Please Teacher – Chapter 1
People often ask me why I became a high school teacher and, looking at this class, I really don't know. I've been an English teacher for nearly four years now, and I'm seriously considering a career change. Well, I was. Up until Saix walked into my classroom with a new kid in tow.
The blue-haired man introduces the kid as Roxas Tam, a transfer student from the islands. It's obvious, too, with his flawless tan and the wiry muscles you could see even through his black long sleeve. His hair was golden, probably from spending too much time in the sun, and he had the biggest, bluest eyes I have ever seen. They provided him with an air of innocence, accented by the way his long lashes ghosted over his high cheekbones as he took in the classroom, the other students, me. He met my gaze for a second before he ducked his head, looking bashful, the light glinting off the barbell in his right eyebrow, and my heart skipped a beat. I realized Saix was still talking and reluctantly peeled my eyes off the boy as he leaned closer, murmuring in my ear as Roxas eyed the other teenagers warily.
"…that incident left him quite – shaken, as you'd expect. This is his first time back at school since then, so if there's any problems just send him to me. Okay?"
I blinked glancing at the blonde boy. He was shifting from foot to foot and seemed quite nervous. I nodded, turning my attention back to Saix. "Sure, no problem."
The man straightened and turned to the new kid, muttering something to him before shooting my noisy class a glare and striding out the door.
Roxas blinked at me, then stepped forward, holding out a piece of paper from the office. I signed it as I quickly introduced myself and told him what we were studying. As I passed the slip back, his sleeve slid down his arm slightly, revealing the soft, sun-kissed flesh, marred only by – wait. 'Is that a cut?' Roxas yanked the fabric back into place and made his way to the empty seat at the back of the room. For a minute I just that, silent. I could feel the frown on my face as the image of that big ugly slice on the blonde's wrist took centre stage in my mind. 'Did he do it or… someone else?'
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ROXAS P.O.V
Oh. My. God. THAT was my teacher? I thought English teachers were supposed to be grumpy old men with grey hair and bad teeth not, well… THAT! This guy was anything but old. He couldn't have been older than 26 and he. Was. Hot! Flaming red hair, piercing green eyes – greener than any I'd ever seen. They reminded me of the paopu trees back home – and smooth, creamy skin broken only by thin lips and two long, thin tattoos caressing his cheeks. Our eyes locked for a second and I looked away, chewing on my lip. There was something in his gaze, in the way he looked at me that I couldn't quite place. It wasn't the way a teacher looks at a student. It was more… personal? Intimate? It made my heart tingle and I felt the need to fight back a blush. I… liked it.
The guidance councillor stepped up, murmuring to him in low tones, no doubt explaining about "the incident" and telling him how screwed up I was. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, worrying about what the redhead would think of me. I saw him nod and heard a "sure, no problem." God, his voice! It was unlike anything I've ever heard. It was rough but smooth, deep and soft, all at the same time. It was beautiful.
The blue-haired man straightened and turned to me, telling me to feel free to visit at any time. Then he shot the class a dirty look and was gone. I blinked, stepping closer to the redhead and handing him the slip the lady in the office gave me. I had to get all of my teachers to sign it and then give it back to her at the end of the day. As he scrawled his signature, the man introduced himself as Mr Glau and said that we were going to be studying Romeo and Juliet. That made my life easy. I'd already done it back on the islands, and I knew the Baz Lurman version back to front. I always thought the guy who played Mercutio would make an excellent Franke N Furter.
As Mr Glau was handing me back the slip, my sleeve fell down my wrist. I saw his gaze jump down to and I know he saw the gouge my mother left this morning when something flashed in his eyes. I quickly yanked my sleeve back in place and retreated to the back of the room, next to a kid with steely blue hair that flopped over half of his face. His head was buried in a book, and he didn't look up as I slid into the seat next to him.
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When the bell finally rang, signalling the end of class, I dashed for the door. I needed to get out of that classroom. I needed to get away from that teacher. I could feel him watching me all lesson. His eyes still that undecipherable glint, now underlying something harder, and it was starting to make me nervous. When he handed me the outline for our assignment halfway through class, our fingers brushed. It almost burned, shooting something through my spine, but his fingers were cool. I could still feel his skin on my fingertips as I made my way to the cafeteria. It made my heart thump painfully against my ribs.
The noise of the cafeteria snapped me b=violently back to reality as soon as I stepped through the doors. The din was unbelievable! Girls were shrieking and giggling. Guys were calling to their friends across the hall. Everyone was screaming and yelling, just to be heard by the person next to them, the voices echoing as they bounced off the high ceiling. I groaned. How is it physically possible for a school half the size of Destiny High make twice as much noise? And kids were still pushing past me, running to get food or waving frantically at their friends. It was giving me a headache.
My eyes swept over the tables, coming to rest on a mane of bright red. I stared at Mr Glau as he chatted and laughed with a dirty blonde boy with some kind of Mohawk/mullet thing going on. My chest tightened with a pang of… something at seeing my teacher with the kid, the way they laughed. Mr Glau suddenly turned, immediately meeting my gaze, like he'd been able to know I was there, what I was thinking, how I was feeling. I blushed, embarrassed that I'd been caught staring and turned on my heel, fighting my back through the hoard of hungry students and heading outside, partly hoping the redhead followed me, and partly hoping that he didn't.
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AXEL P.O.V.
