How Green Becomes Wood

"Why else would she be doing it?" Alec asked with a smile. "She's liked him for a while, but he's not exactly the most outgoing person, and she's not exactly the most reserved person, so, you know."
 
"A good friendship is a good foundation, I think, whether or not they go past that," Alec agreed. "I don't know if they ever go past this Pavlov point in their relationship, but it's been interesting to watch! I think they'd be a cute couple, but I don't know if they'd really click that well. What do you think? Opposites attract, or not enough in common?"
 
"No, I don't think they'd be happy together at all," Sloan replied, "I mean, in theory Milo could help Becky chill out and Becky could help Milo open up but in practice... I think Milo is genuinely the most anxious person I've ever met, so I don't think it'd do much to make Becky chill out, and they'd both be miserable. Can you imagine Milo willingly going to a loud party with strangers where he was expected to talk to people and not just cling to the wall taking pictures? Or Becky doing... whatever Milo does in his spare time."
 
"Games, plays music, takes pictures, and possibly plays with his grandparents' small birds," Alec said. "I agree, he is absolutely a ball of anxiety, and maybe it'll be the worst idea ever for them to be with, but... if you'll let me be optimistic here for a minute, Milo is so shy and anxious that most people don't talk to him very long or even avoid him, often times because they feel like he wants them to leave him alone. Becky, on the other hand, barely talks to him, but keeps coming back consistently. I think she's hoping he'll warm up to her rather than jumping in headfirst, which is an unusually restrained move on her part."
 
"I think you know both of them better than I do, so I don't know if I can really argue your position, but I don't know. I feel like they're the sort of couple who would only be cute in theory, not in practice." Sloan replied.
 
"You're probably right, and I'm not going to do anything to interfere, but I reserve my right to dream," Alec said wistfully. "Everyone loves a happy couple, after all. That, or jealous them."
 
"I don't know... I mean, I want to save Becky the embarrassment, if it goes that way, but I also don't know Milo well enough to know if it would end up working. At some point, though, surely she's going to hit her budget in candy?" Sloan questioned, "How did she even hatch this plan?"
 
Alec shook his head. "Don't ask me. I have no idea. I asked her after we realized she was 'Pavloving' Milo if that's what was what she was doing. She said yes, and when I asked why, she said, 'For love, duh.' And that was the extent of our conversation because I honestly had no idea how to follow up that."
 
"Oh my god," Sloan laughed, "I mean, it's bold, I'll give her that. I don't know what I'd think though, if I started dating someone and eventually found out they spent months trying to train my brain to get me to love them."
 
"To be fair, she's not training his brain for love, just positive association. Love may or may not come later," Alec chuckled. "I think I'd be impressed that they cared enough to work that hard get my attention. At least, that's how I'd take it. That shows dedication! Or it could be creepy."
 
"I guess what determines if it's creepy or not is if you find out before or after you love them," Sloan joked, "It's amazing how creepy a lot of romantic things become if you don't reciprocate those feelings."
 
"This is very true," Alec chuckled. "Emma used to come to our band performances at the pizza shop. That was kind of nice, not really creepy. If she came to the flower shop every day, though, that would have probably been creepy. Unless she actually bought something each day. I think that would have been better."
 
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