knee socks

chapter twenty one

Luckily for both of them, Alex's office was near the Gryffindor tower, and far away from the other teachers dormitory's. As Alex opened a window, Eve looked around. The office looked way cleaner than last time, with books and notes piled up neatly in corners. "Hey, do you have a glass of water or something?" she asked, suddenly feeling incredibly thirsty. "Of course" he replied, unlocking a pretty well hidden door on the wall and going through it. "What's this?" Eve asked, peeking inside and seeing a short low corridor "It's a secret passage way between my office and my bedroom." Alex said, his voice now sounding more distant. Eve grabbed her bag and entered the passage. 

It wasn't very dirty, probably because it was being frequently used, and it wasn't really tall either, not a problem for the young girl, who wondered how her teacher got through it. Suddenly, she came out to a big room. It was also clean, and had a bathroom and a small kitchen as she could see. There was a guitar on his bed, and he had a pretty sofa and a two  windows facing the Forbidden Forest. "Hey, you didn't have to follow me" said Alex as he turned around, two glasses of water in his hands "Um yeah sorry, little curious me" Eve said smiling meekly and taking the glass from his hand. "You wanna know what, fuck it" Alex finally said, sighing "If you wanna sit down here, you're welcome to" He said, pointing at the sofa, and Eve didn't need to be told twice, her legs and feet hurting a lot from her heels. "So, I like your room. It's very ... calm and neat" she said, sipping some water. Alex smirked at this, watching her take every detail in, looking so out of place. Now that there was enough light, he could see how beautiful she looked, the dress looking amazing on her, and her eyes...

"So, how come you were out so late?" Eve said, trying to make some small talk, and partly feeling a little bit suspicious. He looked a little bit too dressed up, with a black shirt and a black leather jacket, as if he were an 80s rockstar.  Sexy is an understatement. "I went in town to have some drinks with Miles" He said, taking out a cigarette and looking for a lighter. "Here" she said, taking hers out of her bag, and lighting it for him. God, he looked too good. "What about you?" Alex said as he exhaled some smoke "How come no one walked you to your dorm?" he asked curiously, because if he had been to that party, he was sure as hell he wouldn't have let her go back alone "Everyone was still partying a lot, and I wasn't feeling very good. Don't worry, it's not like I drank a lot, I had maybe two tequila soda's and a couple of shots" she said, and Alex looked surprised "Wow, and you say you're okay? If I'd drunk that much when I was your age, I would be in the toilet right now" Eve smiled and rolled her eyes playfully "And why weren't you feeling well?" he pressed, watching the girl start looking around. Note to self : alcohol is actually a pretty good truth serum. "That Jacob dick I told you about, he said something about my family" she said, taking out her tobacco and rolling herself a cigarette.

Alex stayed silent. Normally he would have commented something about her smoking, but he already knew she did, and it's not like he was any better. And evidently, her family was a pretty delicate topic. So why did this french exchange student know that much about it? He looked at the girl, who exhaled from the sofa, looking like a beautiful and tragic painting. They should talk about what happened, he thought. "So, um, about what happened yesterday..." Eve surprisingly started, not knowing where she wanted to go with it. What if she confessed her attraction and it wasn't mutual? Would he kick her out and leave her alone in the corridors until morning? Or would he report her to Dumbledore? "You wanna know what? You get to talk first" she said, boldness taking over, and looking at Alex.

Alex smiled, and bit his lip "Alright, I guess I deserve it. What exactly do you want to talk about yesterday?" Eve huffed "Seriously? About yesterday's weather. What do you think? About the kiss.." she said, her voice turning into a whisper and turning her eyes to the floor, blushing crimson. Should I risk it? Alex thought, and remembered what Miles had told him. The tension was already palpable and making them both fidget. "If you're asking if I regret kissing you, the answer is no" he finally said finally and determined, making Eve look up, surprised. "Oh really. Cool. Like yeah, me neither" she finally said, and buried her face in her hands, as her teacher laughed. "You just love seeing me being stupid, don't you?" she groaned, making him laugh even harder. "Maybe a little bit, I do love seeing you squirm sweetheart" he said, smirking more when she turned even redder. 

"Wait. So yesterday, when you bitched to me" Alex glared at her "was it because you were jealous?" she said in a disbelieving tone. She knew he was telling the truth, but still, she couldn't bring herself to face it, it was too good to be true. "Alright, maybe I was. I dunno, I just saw both boys fighting for you and felt so..." "powerless?" ventured Eve softly, avoiding his gaze "I guess so" he said, also feeling now a bit embarrased . "Well then, exactly what I feel at your classes now" Eve joked, trying to light up the mood. "Oh really? And why is that?" Alex teased, looking at the girl who now looked more comfortable.  "Don't tell me you haven't realised! The exchange girls are constantly trying to get your attention, to stay after class..." "Aw love, none of them make me feel anything, so don't worry." 

She blushed again at the pet name, feeling all giddy inside. Was this really true? Or was she drunk and hallucinating? They both stayed in silence again, secretly observing the other. Eve sneaked peeks at the guitar on his bed, wishing he would play something. Oh the way his shirt looked on him, his hair falling on his face, his smirk, ...   Alex was also observing the girl draped on the sofa: her dark hair, smoky eyes contrasting her blue pupils, how sexy she looked in that dress... He liked how she looked on his sofa, in his room, she fit in there perfectly.

"So, you're not gonna play anything on your guitar to charm me then?" she finally said, smiling playfully at him. "Oh sweetheart, I don't need a guitar to charm girls" he said, sitting on his bed and smirking at her.

She stood up fast to pick up the guitar and give it to him, but the alcohol made her unstable and she tripped, although Alex's reflexes saved her from hurting herself. She let out a gasp as his arms were holding her ribcage, his chest in her face, making her smell the cigarettes and cologne on him. They stayed like that for what felt like years, their hearts pounding and breath ragged, and the tension palpable in the room. They both knew that if one of them just moved their head a little bit...

"Sorry Eve, you're not okay. You really are properly drunk" Alex said quickly, laying her on the bed and quickly getting up for another glass of water, trying to not stay too close to her. "Oh yes, of course" she said, internally screaming. He might not regret kissing her yesterday, but he didn't look like he wanted to today. Anyways, her eyes felt heavy,  her throat dry, her skin dirty and her face sticky. Not good. She downed the glass of water as soon as Alex gave it to her, and asked if she could take a quick shower.

She soon locked herself in the bathroom, took a nice warm shower, washed her face and her teeth with her fingers. Someone knocked on the door, and she opened it wrapped in her towel, to find a red and nervous Alex there. "Um, i thought you might want a change of clothes, so i brought you a tshirt and some shorts" he said quickly, and as soon as he did so ran to the kitchen, making Eve blush and look at the clothes. They weren't anything special, just a vintage Pink Floyd tshirt and some soft gym shorts, and they both looked a bit too big on her, but as she smelled them she couldn't help but smile. She dried the excess makeup off her face, and opened the door. 

Alex had entertained himself by washing all the plates in the kitchen (which she had seen before that weren't dirty), and he slightly jumped when he saw her. "So, I'm sorry if this is too straightforward, but could I stay the night here? I don't need to sleep in the bed, I could perfectly sleep on the sofa, and i'd wake up early, ..." Alex dried his hands on a towel "Of course, I was just about to propose that to you, I wasn't that sure your friends would be back. Oh, and of course you can sleep in the bed, and I'll sleep on the sofa. Non negotiable" he said firmly as Eve had only opened her mouth. "Alright Si- Alex. Thank you." she smiled, and made her way into bed as he entered the bathroom. 

......

word count: 1600

Hope you liked this chapter!