A Rose of Passion

Detention

Arthur stared at his Spanish teacher, his eyes wide in surprise and so did the whole class. Antonio kept smiling his usual cheerful, almost clueless grin. Antonio was handing them their test copies from last week and, for the first time, he had given Arthur the top mark he deserved and had even praised him. All the pupils were now speechless, especially Arthur. He had thought that his teacher hated him … although he couldn't figure out why. Maybe he didn't after all ...? But still … how can someone change his attitude completely overnight? Impossible! Arthur eyed the Spaniard suspiciously. There had to be a trick! Maybe he was trying to make him lower his guard? But Antonio just smiled back at him a surprisingly honest smile. Arthur was so surprised. It was the first time Mr Carriedo smiled at him like that! Oh, sure, he had seen him smile to other students but never to him! What was going on? Without a word, Arthur took his paper from Antonio's hands. He then went back to his seat.

Antonio frequently glanced at Arthur during his lesson. When the boy had come to take his copy, Antonio's pulse had accelerated and he still wondered how Arthur couldn't have heard the loud sound of his racing heart. When Arthur's fingers had brushed his own as he had taken his copy it almost had made him squeak a complaining sound as he felt an electric shock run through his body. How pathetic could he be? This was ridiculous! He'll never manage to teach with Arthur in his class, staring at him with his gorgeous green eyes, fully concentrated on him. He knew that Arthur was only focusing on the lesson he was giving but each time he saw those eyes, the world spun and Arthur was at its centre. Finally, his class ended and Antonio left the room. As he exited, he gave a quick glance back at Arthur … and wished he hadn't. Those sparkling emerald eyes of his were still locked on him. Antonio felt his face warm up and rushed out the door. He bumped into Matthew Williams, the English teacher.

"Lo siente." Antonio mumbled before rushing to his next class. He knew why Arthur had been staring at him like that. He had noticed it when he had given back the copies of the last test. Arthur had looked at him with suspicion. He probably thought that Antonio was up to something. Antonio felt needles pinning his heart. He had thought that by being nice, Arthur would forgive him. But it would obviously take some time … still, it hurts.

Antonio entered the teacher's room with a heavy sigh. It was only the lunch break and he already felt exhausted. During all his other classes, Antonio had wished to see Arthur, sitting in front of him, staring at him. But when the boy was in the class, Antonio could barely concentrate on his lesson, always glancing back at Arthur. This was insane! Why did he have to fall in love? Just when he thought life was finally being kind to him! He got a good job in a good school with great pupils … everything was perfect! Until he met those emerald eyes.

"Mr Carriedo? Are you feeling alright?"

Antonio jumped then saw Matthew looking at him with worried eyes. He had always gotten along well with the blond man. His long, dark blond hair reminded him of Francis and his blue eyes with a touch of purple were always so full of kindness and compassion. He always carried a stuffed polar bear around with him for some reason.

"Ah! Ha ha! Si! I'm fine! I guess I'm just a bit tired!" Antonio replied, trying to hide his depression.

But Matthew wasn't buying it, nevertheless, he let it go. Antonio clearly didn't want to talk about it … yet. And Matthew wasn't going to force him. Instead, he started talking about future holiday plans since the Christmas holidays were coming up soon. The change of subject cheered Antonio up and Matthew felt pleased that his plan had worked.

"Si! I'm still hesitating! I want to go back to Spain and I want to see mi hermano but I'm not sure yet. He has been mad at me recently and I'm worried I'll make it worse if I see him!"

"I don't think it'll make it any worse, Antonio. What kind of brother wouldn't want to see his older brother for Christmas? And I'm sure he will forgive you soon! I have a brother myself and, although he's older than me, he can be quite irresponsible and naïve. I always have to chase after him and fix his mistakes … but when I'm mad at him, I always end up forgiving him!"

"Really?"

"Yes! I'm sure your brother is the same!"

"Si, maybe. What about you Matthew?"

