A/N: This was written for my friend in some forum. Decided to share it here too since I haven't written a story on this pairing for a while. Hope you enjoy this. Btw this is AU because in this case Ran has never met Shinichi before

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Gosho Aoyama.

OF BLUSHES AND HEARTBEATS

It was my first class. Despite it being an afternoon class, I had to stifle a yawn threatening to come out as I had slept quite late last night. I looked around the small classroom to check for any familiar faces. Too bad I only found two and I wasn't really close to them either.

The door suddenly opened, revealing a tall and handsome man, glasses perched on his nose. Two books on his hand, he walked in with this amazing aura to capture people by the way he walked. Realising that I've been staring at some random guy, I quickly diverted my attention away.

I, along with other students too, was in for a great shock when he suddenly opened his mouth.

"Good afternoon, class. My name is Shinichi Kudo. And I'll be your lecturer for this class."

I was certain that I was not the only one with eyes almost popping out of our sockets. This lecturer right in front of me was too young to be one. And he didn't really look like the type to teach students. He looked more like a model!

Shinichi Kudo flashed us a smile (my heart might skip a beat at this). "I'm sure all of you think that I don't look like a lecturer. Actually I just graduated a few months ago. While waiting for some job interviews, I took a part time job here at the university." He placed the books on the table and opened up his arms. "And now here I am: your part time lecturer."

I could hear some girls behind me giggling.

He then started walking from one side of the classroom to the other, hands behind his back. "Please don't call me Sir, because," with another smile, he looked at us, "I'm still very young and active."

Another set of giggles broke out. I had to bite my lips so I wouldn't join in.

"I will answer you if you call me by my name. And even Senior." He looked around, trying to make eye contacts with the few students in the room. "Everybody got that?"

"Yes, Senior."

I never would have thought that my first day of the semester would be this great. With lecturer like him, I would definitely pay attention.

My heart beat fast like a drummer playing an upbeat song as I stood outside Senior's office. This was my first time being called by a lecturer. He had never scolded anyone in class before, so I wouldn't know what he would do to me since it was a face-to-face meeting.

I remembered the look on my classmates' faces when Senior called my name.

"Did you do anything? He never calls anyone to his office before," a friend of mine who sat next to me whispered.

I could only shrug and shake my head as a response.

And here I was, staring at the door like an idiot, wondering what I had done wrong. Of course, you didn't have to be in the wrong to be called to the office. But one couldn't stop worrying even after a smile was thrown at you. For me, it was more like being nervous. And what's worse was that my heart beat even faster at the sight of his smile.

Gosh, I must be turning mad.

"Please take a seat, Miss Ran Mouri."

I did what I was told, while at the same time trying to calm myself down before I ran away from the small office.

I must have a very weird expression on my face because he suddenly smiled again and said, "Don't worry. You haven't done anything wrong." He paused. "At least not to me."

I could only force a laugh at the last sentence. It doesn't make any difference. I'm still nervous.

"Anyway, you know that I've done marking your assignments," he started going through the papers in front of him that I thought were our assignments.

Oh please, don't tell me I got the lowest grade in our class.

He finally found what he was looking for. "And I must say," he looked up, another smile was flashed, "I'm impressed with your essay."

"Ah, th-thank you, Senior." I just had to stutter, didn't I?

"Your style of writing is very different from other students, which makes it an eye catcher."

I could feel a blush crawling to my cheeks and neck as I heard more compliments from him. I had to tighten the grip on the bag I was holding so I wouldn't jump over the table in front of me and initiate a hug. That would be embarrassing. And he would definitely kick me out of the class.

"The reason why I called you here was to ask you to participate in the upcoming writing competition. Would you be interested in joining?"

I blinked. "Pardon?" I heard what he said, but I just wanted to double check.

"I want you to participate in the writing competition."

The smile on his face had never once disappeared, causing my heart to jump around like crazy.

"B-but." As soon as I realised how ridiculous I sounded, I inaudibly sighed and cleared my throat. "But I don't think I have the potential."

Shinichi Kudo looked down to my paper before shoving it to where I was sitting. "I think you do. Oh, wait. I know you have the potential."

It was wrong to look up, because my heart skipped a beat at his smile. Again.

