| ~ fluffy ~ |

Dino’s definition of nerd didn’t match who you were at all.

. . .

Nerds didn’t get picked on. Or at least you didn’t.

You weren’t sure how the stereotype came about that nerds were inherently weak and unable to defend themselves. These nerds seem to have resigned themselves to being bullied and taken advantage of.

Sure, you were a nerd. You were smart, got good grades, but didn’t like showing it off. It always made you uncomfortable when people would ask what your marks were, you didn’t want to lie nor did you want to brush them off. You knew that they would take offence to that. You also were a dead set on being an overachiever, but this trait was very much developed.

Besides this however, you weren’t the most physically adept. Your coordination was non-existent and your balance may have been even worse. But you swam ever since you were a kid, giving you your broader shoulders and a nice set of strong lungs.

No one seemed to dare getting on your bad side, you never intimidated anyone or did anything even remotely shady. But people seemed to instinctively know that you weren’t someone easy to deal with, you weren’t an easy picking.

But Dino was.

. . .

Dino had always been scrawny, skinny, and small. Known commonly as the runt of the pack, he was what the lions would prey on if he belonged to a herd. With this position labeled onto him, he never really got the chance to build himself up. He was never expected to be anything else than the so-called ‘baby’, it was a role he was assigned as he grew up, especially in his group of friends. He was safe with his friends, even if one of them did take some sort of strange pleasure in being the ‘mother’; they took care of him.

But then he moved. And the world was suddenly a lot bigger.

Dino fixed his shirt repeatedly as he walked down the hallway, his too baggy jeans attracting attention he didn’t want. His slim arms clutched at the little folder of papers the office had given him as he looked around with wide eyes.

He looked too susceptible, it was impossible for him not to be teased. The fresh-faced innocence exuded practically invited someone to just mess with him a little.

One second he was just walking along and suddenly he was shoved, not hard, but just enough to cause him to lose his balance a bit. He probably wouldn’t have fallen if it wasn’t for the giant jeans that he was wearing, when stepping out to catch himself, his sneaker had landed onto his own pants.

So he fell.

And people began to laugh. It wasn’t jeering laughter, there was nothing purposefully cruel about it; it was a silly moment and it was funny, so people laughed. But to Dino it wasn’t like that, he was completely mortified. He wasn’t sure what to do, his stuff was just scattered on the floor and people were laughing and staring. In truth, he could have calmly just picked his things up and walked off and no one would have said another word, but in his frazzled state he couldn’t decide what to do at all.

“Okay people, you all have places to go, let’s get moving.” You announce slightly obnoxiously as you tried to shove past the crowd of people that were preventing you from reaching your classroom.

There was a little murmuring before students began to clear out, leaving Dino looking awfully pathetic and lost with papers on the ground.

When you realized what the earlier commotion was about, you felt bad. The kid was obviously new and having this happen on their first day, before they got to know the environment of the school, .

“Hey,” you smiled invitingly at the depressed boy who was listlessly gathering his things. “What’s your name?”

“Oh uh, hi. I’m Lee Chan, you can call me Dino though, and I’m new, and I really like Michael Jackson,” the flustered boy stuttered out.

“Woah woah,” you chuckled as you helped him with his stuff, “We’re not playing twenty questions.” His awkwardness was quite adorable.

“Well, hi Dino. I’m the school’s resident nerd.” You plopped the stuff into Dino’s arms and began to leave, “If you see me around, feel free to come talk.” You gave him a little wave before disappearing around a corner.

The lost little child stared at where you disappeared for a long while before he began to walk to his class once more.

. . .

“Dino,” you called out, waving energetically at the still lost boy who held a lunch bag in his hand. “C’mere.”

Dino walked over to where you were sitting with some friends. While there was food on the table, there was also a crazy mash of textbooks. There was a girl and a guy arguing over saturated and unsaturated fat and which was supposed to be the healthier one while there was a physics textbook in front of you.

“Yo,” you greeted as you took a bite of your lunch.

“Hi?” Dino set his stuff down. “Um, hey.”

You wanted to laugh at his awkwardness. It really was too precious. “Meet the fellow nerds.” You gestured to your friend whose highlighted hair didn’t match the title you just gave her as well as the boy who had shades on for some reason instead of his normal glasses.

“They’re kinda weird,” you stage-whispered to a Dino who was looking at the group of you with complete fascination. “But we’re a good type of weird. Girl over there is Hani and,” you gestured to the tall dark-haired male with your fork, “the loser with the sunglasses is Mingyu.”

Your friends nodded to acknowledge the new addition to the table before returning to their argument. “How’re you holding up?”

Dino smiled a little awkward smile, enjoying the atmosphere you had, it was a bizarre mix of everything. “Besides the spectacle from this morning? I’m doing okay.”

“That’s good. Got any clubs you’re interested in? It’s good if you join a club, you’ll find some friends that share the same hobbies. Unless you want to be a nerd with me.” You grinned cheekily as you watched a flustered little blush appear on the cute boy’s cheeks.

“I was thinking about the dance team,” Dino fiddled with his spoon.

You bobbed your head, “That makes sense. You said you were a Michael Jackson fan.”

“I said that?”

Dino’s heart raced as he watched you laugh brightly at what you thought was his adorable silliness.

. . .

Your smile was radiant after the graduation ceremony, your valedictorian speech went without a hitch and you could tell that your fellow graduates at least mildly enjoyed it. You readjusted the cap that was determined to slip off your head as you searched for your friends.

You were so busy looking for Mingyu and Hani that you didn’t even notice the boy that was making his way towards you with a determined step and even more determined expression.

“Hey–” Dino was cut off by you running right into his chest. Your hat finally came tumbling down but you didn’t follow, the agile dancer had caught you by your elbows and held you closely to him.

“Oops.” You chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “Didn’t see you there, sorry.”

Dino, who was now quite a bit taller than you, looked at you with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, “Hm, you didn’t see me or you wanted to run into me?”

You hit his chest playfully, “Look whose Mr. Confident now, you were so cute when you first moved out here; a stuttering mess.” You were beginning grow more aware of Dino the longer he held you, he still hadn’t let go.

He leaned closer to your face, a teasing note to his voice, “I was cute. I’m not cute anymore?”

Hot would be more like it. You shook yourself mentally, his proximity was much too distracting.

“Oh, shut up.” You ducked your head down so you could hide the blush that your face was now showing.

Dino wondered how you could do it? Look so shy but still be one of the strongest people he knew. Before he could chicken out of it, he quickly brushed his lips lightly on your forehead. “I’ve liked you for so long. It’s late but I thought I should at least let you know.”

“This is literally the worst time to tell me,” you grumbled, the brightest red on your cheeks. “I could very well never see you again. I hate you.”

Dino smirked before whispering into your ear, “Not if I’m going to the same place as you.”

Your eyes widened almost comically, “You’re coming to…How did you even get in?”

“Ouch, that hurts,” he faked a hurt voice as he watched the mix of emotions play on your face.

But you couldn’t even try to stop the wide smile from forming on your lips, “So this is the beginning then?”

The grin on Dino’s face was in no measure smaller than your smile. “Yes, it is.”

a/n not sure where i was really going with this, just wanted to write about a not-so-stereotypical 'nerd', hope you liked it though