This is a college AU of the story which revolves around the relationship between Linda Downy and Leander Hastings. Warning here, this involves a teacher student relationship, so if you don't like them, don't read (but it's college though, so there's no underage sex thing, and Hastings isn't all that old)

Linda Downey let out a sigh of frustration as she looked over her report card. She was a sophomore in college, and her lowest grade at the moment was in British Literature, which was a C. Why had she even taken that class? Because you're interested in Britain, she reminded herself. Groaning, she fell back onto her bed. She was lucky enough to snag a one person dorm room, which kept her from the more unfortunate college experiences. She pulled the report card back to her field of vision and looked at the name of the professor for her class. L. Hastings was printed next to the grade. Mr. Hastings was a tall, cold man who constantly had a thin frown pressed on his face. Some of the girls in her class thought he was handsome, but Linda herself had never looked him over beyond his hair color and height. She had barely registered his voice really, as she simply listened for the information and not the sound.

Linda sat up and pulled her laptop from the other end of the bed to her lap. Going into her email, she decided to email Mr. Hastings. Hopefully he'd accept it, especially in person. Her friends claimed that her voice was liquid gold, so soothing to hear that it could make them commit murder if she asked. She thought it was ridiculous. However, in an argument, she tended to come out on top. Whether it be from her voice or the points she made, she didn't know.

To: Mr. Hastings
Subject: Discuss Grades

Mr. Hastings,
I would like to meet with you in order to discuss my grades. Any time will do, thank you.

Linda Downey

She hit the send button and laid back down. It could be a while before she got another response, as there were still a few more classes scheduled for the day. She glanced at the clock, which read 4:50 PM. She had a class at 5:15, and she wasn't even wearing her pants! Linda pushed out of bed, put on a pair of jeans, grabbed her backpack with her laptop inside, and left her dorm. She could fast-walk to her next class. As she was walking, she received a text from Thomas Swift, her older sister's boyfriend, about him and Becka visiting her college town soon and hoping to spend time with her. She typed a quick "okay" in response and hit send. Her building came into view, to which she jogged to.

An hour and a half later, Linda walked out of the class with her friend, Genevieve, at her side. She checked her phone as Gennie (as she liked to be called) went on and on about a girl in her french class.

"Lin? Are you even listening to me?" Gennie asked, visibly distraught, as she watched her friend pull her phone out.

"Yeah, Jess called you a slut in French. But you know more French than her, just go off," Linda said and scrolled through the junk mail she received within her last class. Her finger stopped when there was an email from Leander Hastings. Leander? she thought to herself. She hadn't ever known his first name before.

To: Linda Downey
Subject: Re: Discuss Grade

Ms. Downey,
There isn't much to be discussed, though if you insist you can stop by my classroom anytime before seven.

Leander Hastings

She checked the time on her phone. It was already 6:47, but luckily his class was in the building right next door. She jogged over to the building and opened the door, walking down the hall in search of his room. When she arrived, she peeked her head through the door to see if he was still there. The room looked strange being as empty as it was. She only ever saw it full of students and noise, but now it was empty and silent. She searched the room for Mr. Hastings, but didn't find him. Hesitantly, she stepped inside to get a better look around. There was a messenger bag sitting on top of his desk with papers stacked neatly next to it. The computer was still on, also. She walked further into the classroom and stood next to the desk, staring at the wallpaper for the computer. It was a picture of a simple house that looked to be in the countryside. She was so caught up in the photo that she hadn't noticed anyone enter the room.

"Ms. Downey, correct?" His voice made her jump and spin around. He didn't stop to greet her though, as he had continued moving around her and to his desk.

"Linda is fine. I wanted to talk about-"

"The grade you're getting in my class, yes. As you can see," he said as he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, "There isn't much to talk about." He pushed the power button on his computer, making the picture of the home disappear.

"That's the thing, I was hoping we could talk about how I can improve my grade for the next semester," she said and watched him move around her with skill. He had crossed the room to retrieve more papers before replying.

"Your essays aren't written as they should be, and your test grades are average. Learn to write, and study more," he muttered bluntly and made his way back to his desk. The last part poked at Linda's anger, though she was going to keep her composure.

"How do you want it then?" she asked. She didn't realize that the way she phrased it gave it another meaning until Mr. Hastings stopped moving and turned to look at her. That was the first time she had actually seen him in all his entirety. His deep, intense eyes stared directly into her gold-flaked ones. She gasped silently as they stared at each other, neither breaking their gaze. The little space between them felt like a chasm, and in the middle a wall was standing tall. A wall that was standing tall, but could be pushed down with a feather landing upon it. Her lips slighted partially, and she felt as though she were frozen in time.

It wasn't until a group of girls loudly walked by the classroom did Mr. Hastings tear his gaze away. He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to his work. Linda blinked as her cheeks turned red and she turned away also. She shifted her backpack on her shoulder and wondered whether she should leave or not.

"If you want, I'll give you copies of essays I've kept and use as examples," he said after a minute of silence. She turned back around, but kept her eyes down.