"This might make me sound like a stalker, but I did some research on you." He leaned back on his swivel chair, both hands supporting his chin. "All of the essays that you've written so far in this university were all very well done. I'm surprised that I've never seen you compete before."

I smiled sheepishly; I was sure I looked like an idiot right then and there. "I've never had the confidence to submit my writings to competitions."

"Why not? You're very good at this."

The more compliments I heard from him, the more I wanted to giggle. He's the only one who has ever praised me this much about my writing. Will you stop with the flattery? I feel like my heart is going to explode! I let out a small giggle, fully hoping that he didn't hear any.

But gosh, was I wrong. I suddenly heard a soft laugh coming from him.

"I'm sure you would get the first place. The other competitors are nothing compared to you." He then leaned in closer. "I should know because I used to join before. And I always saw the same names and faces. I'm pretty sure the competitors will be the same too this semester."

I looked down, pretending to be interested in my essay. I was scared that I would show my ugly smiling face at him if I saw him in the eye.

"You're one of the best writers I've ever encountered, Ran. Oh, I hope you don't mind me calling you that."

Shaking my head, I replied, "No, that's all right. But, Senior," I looked up, "do you really think that I'm one of the best writers out there?"

To my surprise, he shook his head. But the next few words gave me an even greater shock. "I know you are." He smiled for the umpteenth time that day.

This time I didn't care if he would chase me out of his office for conducting a weird behaviour in front of him; I started giggling like a mad man. My cheeks felt hot as I blushed furiously like a fresh crab being cooked. I must be quite a sight to look at. I was surprised he didn't laugh out loud; he only had that wonderful smile on his handsome face.

"So, would you join the competition with me?"

I had to hit the brake on my giggle at the question he threw at me. "With you? What do you mean?"

"I'm planning to participate again this semester." He paused and stared at me for a few seconds. "I'd like to compete against you."

My eyes widened. And I started to stutter. "B-but you … why?" I gave up thinking what to say and ended up whining at him. "You … that's not fair!"

He must have found the scene funny because he laughed at me again. "Why isn't it fair?"

"Because …" I started looking around, hoping that the decorations in his office could somehow help me form a complete and understandable sentence. And they did! I looked at him, gesturing to the numerous trophies on top of his desk behind me. "The trophies! You won so many times before in the writing competition. So what chance do I have to get the first place?"

He rested his chin on his palm. "Don't you have the confidence that you'd win against me?"

"No!" I immediately answered, vigorously shaking my head.

Shinichi Kudo smirked. "Fine, how about we make a little bet? If you win, I would decrease the workload for you guys, by half. If I win …"

"Please don't tell me you're going to increase it. It's too much already."

"So what do you suggest I do?"

I stayed still, thinking of an answer. After a good minute has passed by, a somewhat-brilliant idea (at least to me it was) came to mind. This time it was my turn to put an evil smirk. "If you win, you would have to treat everyone in class for lunch or dinner, whichever you prefer."

He suddenly had a blank expression on his face. "You're not serious, are you? This is not fair. How do you expect me to pay for you guys?"

I tilted my head slightly to the side. "Doesn't first place get money as one of the prizes?"

"Yeah, but I'm saving it for my future."

I sighed. "So what do you want to do, if you win?"

He stared at me for what felt like days (when it's actually just a few seconds in real life), and another smirk was formed. "If I win, I'll treat you to lunch."

I blinked in confusion. "What's the difference with what I suggested before?"

"The difference is in the number of people I'm going to treat."

It took me a few seconds to realise what he meant by that. And a heartbeat later, the blush started creeping to my cheeks and neck again. I had to look away, not wanting him to notice anything. But by the sound of his laugh, he knew that my face had turned red like a tomato.

As I walked down the street from the bus stop near my house, the whole scene in his office came to mind, making me blush. I kept my head down to avoid people's stares so they wouldn't think that I had to go to the hospital this instant. I scratched my non-itchy head in frustration.

"The due date of submitting your writing is next month," I remembered him saying. "You can write anything you want; just pick the style that you're most comfortable and confident with."

I sighed. Easy for him to say. I don't even know what I'm good at. I slightly pulled on a strand of my hair that has escaped my hair band. What should I write about?

"My door is always open if you ever need any help, Ran."

