Falling For My Teacher

3:Secrets

"Hi," I said standing at Niall's front door. He moved so I could walk in. I stood there awkwardly as he closed the door behind us. Standing there, we both stood in silence until he pulled me into a hug. His smile was so charming and mesmerizing. It gave me such a warm feeling in my stomach.

When I walked into his kitchen he had set up a small dining table with a bouquet of flowers in the middle. "I got these for you. I didn't know what flowers you like so I went with the basic red roses." He seemed so nervous. It was kind of adorable.

"Thank you," I smiled, glancing around the room. It was kind of an awkward feeling lingering in the room. We were both nervous even though we shouldn't be. I mean, when we first met, it felt so right, so normal to be kissing him.

"I'm sorry," he said, pulling out my chair. We don't want dinner to get cold now do we?" I thanked him once again and sat down in my seat. Niall barley said anything to me as we sat there. There was some sort of tension in the room.

"Niall-"

"I'm sorry, I'm just really nervous." He chuckled. He started to play with his pasta, eyes never leaving his plate.

"You weren't nervous when you kissed me the first time we met," I stated, trying my best to sound bothered. I was bothered. I was upset. Was something wrong? Was Niall rethinking his decision? Did I just make a huge mistake?

Niall let out a huge breath before he spoke again. "They had a teacher meeting today after school and it was just your teachers." I could feel myself choke up. "They started off about by saying we all needed to keep an eye on you and your grades. The other teachers seemed to know what was going on but as for me? I had no clue. So I asked what they were talking about and.... Who was Jalen, Ryan?" I didn't know what to say. I was at a loss of words. I felt like I didn't know Niall well enough to tell him about such a traumatic experience. He could tell I was nervous. I really could not form words. "Ryan, I'm not only your teacher but I am someone who is becoming very fond of you. If you were to be hurt again, I would like for you to feel comfortable enough to come and talk to me."

I didn't know if I could go through with this. It was still so fresh in my mind. What do I say? Do I tell him the truth or do I tiptoe around it? Who am I kidding, he knows! Of course he does. My parents had informed the school board of my situation so I knew for a fact he knew. I just decided to come out and say it myself. "He's my ex boyfriend." I clutched to my shirt and twiddled with my thumbs at the same time. I tried to choke back tears but I knew they would fall sooner than later. "We dated for a year and we had gotten pretty serious. About six months into the relationship and he started showing signs of aggression and me being me, I though I could help him but..."

"Did he really hurt you Ryan?" A tear had fallen down my cheek.

"He hit me. A lot. At times he would purposely have me come over just so he could tell me how stupid I was and that it was my fault he was messed up. That it was my fault he was hitting me. He then told me if I was to leave him, he would kill me." Niall got out of his seat and kneeled down in front of me. He took hold of my hands, trying to get me to make eye contact. "Finally, I had come home after escaping from his house and I called the cops. My mom is a cop so as soon as she heard what was happening, she took action and now... I don't know where he is." Niall tried so hard to make eye contact with me but I just couldn't face him. Finally, he lifted my chin so that my tear filled eyes met his. His eyes were glossy, a tear gently rolling down his cheek.

"No one deserves that," he finally spoke softly. "No one should go through what you had to go through." I couldn't' speak.

"Niall, I loved him. Even after what he did to me, I still loved him. I believed it was my fault and-"

"Shh shh," Niall whispered, bringing me into his arms. "You don't need to explain yourself darling." I held onto him for dear life. He ended up picking me up and laying me down on the couch. "You can stay here tonight okay? I will watch over you." He kissed my forehead and left to room to soon come back with a blanket. And with that, I had passed out.

I woke up with a clap of thunder, jolting me from my sleep. I was lying on the couch I fell asleep on, blanket over me with music playing softly in the background. It was dark but I knew I was at Niall's. But one thing was, I hated when it rained. Rain brought thunder. Thunder brought bad memories. And I didn't want those.

"Niall?" I said coming to the door where I assume was his room. I heard a shuffle noise come from inside as I waited. He opened the door slowly, showing just his bare chest and a pair of pajama pants. His hair was messy, sprawled all over his face. So vulnerable and so cute.

"Are you okay?" He asked, trying to fully awake himself.

"Yeah it's just- umm.. Uh." Another shock of thunder made me jump, trying to hold myself. Niall pulled me into his grasp, hugging me tightly.

"It's okay," he said into the top of my head. "I understand." He pulled me into his room, laying us both down on his bed. He pulled me into his chest, tangling our legs. He slipped head phones over my ears, playing soft music. It had helped drown out the noise from the outside. I snuggled into his chest as I could feel his soft breathing on my face.

"Thank you," was the last thing I said before I had fallen asleep again.

~~~

"Ryan?" Niall said softly. "Ryan babe. It's time to get up." It was still raining outside but it was dark. "We have to get to school. I can drop you off at home." I nodded, sitting up slightly, rubbing my head. He laughed, sitting down next to me on the bed. He leaned over and kissed my cheek softly. I could just feel my face flush red. He pulled away and laughed softly at my reaction.

"Thank you for last night," I said as I stood up. I looked at my feet, as if they were the most interesting things in the world. Niall smirked, pulling me into a hug.

"You know I'd do anything for you," he said kissing the top of my head. "And I mean it."

"Dinner Friday? I'll take you out?"

"That actually sounds fun," I said as he held me in his arms.

"Good," he replied. "Now. Lets get you home. I'll see you at school." We got into his car, which was just as nice as Harry's but Niall was a teacher so I knew he bought it.

"I'll see you later," I said stepping out of his car. He winked at me once before driving off.

Last night was... Well I wasn't expecting to tell him so soon. It was such a bad topic and I don't really ever like talking about it with anyone, not even my family. Yet I felt as if I could tell him anything and that was such a comforting feeling.

I unlocked the door to find my mom and dad standing there.

"Where were you last night?" She asked, tapping her foot.

"Uhh..."_____________