Pompous American ass. Is she insulting my English? Did she read my paper and find it lacking? Her mouth formed a grim line as she looked out among the crowd and pretended to remember an important appointment.
“Forgive me, I need to step out. I just realized I was supposed to meet someone.” She ducked her head and muttered a brisk “Nice to meet you” and was out the door in a flash.
“Okay, those were not the pick up lines we rehearsed, Cos,” Felix pointedly reminded when the blonde was completely out of earshot.
Cosima groaned.
Stupid overly, excited mouth, she admonished herself.
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What would make her think there’s a problem with the way I wrote my thesis?
Delphine’s blood was boiling now, even in the cool night air. She had found herself staring at the brunette during their shared molecular biology class last semester hoping she might have the courage to ask her to meet outside of class. She had been intrigued by the outspoken girl, who seemed to be just as genuinely passionate about science as she was. It was rare to find someone with the intelligence to carry on conversations about her favorite topics in their shared field. Now she was glad she never took the risk to befriend her.
She knew going to the pre-semester mixer would be a mistake, and had foolishly convinced herself that she should get out, and try to make some friends. Or perhaps that was the ever-present echo of her mother’s voice in her head. She much preferred curling up on her comfortable couch with her favorite book in hand to any sort of social gathering. She vowed to stay away from the awkward and forced school events from now on.
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“Scott, dude, I’ll do anything. I’ll bring beer to Runewars night for, like, ever,” Cosima implored. She had been attempting to bribe her friend and TA of her upcoming lab since the moment she had accidentally insulted Delphine.
“Cosima, it’s a self directed lab. It’s not like I can just change the format all willy-nilly! It doesn’t even make sense for it to be partnered!”
“Buddy, I’ll do anything. I’ll bring pot brownies. I’ll bring my future, totally amazing, French girlfriend to game night. I’ll knit Denise a cat sweater.”
There was a long pause at the end of the line.
“Okay, but not wool. That’ll probably make Denise uncomfortable. Synthetic yarn only.”
“Deal.” Cosima was elated.
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Delphine entered her genetics lab a few minutes early and found an empty table near the center of the room. She had spent the last several days since her failed social outing decompressing with a long queue of documentaries and a few bottles of wine. She was glad to fully immerse herself in the very full schedule she carefully created. Throwing herself into school had been the most natural and calming part of her life since she was a young girl.
She noticed a familiar face nervously shuffling papers at the front of the class, and scanning the room warily.
Sean.. or Scott? He was in several of her classes last semester and though he seemed totally harmless and sweet, she was almost positive he was good friends with Cosima. Cosima, her now sworn enemy, who had implied her intellect was lacking enough that she might need help with her thesis. She inhaled deeply and talked herself down. She had spent the last few days swearing that she would not let the dreadlocked girl affect her anymore (than she already had).
As if on cue, the object of her thoughts burst through the lab room’s door with such fanfare, her entrance caused Delphine to look up. The blonde hastily averted her eyes and pretended to study a fascinating smudge on the floor.
Oh god please don’t let her sit with me. Please. Please. I will even start being a believer after this.
Clearly, Delphine’s prayers went unheard, as Cosima hurriedly slid into the empty stool next to her.
“Heeeeeey. Delphine, right?” the brunette grinned as she began unloading her notebook and pens from her messenger bag.
“Um, yes, I was saving this seat—“ she began but was interrupted by a very relieved looking Scott.
“Hi all, welcome to the Genetics, Genomics, and Development lab. We are switching things up a bit, and instead of a self directed lab that corresponds with your lecture, we will be working together in pairs. Your current table mate will be your partner for the entire semester. You will be working together in class to run experiments as well as meeting outside of class on your own time to analyze your results and collaborate on reports.” Scott finished his rehearsed monologue and quickly added, “You should take the rest of the class to look over the syllabus and determine when you will meet to write reports. I am available to answer any questions.”
He slyly looked at Cosima and gave a slight nod.
Damn. He really knocked this one out of the park.
Delphine blanched at the thought of having to meet with her pretentious enemy and looked around the room for another lab partner. All the other students had paired up and were enthusiastically making plans to meet.
She was jolted from her exit strategy as Cosima spoke.
“So.. I’m finished with most of my classes by 4, and I’m totally free all day Saturday and Sunday. Any of those sound good to you?” she glanced hopefully at the blonde, looking for any sign of interest.
