Consequences of Flirting (Teacher x Student)

Chapter 2 - Such a Mess in Your Presence

"Never thought that I would feel like this
Such a mess when I'm in your presence."

- My House
Pvris

About 3 weeks into the school term, things began to get interesting. I'd discovered two important facts about Mr Holmes: His name and his relationship status. He was single, which was a bonus. Admittedly, I probably should have found that out before I began flirting. However, he actually seemed to be flirting back meaning that I was now paying no attention in his lessons. Don't get me wrong, I found them entertaining, just probably not in the way he had planned.

It was actually just last week that I finally got him to tell me his first name - Sherlock. I like it. I mean, it's original but not too strange that it's off-putting. It suited him well.

We had just finished our experiment when the bell decided to make another scheduled appearance. All the other students left to go to lunch whereas I stayed put. I wasn't exactly sure why. I suppose I wasn't ready to leave just yet. No one would be waiting for me anyway.

Sherlock looked over at me from his desk, "Jim?"

"Need help with the equipment?" I asked, purposefully avoiding eye contact by looking around at all the test tubes that littered the tables. I lifted up the bottle closest to me and read the label to give me something to do.

"You offering?"

I suddenly found myself staring at the bottle in my hand as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. I began to pick up more equipment, still refusing to look at my teacher. There seemed to be some kind of tension between us which made any one on one situation uncomfortable.

I leant across the table to pick up a Bunsen Burner, not realising that Sherlock was going for the same one. As if it was planned, we both made a grab at the object, our hands meeting at the base. I looked at the hand on top of mine and my breath hitched. I was pretty sure I felt the electricity writers describe but it was most likely just my inner teenage girl taking control. I raised my head slowly and our eyes met.

Neither of us moved and I asked myself a question: What would bad ass Jim do in this situation? Bad ass Jim was the name I'd given my confident persona - the one that always seemed to appear around Mr Holmes at one point or another. The answer to my question was simple. I had to turn the situation into something I could easily use against him.

I gripped the Bunsen Burner tighter bringing Sherlock back to reality. He retracted his hand quickly, coughing nervously. I smirked at him and he returned to his desk, embarrassed. Seeing as it was the last piece of equipment, I carelessly threw it into a cupboard and followed my teacher. I pulled up a chair and joined him. He said nothing.

"Don't you have friends you should be hanging out with?" He asked, watching me closely.

I simply laughed at his comment as if to say, "Are you serious?" and popped a piece of chewing gum into my mouth. To my surprise, Sherlock found this amusing.

"What?" I asked, slightly irritated that he hadn't reacted to my previous actions in the way I'd hoped.

Sherlock continued to laugh.

"What?" I made sure that the frustration was clear in my voice this time.

Once he'd pulled himself together he casually mentioned, "You're not allowed gum in school," and, with a smile permanently fixed on his face, he lifted up the bin from under his desk, indicating for me to dispose of my gum. Scowling, I gave in. I stuck my tongue out childishly which only made him laugh more. I'm glad he found my attempt at flirting so bloody funny.

I couldn't stop thinking about the hand touching, though. If I hadn't done something, how long would we have remained that way? A few seconds? Minutes? Longer?

"What you thinking about?" Sherlock asked unexpectedly.

"You."

Shit. I'd said that out loud, hadn't I.

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. His face was pretty much neutral, as if he hadn't heard me. Although I knew, somehow, that he had.

"Wait, no! That's not - I didn't mean..." I didn't know who I was trying to convince.

Mr Holmes didn't say anything after that. I avoided starting conversation but didn't stop admiring him silently. I refused to give him the upper hand. I refused to show that I was embarrassed - that's what bad ass Jim would do.

Holmes occasionally looked at me out of the corner of his eye and laughed, most likely at my stupidity. There was something about the way he laughed that made me unexplainably happy. Both the corner of his eyes and the top of his nose crinkled which made my heart flutter in my chest. He was just so freaking beautiful and I doubt he even noticed. If I had a face like his, I'd constantly be admiring myself in the mirror.

I don't think I'd ever felt this way about someone before. God, I was a mess. I had prided myself on not allowing my life to become as predictable as a young adult novel but, with my current way of thinking, I seemed to be heading down that route.

Lunch soon ended and I wasn't sure whether or not I was happy about this. On one hand, I wanted to get out of that room as soon as possible to avoid any more mistakes of my behalf whereas on the other hand, I desperately wanted to stay with Sherlock.

I stood up to leave and realised my teachers eyes were on me the whole time. Once I reached the door, I paused for a moment before turning to face Mr Holmes.

"Catch you later, Sir." I said slowly, adding emphasis on each word. I then proceeded to pull out another piece of gum and place it on my tongue, much to Holmes' frustration. With a wink, I left, fully aware that Sherlock's eyes were on me the whole time. I noticed that I'd been winking too much for my liking. Sherlock probably thought I had a nervous twitch.

Note to self: stop the winking.