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Beauty and the Brainiac - A Nindsay Fic

The bell had rung, signaling the end of high school for the day. Yet, two students remained in their classroom.

Lindsay Wilson was talking to her English teacher, Mr. Andrews about something.

"How come I have to be partners with Norm for this thing? We've only talked, like, two times the whole semester."

"Noah is an exceptionally bright young man, and it would behoove you to work with him on this." The teacher said.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Noah Carter was sitting at his desk reading his book, impatiently waiting so he could leave. He didn't understand why the teacher had asked him to wait as well.

"But why can't I work with Beth on this? She's smart too, and we're best friends!" Lindsay pleaded.

"That's exactly the reason." The teacher said. "You two would just gossip the whole night away without getting any work done."

"But-"

"Look, Lindsay." Mr. Andrews said, cutting the blonde off.

He held up a piece of paper that had '20 / 100' written on it with red ink.

"This was your grade on the test we took today."

"Oh. Is that bad?"

"It's very bad. If your grades don't pick up, you'll fail this class."

"Oh no."

"Yes. Listen, I'm holding make-up tests during first period tomorrow for you and some of the others that didn't do too well."

"Oh! I love makeup!" Lindsay exclaimed.

"I suggest you study for it, and I also suggest you finish your book report. In case you've forgotten, it's due tomorrow. It's a good chance to bump your grade up."

"What number do I have to get?"

"A 70." The teacher said, adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses.

"Oh. That's really big."

"Indeed it is, but it's not impossible. I think you can do it, Lindsay. You just have to stay focused, that's all."

"Ahem," Noah said from the back. "Not to be rude, Mr. Andrews, but I don't see how this involves me. May I be excused?"

"Well I was just getting to that. See, you two are partners for that book report. I know you can afford to not do it and still pass this class with flying colors, but Lindsay does not have such a luxury."

"Alright. I'll finish it tonight." Noah said, preparing to leave.

"Not so fast. This is a combined book report. I want an equal amount of effort from both of you."

"Ugh. Fine." Noah groaned.

"Good. You are dismissed."

The two students then left the room.

Noah grabbed his bag from his locker and was going to catch a bus and head home.

"Neal! Wait up!" Someone called from behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Lindsay.

The girl caught up to him and stopped to catch her breath for a while before speaking.

"What are we gonna do now? Mr. Anthony said he would call my parents if I get a failing grade tomorrow!"

"Anthony? Oh, Mr. Andrews. I'll finish the report up in no time. It's not that big of a deal. You can write your name on it at the end."

"But we have to do it together, remember?"

"Well, we can't do it now. All the stuff's at my house."

"I can't go to your house! My daddy won't let me go to anyone's house."

"Yeah, it's better if you don't come to my house anyway. I have eight siblings. I would get bombarded with a million questions if I brought a girl home."

"Hm. Oh, you could come to my house, then!" Lindsay said.

Before Noah could protest, Lindsay had handed him a slip of paper with her address and phone number on it.

At that point, a white Ferrari pulled up near them. Its driver honked the horn.

"Oh. That's my chauffeur. I got to go. I'll be ready at 4:00, okay? Call me if you get lost!" Lindsay said. She then skipped off to the vintage car and drove off in it.

This was not how Noah planned his evening to go at all. He had hoped to sit down and play Kosmic Kaos the whole night with his friends online. Unfortunately for him, he would have to go to a girl's house instead.

"This bites." Noah grumbled to himself as he rode the bus home.

Noah's house was chaotic, and no one realized him walk in. No one would ask him how his day went, not that he cared, anyway. It was almost like he was invisible.

It was 3 o'clock now, meaning he had barely any time left.

He grabbed a quick bite to eat before freshening up and putting new clothes on. He called Lindsay to inform her that he was on his way, filled his backpack with the necessary supplies, and left the building.

-X-

*Ding dong*

At 4 on the dot, Noah was standing at the place that Lindsay had written. The place was like a mansion.

He rang the bell and was observing the massive courtyard when someone answered the door.

Noah saw a well-dressed gentleman in a black tuxedo addressing him.

"Well, hello, sir. Please, come in."

Noah stood shocked, not used to such a fancy greeting. He was about to step inside when someone else spoke.

"Alfred! What have I told you about letting in people willy-nilly?" A booming voice asked.

A large blond figure with a blue shirt and denim jeans towered over Noah.

"Just who might you be?" The man asked.

Noah fought the urge to run for his life and answered the man, whom he assumed was Lindsay's father.

"I'm Noah." The Indo-Canadian said. "I have to do an assignment with Lindsay."

"NOAH? My daughter never mentioned anyone named 'Noah'. You get out now!" The man said, slamming the door in Noah's face.

"Well, this is going great." Noah mumbled to himself.