“Actually, I think it would be better if we worked independently and then submitted our results to each other via email.”
Cosima visibly wilted, faltering for the second time from the French beauty’s words.
“Well, yeah I suppose we could do that. But I think at the very least we should set a weekly note swapping and report writing date to go over everything in person. I’m pretty serious about my grade in this class..” Cosima trailed off, feebly attempting to secure at least one extracurricular coffee date.
Great! So she thinks I’ll lower her GPA just by being near her. Delphine stewed.
“Why don’t we email first, and if it seems like we need to meet, we can schedule a time later. I wouldn’t want to bog you down anyway,” she tactfully responded, as she gathered her belongings and slipped out of the class.
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Not one to give up instantly, Cosima diligently emailed her first set of lab results to Delphine’s assigned college email address, adding a her availability for meeting, and received no response. The next week, she emailed a particularly vague explanation of results with a cheery “I’d be happy to explain more in person” to which Delphine took as yet another affront to her intellect and refused to acknowledge.
Finally, after several weeks of little to no response and a particularly frustrating “Got it, thanks” she purposely left out pertinent information just to see if Delphine was even reading her emails. She checked her email for a reply, letting out a discouraged grumble. She formed a half baked plan and finally fell asleep, with the French woman at the forefront of her dreams.
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After a particularly quiet lab session, Delphine moved to pack up her bag and dart out of class, not noticing Cosima slowly packing her bag next to her. The brunette perked up when she heard a muttered “See you next week” as opposed to the icy silence she had received the past few weeks. Delphine was so preoccupied with getting out of the lab and away from Cosima, she failed to notice that the object of her malice was quietly trailing a few meters behind her.
Not a stalker, just getting to know her. Maybe figuring out where she studies so that we can bump into each other, work on our report, and both get a good grade. For science!
She grinned as she watched Delphine slip into the university’s library, and expertly took the stairs two at a time to make her way to the third floor, the least utilized of the entire building.
Delphine knew that hiding out among the oldest reference books in the upper reaches of the school’s library was probably a totally unnecessary and, admittedly, a little immature precaution against running into Cosima, but it was a risk she was willing to take to avoid her lab partner. She couldn’t place why the other woman’s disdain had made such an impact on her thoughts, but she didn’t want to spend anymore time with her to find out.
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“Delphine! Hi. I’m so glad I ran into you. I was thinking now would be a good time to write one of our reports. Together. Like, as in partners… Lab partners.”
Delphine looked up from her mountain of study material to find the brunette expectantly grinning down at her. She was filled with nervous energy and was bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. Her always in-motion hands were clasped together and it appeared that they could not find a true purpose, just interlocked and fighting each other instead of their rightful place in the swimming in the air around their owner’s head. It was an adorable sight.
Not adorable. Adversary. Antagonist. Archenemy. Delphine rapidly attempted to squash any warmth with negative feelings toward the bundle of nerves in front of her, not bothering to question how she had even found her in the first place.
“I was just about to email you the notes. I can send them over in about an hour,” she glanced down at her watch, realizing she had completely lost track of time and it was much later than she expected.
“Well, I’m here now, so we can make it super easy, and I can just work on our report right now,” she said, sliding into the chair across from her and unpacking her messenger bag.
Caught off guard, Delphine sighed, and admitted defeat for this round. It didn’t appear that her edgy lab mate was going to take no for an answer, and she would have to spend an hour being subtly insulted in her favorite quiet spot. She wondered what other flaws Cosima might find to point out. She found her lab notebook at slid it to the brunette, who opened it and let out a huge gasp.
“Oh jeez Delphine. Your handwriting is so incredible. It’s totally legible and everything makes sense. My god! You have margins! I always end up scribbling little indecipherable codes to myself in the margins. I’ll make up a shorthand version of something but totally forget what I meant and have to scratch my head for 20 minutes trying to remember my train of thought,” she babbled, completely unaware that the blonde’s grimace had slowly turned into the slightest hint of a smile.
“Yes, Cosima. I can have passable penmanship. After being immersed in some form of education for the past two decades, I can take notes as well,” she sarcastically jabbed.
Cosima’s face fell. It always appeared the French woman took offense whenever she opened her mouth. She opened her laptop and immediately began the report using the impeccable notes, trying to avert her gaze and not openly stare at Delphine.
