There it is again: that bright, blinding light they use to stare at me, day in, day out.
I can feel my throat closing up as they draw nearer, certain that every breath will be my last, but, unfortunately, it never is.
And here come the tests, sharp, burning, painful, coming at me from all directions, grabbing and pulling and tearing me apart as they try to figure me out, figure out what I am.
Cruel eyes staring down at me as they put me through trial after trial, from machine to machine, mixing me with this or that substance.
Anger starts to burn in my veins, shame stings sharp in my chest, and I hear myself cry out, yelling at them in a feeble attempt to scare them off, although I know it won't work. They can't even fucking hear me.
But I carry on anyway, begging and pleading with them to let me go. God, I sound so pathetic. So fucking weak.
Now I'm calling out for my momma. I don't know why. It's not like she'd help me anyway. Even if she could see me now she'd only be ashamed of me.
Maybe if I don't resist them, don't try to fight back, stop these feeble attempts to get away and just accept it, it won't hurt so much…
Professor Roja was suddenly broken out of his train of thought by a soft knock at the door. He snapped his eyes open to see his claws embedded in the leather on the back of his chair, leaving deep scratch marks. Shit, not again. The director's gonna kill me.
There was another, more fervent knock at the door, prompting him to look up and see Ozzy smiling and waving at him through the small window.
The professor mirrored his expression as he hurried to place his jacket over the back of his chair, before drawing himself up to his full height and making his way over to the door.
As soon as he opened it, he felt Ozzy shove something against his stomach. He looked down to see a small box in his hand, along with a bashful look across his face.
"Sorry for takin' so long,'' Ozzy mumbled, shaking the box slightly as he raised his gaze to look the professor in the eye. "I went to the lil kiosk in the courtyard and got you these… as a thank you."
The professor stared down at the box for a moment, totally stunned. "You got me… chocolates?"
He actually bought these… for me? I don't think anyone has ever bought me… well… anything before.
"Yeah… I didn't know what you liked, but chocolates are always a safe bet, ain't they?" Ozzy said cheerfully, his face falling as soon as he saw the professor's expression.
Oh fuck, he hates them, and he hates me for buying them. He must think I'm such a pathetic loser right now. Who the fuck buys chocolate for their college professor?! 'Oh yeah, I just had a huge panic attack in front of you and made you super uncomfortable, but here's some chocolates.' Nice one, Ozzy, you fucking moron.
He inhaled through his teeth and smiled nervously. "Y-you don't have to take them, if you don't want to! I just wanted to get something for you, y'know, to say thanks for before, and I thought that maybe you might like them. Sorry, it was a stupid idea, I'll-"
The professor frowned and took hold of the box, his claws grazing over Ozzy's fingers slightly. "No no, they're great… thank you."
There was a brief moment of silence between them then, before Ozzy let go and stepped backwards, watching as Professor Roja popped the box open and grinned from ear to ear.
"Is this meant to be me?" he said with a laugh, holding a drawing of himself up next to his face. The lines were messy and uneven, and the colouring looked like it had been done with a pack of Crayola crayons, the yellow of his eyes bleeding onto the red of his cheeks.
Ozzy lowered his head and blushed, mumbling, "yeah, I know I'm not great at drawing, but I wanted something a little more personal than just shitty kiosk chocolates, and that was the best I could come up with."
"Shitty kiosk chocolates, mmm, they sound absolutely delicious. Thank you again, Jones."
Ozzy looked back up at him, relieved to see a big grin across his face. "Fine, if ya don't want 'em, I'll take 'em back!" he said, reaching out both hands and threatening to snatch the box from him.
"Nah nah, not so fast, Jones. Shitty or not, they're all mine. Although, I do wanna see you eat one first… just to make sure they're not poisoned."
Ozzy rolled his eyes and placed one hand on his hip, holding the other one out and gesturing for him to give him one of the chocolates. "Oh yeah, 'cause that'd look great on my permanent record. Fine, gimme one."
The professor drifted his gaze over all the chocolates in the box as he tried to decide which one to give to Ozzy. I can't give him one of the heart shaped ones… that'd look too weird… and definitely not one of those long ones there, too phallic… argh, this is like a minefield!
"Come on! My arm's gettin' tired!"
The professor eventually selected the least erotic looking one he could find and dropped it into Ozzy's hand.
Ozzy wasted no time in keeping up appearances and immediately chucked it into his mouth, chewing happily. He rolled his eyes shut and tilted his head back, savouring the dark, velvety taste and the way it bubbled on his tongue. "Mmph… fuck… flmmpf… fuck me, that's good."
He opened his eyes to see the professor staring straight back at him with a lost look on his face. Ozzy furrowed his brow and cocked his head. "Uh, you okay?"
"Yeah… you've just got a little chocolate…" the professor said quietly, raising his hand to cup Ozzy's cheek. He dragged his thumb across Ozzy's bottom lip, feeling intoxicated by the way its plump fullness moved like a wave under his touch, how the skin was turning a slightly darker shade of blue as he rubbed over it.
