Work Text:
Teach Me
She walked to his office, only to lose all her confidence at the door.
'I need to go through with this.' She thought to herself. With a nod, she anxiously knocked.
"Come in." She carefully opened the door and walked in. There he was, sitting at his desk. Professor Bates had been her English professor for three years in a row and she'd developed a crush on him over those years.
"Ah, miss Archer, how may I help you?" He asked, gesturing at a seat in front of his desk. She closed the door and sat down.
"You see, professor, there's a thing I've been working on for quite a while now and-"
"A thing ?"
"A story, a novel if you will." He gave a nod, leaning on his desk, seemingly intrigued.
"I was wondering if you wouldn't proof read it for me if you have the time." She threw the final words out before she had the chance to back out.
"I have a few interns under me at present, so I have to admit I have more free time than before." He said, leaning back. "Very well, I'll take a look at it for you. Though I doubt your English would be a problem."
"I'm just wondering about the story itself. It might be a bit too clichéd. "
"We'll see about that. Do you have it on paper, or a flash drive?"
"I have both, so whichever you prefer." She laughed nervously.
"I'll take the flash drive. That'll make taking notes a little easier." She got it out of her bag and handed him the little device.
"Thank you so much for this, sir. I'm in your debt."
"Nonsense. If you ever need someone to check something, I'd be more than happy to oblige." She thanked him once again and quietly exited the room.
'I really did it...' She thought with wide eyes.
After two weeks of attending English class in the most nervous way possible, he finally told her to stay behind after class.
"Miss Archer." He was smiling, so that was probably a good sign.
"You read it?" She asked.
"Indeed. Quite a splendid story, not cliched at all. Very good job." Her heart skipped a few beats when he put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. He retrieved his hand and took out the flash drive.
"I marked some parts that were a bit out of context or were worded strangely. Don't take it to heart too much, okay?"
"O-of course. Thank you so much, sir. I'm really happy that you took the time to read it in the first place."
"Not a problem. But I do have a tiny request, if you don't mind."
"Anything, sir."
"I'd like you to write down a date scenario, because I found those slightly lacking in your story."
"I've never really gone on a date before, so I had to make do with what I knew from TV." She looked to the ground in shame. That must've sounded so lame.
"Just write down what you'd think of as a perfect date. I'll take a look at it and help you improve on that, if that's alright with you."
"Of course, I'll get started right away!" She nodded and walked to the door.
"Don't forget your normal homework in the process." He said with a laugh.
"I won't!" She walked out and hurried home to start working on it.
It was a bit awkward to give this away. It seemed like she'd put a large part of herself on paper and giving such a thing to the person you have a crush on seemed like straight up suicide to her.
'He's just trying to help.' She thought with a nod as she knocked on the door to his office. No response.
"Miss Archer." She shrieked and turned to find him behind her with a cup of tea in his hand.
"My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you." He said, obviously suppressing a grin.
"It's alright. I'm just here to deliver the ... assignment." It sounded even weirder to call it that.
"Ah, right, thank you for being so quick about it." He unlocked the door and walked in. "Come on in." She did as asked and sat down on the chair in front of his desk.
"Did you have any problems while writing it?" He asked, taking a sip from his tea afterwards.
"Not really, but it's probably a scenario that's been done a thousand times already, so it's anything but original."
"The subject is quite a common occurrence, so of course it would've been done a thousand times already. That doesn't mean that you can't improve on it." She nodded and handed him the flash drive.
"Thank you very much. How many words is it?"
"If I recall correctly it's around 1200 words."
"That'll make for a quick read so expect my commentary on Monday after class."
"Of course. Thank you, sir." She stood and left the room, her heart pounding.
On Sunday, the doorbell rang and she quickly went to open the front door.
"P-professor?" She looked down and noticed that she still had her pajamas on.
"Miss Archer. I read your scenario and I thought it might be best to walk you through my commentary rather than simply type it for you to read later. A bit more of a hands-on approach."
