GSPD and Ded Blond

David always woke up before his alarm. Not because he couldn't sleep, but because his mind was already racing with the list: "What should I do for Arina today? "

At 7:30, he was standing at her door with two cups of coffee. Hers was iced and syrupy, the way she liked it. His was black and bitter. Arina left without even smiling, taking the coffee with one hand while scrolling through her feed with the other.

"Thank you, Dev," she said without looking up.

He carried her heavy backpack with her laptop all the way to the classroom. While she chatted with her classmates, he silently inserted a flash drive into the projector and checked that the microphone was working.

"God, I don't know what I'd do without my best friend," she said loudly, so everyone could hear. She put her arm around his shoulders, kissed him on the cheek, and sat down in the front row, not even checking to see if he was comfortable standing in the aisle.

He fixed her bike in the rain while she drank tea at a café. He corrected her term paper when she said, "I can't even bear to look at it." He gave her the last of his money for a dress when her card wouldn't go through at the store. She promised to pay him back in a couple of days and, "Honestly, don't even remind me. "

That evening, he was waiting for her at the gym exit, holding a protein bar and wet wipes. Arina emerged, drying her hair with a towel.

"David, you're so thoughtful! Just like a mom," she laughed, taking the candy bar. "Listen, I have a favor to ask you. You know how to edit, right? Anyway, the guy I like has a blog. Could you edit a teaser for him? He's been giving me the runaround, so I'll send it to him and tell him I made it myself."

David looked at her lips as she chewed the candy bar he bought and listened about the guy who didn't even know how much sugar she put in her tea.

"Of course," he said. "Send me the source code."