Salut, mes chers! I come with the gift of another major chapter update. For those who don't know yet, this is going to be eventual OT3 of Andrew/Randy/Danny. (Randy being someone who only calls Andrew brother because they grew up together. They are in no way related and know that they are not related by blood.)

Enjoy - and I'm so glad you all are enjoying this story! Also, if you wish, don't forget that I have a Patron you can pledge anything you want to!

Patr(e)on: mjanderson

Chapter Eight

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"Good morning, Mr. Riter!" Andrew was about to respond with an absent good morning before he realized it was Danny speaking to him, the teen leaning out of Lancer's classroom where homeroom was about to start.

"Good morning…" There was a shy smile on the teen's face, and he had a small, flustered blush on his cheeks. It was very obvious his mate was up to something, Andrew just wasn't quite sure what it was he was planning.

"I, um, I had a question about our assignment yesterday in Creative Writing. Maybe I could stop by your classroom at lunch and you would be able to go over it with me?" Danny had his hands clasped together behind his back, shy smile on his face as he kept his gaze down. When he chanced a glance up, the look in his eyes was utterly wicked.

"Of course. I should have some time between classes to help." Students were watching at this point, and Andrew had no doubt Danny was making a scene for the simple fact he could. A look to Lancer showed the man was writing on the board for his own first period. He also looked to be fighting back laughs.

"Great." Danny gave him a beaming smile, a giggle slipping out as he took a step back. "Great. That's- Thank you, Mr. Riter." Another smile and he was escaping back to his desk, Andrew staring after him for a moment before hesitantly continuing on his way to his own classroom.

Unfortunately, it seemed Danny wasn't done with his little game. Every time Andrew ran across him in the halls, Danny was blushing and speaking shyly to him, words stuttered out as he brushed up against him before quickly escaping with his friends. It was at that point he called Randy, the man spending the first five minutes laughing at him as Andrew headed towards the teacher's lounge on his free period before lunch. "I'm so glad you find my pain hilarious."

"Not that so much as how confused you sound over all this! You know he's probably just messing with you. Seems like his sense of humor." It really did.

"It's also how he acted when we first started spending time around each other. I honestly thought Clockwork was somehow involved in all of this and I ended up in an alternate timeline." Coffee, coffee, coffee- Ah, there it was. Cheap shit, but it was better than nothing. "He's the one who keeps saying he doesn't want to make anyone suspicious."

"This is Danny. He's a bundle of cute contradictions, remember? He probably just wants to have a little fun with this while he can. Like you said, this teaching job isn't for long."

"Maybe." Taking a sip of the coffee, Andrew made a face and set it back down. There was a laugh from one of the teachers beside him. Grover, if he wasn't mistaken.

"Tastes like shit, right?" Ah, a kindred spirit.

"Remarkably so." Adjusting his phone, Andrew opened a few packets of sweetener with his teeth and one hand. Maybe he could find a way to make it drinkable. "I'll talk to you later, Randy."

"Alright. Stay strong, Andy. Don't let your favorite student seduce you-" Andrew ended the call with a flick, shoving his phone away with a huff. Honestly.

"So, Andrew. I noticed that you seemed to have your first student crush." Oh, it could not be that obvious. Judging by Grover's expression, however, it very much was and oh, look at that. Others were listening in. Lunch must have started with how many teachers were in the room. "Danny Fenton, right?"

"I, ah… What?" There was a slap to his back, Andrew withholding a wince. That Tetslaff woman really was dangerous.

"Student crush! Happens a lot with you young teachers. Students think they have a chance and get puppy crushes, trailing after you and trying to get your attention. That Fenton kid looks far gone, from what I saw."

"I think it's cute," Petricoff giggled, hand over her mouth. "Obviously nothing will ever happen between the two of them-" Oh, Andrew almost started laughing. Lancer didn't look to be much better, the man hiding in the corner and trying to stop his own laughter. "-but it's nice to let them pretend for a little while. It'll fade in a few weeks, Andrew."