"I-I see. I'll go get changed then, please come in." She closed the door after he'd entered and hurried off to her room. Living in a house where most of the students were passed out every weekend from partying had its benefits. After changing in record time, she came back out.
"Ready?" He asked. She gave a nod and opened the front door for him.
"What did you think of it in general?" She asked as she locked it after they'd both gone out.
"In general? I suppose it was good, but it's really apparent that you have never experienced it before. But I'll explain more on the way." He'd already started walking down the street and she quickly caught up.
"Where are we going?" She asked, her voice a mix of nervousness and curiosity.
"You'll see, miss Archer."
As soon as they arrived at the train station, she could tell something was going on.
"It's awfully busy." She noted.
"Good observation." She squinted her eyes at the familiar sentence, then decided to write it off as her imagination. They squeezed into the train and waited for departure.
"Cozy." He remarked as he looked down at her with a cheeky smile. She was practically squeezed against him and tried her best to keep her face from turning tomato red. She tried to look around the train and an advertisement caught her eye.
"A carnival?" She murmured to herself. This was too much of a coincidence.
"Has my plan been figured out?" He said as he grinned. "Well, I did say I was going to talk you through it so that might've been a giveaway."
"So basically, you're teaching me how a date goes?" She couldn't get out much more than a whisper, but he heard her nonetheless.
"Basically." The train went into a bend and he lost his balance, squishing her against the wall.
"Are you alright?" All his cheekiness was gone in that one sentence, replaced by genuine worry. She gave a nod.
"As you said: it's cozy."
Next up was their stop and the stop of probably 90% of the people on the train. The train slowed and then halted. The doors opened and instantly people started pouring out. She was pushed along with the crowd and managed to escape into a corner a little further. She looked at the people, but she couldn't find him among them. Someone grabbed her hand and she quickly looked up, sighing relieved to find professor Bates.
"Thought I'd lost you there." He said as he squeezed her hand softly. "See how that already gives the story a bit of suspense along with some romance?" She gave a nod.
"You're right."
"Come on, we've got a lot to do." Her mind couldn't quite tell whether he was simply trying to teach her to improve her writing, or if he was doing more than that.
After finally getting to the carnival grounds, for which he insisted on paying for her ticket as well, saying it was all part of the immersion, he pointed to the roller coaster.
"Wonder if you could do that one without throwing up." He grinned.
"Ha! I'm the roller coaster master here." She said as she smirked at him. Even if this was just like a lesson, she was allowed to enjoy it. Immersion, right?
"Let's see about that." He said as he led the way to the ride.
After waiting in line for a while, it was finally their turn. She quickly glanced his way, only to notice that he looked pale as a ghost.
"Are you okay, sir?" She asked with a worried frown.
"Just call me Michael for now. And yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it." She sat down in the cart and watched him do the same with shaky hands.
"It's just been a while since I've done this."
"Just hold on tight, it's really fun." He kept his eyes locked on the rails in front of the cart as they slowly left the station and went up. When the cart reached the top, it stopped for a moment, providing a stunning view of the city. The cart started moving again and she smiled to herself as they went down. The screams from beside her were deafening, but she couldn't keep herself from laughing the entire ride.
"Let's sit down for a moment." She said as she guided him to a bench and sat him down.
"Pretty lame, right?" He said, his voice hoarse from the screaming.
"Not at all. Everyone has a ride at the carnival they don't like or find scary." She looked around and spotted a vending machine.
"Do you want something to drink? Maybe it'll make you feel better." He shook his head.
"I'm good." He took a few deep breaths and stood up. "Let's carry on."
"Are you sure you're up for that? You could hardly stand just now." He threw her a reassuring smile and nodded.
"The next thing will cheer me up for sure." He started walking and she curiously followed. She looked ahead and saw the one thing at carnivals that scared the living daylights out of her. There were other rides next to it, though, so he might not go for that one.
"The haunted house!" He proclaimed with a smile. A shiver ran down her spine, but she nodded.
