Illegal Love

~ Chapter 9 ~

A/N: Hey guys! I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever! I started school so that takes up a lot of my time. I'm going to try to update more often, promise! also, thank you for all your comments and votes, it means so much!! anyways, Mr. Channing Tatum is going to be involved in this story now...as more of a villain though..you'll understand why soon. also, as an apology I'm going to post two chapters today! :) enjoy!

"Who's that guy over there?" Gwen points a pink manicured finger to a man I've never seen before. He had shocking blue eyes and huge muscles. He was so fit. He might be a new senior. He looked young.  

I shrug. "Maybe a new student," I say and our friend Georgia shakes her head.  

"Nooo, he's a new teacher. Mr. Brady isn't here anymore and he's replacing him," she says, a serious look on her face. Gwen and I look at each other and her eyebrows go up. 

"Now that makes two hot teachers at our school. Maybe we'll get a third, who knows!" Georgia giggles and walks toward her locker.  

I was still unaware that Mr. Brady got fired. Obviously Mr. Styles told the principal he saw him almost rape me. But they never asked me any questions about it. I wasn't even sure if my parents knew about the situation. I never told them because I didn't want them to worry. 

"Well, at least you won't have to worry about seeing Mr. Brady anymore," Gwen says, once Georgia's out of earshot. I nod. 

"Yeah, that's true," I agree and we walk into the new teacher's room, which is also the room I was almost raped in. I feel the anxiety boiling up inside me, the memories of Mr. Brady's lips touching mine, and I resist gagging. I avoid the desk he had me on and quickly walk to my own. I shut my eyes, attempting to block out everything that ever happened in here. It's okay, Gabriella, he isn't here anymore. Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes up again. The atmosphere seems more pleasant with a different teacher in the room. The bells rings out and he walks to the front of the classroom.  

"Hello class! My name is Mr. Tatum," he writes on the whiteboard in sloppy, boyish handwriting. When he was in high school, he was definitely a jock. Quarterback of the football team, prom king, I could totally see it. He had a nice deep voice but it was jocky. The way he walked was jocky, the way he spoke, moved, everything was just jocky. I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about that. 

But one thing was for sure, he was super hot. Maybe even hotter than Mr. Styles. Or equally as hot. Yeah, equally is more like it.  

But it was also nice to get some fresh blood in this school. God knows we need it. 

"I'll be taking over for Mr. Brady for the rest of the year. So before we begin, I'm just going to call out your names and try to remember them," he says, and some girls giggle obnoxiously.  

After a few names, it's my turn.  

"Gabriella Henderson?" He calls out, looking around the room. I raise my hand and when he sees me, his eyes almost brighten. He does a little wave and I smile. 

"Do you have a shorter nickname you go by? I don't do long names," he says, putting his finger on the corner of his lip. He was grinning a little at me.  

"Some of my friends call me Gabby," I say. I didn't want Mr. Tatum to call me Gabby. That was mine and Gwen's thing only! 

"Gabby it is!" Mr. Tatum says enthusiastically. He was really enthusiastic. It was kind of cute actually. I just smile in return and laugh lightly. He keeps his eyes focused on me with a little grin playing on his lips, then looks at the list again. 

Once he's done calling out names, he walks around the room, throwing questions about the civil war. 

He's different than most teachers at this school. For instance, instead of raising our hands and him calling on us, he throws a ball to people and if they catch it and answer the question correctly, they get a point. At the end of the trimester, whoever gets the most points wins 20 extra credit points on their exam.  

I wasn't quite sure how I felt about him yet. Yes, he was undeniably gorgeous, but I really didn't go for the jock type of guys. Definitely not my cup of tea.  

"Alright class, see you guys tomorrow! Have a good day!" Mr. Tatum says, when the class ends. I gather up my books and walk out the door with Gwen.  

"I swear, every single teacher at this school thinks you're hot!" She says, walking in the direction toward her locker. 

"What are you talking about?" I say, confused. Oh, Mr. Tatum smiled at me. Because that's not what he did to almost every single person in the class? 

"You know! Gabby, it's just the way Mr. Tatum looked at you. He totally wants the 'V,'" Gwen says, pulling her books out of her locker. She turns to me, her lips pursed. I giggle.  

"Wow, Gwen, always turning something dirty," I say. She laughs. 

"It's what I do," Gwen says and I see a familiar figure striding down the hall. My heart skips a beat when I realize who it is. Mr. Styles.  

Suddenly, a tug on my books snaps me out of my ogling as they fall to the floor. Papers fly everywhere, my pens scattered all over the ground, and my books land with a loud noise.  

"Gwen!" I say and she quickly shakes her head and nods it to the side, indicating it was the person to the left of her. Which would be Mr. Tatum.  

"Gabby! I'm so sorry!" He says, and bends down to pick them up. The familiar figure comes closer and soon he is standing over us and crouches down to help. His knee brushes mine and I look over at him. Mr. Styles glances back at me.  

"It's fine, Mr. Tatum," I say. Here I was, on the floor with the two hottest guys I had ever laid eyes on. Score! 

"No really, I can make it up to you! I could tutor you if you need help in any class! I could buy you chocolate, flowers, anything!" He says, picking up all my pens now. Mr. Styles bites his lip and hands me my history book. He keeps his eyes glued to the floor. 

"No, that's okay. I already get tutored by Mr. Styles," I say and his head shoots up and he smiles at me. Mr. Tatum gives a quick glance to him and raises his eyebrows. He looks him over a little and turns back to me.  

"I could still buy you chocolate. What girl says no to chocolate?" Mr. Tatum says, now standing up. I rise up, all my papers, books, and pens with me now.  

"This girl. I'm trying to eat healthy," I lie. Psh, healthy my ass. Mr. Tatum looks shocked. 

"Are you kidding?! You don't need to diet! You're perfect just the way you are," he says and winks. I blush slightly. Suddenly, it becomes aware to me that Mr. Styles is still standing right beside me. I feel a pang of guilt because the expression on his face falls and he slowly turns to walk away. I feel like I should do something. But what? Then a lightbulb goes off in my head. 

"Thank you, Mr. Tatum, that's nice," I say quickly and turn away. I almost run to catch up with Mr. Styles. Once I reach him, I compose myself and tap on one of his broad shoulders. He turns and gives me a small smile.  

"Hi, Gabriella." 

"Hi, Mr. Styles. Are you busy after school?" I say falling in line with his walking. I've noticed before that he takes long strides when he walks and it makes it harder to keep up with him. 

"Not that I know of. Just homework to grade, things like that," he says. Giving me a sidelong glance, he adds, "Why?"  

I put a strand of hair behind my ear. "Well, I have a soccer game today, right after school. It's at the fields on the left side of the school. I was wondering if you would like to go," I say. Blushing slightly, I look at the floor. 

"Of course I'll go," he says, warmly. I look up at him and he grins.  

Perfect.