The Study Date

Author’s note: Slowly moving my fic and most of my Choices interactions to this blog! Also, I haven’t been this gobsmacked with a Choices couple since what, Perfect Match?? So here’s me exploring Rory and Meghan’s dynamic while I wait for book 2.

Summary: A treehouse, two high schoolers, and a dog. That’s it. That’s the summary.

Word count: 906

*These characters belong to the Choices game from Pixelberry, not me!*

Life was a funny thing. If you’d told Meghan even a few weeks ago she’d be spending her Saturday afternoon in Rory’s treehouse on a date, well, you’d be liable to her strong disbelief. Freshman year had only begun really, yet so much had happened in the span of a few months. She’d co-stared in her first big high school production, made great friends, been adopted by a tight knit group of Berry junior and seniors, adopted a dog herself, and now she had a boyfriend to boot. A boyfriend. Meghan’s curious eyes lifted up from her English assignment and peered over at Rory who worked on some math assignment of his own, head slightly swaying to the music that pumped from his earbuds. He must have felt Meghan’s stare because he suddenly glanced up and caught her eye.

Meghan felt her heartbeat speed up, and biting her lip she quickly looked down again, embarrassed. If she’d held his gaze just a few more seconds, she might have caught that look in his eye, the special one he gave Meghan only. Even Rory wasn’t fully aware of when it happened, but anyone who happened to witness it would describe it as a sort of soft look that seemed to express both strong warmth and affection Something that had always been there but only awakened when Meghan had entered high school. Rory had always liked Meghan; they’d grown up together, and even with his mother’s cancer eventually looming large in his life, he could always recall their time spent together and with her twin brother with much fondness. When his feelings had switched from simple friendship to attraction, Rory couldn’t exactly pinpoint.

Homework forgotten for the moment, Rory took in Meghan’s curls, which were braided into a crown around her hair, a few curls escaping from the otherwise neat style. His eyes fell on her slender hands, which turned the page of the textbook she was reading, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. How long he sat there and watched her, he couldn’t be sure, but there was something peaceful about sitting there with his girlfriend. His girlfriend.

“I finally downloaded The Crown and the Flame soundtrack,” he told her after a while, pulling one earbud from his ear, and Meghan looked up at him, her eyes wide with excitement.

“Omg, really?” she asked as Rory as he lifted up his phone to show her. “Wanna listen with me?” he asked right as Meghan replied, “Can I listen?” She let out a giggle, which then caused Rory to giggle, and soon they were both laughing. “Right here,” Rory patted the space next to him, and Meghan crawled over with her textbook in tow. He passed her the earbud and she slid it in her ear, sidling closer to Rory. Hitting play on his phone, Rory wrapped an arm around Meghan, who tensed with surprise. “Is this okay?” Rory asked, afraid he done something wrong, but Meghan shook her head quickly, leaning her head on his shoulder. “No, it’s completely okay.” Meghan laced her left-hand fingers with Rory’s right-hand ones, and he gave them a squeeze. Meghan looked up and smiled, and Rory’s brushed his lips softly against her forehead. Meghan shivered with anticipation as he leaned back to look at her again. “You’re a great kisser,” she whispered, then felt her cheeks heat up when she realized what she’d said aloud. Rory chuckled before hovering near her lips. “You’re not bad yourself, freshman,” he whispered back, kissing her sweetly on the lips.

The book fell from Meghan’s lap as she slid her arms around Rory’s neck. Rory pulled her closer to him, and she convinced herself she had the entire weekend to finish her essay due on Monday. Before either of them could continue, excited barking could be heard, and Meghan groaned before pulling herself away from Rory. She crawled over to the treehouse entrance and glanced down. Coconut’s barking increased in noise and excitement once he caught sight of Meghan. “Coconut! Not now,” she pleaded. “Go find Malcolm, okay? Go find Malcolm!” Coconut loved both the twins, but it was obvious where his bias lie. The fluffy, white dog ran in dizzying circles before another onset of barking. He wanted to play and he’d found Meghan. Rory appeared beside her as she pressed a palm to her forehead in surrender.

“We weren’t gonna do homework anyway,” Rory shrugged, and Meghan slapped his shoulder playfully. “Guess I’ll take him for a walk,” Meghan said, peering down at her pet who bounced around impatiently. “This doesn’t have to be the end of our study date, I’ll come with you,” he said as Meghan began the descent down the ladder. “Yay! The more the merrier,” she called back up. Coconut jumped up on her the moment she touched down on the grass. “Down, boy,” she laughed. Rory was next and taking her hand, he walked Meghan and Coconut to her house for a leash. Coconut seemed extremely pleased, having the attention of two humans for the price of one. “You’d better be happy you’re so cute,” Meghan chastised, but the dog was unconcerned, and she couldn’t help but sigh. Rory bumped her shoulder with his. Meghan’s frown softened, and she returned the action. Once a leash was retrieved, and Meghan had sneaked off with cookies for her and Rory from the kitchen, the three were off.