Rey comes to the art room after school everyday now. In just a few weeks it starts to feel like our art room, one she fills with her laughter and creativity. She starts to wear her hair up and dress a little brighter, rarely dawning her hoodie anymore.

Instead of feeding Rey macaroni and cheese everyday, I start to cook enough dinner each night so I can bring enough leftovers to feed both of us. I make sure the meals are as healthy as possible for Rey's sake. She looks like she isn't getting enough nutrients and I can't have any of that.

This evening I grill some chicken for a salad and think of Rey and her work. When she gets frustrated with some part of her painting that isn't turning out the way she wants, she asks me what to do and it's thrilling. Helping Rey is the thing I didn't know I had been waiting for.

She's been working on a masterpiece. Sometimes it aches, it literally aches, just watching her make progress.

She's not as good at painting as me so she asks for my help a lot. She'll tell me how she wants the paint to look, the texture, the color, and I do my best to show her how to make it so.

I hate to admit it but I like that she depends on me from time to time. I want to show her how to not need others but at the same time ache for her to need me like I need her.

I decide not to eat tonight and just pack up the entire dinner into two tupperwares, careful to put a larger portion of meat and veggies in Rey's meal. The girl loves to eat.

I don't feel tired tonight, the buzz from spending time with Rey today is keeping me awake, but I'm desperate to sleep and get this day over with.

I want tomorrow. I want her again. To tire myself I go for a quick jog and take a relaxing shower before getting into bed. When I lie there I know my exercise did little to exhaust me.

Before I really think about what I'm doing, my right hand is in my sweats, wrapping around my cock. I start stroking but it's not quite right so I take a moment to lick my palm before continuing, adding twists at the head every few strokes. I close my eyes and breathe deeply, focusing on letting my body relax and release.

It's been a long time since I've jerked off but I fall back into the rhythm of things easily. My mind wanders, searching for the right fantasy to get me off.

This is the part where I usually get discouraged, unable to picture something arousing that doesn't at the same time turn me off. This time however I find it right away and I'm sucked away quickly.

"Mr. Ren." Defiance thick in her voice and in her eyes. We are in the art room. She stares me down while her hand travels down her chest leading all the way in between her legs. She slips her fingers between the folds of her skirt and I watch her face twist with pleasure. She calls my name again, each time thicker with desire, more desperate and closer to the edge. I call her name back, unable to help myself.

"Rey, Rey...ungh… Rey!" I come hard, thrusting into my fist to ride it out, her name on my lips still. It takes until the cum cools on my hand and stomach before I regain my senses.

At first, I don't know how to feel.

This is me standing here and way the fuck over there is the line I just crossed. She's fourteen and the thought of fucking her tiny cunt both drives me wild and makes me sick. I've never in my life felt this way about a student before, anyone for that matter.

But it's like I told Rey, she's special.

I only manage to sleep a few hours before my alarm goes off. It's an A day so I go through the motions eagerly awaiting the final school bell.

It can't come fast enough but when it finally does, I sit at my desk and fumble around aimlessly on the teacher's portal website. Rey comes in a few minutes later and plops her bag on her usual table with a huff.

She's wearing a generic female gym outfit which in our high school is a tight grey T-shirt and tiny navy-blue gym shorts. To say she looks pissed would be an understatement.

"Tough day?"

"Don't even ask." I can't help the quirk of my lips that give away my amusement. Her glare hardens and she stomps to her cabinet. She's filled it with all her supplies (all provided by me) and placed a strip of masking tape on the door which reads: REY'S. STAY OUT.

"This girl Pava who for some reason hates my guts even though I've never said a word to her decided to unload an entire can of shaving cream in my locker in gym today. I am gonna paint her clothes."

Rey swings the door open and bends down to gather her supply box. Her shorts ride up and I can't help but admire the curve of her ass, the wide gathering of her hips. I'm not listening to her when she turns and catches me staring. She goes silent.

Oh, fuck.

I can't tell for sure if she noticed but how could she not. I was eyefucking my student and I'll be damned if the shame I feel isn't written plainly across my face right now. But she breaks out into a grin and says, "You won't rat me out will you? I'm thinking green, orange, and yellow." She holds up some oil paints and her grin turns almost evil, her eyes sheening sinisterly. "And polkadots."

Relief rushes through me, warm and sweet.

It doesn't last.

"Excuse me." The deep, cool voice of Poe Dameron, the principal's favorite teacher, rings loud and stern through my art room and I go cold once again. What has he seen? "Mr. Ren, could I see you for a moment?"

I clear my throat and turn to him. His expression gives nothing away and I seriously think my heart's about to implode. "Of course. I'll be right back, Rey." She smiles sweetly at me and nods before going back to setting up her work space.

I follow Poe out the door and down the hallway far enough so that Rey cannot overhear us.

He rounds on me. "What did you do?" I stare at him dumbfounded, no idea what to say. Deny deny deny if it comes to it.

"What do you mean?" I ask working hard to keep my voice level, and failing. What if he knows? What if he saw? The shame of last night swells in me.

"How did you reach Rey? I cannot get that girl to connect with anyone or anything. She's in my homeroom and I'm her history teacher. She almost never speaks and here she is with you just chatting away." He shakes his head in disbelief and his smile is almost blinding.

Oh, sweet, sweet relief again. I regain my composure.

It's quickly replaced with annoyance.

