Chapter Text
"I - I failed? But - but Mr. Haruka I studied so hard for this exam! I did! I couldn't have failed!"
The large blond man regards the stiff young red haired girl with hard green eyes in front of him, his face pulling into a natural scowl.
"The numbers don't lie, Shirayuki. This isn't up for debate, I warned all of you that if you cram for my class exams, you won't pass. That's that." His voice had no emotion in it whatsoever.
Her mouth pulls into a tight line. "But I didn't cram. I don't cram for anything. My performance for this class and all others have been near impeccable. Unless there's another reason you failed me." Her voice drops with insinuation as she glares harder at the man.
Haruka blinks, not really used to someone beneath him, especially a scholarship student, defying him so brazenly.
"Excuse me."
"I'm sorry to bring up your. . . shall we say, distaste of me. . . but won't it look strange if I pass everyone else's exam with straight A's and yours is the only fail? I don't think that will look good in any perspective." She can't fail. She wasn't going to let this go.
Her family had worked tooth and nail to get her into this school and the only way she could keep herself here was with hard work and studying. She was not going to let this go.
Evidently Haruka came to that conclusion because he straightens and regards her with another hard stare.
"Very well. If you're so determined to stay here, there is something you can do to pass my class."
Shirayuki misses the underlining disgust in his voice.
"There are some students with less than amiable studying abilities. I will assign you to one and you can tutor for a passing mark in my class, if your tutoring pays off for the other student. How does that sound?"
She fell silent and sullen. He was trying to provoke her she knows this. . .
But she still has to think about it. Her education depending on someone else's. . .
Someone who just might not care about their education.
That wasn't fair.
At all.
"So what you're telling me is, I can't pass unless the person I tutor does?" She says with venom in her voice.
Haruka nearly smirks, it's more like a loosened scowl.
"More or less. Besides, I'm being very generous here. I shouldn't even be offering this ultimatum. Now, do we have a deal?"
There's something else in this. She can feel it. Her green eyes narrow and darken at the snobbish man. There's was something in this for him, there has to be.
Well, she'd show him and every other social bound jerk in this facility.
"I accept the terms. When do I start?"
If he's surprised he doesn't show it.
"Tomorrow, after school, library. For one hour each day, until finals. You'll get more information tomorrow. Have a good day." He turns to a stack of papers, completely conveying the air that he was done with her and her trivially.
Shirayuki huffs and stomps out with as much dignity as she can.
The feeling that she's stepped into something awful getting worse the further she walks down the wide halls. Her footsteps echoing back at her over the sudden buzz of voices. They noticed her staying after class, everyone always notices everything about the sad little scholarship student who was nearly raped last year.
The rumors were getting worse. She notices them more and more everyday.
About her clothes, her hair, her body, her home life, what she did with who to stay in this school . . everything.
Mostly about how she didn't belong here and the only reason she was here was because she'd befriended the headmasters younger brother.
"Shirayuki!"
The pale red head turns to see a beautifully created boy with platinum white hair and royal blue eyes with a glittering smile.
He was lean and on the average side of height. He often looked like a prince of the highest quality.
"Hi Zen!" She nearly caves under the intense burning stares of everyone watching in the halls.
"How was class today?" He asks sweetly.
She smiles gently and forces her face to not show just how upsetting class was.
"Fine. Just have a little extra work to do for Haruka's, that's all." Maybe she shouldn't have said that.
Zen knew her history with Haruka. The man practically hated her more for the fact that she hung around Zen than anything.
He seemed to notice the missing parts of her story.
"Shirayuki, whatever he did, let me fix it. I can help and-"
"No!"
It came out more explosive than she'd meant it to.
Zen blinks at her in shock.
"Why not?" His face falls into something akin to confusion.
She sighs and reins her worries in. "It's alright Zen, really, I don't want you troubling yourself." She nods firmly as if to solidify her words.
Zen's brows furrow in thought. "Or because people will talk. I didn't think you cared what others say about you."
Her shoulders slump in defeat. " I - I don't but. . . I'm just making things unnecessarily harder for you when I can just handle myself. Ok. Please don't think it's your fault Zen. It isn't. I'm just tired of people saying things that aren't true about you."
He gives her a tight smile now and nods a little in understanding.
"See you tomorrow then?" His tone is hopeful
"Yah. Tomorrow. . ."
She feels like tomorrow was just another word for trap.
The next day was exhausting. Rumors were milling around. Now about her and her lateness in Haruka's class.
She stayed behind twice people! That didn't mean anything! What was wrong with these rich snobs, don't they have money to throw around instead of talk about one poor member of the majority?
God!
Haruka gave her a slip of paper with the persons name and phone number on it and told her to go meet him at the library. It was a him.
Great. The only thing worse then strange boys was strange rich boys.
She could have sworn Haruka was laughing at her when she left.
What she wouldn't pay to be able to give that man just one swift kick in the pants.
She enters the huge library of Clarines Academy. It was the only place she adored about this snobbery hell. It smells of old books mixed with new and wood and ink and it was just so comforting she almost forgot why she was here. She remembers though and finds a nice red wood polished desk with two chairs on opposite sides.
Good amount of space between her and whoever this 'Obi' person ended up being.
She wonders if she's ever seen this guys around. She can't remember his name so. . .
A shiver runs up her spine and she turns to see a tall warm skinned boy with a build of a panther. . . why she saw that in him instantly was beyond her understanding.
He had a sharpness to all his features, his chin, his cheeks bones, his nose, even his mouth.
