Chapter 23: Alone Together

"Hey April, do we have any test today?"

"April, Jesse's talking to you."

"Hey girl, you listening to me? Your soda isn't going to drink itself, you know."

"Helloooooooo."

"April?"

"Hmmmm... Earth to April—"

"H-Huh?" My body jolted upward as I snapped out of my daydream. "W-What is it?"

"'Earth to April' must be the magic words." Allen let out an exasperated sigh as he held his forehead. "This is, like, the umpteen time you've spaced out, and those words work every single time."

"April, for real though…" Hannah gave me a worried look. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I, uh, I'm okay, Hannah." I let out a little laugh. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Hmm…" Jesse rubbed her chin, pretending to think with a huge grin on her face. "It must be because of Mr. Baldi, isn't it?"

I choked.

"E-Excuse me, but what?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?" Jesse threw me a knowing look, which made my heart race even faster. "You've been getting straight A's in his class lately. No one can blame you for being so happy."

I gave her a long dumbfounded stare before letting a small "oh", my face blank.

"Don't even try to pretend not to know what's happening." Allen narrowed his eyes as he looked straight into my very soul. "Every fucking kid who's ever known him is so jealous of you right now. And yes, that includes me."

Hannah chuckled softly. "But hey, there's a silver lining to everything—at least he seems much, much more tolerant now. I mean, he seems more cheerful around everyone, right?"

"Oh my god, you're so right." Jesse let out a small gasp. "It's been ages since I saw him yelling at anyone or slapping that ruler onto his hand. In fact, he looks friendly and even smiles at the people around him. It's as if he, he's learned to be a, a human again. Woah."

"Maybe it's because he's found someone that likes Math as much as him." Allen chuckled. "April, you teacher's pet, what power do you have to be able to change such man? You legit scare me."

"H-Hey!" I protested. "Even you guys are calling me that as well?"

"What?" Allen laughed with a rather amused smirk. "You're getting tired of being called a teacher's pet all the time in Mr. Baldi's class?"

"Stop with the teacher's pet thing, damn it!"

They laughed out loud and all I could do was to groan into my palms. However, I was secretly glad that they were teasing me about it instead of asking me the dreaded question of whether I was really dating Baldi. He was actually the reason I spaced out, so letting them tease me was better than having to answer what was on my mind.

Last night, Baldi was working late again like he always did, grading piles after piles of exam papers and preparing new tests on his computer. He didn't want to admit it, but he had been working himself to the bone night after night—he was exhausted. Therefore, I wanted to do something nice for him and decided to bring him some yogurt and fruits, his favorite midnight snack of all time. Everything was going well—I mean, he seemed very happy with his snack and even complimented me for being so kind—until my stupid self ruined the sweet atmosphere and made it awkward.

I kissed him on the cheek.

And I've never ran out of the room so fast in my life.

In fact, I was so embarrassed that I slammed the door shut, making a sound so thunderous that it could wake up an entire city in the middle of the night. After that, however, the only sound left in the hallway was the sound of my quick breath. My face was hot all over, and if I hadn't been concerned for my neighborhood's need for sleep and well-being, I would have let out a scream because of how flustered. Stupid, stupid April, those are the words I kept repeating in my mind as I shook my head over and over again, seemingly as an attempt to shake the shame out of me.

After a few seconds, I finally managed to calm down and thought about what I had just done. Mortifying as it was, I was actually glad that I opened myself up and did affectionate things for him. In the past two months we had been together, Baldi had been unhesitant to shower me with love everyday. He kissed me on the forehead every morning. He hugged me from behind whenever I made dinner. He said random but cute words to me whenever he had the chance. He was the caring and loving boyfriend any girl could ever ask for, yet I expressed my love for him less often. Yes, I did adore him very much and I was very happy with our relationship now, but I had always had a hard time being affectionate with someone. Growing up in a cold and unloving home, I had almost lost the ability to love someone and show my affection for them. Kissing someone on the cheek might not be something big, but this would be my first step in learning how to express my love for him.