It's kind of funny how he's willing to help even though we're going to compete against each other. But wait. I stopped on my tracks as I realised something. What if it's a trap? What if he wants something in return? I continued my journey back home; this time slowly as I tried to analyse his generosity. Maybe he wants me to lose in return so he could take me out for lunch.

I let out a wail, hitting my head in the process. Stupid. I shouldn't have agreed to that bet. Now look at what I have to go through.

Days passed and before I could really register, the last day to submit my writing has come. In the end, I decided to write a thriller story about two best friends stuck in a haunted hotel. It was one of the categories available and I thought I should give it a try.

Senior has been calling me to his office after class often, raising people's suspicion. At first I didn't care about it because all we did was talk about my writing. I mean yes, I might have a little crush on him because he's been a great help for the past month. But that's it. Nothing else was going on between him and me. What chance did I have that a senior like him would fall for a student like me?

I let out a deep breath as I reluctantly pressed the submit button on the webpage of this writing competition. There's nothing else I could do to edit now since it's already sent. I just had to wait for the result; whether Senior would decrease our workload or he would –

I blushed as I remembered the bet he suggested. Did he really have to do that? I mean, we only met a month ago and he already asked me out? And he's a lecturer! What if someone from the university saw us when we were having our lunch? We could get kicked out!

As I sighed, my cell phone rang, indicating there's a new email. "Hey, Ran! Have you submitted your essay yet? :D" it read. There's no need to look at the sender because it's obvious who it was.

My cell phone rang again before I could do anything to reply; this time it was a phone call. My eyes widened as I realised who it was. I took a deep breath before picking it up. "Hello?"

"Ran~"

I could swear that my heart did a little jump at his deep voice just now. Gosh, what is wrong with my heart lately? Do I need to do some check-up, just in case?

"Why didn't you reply my email?"

"I was going to but you beat me to it."

"Oh, but did you submit?"

Without realising it, I nodded. "Yeah, just before your email came."

"That's great. What are you doing now, then?"

I blinked. "Me?" Why is he asking me that, all of the sudden? "Nothing actually."

"That's even greater! Wanna go out with me today?"

His last sentence caught me by surprise. I literally just stayed still, not even moving a muscle nor breathing.

"Hello? Ran? Ran Mouri, still there?"

I blinked again as I realised that he's still on the phone. "Ah y-yes, I'm still here. Sorry." I cleared my throat, hoping to get rid of the awkward silence just now. "What was your question again, Senior?"

"Do you want to go out with me today?" he repeated the question slowly. "You're doing nothing at the moment, and neither am I. So why don't we go out to chase away our boredom?"

"Ah, should we?"

"Yeah, why not?" I could imagine him nodding his head frantically. "Besides, we need to celebrate your first writing submission!"

I paused. "Really? It needs a celebration?"

"Hey, why aren't you excited? It's your first official submission! Other people are going to read your story; it's not only me and your former lecturers."

I whined. "Ah please don't remind me, Senior. I actually contemplated for days whether or not I should submit today." I sighed. "And I've edited and proofread it so many times that I often felt like throwing my laptop away."

Shinichi Kudo laughed. "Well, it's already submitted. You can't do anything anymore."

"I know."

"That is why we need to go out and forget all about it." There's a smile on his face, I knew it. "We still have one month to think about the result."

I nodded again as I mumbled, "Hmm~" Then my eyes fell on a piece of paper on top of my desk. "Ah, but I don't think I can go out today. I have an assignment due –"

"Ran ~ This is a Saturday. It's the day to have some fun!"

I snorted. "Senior, you're my lecturer. You're supposed to tell me to stay at home and do my assignment. Not the other way around."

Another laugh was heard. "But you also deserve a break. You spent quite some time to finish the writing, didn't you?"

"Yes, but the assignment is complicated." Without me knowing it, I started to whine at him.

"Fine, how about this?" He paused. "You'll still do your assignment today. But –"

Oh, I don't think I'm going to like the next sentence.

"You'll do it outside, with me. I'll help you."

See? "Senior~"

"I won't hear any other excuses. It's such a nice day outside. So why are you inside your house when you could enjoy the lovely weather?"