'He went through that ride for me. I need to be strong too!' She thought as she followed him to the line which was surprisingly short. There was a bored looking guy at the entrance.
"We're obliged to tell the visitors that someone had a heart attack in here this morning. Knowing that, would you still like to go in?"
"Of course. We're not scared, right?" He answered as he looked to her. She tried to put on a confident expression as she nodded.
"Enjoy." The man said with a nod. She followed Michael into the darkness, preparing her poor heart for all the jumpscares ahead.
After a minute of some spider webs and flashing lights but not much else, she felt herself relax a little.
"What kind of haunted house is this?" Michael wondered out loud with a sigh. She could've known that it was to lull them into a false sense of safety. Before she knew it, three things jumped out at them all at once. She screamed her loudest "no" before sprinting forward, not even hearing or seeing what else jumped out at her along the way.
When she was so tired that she couldn't run anymore, she stopped and leaned against the wall.
'Except now I don't know where I am.' She looked ahead, but she didn't dare to keep walking on her own, not without being in a state of blind panic.
"Alice?" Michael's voice made her turn back.
"Here." Her voice was just as hoarse as his now. He came into view and quickly walked up to her.
"You should've told me you were this scared, then I wouldn't have picked it."
"I couldn't let you be the only one to act heroic." He laughed and put a hand on her head, ruffling her hair.
"Thank you." He grabbed her hand and held it tight. "Don't let go okay?"
She'd actually enjoyed the rest of the haunted house, much to her surprise, but she was still glad to be out into the light again.
"I could go for some ice cream, how about you?" He asked as they walked on. She coughed, followed by a laugh.
"That sounds like it might soothe my throat too."
"Exactly. Wait here, I'll go get some." She walked to the nearest bench and sat down with a content sigh. The sun was already setting and colored the sky a beautiful orange. She was certain that she'd be able to write about dates more convincingly now.
"Here we go." He sat down beside her with two cones. "Strawberry and banana, which will it be for you?"
"Which do you prefer?" He looked at the two cones with a frown.
"Strawberry."
"Then I'll take banana." He handed her the cone.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I like them both."
"Professor Bates!" Two fellow students came running up to them, suspicion obvious on their faces. "And Alice?"
"What a coincidence! I keep running into people here. First miss Archer and now you two." He turned to her. "Right, miss Archer?"
"Yeah, what a coincidence indeed."
"So what've you two been up to?" He asked them.
"I'm going to the bathroom, excuse me." She said as she shoved the last piece of the cone into her mouth and walked off toward the bathroom building.
'I shouldn't be getting as upset over this as I am.' She thought as she sighed to herself. She closed the bathroom door, washed her hands and went back to the benches only to find he was nowhere in sight. On the bench was a post-it note, she picked it up and read it.
"I left with the others, see you in class on Monday!"
"He what ?" She crumpled the paper and shoved it in her pocket with a growl.
'I'm going to commit murder on Monday.' She thought as she nodded to herself, cooking up several assassination plans in her head.
A child's crying pulled her from her murderous thoughts and she looked to find a little boy crying a little further away. She walked over and crouched down in front of him with a smile.
"What's wrong?" The boy sniffled as he took a good look at her.
"Mommy's... I can't find mommy."
"Want me to help you look?" He gave an innocent nod.
"Okay then, hold on." She picked him up and put him on her shoulders. "Let me know when you see her okay?" She walked over to the bench and stood on it.
"See anything yet?" She asked after a minute.
"Not yet..." He sounded dejected.
"How about we walk around? We'll definitely find her then." The boy nodded and patted her hand.
"Thank you, nice lady."
"You're very welcome, young sir." She said with a smile as she got down from the bench and started walking around.
After walking around for a solid ten minutes, she was wondering if they'd ever find the lost mother. Then the boy suddenly smacked her head a few times.
"There she is! There's mommy!" The mother heard her son's voice and looked up, instantly running over. Alice put the boy down and watched him hug his mom. The mother rained thank you's down upon her and she accepted them modestly by saying it was no problem.
