hey, i'll be your novocaine [kurt]

[juice]

I'll take your wrong and make it right; I'll take your load and make it light
Dry your eyes and you can bet any hurt that you remember gonna help you forget

The plate of food sat in front of her in an almost mocking way. A slice of greasy pizza, some fries, and a cup of ice cream. Probably the least healthy thing she could've picked. But, oh well. She hadn't eaten all day, finding it much better to just sleep. But when the alarm woke her at 3, Callie realized that not only had she slept off her hangover, but she had a study session planned with Kurt at 4. They'd been planning it for a while, ever since the blonde received a 'D' on her last article that she'd turned it. Okay, so it maybe wasn't her best work, but she really didn't worry about it. She actually only started caring when she realized that she was failing the class. That's when she called Kurt to help. And of course he abided. Callie had never known the boy to deny help to anyone.

So this was why she was in the dining hall, sipping on a Cherry Coke, with her laptop in front of her, the cursor blinking expectantly on an empty Word document. The next article they had to complete was to be about Oktoberfest. Now normally, Callie would've been all over it. But she'd lost her muse. October wasn't the month to write, nor was it the month that the girl would consider herself functional to write. With a small sigh, Callie tossed her hair into a ponytail and took a fry. Greasy food was usually good for a hangover. Actually, the girl figured it would not only help her hangover, but it would keep her from having a hangover the next morning. At least now she wouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach.

She glanced around the room, looking for any sign that Kurt was coming. He was either late or she was early. Well, whatever, it didn't matter. As long as he would help her, it was okay. Callie could let this one slip. She hadn't payed much attention to her appearance, allowing herself to slip into a plain pair of jeans, some flats, and a long sleeve baby blue shirt. She wasn't dressed to impress, but at least she wasn't in her sweats. She cared what Kurt thought, sure, but she didn't feel like putting the effort into something like a study session. If they were going to a party, sure, Callie would make the effort. But this was nothing. It was just... writing and... chatting.

Callie dug a little deeper into her food, dipping some of the fries in the ice cream and finally taking a bite from the pizza. It was cafeteria food; totally not up to the standards that she was used to at home. But, she wasn't at home, so this would just have to make due. Frowning, she scanned the computer, finally typing out the words 'Oktoberfest: Celebrating German History' into the header. There, it was started. Kurt would be happy about that. Grinning to herself, Callie yawned, taking another drink of her Coke. Now, if only they had a smoking section in the dinning hall...

[sammyjean]

"Urgh... I hate the dining hall," Kurt muttered to himself, his brooding face glaring slightly as he walked toward the building. He never ate the food they offered here; it just wasn't worth the cost, and tasted like processed leftovers. He preferred to venture off-campus to the fancier restaurants, and was so regular at a few that they began to give him discounts on their highly priced food. However expensive it was, he could afford it anyway; why not eat like a king if he could?

Kurt's long strides brought him quickly through the dining hall without making it seem like he was rushing. His deep green eyes scanned the tables for his blonde friend, pausing at a spot to his left while his body turned slightly in order to make a beeline in that direction. His torn jeans and black t-shirt were no better than Callie's casual dress, and he smiled slightly as her as he approached, figuring she wouldn't have dressed up at all anyway. Hell, she'd probably woken up not long before she get here, knowing her.

"Good afternoon, Callie," he said politely, in a gravelly voice that wasn't very low, but was more masculine than the average man's. Keeping his bright green eyes upon her, Kurt pulled out the chair opposite Callie's and sat down, his posture nearly impeccable. "Have you gotten anything done yet, or are we starting from square one?"

After speaking, he let his smile turn up to one side, becoming as much of a grin as he had ever been able to muster. He wasn't one to smile very often, and it looked slightly awkward on his rugged, usually-angry face. He'd taken a liking to Callie, however, since he'd been tutoring her. She was like a little sister he had to help with homework, though if he actually had a little sister that was failing almost all of her classes, he'd lay down a few rules. There would be no stopping Callie from doing all her partying and drinking, and Kurt was fine with that; he wasn't so attached to her that he felt the need to start an intervention.

[juice]

I'll take your wrong and make it right; I'll take your load and make it light
Dry your eyes and you can bet any hurt that you remember gonna help you forget

Callie figured that the dining hall was a mutual setting for both of them. It wasn't too crowded this time of day, plus, they had at least some edible food. She didn't really factor in the fact that Kurt didn't like coming, deciding more on the fact that they had greasy food and a connection to the internet if they needed it. Oh well, he was probably too nice to point out the fact that he hated it here, or the fact that he could get them cheaper food somewhere else. Price didn't matter to Callie, nor did the atmosphere. She'd been here four years, so she knew when the times were high for students to come in. Luckily, there were only about ten people scattered in the hall.