He stopped when he reached the corner of his mouth and raised his eyes to meet Ozzy's. "There…" he whispered, trailing his thumb down to his chin and then across his jaw, "all clean."
"Thanks…" Ozzy replied breathily, his eyes hazy, and he reached up to wrap a hand around the professor's wrist to steady himself.
They gazed at each other for a moment, their breathing slow and heavy, until Ozzy took a step back, suddenly very aware that they were still standing in front of the small window in the door, and could very easily be seen by anyone walking by.
He looked down at the box and prodded it with one finger, mumbling, "go on, you haven't even tried them yet."
The professor looked back down at the box, his brow furrowed. He'd never been a huge fan of sweet things, and was now trying hard to remember the last time he had actually eaten chocolate, but was drawing a blank.
When hopping between bodies, he was far from what you would call a 'fussy eater', and would eat basically anything that came his way, seeing food as a way to simply stay alive.
Since settling down in Frank, however, his tastes had become much more… refined, some might say 'fancy'. Never to his face, of course, but even he couldn't deny that he had become much more fastidious in recent years.
As such, he would normally never dream of eating something that had come out of a cardboard box, especially not this ultra-processed rubbish that Jones had bought for him.
However, his heart was telling him the exact opposite; to stop being such a judgemental, conceited piece of shit and actually accept some kindness for once in his sorry life.
That argument, coupled with the expectant look on Ozzy's face, ended up being stronger than his rational side that day, and he cautiously reached a hand into the box.
He took a chocolate between his claws and lifted it in front of his face, grimacing as he studied it. It was round and dark, with a little swirl of caramel coloured goop on the top, and had melted slightly from the box having been out of the fridge for too long.
Okay, it's just like ripping off a band-aid… three, two, one…
He chucked the chocolate into his mouth and bit down, the sickly sweet, almost nauseating taste hitting him immediately. He caught himself before he allowed his disgust to show on his face, and softened his expression to a smile, his eyes widening as he looked down at Ozzy. "Mmm… that's so… mmmph… good." Jesus Christ, it's disgusting. Maybe they actually are poisoned.
Ozzy grinned up at him. "I know, right? Aw, I'm so glad you like them, because they're all for you!"
The professor forced a laugh and swallowed. "Thanks, Jones. It was very, uh, thoughtful of you." Fuck, is this what being nice gets you? Remind me to never do that again.
They both smiled at each other for a moment, until the professor cleared his throat and drew backwards. "Ahem, go sit down and we can get started on your essay."
Ozzy nodded and shuffled inside, seeing that his chair was now placed next to Professor Roja's.
The professor left the chocolates and the drawing on his desk and went to stand behind Ozzy's chair, pulling it back slightly. "I thought it'd be easier to look through your essay if you were sitting next to me," he said quietly, before adding, "or you can stand, o-or I can move the chair back round to the other side, whatever you want."
Ozzy hesitated for a beat, shuffling from foot to foot. Is your lap an option? Cause that's the only place I wanna be right now. Wrapped up in your arms while you speak to me in that low voice of yours and feed me chocolates and tell me how good I look with my mouth full, and that you wonder how good I'd look with my mouth full of your…
"Jones?"
Ozzy blinked at him for a moment, before nodding and pointing at the chair. "Next to you."
The professor patted the back of the chair and smiled. "Come on then, get your nucleus over here and we can start."
Ozzy hurried on over to the chair and sat down, grinning to himself as the professor pushed it under the desk. He tilted his head back and followed him with his eyes as he went to sit down next to him.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them then, neither one of them quite sure what to say next.
Eventually, it was Professor Roja who took the initiative. "So, uh, how do you feel now?"
Ozzy stared at him for a moment. How about amazing, incredible, emotional, raw? How about fucking validated for the first time in my life? Or, like I've finally found someone who understands me and doesn't treat me like a stupid, reckless kid and was actually there for me when I needed them? "Better. Thanks, I don't really know how to thank you for before…"
"Well, for starters, let's say no more aluminium foil," Professor Roja said jokingly as he lifted up a heavy encyclopaedia and placed it down on the floor next to his feet. "I put this book on top of your essay in the hope that it might smooth out the creases a bit, but it's not really done much."
He picked up the essay and grimaced. "I'm not sure how you're gonna read that."
Ozzy leaned over to get a better look and shook his head. "N-no, it's still readable… I mean, to me at least…"
There was another moment of silence, before the professor handed him the essay and grabbed a notepad. "Right, read it out to me as best you can and I'll try my best to follow along."
Ozzy nodded and started reading, speaking slowly to allow the professor to write everything down.
Once he'd finished reading out the introduction and the first paragraph, he glanced over at the professor's notepad and frowned. "Your writing's not much better than mine."
The professor narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try writing with these babies", he said, prodding Ozzy's cheek with two of his claws. "At least I've got an excuse for my handwriting."
Ozzy grinned at him and pushed his hand away. "Yeah I was wonderin' how you actually got anything done with those things. Goin' to the bathroom must be a nightmare."
The professor laughed loudly at that and leaned back in his chair. "You really do just say whatever you feel like, dontcha?"
