aidan
when he has a few minutes to spare before his meeting with everett, he finally types in the data about test subject #1: katherine.
"hey!"
he nearly jumps eight feet in the air, turning his phone off to look up from the bench to see a smiling everett. "hello."
"so i've gathered up information about the amygdala and the basic facts about how it's inside each cerebral hemisphere and is involved with experiencing emotions, but there's way more detail. it has extensive connections with all sensory systems of the brain, and with the hypothalamus, it's the "emotional center of the brain." It plays a huge role in our emotions surrounding love, making it highly likely that the more we become attached to someone through experience and time together, the more our love for them is processed and stored in our brain. without the amygdala, some have experienced new emotions such as "hyper empathy," and an ability to decode other's mental states. there's more here, but you look bored, so... you can read it later."
he stares at everett in shock. damn, he's smart.
"— so just update your part and turn it into to mrs. nerlow on monday and we should be good to go."
"um... alright, thanks." think of something to say, aidan! "are you going to the game tonight?"
shit.
everett only laughs. "you're a funny guy. i'm the quarterback. will you be there tonight?"
he only has 0.3 of a second to make up a lie and say something other than "no," but he can't, so he holds back a sigh. "yep, i'll be there."
"thanks for supporting the team! you and your soccer buddies are pretty good yourselves. i watch your games on mondays after tutoring the third graders," everett rambles.
why is he such a... good person? it's kind of disgusting, aidan thinks.
"well, i'm running late to practice, but I'll see you at seven for pregame! bye!"
and then everett pushes the door open and jogs to the stadium to practice, leaving aidan wondering how the hell he's going to get through the night.