He was about to leave when the door reopened. This time, it was a female figure that was also blonde and had similar facial features as that of Lindsay, except older.

"I apologize for my husband's behavior earlier." The woman said. "You can come in."

Noah did as Lindsay's mom said, and entered the house.

It was grand. Noah had never been in such a big house. It was almost like a museum.

Noah saw Lindsay coming down the stairs.

"Nick! You're here!" The blonde said.

"It's 'Noah'." Noah said.

"Come upstairs, Nick. We have a book report to do!" Lindsay said. She was dressed in a red shirt with red pajamas.

Noah sighed before climbing up the stairs himself. He was stopped by Lindsay's father.

"Listen, young man, if you do anything to hurt my daughter, you'll be wishing we'd never met." The buff man said.

'Believe me, I'm already wishing it.' Noah thought to himself.

Noah hated partner projects. He preferred working alone. Partnering up meant that if the person messed up, they would both suffer for it. He didn't like to be hindered by the shortcomings of others. Though she was sweet and nice, Lindsay was not the brightest bulb in the box.

Lindsay loved partner projects. It was much better than sitting alone and working. A partner project meant you had someone to talk to and correct your mistakes for you. You could never get bored if you do your assignment with a partner. Though he was annoying and impatient, Noah was one smart cookie.

They were sitting on a bed in Lindsay's room, which was covered in pink wallpaper. Needless to say, it was huge. What hit Noah first was the heavy aroma of perfume. It was so strong that it caused Noah to gag a bit.

Noah had never been to the house of a girl that wasn't related to him before, and he wondered if every high school girl's house was like this.

"Alright. Let's get this over with." Noah said.

"Get what over with?"

"The book report, Lindsay."

"Oh, right."

"Now, I think I know the answer to this question, but did you even read the book at all?"

"What book? We had to read a book?"

"Yeah. 'Lord of the Flies', remember?"

"Oh. That's a weird name for a fashion magazine."

Noah slapped his forehead. "It's not a magazine, Lindsay. It's a novel. We have to write a report on it now and you have a test on it tomorrow."

Lindsay gasped in shock. "Oh no, Norbert. What do we do?"

Noah had already read the book ten times over, so he almost new it by heart. He started explaining the concepts to Lindsay.

"Wait. Who's Ralph again?"

"He's like the main character. He's kind of like the leader, but most of the others turn on him in the end."

"Then who's Dave?"

"There is no Dave."

"Oh. This story's so confusing."

A part of Noah thought that this was a lost cause and that he should just leave now.

However, he didn't want to abandon Lindsay. What if Mr. Andrews docked his grade for it?

Noah tapped his chin and decided that a pictorial representation would be easier for the blonde to understand.

That was it!

He pulled out a piece of paper and drew a big circle on it.

"Ooo. I like drawings!" Lindsay said.

"This is the island." Noah said, pointing at the circle. "Pretty much the whole story takes place here, okay?

"Okay."

Noah found that using drawings to explain the plot certainly helped Lindsay understand the story better, and he cursed himself internally for not thinking of the idea earlier.

Once Noah was sure that Lindsay had gotten the gist of the book, they started with the reports.

They had to answer questions with regards to the book. Nearly all the questions were opinion-based, but they had to use quotes from the book to support their statements.

Lindsay found some difficult as she didn't understand what the question was asking, so Noah helped her with it.

At last, they were finished. They had both written ten pages worth of stuff, and it was exhausting.

They both sat down, tired. Empty bags of chips and a half-empty soda bottle lay nearby.

"I sure hope tomorrow's test is easy." Lindsay said.

"Just don't worry about it." Noah said. "I think you know the story pretty well, considering the circumstances."

Noah glanced at the clock in Lindsay's room. It was now 9 o'clock. Lindsay saw it too.

"Wow, Norton. It's really late. I'm sorry for making you stay this long."

"That's okay."

"But, like, won't your parents be mad?"

"My parents? Ha! They don't care. I do whatever I want. They barely acknowledge my existence."

"But they're your mom and dad! They shouldn't treat you like that."

Noah sighed. "I know. I've gotten used to it."

"You could, like, stay the night if you want." Lindsay suggested. "We've got a guest bedroom."

Noah was shocked at the thought. "No, no. I really must be going!" He said, grabbing his stuff.

He placed both of their reports in a folder and was leaving the room.

"Wait." Lindsay said. "Thank you so much for this." She then hugged him tightly.

It was awkward for Noah, who had never hugged any girl without blood-relations to him. There was something innocent and childlike about Lindsay that he found charming. Her bubbly blue eyes and golden hair made her seem like a real life Helen of Troy.

"Uh… yeah. I better go." Noah said, hurrying off.

Noah hoped Lindsay didn't see his face turning red. He thanked Lindsay's mom and dad for their hospitality before heading home.