Ozzy shrugged. "I dunno, I guess so. What's the point of mincing my words if I don't really mean them? Things only get misinterpreted that way."
"Hm, very true," the professor said, looking him up and down. He's so unlike any other cell I've met. He's so much more open and honest… but despite his cocky demeanour, he's surprisingly… sensitive. Kinda reminds me of me when I was his age.
Professor Roja shifted forwards on his seat and tapped his pen against the essay. "C'mon, keep reading, I've got somewhere to be in twenty minutes."
"You've got a class so late in the afternoon?"
"Nah, a meeting, so let's go, chop chop."
Ozzy breathed a sigh of relief as he read the last sentence, and placed the essay back down on the table. "That's everything. Didja manage to get it all?"
The professor nodded and sat back in his chair as he started to read what he'd written. "Yep. Okay, now be quiet while I grade it."
Ozzy watched as the professor's eyes drifted from one side of the page to the other, and he couldn't help but smile over the way his mouth moved as he read the words, how he would furrow his brow whenever he got to a more difficult section and occasionally have to push his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose.
After a few minutes, the professor frowned, both lips pushed out into a pout, before he wrote something at the bottom of his notepad.
Ozzy worried his bottom lip between his teeth and swung his legs back and forth as he waited for the professor to pass him the notepad. Wow, and I thought I was nervous before… this time I'll have absolutely no excuse if I don't do well.
After what felt like an eternity, Professor Roja finally handed him the notepad, his expression giving nothing away. Ozzy snatched it from him and his eyes immediately darted to the bottom of the page.
"I got a D…?" he asked after a moment of silence, sadness lacing his voice.
"Well, yeah. I mean, what you wrote about binary fission wasn't exactly brilliant. The stuff on mitosis was good though, great even. I liked how you formulated the essay too. I could tell you'd actually listened to what I'd said about your apology letter."
Ozzy smiled at that, before dropping his head and sighing. "Still though, I failed all the same…"
"But only just. And, let's be honest, a D ain't bad considering you hadn't actually studied the subject matter yet."
"Yeah, I was gonna say… Why did you set a question about something none of us had learned before? Did anyone pass?"
The professor groaned and looked away. "Mmm, well to tell ya the truth… you were the only one who actually got that specific question."
Ozzy furrowed his brow, and the professor continued, still looking the other way, "everyone else got a multiple choice exam about the things we studied last week."
Ozzy blinked at him and lowered the piece of paper. "You gave me a different exam to everyone else?"
The professor cleared his throat and nodded quickly, frowning as he heard Ozzy start laughing. He snapped his head round to look at him with a puzzled expression, but his face softened as soon as he saw the way Ozzy's head was thrown back, how his arms were clutching his stomach as he kicked his legs back and forth, laughing louder than the professor had ever heard anyone laugh before.
"What the hell are you laughing at, Jones?"
Ozzy lowered his head to look at the professor again, a huge smile over his face. "It's just so fuckin' hilarious to me how low we both stooped to get under each other's skin!"
He shifted his seat closer and turned his body towards the professor. "You literally made a whole separate exam for me, man. You knew I wouldn't be able to answer this question, and you also knew how much it would get to me! That's some fucked up psycho shit."
The professor frowned in an attempt to hide the smile now creeping across his face and crossed one leg over the other. "What about you?! You committed a felony just to rattle me! What you did could easily be classed as breaking and entering."
Ozzy laughed again and prodded the professor on the thigh. "Oh, c'mon, don't be such a drama queen. It's not breaking and entering if nothing actually got broke."
"Well my cactuses were very traumatised by the whole ordeal, I hope you know," he replied as he reached out to take one of them in his hand.
"Hey, I purposefully left those alone!"
"Smart boy. If you'd touched any of my plants, I'd have kicked your pearly white teeth in." He saw Ozzy's eyes widen a bit at that, so waved his hand and softened his expression to try and convey that he was joking.
Ozzy smiled again and looked down at his lap. "I had a question for ya. Obviously you don't have to answer, but while I was in here the other night, I found something in one of your drawers… a chain."
The professor's face fell, and Ozzy continued, raising his head to look at him again. "What is that for exactly? Is it, like, to wear? Or, for, ahem, tying things up? I've never seen anything like it…"
Ozzy saw the professor frown, and said, "sorry, I know I shouldn't have looked through your personal things. It was a really stupid thing for me to do…"
Professor Roja dispassionately waved his hand in the air, seeming to not want to draw any more attention to the matter. "It's nothing important, at least, not anymore. It's something from a long time ago, before I came into this body."
Ozzy sat up in his seat and cocked his head. "Oh… where were you before you came into Frank?"
The professor tutted. "Why the sudden interest in my life, Jonesy? Is that the reason you broke in here in the first place? To figure out all my secrets?"
Ozzy shrugged. "I dunno why I did it, to be honest. But yeah, I guess I was kinda curious about you." He leaned in and smiled. "Sooo… ya gonna tell me? Or do I have to keep snoopin'?"
