Chapter I: Deus Ex Machina

"Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination."
- Bertrand Russell

Having lived all 17 years of his life so far expanding the contents of his mind, Dexter has always felt like a loner in society. At a young age he was naive and selfish thinking he did not need anyone else just because all the other kids picked on him and shunned him for being smart. He soon grew to learn that his family were the only people who truly cared about him and as annoying as Dee Dee was, he still loved her and cared for her. He did have some friends as a little boy, but more often than not, they would either move away or back-stab him just so they could make other friends. As far as Dexter was concerned, the only two people he could even consider friends were Mordecai and as much as he hated him, Mandark; He was a jerk to him, but as much as he hated to admit it, Mandark was also a very good rival in the science community that was on par with Dexter. There was respect, sprinkled with hatred in this relationship of theirs.
Now Dexter valued his relationships with his friends and family throughout the years and he learned to appreciate them, but the one aspect that was missing in his life was one he never truly experience in his life: Love. A relationship that starts with a stranger of the opposite sex that grows as they spend more time together and can have multiple consequences. Now Dexter, being the genius that he was, pondered on the chemistry and philosophy to get an all around general idea of it. On the science part of things, it involved chemicals in the brain, hormones, and other factors that results in the emotion called love; and on the philosophical part, it involves beauty, the joining of two souls, and the idea that out there somewhere, is an ideal partner for every one person. Dexter spent nights studying in his lab, but to no avail kept failing to sympathize with beauty of it all as he has never truly fallen in love with a girl before.
"I am truly hopeless in this attempt of mine!" Dexter said, "How can I hope to understand love when I've never experienced it myself?!"

"Computer!" Dexter snarled in frustration, "I have been hopeless in this quest of mine, and have refrained from seeking your advice in hope of connecting with my natural instincts and not analyzing everything through a microscope. As of now, I am authorizing you to please advice me on how to seek love in this world!"
"Searching for ways to find love." Computer said, "Studies show that if you seem and act more social towards the people around you, be 'yourself', and interact with the right woman, you'll be able to find love...sooner or later."
Dexter noticed that little quip Computer said, but just shrugged it off as he was analyzing the results of her conclusion to his dilemma. Dexter isn't the same as he was a child, he's learned to be nicer towards people who don't understand him, and ignores the others who simply hate him for being a genius. As Dexter found out through social media and pop culture, people like that are referred to as "Haters" and nothing more, though he never really understood why people said such stupid things like that. All of that aside, he really loved shows such as Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and has also recently taken a liking to 30 Rock. As far as Dexter knew, he was already primed and ready to interact with his kind of people, so he readied himself for school tomorrow and practiced in front of his mirror to ease the knot he had in his stomach; sadly, it only got worst, but Dexter knew he had to persevere his anxiety so he could make some more friends and find love. It wasn't going to be easy, but if Dexter had anything more than his smarts, it would be the amount of tenacity he had to meet his goal.

Friday Morning.

Waking up Dexter immediately as his alarm clock went off, Dexter got out of bed as quickly as he could and started running all over his room. As anxious as he still was, Dexter was excited like it was the first day of school. Giggling and laughing as if he was a kid again, Dexter got fully dressed and stood in front of his mirror again. At 17, Dexter stood at 5'9" and he couldn't feel ever more confident than he was right now. Wearing a white dress shirt, with a sweater vest over it, Dexter felt quite good wearing them; and as he felt how his jeans fitted him, he winked at himself and smoothly said,

"Hey good lookin', how you doin'?", continuing look at himself to make sure everything looked good, Dexter went and sat down on his bed to put on his black shoes. As he got ready to leave, he had suddenly remembered to put his belt on, so he quickly walked to his closet and opened it. Ransacking through his hanged clothes, he found his belt at the very edge of his closet. Finally ready to leave, he inherently looked down and saw his purple gloves he had used as a kid; full of nostalgic memories of his childhood with Dee Dee and friends, he put them back in the box they belonged in and went downstairs to have breakfast. Sitting down, Dexter saw that his mother had already set up breakfast and just as he sat down...
"HI DEXTER!" shouted Dee Dee, "Good morning!", as Dee Dee had sneaked up behind him as she shouted that; it left Dexter quite surprised and managed to make him jump out of his chair. Seeing that it was Dee Dee, Dexter calmed down and just shrugged it off.

"Geez, Dee Dee you're still as loud as ever huh?" Dexter said, "Anyways, good morning to you too sweet sister of mine." Seeing as how happy Dexter was Dee Dee simply smiled at him and thought, "He's got something special planned for today. He seems pretty excited about something."

As they were idly talking about the week they've experienced so far, their parents finally sat down with them to join in on their conversation.

"How has school been treating you son?" asked Dad, "And how's college hunting Dee Dee? You know you can always ask your mom and I for advice if you need it right?"
"Don't worry dad, I know where I'm going and I know what I'm gonna do." Dee Dee said in a stern voice, "I am going to be involved in the beautiful world of art and dancing." Looking at his daughter with a bit of doubt, Dad said, "Why not another career you're interested in? Like being a chef or designing clothes?" As soon as he finished, he saw that Dee Dee looked at him with anger in her eyes.