A half hour later, I found myself sitting on a table in a café near my house. I picked the location that was far away from my university so at least we wouldn't find any of my friends here. I didn't want to add more to the rumour that's going around the campus: they thought I was looking for extra marks; that's why I often went to his office. I could only laugh and shake my head at them.

As I opened the lid of my laptop, I heard the staff greeting a newcomer. I looked up and found myself staring at a handsome young man walking in who looked exactly like Shinichi Kudo. The only difference was he's not wearing glasses. Nor was he wearing a formal shirt like Senior always had.

I gulped as I saw him smiling at me and walking towards the table I was currently at. It turned out to be Senior as he took a seat just across from me.

"Why do you look so surprised to see me here?"

I shook my head vigorously. "No, not that. It's just ... you don't look like a lecturer today."

He laughed wholeheartedly. "Thank you, I guess. Well, today is my off day. So I just put whatever clothes I saw in front of my eyes."

That day I actually finished more than half of my assignment, thanks to Senior's help. Even though it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest because of our seating arrangements, I managed to listen carefully to what he had to say about my work. After he decided that I've done enough for the day, we spent another hour talking in the café.

I was hoping that I could finish the rest of the assignment that night, but I was too 'excited' as I remembered our small meeting in the café. He was only helping with my work but my heart still couldn't stop beating like a normal person's would.

A month later…

"Ran, let's go!" he said, as soon as I picked up my phone.

"Hmm? Where are we going, Senior?"

"Today is the announcement day, remember?"

I opened my mouth a little, forming an 'o'. "Ah yes. I almost forgot."

Before I knew it, the time flew to the day I dreaded last month. I shouldn't have forgotten about the competition, seeing that it's going to determine whether luck was on my side or his. But since I've been doing my assignment non-stop, it kept my mind off of the announcement day until just now. That's why the reminder from him gave me a little shock.

"Okay, I'll pick you up in an hour," he said suddenly, surprising me in the process.

My eyes widened as a result. "What? Senior, hang on. Why can't we just meet there? You don't have to pick me up."

I heard a sigh coming out of his mouth. "Do you even know the place?"

"No, but I can look for the directions in the internet," I defended myself quickly before he could retort back. "I'm sure they have the 'How to Get There' section on their webpage."

Shinichi Kudo laughed. "The event starts in less than two hours. Can you get there in time?" he asked. "You have to get ready and look for the directions in the internet. That I think will take an hour. From your house, you have to take several buses to get to the location. It will take another hour."

I pouted as I realised that he's right, as always.

"If I pick you up, you save money and time because you don't have to take the bus." I was certain there was a smile on his face. "You don't have to look for directions because I've been there several times. I know the way even with my eyes closed."

Unconsciously I started shaking my head. "NO! I'm not riding your motorcycle if you're going to close your eyes. You're dangerous enough even with your eyes wide open."

He laughed again; this time louder. "So, what's your decision?" he asked. "Do you want to come with or you want to go by yourself?"

After a few minutes of more persuasion (and he even bribed me with giving me the highest mark for the next assignment; I had to reject the offer because it wouldn't feel fair for the rest of the class), I agreed. And here I was, standing just beside him, waiting for the event to start.

There were actually a lot of people here. The participants especially made me feel intimidated because they looked more like professional writers, not an amateur like me. "Senior," I called out to him, "Are you sure they're not undercover writers? They look like they've published a lot of books."

He actually had the guts to laugh. "Don't worry. They're all amateurs just like you and me." I suddenly felt his hand behind my back, gently pulling me along to walk nearer to the stage. "Come, it's starting soon."

A week later…

Standing in front of my closet, I thought about what clothes I should wear for the day. I had no idea why my heart pounded like I've been running around the town for more than an hour. It's just lunch, I reminded myself as I placed my hands on my hips. I don't have to think much about what to wear. Just put on something decent.

But when I saw him standing in front of my door, I felt so underdressed. Even though he's only wearing a plain shirt with jeans, he still looked like a model whereas I looked like a person going to the nearby market.

Though the feeling immediately went away as I heard him say, "You look great, Ran!"

I looked away as I felt a smile forming on my lips. My heart continued its great pounding again, followed by a blush creeping to my face.

A/N: I'm still continuing Secret Admirer (a Harry Potter FF), don't worry about that ;] Anyway don't forget to review. Thanks for reading

Til next time..