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"tea for two"
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teegschwender
a dark cloud shawled over you. in front of you was the person who made everything else around you recede into insignificance.
"levi?!"
no one from school, except your best friends, knew about your job. this place, this café, was your secret.
everyone at school had trust funds and legacy admissions, coming from wealthy, influential families with last names that opened doors.
you? you had the grades—your one ticket into the prestigious halls of trost private on a scholarship you had worked relentlessly to earn.
the thought of someone like levi—a member of the faculty, the president of the school council, no less—finding out about your job made your stomach churn. if word got out, your peers wouldn't just laugh at you for being poor, they'd tear you apart for hiding it, for trying to blend in when you didn't belong.
and worse, if the administration discovered you were working, they wouldn't care about your situation. they'd see it as a distraction, something that compromised your "commitment" to the school. expulsion would be a very real threat. the humiliation would be unbearable.
you had fought so hard to keep your personal life hidden from the other students, from your carefully curated reputation as a top student. you came from a small town where everyone knew everything, but somehow, you'd managed to keep this hidden—until now.
"what are you doing here?" you spluttered, your hands quivering as you set the tray down.
he let out a derisive scoss, a trace of mockery curling his lips."tch. what does it look like?"
your mind raced, trying to piece together the possible reasonings for his sudden appearance.
your heart pounded in your ears. every nerve in your body screamed to act—turn away, run, anything—but you were rooted to the spot as if your feet had been cemented to the floor.