"Thank you, Mr. Hastings," she said and turned to leave. She could hear his footsteps not too far behind hers as she walked to the exit of the building. Right before she reached the door, he jogged in front of her and opened it. He held it open for her to walk through, and closed it once she did so. "Thanks," she said nervously and gave him a small smile, "Bye then."

"Goodbye, Linda," he responded kindly. The way he said her name made her heart race and her cheeks heat up, so she quickly turned away and sped-walk to back to her dorm. When she glanced behind her shoulder, she saw him walking off in the other direction, taking long strides. She was too busy watching him that she hadn't noticed Gennie walk up until she bumped into.

"Salope! Lin, what are you doing?" Gennie shouted as her friend walked right into her. "Why is your face all red?"

"Nothing, it's nothing," she waved off the concern and used every bit of her control to not turn and look back again. "What did you just call me?"

"T'inquiète pas. Don't worry," she said. Gennie then turned around and hooked her arm into Linda's, "There's a party tonight, an end of the semester party!" she said excitedly. Linda frowned, as she had forgotten all about that. D, which was short for D'Orsay, throws a party every semester when he gets the chance. He invites nearly everyone on campus, too. Linda was always on the list, as she was just below popular. Her looks mixed with her personality seemed to make her unknowingly popular among her peers.

"I don't really want to got to that," Linda confessed and slid her arm out of Gennie's. Every time she went to a party, she was mercilessly hit on by the underclassmen that attended also. She wasn't particularly feeling it that night. She just wanted to go back to her dorm room and rest. Her body needed it, after what happened.

"You don't want to go? It's the end of the semester! We're only going to be in college once, Lin!" Gennie said enthusiastically. Linda suddenly thought of the perfect excuse.

"My sister is visiting with her boyfriend, and I don't plan to meet them with a hangover," she said and shook her head. Gennie looked dejected, but she couldn't fight that. She shrugged and said that she'd see Linda later, before leaving and more than likely heading for the party. The sun was already gone from the sky, but the stars hadn't come out yet.

Laid out on her dorm bed, (without her pants on, of course) Linda was browsing the internet out of boredom. Her dorm was mostly empty from the party and the semester ending, save the people such as her. She couldn't go home, as the home situation for her was complicated. She stayed at school all year, but would sometimes visit Becka for a few weeks during the summer. She'd sometimes catch a movie with a friend, or even a date in some cases. But her dates never lasted much further than a simple kiss. Though, there was one guy she had gone on three dates with before they stopped talking. It ended poorly, over an argument.

She sighed as she saw another unfunny picture and pushed her laptop away. Laying back on her bed, she let out a dissatisfied groan. She hadn't eaten dinner yet, and it was nearly nine. Frowning, she whipped out her cell phone and dialed in the number for a pizza place. She ordered a small, pepperoni pizza for herself. She was definitely going to have extras, though that meant she had dinner for the next few nights until Becka and Thomas arrived. She put a pair of loose sweat pants on and threw a sweatshirt on over her tank top (she had taken her bra off long ago) to at least look decent for when the pizza man arrived. She left her dorm room and sat in the lobby of the dorm, waiting for the pizza man to arrive. Some late party-goers said hi to her and left. Some were returning, obviously drunk and looking to get laid. Linda ignored them after responding to their greeting. The loneliness made her think about Mr. Hastings, and how she felt earlier. The feeling his gaze gave her was...spontaneous. She bit her bottom lip as she remembered and shifted on the couch she was sitting on. She looked hopefully out of the door window to see if the pizza man had arrived yet. If he didn't hurry, she was going to lose herself in thought about Mr. Hastings: his eyes, his handsome face, even his frown was painted into her memory.

She watched as a man carrying a box walked up to the door and walked in. When he saw her, he seemed taken aback slightly, but held the pizza out nonetheless. Linda was quick to pay and return to her dorm and begin eating the pizza. She turned her laptop back on in hopes of watching some Netflix, but to her surprise she had an email notification. She opened it nervously.

To: Linda Downey
Subject: Example Essays

Linda,
Attached to this email are the essays I mentioned earlier. If you have any other questions, do ask. Best of luck.
Essay 1
Essay 2
Essay 3

Leander Hastings

Her heart skipped a beat as she read her first name. Even typed by him, it had an effect. The next semester was definitely going to be difficult.

Dunna dunna. I thought of this today in class, and I couldn't let the idea go. Sorry if Linda seems a tad OOC, I don't really have an idea as to what she was like when she was in her early 20's, and I doubt she was exactly like she is now.

On a side note, Sorcerer Heir comes out soon! More Leander and Linda moments, I'm hoping~

Also, I'm slowly incorporating the other characters here. D is D'Orsay (because he's a dick), Jessamaine is Jess, Gennie is Genevieve (don't know who that is? Read the rest of the books!), and Thomas is Jack's father. I didn't make them married or engaged because I feel like that's too soon. All in good time, all in good time.