[ She holds up a finger to demand a moment. There's a few more adjustments she makes with her fingers and pencil.] It's rough but it's just about done. [ And after another few swipes of her fingers, she moves to stand, adjusting the page, approaching him and turning the sketch pad to show him.
The sketch is of a unicorn, but there's color on it so obviously, she's showing him an old sketch as a joke.]
Just kidding, [ she pulls out the real sketch pad from beneath it and shows him a pretty damn good likeness.]
[ He barks out a laugh, looking up at her. ] I wish I was that charming looking.
[ He stands when she shows him the actual sketch, letting out a low whistle. Curious fingers reach out, but he stops himself short of touching it, not wanting to smudge anything or ruin it. ]
[ He doesn't want to seem vain, but he kinda knew already that he is conventionally attractive, and he works out enough to maintain a good body. Still, he shrugs one shoulder as he looks at her, holding the sketchpad. Right now, he prefers looking at her than looking at himself. ]
It's not the same as someone else telling you. [ He turns the pad to her. She's showing him with her art. ]
[ He takes a sharp breath, reaching out again, this time his fingers brushing her wrist, before he drops his hand, feeling like his fingertips are burning. ]
Well, so are you.
[ He swallows. He's dancing well over that line he thought was firmly set in his head. ]
No, keep it. Might help you remember to do your homework.
[ Her eyes flutter a little when he touches her, it's a curious thing and she glances at him when he tells her that she's also hot.] Maybe.
[ She isn't insecure so much as skeptical as to how hot she might be to him, specifically. But at his next words, she laughs.] I'll frame and it hang it over my bed like some kind of Virgin Mary thing. A reminder to behave myself.
[ It's funny, how sometimes he doesn't even have to pull into his endless pool of electrical energy to feel it rushing through his veins. Touching her was like an electric shock, the kind that makes him feel more awake. ]
D'you think I'm anything like the Virgin Mary? [ He doesn't mean it to sound as flirtatious as it comes out, but. Here it is. ]
I don't know, are you? [ She flirts back, whether he meant it to be that or not. ] I mean, you're definitely a lot hotter with your shirt off, I think.
[ He takes a tiny step closer, looking down at Charlie. He's extremely gentle when he reaches out, tipping her chin up with a finger. He feels the electricity again, warm through his hand, down his arm. ]
I'm pretty far from being anything like the Virgin Mary, Charlie.
I lean towards guys most of the time. [ Her heart skips two beats when he reaches out and tilts her chin upward. She half expects him to... well, she honestly doesn't know. He doesn't seem like the lurid, reckless sort of guy, which means, as a teacher, he wouldn't be going after a student so easily.]
So am I, [ she murmurs, looking up at him, almost defiantly, daring him to prove it but not doing anything to coax him towards that action.]
[ He swallows hard again, feeling like there's a massive lump in his throat making it difficult. He keeps his finger on her chin for a moment, feeling the heat of her. ]
I - [ He stops himself before he starts leaning in. He wants to, wants to, but it's - fuck. He pulls back, hand dropping back to his side. ]
Fuck, [ he says out loud, heartfelt. ] I - this would be a mistake.
[ Blinking rapidly at his mini-breakdown, she takes a step back, folding the sketch pad closed as she avoids his gaze.]
I'm not... [ She squares her jaw a bit, lifting her chin to look at him.] I'm not interested making you 'stumble' or playing some kind of Lolita. [ She doesn't want to be with someone who's going to feel guilty about it.]
I'm interested in... you. [ Her brow furrows. She was, honestly, tired of being the side-piece or the dirty-little-secret. She's interested in being someone's someone. But she doesn't say that either.]
I think you're hot and captivating. And I wouldn't mind hanging out more but not if you're going to feel bad about it, about yourself. It doesn't have to be a thing.
[ He licks his lips as he takes in what Charlie tells him, letting the words roll around in his head for a moment. He might be a fucking genius, but that's only when physics are involved. When it comes to people, he's fucking terrible. ]
I'm not sure I'd be able to resist wanting you, resist wanting a thing. [ He's only just a man, after all. A man with superpowers, but still just a man.