Here is pretty boy Dameron in disbelief that a student could actually like me. "Well she is a really gifted art student. It seems to be the only thing that reaches her. She's taken to my art room."

"What a relief!" My lip quirks up cause that's my line. Poe seems to think I'm just being friendly and fuck if that's not the last thing I want, but maybe gaining his trust is a good idea.

Poe steps closer and his voice gets quieter. "The truth is that I've been rather worried about that girl. She seems off, never speaking to anyone even in homeroom. I can never get a hold of her guardian and I know all the so called signatures on her syllabi are faked by Rey herself. And I swear sometimes I think she's covering something up with that sweater. But I've seen a change in her recently. It must have been you, Kylo." He pats me on my back.

"Well, her father is picking her up late today so she's staying to use the art supplies I have. I'm working late and don't mind supervising." I smile cooly at him. This is perfect. It'll be good to have a witness, especially one so supportive.

"Good man. Listen, I gotta get outta here. I got the husband waiting at home." He wiggles his eyebrows at me. "If you ever need anything from me, just holler," he calls over his shoulder and makes towards the exit.

I simply wave in reply. Dameron could actually come in handy. Usually he just makes me feel bad cause his perfect teacher act and his posse of popular teachers makes me look like a freak.

Only a few students have taken to me and that's damn right Dameron, Rey's one of them.

As much as I'm happy that someone has noticed, this probably won't be the only time someone catches us after school like this. If the other teachers begin to talk, I have Poe to step in for me.

Still, it's better to draw less attention. I'll have to do something about that.

Back in the art room, I find Rey standing in front of her project, her hands atop her head and weight shifted onto her right hip. She groans.

"Mr. Ren, I don't know. It's not done but I don't know what else to do right now. I just finished the people on the staircase and I do not want to touch them for a while. Background is last so… It's just." She sighs deeply.

I chuckle softly. "I know what that's like. Knowing when to stop- it's one of the toughest challenges we come across as artists." She hums in agreement.

I want to offer more but this is where she excels. When it comes to technique I can give tips but her creations are her own and if I suggest what to do next there then I'll ruin her.

"Can we do something different today?"

"Whatever you'd like as long as it's art related." Yes, that's what keeps me in the clear. Just an art teacher I repeat to myself.

"Can we sketch each other? I never get the chance to use an actual subject. Plus I'll get to see you at work finally."

"Ah, I see. You want to see a pro at work." I roll my shoulders. "Alright but I warn you now. After you see this, you're gonna wanna be me."

"Psh as if. I can see the way you drool over my notebook. You want a peek, I can tell." She's setting up two stands across from each other to draw on but pauses for a moment to wink at me.

I smirk, eyes narrowing. "How about this? We sketch each other for sixty minutes and whoever does the best portrait gets to see one piece of work from the loser."

"You're on Mr. Ren. Draw your weapon." She guffaws at her own joke and for the first time I notice that Rey is a bit of a dork. I chuckle and choose a generic graphite pencil before sitting opposite to Rey.

For the first time I get the chance to just sit and admire her. It's Rey at her best, concentrating on her subject with a fierce stare, sketching furiously.

I start with her eyes. They are more brown than green today, full of depth. They're difficult to capture but eyes are my specialty.

Her eyebrows are impossible to capture though because they are constantly moving. "Control your eyebrows," I mutter.

She laughs. "I can't control them. I've been told they have a mind of their own."

"Yeah, who said that?

"My last foster parent. She was nice."

After that her eyebrows manage to stay still.

I spend too much time framing her face but she has such a unique jawline that I want to make sure I capture it perfectly. It's one of my favorite features and one of her most defining, ever defiant.

I lose myself staring into Rey's eyes more than once, returning to them over and over, going into the most detail there. The experience is cathartic and relaxes me all over. Sketching with her is my peace.

The hour is nearly over and Rey's face has come together rather well on my page. I touch up her hairline and then her eyes a bit more before I set my pencil down and clap my hands together.

"Time's up."

She closes one eye and tilts her head some, quickly makes one last mark and then sets her pencil down loudly.

She smiles at me knowingly and it's remarkable, lighting up her eyes. "Okay you go first!"

I gulp, suddenly very nervous.

Looking at my portrait of Rey, I see something I haven't seen in any of my work to date.

Something warm. Something I didn't know existed inside me.

I can't identify it but there's more feeling in this sixty minute portrait than in most of my larger pieces.

"Mr. Ren!" Rey interrupts my train of thought and I don't have anymore time to be nervous because she hops up and snatches up the portrait.

"Oh…" She's concentrating hard, her eyes scanning quickly and I notice her cheeks have grown a few shades redder.

"What is it?"

Her doe eyes meet mine and they are almost...sweet? A small smile plays across her face, and once again her eyebrows are back at it. "It's just that, I didn't think we were taking this so seriously."

"What do you mean?"

"Well. I drew you as a raven."

I get up and in two quick strides, I'm staring at my face in bird form.

In place of my long nose is a black hooked beak, my dark eyes perched above. Instead of my large ears and wild hair, Rey has replaced them with feathers and wings.

The disturbing part is her choice to include my lips, as they are, drawn precisely like a photograph.

It does something to me to imagine her staring at my lips long enough to perfect them as she has here.

I cover the shit eating grin forming on my face with my hand and shake my head in disbelief.

"You win, Rey."