"Oh, me?" Matthew blushed slightly. "I'm going to spend some time with my brother Alfred of course and then … I'll …"

"He'll be spending New Year with me." answered a tall, blond man with spiky hair and hard, grey eyes. The man was sitting lazily in a chair not far from the two others and listening to them while smoking a pipe. He smiled tenderly at Matthew who blushed nervously but returned the smile. Antonio felt a strike of pain in his heart. He envied them. How he wished he and Arthur could be this close … they could even spend New Year together too! Antonio hid his jealous heart behind a broad, fake smile.

"Really? That's great! I'm glad for you two! How long as it been now?"

"Two years." Lars, the tall Dutchman answered winking at his lover.

"Already?" Antonio asked happily. He felt his heart breaking at the sight of the two of them. He wished for something to happen! Some sort of distraction! Anything! And then, they heard screaming outside in the corridor. All three men rushed outside to see what had happened, Antonio was secretly thankful for the disturbance. They all looked at an angry Swiss man shouting at a Polish … man?

"Not again!" Lars muttered while Matthew giggles lightly.

Antonio didn't understand. He watched, confused, at Vash Zwingly, the Swiss man, also head of the school's council and head of staff, shout at some Polish woman … man … woman …?

"What is going on?"

"Feliks decided to come in a dress again!" giggled Mathew.

"Feliks? You mean that philosophy teacher? But … isn't he a man? Why would he come wearing girl's clothing?" Antonio asked while slowly realising that it was indeed Feliks in the pink, short dress.

"Don't ask me! The guy's a nutter!" Lars stated plainly.

"I think he just likes to dress up like a girl." Matthew answered with a small smile. "Whatever the reason, Mr Zwingly doesn't like it!"

"No! He doesn't for sure! I wouldn't want to be in Feliks' place right now." Antonio replied, nodding. When he had met Mr Zwingly, he had thought of him to be a scary person. He was wrong, the guy was terrifying! It seemed only the headmaster wasn't impressed or scared by the mad economy Swiss teacher.

Pupils started to gather up, watching the scene with curiosity until Lars sent them packing away with one of his imposing glares. Antonio laughed loudly. How he loved this school!

After the distracting invent at lunch, Antonio had been able to finish his day with a calmer mind. He was writing a few reports in the teacher's lounge when he heard a knock on the door. He lifted his head up, curious. There was no one else in the room except himself. All the teacher's had gone. Who would be coming at this time after school? It wouldn't have been someone from the staff because they wouldn't have bothered knocking so … a pupil? At this time?

"Si? Come in!" Antonio answered brightly. His smile froze on his face as he recognised the person entering the lounge. Messy blond hair, sparkling emerald eyes, pale skin. Arthur closed the door behind him then looked at his Spanish teacher. Antonio's mind was racing. What was he doing here? At this time? Why? Why him? What did he want? Was he looking for him? What was going on?

"I'm sorry I'm a bit late. Lovino hurt his leg in Sport today and I took him to the nurse. I waited with him until Miss Zwingly (the nurse and sister of Mr Zwingly) came back which took longer than I had expected and I then took a quick shower before coming here. I didn't want to arrive covered in mud from our football practice." Arthur said, interrupting Antonio's train of thought.

Antonio stared at him surprised. 'Late'? Late for what?

"Aren't you going to give me detention? You said it would last until the end of the week." Arthur asked, slightly confused at Antonio's reaction. "Did you … forget?"

Antonio suddenly remembered the week of detention he had given Arthur the day before. How could he have forgotten? Antonio fidgeted nervously in his chair and pointed to Matthew's desk in front of his own and waited until Arthur had sat down before handing him a sheet of paper with translation exercises on it. Arthur eyed the sheet rapidly before completing it in barely 10 minutes. Antonio had stared at him the whole time from behind his computer screen. He was surprise at how fast Arthur had answered and correctly at all the questions. The English boy really did study well to be able to answer like that. No wonder he was top of his class. Without a word Antonio gave him another sheet of questions, harder than the previous. It took Arthur five more minutes to complete it than the last one. And again, Antonio didn't say a word. He just gave him yet another sheet. This little routine continued on for an hour and a half.