"So, you said there was a new kid sir?" Demyx asked, coming back to the original topic. We were in the cafeteria, straining to be heard over the screeching students. I'd come to Demyx, wondering if he would show Roxas around and help get settled.
"Yes, a transfer student from the islands." The boy clapped his hands together, grinning. I knew he loved Destiny Islands and went there often to visit family. I smiled, looking up to see if I could spot those golden spikes in the crowd. I spotted him immediately. Roxas was standing in the middle of the throng of students pushing their way through the doors, but it was like they didn't exist. All I saw was Roxas, everything else blurred and faded to the background as our eyes locked. 'How long has he been staring at me?' Roxas blushed, ducking his head before turning and pushing his way through the mass of bodies, back towards the door. As soon as I lost eye contact with him, the world came screaming back into focus, the noise hitting me like a rock.
"Sir?" Demyx was looking at me, worried. Taking a deep breath, I smiled at him before asking him to come to my classroom at the start of the next break to meet Roxas. Demyx agreed, then skipped over to where his friends were waiting for him, launching himself into Zexion's lap. I saw the him press a kiss to the blonde's cheek before I turned, heading after Roxas.
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I found him out on the lawn, lying in the shade in of the huge oaks. His gorgeous blue eyes snapped open as I approached and he sat up, brushing off his back.
"What're you doing out here?" I asked, sitting down next to him. He blinked up at me, his cheeks dusted pink.
"Am I not supposed to be?"
I smiled reassuringly. It was cute how… uncertain he was. "You're allowed to be out here, Roxas." I watched as his shoulders relaxed. "I was just wondering why you're out here, and not in there eating and meeting people."
Roxas turned away, picking at the grass as he crossed his legs. He was silent for a minute, the leaves overhead rustling peacefully in the breeze. "What's your name?"
I started as Roxas' soft voice broke through the calm silence. I looked down at him, raising an eyebrow as he averted his eyes. He continued and I rested my elbows on my raised knees. "Not your teacher name, I already know that. I… I meant your real name. You know, your first name?"
Frowning, I studied the blonde next to me. He certainly was different to every other kid I'd ever taught. "Axel." I stated. "May I ask why?"
Roxas sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back on his hands, a gentle breeze wafting over us, threading itself through our hair. "Axel…" the name flowed softly from his lips as he tested it, making my heart flutter in its cage. "Have you ever been the high school new kid?"
The question brought me up short. 'Had I ever been the high school new kid?' "What do you mean?"
Roxas opened his eyes, looking up at me. He didn't answer, just gazed at me, letting the rustling leaves fill the peaceful silence. There was something lingering in his eyes, drawing me in. Our noses brushed, startling me. I hadn't even realised we had been leaning towards each other. The fact was banished from my mind when my gazed flicked to his for a second before returning to his plush lips, right before he pressed them softly against mine. My mind went blank, my head filled with the warmth of his lips, the smell of his hair, the way it tickled my cheek lightly in the wind. The bell rang, wrenching me back to reality with shrill call, the din of students filling the halls, slamming their lockers.
Roxas stood, brushing off the seat of his pants, grabbing his bag and walking past me with a vague "see ya, sir" thrown over his shoulder. I blinked, trying to drag my mind away from the tingly heat on my lips. I heard Demyx's bubbly voice calling out for his boyfriend, reminding me of our previous conversation. "Roxas!"
He paused, turning back to me as I rose, running a hand through my hair and brushing off my pants. "Come to my classroom at the start of next break." He opened his mouth to argue, but I beat him to it, scrambling out a hurried explanation as I passed him, heading towards the buildings. "There's someone I want you to meet."
He looked confused, but nodded anyway. I flashed him a smile before ducking through the doors and into the overcrowded corridor.
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ROXAS P.O.V
I could feel it happening again. I'd been at this school for all of two hours, and I could already sense it. Dammit! I'd promised myself a fresh start. Nobody here knew me, it should be easy to give myself a new life, a new history, right? Wrong. I could see the people looking at me out of the corners of their eyes, could hear the hissing whispers as they discussed the possibility of me being "THAT guy" behind their hands.
Ever since I walked into the art room, I'd been haunted by the curious glances, the hurried whispers, the averting eyes. Hell, one guy even made his girlfriend move to the easel on his other side when I sat two spaces down from her. They knew. I don't know how, but they did, and that's all that mattered. It seemed that no matter where I went in the world, that "incident" was doomed to stalk me forever. Great, I'd always wanted to be a social outcast.
'Come to my classroom at the start of next break… there's someone I want you to meet.'
Who could he possibly want me to meet? More importantly, why? My thoughts drifted lazily back to the redhead. Axel. 'Does he hate me now?' I dipped my brush back into the paint blindly, sweeping it across the canvas in long, meaningless strokes. Bright red. Vivid green. Long flicks of black. I thought back to the smile he'd thrown over his shoulder before he'd swept away by the human tide. It had seemed genuine. Like he couldn't wait to see me again, like everything was… okay.
I sighed, scooping paint into my hands, smearing it over the colours that reminded me so much of what I hated… and what I couldn't have.
A/N: Ok, so yes. New story! TRALAAAAA! :3 I've been wanting to do a teacher/student akuroku for a while but I just couldn't get any ideas straight in my head! If enough of you lovely people want a second chapter of Letters From Liars, please let me know an I'll start on it once assessment is over!
Those who review get Roxas cookies! *3*