The professor laughed and uncrossed his legs, leaning in slightly. "Tell ya what, Jones." He narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "I'll tell you a secret if you tell me one. But we've gotta be completely honest with our answers and only tell the truth. Deal?"
Ozzy didn't even need a second to think about it, and he extended a hand out for the professor to shake. "Okay, you're on, Thraxy."
The professor grinned and raised an eyebrow as he shook Ozzy's hand. "Don't get too comfortable, Osmosis."
Ozzy grimaced at that and rested his hands back on his thighs. "I'd rather you called me 'Ozzy'. It sounds less… formal."
"Okay, Ozzy, and I'd rather you called me 'sir' or 'professor'..."
Ozzy furrowed his brow, until the professor added, "at least, in public. Can't have everyone thinkin' I've gone soft now, can we?"
A smile spread across Ozzy's face at that, and he sat back in his chair again. "Okay, Thrax, so my question is this: back there… when I was, um, y'know, all upset and stuff… what made you… comfort me? You could've just let me run off and washed your hands of me. So I guess I'm wonderin' why you didn't?"
Professor Roja sat back in his seat and thought about it for a moment. "To tell you the truth, I think seeing you like that reminded me of something that I went through once. I remember exactly what it was like, that blinding panic, feeling like you can't breathe."
He looked down at the desk and narrowed his eyes, his voice quiet as he continued. "As soon as I recognised it, I thought back to what I would've wanted someone to do for me at that moment…"
"And did they?" Ozzy asked, leaning slightly closer.
The professor smiled and looked back at Ozzy. "Hey, nosy, it's my turn to ask a question now."
Ozzy rolled his eyes. "Fine, okay, shoot."
"Tell me… why did you act so rudely towards me during that first class?"
Ozzy grit his teeth as he mulled it over. "I… I guess I was… shocked to walk in and see you were a…"
"Virus?", the professor interrupted.
"Mhm", Ozzy said quietly, nodding his head before looking back down at his lap. "I mean… I've never really trusted teachers to begin with, and walking in and seeing someone so… different from what I'm used to… I guess I felt… threatened."
Professor Roja cocked his head slightly. "And why don't you trust teachers?"
Ozzy shrugged, still looking down at his lap. "I dunno, I've never felt like any of them cared about me."
"Why not?"
"They don't seem to understand that I… struggle with concentrating in class. They immediately get defensive and think that I'm being purposefully arrogant, or lazy, but that's not the case…"
"Well, I must say that I couldn't help but notice that you often let your mind wander in class. Is that what you're talking about?"
Ozzy felt the heat rising to his face. He'd never actually talked about this with a teacher before, at least, not where the other person had actually listened or seemed to care. "Yeah, I guess… I dunno, I've never been very good at staying focussed. I start daydreamin' and then I can't seem to get my mind back on track. Or I'll get obsessed over something for a while and abandon everything else until my mind decides to latch onto the next thing."
The professor crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his voice. "So, just going by your behaviour, I'm guessing there's something you're obsessed with right now?"
Ozzy frowned and shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Yeah."
"What is it?"
Ozzy sucked some air through his teeth, before snapping his head up to grin at the professor. "Hey, I see what you're doin'! You just got, like, five secrets outta me! I should get five too!"
"Naw, that ain't how it works. You shoulda been paying more attention. I was simply asking questions, I didn't force you to answer them."
Ozzy groaned and pushed on the professor's arm with both hands. "Oh, you think you're so smart. Come on, just lemme ask you another question! I've got a really good one!"
"Well… okay, I guess five of your secrets are worth one of mine… hit me."
"What were you doing before this? I've been told that you've been here for four years now, but where did you come from?"
The professor looked left and right, before leaning in slightly and lowering his voice. "Well, Jones, when a mummy virus and a daddy virus love each other very much…"
"Ew ew ew stop! C'mon, man, you know what I mean! Where were you before you came to Frank?"
The professor drummed his claws on the table while he thought about how to phrase his answer. "Well, viruses usually don't stay in one body for too long. We travel, body jump, that sort of thing. That's what I was doing before I came here..." he said, his voice trailing off at the end.
The silence between them stretched a bit, until Ozzy cleared his throat. "So what made you stay here then?"
"I guess you could say I'm in my latent phase."
Ozzy frowned. "Isn't that normally done with a cell, though?"
The professor raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I see you've been doing your research."
"Just a little," Ozzy said, grinning sheepishly. "So, that must mean you're in a relationship, then."
The professor shook his head. "I'm not like most viruses. I can hide out in a body without having to find a cell to lay dormant with for as long as I need. It can get pretty lonely though…"
He stopped himself there and poked Ozzy on the shoulder. "Ahh, using my lil trick against me, I see. Maybe you will make a good detective someday. Okay, my turn again. What exactly are you obsessing over right now?"
Ozzy groaned and looked down at his lap, mumbling something incoherent as he shook his head.
"Come on, Jones, a promise is a promise."
"Ugh, fine. Okay, for the last few weeks, I've kinda been obsessing over… you", he said quietly, still looking down at his lap.