And he doesn't want to feel bad about himself, either, but that's a mental hurdle that's for him to figure out. ]
You're fascinating, and beautiful. Believe me, staying a foot away from you is taking all my willpower. I just - don't want to take advantage.
[ So that's a bit of a stroke to her ego, to be honest. Being told that she's hard to resist, that she's... want-worthy. It wasn't as though her other lovers didn't make her feel that way, Knox and Arel and Jay all made it pretty damn clear that she was desirable, that she turned them on. But there's something different about him saying it.
His words make her lips curve upward a bit, hugging the sketch pad to her chest a bit more.]
You're not taking advantage but if you want be just friends, I'm okay with that too. [ It's a speech she's quite good at by now. However, that truth might change in the future.] Or we can just ignore each other in the hall and super awkward.
It would be. For the best. To be friends, that is.
[ He doesn't like the solution of ignoring each other, and he doesn't want to play that game. ]
How can you say I'm not taking advantage? I'm your teacher. I have a say on your future. I've got more life experience. [ Ah! Such a bullshitter. ] I could - manipulate you into doing what I want.
[ It'd be so, so easy for him to get in contact with her father. She doesn't have a clue. He feels horrible just thinking it. ]
How do you know you can trust me? That I'm your friend?
[ It hurts, to say the words, but he needs her to be 100% certain of what she's doing. ]
I'm playing devil's advocate, here. It's not like - I want to do any of these things. And I'm amazed at how self-confident and self-possessed you are, honestly? It's fucking sexy as hell. But I just want to be sure you know what you're getting into.
[ He pauses, licks his lips. ] Because as much as I say it'd be best if we were staying friends, I don't know when I'll change my mind. Because I like you.
I don't know that. I just have to trust my instincts. [ She shrugs a little.] It's not like I haven't been hurt before. [ It was before coming here but...] I'm not naive and I've been taking care of myself in one way or another for a while. [ She's not a little orphan Annie or something, she has family but she's been independent for a while.]
I may not be from 'the streets' or something rough like that but I'm also not some sheltered little girl. [ She walks back to the easel, setting down the sketch pad and pencil.] And I can just tell... look at the way you're acting right now. [ She waves her hand in his direction.] You're trying to do what you think is the 'right thing' by me. So if there's something I need to know about you, I'm hoping you'd tell me now or eventually.
[ He runs his tongue over his teeth, weighing pros and cons. Maybe trust has to start somewhere. ]
Okay. Okay, you want to know? [ He holds his arms out, realizing he's still shirtless. ]
I'm a criminal. The Headmaster scooped me up after I got freed from jail. I was in prison for two years, and that's where I got my teacher's degree. I'm not - a good guy, or anything. I'm shitty and I got too smug and I flew too close to the sun and got myself got.
[ He says it all out in a rush of breath, feeling his cheeks flush. ]
I'm not from the streets either. I'm just not a great person, and I don't want to hurt you.
[ For a moment, she eyes him, also she's actually checking him for prison tats or some glaring scars or something that should make her afraid of him. And she hadn't noticed anything while drawing him.]
You left out what you went to prison for... [ Again, she makes a fairly safe assumption that the headmaster wouldn't have hired someone really dangerous, someone who had done something to harm someone...]
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[ He smiles brighter, his eyes moving to her easel. ] How's it looking?
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The sketch is of a unicorn, but there's color on it so obviously, she's showing him an old sketch as a joke.]
Just kidding, [ she pulls out the real sketch pad from beneath it and shows him a pretty damn good likeness.]
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[ He stands when she shows him the actual sketch, letting out a low whistle. Curious fingers reach out, but he stops himself short of touching it, not wanting to smudge anything or ruin it. ]
Well, would you look at that. I'm hot.
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It's not the same as someone else telling you. [ He turns the pad to her. She's showing him with her art. ]
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Do you want it?
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Well, so are you.
[ He swallows. He's dancing well over that line he thought was firmly set in his head. ]
No, keep it. Might help you remember to do your homework.
