Author's Notes: I have this thing when I want to write where I go through my interests on my LJ and write little stories. Geology was the inspiration.
Rating: PG-13 for mild language.
Pairing: Shane/Brant
Written: 2005
Brandt was completely tuning out the professor. He wasn't even bothering to take notes. This class use to be the one class this semester he could look forward to, but since he'd finally got to talk with him, well... now it sucked.
There was a small triangle rainbow sewn into the guy's bookbag. Brandt had hoped it meant that the cute guy with tousled brown hair swung that way. Or at least was friendly.
When he finally gotten up the courage to talk to him two weeks into the semester, he'd gotten shot down.
I don't know where that guy gets off saying I don't take anything seriously. I do too take stuff seriously. I was serious about asking him out. If he wasn't interested, a simple no would have worked.
His problem is that he takes everything too seriously. Brandt slumped farther down in his chair. He glanced over where the guy now sat, half way across the classroom. He was taking notes. Lots of notes. Dude is going to have a heart attack before he hits thirty.
"Mr. Rands!"
Brandt jumped about two feet in his seat. Everything on his desk clattered, and his pencil actually hit the floor. The entire auditorium was staring at him. Some of them were laughing.
"Dr. Windell?"
"What is the definition of a mineral?"
As always, his mouth answered before his mind could fully process the question. "It's a naturally occurring solid with a predictable chemical composition and a definite crystal structure."
Dead silence.
"I stand corrected, Mr. Rands. You have been paying attention. My apologies. Though in the future, I do ask that you try not to count the ceiling tiles in my class." Muted laughter followed the professor's words. Brandt waited for his heart to stop pounding before he picked up his pencil from where it had rolled off his desk.
He looked over and caught the guy staring at him.
Fourty-five minutes later, people started packing up. It was the unofficial signal that class was over. Soon people were streaming out of the room. Brandt stayed behind, packing his books up. It wasn't like he really had anywhere to race to. He was done with classes for the day.
"Hey."
He recognized the voice before he looked up. It was rainbow triangle guy. "Hi."
"Look, I'm sorry about last week. I'm still getting use to this whole... thing." It was hard to tell he was nervous. Brandt thought he carried himself with a kind of confidence that seemed eternal. "I was wrong. You are serious."
What the... oh. Brandt wisely kept his mouth shut. There was no reason to tell this guy that Brandt had an awesome memory and it was the only reason he made it through his classes. "It's okay. I just figured you were cool with it because of the triangle."
"The... oh. Shit. I'd forgotten my sister put it on my bag." Brandt blinked. "Anyway, if you still want to, I'd like to go get some coffee."
"Sure. No problem," Brandt said. He slung his backpack on. "And if you aren't interested, that's cool. No pressure. I like meeting friends as much as I like meeting boyfriends."
"Okay. I'll keep it in mind." There was an awkward moment of silence where neither one seemed to know what to say. "My name is Shane, by the way."
"I'm Brandt. Nice to meet you."