mary jane | stuart twombly ✓

chapter 13

That night, it rained. For the first time in forever, it rained, pouring down outside.

Mary Jane stared up at the ceiling to her room, listening to the thunder. A nightmare had awoken her an hour before, and she hadn't been able to sleep again since. With a sigh, she stood up and grabbed the fluffy blanket she had taken from home, tip toeing down the hall.

She peeked around the corner before heading on her way.

Once she reached her destination, she hesitantly knocked on the door. When she got no answer, she knocked again. There was some shuffling behind the door before it swung open. Stuart wasn't wearing his glasses and his dark hair was messy, his grey t shirt slightly rumpled. "MJ?", he asked in surprise, rubbing his eyes with his fists to make sure he was seeing as clear as he could without his glasses. "What are you doing here?"

"The rain", Mary Jane mumbled. "I can't sleep. Can I, uh..." She bit her bottom lip, an action Stuart noticed that she did quite often. "Can I sleep in here?", she finally asked, almost shyly. She felt like a small child again, asking her mother if she could climb into bed with her.

Stuart blinked for a moment, caught off guard by the question. He stepped back, opening the door wider. "Yeah, yeah, of course", he nodded. "Come on."

After looking awkwardly at her for a moment, Stuart climbed back into bed. Thunder crashed in the distance, making Mary Jane jump. She quickly climbed in next to him, burying herself under the covers. "It's just thunder", he frowned.

"It's terrifying", Mary Jane mumbled. Stuart frowned, pulling her close to his chest where she rested her head.

"Hey, can I ask you something?", he asked after a moment, playing with her long hair.

"Go for it", she mumbled.

"Why was it so important to you that Nick and Billy were accepted on the team?"

Mary Jane wiggled a little, looking up at him. "I didn't have a father growing up", she said simply. "I guess I just... wanted the opportunity to have something like that for a little while."

Stuart didn't say anything, he couldn't. Hearing the words made him feel bad for her. Eventually, he fell asleep with his arms around her. After about thirty minutes of listening to his quiet snores, Mary Jane drifted off to sleep as well.

~G O O G L E~

"There are two more challenges left", Chetty was saying the next day. All of the interns were gathered around the stage, listening to him carefully. "After which only a handful of you will be offered full time employment. Now, the next challenge is running the Google Helpline. This is one of the most difficult jobs we have, combining both customer relation and product fluency. You will be judged on both." A hushed murmur fell over the crowd. Mary Jane did a move similar to the one Stuart performed earlier, raising her fist and bringing it back down with a quiet 'yes!' She was great over the phone. This challenge would be a breeze for her. "This is a very tight race. I suggest you all study up."