Lotus definitely didn't know what to think of Paolo, or Romeo really. Normally they would have left by now, but instead they stuck around. Maybe it was because they were stuck in the library in general or maybe they finally lost it to sleep deprivation. It was probably the latter now that they thoughts about it, "It's nice to meet both of you."
Not sure how to respond to Paolo, he just nodded his head. In his peripherals, he looked up at him then over at Lotus. Before he could say anything, he noticed the paper that was now in front of him. Softly, he let out a sigh as he set his work down before picking up Paolo's. With one hand, he held his glasses while using the other to hold the paper. "See? It is not that difficult, you just need some new working methods," He set the paper down and slid it over. "Although, I suggest redoing that last one. Cross it out and work next to it. Find your mistakes on your own."
Reclining back into his chair, he turned to face Lotus. "You look exhausted; you should probably stop working. Could I help you with anything?"
"No, I'm fine," Lotus protested to Romeo's warranted concern. They were almost done with the paper, just one paragraph left. At least they hoped it only was one more paragraph. They glanced at their paper once more. Either way even if they got done with their paper soon or not it wasn't like they could go anywhere else after they finished. Except towards some of the back shelves where it was a lot easier to hide and get a bit of sleep. They let out a sigh, "Besides I'm almost done anyways."
Taking back his paper from Romeo, he smiled and checked the last problem. Working it out was easy enough, and then he heard what Lotus said. "Hey, if we're all almost done, we could walk to our dorms together!" he said excitedly "The buses aren't running right now, so I could take y'all in my car"
"Very well," He said in response to Lotus. Rolling back his shirt sleeve, he tapped on his watch and watched as the time lit up on the screen. A tiny chuckle left his throat while listening to Paolo. Romeo had never heard someone be so giddy like this, especially this early in the morning. He shook his head, "It is alright, no need for car. I prefer to walk back to my dorm from the library even during this time of day."
Paolo's smile widened when he heard Romeo chuckle. He was charming, in a scholarly way. Paolo found himself staring at him a little too long, and he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that, uh, all right then" he stumbled over his words "How about you Lotus? You need a ride?"
"I mean, if you're offering I won't turn you down," Lotus responded before remembering they didn't live on campus. Maybe they shouldn't have accepted that ride so quickly. But they both seemed like really nice guys, so maybe they would understand? "Except, um, I don't exactly live on campus?"
"Oh! That's fine! I can drive off campus, you can just give me directions" His face contorted from his usual warm smile into a pensive squint "Wait… we're allowed to leave campus right?" He asked Romeo, concerned.
Romeo shook his head. "It is alright. Maybe I can take up your offer next time, if you so desire to give me another one," He sighed. He stood up and started to pack up his things. Although he was not completely done with his work, he felt somewhat satisfied about it.
"Ah, it's smart to live off campus. It must be nice," He mused while putting his laptop away. Once he placed his notebook and pencil case in his bag, he noticed Paolo looking at him with an anxious look. He pushed back his glasses. "I mean, I do not see why not. As long as you do not end up missing, it shouldn't be a problem, but do not make me one of your last witnesses."
"I mean, kind of," Lotus shrugged to Romeo's comment. They gave a little smile to Paolo before starting to pack up their things. They then looked to Paolo, "Also of course we can leave campus. They can't exactly stop you from leaving anyways."
"All right then!" Paolo got up grabbed his stuff and fixed his chair "Lead the way, Lotus." He waited for Lotus to get up too "So, Lotus, I'm guessing you're q scholarship kid? You definitely seem smart enough to be…" he pointed at Romeo " I assume you are too. Lots of STEM kids are in fact" he looked at Lotus again, smirking a bit "And by the way you look at me, I'm guessing you have some spite against rich folk!" He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck a lottle awkwardly "Don't worry, I check my priveleges. I won't be taking advantage of 'em anytime soon. But feel free to hate me. Honestly… I'd hate me too"
"No it's more a general hatred for conversation than rich people," Lotus commented before that could really think about it. They blinked once and then got up to leave walking swiftly towards the door not waiting to see if Paolo and Romeo caught up or not, "But yes I am a scholarship student as I presume you are not. And Romeo probably isn't one either. Not all STEM kids are scholarship kids."
"Nah, I'm not a scholarship kid. I did get a scholarship for the medical program here, but I didn't really want to do medical. It didn't feel right. So I decided to do film instead. My parents weren't thrilled that they had to pay for college, but they definitely had money to spare…" he rolled his eyes when mentioning his parents "And I have to keep my GPA up or else my parents will pull me out. Which is fair… I guess"
A frown broke the stone-like expression that wore on his face. "On the contrary, I am not a 'scholarship kid'. I am just a rich person who happens to have quite a mind, unlike the rest of them of course," Romeo imparted. Putting his coat on, he fixed the collar then went to adjust the cuffs. He slipped his phone into his pocket then turned to face the two. "It probably is for the best, though GPA does not matter unless it's below a 3.0 which I believe none of you have. I surely do not, never will."