Antonio would frequently glance at Arthur while he was concentrating on his work. He loved the way his pupil would silently mouth the Spanish words with a small frown on his face as he was trying to understand them. Soon, Antonio managed to calm down and concentrate on his own work. Having Arthur's presence around him did make him nervous but he didn't feel breathless and perspiring anymore. Yes, he felt peaceful having the boy sitting in front of him. He was starting to enjoy this detention when …

"Mr Carriedo, why do you hate me?"

Antonio jumped at the sound of Arthur's voice. He looked at his pupil and saw him staring at him questioningly. Arthur's face showed a surprised and apologetic look when he saw his teacher jump.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to scare you. I apologise, I shouldn't have asked." Arthur said quickly before getting back to his Spanish exercise. Antonio watched him hesitantly before answering:

"I don't … hate you."

Now it was Arthur's turn to jump with surprise. He had been sure that the Spaniard truly hated him. Antonio looked away, embarrassed under Arthur's suspicious glare.

"I don't understand, Sir. Why have you been acting …" Arthur tried to find a polite formulation for what he meant. "Why have you been acting differently with me than the other pupils?"

"I have?" Antonio tried to feign ignorance but then saw the annoyed look on Arthur's face. "Lo siente. I just … It's true that I have been awful to you …"

Arthur silently agreed but didn't show it. 'Awful'? That's a bloody understatement!

"But I don't hate you. Quite the opposite. I … I like you very much."

Arthur stared speechless at the nervous man in front of him.

"You … like me? I don't understand? Why did you … hum … do what you did, then?"

"I was … I was a bit jealous I guess."
"Jealous?"

"I do like you. You're one of my favourite pupils! But … I'm still in learning to become a teacher and I felt envious of you … getting along so well with my little Lovi and with the cute Belle. Everybody likes you and you're even popular with the girls. Also the teachers really like you. I was … jealous of you" Antonio lied. He hadn't been jealous of Arthur. He had been jealous that others liked Arthur. He had wanted Arthur's attention only to himself.

Arthur reflected for a minute before nodding slowly to show he had understood but he still didn't believe the Spaniard. There had to be more! You can't hate someone that much just out of jealousy!

"I … understand, Sir. Lovino told me that you like to get all the attention to yourself so I guess I shouldn't be surprise!" Arthur answered with a slight dare in his tone.

Antonio felt his blood boil once more. His feeling of hate was back, clouding everything. Or was it love? He didn't know anymore! He just couldn't take his eyes off this boy's face. He felt an urge to … to what? He wasn't sure. But he had to do something! The boy's burning glare was driving him insane! He looked so impressive and hot! Antonio could barely control himself not to jump on the other man. Then, he saw Arthur lift one of his eyebrows, surprised that he hadn't gotten a respond. The boy shrugged then focused back on his work.

Antonio couldn't concentrate anymore and spent the rest of the half hour staring at Arthur who would plainly ignore him. The English boy, therefore, couldn't see the hungry and devouring look Antonio was giving him. When the detention ended, Arthur packed up his stuff and as he was about to leave the room he turned around and eyed his teacher critically. Antonio watched him with surprise.

"Mr Carriedo? I'm aware of your … tendency to being casual but I ought to remind you that you are a teacher in a school and your clothes are definitely not appropriate."

Arthur cleared his throat as he saw Antonio's face fall apart. He didn't want to depress him! Why did he take it so badly, bloody Mediterranean!

"Not that it matters to me either way. You could come naked for all I care! But that would be indecent and highly not advised. I just wanted to warn you." Arthur tried to explain as he saw Antonio nod with a sad and resigned expression. He sighed. What was wrong with his teacher today? He eyed his depressed Spanish teacher once more and, in his own reflection, muttered to himself:

"I guess it should be expected from a bloody Spanish! Do all Spanish blokes dress sexy like that? It's almost fucking annoying that he looks so good!"

