teacher's pet

my reflection in your eyes

𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳

≛

"karl jacobs, can you stay behind?"

the brunette's stomach dips and he looks to sapnap as if he's going to help him but, of course, the ravenette doesn't know any better than to continue gathering his stuff ready to leave.

"are we waiting for you?" sapnap asks as he pulls his backpack up over his shoulder. he looks down at karl and the brunette silently hopes that he'll see the fear swimming in karl's eyes.

when sapnap just waits, expectant, karl swallows his anxiety and nods. "yes please," he says, sounding far too vulnerable.

his best friend must not notice the nerves in his voice as he nods, smiles, and then turns to excuse himself with the rest of the class.

even when the last student leaves, karl stays in his seat. he has no reason to go any closer. whatever lucas needs, he can say from across the classroom. if karl gets up and goes over there, he doesn't know if he could trust himself not to give in to the risk of kind words.

even with his heart failing and his lungs collapsing, a small part of karl still wants the older man. he still cares about him and wants that same care back. he's been well and truly manipulated, but knowing that isn't enough for him to break down those mental walls.

"i don't know if you saw but i added your extra credit for the book project," lucas smiles easily. he rounds the first row of tables and takes a seat on one. karl, who sits on the third row back, now only has a weak barrier of tables separating him from his teacher.

karl nods. he hadn't seen. normally, he is on top of all things school-related and he checks his emails and the school app almost every day. since everything went down, karl doesn't think he has looked once. how can he be expected to care about his grades when he feels like he is literally dying?

"the chapters and plan have been entered to the competition too. it's very good, karl, and i have high hopes that you'll come out of this with something. hopefully the first prize," the older man chuckles kindly.

karl smiles, small and forced. his eyes flick to the clock on the wall to find he hasn't even been in here alone for a minute. he clears his throat, trying to rid himself of the hoarse dryness.

lucas tilts his head, observing karl from an angle, and the brunette turns his head to the side so he can stare out the window. he doesn't like the way that lucas is looking at him, as if he can read his every emotion in the dim dullness of his eyes.

"you look sad," the older man comments. "cheer up, bunny."

karl looks back at him, piercing his teacher with a glare. "don't call me that," he scolds, emotions burning through him. anger bubbles in his stomach but it feels inadequate in comparison to his pain.

the nickname feels like an insult now. like he's making fun of the way that karl would hop around for him, doing anything he asked without question, strung along like a loyal pet. it feels cruel and humiliating and it burns in his chest.

lucas pushes up from the table and karl instinctively stands, not wanting the older man to be on a higher level. it's a small thing, but karl doesn't want him to have that power.