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A few hours later, after carefully asking for Delphine’s opinion on formatting and word choice, she saved their report and closed her laptop. She took a moment to lean back and stretch, hearing a satisfying pop of her back.
“I’m starving. You want to grab a bite with me? I know this awesome little dive a few blocks from here. They serve some pretty decent pub food.”
Delphine looked up, completely surprised by the offer but a little too delirious and hungry to put up much of a fight. Cosima saw the war playing out on her gorgeous features and grinned, knowing she was about to score her first *not* date with Delphine Freaking Cormier.
“I guess I could use something to eat. I might have only had a granola bar today,” she wryly admitted.
“Awesome. Perfect. It’s on me since you let me barge in on your study session.”
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Cosima led the way to the bar, talking a mile a minute and excitedly gesturing with every word. Delphine didn’t catch much, a breathless story about her friends who worked at the bar who were practically family (not like I’m a regular alcoholic!) and the food she would order them (mind blowing curry fries!).
By the time they made their way into the small, dimly lit room, Delphine was exhausted and craving a stiff drink. Cosima greeted the bartender who flashed her a knowing smile as her eyebrows raised toward Delphine. Delphine could’ve sworn she saw a blush creep up her lab partner’s neck, but with such dim mood lighting, she couldn’t be sure.
“What’ll it be?” the bartender stood in front of the pair on the barstools, and slid two coasters in front of them.
“I know for sure we are having a massive order of curry fries and whatever the lady would like to drink,” she gestured to Delphine.
“An IPA if you have one.”
“Same for me, then.” The surprise on Cosima’s face was clearly evident as she nudged Delphine playfully. “Didn’t peg you as a beer drinker, Cormier.”
“When in Rome,” she gestured to the surroundings.
“Touche.”
They were interrupted by a loud ringing emanating from Cosima’s pocket. She grabbed her phone and glanced at the caller ID.
“It’s Felix. Do you mind? I hate to be so rude, but it might be an emergency,” she apologized.
“No, no, not at all.”
Cosima answered her phone and Delphine strained to hear the other end. She felt rude for listening in, but Cosima was the one interrupting their conversation with the phone call.
“Hey Fe, what’s up. Mhmm, yeah. No, I’m not interested in you setting me up with your masseuse friend. Yeah, I got the photo you sent… Actually, I do get out enough. Yes, in fact am out right this very second… with Delphine.”
Delphine briefly wondered if Felix remembered her from the mixer or if Cosima had mentioned her to him in other conversations. She could not make out the last few grumbles from Cosima as she swiftly hung up the phone and put it away.
“I’m so sorry. Felix can be kind of an overbearing pain sometimes. He keeps trying to set me up with every lesbian he meets. He even sent me her picture. Kind of awkward.”
Delphine felt an odd tinge of emotion rising in her chest.. jealousy? No, definitely not. She was Cosima’s lab partner and not much else. Although they seemed to be headed down the path of friendship, and she scolded herself for letting this tiny woman take up so much of her time.. and, as of lately, thoughts.
“Let me see!”
“Uh, no, that’s not necessary,” Cosima shifted uncomfortably on her barstool and protectively guarded her pocket, but Delphine was far too agile and snatched the phone from the pocket with ease. She swiped open the phone’s lock screen to reveal the offending text message conversation with Felix and a photo of a blonde smiling directly into the camera. Delphine’s heart sank when she realized that the woman was absolutely gorgeous with perfect dimples and shining blue eyes. She hastily shoved the phone back into Cosima’s waiting hands and plastered a fake smile on her face.
“So you’re not into blondes, then?” she joked.
“Oh god, no I love blondes. I mean not, like, every blonde. Not this blonde specifically. Or like…” Cosima took several calming breaths, not expecting to have to explain her ideal mate to her literal ideal mate sitting directly in front of her. “I mean, we just have so little in common. What would we even talk about? I’m only interested in someone I could share things with.. Someone who gets me, y’know?”
Delphine understood completely. Her very few and far between dating experiences ended in disaster because she had not yet learned this simple fact about herself, which Cosima had articulated perfectly.
“I know exactly—,” she began, but was interrupted by their bartender delivering their food with flourish.
Delphine unconsciously flushed at the near spilling of emotions to this woman who had endeared herself to her quickly melting heart. She quieted herself for the rest of the night, allowing the dreadlocked girl to direct the conversation.