Jacob found himself thinking of her often.

Partly about her body, that went without saying. The long legs, the slim waist, the full breasts- all of that occupied a fairly significant part of his mental day. The surprising thing was that he also spent a lot of time just vaguely wondering how she was doing. If she'd finished the project she'd been working on so diligently the night before. If she'd won the field hockey match that she was nervous about. If she would like a funny picture that he saw on Reddit.

It wasn't that he hadn't been interested in her life before. It was just as though someone had taken the "Evie" dial in his head and turned it up to 11. It almost made him sorry that he hadn't bothered to try and go to St. Animus as well, but then he remembered the posh pricks that made up most of the student body other than her and was less sorry.

On break, he was fiddling with his mobile yet again and wondering if it was too clingy to text her for a third time in a row when someone said hello to him. He vaguely lifted his hand with a "hey", so focused on his thoughts about Evie that he didn't even look up from the screen.

When he finally put his mobile down, Ned and Agnes were staring at him with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"That was cold," Agnes said, looking vaguely impressed.

"Huh?"

Ned snorted. "Did you not even notice? Holly's been trying to get your attention for weeks. She was going full giggle and smile and you literally didn't give her the time of day."

He was starting to feel a bit defensive. "I'm not interested, that's all."

Agnes chewed thoughtfully. "Are you ever gonna actually let us meet the girl that has you so goddamn smitten? You're like a preteen girl, it's incredible. I want to give her a medal for doing a better job of making you look like an eejit than all of our years of effort combined."

"Fuck off," Jacob muttered. "And not in a million years."

With class over, she was able to pull out her mobile, smiling at two new message notifications from Jacob. She'd spent the whole lecture itching to check to see if he had gotten in touch. She'd used to have such good self-control when it came to texting in class. He had a way of absolutely obliterating that self-control, and it was almost unnerving. She just wanted to hear from him, even if it was a stupid link from Reddit. Which she always vaguely enjoyed, though she'd never admit it.

Throughout her lunch break, they texted back and forth; even though it was about nothing of real value, it made her feel flush and happy, a fullness in her chest that felt like it was glowing.

It was getting close to class time when he sent cant wait to see u.

She grinned. I can't wait either. I've got plans.

The reply was immediate. What plans?

Moving into the hallway, she walked along until she came to an empty corner. Lifting her phone, she put two fingers in her mouth, hollowed her cheeks, closed her eyes, and took a selfie to send by way of answer.

She tapped her foot in the hallway until he responded. Jfc woman.

Giggling, she was about to move along when he sent an image. He was sitting down somewhere, but in his lap, there was the clear outline of an erection in his trousers. This is what u do to me. Im supposed to be somewhere in ten minutes dammit.

I'm lucky mine doesn't show so easily, she responded.

His reply was prompt. U will have to figure out how to show me.

Biting her lip, she glanced around. She still had a little time before class. There was a storage closet right down the hall- she would have a little privacy there. Quickly letting herself in, she lifted her skirt and took a picture of her hand in her knickers; sending it, she followed it with a picture of her fingers held closer to the light, where the sheen of wetness was clearly visible.

His reply was straightforward. Fuck.

She could practically hear the word whispered in her ear, in that low tone full of promise that he saved for these situations. It gave her a delicious shiver. Something for you to look forward to. I wish I didn't have to wait.

Then dont. She should've seen that coming, she supposed. Get urself off now.

I have class.

Was it possible for someone to smirk over text? Better b quick then.

Just thinking about that smug attitude got her heart rate going. Clearly, there was something wrong with her. Or, well, clearly multiple things were wrong with her, but the list seemed to keep getting longer all the time. That didn't stop her from shuffling against a cabinet and putting her hand back down her knickers. I wish you were here.

I would pin u to the wall and fuck u until the whole school could hear u scream.

It was tricky to type one-handed, but she managed. I want it.

Maybe ill insist you cum twice before going back to class.

Oh God but that did things to her, forced a little moan from her throat, pushed her immediately closer-

The door handle of the closet turned.

Clamping down a panicked gasp, she yanked her hand out of her knickers and shoved her skirt down, quickly closing the chat on her mobile. She barely had a moment to blink before Mr. Green was standing in the doorway.

She tried to seem calm, but she knew how this must look, oh God, what if he'd heard her, how the room must smell-

"Miss Frye," he snapped. "My office. Now."

It was worrying when she abruptly disappeared.

Jacob checked his mobile obsessively all day, but no alerts from her ever popped up on his screen. He even sent a few apologies, wondering if he had somehow overstepped. There was nothing but radio silence.

