Caring For an Hour or So [Oliver]

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope walked out of the gymnasium quickly, not looking back to see if her new found partner was following or not. Although she did not exactly agree on a place to go with this boy, she had decided on her own; an empty classroom. She wasn't going to let him into her dormitory, nor did she want to go into his. There needed to be a middle ground somewhere, and she found it.

Once she found a classroom, the Brit twisted the handle and walked inside. It was only then did she look back at Oliver. “This should do.” She explained simply, stepping further inside the room. There, she placed their 'child' on a desk, placing a hand on the top to make sure it was steady on the surface.

“We need to place some ground rules.” The psychometrist placed a hand on her hip, her dark eyes landing again on Oliver. She pressed her lips into a hard line briefly before continuing. “We're not a couple. Nor are we pretending to be for the sake of this assignment.”

[Oliver Barnes]

Wordlessly, Oliver followed Penelope out of the gym and down the hall. He wasn't the type to argue or put up a fight. Actually, he was kind of a pushover in that sense. He barely knew his partner and already, she had command over him. Oliver continued to stay a few feet back, keeping up with the dark haired girl.

Then, they were in front of a classroom. He nodded, following Penelope into the empty room. It was perfect. Nobody was here to potentially mess up the project and their marks. He let out a small sigh of relief, closing the door behind them, figuring that it was the best idea.

Oliver watched the British girl set down their flour baby, not saying anything as she decided to share some rules. He stood there, visibly uncomfortable around the stranger, as she shared her concerns. "Y.. yeah, okay that's fine." He answered, almost laughing. Except, he felt like Penelope was being completely serious. "That's okay with me. No coupling, or couple activities. None of it." Oliver found himself rambling, running a hand through his hair.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

There were much worse partners to be stuck with, Penny’s own love being one of them, so she had little right to complain. And she wasn’t. At least not verbally. Oliver seemed nice enough, honestly. Penelope just didn’t want to deal with this project or, frankly, with him.

Still, she was glad to hear that he agreed, and her expression softened as the boy began to ramble a bit. “Good” Penny nodded, her tone remaining stern. “How do shifts sound?” She asked. If given the option, Penelope would have done the entire project herself, but it hadn’t been an option.

Her thumb ran over the top of the bag as she went to speak again—

The sack of flower was put into her – no, his – hands. A barely audible mumble passed his lips. A sack of flour was awkward to carry around.

Still, he was directed to herself as she sat at a desk. She felt the shy smile play about Oliver’s lips as he walked up to her. The nervousness associated with social anxiety build up. “Uhmm, hey Penelope. Guess we’re partners for this.”

The Brit snapped back to the moment, and although no time had passed it took Penelope a second before she continued. “D-don’t go doing anything stupid when you have this.” She pursed her lips, suppressing a sigh at as she tried to shake off the shyness she felt in her partner. Yet, she still had felt it. His nervousness. “It’s going to be okay.”

[Oliver Barnes]

Like Penelope, Oliver would have preferred doing the project all on his own. He didn't have anyone that he would consider a best friend, but had a small handful of friendly acquaintances that he would have been alright working with. Being paired with a stranger only made his anxiety go through the roof, as proof through his rambling and awkward demeanour.

Why did he have to do this?

He brushed aside the reoccuring thought, nodding along with Penelope. Oliver didn't mind letting her take charge during the project. Then again, he had the feeling that his partner wouldn't have it any other way. "Yeah... yeah, shifts sound good with me." He then realized he should probably ask if she had any busy days. "I.. uhm, I have no extracurriculars right now so my schedule is pretty open..." He mumbled, looking over at the dark haired girl. "Uh, so... whatever works for you, works for me."

Oliver had noticed Penelope's brief pause, and the flash of... of whatever that face had been. He didn't dare pry. "Yeah... yeah, of course. Didn't plan on it." Visibly uncomfortable, Oliver shifted his weight between both feet, his head snapping up when she reassured him that it was going to be okay. That sentence was normally reserved for when people could see how nervous he was... and clearly, Penelope had taken notice. "Y-yeah." Oliver stammered, nodding. "We'll be fine." It was more of a personal reassurance than for the girl.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

If Penelope could do this project on her own, she very much would. If she could have written an essay instead, she would have chosen that over the project completely. The Brit let out a breath, trying to calm her frustration with the predicament she was put into. Honestly, there was little chance of her ever getting pregnant without her express desire to do so, so why should she be punished for this?

She withdrew her hand from the sack of flower, nodding at Oliver. At least he agreed, and if anything, he seemed to not mind that she was taking charge. Again. If anything, he was potentially one of the best people to be partnered up with.

Penelope just had to remind herself of that. Constantly.

Even with an attempt at encouraging words, the Brit could physically see that Oliver was still nervous. Did she come on too strong? Likely. But it had been needed. At least, in Penelope’s opinion.

“We can—“ she paused, beginning to think of her wording. It would be easy to simply say what they were going to do – and he would agree to it, by the looks of it. Had he not been so anxious, Penelope likely wouldn’t have changed her approach. “Would you like to switch every other day?” She asked, trying to keep a light tone. She continued to eye him casually. "I think we're required to name it."

[Oliver Barnes]

Oliver watched as Penelope withdrew her fingers from the sack of flour, still wondering what had passed through her mind to cause the small, barely noticeable reaction. Again, despite his curiosity, the introverted boy stayed silent.

He looked down at the sack of store brand name flour, adjusting the dead weight in his arms. After a minute, Oliver glanced back up at the British girl, momentarily caught off guard by the question. Was he suppose to answer that? "Oh, uh... sure, yeah. That works for me." He nodded twice, confirming the offer. He really did appreciate Penelope's efforts, because it wasn't her fault that he was a stuttering, awkward mess. Oliver briefly smiled, as if to silently thank her.

