Chapter Text
This has to be the last time.
Emmett Forrest knows he’s been pushing it, and he’s not exactly sure why. Like most ethical quandaries, this one is a matter of degrees: two or three study sessions? No problem. Four or five? Pushing the bounds of propriety.
They’re on number seven, in less than two weeks, and he doesn’t know why he’s here again. It is gratifying, watching a student improve so quickly and diligently, but it still seems like Elle Woods is going to flunk out of her year; she’s just that far behind.
It has absolutely nothing to do with how attractive she is physically; he’s searched his soul and knows that to be true. Honestly, how she looks is actually the problem; being seen with her could pose some issues. Harvard’s Law department is full of hissing vipers, all of whom would love to hold an ethical violation, or the appearance of one, over a TA’s head.
He realises it’s probably because Malibu Barbie threw herself into that den of snakes that he’s here, again, when he shouldn’t be; it’s hard to abandon her to them. Even he hadn’t been this naive in his first year, and he’d still had a rough time.
He needs to tell her he can’t do this again, but he’s dreading watching her overly-expressive face fall. Still, Emmett steels himself and turns to let the poor kid down easy.
She’s asleep, drooling lightly, face mashed into her very expensive contract law textbook, sprawled across her bed.
Don’t fall asleep with strange men in your room!
Can he just leave quietly? It’s too easy an excuse; Emmett knows he can’t keep delaying this. He needs to cut the girl off.
“Elle. Wake up. I can’t leave with the door unlocked.”
“Wh- Oh, whoops! Thanks!” She yawns, stretching, displaying the entirety of her legs and a bit of stomach. Emmett quickly looks up at the ceiling. “I don’t know how you keep this sleep schedule, I keep crashing. You really don’t like energy drinks?”
He checks peripherally; she’s sitting in a safer position. “They’re expensive. I stick to staff room coffee, it’s free.”
It’s not his place, but he has to say it. “You really shouldn’t fall asleep with a stranger in the room, Elle.”
She giggles, but has the good grace to look embarrassed. “You just have total Kate vibes. I already trust you.”
“I have ‘Kate’ vibes? What?”
Elle’s eyes fill with distant longing. “She’s my sorority junior; I actually thought she might be the next Delta Nu president, but she's applying for Stanford Law a year early! She’s a total genius, she raised my LSAT score by 60 points in a month, she skipped the whole spring party season for me. Aw, my little Katie...” She puts her hands over her heart and sways.
He can’t help but laugh. “I thought you only swooned like that for Warner.”
“I have a lot of love in me, Emmett Forrest! Oh my god, when she pledged in first year, she was so shy...”
It’s inevitable, watching her tell stories about her friend, affection spilling out of her. He’s charmed.
Have I ever loved anyone like that? Mom, for sure. When was the last time I talked about who she is, like Elle’s doing, instead of what I owe her?
“...she was even brave enough to be February in the last calendar! I was so proud of her!”
“… What?”
Elle jumps up, going into her closet and grabbing a bright pink box; across the top, in cursive rhinestones, the word Memories is written. She rummages for a moment before pulling out a calendar emblazoned with “The Girls of UCLA”, finds a photo, briefly hugs the calendar to her chest lovingly, then shows it to him.
Thankfully, the girl in it is fully clothed; she’s dressed as a hybrid teacher-librarian, glaring at the camera with a strict expression.
“Didn’t she do a great job? Hot, right?”
“Um… sure.”
“Do you want to see mine?”
Emmett’s gaze returns to the ceiling. “Nope, all good!”
“I worked really hard for it. The swimsuit months are super high-pressure, but I felt like it was my responsibility as President.”
He recalls the ethical issue he’d been pondering before he’d woken Elle up. Somehow it seems like he’s put himself into the opening of a badly written porn movie since then.
“I don’t want to see one of my students in a swimsuit, Elle, it’s a little degrading for my taste.”
The temperature of the room drops.
“Degrading, huh. You know we raised 8000$ for charity with these?”
“Uh- no, I didn’t mean-”
“I thought you were, like, a smart guy. Hey, if first-year law material is below you...” Elle stomps to her closet, angrily rummaging at the bottom, and shoves a stack of stapled papers at him. “Here, some undergrad readings, Gender Studies 101.”
“Elle, that was beyond out of line. I’m sorry.”
She crosses her arms. “Well, you know, try opening a book for once and maybe I’ll forgive you. You can go.”
She huffily sits back down in bed, raising her textbook so all he can see of her face is an angrily red forehead.
He awkwardly shuffles the papers into his bag; well, any hope of breaking off their study sessions has certainly passed. At this moment, he’s feeling like enough of a chauvinist patriarchal pig that he owes her a couple more.
“Sorry, Elle. I’ll come by tomorrow, at six?”
“Sure. Don’t forget to do your readings, Forrest comma Emmett.”