"Thank you, nice lady!" The boy waved abundantly, holding on to his mother tightly with his other hand as they walked off. She let out a content sigh. Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all.
"Interesting." She turned around to find professor Bates behind her. "Cliches seem to find you." She pulled up a brow at him, then raised her shoulders with a sigh.
"Why the note?"
"Now you know the feeling of a girl who's date ditched her. Valuable experience for your writing, wouldn't you say?" She figured that the murderous tendencies she got wasn't how a typical girl reacted to such rejection, but even she had to admit that it was valuable for her writing, no matter how much of a dick move it was.
"Agreed. So what now?"
"We both have school tomorrow, so it might be best to head home. Was it useful for your writing?" Why was he so hard to read?
"I think I'll be able to write more convincingly now." She said with a nod.
"Then let's head home."
The train ride back had been silent so far and she was growing more and more uncomfortable.
"How about that assignment that's due tomorrow?" He suddenly asked. Her eyes widened and she cursed quietly. He started laughing.
"I was planning on doing it today..." She murmured as she defeatedly raked a hand through her hair.
"It's my fault you couldn't get to it, so I'll extend your deadline. Don't worry." It was a bit unfair to the other students, but she was grateful. She checked her phone, it was half past eleven.
'I haven't even eaten yet.' She thought to herself. 'I'll make some instant noodles when I get home.'
"There we are, safely made it back home again." He said once they'd reached her front door.
"Indeed." She said uncomfortably. "Do you maybe want to come in for a cup of tea?"
"Sorry, but no can do. I still have to get home and it's quite late already. I'll see you tomorrow morning then." Without another word he turned and started walking away.
"See you." She whispered after him as she turned as well and got out her keys.
She'd desperately tried to at least do something about her assignment, but decided that it just wasn't going to happen. The time she decided that, however, was 3:00 so that left her beyond tired the next morning. His class was first, but she couldn't get herself to keep her eyes open for more than 30 seconds.
"I'll now collect the assignment so please take it out." She looked up, suddenly nervous that she didn't have anything. She'd always done her homework like a good student most of the time, so it felt slightly weird not to have anything ready. But he'd given her an extended deadline, so everything was fine. Then why did her heart start beating like mad the closer he came.
"Miss Archer, where is your assignment?" She could see the faintest grin playing around his lips, but it was gone a split second later.
"I couldn't do it, sir." She said slightly angry.
"Why not?" She shot him a quick glare, then smiled herself.
"I had a date, but the guy was such an ass that I just couldn't get myself to do anything afterwards." He squinted his eyes, probably acknowledging her comeback.
"Fine then, hand it in during the next class." He said as he moved on to the next person.
She was walking towards the canteen when someone called her name.
"Miss Archer?" She turned and nodded, finding an older teacher from the theatre department walking up to her.
"Can I help you, sir?" His face lit up.
"You certainly can! I read your work and I'd like to ask you to write the script for a new play I want to do." The first thing she felt was flattered, soon to be replaced by confusion.
"You read my work?"
"Yeah, someone forwarded it to the theatre department by mail. Wasn't that meant to happen?" He looked incredibly dejected all of a sudden. She sighed.
"No, but it's fine. What was that about a script?"
"Yes! I want to do a new play, but we currently have a lack of good script writers so I thought you might want to do it for us."
"It's something new, so I won't turn it down. Could you give me some details as to what you want it to be?"
"Just give me romance, drama and tragedy. Medieval style, but not like Romeo and Juliet. God knows that's not a play a respectable theatre does anymore." He shook his head disapprovingly. "The rest I leave up to you. Just don't make the names too hard."
"I can do that. When would you like to proof read?"
"How about the end of the week? Is that possible?" She heard footsteps behind her, followed by a hand on her shoulder.
"Of course it is!" Professor Bates stood beside her with a big grin.
"Indeed, I'll have it ready for you by then." She confirmed.
"Michael, great timing. You're helping out with the play since we're short on teachers after the accident, God rest their souls." She snorted upon seeing the face Professor Bates made.
