Linger

E I G H T

It was impossible to hold back my smile as I walked inside his classroom, the heels of my boots clicking against the tile floor. 

Daniel followed, stopping by the door. His hand hovered over the handle, before stopping himself.

I stood by his desk, quietly watching him.

He turned around, leaving the door ajar as he walked toward his desk, and lifted his gaze to me. His eyes glanced over my outfit and I could feel my heart flutter.

He then cleared his throat before turning back around and reaching for the door handle. 

I shifted on my feet, growing confused as I watched him. "Everything okay?" I asked softly. 

His broad back faced me as he stood by the door, still open halfway. He stepped away, nodding his head as he made his way to his desk, not meeting my gaze. 

I pushed down the pain as my eyes followed his every move. 

"Your assignment is incomplete," he said, holding up the unfinished homework I turned in as he stood behind his desk. 

Oh. 

That's what he wanted to talk about. 

That's what he called me in for. 

I glanced toward the door, still halfway open, before bringing my gaze back to him and nodding. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't get a chance to finish it. But I promise I didn't finish it just to, like, see you after class or anything. I swear." 

He paused, eyeing me for a moment. "No . . . That wouldn't exactly be appropriate." He took a seat behind his desk. 

I let out a soft laugh, playfully rolling my eyes. "Right. Yeah, obviously . . ." I nodded along.

He remained silent. His expression unchanged. A silence fell around the room.

My smile slowly faded as I looked at him. 

He cleared his throat. "Did you have any questions regarding the assignment?" he questioned.

But I barely heard him, too captivated by those warm brown eyes . . . his perfect full lips . . .  his dark blond--

"Now," he continued, breaking me out of my thoughts. "if you can have your homework completed by class tomorrow, I'll still count it as full credit," his voice low, a stern look in his eyes as he slid my uncompleted assignment across his desk to me.

I quickly shook my head, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. "You don't have to do that. I don't want you to give me special treatment just because--"

"I give extensions for all students when late assignments are a rare occasion," he told me curtly.

I held my breath, my eyes frantically searching his for any hint of teasing or an air of playfulness . . . anything . . . ". . . oh." I drew in a deep breath before swallowing hard and picking up my assignment. "Um . . . thank you." 

He gave me a single nod. "You're welcome." He quickly averted his gaze back down to his work.

I bit the inside of my cheek, my mind scrambling as my eyes darted around the empty classroom at the clock. The scribbles on the board. The notebook forgotten on one of the desks. The grey clouds looming over the sky outside the window, making everything seem more gloomy than usual, somehow matching my mind. 

"I'm sorry for bothering you during lunch earlier," I told him quietly, fiddling with the assignment.

He quickly shook his head. "Darling, you didn't--" He stopped himself.