"Me?" the professor said, prompting Ozzy to look up at him and see the smile now breaking out on his face. A genuine smile, warm and affectionate. One of those smiles that lit up his entire face, making him somehow even more attractive.
A smile that Ozzy couldn't help but mirror as he leaned forwards slightly, closing the gap between them.
"Nah nah nah, don't get all cocky now. I wasn't obsessed with you, more with getting back at you for being such a dick-" Ozzy started saying, stopping himself as the professor arched an eyebrow. Crap. "No, that came out wrong, I meant that I wanted to… prove myself to you. To show you that your first impressions of me were wrong. That I'm not just some stupid, lazy kid in badly-fitting clothes."
"Huh…" the professor said, looking him up and down. "That'd explain the sudden… change in your appearance, then."
Ozzy looked away then, but not before the professor caught a glimpse of the faint dusting of purple spreading across his cheeks.
"Yeah, I bought all of this yesterday… especially for today. That's kinda sad, right?"
The professor laughed. "Just a little, but why did you feel the need to do that at all?"
Ozzy paused, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Well, to be honest, I didn't really like it when you insulted my clothes all those times…" he mumbled quietly, daring to meet the professor's eyes again. "It kinda… hurt my feelings."
"Oh…" was all the professor said, his brow furrowed.
There was a moment of heavy silence between them, until Ozzy piped up, desperate to change the subject. "Hey, didn't you have a meeting to go to, anyway?"
The professor smirked and waved his hand in the air. "They'll wait, they can't really do it without me. I'm giving a presentation down at Cerebellum Hall on inter-organism…" he started to say, his smile disappearing as his voice trailed off.
"On what?"
The professor cleared his throat. "On inter-organism relationships. You know, relationships between viruses and, uh, cells."
"Ohh…" Ozzy replied, blinking at him a few times.
"We wanna try and educate everyone on how they're not as dangerous as everyone thinks. There's a small group of us trying to get these relationships legalised."
"Oh yeah, Not All Viruses, right? I've heard of y'all… I didn't know you were part of it, though."
"Mhm. I took over the campaign about two years ago after I saw how dormant viruses get treated here."
"I don't know much about it to be honest…"
"Well, I don't really have time to get into all the details now, but did you know that most of us are restricted to certain areas of the body? And that we're not allowed out past 10pm, under any circumstances? Oh, and my personal favourite, we can't even file a police report, so if anything happens to us while we're here, we just have to deal with it on our own with no help. Ain't that neat?"
Ozzy stared at him for a moment, totally stunned by what he was hearing. Despite being the nephew of the Police Chief and an aspiring detective, he now realised that he knew embarrassingly little about the way 'undesirables' were treated in the City of Frank.
This ignorance was possibly due to the fact that he wasn't directly affected by any of these laws, but it was most likely because he hadn't ever had a real reason to care about these issues before. He had been brought up to view viruses and germs as dangerous, evil and cruel, with the ultimate goal of taking down his city and killing as many cells as possible along the way.
He'd never had the chance to meet what you could call a 'nice' virus, since his family had never really let him mix with anyone that wasn't another cell. Except Drix, of course, although his parents weren't exactly happy about their friendship.
This narrow upbringing, coupled with the fact that he also had the Police Chief as his uncle, had led to Ozzy becoming rather closed minded and judgemental when it came to other organisms, and although he couldn't help the way he was raised, he now felt a sting of shame over how little he knew about the subject.
This feeling was only made more intense as he suddenly remembered everything he had said about Professor Roja behind his back, together with the way he had treated him right from the start, for no reason other than the fact that he was slightly different to what Ozzy was used to.
So I guess he's not so privileged after all.
Ozzy cocked his head and furrowed his brow, concern plastered over his face. "So your movements are restricted, and you're not allowed out past a certain time? And they tell you who you can and can't date?"
"Yeah, basically. Well, I mean, they're more relaxed with me now that I've been here for a while, but for the first few years I had to really watch what I was doing."
"That's so unfair though. Like, yeah, a lot of viruses are murderers, but then there are the ones like you! You're a teacher, and a really good one. It's so shitty that you get lumped in with the rest and treated like a second-class citizen!"
The professor laughed at that, and Ozzy continued. "I say, if you wanna date cells, then… then you should be free to do that!"
There was a brief moment of silence between them then, neither of them knowing exactly what to say next.
"Yeah, ahem, that's not the only thing we're campaigning for, though. It's for virus rights in general. Today we're meeting with the Mayor, and hopefully we can start negotiations to draft a bill."
Ozzy smiled and crossed his fingers. "Say no more. I'll get out of your flagella and let you get to your meeting," he said, slowly rising to his feet.
He didn't actually want to leave. In fact, it was the very last thing he wanted to do.
Despite the occasional awkward moment of silence and the fact that they had been enemies not one hour ago, there was something so comfortable about all of this. About them.
Although he had always had friends around him, Ozzy had never truly felt accepted, not in his entirety. He often felt the need to hide parts of himself, or watch what he said to not offend or annoy the people around him.
With the professor, however, he didn't feel this way at all.