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[ She isn't insecure so much as skeptical as to how hot she might be to him, specifically. But at his next words, she laughs.] I'll frame and it hang it over my bed like some kind of Virgin Mary thing. A reminder to behave myself.
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D'you think I'm anything like the Virgin Mary? [ He doesn't mean it to sound as flirtatious as it comes out, but. Here it is. ]
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[ He takes a tiny step closer, looking down at Charlie. He's extremely gentle when he reaches out, tipping her chin up with a finger. He feels the electricity again, warm through his hand, down his arm. ]
I'm pretty far from being anything like the Virgin Mary, Charlie.
[ Too far in to abort now, probably. ]
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So am I, [ she murmurs, looking up at him, almost defiantly, daring him to prove it but not doing anything to coax him towards that action.]
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I - [ He stops himself before he starts leaning in. He wants to, wants to, but it's - fuck. He pulls back, hand dropping back to his side. ]
Fuck, [ he says out loud, heartfelt. ] I - this would be a mistake.
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I'm not... [ She squares her jaw a bit, lifting her chin to look at him.] I'm not interested making you 'stumble' or playing some kind of Lolita. [ She doesn't want to be with someone who's going to feel guilty about it.]
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Then what - are you interested in? [ Might as well get it out in the open. ]
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I think you're hot and captivating. And I wouldn't mind hanging out more but not if you're going to feel bad about it, about yourself. It doesn't have to be a thing.
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I'm not sure I'd be able to resist wanting you, resist wanting a thing. [ He's only just a man, after all. A man with superpowers, but still just a man.
And he doesn't want to feel bad about himself, either, but that's a mental hurdle that's for him to figure out. ]
You're fascinating, and beautiful. Believe me, staying a foot away from you is taking all my willpower. I just - don't want to take advantage.
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His words make her lips curve upward a bit, hugging the sketch pad to her chest a bit more.]
You're not taking advantage but if you want be just friends, I'm okay with that too. [ It's a speech she's quite good at by now. However, that truth might change in the future.] Or we can just ignore each other in the hall and super awkward.
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[ He doesn't like the solution of ignoring each other, and he doesn't want to play that game. ]
How can you say I'm not taking advantage? I'm your teacher. I have a say on your future. I've got more life experience. [ Ah! Such a bullshitter. ] I could - manipulate you into doing what I want.
[ It'd be so, so easy for him to get in contact with her father. She doesn't have a clue. He feels horrible just thinking it. ]
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[ Pause.] Friends don't let friends manipulate them.
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[ It hurts, to say the words, but he needs her to be 100% certain of what she's doing. ]
I'm playing devil's advocate, here. It's not like - I want to do any of these things. And I'm amazed at how self-confident and self-possessed you are, honestly? It's fucking sexy as hell. But I just want to be sure you know what you're getting into.
[ He pauses, licks his lips. ] Because as much as I say it'd be best if we were staying friends, I don't know when I'll change my mind. Because I like you.
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I may not be from 'the streets' or something rough like that but I'm also not some sheltered little girl. [ She walks back to the easel, setting down the sketch pad and pencil.] And I can just tell... look at the way you're acting right now. [ She waves her hand in his direction.] You're trying to do what you think is the 'right thing' by me. So if there's something I need to know about you, I'm hoping you'd tell me now or eventually.
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Okay. Okay, you want to know? [ He holds his arms out, realizing he's still shirtless. ]
I'm a criminal. The Headmaster scooped me up after I got freed from jail. I was in prison for two years, and that's where I got my teacher's degree. I'm not - a good guy, or anything. I'm shitty and I got too smug and I flew too close to the sun and got myself got.
[ He says it all out in a rush of breath, feeling his cheeks flush. ]
I'm not from the streets either. I'm just not a great person, and I don't want to hurt you.
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You left out what you went to prison for... [ Again, she makes a fairly safe assumption that the headmaster wouldn't have hired someone really dangerous, someone who had done something to harm someone...]
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[ He ended up in a white collar prison. Not the kind of place you get prison tattoos. ]
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