The girl took another bite of pizza, smiling contently as she stared at the computer screen. Yeah, she hadn't gotten much done. And yeah, the project was due in just two days. But, with Kurt, it'd be a lot easier to get things done. Callie pulled out her phone, checking the time and flipping through her texts. Another good thing about the boy was that she couldn't skip out on studying. He'd probably come and find her and make her do the work. And if she tried to leave early? Well, she could just forget about that. Even if Fuel was having a special running from 6-11 on drinks, Kurt would make her stay until the work was done.

Looking up from her phone as she heard his voice, Callie smiled. "No need to be polite, Kurt, it's only me," although she knew that comment was useless, she still said it. Kurt was always so polite and caring. The blonde couldn't help but love that about him. He was a genuine guy that could only come from his upbringing. A man couldn't learn to be this nice unless someone had taught him well. "Ahmm.. well you know me, Kurt," she said with a laugh. "I've gotten as far as typing out the header. Aren't you proud?"

Yes, Callie was usually this much a slacker. This was why she'd hired Kurt to help. Although she knew he probably wouldn't expect any pay, she sincerely wanted to thank him in some way. She just hadn't thought of how. Kurt was just too mysterious for her to give anything to him. The Vanderbilt girl wouldn't know what to do or how to go about doing it. Had he expected compensation? Well, she was going to spring the question, anyway. "I've got to pay you back for these study sessions sometime," Callie said briefly, as if it didn't matter much to her as it actually did. "And I'm serious about it this time. You've pulled me out of some pretty tough positions recently."

[sammyjean]

Kurt's awkward smile grew more genuine as Callie spoke, something he never could control. He could fake a smile, sure, but the real ones always came and went on their own. Relaxing, he leaned forward a little on the table, surveying the area curiously as she spoke. As he expected, she chose a time to come to the Dining Hall when very few people were here, for which he was grateful. It wasn't that he was anti-social, or didn't want to be seen with Callie; he just felt more comfortable in a more secluded setting. Short of taking her back to his apartment, only a few miles off campus, there wasn't a better place around for them to work together.

"At least you've done as much as I expected," Kurt joked, though it was true; he didn't ever expect Callie to have started any assignment she needed help on. It just didn't work that way with her. He was still looking around the hall when she spoke of paying him back, which caused his already somewhat crunched features to crease even further, in a sort of mildly-angry and offended look. "Pay me back? Callie, it's not like I'm a professional. There's no need to feel as though you owe me. I'm doing this because I want you to graduate."

That wasn't all he was in this for, but she didn't need to know about his attraction to her. It was more of a school-boy crush than anything, and he knew that, no matter how fond he grew of her, they just wouldn't work well together. She liked to go out and drink every night, and he preferred to sit at home and read, or watch the occasional Alfred Hitchcock film, which he enjoyed more than any other movies he'd ever been forced to watch. Kurt would rather gag himself with a spoon than associate with most of the 'party animals' of Washington University while they were in their element. No, he enjoyed his quiet time, and the passing flashes of teeth as everyone greeted him when he walked by.

"Now. The assignment is about Oktoberfest, since it's the most popular event of the season right now. The first celebration was in Munich, back in 1810. Start with a little explanation of the history, and then we can dive into the current practices," he rattled off after pausing a moment, looking at Callie with a concentrated, expectant face. The easiest way for this to happen was for Kurt to pretty much tell her what to do, although he'd get bored of that and eventually just tell her what to research, reliving moments from his most recent reads in his head while she clicked away on her laptop.

[juice]

I'll take your wrong and make it right; I'll take your load and make it light
Dry your eyes and you can bet any hurt that you remember gonna help you forget

His smile. That little, sideways smirk. Callie couldn't help but be drawn in by it. She admired it, really. She wished her face could make such an awkward little smirk into something so cute. Of course, she had her own ways of attracting someone, but Kurt's ways were just so... adorable. She couldn't help but smile when he did. It showed that the atmosphere was comfortable enough for him; something she always liked to provide. Callie took another bite from her pizza, chewing it slowly and surely and not really caring if it looked as if she'd starved herself. Right now, all the greasy food tasted so good. She'd live off of it for the rest of her life if she could. And if she wouldn't become fat.

Callie laughed. "Well thanks for having so much faith in me, Mr. Brody. I knew I could count on your support through my senior year," she smirked back, knowing that he was joking, but still pretending to be slightly hurt. Yeah, she was known to slack a bit. But that was why Kurt was here. He always got her out of slumps and actually helped with articles; instead of getting side-tracked by talking about parties and who was with who like the rest of Callie's friends. Kurt was a mutual party. Plus, he didn't like the excessive partying.