By the end of the day, he was definitely worried. This wasn't like her. When he tried to call her, it rang to voicemail, so it wasn't like her mobile was just out of batteries.

He waited in their usual spot for pick up, but as the students slowly filtered out, she was nowhere to be found. Just when he was about to start looking for her, she came down the steps, shoulders hunched and eyes red-rimmed. Panic surged in his throat and he closed the distance to her with a few long steps, pulling her into a stiff hug. "What's wrong? What happened?"

She clamped her eyes shut. "We'll talk once we're home."

In the safety of their kitchen, he made them both tea, pouring hers into her favourite cat mug. When he sat beside her, he took her hand and gripped it tightly, trying to convey a thousand words of reassurance with a squeeze. "So what happened?"

"I…" She sniffled. "I was in the storage closet and Mr. Green caught me."

His shoulders stiffened. Fuck, of all the people. "Did he see anything?"

"Not really, but it was obvious, Jacob. I got marched back to his office for a lecture about appropriate school behaviour, and I had to go back into class with him late." Her shoulders were shaking a little, so he moved his arms into a half hug, pulling her against his chest. "It was so humiliating."

"Are you in trouble?"

"I should be. He said something about this being a disciplinary committee thing, but that rather than letting it go further, he would drop it if I start staying after school to do some office work for him. Unofficial detention, basically."

"Fuck," he breathed. He didn't like the sound of that at all. A tendril of guilt, unfamiliar, twisted in his gut. "I'm sorry, I should never have been so pushy, this is all my fault-"

She scrubbed at her nose with the back of her hand. "Don't be silly, I made the choice. Thank God I got my phone locked before he confiscated it for the rest of the day, so at least he didn't see the messages."

Thank God indeed. "So- wait- it'll be just the two of you after school? In his office?"

"I know what you're thinking," she sighed, looking pained. "But don't worry, I'm sure he'd never try something at school. I'm pretty sure there are security cameras in the teacher's offices for exactly that sort of thing."

That made him feel better, but not much. "I still don't like it."

"Well, me neither. This is going to cut into our already limited time together." She put her face in her hands. "Oh God, what a disaster."

"Hey, we'll figure something out." He gave her arm a bracing rub. "Winter break is literally right around the corner, we'll have some time then."

There was a click at the door as Father arrived home. Jacob quickly moved his arm away, hating the loss of contact, hands feeling cold and empty.

Father was moving down the front hallway with a much quicker step than normal. "Evie, Jacob!" He barrelled into the kitchen, sounding more excited than Jacob remembered hearing him in months. "I have some wonderful news! I- oh no, darling, what's wrong?"

Evie gave him a watery smile. "Just a hard day at school."

"Oh I- I'm so sorry to hear that- is everything okay?"

"Of course. It's fine." She straightened. "What's your news?"

"Well I…" he floundered a bit, some of the wind taken out of his sails. "One of the big speakers at the European Archaeological Society has dropped out, and my name came up as a replacement. They're flying me to Edinburgh in the first week of January for the conference. It's a big honour."

"Oh Father," Evie said, standing and giving him a hug. "That's fabulous news."

Jacob had to do his best not to grin at the thought of an empty house over the holidays. Fabulous news indeed.

That night, she lay in her bed unable to fall asleep, staring at the ceiling and feeling terrible. She was just about to give up and try and read a book or something when she heard Jacob creep into her room. "Hey," she said into the dark. "I'm not really in the mood, sorry-"

"I'm not here for that," he said, sounding a bit offended. He perched on the side of the bed. "Brought you a hot water bottle and I wondered if you wanted a cuddle."

She blinked at him and felt herself well up all over again. No, damn it. She had gotten through this day without actually crying- though she'd come close- and she wasn't going to start now. "Yes, please," she said quietly.

Lifting the covers, he shuffled in next to her, pressing the hot water bottle to her stomach in a comforting gesture. Lying back, he held his arms out so she could lean against his chest. She felt so safe there. It was a world away from the prickly tension of sitting in Mr. Green's office.

"It's going to be fine," he murmured. "You'll see. It'll all work out."

She let out a wet chuckle. "I don't know how you're so confident."

She expected a joke, but instead, he propped himself up a bit so he could look at her directly and give her a soft kiss. "You're smart. I'm determined. We love each other. We'll figure it out."

Nodding, she nestled back against his shoulder, breathing in his lovely smell and taking comfort from the warmth of his body.

His fingers were idly playing with her hair. "Go to sleep," he said. "I'll stay awake and leave after, don't worry. Just… lean on me for a bit."

So, closing her eyes, she did.