Antonio's head snapped upwards and his eyes fixed the British blond at the door. Arthur realised that he had just praised him without thinking and made an annoyed face before leaving the room. Antonio stared at the closed door, his face burning crimson and with a smile creeping up. He had actually received praise from Arthur! The English boy had liked his clothes! Antonio was so happy; he felt he couldn't wait until tomorrow's detention.

When Antonio came back that day, the first thing he did was to hug a very surprised and tired Francis. He and Gilbert had listened to Antonio's story and had then both laughed at his naivety. Antonio glared at them. Some friends he had!

"You can't be serious? He just said that you looked good? And he wasn't even telling it to your face? Sounds like he was more annoyed by that fact than praising you!" Gilbert laughed.

"Well, we can't expect zings to go quickly. But seriously Tonio, I zought zat you would 'ave at least made peace wiz 'im!" Francis said after calming his laughter.

"I … I tried! But … he … he hates me! He suspects me!"

"Ja! Obviously he does! What did you expect?" Gilbert told him, rolling his eyes. His phone rang and he picked it up while Antonio was still complaining at how hard it had been for him to even do class. "Hallo? Luddy! Was ist los? Ja! Alles ist gute! Ja! Hm mm. Was? Wann? Warten Sie eine Sekunde! Antonio! Shut the fuck up! Francis, make him stop! I'm on the phone with mein Bruder! Entschuldigung. Was? Nein! Alles ist gute! Also wenn? Ja! Am nächsten Wochenende? Perfect! Kein Problem! Ja! Ja, Luddy! Bis bald! Tschüss!"

Gilbert closed his phone before turning to a now angry and crying Antonio and a holding back his laughter Francis. Apparently, Francis had found amusing to tease Antonio at how perfectly pathetic he had been to make Arthur simply like him when it usually took the Spaniard barely 10 minutes to woe a girl in his bed. Gilbert had to agree with Francis on this one! The guy was hopeless!

"Who was it?" Francis asked with curiosity.

"Ludwig. He's coming over for two weeks. Something about a school exchange."

"I haven't heard of one at my school!" Antonio pointed out, calming his anger down.

"Ja, it's with another school. He said he wouldn't be living with us, will be living with some random family or whatever, but he'll come and visit next weekend!"

"Zat's great! I'll organise a dinner!" Francis said, excited by the idea of cooking, for once, something special. He truly loved to cook!

"Si! Good for you!"

"Kesesese! And I was thinking … we should invite some of your pupils too!" Gilbert said with a devilish grin.

"¿Qué?" Antonio choked.

"Why not invite Arthur too?"

"Gilberto! What are you talking about? I can't invite my pupils for dinner?"

"Why not? Is there a law against it?"

"No but …"
"Besides, we're doing it for educational reasons!" Gilbert replied, lifting his head up with pride. Antonio eyed him suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"

"Kesese! Ludwig is over to improve his English and meet English people, right? So, by inviting your pupils, we're encouraging them to socialise. It's all for their sake! Ludwig will get to improve his English by meeting your kids! And I'm sure it would be of great benefit to your pupils since they get to be friends with my awesome bruder!" Gilbert explains proudly. Francis bursts in laughter and Antonio considers the idea before suddenly understanding where this was going.
"Are we inviting Arthur too?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

"Ja! Of course! He's a pure English guy from London! His English must be perfect and it will definitely help Ludwig!" Gilbert smirked.

"No! We can't do this! Francis, tell him!"

"Hmm? What? Oh, I zink it's a great idea! I get to cook for more people!" Francis grinned happily.

Antonio felt his face pale. He had a bad feeling about this but there was no way for him to change his friends' mind. What was he going to do?

"So, ask for your headmaster's permission, first thing tomorrow! Ok?" Gilbert said, holding Antonio by the shoulder.

"Si … I'll try …"

Antonio hopped that his headmaster would refuse the eccentric idea.