"O-of course."
"Much obliged!" The man said as he walked away in a good mood.
"Well then," she said as she turned to him, "got dragged into your own trap."
"Worry not, Miss Archer. This ass will be just fine."
"And I will get that assignment done." He put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair slightly.
"Good girl." He said with a nod before walking off.
'Man I hate that guy.' She thought as she rushed off with blushes on her cheeks.
She'd written and re-written a story about a reclusive, young woman who never experienced love. Then one day, she saves an older boy from some thugs and he falls in love with her. After a whole lot of fighting over why they can't be together, the boy's rich parents have the woman killed for seducing their son through witchcraft.
'Seems medieval enough.' All her ideas for the main character had somehow ended in death, so she deemed it inescapable. After all, what was more tragic than death separating lovers? She knocked on the door to the theatre department's office and entered upon hearing an approving noise. When she opened the door, however, an entire play seemed to be going on in the tiny office space.
"Miss Archer! Excellent timing, we were getting impatient." The teacher who'd asked her walked up to her expectantly.
"Here's the flash drive with the script. Let me know what you'd like to change and I'll get to it." She explained as she handed him the drive.
"Certainly, Miss Archer, thank you very much." The other teachers nodded, thanking her as well. She humbly accepted their thanks and excused herself. Now was the time to go home and get some well deserved rest.
On Saturday she checked her email as part of her morning routine and found that there was a mail from the theatre department. She quickly read through it and let out a deep breath. She'd been called to school for reasons that were only vaguely described as "we need to talk". She got dressed and went out as quickly as possible, curious as to what awaited her.
She entered the auditorium and looked at the stage, it was filled with people wearing medieval costumes.
"Miss Archer, you made it!" The theatre teacher eagerly beckoned her to come closer. She spotted Professor Bates in one of the front row seats, looking bored as hell.
"Is there something you want changed? In the script?" She asked, wondering why everyone was already in costume.
"Not at all, it was perfect! Romance, drama and tragedy!" His happy smile faded slightly. "But I wanted to ask you an important question."
"Sure." She gave a nod. He put his hands together as though he was in prayer and bowed his head.
"Would you please play the lead?" She blinked a few times.
"Excuse me? I don't even know if I can act, let alone play a lead role."
"We don't have anyone who can get into the character properly. Seeing as you wrote her, you should be able to identify with her to some extent, right?" She laughed inside her head, he had no idea.
"I suppose so. Well, I can always try." She agreed.
"Marvelous! I assume you already know the lines?"
"I'll have to look it over, but I'm fairly sure I remember." She tried to keep herself from sighing. "We're doing this now?"
"Yes! First rehearsal! Michael is here to help backstage." The man pointed to Professor Bates who still sat sagged on the seat, he didn't even look up at hearing his name.
"Okay then." She nodded and mentally prepared herself for what was to come. She was fairly confident in her ability to play the character, but the stage had always frightened her slightly.
"You're a life saver." He led her up on the stage and gestured at a guy as big as a bear. He was quite a lot bigger than her and looked like he should be on the rugby team rather than in the theatre club. She had to try her best not to look too impressed with his muscles.
"This is Jason, he plays the role of your lover." She nearly choked on her spit, but quickly recovered. Not before hearing a chuckle come from Professor Bates' direction. She held out her hand to the boy. To her surprise, he took it and placed a kiss on the back.
"I-I look forward to working with you." She said as she subtly tried to retrieve her hand. This was too close for comfort.
"The honor is mine, milady."
"Let's get on with it, Peter!" Professor Bates piped up. "I have assignments to grade." She took her chance and pulled her hand back, trying to hide an obvious blush.
"Quite right, Michael." The drama teacher, apparently named Peter gave a nod and got down from the stage.
"Let's go over the first few lines and we'll see how it goes from there."
In the end they'd practiced the entire thing, twice. Her throat was so sore she couldn't even swallow anymore without cringing.
