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Three Ways to Study Anatomy, Part 1: The Usual Way

Chapter Three: Oh No… He’s Cute

~

Sabo was already waiting for you in the kitchen when you emerged from your room an hour later. It looked like he had attempted to tame his bed head but had given up after just a few attempts and simply jammed a baseball cap over the unruly mess to compensate. You could still see a few tufts sticking out from the back of his head. It was rather endearing, actually. He waved you over, grinning cheerfully.

“Ready to go?”

You smiled and nodded, shouldering your backpack and unfolding the paper with your class schedule printed on it. Sabo peered over your shoulder.

“Aw man, your classes are all over the place… Psychology, chemistry, anatomy. I hope you’re wearing comfy shoes today.”

“Is the campus really that big?”

He grinned. “You’ll see for yourself soon enough.” He opened the door and held it for you. “After you.”

Before you could follow through, a body brushed past you and through the open door.

“Aw, thanks, babe,” Ace cooed, jostling the cap on Sabo’s head as he passed the stunned boy. “Always such a gentleman.” Ace winked at you and gave a curt wave. “Have fun on your date you two!”

“It’s not a date!” Sabo shouted after his roommate, an light blush colouring his cheeks. “He’s always like this,” he sighed. “Let’s go.”

The walk to campus was only a few minutes and Sabo filled it easily with chatter about his flat mates and questions about your degree. While he talked, you picked up the trace of an accent, though it only slipped out when he was talking particularly animatedly about a subject. English, perhaps, but before you could ask about it, he announced your arrival.

A few students milled about on the front lawn but otherwise the campus was quiet. You guessed most students had either yet to arrive or were too busy enjoying their last day of freedom before semester began. Only the truly dedicated (you guessed mostly freshmen) seemed eager to get the lay of the land before the big day. The scarcity of the students only seemed to make the campus look all the bigger.

Sabo chuckled as you gaped at the sheer size of it. “It won’t seem so big tomorrow when classes start, trust me.” He pointed to little coffee shop that was just opening its doors for the morning. “Hey, wanna grab something to go? We have a lot of walking to do.”

You shook your head. “I’m fine. I don’t drink coffee anyway.”

“You might regret that when you’re drowning in papers in a few weeks’ time,” he chuckled. “But that’s okay, they serve tea too. C’mon.”

You followed him into the quaint store, the bell above the door ringing cheerfully as you entered. Sabo was already chatting up the girl at the till, leaning casually at the counter as she blushed and giggled at something he had said. You sidled up to him awkwardly, not sure if you should broadcast that you were here together or not, but before you could decide, he turned to you and smiled.

“What would you like? It’s on me.”

You tried desperately to ignore the death glare from the girl behind the counter while Sabo’s back was turned to her.

“Just an English Breakfast. Thanks.”

You caught the amused tug at the corner of his lips. “No problem. You can owe me one.”

You blushed. How could he elicit that response from you with such ease? You’d know this boy for barely the duration of the morning and he was already buying you tea. You didn’t have the experience to be able to tell if he was simply being nice or if he had an ulterior motive. You gave him the benefit of the doubt for now and went with the former.

“Thanks,” you said again awkwardly as he handed you a steaming to-go cup. “You didn’t have to.”

He dismissed your protest with a smile and a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about it. You can get the next one.”

You smiled shyly, burying your face in your drink to hide the pink flush that was blooming on your cheeks. You sipped at your tea as you walked, warming your hands on the cardboard cup. It was chilly for September, but the clear sky promised a warm day ahead.

Sabo, now sufficiently caffeinated, was only more enthusiastic about the tour, pointing out buildings almost faster than you could follow.

“That’s the engineering wing. And that’s the library over there. Oh, and that’s the architecture building which, ironically, is probably the worst designed building in the history of ever.”

You laughed. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. You don’t have any classes in there, do you?”

You glanced at your schedule. “Not this time.”

“Count yourself lucky. We call it Hogwarts because I swear the staircases move when you’re not looking. I swear to God, you can take the stairs from the third floor and end up on the fifth without even realising you passed the fourth. And one staircase only leads to the men’s bathroom. It makes no sense!”

You laughed. You were beginning to realise how easy that was with him.

As you continued the tour, you noticed quite a few older students greet Sabo as they passed him by. He greeted them back cheerfully, sometimes stopping to ask them how their summer had been or what classes they were taking this year. He seemed quite popular, which you realised came as no surprise to you. He was handsome, friendly, and evidently very bright. It was impossible not to like him.

“What’s your major, Sabo?” you asked him during a lull in the conversation. You realised you had been so busy answering questions about yourself that you hadn’t really had the chance to ask him any of your own.

“Oh! I completely forgot to mention it. International relations, with a minor in Spanish.”

“Wow, that’s impressive!”

He rubbed the back of his neck shyly. “Heh, I wouldn’t say that. I just… really want to help make the world a better place, you know?”

