Chapter Text
“Ugh! Why is this day going by so fucking slow?!” Linas' best friend Maddie exclaimed dramatically, throwing her head back slightly. Lina smiled; she was amused by Maddie's dramatism. The school hallway was a bustling mess of students making their way to their next class. Maddie's remark was loud enough to catch the attention of students walking past, which earned them an attitude filled glare from Maddie.
“It’s almost over. Only two more classes to go.” Lina replied, patting Maddie on the shoulder, gaining back her attention. The girl rolled her eyes.
The girls made their way through the hall side by side. Lina was fidgeting with her new Tangle in her hand as Maddie looped her arm with Linas free one. The girls next class were on opposite ends of the hall, but Maddie always walked Lina halfway.
“If I didn't have math with Mr. Bloom for last period, I swear, I would skip out of here early every day.” Maddie stated.
Lina looked at her with a proud smile.
“See?! You found a positive. Hold onto that and you’ll make it through.” Lina replied, squeezing her arm supportively.
Maddie let out a sigh and laid her head on Linas's shoulder. Her teal hair now covering most of her face.
“I wish I could hold on to Mr. Bloom. Problem is…” Maddie stopped walking and turned Lina to face her. “.... where do I wanna grab hold first?” Maddie raised her eyebrows, followed with a smirk and a daydreamer's gaze. Lina rolls her eyes and continues walking.
“Try that and the only thing he’ll be holding onto will be the bars of his prison cell.” Lina said over her shoulder, trying to snap the girl out of her daze.
“Sounds hot.” Maddie remarked as she went to catch up with Lina, who was a few steps ahead now.
“You’re hopeless.” Lina laughed, stopping and turning back to look at Maddie.
Lina suddenly felt an arm around her shoulder that made her jump. She relaxed once she recognized the black, leather wrist cuff that was draped over her. A soft kiss was placed on her cheek and a happy, yet gruff voice spoke from next to her.
“Hey gorgeous.” CJ greeted Lina. The two had been dating for a bit now and she still got butterflies when he did that.
“Hey. Hopeless!” CJ greets Maddie as she caught up with them. Maddie flashed him a smile and a wink.
Lina can’t help but smile and lean in CJs side. He rested his chin on the top of her head and pulled her in closer. It didn’t take long for him to notice that Maddie was staring at them with a dopey smile.
“You too are so cute, it makes me wanna be in a relationship. Maybe I'll try my luck with a smart, older man. Maybe one into numbers. See you guys later!” Maddie walks away and leaves Lina chuckling and CJ confused.
“Do I wanna know what that was about?” He asks, looking down toward Lina.
“Nope. Trust me. I don’t even want to know.” Lina wraps her arms around his torso. She rises on her tiptoes and gives him a kiss. He gives a smile and kisses her back. They pull apart and CJ grabs hold of her hand, and they walk to their next class.
The young couple enter the English classroom. Most of the class has already arrived and are just hanging around each other's desks. Their teacher, Mrs. Jansen, wasn't in the room yet.
CJ walked with Lina to her desk and got her settled. She smiled at how sweet he was and always insisted that he didn’t have to do anything for her. He just always pretended not to hear her.
“I’m sorry,” he fairly apologized as he removed her backpack from her shoulder and hung it behind her chair “I didn’t catch that. I suffer from selective hearing loss” He licked his lips and gave her his charming smirk. This distracted her enough for him to take her Tangle from her hands and slid it into her backpack.
She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. He playfully put his hand on her face and pushed her into her seat. If anyone else had even tried to attempt this, Lina would have gone into a full-blown attack. CJ had her trust. In the Gallagher family that meant more than love.
He gave her a kiss on the top of her head and took his seat directly behind her. Just then, a woman they didn’t recognize walks into the classroom.
“All right, students, settle down now.” She addressed the classroom.
The rest of the class takes their seats. Linas shoulders tensed slightly. Substitute teachers were always a bit stressful for her. She never knew how a teacher would act toward her, especially if she was fidgeting or was overstimulated. She felt CJs hands on her shoulders and gave them a rub. She turned and gave him a small smile which was returned. Once the class was quiet the teacher began to speak.
“So unfortunately, Mrs. Jansen had to tend to a family emergency, so I’ll be taking over for her today. My name is Mrs. Hyles. Let’s see what your teacher planned for you today.” She opened a small paper file and took a moment to skim through it.
“Okay. Today you are to read chapters 8-11 of your assigned books. For those who have already accomplished their reading may work on their chapter worksheets or study for next week's exam. This means today will be an independent workday. Please start your assignments. I’ll be coming around to see what everyone is working on.” Her voice was very serious and no nonsense.