It was as if he could somehow see through all the talk and bullshit, and understand him, recognise him, and truly see him for who he was underneath his mask of confidence and swagger.
If it were up to Ozzy, he would stay here all evening, all night, for as long as the professor would have him, just listening to him talk and having him look at him like he was looking at him just now.
However, he knew how weird and desperate all of that sounded, so he decided to bite his tongue. He reluctantly took his exam paper in his hands and shoved it into his backpack. Frank, please, if you're listening, make something happen that means I don't have to go just yet.
He turned around to head over to the door, when, suddenly, he felt the professor grab his arm again.
He snapped his head around and swallowed as he looked down at his hand, feeling how it tensed around him, the claws digging into the soft membrane around his wrist. "Sir…?" he managed to say, his voice quivering.
"Please, stay, just for a few more minutes… I-I wanted to ask if you had any suggestions for ways I can help you stay focussed in class."
Ozzy blinked at him for a moment. Of course I'll stay, abso-fucking-lutely. I'd give you a few minutes, an hour, a day, a year, my whole fucking life if you asked, and you could talk to me about biology, or your campaign, or literally anything. I don't care, as long as I can stay here a lil longer with you.
"Yeah… sure…" he said breathily, slowly lowering himself down on the chair again, his heart pounding away inside his chest.
This wasn't normal. Nothing about this was normal. Teachers don't just grab their students. They don't hug them like Roja had hugged Ozzy before. They don't look at them the way he's doing right now.
He wants to spend time with me too… be close to me… use any and every opportunity to touch me. Is it possible that he feels the same way I do?
Ozzy's eyes trailed downwards, landing on his lips. Soft and plump and kissable. And close, so, so close. Ozzy could just lean in and kiss him if he wanted to, and, right now, he wanted to.
Throwing all caution to the wind, Ozzy rolled forwards on the balls of his feet ever so slightly, closing the distance between them. He shut his eyes and parted his lips, feeling how his heart was threatening to beat right out of his chest. It was deafeningly loud, so loud that it was clouding any sensible, rational thoughts he might have had in that moment.
"I'm open to suggestions'', the professor said quietly, prompting Ozzy to open his eyes and see… his shoulder. He was about to kiss his shoulder.
Fuck, he must've turned away when he saw me leaning in!
He slumped back into his seat and looked down at the floor, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed. Fuck fuck fuck!
"As long as you're serious about learning and are willing to pull your weight…", the professor added, his voice trailing off as he turned to look at Ozzy. He furrowed his brow and cocked his head slightly. "What is it?"
Ozzy simply shook his head, refusing to look up from the floor. Ohh, now he's probably trying to pretend he didn't see anything! I'm such a fucking idiot!
"Ozzy?"
Okay, I'll just go with it. If we both pretend like nothing happened, then it'll all be fine!
He raised his gaze and forced a weak smile. "S'nothin'. I-I've just never been asked that question before, is all… heh… uh, lemme think…"
"Yeah, of course, take your time, but remember that I do have a meeting to be at in like, ten minutes. If you want, you can go away and come back with a list of things that you think will help you."
"No, no, it's okay! I got one!" He sat up in his seat and propped an elbow on the desk. "I guess something I really like about your classes is all the questions you ask us after explaining something new. It breaks up the lesson and keeps me engaged. It's much better than all the other teachers who just read from the textbook. It'd be good to have even more of that, as in, more questions."
The professor nodded and wrote it down in his notepad. "Okay, I can work with that. Anything else?"
"I think if you used the blackboard more it would help… like writing down the different stages, using mind maps, repeating things a few times."
He looked the professor in the eye then, and added, "I think that would really help you, y'know, drill it into me…"
He gasped and quickly shook his head, feeling as his blush spread through his whole body. "Ahh, I mean, the info! Drill the info into me… i-into my head!"
The professor pressed his lips together as if to suppress a smile as he continued writing in silence.
Ozzy sank back into his chair and exhaled heavily. I really am the biggest idiot in the whole of Frank. Roja definitely thinks I'm a total freak right now, and maybe he's right, he thought as he watched him finish writing the final bullet point.
"Right okay, so what I've got so far is this: more questions, use the blackboard more to help you visualise things better, repeat or rephrase the more difficult concepts a few times…" Professor Roja flicked his eyes up to meet Ozzy's and lowered his voice. "And drilling. Lots and lots of drilling."
Ozzy laughed nervously through clenched teeth, lifting one hand to scratch the back of his head. Frank, do me a favour wouldja? Just go and throw yourself off a bridge for me, that'd be fuckin' swell, thanks pal.
"Okay, so that's my end of the deal. What are you gonna do?"
"Me? W-what do you mean…?"
I'll do anything you want me to, just tell me what you want and I'll do it. I'll let you bend me over your desk, pin my hands behind my back and fuck me until I can't remember my own name. I'll get on my hands and knees right now and unzip your pants and…
The professor tapped Ozzy on the forehead with his notepad, breaking him out of his train of thought. "Stay with me, Jones. What are you gonna do to help yourself? This is what I'm promising to do, but it takes two to tango. What are you gonna do to make sure you stay focussed?"