Unfortunately for me, I could only be affectionate with him at home, in our own private space. Being in a relationship with your own teacher had proven to be harder than I had expected—you couldn't exactly be intimate with each other around others when there was still something called professionalism between you two. Some people were very quick to judge, that was the truth I had known since forever. If we were caught dating while I was still studying in this school, people would start gossiping, words would spread and both our reputation would eventually be ruined. However, his would be damaged way faster and more horribly than mine, and I couldn't bear to see that happening to him. I must keep our relationship a secret at all cost until I graduated.

Speaking of which, what would our future look like? Baldi would surely still be a teacher, but what job would I have? Would I be able to pursue my dream career or would I have to settle for a job that I had no passion in? Or worse, would I even be able to get a job at all? If not, would Baldi be fine with it? Sure, he didn't seem to mind. He had been helping me pay for my tuition fee with a smile on his face, even promising to continue doing so if I decided to go to college. But would that last long? Of course, I wasn't doubting him, but having to pay for someone's tuition fee and potentially supporting them for the rest of their life seemed like a huge financial burden for him. He had to take care of himself too, so what if it eventually became too much for him? What would happen to our relationship–

"April, there you are—"

"Ahh!"

Maybe I shouldn't have let out a yelp that loud, because I ended up scaring the person behind me and drawing everyone's attention to me. I turned around and saw Baldi staring at me with wide eyes. He was clearly startled.

"O-Oh, Mr. Baldi… Y-You surprised me." I chuckled awkwardly. Despite having lived together for three months with two months of dating included, it was still very hard not to call him Baldi so casually. One slip-up and my cover would be blown away immediately.

"The same could be said to you, April," he replied calmly despite being scared so badly. "I've been looking for you."

"Really? What do you need me for, sir?"

Seemingly noticing my friends' stare on him, especially Allen's, he looked a bit uneasy to state his request. "Would I interrupt your lunch with your friends? This isn't something urgent."

"It's okay, Mr. Baldi. I've finished my lunch after all."

Nodding, he instructed me to follow him to his office and I agreed to do so, saying goodbye to my friends beforehand. My curiosity was at its peak right now—what could he possibly need me for? He only asked me to help him if it was about important things that needed to be done right then, so why did he ask me to come with now, during lunch, if it wasn't urgent?

Before I knew it, we had reached his office. Like a gentleman he was, he opened the door to let me walk in first before following suit. The moment I heard the sound of the door closing, I spun around to ask what I could help him with before being pulled into a tight embrace.

"April…" His voice was quiet and soft. "I'm sorry for making you come here out of nowhere, but I suddenly missed you so much that it was unbearable."

Those words truly stunned me, making me stand there motionlessly in surprise. But I soon found myself giggling as I returned the hug.

"You really missed me that much?"

"I, I don't know what's wrong with me today…" He muttered, seeming very embarrassed as he hugged me more tightly. "Usually, I just do whatever I need to do to distract myself, but I can't stop thinking about you today. It soon became too much and I told myself that I absolutely needed you right now, so I went looking for you."

I let out a small laugh as we sat down on his chair. "Aww, I've missed you too Baldi, but aren't you afraid that someone's going to see us?"

"You forgot who you're dating? No one dares to come into my office without knocking first, not even the principal. Right now, this room belongs to us." He grinned as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. "You know, maybe the reason I started missing you so much is the kiss you gave me last night. You really surprised me there, April. Gosh, how did I even get such a cute girlfriend?"

Now was my turn to bury my face into my palms, trying to hide my blush as my cheeks started to burn and mumbling in embarrassment, to which he chuckled and patted my head.

The entire time we were alone in his office, all we did was cuddling and enjoying each other's company. Despite how students were still walking and talking loudly outside, along with how the principal was constantly telling them not to run in the hallway, his office was very quiet, and I didn't mind it one bit. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot. It wasn't the same as the first time I stepped foot into this room. That day, the atmosphere was scary, heavy and downright terrifying. But now, it was peaceful, calm and sweet. To think how much time had passed and how much our relationship had changed along with it…

"April…"

"Yes?"

I answered while still resting my head on his shoulder. I felt him taking a deep breath before talking again.

"Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"


Hello again! I know it's been a long time since I last updated and I'm very sorry for that. College has been quite tough and I've been having a hard time finding time to write. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll do my best to try to update as soon as possible!