Teacher's Pet

.:Chapter Three:.

The weeks passed quickly, and with each passing day, Brian and Zacky grew closer. They talked at lunch every day, before class every morning, and soon enough, Mrs. Albright took her time off to give birth, leaving Brian to teach the class all by himself.

The tardy bell rang in the hallway, and the entire classroom was filled with with students, but Brian was nowhere to be seen. Where is he..? Zacky couldn't help wondering, tapping his fingers on his desk mindlessly. A few more minutes passed, and there was a quiet murmur among the students, when suddenly, the classroom door opened and closed swiftly.

"Sorry, class!" Brian's deep voice rang through the air; when Zacky looked up from his desk, he took in the sight of a disheveled Brian. His feathery black hair was pulled back in a loose and sloppy ponytail, his shirt was wrinkled and tucked into his jeans every which way, and his tie was barely hanging on with a loose windsor knot; his smile, however, was as charming as ever. "My alarm didn't go off until thirty minutes ago.. Great first impression on you guys, right?" He chuckled nervously.

Zacky began to giggle, resting his head on his desk and folding his arms in front of his head in an attempt to stifle his giggles; Brian was just too adorably nervous. Brian flashed a warm smile in his direction before he sat down in his seat, picking up a book that rested on the desk. When Zacky was done giggling, he raised his head and locked his piercing hazel gaze on Brian, his eyes bright and expectant; a stark contrast to the way he usually was in the mornings.

"Alright, now, today we're going to be learning about William Shakespeare." A loud, collective groan echoed through the entire classroom. "Hey, hey! This could be fun, if you make it that way. You don't play guitar with stiff hands and fingers, do you? No! You have to feel it," He shook his fist for emphasis, earning a smile from Zacky. "You have to move with your guitar, otherwise your music won't be any good. The same rule applies to reading poetry."

Brian opened the book in his hands, scanning the pages with his lips slightly pursed together. "Alright, here it is. I'm going to read a sonnet, and for now, you all just listen." He drew in a deep breath, and then began reading.

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his be 

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

Brian's soft lips barely moved as he spoke with grace, his deep voice drifting through the entire classroom like a warm summer breeze. When he finished, he looked up, his gaze locking on Zacky's innocent face, and only one thought came to his mind.

He was in love with his student.