Ozzy exhaled sharply. Oh…
"Um… I guess… show up on time, not interrupt you, not prank you anymore…"
"Well, that's definitely a start, but how are you gonna push yourself to do better? I don't only mean in my class, but in general."
"I dunno… I guess I'll start actually going to my other classes…"
Professor Roja sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you haven't been going to your other classes?"
Ozzy shook his head and looked down. "I've been too… fixated on… Biology."
"But, have you been to any of your other classes? Even one?"
Ozzy nodded, but the professor took his hand in his own, prompting him to look back up at him. "Ozzy… I thought we said we were gonna be honest with each other."
Ozzy swallowed thickly and gazed into his eyes. Honest with each other. Why do I feel like you actually, genuinely mean that? Adults have always used that word with me, but it only ever seemed to go one way, or it would end up getting me in more trouble when I was honest about what I thought or had done… Why does it feel so different with you?
The professor squeezed his hand, bringing Ozzy back to reality again.
"I-I… I haven't been to a single class… except yours," Ozzy blurted out, looking back down at his lap.
"Well, I can't say I'm not flattered, but that stops now. As soon as you leave this office, you're gonna go home and write an apology letter for your other professors, and you won't miss another class, not a single one. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good boy." He turned back to face the desk and reached for a blank piece of paper. "Okay, let's put it in writing. I'll note down everything we've discussed today, and then we'll both sign it. That way we can hold each other accountable. Sound good?"
"Mhm" Ozzy replied, nodding a few times. He watched as Professor Roja drafted out their contract, admiring the way the muscles in his arm bulged slightly with every stroke of the pen, how the skin on his hand tensed around his knuckles whenever he started a new line.
Ozzy then noticed the unusual way the professor was holding his pen. Rather than using his index finger and thumb to grip it, he had to use the muscle at the base of his thumb, with his index and middle fingers resting on top.
Ozzy imagined that this was probably to stop his claws from interfering or getting in the way of his writing. It didn't look practical, though, and not at all comfortable, and it showed through the concentrated expression on his face and the way he had to keep his wrist stiff as he moved his hand across the page.
It can't have been easy for you, being so different, having to bend and adapt to the world around you, rather than the other way around.
Ozzy's eyes drifted up to his face, and he felt a pang of sadness in his chest. I hope they've been kind to you here, at least, as kind as any body can be towards a virus.
He drew in a breath and shifted forwards in his seat a little. There are so many things I wanna know about you. Do you have a family, for example? Friends, acquaintances, people who greet you on the street?
Or does everyone just avoid you, insult you, and treat you like a dangerous criminal, like I did?
Just as Ozzy was mustering up the courage to ask all of these questions, the professor finished signing his name, and turned to give the pen and paper to Ozzy. "Right, read through the whole thing, and if you agree, put your signature there."
He leaned in closer and whispered, "once it's in writing, there's no backing out. We'll be contractually, officially bound to each other, so make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, Jones."
Ozzy swallowed and nodded, taking the sheet from him and daring his eyes over all the different points.
In addition to Professor Roja's promises to try and make the classes more engaging, they both had to start being completely honest with each other, including Ozzy letting the professor know if he was struggling at all. He also had to attend all of his other classes, and make sure that he didn't fall behind on any of his work.
He signed his name and handed it back to the professor, exhaling heavily and smiling. "I guess it's official then! We're legally bound to each other now. So where are ya takin' me on our honeymoon? I want somewhere fancy with a view."
"Oh, baby, you wouldn't survive the honeymo-" the professor started saying, stopping himself suddenly. Oh shit. Oh fuck. Where did that come from?!
Ozzy's eyes widened. Did he just call me… baby?
"Ahem, anyway," the professor said, desperate to change the subject, "I really do have to be getting to my meeting now, so let's wrap this thing up."
"Yeah, course. Can I borrow a sheet of paper, though? I wanna get started on writing one of my apology letters… I'm meant to be in Criminology right now..."
The professor stared at him for a moment, before tutting and reaching out to grab a stack of paper. "Yeah, take as many as ya like. I feel like you're gonna have a lot of apologising to do over the next few days."
"Oh, you have no idea…" Ozzy said quietly as he shoved a few sheets of paper into his rucksack.
"One more thing, let's forget about the essay," Professor Roja said, turning to face him again. "If ya like, you can come to my office tomorrow after class and do the exam, the proper exam. What d'ya say?"
"Yeah, that'd be good! Oh, wait, actually I can't. I've got tennis practice right after tomorrow's class."
"You play tennis?" the professor asked, momentarily distracted by the mental image of Ozzy in a pair of tight, white shorts and thigh-high socks.
"Well, 'play' implies that I actually… go… heh. I only went to the try-outs, and haven't been since."
"Okay, well you tell me when you're free and I'll try and work around it."
Ozzy rummaged around in his rucksack and pulled out his timetable, all creased and ripped at the edges. "Okay, so I've got Forensics until 4pm tomorrow… could we do it after that?"