Silent class today equals headphones for Lina. The silent periods during classes always made her skin crawl and triggered her anxiety. Her ears would pick up on the smallest sounds and she would focus more on her surroundings then her work. Before she could reach around to her bag, CJ gave her a tap on her shoulder. He already got her headphones and was handing them to her. She smiled and accepted them, to which he responded with a wink. She put the headphones on and started on her work.
It wasn’t even a few minutes before a pair of hands waved in front of Linas face, catching her off guard. Lina looked up to see Mrs. Hyles was standing in front of her.
“There is a time and a place for those, and this is neither. Please remove them.” She told Lina, her voice very monotone.
“I’m sorry?” Lina asked, very confused. She has permission from the school to wear her headphones when she needs to. She was also allowed to have a stim toy out, as long as it was quiet. Surely the substitute was aware of this. Mrs. Jansen was the most understanding of all of Linas' teachers, so it was hard to believe that she wouldn’t have notified the sub.
“I need you to remove your headphones and focus on your work.” The substitute pointed at the worksheets that were very clearly being worked on.
Lina was focused on her work. If she took off her headphones, she knew what would happen. But did she try to tell Mrs. Hyles this? Did she obey her teachers' instructions? Did she say no? Lina started to rock a little in her seat when she felt his hand on her shoulder.
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“Excuse me? Hello?”
CJ looked up, hearing the substitute try to get someone’s attention. He got a confused look on his face when he saw Mrs. Hyles looking right at Lina. He watched as she went over to Lina and started waving her hand in her face.
CJ set his pencil down and never took his eyes off the teacher standing in front of his girlfriend. He saw that this sudden gesture startled Lina.
“There is a time and a place for those, and this is neither. Please remove them” Mrs. Hyles motioned to the headphones.
“I’m sorry?” Lina asked. CJ could hear that she was just as confused as he was.
“I need you to remove your headphones and focus on your work.” CJ watched as the sub pointed down at the worksheet. He leaned over and saw that Lina had more written on her worksheet in two minutes than he did, and they were doing the exact same assignment. His eyes went to Lina. He couldn’t see her face, but he could read her body language. He could see her stiffen up, her head slowly moving all around as if her eyes were darting all over the place. It was the moment he saw her start to rock that he decided to step in. CJ put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“She has accommodation to wear headphones.” CJ spoke up. Lina rocking stopped once his hand touched her. Mrs. Hyles looked at CJ with a puzzled look on her face.
“Accommodation for headphones?” she asked, as if it was the stupidest thing she had ever heard.
“Yes, Ma’am.” CJ responded as respectfully as he could muster.
She looked between the two and walked over to the desk and picked up a thin binder.
“What’s your name, young lady?” She asked while looking through the folder in her hands.
Mrs. Hyles looked right in Linas's direction. Her face looked impatient as she raised one of her brows. CJ opened his mouth to answer the teacher's question.
“Lina Gallagher” Lina beat him to it. She answered in a small voice.
The teacher took a moment and started skimming through the folder. By now most, if not all, of the class had tuned in to what was going on.
“Ah, here you are. Melina Blake Milkovich Gallagher” Mrs. Hyles started to read out loud in a tone that CJ was not at all a fan of.
“Ms. Gallagher, can you explain to me how those headphones are an accommodation for you?” She asked condescendingly.
CJ was bewildered. There was no way this woman was seriously asking this. Small whispers could be heard amongst some of their classmates.
“Um- -” Lina didn’t know what to say to that. Was she supposed to explain her problems to the entire class? It’s not like her autism was a secret, but it wasn’t something she openly talked about, unless someone asked her specific questions. But this, this just seemed like an inappropriate question to be asked in front of everyone.
“Don’t answer that.” CJ said, more sternly than intended. Leaving his seat, he knelt down next to Lina.
“Excuse me?” the teacher asked, surprised. She stood tall, a hand resting on her hip.
CJ looked straight at her and answered directly.
“I said she doesn’t need to answer that. Mrs. Jansen is one of the best teachers in this whole place. I’m sure everything you need to know about her accommodations and the reasons for them are all in that folder you're holding.” CJ motions towards the folder.
All the students now had eyes glued to them, the murmurs and whispers growing throughout the room.
“Is that so? What is your name, young man?” Mrs. Hyles glares at him.
“Christopher Joseph Bower.” he replied with a smirk. He looked at Lina and took her hand in his. Rubbing his thumb across the top. Lina had her head down and was only looking up slightly. She just wanted to hide away.