You smiled at him softly. “That’s pretty admirable if you ask me.”

He blushed and gave you a wide grin. “Thanks.”

Modest too. You didn’t think it was possibly for men to come this perfect.

“So, Human Biology, huh? You want to be a doctor?”

You hummed. “I’m not sure yet. My parents want me to be go into medicine but… to be honest I just want to help people, I don’t really mind how.”

“Now I’d say that’s admirable.”

You smiled shyly and looked away, searching desperately around for a way to change the subject to calm your flaming cheeks.

“What’s that building over there?”

“That,” said Sabo, immediately falling back into the role of enthusiastic tour guide. “Is the observatory…”

The tour ended at the campus main cafeteria, where the two of you grabbed lunch and Sabo regaled you with stories of his freshman year. Mostly stories about Ace embarrassing himself in ways that sent you reeling into fits of giggles.

“Wait he spelled his name wrong on his own tattoo?”

“I kid you not. He spelled it with an ‘s’. You can ask him about it, but he’ll say it was intentional, but we all know he was just drunk off his head.”

Your laugh was cut short as a shadow fell over your table and you looked up to find the very same freckled face you had just been thinking of.

“Giving away all my best stories on the first day, Sabo? I need to preserve some of my mystery.”

He plopped himself down in the empty chair at your table and immediately helped himself to some of Sabo’s fries.

“And just for the record,” he jabbed his fry at Sabo, “it was intentional. I got the ‘s’ for you, my dear BFF, but now I think I might just have to get it crossed out on account of you being a bad friend,” he pouted.

Sabo rolled his eyes. “Sure, dude. How was work?”

“Private gig. You know how they go,” Ace said with a shrug, swindling another fry before Sabo finally swatted his hand away.

Sabo nodded as if he knew exactly what Ace was talking about, but you could only glance between the two of them, utterly oblivious.

“What is it you do?”

You didn’t fail to catch the amused glance the two boys shared.

“Entertainment.”

They refused to say any more on the subject.

The three of you parted ways after lunch, you thanking Sabo profusely for his help while Ace snickered at his flustered friend behind his back. You headed back to the dorms with a spring in your step and a flutter in your chest that you simply brushed off as nerves about starting classes the next day. But later that evening, when you were zoning out during one of your readings for Psych 101, you found your thoughts drifting back to Sabo and the way his eyes lingered on you just a little too long when he thought you weren’t looking…

So much for getting any study done this semester.

Description

Three Ways to Study Anatomy, Part 1: The Usual Way

Chapter Three: Oh No… He’s Cute

~

Sabo was already waiting for you in the kitchen when you emerged from your room an hour later. It looked like he had attempted to tame his bed head but had given up after just a few attempts and simply jammed a baseball cap over the unruly mess to compensate. You could still see a few tufts sticking out from the back of his head. It was rather endearing, actually. He waved you over, grinning cheerfully.

“Ready to go?”

You smiled and nodded, shouldering your backpack and unfolding the paper with your class schedule printed on it. Sabo peered over your shoulder.

“Aw man, your classes are all over the place… Psychology, chemistry, anatomy. I hope you’re wearing comfy shoes today.”

“Is the campus really that big?”

He grinned. “You’ll see for yourself soon enough.” He opened the door and held it for you. “After you.”

Before you could follow through, a body brushed past you and through the open door.

“Aw, thanks, babe,” Ace cooed, jostling the cap on Sabo’s head as he passed the stunned boy. “Always such a gentleman.” Ace winked at you and gave a curt wave. “Have fun on your date you two!”

“It’s not a date!” Sabo shouted after his roommate, an light blush colouring his cheeks. “He’s always like this,” he sighed. “Let’s go.”

The walk to campus was only a few minutes and Sabo filled it easily with chatter about his flat mates and questions about your degree. While he talked, you picked up the trace of an accent, though it only slipped out when he was talking particularly animatedly about a subject. English, perhaps, but before you could ask about it, he announced your arrival.

A few students milled about on the front lawn but otherwise the campus was quiet. You guessed most students had either yet to arrive or were too busy enjoying their last day of freedom before semester began. Only the truly dedicated (you guessed mostly freshmen) seemed eager to get the lay of the land before the big day. The scarcity of the students only seemed to make the campus look all the bigger.

Sabo chuckled as you gaped at the sheer size of it. “It won’t seem so big tomorrow when classes start, trust me.” He pointed to little coffee shop that was just opening its doors for the morning. “Hey, wanna grab something to go? We have a lot of walking to do.”

You shook your head. “I’m fine. I don’t drink coffee anyway.”

“You might regret that when you’re drowning in papers in a few weeks’ time,” he chuckled. “But that’s okay, they serve tea too. C’mon.”