"A name?" Eyeing the flour sack, Oliver shook his head. How ridiculous. "Uhm.. well, we could do boy or girl. Or choose a gender neutral name. Keep everyone guessing." He rambled. "I don't know why we have to name it... guess maybe to try and get us attached." He mumbled an attempt at small talk.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

As usual, Penelope didn’t mention anything about her psychometry. It was never a topic she enjoyed talking about, and even if it were, she didn’t think anyone would have interest in the subject. Her reaction was minimal, and most people looked over it, so she simply assumed that Oliver had done so as well. If anything, it would have surprised to Brit to learned he even noticed.

She nodded once, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared back at him. She wouldn’t admit it, but it was nice to have a partner that just…went with things. Even if he was a nervous wreck, at least he knew how to listen.

Her own gaze moved to the flour sack as they spoke of names, raising her eyebrows at the object. If it were up to her, she wouldn’t name the thing. “Girl.” Again, Penelope reverted back to her demanding tone; it was a hard habit for the Brit to break. Still, she tried. “If you don’t mind.”

Again, Oliver surprised her. He seemed to be on the same page as Penelope when it came to naming a sack of flour. “It’s idiotic.” She agreed slowly. She, too, assumed it was so they would get attached, but that didn’t prevent it from being a bag of flour. “Do you have any suggestions?”

[Oliver Barnes]

Oliver's eyes went from the flour baby back to Penelope's gaze, nodding as well. He didn't care that much about the project, and just wanted a decent passing mark. He didn't care if it was male or female, or what they chose to name it. "Yeah... yeah girl sounds good to me." He agreed, deciding to ignore the change of tone. This time, the anxious boy only flinched a little in response, instead of full blown cowering away from the British girl.

He appreciated having Penelope as a partner. Their differences seemed to compliment each other rather well. Being partnered for the assignment was, hopefully, not going to be too bad afterall.

"D...definitely." Oliver repeated, his arm flinching to run his hand through his hair. He realized that they were occupied with holding the flour bag, so Oliver instead stared down to think of a name. "Uhm... uhm, I don't know." His cheeks burned in response. "M... maybe Elizabeth? Something... traditional? I don't know."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Really, it was strange for Penelope to see someone so nervous towards her. Then again, the Brit often chose to ignore interacting with people in general. It was strange to have a conversation with someone she wasn't butting heads with.

She watched the way he flinched, her lips pressing into a hard line. Was she really that scary? Although, the Brit chose not to dwell on it. This project would be done and over with sooner hopefully than later.

“Elizabeth.” Penelope repeated with a nod. Traditional was, if anything, her style. And it probably wouldn't do any harm to agree with the boy. “That sound nice.”

[Oliver Barnes]

If it was any reassurance to his partner, Oliver always acted incredibly flighty and nervous around strangers. Even his friends could trigger a small anxiety episode within the boy.

He bounced the flour sack in his arms, as they grew accustomed to the weight. Least he could work on toning his arms for basketball season. He looked up, nodding nervously when Penelope repeated the suggested name. It was hard to disagree with a traditional name, as it wasn't like Oliver suggested something like Grey or Chrystee. "Yeah... yeah, it might as well be something... nice if we have to keep it around for awhile."

He smiled at Penelope. "Elizabeth it is then. Did... did you want to have her for the first day then? Or would you prefer me to?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Had Penelope known the boy was like this around most people, she might have felt a bit better about his behavior, but she honestly had never even noticed the boy before that day. She might have seen him in the halls, but few people ever caught her attention enough for the Brit to actually take notice.

She looked down at his arms, eying the sack of flour – Elizabeth. She doubted she could actually consider this inanimate object to be anything that resembled a child, let alone call it by its name.

And when she looked up, she caught Oliver’s smile. Her own lip pulled up slightly. Politely. “Yes, I’ll take him.” She extended her arms, expecting the boy to hand it over. “What dormitory do you live in? I’ll return him at six-thirty tomorrow evening.”

[Oliver Barnes]

Likewise, Oliver had never taken notice to Penelope in the halls either. Then again, he was so bent on avoiding AJ his first year that he paid little to no attention to anybody else. It was only now that the introverted boy was beginning to open up to the world around him, letting people in as oppose to shutting everyone out.

He looked at the flour baby... Elizabeth, for the sake of the project, and let out a small, amused snort. This no name, brand of flour, that was going to have to be carried everywhere for a few weeks. To demonstrate responsibility. Somehow, Oliver doubted that himself or Penelope needed the help. The project would be a breeze.

Seeing the dark haired girl's own smile, though small, was enough to make him feel at ease. Most of his worries washed away, becoming more comfortable around her. "Okay, that sounds good." Without hesitation, Oliver handed over the sack of flour, ensuring that Penelope had it firmly in hers before letting go. "I'm in Room 206, on the co-ed floor." He answered.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

As Oliver’s gaze turned to the sack of flour, so did her own. His amusement was shown through something of a short, whereas Penelope’s expression remained neutral. She was hardly amused on the matter, but regardless of just how she felt about it, it didn’t show in her expression.

She was glad he seemed so agreeable; his timid behavior was sure to help this project go smoothly. Penelope carefully took bag of flour from him, shifting it in her hands so it rested easily in one arm. “206.” She repeated with a definitive nod. Easy enough to remember, and it made it relatively easy, as she normally headed to the co-ed dorms in the evening as it was.

Penelope looked once more down at the flour before back up at the shy boy. “I’ll see you at six-thirty tomorrow.” She confirmed. Not one for chit-chat, and assuming the current conversation had ended, she started heading towards the door.