Elliot = Bold
Isabella = Italics
"Isabella...have you ever been in a relationship before?"
"That's an...odd way to start up a conversation."
"Yeah...I guess it is. But I...have you? Been in a relationship, I mean?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"It's...it's nothing. I...I've just been considering some stuff recently and I want to know if...if what I feel in a relationship is normal."
"Normal?"
"Yeah...I...I just wanted to see if what I was going through is normal in a relationship."
"You're in a relationship right now?"
"No...I...I mean, yes."
"Elliot, I thought we discussed this. I'm the one who's supposed to stutter. Not you. Leave the stuttering to me, okay?"
"O...okay."
"So, what is it, a yes or a no?"
"Yes. Yes, I am in a relationship right now."
"And you said you felt like...like something wasn't normal between the two of you?"
"Not between the two of us. Not really. Just me. I...it's weird. I don't know how to explain it."
"I believe that someone once told me that, when you can't explain things, come up with a scenario that will explain it for you."
"Well, whoever said that was a genius."
"I wouldn't go that far..."
"Oh shut up Isabella."
"..."
"Damn. I think I preferred it when you stuttered all the time. All this mocking and laughing at me is going to do major damage to my self-esteem."
"Haha. Very funny. I doubt your ego would deflate if it was stabbed with a Samurai Sword."
"What makes you think that?"
"It's a typical feature in males. You know...tetesterone and all that jazz."
"That is so stereotypical!"
"Hey! Don't blame me for my views. I'm just talking from personal experience."
"So you do have experience with guys?"
"I wouldn't say...experience. I...I've just had a few interactions with some people of the opposite gender."
"And? What did they do, come up to you and tell you all that was great about themselves?"
"No. I...I mean...from most conversations I've had with guys my age most of them seem to be...incredibly...uh..."
"Incredibly what?"
"Sexually active."
"Can't say that I'm surprised...let me guess, inappropriate sexual jokes and a whole lot of attention on the bottom half of the body?"
"Yup. Pretty much a sum up of ninety percent of my interactions with the opposite sex."
"I hate to break it to you, darling, but that's just how us guys are. You can't just expect us to be knights in shining armour. Our brains are wired to thinking about the more...physical things rather than the sappy hand holding stuff. It's just the way we are."
"Yeah...I guess it's kind of easy to forget that. I mean...all movies and books do is put this 'soulmate' idea in our heads. That guys are all caring and loving and sappy and not so interested in the-"
"Honey, I'm going to stop you right there. Yes, we are focused on the...physical attributes of girls. Mainly. Like...most of the time; but we can't help that. It's just the way we are. Or...the majority of us are, at least, in my opinion. But, that doesn't mean we can't be soulmate material as well. I mean...sure, the physical things might be things we spot first but then...don't write us all off as casanovas just yet, Isabella. We do have the ability to have thoughts that aren't about sex. When we get closer to a person, the balance between physical and emotional sort of evens itself out. A bit. In my opinion. But...the sexual need is always going to be there. Whether you like it or not."
"No...I mean, I get it. Us girls have a tendency to be on the lookout for the very rare good looking guy so...I guess that we're even."
"Seriously? That's what it's like in the head of a girl, always on the lookout for good-looking men?"
"Well...yeah. I mean, on the rare occasion that a guy with a perfect body and face comes along, who am I to turn him down? I mean a guy like that is like really, really rare so...I don't see what's wrong with...uh...damn this is awkward."
"..."
"Stop laughing at me."
"Don't you think it's a bit sad?"
"How there are so few perfect looking men in the world?"
"No...no. Not that. How we are all so focused on appearance. I mean...chances are that the good looking ones have the biggest ego because of their good looks and that tends to make them a bit..."
"Prickish?"
"Exactly."
"So...are you good looking?"
"I think I may be a little biased."
"Let me guess, you think you're the most beautiful thing to ever walk the earth?"
"Duh."
"Figures but...I agree."
"That I'm the most beautiful thing to ever walk the earth?"
"No! That...it's sad. That we...that the thing we notice first about a person is always their appearance."
"Well...I don't think there's anything else to notice. I mean...first impressions always depend on appearance. It's the first thing you see about a person."
"Yeah...I guess you're right."
"But it is sad though, I have to admit. It's kind of depressing how we've been wired to think this way."
"Is...is your girlfriend pretty?"
"Yeah. Really pretty."
"Then you must be really good looking."
"I...I must? I mean, I love your confidence in me and everything but you've never actually met me so I don't see how you can-"
"It's a known psychological fact. People choose to date a person who is similar to them on the attractiveness scale. I guess to...to balance it, I guess. I don't know the full reason behind it. I haven't done psychology for a year. But... my guess would be that it makes a person feel better, that they only date people who are as good looking as them so it doesn't make them look bad. I mean...a less attractive person would probably bring the reputation of the better-looking person down and...and the less attractive person would get low self-esteem from spending time around the more attractive person. I...think it's a sort of subconscious decision that everyone makes."
"Damn. I do psychology and even I can't remember that much about the matching hypothesis."
"That's what it's called?"
"Uh-huh. It's the idea that a person chooses their partner based on their attractiveness, subconsciously choosing a partner with the same level of good looks as themselves. There was a test...actually...that I took at the start of last year to prove the hypothesis. We were given pictures of male and females and we had to give each of them an attractiveness level out of ten. By the end of it, the teacher told the class that they were all couples and that, as a class, we had all rated the members of each couple with an extremely similar level of attractiveness."
"I don't think we ever did that experiment."
"Is it because the course is different in America?"
"I...I...I...how did you know that I was...?"
"You have a strong accent."
"I could say the same to you, British Boy."
"I swear to God if you start accusing me of the stereotype that I drink tea all day long I will decapitate you."
"Don't worry, I won't. Tea is disgusting."
"How dare you insult the sacred beverage of Britain!"
"But you just said that you didn't want me to accuse you of-"
"I'm kidding, Isabella, jeez, I prefer coffee anyway."
"Really, that's a relief. I don't think I could hold up a conversation with a tea lover."
"****"
"Elliot?"
"I'm going to have to call you back."