Flirt as you go.

Gaz was stiff as a board as I sat next to her on the bus. Her hands were shoved into her hoodie's pockets, but I could see movement under it, suggesting she was fiddling with her hands nervously. I could only imagine what was going through her robo-brain. Her complete lack of understanding on things like courtship or even real attraction was obvious...which was what I was going for. Someone so reclusive was bound to have issues like these once hormones kicked in.

Since the pizza place was a ways off, I decided to continue chatting her up a bit. "You play a lot of video games?" I asked, knowing the answer. Her body relaxed ever so slightly. I guess she had been trying to think of something to say (or at least, how to say it) and was relieved I had said something first. Regardless, she nodded. Her lips parted to say something, but if she did, it was far too quiet under the sounds of the bus and people on it. She hadn't said much, so she probably just said "yes" or "yeah". "Sweet. Me too. Possibly more than is healthy."

A soft titter escaped her lips almost involuntarily. "My doctor said the same thing," she replied, almost to herself. I scoffed. "Eh, you look great, so what does he know?" I replied. She slowly turned her head to face me, eyes wide. Before she could say anything, I smiled. "Your eyes are such a beautiful color, you know that?" Her face was so red. Grabbing the drawstrings on her hoodie, she tugged, causing the hood to scrunch up around her face, hiding it in shadow. "Uh...you okay?"

After a few seconds Gaz pulled on the hood, loosening it enough so she could be seen again. She didn't reply, just slouched a little...as if she could make herself any smaller. "I didn't mean to upset you," I told her. Not entirely true. I meant to rile her up a little. I had to draw her out of her shell.

"I'm NOT upset," she countered in a tone bordering on a pout. "I...just...um...nuh...never got told that before and it surprised me." Odd method of showing surprise, but I decided not to mention that. "Well, so long as I'm not making you uncomfortable..." She nodded briskly.

We didn't speak again until we got to our stop, though I would catch her looking at me sometimes with an expression that was hard to place. The pink tinge to her cheeks suggested whatever she was thinking about me, it wasn't in a negative light. "...you too," she said as we got off the bus.

"Huh?" was my brilliant reply. To be fair, I was genuinely confused. Gaz bit her lip briefly before continuing. "You...you look great too. Healthy, I mean. Like...you know, what you said about me. You too." she explained. I smiled and thanked her which actually caused a shy smile to form on her own face for a moment before she gripped her stomach again. ...this was actually disconcerting. Why was she so hungry? Or was this just a pizza craving?

Once we entered the place, I was reminded of her lack of social skills as she walked up to the front counter, slammed both hands down and grit her teeth. "Gimme your greasiest, cheesiest pizza." she demanded. Hoo boy. I placed a hand on her shoulder. She stopped trying to intimidate the person behind the counter...though to say she had calmed down would be a lie.