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The corridor on the second floor had always been empty.
Students and staff alike never used it, it was faster to just walk across the gardens.
So the corridor mostly remained empty.
That was, until Eden Academy’s most infamous duo—and the school’s favorite subject of gossip—finally stopped denying the obvious and started dating.
And after you've confessed after a decade of stupid bickering, lingering glances, and sheer stubbornness, letting out all those pent up feelings, it becomes really hard to keep your hands off of each other.
But when you attend the most prestigious school in the country and are also elite scholars under constant spotlight, getting caught for PDA does not bode a good impression. It’ll birth a scandal the rumor mill will never let die. Even if your best friend is the one who runs said rumor mill. (which she does)
So, they mastered stealth.
Holding hands under their capes, footsies under the table, a wandering hand on a thigh, or a ‘platonic’ side hug that lasted a little too long.
But there was so much they could restrain themselves too. Their hearts yearned for each other. Aching for something real.
Sometimes Damian would catch himself staring at her, which made him just want to pull her close and not care who saw. Consequences be damned. The image always made Anya’s face hot.
And she felt equally as drawn to him. She wanted to bury her face in his chest and never let go. It felt like he made all her problems go away.
During their library sessions, which were getting less and less frequent as their responsibilities increased, she would rest her head on his shoulder as he placed his chin on her head. It’s like their bodies were molded for each other. That was risky too, but the librarian would turn a blind eye most times. (as long as they didn’t try anything.)
The real torture, however, was the kissing.
They had been lucky that a teacher hadn’t caught them during their first kiss. (first two technically.)
Yet, kissing on campus was like playing with fire. There were always staff and other scholars patrolling the hallways. And there was a chance that a student might tell on them.
Even sneaking a peck on the cheek here and would put them on thin ice.
So, when they actually got a chance, they weren't letting it go to waste.
They had a Scholar’s meeting which ended early. They had time on their hands before they needed to get to class. And Damian hadn’t hesitated. He had taken Anya by the wrist, pulled her into the deserted second-floor corridor.
Pressed against the cool stone wall, the rest of the world ceased to exist for them.
Her hands were on his nape as his circled her waist. Their lips were locked in a deep, feverish rhythm—urgent, hungry, and full of the desperation they had been forced to suppress. Neither wanted to pull away. So engrossed in it that even breathing felt like a waste of time.
Damian trailed the warm tip of his tongue along the delicate seam of her lips. Anya complied, parting her lips to let him push deeper as they deepened the kiss.
Damian’s thoughts were like saccharine. Dizzyingly sweet. Worshipping the feel of Anya’s pillowy lips on him.
So soft. So sweet. Never want to stop. Never want to let go…
And Anya wasn’t thinking at all. Her mind was blank save for Damian’s thoughts which floated in, her head spinning from the taste of him.
They separated for a moment to breathe. Faces flushed. Anya couldn’t help but giggle.
Damian blinked, as his brow furrowed. “Why are you laughing?”
“It’s just that we’re doing this when we busted two students for the same thing yesterday.”
Yes, yesterday. That’s how they came to learn about this place. The irony of it was ridiculous, really. Two eight graders were making out in here and they walked in on them. (while attempting to sneak away somewhere themselves, but that’s not important.) They had let them off with just a warning, not wanting to escalate the situation as it may backfire on them as to why the two of them were wandering abandoned routes together.
Anya had expected Damian to smirk or roll his eyes at that. He didn't.
Damian didn’t laugh at it. Instead he stepped even closer to her and closed what little distance remained between them. So close that she could feel his body heat. He reached up his hand and cupped her cheek.
His breath ghosted her lips as he said, “It’s not the same. I’m not fooling around with you.”
Those words hung in the narrow space between them, which made Anya’s face turn red, even more than it was from the intense make-out session just now. Her heart did a flip behind her ribs.
But she didn’t reply, she couldn’t. And Damian didn't wait for an answer. He leaned back in. Their hands tangled in each other’s hair this time.
The desperate pace from earlier melted into something slower and sweeter. Damian pulled back just enough to press tiny pecks to the corner of her mouth, kissing along her jaw as he trailed down to her exposed neck. He pressed down on that one spot that made her whimper.
So good… Feels so good…
They were lost in the feeling for a long time. The world around them silenced itself. It was just them in the warmth of each other’s arms.
Neither wanted to let go of the feeling. They wanted to stay like this forever and—
Not there as well,
Anya’s eyes snapped open in terror. Someone was coming their way. Was it a teacher? Another student? One of their friends?
I should check in the west wing.
Oh no. This wasn’t a teacher or a student. This was a thousand times worse.
The scholar meetings ended thirty minutes ago and neither of them are in class yet—
Papa.
It was her father. On one of the building rooftops. Looking for her.
And here she was. Skipping class. Making out with her boyfriend.
Her eyes widened in horror. She released his head and pushed him back, detaching him from where he was latched onto on her collarbone.
“What the–?”
“Umm, we should get back to class.” Anya squeaked. “I-I have math after this. Don’t want to be late.”
She grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the main building with her.
Damian was utterly bewildered by his girlfriend’s erratic behavior. With his heart still pounding from their kiss, his mind immediately leaped off a cliff into the worst possible conclusions.
What happened all of a sudden? Since when has she been excited about class. That too math out of all things. She is hiding something.
Did I do something wrong? Did she not like it? Did I hurt her? Oh god, am I a bad kisser? Well how am I supposed to know what to do? I’ve only ever kissed twice before. Wait, how does she know if I’m a bad kisser? Has she kissed someone else before? While I was still stupidly curled up about everything? No, she couldn’t have… could she—?
Anya's head hurt from that. She wanted to turn around and smooch some sense into him. But weighing her problems, she decided her rooftop spy father held higher priority than her spiraling boyfriend.
She turned the corner and immediately picked up the signal again.
There they are. Looks like they’re going towards their classes. That’s good. Wait…
Her heart stilled. Yet, she still kept walking. After all, a nervous spy is a dead one. He himself had taught her. (mentally of course.)
Are they– holding hands? In school premises?
She exhaled a breath. Though she still kept moving forward lest she aroused his suspicion.
And why is her hair so messy? Was she running in corridors again? Desmond’s is too, but it isn’t like him to indulge in such activities. She must have coaxed the boy into joining her childish antics.
Twilight made a mental note to disguise himself as a teacher and give them a warning about decorum. Loid Forger decided to have a talk with his daughter about Eden etiquette.
He left after he was satisfied with what he saw. Anya let out a sigh of relief.
But, someone was still restless. Damian’s mind had been going round and round about why Anya pushed him away. (Drama queen. She just saved your life dammit.)
But Anya was not in a state to console him right now. It’s fine. She’ll just pull him into an empty classroom later and kiss his worries away.