SUMMER HEARTS // Quackity X Reader

12

It didn't take you long to find the campus library. It wasn't that far from the building you had your Classics class in, and you were able to find it from there, following the campus signs that would point you in the right direction. 

The building was one of the largest on campus, and the most historical. The worn and yellowed stone brick looked like the exact kind of place you could sit and study for hours, surrounded by the quiet commotion of other people doing the same. 

Adjusting your bag on your shoulder, you headed inside, pulling out your phone to text Tercero that you were here. 

Inside, you wandered around, looking for a familiar mop of brown hair at one of the tables. You had almost walked through the whole building when you found Tercero tucked away in a secluded corner, away from the rest of the study groups. You smiled when you saw him, hurrying over to plop down in your seat. 

"Hi." You said, greeting him with a smile.

"Hey." He replied, looking up at you from over the edge of his laptop. He slid a foam cup across the table. "I got us coffee."

"Oh, thank you, that was sweet of you." You said, taking a sip. You neglected to mention that you took your coffee usually with way less sugar and cream. It was nice of him to think of you, so you would drink it anyway, even if it was so sweet it made your mouth recoil. 

"I finished the book." Tercero said. 

"That's good." You reached down into your bag to pull out your laptop, connecting to the library internet and opening up the slideshow you had shared with him. There hadn't been much change since you had last looked at it, but that was alright. You still had plenty of time before midterms. 

"Thanks for setting up this outline, by the way." Tercero said. "I added a little to some of the points you wanted to make, but I think what we have is really good so far."

"No problem." You said, pulling out your copy of the novel as well. "I thought first we could start pulling quotes to help our case, and then see where we are."

"Sounds good to me." Tercero said.

You worked in quiet tandem, trading books and adding to the slides. Something about the library made you feel more productive - maybe it was the other people working around you as well, or that the building was filled to the brim with books. Either way, you had been going for hours when you checked the time again. 

You glanced up at Tercero over the edge of your laptop. "Hey, what does absolucion mean in English?" You asked. 

There was a snip to Tercero's voice when he responded. "Acquittal, I think." 

"Oh, um thanks." You said, copying the term down for your slides. You didn't understand why he was so annoyed - yes you had been asking him to translate a lot of words, but legal terminology wasn't exactly covered in American Spanish classes. You didn't think that was a reason to get mad, especially at a friend.

You glanced back up at Tercero to see him scrolling on his phone. You frowned. He hadn't really been doing much - hours of time and the only additions he'd made on the slides had been minimal, and he wasn't being much of a help when you asked him things either. 

Maybe you should have chosen a different partner, but who else did you know in that class? Tercero was pretty much your only option. 

You closed your book. "Do you want to be done?"

Tercero glanced up at you from his phone. "Hm?"

"You seem kind of checked out." You said. "If you don't want to work on this anymore we can call it a day."

Tercero slid his phone away, returning to his laptop. "Nah, just taking a break."

You frowned. "Well, you've been taking a break for the last hour and a half-"

"Woah, okay." Tercero said. "No need to go ballistic."

"I'm not, I'm just saying." You said. 

Tercero rolled his eyes, scanning over the slides. "You didn't find any quotes for the points I added."

"You added them, so I assumed you would find those parts." You said, getting slightly annoyed. 

"You said you were going to pull quotes." Tercero said. 

"No, I said that we should pull quotes." You said, a slight snip to your voice. 

"Calm down." Tercero said. "I don't know why you're so mad, I've been helping you this whole time-"

"You've just been answering my questions about legal terms, which are one word answers, and you've been getting annoyed whenever I ask you." You said. "You've barely even touched the slides."

Tercero looked at you, flat annoyance clear on his face. "You're getting mad at me over nothing, seriously?"

You took a deep breath, and looked at the time. "You know what?" You said, saving your work and closing your laptop. "It's close to lunch, and we're both probably hungry. I think we've made some progress today. I'm going to call it a day and get something to eat. I'm sorry for snapping at you."

Tercero closed his laptop as well. "Whatever, it's fine." He said, stuffing his things into his bag and getting up. "See you around."

You arranged your things neatly in your bag, just taking a moment for yourself. You probably shouldn't have expected Tercero to apologize to you, but part of you was still stung that he really hadn't even bothered to say anything at all. You sighed, letting yourself sink into the plush chair for a moment. 

In your pocket, your phone buzzed. You pulled it out, half hoping for a text from Tercero to no avail. It was from Alex though, which really, was better. 

You opened your phone and smiled at the meme he had sent you. Even without trying, he always knew how to make you feel better. 

And maybe...

You tapped back a response. 

hey sooo... can i ask you a favor? maybe some help on this mock trial since ur mr. lawyer??