"Yes, pay you back," she said with a nod. "I've wasted so much of your time with my stupid projects, I think I have to pay you back some how." If you knew Callie, you knew that no good deed to her went unbridled or un-thanked. She'd give someone the world in a hand basket if they wanted it after helping her. Hell, she had enough money to toss around. She grinned at the boy, hopefully conveying to him that there had to be some way that she could pay him back. After all, she dragged him out of his element to places he didn't want to be just to help her with petty assignments.

Callie nodded, wiping off her greasy fingers before turning to the computer and typing out a few sentences before finding her way onto a 'History of Oktoberfest' site and pulling facts from hit. "How do you know all this, anyway?" she asked off offhandedly, still staring at the computer screen and clacking away. She knew he was smart, but rattling off facts like this was something that not a lot of people could do. Callie guessed that Kurt was just special that way.

[sammyjean]

Keeping the smile on his face, Kurt blatantly ignored Callie's extra comments about paying him back. He wasn't doing this for charity, and he certainly didn't expect money or anything bought with money for helping out a fellow student. If he was doing this for any personal gain, it was to have something to do outside of his apartment. If he didn't have these every-few-day study sessions with Callie, he'd sit at home and read all day. Not that he wouldn't like that; but he knew getting out was healthy, and besides, he was running out of new books to read. He would have had to go to the library sooner if Callie didn't need the help.

When the question fell on his ears, Kurt glanced off in the distance, spacing out for a moment before speaking. He didn't often answer questions satisfactorily for people; at least, not questions that could delve into his past and bring up horrible memories. He was always as short as possible with anything but a surface-deep inquiry, and most people respected that, even if they hated not getting a sincere and truthful (as well as revealing) answer. "I read a lot. I've always been able to remember most of the things I read. Besides, I had a German class in high school, and we studied most of their culture," he said softly, not in a sad way but a sort of nostalgic way.

He'd always enjoyed German, which was odd. His teacher was probably the worst in that class, and his peers had been twice as cruel there as in any other classes. He never knew why they'd hated him so much in that class; sure, he got every answer right no matter what, but he never spoke up and answered the teacher. He didn't even know how they found out his grade was absolutely perfect. Perhaps a spiteful teacher would resort to allowing for more torture.

Turning back to Callie, he let his eyes roam her face as she concentrated on her laptop. Though he never, ever showed any outward signs of his feelings towards any woman, he always admired them in silence. Like the average male, he was fascinated by the female species. However, unlike the rest, he was not the disgusting dirtball no woman wanted to be around. Like a poet, he strung together beautiful words in his mind to remember how a woman looked, and it had been easy for him to do this with Callie from the start. He often wondered what a relationship with her would be like, but they all ended with him refusing to go to parties, and leaving her when she came home reeking of alcohol and drunk beyond reason. After such thoughts, he always shook his head, ashamed for both his opinions and Callie's very nature.

[/size]

[juice]

I'll take your wrong and make it right; I'll take your load and make it light
Dry your eyes and you can bet any hurt that you remember gonna help you forget

Even if their studying did get him out of the house, Callie thought that maybe something extra would sweeten the deal. Maybe should could buy him a new collection of books, or a gift card to a Barnes and Noble or something of the sorts. That's what he liked wasn't it? Books? "I'm serious, Kurt," she said, glancing away from the laptop for a moment to look at him. "There's got to be something that you want or need that I could get you for doing this for me. You don't know how much it means." She really hadn't told him how much it actually meant for her to be passing her classes... well most of them, anyway. And with Kurt being the main reason? Well, he did deserve something.

Callie glanced back to her work after she'd asked the question, noticing that Kurt didn't answer right away. He gazed out into the distance like some philosopher, and the girl didn't really want to pry into his past. Obviously, the question that she'd asked had struck some kind of chord. "I remember you telling me that once..." she said vaguely, clicking around on the website. "I just don't know how you can remember it all. It's kind of scary." She said this as kind of a joke, not to make fun of him or anything. Callie glanced to him, offering a smile to let him know that she was kidding.

The girl never really had been that good in high school; she tended to skip class more than she went to it. But she'd always kept her grades at a somewhat respectable level. Mostly in English, though. Callie wouldn't put herself near Sciences and Maths until she absolutely had to. They were just too, formula-related. She couldn't creatively find her way out of a Math problem like she could with an English problem. She couldn't write herself out of anything. That was probably the problem with it all. That was why she got into journalism.

"All right, I think I've got most of it," she said, nodding at her work and turning the laptop around so Kurt could read it. "What do you think?" He was always so critical and so caring of what she wrote. He'd point out the bad things and then give her pointers as to how to fix everything. He was a good guy. Callie really appreciated him, more than he'd probably know. They never really talked outside of class or studying, but she had grown a liking to him. Just a little crush, to put it simply.