“Well, Mr. Bower. Ms. Gallagher. I do indeed see that accommodations are described here in great detail.” She closed the binder with some force and set it back down on the desk.
“However, I simply see this as an excuse to break school rules put in place for all the students. From what I can see, there are no physical limitations for Ms. Gallagher that would require the need for headphone use. And seeing that she is enrolled in this class and not a “specially” assigned English class, she is mentally capable of doing her work just as the rest of her classmates, who don't require the use of headphones to complete their assignments.” Her voice oozed with superiority. The class, now quiet, just watched the scene before them playout.
Mrs. Hyles' use of quotation marks when she said “specially assigned” brought a look of disbelief over CJs face. Lina didn’t think her head could get any lower. She stared down at the floor, taking small deep breaths. She couldn’t look around her. People were surely staring, and she knew the teacher was judging her.
“I’m going to ask you to return to your seat now Mr. Bower. And you, Ms. Gallagher. You are to remove the headphones and return to work, or I can write you up to your teacher and notify the principal.” She threatened the teens.
Lina squeezed CJs hand and looked at him. They both knew that, especially with this unnecessary drama, removing her headphones would without doubt lead to an attack. CJ squeezed her hand back, gave her a smile and nodded. He stood up and turned to his seat. Lina put her hands on her headphones and started to remove them.
“Thank you,” Mrs. Hyles had an almost victorious tone in her voice. “Class you may now return to your— what are you doing?!”
Mrs. Hyles directions to the class were cut short as she watched CJ grab his backpack and sling it over his shoulder. He grabbed Linas's bag as well and took her headphones from her hands. Lina looked at him confused as he put them back on her head. He grabbed both her hands and stood her up out of her seat.
“Oh, we’re leaving.” He said casually. Mrs. Hyles' eyes widened.
“I have not excused you from this class, now take your seats!” she started to raise her voice.
“CJ…” Lina started quietly. He simply put his hand to her face and looked at the now angry substitute.
“I’m not gonna allow you to use your borrowed authority over this class to bully her!” he raised his voice to match the teachers, which took her aback. “It’s people like you that make it harder for these kinds of accommodations to be taken seriously! So go ahead. Call the principal, our parents, and write your notes. I really don’t give a shit. We’re leaving this classroom because I’m not gonna let you put her through hell because you have an urge to judge a student to make yourself feel like a superior bitch!” CJs voice, which was usually soft and husky, was now deep and almost growling.
Mrs. Hyles was stunned. CJ grabbed Linas's hand and walked them out the door. A loud sound of applause and cheers could be heard from their classmates as they entered the hallway.
CJ chose to take Lina outside to get some fresh air before going to the front office. He immediately took her to the nearest bench and they both took a seat. Lina in any other situation, would have been in full panic attack because of what just happened. Since she had her headphones on most of the time it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
“You okay.” CJ asked her, his hand gently caressing her knee.
Lina nodded and slowly removed her headphones. She set them down next to her on the bench and started to pick at her nails.
“We’re gonna get in trouble.” She stated, her voice shaky. CJ edged a bit closer to her and laid his free hand on her lower back. Lina looked up at him.
“You? No. Me, maybe. At least for calling her a bitch. Mrs. Hyles, well, she’s definitely fucked.” He smiled proudly. CJ put his hand gently on her chin and pushed her head to look at him. His golden hazel eyes look directly into her bright blue eyes.
“No one's gonna treat you like that or put you in an uncomfortable situation while I'm around.” He assured her. Lina gave a smile. CJ loved her smiles. The freckles on her face would scrunch up and her singular dimple would make an appearance. He would tell off the whole world if that meant he got one of those smiles.
“May I?” he asked, still holding her chin.
Lina knew what he was asking and responded by leaning into the kiss first. His lips were soft and gentle as can be. He was always careful with her. This lasted for a few moments until CJ pulled away.
“All right, gorgeous. I think your school day has come to an end. We should head up to the office and let them know what happened. But first.” CJ paused for a moment and reached into the pocket of his jeans.
“Who’s it gonna be?” CJ opened up the contacts on his phone and waited for Lina to give him an answer. Lina sighed and looked at him annoyed, he simply responded by raising his eyebrows and giving her a stupid smile.
“I mean I can pick for you if you want. The other option would be to let Mr. Farris decide.” Lina glared at him. She already knew that she didn’t really have a choice in the matter.
“You’re such an ass.” She shook her head and poked him in the shoulder.
“Yup!” he exclaimed with pride, bringing his phone up to his ear as he called upon one of her dads to come down to the school.
Regardless of who it was being called, it was gonna be one hell of a show when they got there.