Stories For the Damned

Sarah x Ms. A - Fluff -

A/n - This takes place somewhere between chapter 2 and 3

"Hey," I said, leaning against the door frame to Chase's classroom.

It was after school hours and she had stayed late to grade papers, when I decided to hang around school until nearly everyone else had left, save for a few Janitors. 

"Sarah." She said looking up from her work. She seemed surprised. "What uh- what are you doing here so late?" She stood quickly and walked to where I was. "Do you need help with an assignment?" She said loudly, in case anyone was nearby. I chuckled and walked past her into the room as she quickly scanned the hallway for anyone else before closing the door and locking it. She then covered the little window on the door with a sheet of paper for extra privacy. 

I leaned against one of the desks in the front row of the room, a couple of feet away from her desk. "Are you done?" I said raising an eyebrow at her extra caution. 

"Am I done-?" She laughed in disbelief at my nonchalant attitude towards the current situation. "Why didn't you text me and say you wanted to meet? We could have always gone to my place if you wanted to...y'know." she went back to her desk and leaned against the front of it, mirroring my position.

She was right. I usually would have texted her if I needed her 'help' but I could tell something was off about her today. "Are you alright?" I said looking her up and down. Her shirt was all wrinkled with a noticeable coffee stain while her fingers tapped rapidly against her desk. Yes, something was up. She usually wasn't this...nervous. 

"I'm fine." She said with a grunt. Not bothering to look me in the eye as she spoke. For a moment we both listened to the sound of her fingers making a random beat against her desk. Obviously, she didn't want to go outright and say what was bothering her.

I sighed and studied her face as she looked at the floor. She had bags under her eyes as if she had barely gotten any sleep. "You look stressed," I said honestly. 

She looked up at me, meeting my gaze before looking away at something else. "Yeah well, work, y'know." She said as if that explained everything. 

"You wanna talk about it?" I said. 

She scoffed slightly and cleared her throat, quickly focusing her gaze on something else. Her voice cracked as she said "No." So she said it again as if that would help convince me that everything was okay. She honestly sounded like she was about to cry and it sort of made my heartache. I just wanted her to be okay.

She still didn't look at me as I got off of the desk and walked forward towards her.

When I stood before her I paused for a minute before wrapping my arms around her in a hug. At once the tapping that had once filled the room ceased as she lifted her hands slightly, unsure for a moment before hugging me back.

I closed my eyes and fully leaned into her, resting my head on her. She did the same, resting her head on my shoulder, shifting and hiding her face in the crook of my neck. 

We didn't say anything for a while. I just listened to the sound of her breathing, feeling her relax into me. Feeling her chest rise and fall with each breath. 

I wasn't going to force her to talk about whatever was bothering her if she didn't want to, so I opted to hold her as long as she wanted until she calmed down a bit more. I rubbed small circles on her back with my fingers, humming softly. 

"I was worried, about the company." She said quietly. I listened to her speak. "It's just some rival place, trying to stir up trouble I guess I...I was just worried."

"Oh..." I said quietly. My fingers continued to massage circles on her back.

After some more time passed she whispered "Thank you."

I pulled away so that I could look her in the eyes. She still looked tired but she also looked... relieved. I think she just needed to talk to someone.

I reached up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, then leaned in and kissed her. "Of course," I said pulling away. "I'm always here for you."