"My last class finishes at 4:30pm, so let's say 5-ish in my office?"
"Sounds like a plan, Daddy-O," Ozzy said, writing it down on his hand so he wouldn't forget. He looked back up at him with a smile. "It's a date."
The professor rolled his eyes and rose to his feet, gesturing for Ozzy to do the same. He walked him over to the door and placed his hand on the door knob, hesitating for a moment as he looked Ozzy up and down again. "Your new clothes suit you. They make you look more… grown up."
"Yeah, well, as long as I don't look like a thrift store toddler anymore."
Professor Roja smirked at that and ruffled his hair. "Good luck with all your apologies."
"And good luck at your meeting, Thraxy!"
"Thanks, Ozzy."
Ozzy smiled up at him for a moment, gazing into his eyes. I fuckin' love the way he says my name. Slow, deliberate, holding the 'y' almost too long before letting it drop off. Everything sounds so good in his voice, though, as if every word is thought-out and purposeful. I've never heard anything like it.
He tilted his head slightly as he rolled his gaze over his face. There were so many things he wanted to say to him then, so many things he wanted to do, but he just didn't have the words.
He still didn't really understand these feelings, everything so new and fresh and raw, but he knew he couldn't leave it like this. Even if he wasn't able to verbalise his feelings quite yet, a simple goodbye just wasn't going to cut it.
Not knowing what else to do, Ozzy took a step forward and threw his arms around the professor's waist. He shoved his cheek into his chest and gripped onto the fabric of his sweater, whispering, "thank you so much."
Unlike before, there wasn't really any explicable reason for this hug, no excuse for it. If someone were to walk past the door and see them through the small window, it would definitely raise a few suspicions.
Right now, though, Ozzy didn't give one solitary shit if anyone saw them or not. After his turbulent emotional rollercoaster ride of a review, this hug felt justified, necessary, correct.
Their relationship had gone through so many stages already: from hatred and revenge to confusion and desire, and now, seemingly out of nowhere, something stronger and even more convoluted: Ozzy had actually developed feelings for the professor. Romantic feelings. Feelings he had never held for anyone before.
A part of him liked to believe that it was mutual, and that Professor Roja felt the same way towards him. He thought back to the way he had held him so tightly before, as if he never wanted to let him go, how he had nuzzled into his cheek when he was comforting him, giving off the impression that he genuinely cared about him on some level.
Deep down, Ozzy knew that this wasn't really true though. The professor had simply done his job as a teacher, and had surely felt super uncomfortable about the whole ordeal, just like he probably did about Ozzy hugging him right now.
To Ozzy's surprise, however, the professor actually slid his arms around him and pulled him closer.
"Thank you," he whispered, prompting Ozzy to turn his head and look up at him.
"For what?"
"For trusting and listening to me before. Not many people do."
Ozzy smiled up at him for a second, before feeling that same sting of guilt over how he had treated him. He furrowed his brow, took a sharp breath, and started babbling. "I-I'm so sorry for how I acted towards you before. You were right, it was because you were a virus, and that was really wrong of me."
He smiled up at him again and tightened his grip around his sweater. "I really liked listening to you talk about your campaign, and I'm sure those guys at Cerebellum Hall will too! It's important, and more people should know about it! Lemme know if you need my help with anything!"
The professor stared down at Ozzy for a moment, completely taken aback by this. "Y-you wanna help?
"Yeah! I mean, I'm not really very good at makin' signs and stuff, but if you need a cell there, like, as an ally, then just holla and I'll come runnin'!"
"Well, that's very nice, but you've gotta focus on your studies. Besides, you really wouldn't wanna go to any of these meetings anyway. They may sound fun, but they're long and arduous, and you barely get to actually speak, because the Mayor loves the sound of his own voice so much."
Ozzy's smile was wiped from his face, and he quickly pulled away. "Oh, okay, no worries," he said quietly, rubbing his arm. "Well, I best be off then. I guess I'll see ya tomorrow in class."
"In class," the professor repeated, opening the door for him. "Bye for now, Ozzy."
Ozzy smiled up at him again, before turning around and stepping out of his office. He gripped hard onto the straps of his rucksack as everything that had just happened raced through his mind. He wanted to get rid of me. Of course he did… he's my teacher, for fuck's sake. I need to stop this right now before I get myself into trouble.
The professor peered through the small window, watching as Ozzy traipsed down the corridor towards the exit. He must've felt so uncomfortable through all that. He's my student, for fuck's sake. I need to stop this right now before I get myself into serious trouble.
He tilted his head back and shut his eyes. I'm such an idiot. I leaned down to kiss him, for fuck's sake! I just hope he didn't notice…
Ozzy turned the corner and leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes. I'm such a fuckin' idiot! I leaned in to kiss him, for fuck's sake! Please, Frank, tell me he didn't actually notice!
The professor sat down at his desk and buried his face in his hands. What would've happened if he hadn't moved back?
Ozzy opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, sighing heavily. What would've happened if he hadn't turned away?
He's your student, Thrax!
He's your teacher, Ozzy!
This stops, now!