"While that all sounds flattering, I'd rather not discuss the idea of students having romantic feelings towards me." For a variety of reasons, really. Granted there was only a five year age difference between himself and Danny, but at their ages, that was enough to cause a few raised eyebrows.

"Don't worry about it, happens to all of us," Tetslaff assured, Andrew sighing and taking his coffee cup before heading towards the door. "Just wait til Valentine's Day!"

Shutting the door with a snap, it did nothing to stop the laughter he heard coming from the others. "And here I thought hazing was frowned upon by teachers."

"Not with them." Andrew did not jump. Or make any strange noises. No matter what Danny's laughter was telling him. "Relax, it's just me."

"Your words contradict each other," Andrew tapped Danny's nose, fighting against a smile at Danny's giggle. "I can never relax while you're around. Lunch started?"

"Yup. Figured you'd be searching for coffee like a dying man searches for water in the desert." Snorting, Andrew nudged Danny along towards the Creative Writing classroom.

"A delightful metaphor." Feeling a tug to his cup, Andrew relented and watched as Danny took a sip before gagging. "And that's after half a dozen packs of sweetener."

"I feel so sorry for you guys." Danny shoved the cup back, bouncing into the classroom and automatically starting to shelve the spare books left out around the room. Probably a habit from so much time spent at Vidya.

"Mm. Feel like telling me what's been with your behavior today?" At the innocent look, Andrew shook his head and went to sit down, opening the binder of lesson plans he had. He would need to take time to plan more out than just the next two weeks, otherwise he would get even more behind.

"Alright, so I see where my actions could come across as immature, but consider this." Danny near danced across the room, sitting himself down on a corner of Andrew's desk. "It was hilarious."

"The entire school thinks you have a crush on me. Isn't that something we were supposed to be avoiding?"

"No, no, this is great! Because everyone knows you're completely gone over Phantom and you two are totally together, so seeing me having a silly little puppy crush reinforces the fact that we don't know each other. Perfect!"

Staring up at Danny, Andrew slowly hid his face in his hands, incredulous laugh slipping out before he could stop himself, "Mon cher, the way your mind works is utterly fascinating." Andrew wasn't sure if this was a terrible idea or a somewhat plausible one.

"I choose to take that as a compliment." Danny shuffled some of the papers together, taking another sip of Andrew's coffee with much the same reaction as before.

"You don't have any sort of impulse control, do you?" Searching around his pockets for a moment, Andrew pulled out a few cookies and set them next to Danny, unwrapping one for himself.

Danny was about to respond, own cookie halfway to his mouth, before there was a knock on the door that had both looking over. "There you are, Andrew. Oh… Danny as well."

"Hi, Mrs. Petricoff." Oh, Andrew did not like that judging look the woman had aimed towards him. Danny seemed to notice it, since he slid off of Andrew's desk and headed for the door. "You know, I think I remember Sam and Tuck wanted to talk to me about something. See you, Mr. Riter."

As soon as Danny was out the door, Petricoff shot Andrew a 'concerned' look, "You know, Andrew, maybe it would be best if you didn't encourage him like that. Eating lunch with him alone, well… He could certainly get the wrong idea."

"I was helping him with a problem he had with yesterday's assignment." Best to stick with the excuse Danny had given, if only so no lies got mixed up. "They're high schoolers, not children. They can clearly tell the differences between their feelings and how to act responsibly." Oh that was such a lie it almost hurt him.

"Yes, well… It's admirable you're trying to show the students they're 'special', but it's also highly inappropriate. He might think you're encouraging him, and we can't have that." The condescending attitude was getting to Andrew more than he wanted, especially considering what Danny had told him of parent teacher conferences.

"Good." He wasn't quite sure what had her looking startled, his response, or his raised voice. "Judging by what he shared with me of his parent teacher conferences, it's about time someone gave a damn about him! Apparently not only was he criticised by three separate teachers for circumstances out of his control years ago, but one of them handed him an application to the Nasty Burger. God forbid I try to make a student feel like they're worth something besides the failure you all make them out to be!"

By the time Andrew's last class of the day rolled around, near the entire school believed Danny Fenton to be in love with him, and that Andrew returned his feelings.