"That's it for today, everyone! We'll get together a few more times next week before the performance on Saturday." As everyone made their way off the stage, Jason followed her closely.
"Alice." He walked out in front of her and halted, effectively causing her to stop as well.
"Yes?"
"Need someone to walk you home through the dark night?" The entire practice he'd tried his best to look as impressive as possible and now was no different.
"No, I'll be fine, thanks." She tried to pass him by, but he stood in front of her.
"I insist."
"Truth be told, I already have someone who'll get me home."
"Really? Who?"
"Professor Bates offered." Upon hearing his name, Professor Bates stood up.
"In that case, I guess I'll see you during the next practice." He tried to go for her hand again, but she quickly pulled it away and waved before hurrying to Professor Bates.
"You're driving me home." She notified him quietly. He shrugged.
"Fine by me."
"So how about that lover of yours." He laughed as he drove off.
"Shut up."
"He'd make a marvelous rugby player, probably." She gave a nod, she'd had that exact same thought after all. "But you can call on me if you need saving." He added.
"Thanks."
"Don't worry about it. All part of being a teacher." That made it sound as though he offered unwillingly. She pouted and looked out the window.
After more rehearsals that she spent avoiding Jason's flirting as much as possible, she heard the words she'd dreaded. She'd managed to swerve around it every time, but now that Peter said it, there was no escaping it.
"Why don't we practice the kiss? We haven't done that yet." She looked at Jason, he 'seductively' pulled up a brow and made kissing movements with his lip.
"I bet it'll be more unique if we only do it during the actual performance!" She quickly said.
"She has a point." Professor Bates whispered to Peter. She could see him going over it in his head.
"Are you sure you could pull it off, miss Archer?" He asked. She nodded.
"Definitely, sir."
"Very well then, let's conclude this rehearsal." He stood. "I'll see you all tomorrow."
After not being able to sleep the entire night and the night before due to violent stomach aches and nightmares, she managed to get herself to school and into Professor Bates' classroom. She simply rested her forehead on her desk with a sigh. She was one of the first as always so that gave her some time until class would start.
"Miss Archer, that's no way to impress your teacher." She looked up, now leaning her chin on the desk. Professor Bates stood in front of her, trying hard to mask his worry with another cheeky smile.
"This isn't even my worst." She murmured, remembering how awful she'd felt last night.
"Come by after class, okay?" She gave a nod and went back to sulking on top of her desk.
She knocked on the door to his office and almost instantly received an answer. She went in and closed the door behind her, tiredly flopping down onto the chair after a few steps.
"So, what's wrong?" He asked as he put some papers on a neatly organized stack behind him and turned to her. She shrugged.
"I've been having nightmares and stomach aches for the past two nights."
"Any idea why?"
"Yeah, the nightmares make it quite clear." He pulled up a brow.
"And?"
"It's Jason's everything. I need to ... kiss that bear of a guy and thinking about it is making me feel sick." She folded her arms over her chest and scowled. "And the fact that my first kiss is going to be fake is driving me up the wall." She stood and threw her arms up in the air.
"Not like I can do anything about it anyway. Just deal with it, right?" She opened the door to walk out but it was pressed shut again. She turned around to find Professor Bates dangerously close to her. Without warning he leaned in and pressed his lips onto hers. His hand went up to her cheek as he smiled into it. After a solid minute during which she had been brain dead, he leaned back and grinned.
"There, all fixed." She opened and closed her mouth a few times like a fish on dry land before turning and running out the door.
Her nightmares had changed to not only be about Jason, but also about Professor Bates.
'I can't wrap my head around it.' She thought as she got off the bus. Everything he did made it look as though he liked her, but then the way he reacted afterwards made it look as though he was just messing with her. She shook the thoughts from her head and made her way to the theatre. Today was the day of the performance, the day she'd make not only her script writing debut, but her acting debut as well. Today was the day she'd kiss the bear that was Jason. She shook her head and realized that the nerves were getting to her as well.
