[ Charle's not that kind of girl. She doesn't pick fights for the sake of having one. If anything, she avoids them as much as she can. She hides and ignores and deflects. That's her specialty.

Her mouth twists as he corrects her and she blinks rapidly because tears suddenly want to fall and she refuses to let them fall in front of him or anyone else. She's already been someone's'fucking bad idea' before and for some reason, instead of it being a turn on or hot, it really, really stings.

Which is ridiculous, this is just a fling. This is just a teacher making himself happy with a student and it'll end soon enough, right? This shouldn't matter to her. This shouldn't be any different than Knox or Jay or anyone else she's hooked up with. This shouldn't hurt any more than Arel's kind let down had. And yet, it does and her mouth presses together for a moment.]

I'm sorry, [ she says quietly, moving to sit back on her bed like her body weighs a hundred pounds more than it does.] I'm just... tired and feeling raw here. And I'm not asking you to put anything on the line for whatever this is between us. I'll never ask you that. [ That is, at least, while she tries to convince herself this is a casual hookup.] I'm not that kind of person.