A couple of references to 1/2 Prince in here. Also, I will never abandon the Professor Mard au's. I love them way too much.
Mirajane could feel her soul leaving her body.
This couldn't be happening. No. Not to her. Not like this.
She was probably overreacting. Yeah, overreacting. But it was just so...
Horribly cliché.
Mirajane Strauss, older sister extraordinaire, part-time bartender, part-time model, full-time totally-over-her-head-in-debt college student... most definitely had a crush on her devilishly handsome History professor.
How had she fallen into this trap? What had she ever done to deserve this?
...Quite a lot, actually. She'd had a... colourful youth, after all. In middle school. Was this the universe's revenge for being a delinquent? To have her fall into the whole bad-girl-meets-handsome-and-kind-teacher-and-becomes-reformed-though-true-love trope from shoujo mangas?!
Thankfully she would escape some aspects of the trope, at least. Professor Geer was many things (snarky, handsome, intelligent), but he was not really the epitome of kindness. Mirajane was already reformed, too. And she was in college. Mirajane couldn't recall the trope appearing once the protagonist had passed high school age.
Oh, wait, there was one manhua but that involved a video game world so it was employing a whole other set of tropes than what applied here. ...Actually no, now that she thought about it, wasn't the teacher in that one a History professor as well?! A ridiculously young looking one with long dark hair?!
Well, she decided, she'd probably be fine if she stayed away from video games. And while she did have a brother, he wasn't her twin.
"auss. Miss Strauss. Miss Strauss."
"Y-yes!" she yelped in surprise.
Professor Geer was staring at her, with his dark eyes. "Are you... feeling alright?" he asked.
"Y-yeah?" Mirajane replied. "Why do you ask?" Oh god no. Her epiphany had hit her at the worst possible moment - during her meeting with him about extending a due date!
"You spaced out." His words were blunt, and extremely unenthused.
Mirajane flushed in mortification. Had she really just done that? Daydream about her crush in front of the man? Was she still in high school?! "I'm so sorry!"
He waved off her apology, and stared at her for another long moment. "I'll extend the due date till Friday."
Relief and adulation flooded Mirajane's body. "Really? Thank you!"
The professor snorted. "Try to get some rest, Miss Strauss. Exhaustion is an illness you cannot afford in your situation. Take care of yourself or you'll get nothing from your education."
She nodded, for it was good advice even if he was misreading what had just transpired. "I will. I promise."
"Good," he stated. "After all, it wouldn't look good on my record if a student dropped dead in the middle of one of my lectures." Then he smiled, and it wasn't his usual smug smirk he wore when he taught. This was a little softer around the edges - less arrogant, less cruel.
And Mirajane felt her soul depart once more.