'Please don't let me throw up on stage.' She prayed.
She went in through the stage entrance and walked to the clothing rack containing her costume.
"Good morning, Alice." Jason leaned on the rack from the other side.
"Morning, Jason." She turned around to head for the changing room, but he quickly followed.
"What's your issue with me, Alice?" He seemed angry.
"I don't have an issue with you , Jason."
"Then with what? Because this can't be your normal behavior." She halted and turned around to face him.
"It's nothing, I'm just not feeling all that great. It's new for me, script writing and then acting the lead on top of that." His expression softened.
"You're nervous? You should've told me! I have the perfect remedy for that." She pulled up a brow at him as he took the costume and hung it over a nearby chair. He then took her hand and held it between his own two hands.
"W-what're you-"
"Just hang on, let the magic do its work." She looked from him to her hand and back and found that the warmth of his hands actually did relax her ever so slightly.
"Woa, it's really working." She said once she could clearly feel it.
"Right?" He squeezed her hand slightly and his smile faded. "I probably tried too hard, didn't I?"
"What do you mean?"
"I like you, Alice. From the moment I saw you, I knew." He grimaced. "But I tried too hard to impress you, didn't I?" She suddenly felt super bad for avoiding him like she had.
"No such thing, Jason. Not at all, I just-"
"What are you two lollygagging about?" Professor Bates came rushing around the corner. "Let's get moving!" She looked at her hand and quickly pulled it back, looking at Jason.
"He's right, we'll continue this conversation another time, okay?" Jason gave a hopeful nod and went on his way. She grabbed the costume and quickly made her way to the changing room.
'Isn't this all too ironic?' She thought to herself as she wrestled herself into the costume.
'Well, if he's never going to take it seriously, there wouldn't be a problem, right?' But the question was whether or not he took it seriously, she simply couldn't tell. She shook her head and gently slapped her cheeks.
'Focus on the play, Alice!'
During break, she felt as though her heart would beat right out of her chest. Jason came up to her, smiling happily.
"You're doing great, Alice." He held out a glass. "Here, have a drink." She gratefully accepted it and took a sip.
"Thanks." She stared ahead and spotted Professor Bates squinting his eyes at her from around the corner. Next up was the part which she'd written especially for him. Her character's lines were not aimed at her antagonist, but at him. She hadn't written them with the idea that she would be saying the words herself, but that mattered little. Their meaning remained unchanged. The bell rang and she jumped to her feet, throwing a confident look towards Professor Bates before heading off to the main stage once more.
"How could you, Gaspard? How could you pretend not to know me when I was in such dire trouble?" She sobbed. She quickly looked at Professor Bates standing at the side of the stage, observing.
"Do I mean that little to you?! That you can cast me aside and pretend I am not there when it suits you? If this is love, then should it not be there always and not simply when it seems convenient?"
"Celine, you know that is not what I intended! If my father finds out about this he will do things I dare not speak of!"
"Then we should run. Run from this accursed place and find lives elsewhere, together."
"You are right, Celine. Tomorrow night will be the night. I will meet you by the forest edge." Gaspard turned to leave, but she stopped him.
"Gaspard, wait." He turned back. "A kiss to seal our promise." She gulped as Gaspard nodded, took her into his arms and pressed his lips onto hers. Even someone as inexperienced as herself could feel that this kiss was not acted, this was as real as a kiss could get. He pulled away and instantly resumed acting.
"Now go, Celine, lest they see you."
"Worry not, Gaspard, we will find a way." She said with a nod as she exited the stage.
The only thing for her to do now was get tied up to a pole and scream a little. Then her role would be over and done with. She headed to the pole and let the stage hands tie her up. Before long, the extra curtain was raised, revealing Celine on the pyre.
"Gaspard!" She screamed. "I am so sorry!"
"Celine!" Gaspard turned to his father. "Why would you do this, father?!"
"Restrain him." Several guards swarmed Gaspard and held him tight. "She is but a witch, son, a spell has been cast on you. What you feel is not real."