"Come on dad!" said Dee Dee, "It's what I love and what I want to do. Sure, I won't exactly be dancing, but at the very least I'll be involved with the production of everything."
Just as Dad was about to say something, Mom finally sat down and butted in.

"Now Jeff, honey, let her do what she wants to do. It's what she loves and if you talk her out of it, then she'll regret it for sure; and we all know you're just worried about her since she's almost finished with school." Mom finished by saying, "Now let's just finish our breakfast and talk about it some other time okay?"

"You're right Katherine. I'm sorry Dee Dee, I was being a tad selfish there recommending something you didn't want to do." said Dad, "I just want you to be happy and live the way you think is best okay?"
"I know dad, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to be angry at you, I just really wanna do this." Dee Dee said soundly, "Well at least you won't need to worry about Dexter, I bet he won't even need to go to college since he's so smart." On that note, Dee Dee gave a little elbow nudge at Dexter and gave him a wink.
"Oh, stop it Dee Dee." Dexter said while giggling, "I know what you mean, but I'd still like to go through the experience of university and socialize within a group I can call friends."
Dee Dee slightly perplexed by this idea asked, "You really wanna go through college? I'm sure the state, heck, the whole country recognizes you as the smartest person alive now, and you're only 17!"
"Well, I just thought that going would be good for me emotionally and not going just for the grades and all, but that doesn't mean I'll be lazy or anything." said Dexter nervously, "Anyways, I got a question for you Mom and Dad."

Asking at the same time, his parents said, "Sure, what is it son?" While tumbling with his two thumbs together, Dexter out of nowhere got nervous and started mumbling at first. His parents both confused since they couldn't hear him properly just patiently waited since he never really asked them for anything besides money for tools and his recently purchased new collection of books he has had his eye on for quite a while. It didn't take long for Dexter to ask, but he eventually did.

"Um... How did you two know you were meant for each other?" Dexter asked in a shy manner, "I've never really had a relationship and I've been concerned for the matter for a few weeks now, but I really want to know how you came around the idea that you two loved each other and were meant to be together forever."
"We didn't really have a reason son." said Dad, "Your mother and I just kind of found each other, dated for a long time, and then decided to get married. It's as simple as that." With a very large smile on his face, Dad just simply crossed his arms and felt proud to have given his teenage son such a grandiose answer.

*SMACK*

With a simple slap to the side of his head, Dad nearly fell of his chair as Mom just simply finished eating her breakfast, looking as gentle as she ever does and gave one look at her husband and immediately, he knew he was in a bit of trouble.
"Now Dex, what your father just said is the very simple answer. Let me tell you how you know you how you've met the right girl for you." Mom said, "Loving each other means loving them for who they are, accepting their faults, and not just because they're rich or extremely beautiful. Sure, money and looks can get you places, but you're proof that brains can get you anywhere you want to go. So be brave, be yourself, and I'm sure a beautiful young woman would go head over heels for you, not because you'll eventually be rich, but because she'll see the real you, inside and out."

And with that, Dexter felt the good intentions coming from both his parents answers and felt that he knew what he had to do now. Though, if it was a competition, then his mother would have won by a landslide. On that thought, he laughed to himself and felt lucky to be a part of such a loving family. Though, it was strange that his sister Dee Dee didn't make a peep about his embarrassing question to his parents, so he turned to her and - "My lips are sealed." Dee Dee said while making a smooth motion across her mouth, "You don't worry about a thing little brother, I got your back." And with another elbow nudge and wink, Dexter smiled.
"Lets go before we're late for school, I don't want to tarnish my record now." Dexter said gleefully, "Bye Mom. Bye Dad."
"Bye Dexter. Bye Dee Dee." said both parents, "Be careful now, and Dee Dee don't drive too fast alright." added Dad, "And wear your seat-belts too!"
With that said, Dexter got into Dee Dee's car that Dad had managed to get for her; though, Dee Dee was quite eccentric and still hyperactive at times, she managed to convince Dexter that she is a pretty good driver. On his way to school, Dexter found himself looking out the window for an unusual amount of time pondering the answers he was given by his parents. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, as he learned with his many experiments first-hand, but he also knew that it would pay off and eventually he'll find someone out there who would love him inside and out. Feeling Dee Dee push on the brakes a bit too quickly, Dexter noticed that they had already arrived to school, and with a quick nod to each other, both go out of the car and went inside side by side through the side doors of the school.

And here we go! I know this first chapter might seem pretty dull, but I think I did okay. I would very much appreciate it if any of you could critique me on anything I've might have gotten wrong. I recommend honest feedback here and I don't mind if you're mean either. Harsh truths are the best, or so I've heard. Thank you for reading. I hope you all want more.