"Well, at least your parents can afford for you to come here," Lotus retorted ever so slightly. They let out a sigh and scratched at their arm in an attempt to calm their fraying nerves from all this social interaction. It was a lot more than they were accustomed to, "Either way. I'm sure the two of you want to go back to your dorms and sleep. So let's go."
(Sorry I was gone for so long, I had an essay due)
"Ouch." He commented playfully at Romeo's comment, smiling a bit. Paolo found it quite funny when people would get defensive over things of the sort. He didn't really care what strangers thought of him, which is why he was so confident with being open all the time. "Well, I'm gonna take my rich kid bum outside and get the car started, if you would like to follow me Lotus" he turned to Romeo "And you… can I, uh… have your number? I might need help later on. With math and stuff" he said, blushing a bit.
"Sure," Lotus shrugged. They glanced between the two and debated asking for Paolo's number as well given they needed more friends and he didn't seem half bad a person to talk to. But their nervousness got the better of them and they stayed quiet letting the socialites do their socializing. They would just have to hope that they ran across Paolo or Romeo some other time.
"Math and stuff," He repeated. Looking back at Paolo, he took note of the blushing. Romeo opened his messenger bag, pulling out a pen and some sticky notes. Clicking the pen, he wrote down his number then handed it to Paolo. "Oddly enough, I could care less for math, but I'm still glad to help," He said while tucking the pen behind his ear. "Same goes for you, Lotus. I can give you my number…if you want."
"Whatever that means" Paolo laughed at Romeo's comment, and then perked up again at the next "Oh! I'll give you my number too" he exclaimed. He ripped a small piece of paper and scribbled in near illegible handwriting his number. "Here ya go" he handed the paper to Lotus and turned "Well, it was nice meeting you Romeo, we'll be off now" and he walked off, waiting a bit for Lotus.
"Oh, um thank you. And it would be nice to get your number too Romeo," Lotus said taking the piece of paper from Paolo. They weren't expecting that and turned to Romeo after pocketing Paolo's number, "If you don't mind I'll just get your number from Paolo." They then started after Paolo with a slight smile on their face at the prospect of having friends in this rich man's school, "It was nice to meet ya, catch you around, hopefully. Let's go Paolo."
As they walked outside the library, Paolo slowly inhaled the chilly morning air, and that slowly turned into a low yawn. He turned to Lotus, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back "You know, autumn really is the best season. It's a good in between for summer and winter, with none of the spring allergies." he inhales again and smiles at Lotus "What's your favorite season?"
"I'd have to agree with you on the autumn part, though I like the later half of fall better than the first half," Lotus replied shoving their hand into the pockets of their denim jacket. They instinctively hunched over trying to make themselves smaller once they got outside. They glanced over at Paolo and noticed his strange posture. They couldn't help but blurt out, "You look stupid walking like that."
"Yeah, probably, but it feels good. Makes me feel masculine. Gender's a performance, y'know?" He said, unfazed. That was most definitely a quote he used in his essay to get into the school. Then he paused for a moment " I'm trans by the way" he had no idea why he was clarifying this to a person he had just met, but he wasn't uncomfortable doing so. Especially because they use they them pronouns. He looked at Lotus again "Plus, I'm tired. Don't have time to care about how I look."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Also you just said genders a performance to a person who looked at gender and said fuck it," Lotus said flat out ignoring the whole Trans statement. They, they didn't really know what to say about that. Congrats on figuring out you weren't a girl? But that w a s stupid so they kept their mouth shut, "Either way doesn't change the fact the walk looks stupid."
He just shrugged " Yeah." he smiles at them "You're pretty blunt, you know that?" When they reach his car, which is parked surprisingly far, he unlocks it with a beep. It's a blue Camaro. Once the both get in the car, he starts "Alright, so, I don't know how the GPS on this car works" he took in a sharp breath and sighed "Kinda sad, I know" he chuckled. "So you're just gonna have to guide me to where you live." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm aware at my bluntness," Lotus responded to him before muttering to themselves, "Not like exactly stop it." They shook their head and sat down and buckled up running a hand over their bag in their lap, "Oh yeah I can do that. It's only like a twenty minute drive I think." They pulled up their address on their phone to help with navigation, "When you pull out you're gonna wanna go left."
(Should we timeskip to getting to their house or have you got something specific planned?)
(We can skip I've got nothing planned.)
(It works for me)
Paolo pulls up in Lotus' driveway and parks. Not in a parking space though, just on the road, so he can drop off Lotus and go back. "Well, Lotus, it was nice getting to know you." he smiled softly at them "I hope it was nice for you too. See you later. Oh! and make sure to sleep well." he waved at them