[sammyjean]

Again, Kurt ignored her barrage of words about repayment. He knew that it was just the Vanderbilt's way; she always paid people back, usually with a drink or money. He just refused to take payment for something he enjoyed doing. And he sincerely enjoyed helping Callie pass her classes. He liked seeing her succeed, and there was a sort of parental pride that welled in him when she spoke of her latest grade, and thanked him for helping her. It was as if he was the older brother, helping her out when she needed him most. True, they didn't have much of a relationship outside of study sessions, but their ideas of enjoyment were quite different. It wouldn't work very well, the way Kurt looked at it.

Hearing her comment about his memory being scary, Kurt laughed, a deep and charming sound. He'd always liked his own laugh, but didn't often hear it. "I'll use my good memory next time you're struck with the hiccups and you'll be cured for life," he shot right back, the smile tugging at his lips again. It amused Kurt how people were surprised or, in Callie's case, almost concerned about his ability to remember things. Even he didn't know exactly why his memory was so vast and specific; in fact, he wished it wasn't. So many thoughts of the past were stored up in his mind, and many of them he would be better off without. Some things just never went away.

"Here, let me see..." he said as she turned the laptop toward him, pulling it closer and putting his face close to the screen with a slightly humorous expression, as though he were closely inspecting something that was tiny. Smiling again, he leaned back and read it properly, eyes quickly scanning the text that had so recently been written. "Grammar here... this word is misspelled, that's what the angry red line is trying to tell you..." Kurt said with his smirk, glancing over the top of the portable computer to study Callie's response to his teasing. There wasn't anything wrong with her article so far, but he enjoyed ribbing as much as anyone else. He was just particular about whom he chose to joke around with.

Nodding in approval, he turned the laptop back to its owner and glanced around again, almost as if he was paranoid about something happening around him. "It looks good, but it seems too fact-based, and not really user-friendly, you know? It's supposed to be an informational article, but try putting a little bit of a personal touch into it. Pretend you went to Germany and found all of this out on your travels," Kurt suggested, his mind starting to wander to the last book he had read, though he wasn't sure why. Perhaps the main character reminded him of Callie, and he was wondering how they would interact. That was a big habit of his: thinking of random situations and playing them out in his head.

[/size]

[juice]

I'll take your wrong and make it right; I'll take your load and make it light
Dry your eyes and you can bet any hurt that you remember gonna help you forget

Sometimes it was hard to talk to Kurt. He usually didn't talk back. And what he did say was either short, sweet, and too the point, or it was so far over Callie's head that she couldn't say or do anything beside nodding her pretty blonde head. She was probably too shallow for him as it was. Probably even mentioning paying him again would get her more of the cold shoulder, so she decided to just keep her mouth shut about it. Anyway, he seemed to enjoy the thought of her passing as his pay, and she really couldn't do much around that and actually giving the boy something. So, if he wanted to play the parent, he could. Callie didn't mind too much, she just felt bad for taking up his time.

His laugh was just a bit cute. The girl couldn't help but blush a little as she heard it. It was almost a flattering sort of sound. Like getting a kid to say their first words. If she made Kurt laugh, it was an accomplishment. "Oh har har, I almost didn't get that one," she grinned. "But I'll make a note of it." Callie wasn't kidding. It was frightening how well he seemed to remember things. She herself couldn't barely remember what she'd had for breakfast. Wait, she hadn't had breakfast. Well, regardless of that fact, her memory was shoddy to say the least. Half of that was owed to drinking, but the other half was just her nature. She could remember most of what happened on a night of drinking, but nothing that was supposed to be an exam. Selective memory... was that what it was called?

She watched his expression, not being able to keep the smile from her face. Callie loved watching the boy work. It was as entertaining as it was informative, and she was surprised that not a lot of people had spotted it before her. Not a lot of people knew who she was talking about when she said she was going to study with Kurt Brody. They just assumed that was code for going out. "Oh so that's that that meant," she said sarcastically, smacking her head with the palm of her hand. "Sorry if I don't scrutinize before turning it over to the automatic spell checker, yeah?" Callie wasn't that stupid. She knew what it meant. She usually just saved the editing until the end. But with Kurt there, she should've know that it'd be pointed out immediately.

Callie glanced around the hall as well, frowning slightly. What was Kurt looking at? She chose to ignore it, pulling the laptop towards her. "Heh, if I went to Germany, you wouldn't see me back here," she muttered, now beginning to retype some of the things that Kurt had talked about. User-friendly? Well, she could perhaps edit some parts about the basic history, switching rather, to funny stories of what'd she'd seen so far during this year's Oktoberfest. Or... well, she was a bit stuck. Sighing with frustration, Callie glanced up to Kurt. "Your user-friendly suggestion isn't so user-friendly," she said to him.