"No! Lies! This is real! Please don't do this! Celine!" His cries were drowned out by the sounds of fire and her own screams of pain. Then, she stopped mid-scream and the lights went out. She was quickly wheeled away to be replaced by a burnt pyre. She was quietly untied and took a deep breath. This concluded the play for her.
After the final bow, she got out of her costume and sighed.
"Alice? You coming for the after party?" Jason ran up to her.
"No, sorry, I think I'll call it a day. I could use the rest." He gave an understanding, but nonetheless sad nod.
"Oh okay." He cleared his throat. "So, about that conversation we had earlier. I wanted to-" He frowned at something behind her and as she turned to look, she saw a person with a monster face and a cape roaring at her. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she bolted out of the backstage area and into the rain outside.
She leaned against a lamppost and panted heavily. She was soaked and freezing.
"Alice." As she looked at the monster face, she had to suppress her flight reaction.
"Take it off." He did as asked and revealed the familiar face she'd looked at for over three years. A laugh escaped her.
"Alice, are you okay?" Maybe he was scared she'd finally lost it.
"You're certainly giving me interesting experiences for my writing, Professor."
"That's not-" She threw up her arms and turned to him.
"Isn't it? I really hate you, you know? So damn hard to read! You're so confusing!" She blurted everything out as tears burned in her eyes. He came closer, arms reaching out, hands shaking. Before she knew it she felt safe in his embrace.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. She pinched her eyes closed and put her arms around him, clutching the cape in her hands as she buried her face in his chest.
"Me too." She pushed him away and sneezed. He smiled kindly as he pulled her under his cape.
"Let's get somewhere dry."
His apartment was only a ten minute walk away, but she couldn't be happier when they arrived.
"Go take a shower. I'll prepare something to eat." He went into the kitchen and left her to her own devices as though she visited regularly. She located the bathroom and undressed, quickly stepping under the warm water. She was still in a daze over what'd happened. This was it. After everything she'd said, he still... She just kept smiling as she thought about it.
After a while, she'd warmed up enough and got out. Apparently, while she'd been spacing out in the shower, he'd left a fresh change of clothes for her. Her cheeks burnt a bright red as she thought of wearing his clothes and she decided to quickly get it over with before she would ignite.
"You done?" He asked from the kitchen.
"Y-yeah." She sat on the ground between the couch and the small table and inconspicuously looked around. It was a small and quite cozy apartment. Now that she thought about it, that was probably fitting.
"Here you go." He put two bowls down on the table in front of her. One with rice and the other with meat. "Eat up." She looked up and nodded humbly.
"Thank you." She took the rice bowl into her hand and started eating, noticing how he sat on the couch behind her, one leg on each side of her.
"You should dry your hair better." He mumbled as he took the towel that was on her shoulders and started drying her hair. She tried her best to eat without choking on it somewhere along the line.
"Great script, though, for the play." He remarked.
"It's probably a bit too cliched." She murmured as she took some of the meat. He grinned.
"Maybe just a bit. But that doesn't change that it was good, I was moved." She arched her neck backwards and looked at him with a frown.
"Moved?"
"Indeed, Celine's monologue was quite moving." She looked back and continued eating. "Almost as though she was talking about me." She quickly finished her dinner and put the bowl back on the table.
"Maybe she was."
"Then I'd better make sure that my Celine doesn't end up on the pyre." He pulled her up into his lap and put his arms around her. "Don't I?" He whispered in her ear. A shiver ran down her spine and she unwillingly let out a gasp.
"M-maybe she doesn't mind a little heat." She let out a shriek when she was suddenly pushed down onto the couch.
"You shouldn't say things like that. I might not be able to control myself." He said with a playful smile as he leaned down.
"Like I care." She said as she pulled him down by the collar of his shirt and kissed him as fiercely and as passionately as she could possibly manage.
"I have to warn you though." She leaned back to catch her breath.
"What about?" She smiled.
"I've never done this before."
"I'll teach you all about it."
~END