Noah had gotten home late, but no one cared. It was a good thing he took a spare set of house-keys along with him.

Tired from his efforts and glad that the work had gotten finished, Noah drifted off to sleep.

-X-

It was the next day of school and English was the first period on the schedule.

Noah and Lindsay handed in their reports together, and Mr. Andrews smiled.

"See? Was that so hard?" The teacher asked rhetorically.

As he said on the previous day, the teacher allowed those with a poor grade in the previous day's assessment to take a retest. Those not retesting were allowed to do anything they pleased as long as they did it silently so as not to disturb the others.

Noah had already gotten a 100 as usual, but he still wasn't completely satisfied. He was glancing at a certain young blonde in the room, trying to read her facial expressions to see how she was doing.

Said blonde was too busy concentrating to show any facial expressions, and Noah resumed reading his book.

Lindsay was one of the first to hand in her test, which meant she either new everything, or that she didn't know anything. With 25 multiple choice questions, you could never be sure.

Mr. Andrews was shocked as well, but he collected the paper. He would hand them back during last period.

Noah looked for a sign from Lindsay regarding her test performance. A simple thumbs up or down would have sufficed, but he received none. He would hate for his hard work to go to waste.

Once everyone had handed in their tests, the teaching resumed. After a while, the bell rang and it was time for the next period to start. Noah really wanted to ask Lindsay how she did, but the girl had already walked off to her next class.

The rest of the day went by rather quickly, though Harold McGrady's failed science experiment where he nearly blew up the whole Science Lab during third period had really gotten the school talking.

Lindsay was one of the most sought after girls in the whole student body along with Heather Chan and Courtney Mendez, with a bunch of boys vying to date her. Many boys had done favors for Lindsay, but she thought it was only because she was rich and pretty. Lindsay found it weird how most boys were always staring at the area below her neck instead of her face while talking to her.

Neal was not like these guys. He actually wanted to help Lindsay and even stayed up till late in the night tutoring her. She didn't think that someone like Neal would do such a thing for her.

During the last few minutes of the last period of the day, Mr. Andrews handed back the tests that the students had taken.

Lindsay was studying her paper intently until her face fell on the final grade she got.

Once again, Noah tried to make out whether Lindsay had passed or not by her facial expression. Once again, he couldn't judge properly.

The bell rang and Lindsay left the class. Noah thought that it was because she had failed the course and felt mad at himself for not teaching her well enough. The worst part was that he didn't even have anyone that he could talk to about his problems as his parent were always busy tending to his elder siblings.

He went to his locker and grabbed his supplies, ready to go and play some Kosmic Kaos to take some mind off things.

That's when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around, expecting it to be the school bully, Duncan King. It had been a while since Noah had been stuffed down the toilet. He turned around, preparing to face the inevitable.

What he saw was not the rough and tough Duncan, but someone much prettier. It was Lindsay.

"Oh, hey." Noah said, takewn aback a bit.

"Thank you so much!" Lindsay said. "I would never have passed the test without you, Noah."

Noah just stood in stunned silence.

"What's wrong?" Lindsay asked the bookworm.

"Lindsay, you- you actually got my name right for once." Noah said.

"...I did, didn't I?" Lindsay asked.

"Wow. You passed the test! Congrats!" Noah said.

"I got a 90!" Lindsay happily said. "I never get '90s'. It's all thanks to you!"

"No, Lindsay. You earned that 90 because you studied hard. I knew you could do it." Noah said.

"Yeah, but you explained everything so easily to me. You turned a novel into a picture book! I just wish there was some way to make it up to you."

"No. It's fine." Noah said.

"Well, daddy says that I should only do this if I really like someone, but I guess now's the time." Lindsay said.

"Do what?" Noah asked.

He was cut off by the blonde's lips meeting his. Noah was in shock. He couldn't believe that one of the hottest girls in the school was kissing him. He had no idea how to react, and kept pinching himself to be assured that he wasn't dreaming.

After a good couple of minutes, Lindsay let him go.

"Thanks, Norm!" The girl said, heading out the school.

'And... back to forgetting my name.' Noah thought.

Many people had watched the spectacle taking place before them, continually rubbing their eyes to make sure they weren't being deceived.

Their eyes were locked on Noah as he left the building with a large grin on his face.

As he sat on the bus ride home, Noah had never felt happier in his life.

He also felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. Something that he yearned for, yet had rarely received from his parents or siblings.

Noah felt loved.

Well there you go. My first oneshot. Hope I managed to stay in character, though I toned down Noah's cynicism in this one.

P.S. I've never actually read 'Lord of the Flies' but I felt like it was a common reading assignment for North American 9th graders. Sorry if I got any details wrong there.

Thanks for reading! Review if you liked it! :D