Much to some people's surprise, there were some things in life that could motivate him out of his perpetual slacker state, and the sight of a beautiful woman in distress topped that list.

"What's the matter darlin'? Realize you got your red underwear mixed in with your whites?" He knew it was a little too forward for laundry mat banter, but at least he'd be amused for five minutes.

She unfolded herself form her textbooks and beheld the man slouching before her. He was around her age, hair pulled back into a strange sort of top-knot, one hand shoved in the pocket of his jeans as the other hung at his side, fingers drumming against his thigh. 'Cocky son of a bitch.' she thought and smirked, deciding to kill the conversation before it could really begin with the quickest weapon she had at her disposal: chemistry, second level.

"No. I'm actually wearing my sexy red panties right now; it's this damn NMR and IR. I can't get them to match up enough to figure out what molecule I'm looking at." She went for the kill. "See, this spike here says I'm dealing with an aromatic compound," she stated while pointing to one of the graphs before quickly pointing to another portion, "and this says that an amine is attached, but after double checking with the NMR, I can't tell where they lie in relation to one another."

His eyes widened for a moment in astonishment. It wasn't the underwear comment that had caught him off guard, hell; he had heard more provocative things just walking down the street. It was what had come after that had shocked him. He had seen the textbooks laid out before her when he entered, but assumed from them that she was just some bit of sorority fluff who had put off studying for some gen-ed class to the last minute so she could party.

He quickly recovered and took the seat opposite her. "Let me see those." he said moving the paper from under her fingertips and sliding them over to get a better look. He watched as her smirk fell and her pale eyes grew rounder, a mirror of his own visage just moments before. He wondered briefly if they would glow under black light but put it aside for later contemplation as he glanced down at the spec readings before him. In less than a minute he turned them so she could read them with ease. "Here." he pointed out. "This single spike at 1.5, that's your amine. Only one spike, so only on hydrogen attached to the nitrogen. Looks like it's between the aromatic and an isopropyl group."

She pulled the paperwork closer to get a better look, hoping that somehow she could prove the cocky bastard wrong. She couldn't though. She knew he'd been right the moment the words left his mouth. Her eyes skipped up to his face and back down the paper. "How did you..." she stuttered, still astonished. "Have you taken this class before?"

"No." came the simplest of replies.

"Then how?"

"Pure talent darlin'."

Her eyes narrowed as she added a few more adjectives to his cocky bastard title.

He decided to drop the attitude for the moment as the confused look on her face battled with one of slight indignation. He couldn't pinpoint where the feeling had come from, but for whatever reason the girl intrigued him and he didn't want to risk offending her anymore. "I actually never went to college. I'm just a... " he paused, searching for the right phrase, "just a rather smart guy. Chemistry's a fascinating subject though so I've read a few books."

"Read a few books? No one does organic chemistry for fun!"

He laughed at the truth behind the statement. His shoulder rolled in a lazy imitation of a shrug. "Never been accused of being the average guy."

The buzzer from one of the many dryers cut between them and they booth looked toward the source. "That's mine." she said, rising as she grabbed a basket. He watched as she lifted the hot laundry from the dryer and began to fold them meticulously on a nearby table. She made no attempt to speak to him as she folded, and did not bother to even look at him. He still could not fathom his sudden fascination with the woman. She was unconventionally beautiful, her dark hair and clothes contrasting starkly with her alabaster skin and even paler eyes, making her appear a monochromatic figure even in the ugly yellow glare of the room. From their short conversation and the copious amount of notes, he knew her to be reasonably intelligent. His intellectual equal no, but someone he felt could hold her own in a decent conversation.

Unseen by him, she was watching. She saw him as he steepled his fingers, resting them against his lips in contemplation. He was watching her she knew, but she wasn't getting that insane/stalker vibe off of him like some of the men she'd run into in a late night laundry mat. It was more like she was some riddle that he had only half overheard and was still trying to decipher. He was cocky, yes, but she still felt some affinity for him. They had chemistry, she thought, and giggled inwardly at her own bad joke. A nerd hid behind that slight suave facade, and she felt the connection just might be due to that. A nerd, and a very good looking one to boot.

She packed her now neatly folded clothes in the basket and returned the table, setting it on the ground before sitting herself. She smiled at him as she began to gather her many books and supplies and stow them away in her bag.

He frowned, watching her pack her things to leave. A shot of guilt rang through him and he wondered if maybe he had pushed some button he should not have. "You leaving?"

"No, no. I still have a couple more loads in." she answered. "I'm Hinata by the way."

He nodded his acceptance, the frown vanishing now that he knew he was innocent of any unknown crime. "Shikamaru."