His eyes were slanted and the oddest color she's ever seen in her life.
"Who are you?" She blurts out unexpectedly.
The stranger tilts on one leg and studies her silently, eyes flickering from her hair to her shoes which made her feel small, as if he'd just peeled back every single outside part of her and was looking into her mind.
She shudders again.
Then he's mouth cants to the side in some semblance of a smile.
That does nothing to ease her chills.
"Obi. Who are you, Miss?"
Obi? This was Obi! Where the heck did this guy come from?! He didn't look like anyone she's seen here. . . she's never even seen him! How could she have missed someone as. . . overwhelming as this guys persona seems to project. He was so utterly different then all the other rich boys she'd seen here, even the way his uniform looked tossed on, the tie loose and the sleeves of the tight black shirt underneath the grey blazer were rolled up together to his elbows, the messy spikes of his hair, the scar above his eye and he just - didn't fit the bill of snob at all.
"Um. . . Shirayuki." She hates the squeak she can't control. What was going on? It's like this total stranger just reached out and -
His tilted smile grows and he reaches a hand out. "Nice to meet you, Miss."
Against her better judgment she takes it.
She's shocked by the warmth and electric fizzles that flickers through her and pool in her belly when his long strong fingers wrap around her hand. . .
She stares at them.Their hands, her small pale hand was dwarfed by his golden tanned one. The skin colors contrasting nicely and made her kind of like it and. . .
"Can I have my hand back now?"
Shirayuki squeaks and lets go of his hand as if she's been burned and he laughs at her.
She frowns, embarrassment nearly making her leave. But Shirayuki was nothing if not stubborn.
"Well, now that we've been introduced, let's get started." She forces a professional tone that's ruined by the red stain on her cheeks as she avoids looking at him in favor of setting her books down.
They seat themselves and she makes sure to not look at him unless absolutely necessary.
"Are you going to study or just sit there and stare at me?" The red head snaps at the boy in front of her. It's been twenty five minutes and she's quickly realizing what kind of person she's been forced to cooperate with.
He tilts his head like a cat and gives her a crooked little smirk. "But Miss, your face is so much more interesting to look at than the dead people in this book."
She doesn't smile. No, she does not. Her lips are just twitching in distaste. Not amusement. Clearly, he wasn't funny.
He was not funny...
Obi's smirk grows into a smile.
He knows he's charming her.
And that's bad.
So very bad. . .
They've only been at this for a quarter of an hour and she is already exasperated with him. Clearly this boy did not take studying, or anything else, seriously. Except maybe naps and flirting.
"I find history of our old kings very fascinating." She tries to lead the conversation to somewhere educational.
Obi snorts and leans back to balance his chair precariously on the two back legs.
"Sure, if you like learning about what they did wrong. Come on Miss, they told me you were smart."
That irritated her.
She lets out a huff and closes her book making him look at her. "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it." She snaps smartly.
Obi blinks silently at her, his confused look way too attractive to be fair.
"But," he pursues his lips, "I don't want to go to war or plunder or pillage or steal ten young girls for ransom and fuck them to produce an army of. . . well actually that last one sounds kind of-"
"Stop!" She shouts, the library echoes loudly and she gets a withering death glare from the wrinkly old librarian sitting up front.
Obi's chuckle snaps her out of her mortified state.
She glares at him, actually surprising him silent, his chair falling back down on all fours.
"Look, Mr. Flirt, I-" she leans over the table, planting her palms firmly on the desk between them, eyes unwavering. "- want to pass this year and keep my scholarship. And the only way to do that is to help you pass the next exam. The only way that can happen is if you stop joking around and study. Ok!"
She speaks deliberately and steadily, like he was a five year old child instead of a - very grown up young man . . .
Obi just stares at her silently for a moment. Surprise etching his face.
Then. . .
He laughs.
Literally doubles over with chortles that should not sound so tantalizing.
But her irritation levels rise quickly anyway. No matter how hot he was.
"What is so funny!?" She snaps, anger seeping under her skin.
This jerk wasn't taking anything seriously!
He finally calms down because the librarian glares at them viciously.
"Oh, Oh little Miss," he makes a show of wiping away tears, "I didn't think having a tutor would be this much fun."
She sputters, this wasn't supposed to be fun!
She really needs his cooperation if she was going to pass and keep her scholarship.
And he was laughing at her!
The teasing glint in his strangely alluring eyes was unmistakable.
She glares.
"This - you're not. . . why won't you take this seriously!? I meant what I said!"
He nods, pretending like he's indulging her, which angers her more. Then he's in her space.
She gasps and falls back into her chair.
"Oh, but I am taking you seriously, Miss." He leans closer, so close she seizes up from the warmth radiating off him.
"You've caught my interest. And I think I might stick around this time." He whispers hotly into her ear.
Shivers rush down her spine as warmth seeps through her blood.
"Tomorrow then, Miss." And she suddenly finds the way he says 'Miss' oh so attractive.
When he backs away she can't breath until he's gone.
Leaving her with the slightly disoriented thoughts that she should collect - and - wait -
Their study hour wasn't up yet. And he just -
Shirayuki has never been more frustrated in all her life.
"Arg!" She drops her head noisily onto the desk making a loud 'thunk' echo through the library.
"Shhhhh!" The librarian hisses at her angrily with a 'last warning' look.
For once, The poor flustered red haired girl can't bring herself to care.
This was going to be a disaster.
Damn you, Haruka.