You followed him into the quaint store, the bell above the door ringing cheerfully as you entered. Sabo was already chatting up the girl at the till, leaning casually at the counter as she blushed and giggled at something he had said. You sidled up to him awkwardly, not sure if you should broadcast that you were here together or not, but before you could decide, he turned to you and smiled.

“What would you like? It’s on me.”

You tried desperately to ignore the death glare from the girl behind the counter while Sabo’s back was turned to her.

“Just an English Breakfast. Thanks.”

You caught the amused tug at the corner of his lips. “No problem. You can owe me one.”

You blushed. How could he elicit that response from you with such ease? You’d know this boy for barely the duration of the morning and he was already buying you tea. You didn’t have the experience to be able to tell if he was simply being nice or if he had an ulterior motive. You gave him the benefit of the doubt for now and went with the former.

“Thanks,” you said again awkwardly as he handed you a steaming to-go cup. “You didn’t have to.”

He dismissed your protest with a smile and a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about it. You can get the next one.”

You smiled shyly, burying your face in your drink to hide the pink flush that was blooming on your cheeks. You sipped at your tea as you walked, warming your hands on the cardboard cup. It was chilly for September, but the clear sky promised a warm day ahead.

Sabo, now sufficiently caffeinated, was only more enthusiastic about the tour, pointing out buildings almost faster than you could follow.

“That’s the engineering wing. And that’s the library over there. Oh, and that’s the architecture building which, ironically, is probably the worst designed building in the history of ever.”

You laughed. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. You don’t have any classes in there, do you?”

You glanced at your schedule. “Not this time.”

“Count yourself lucky. We call it Hogwarts because I swear the staircases move when you’re not looking. I swear to God, you can take the stairs from the third floor and end up on the fifth without even realising you passed the fourth. And one staircase only leads to the men’s bathroom. It makes no sense!”

You laughed. You were beginning to realise how easy that was with him.

As you continued the tour, you noticed quite a few older students greet Sabo as they passed him by. He greeted them back cheerfully, sometimes stopping to ask them how their summer had been or what classes they were taking this year. He seemed quite popular, which you realised came as no surprise to you. He was handsome, friendly, and evidently very bright. It was impossible not to like him.

“What’s your major, Sabo?” you asked him during a lull in the conversation. You realised you had been so busy answering questions about yourself that you hadn’t really had the chance to ask him any of your own.

“Oh! I completely forgot to mention it. International relations, with a minor in Spanish.”

“Wow, that’s impressive!”

He rubbed the back of his neck shyly. “Heh, I wouldn’t say that. I just… really want to help make the world a better place, you know?”

You smiled at him softly. “That’s pretty admirable if you ask me.”

He blushed and gave you a wide grin. “Thanks.”

Modest too. You didn’t think it was possibly for men to come this perfect.

“So, Human Biology, huh? You want to be a doctor?”

You hummed. “I’m not sure yet. My parents want me to be go into medicine but… to be honest I just want to help people, I don’t really mind how.”

“Now I’d say that’s admirable.”

You smiled shyly and looked away, searching desperately around for a way to change the subject to calm your flaming cheeks.

“What’s that building over there?”

“That,” said Sabo, immediately falling back into the role of enthusiastic tour guide. “Is the observatory…”

The tour ended at the campus main cafeteria, where the two of you grabbed lunch and Sabo regaled you with stories of his freshman year. Mostly stories about Ace embarrassing himself in ways that sent you reeling into fits of giggles.

“Wait he spelled his name wrong on his own tattoo?”

“I kid you not. He spelled it with an ‘s’. You can ask him about it, but he’ll say it was intentional, but we all know he was just drunk off his head.”

Your laugh was cut short as a shadow fell over your table and you looked up to find the very same freckled face you had just been thinking of.

“Giving away all my best stories on the first day, Sabo? I need to preserve some of my mystery.”

He plopped himself down in the empty chair at your table and immediately helped himself to some of Sabo’s fries.

“And just for the record,” he jabbed his fry at Sabo, “it was intentional. I got the ‘s’ for you, my dear BFF, but now I think I might just have to get it crossed out on account of you being a bad friend,” he pouted.

Sabo rolled his eyes. “Sure, dude. How was work?”

“Private gig. You know how they go,” Ace said with a shrug, swindling another fry before Sabo finally swatted his hand away.

Sabo nodded as if he knew exactly what Ace was talking about, but you could only glance between the two of them, utterly oblivious.

“What is it you do?”

You didn’t fail to catch the amused glance the two boys shared.

“Entertainment.”

They refused to say any more on the subject.

The three of you parted ways after lunch, you thanking Sabo profusely for his help while Ace snickered at his flustered friend behind his back. You headed back to the dorms with a spring in your step and a flutter in your chest that you simply brushed off as nerves about starting classes the next day. But later that evening, when you were zoning out during one of your readings for Psych 101, you found your thoughts drifting back to Sabo and the way his eyes lingered on you just a little too long when he thought you weren’t looking…

So much for getting any study done this semester.