Mr. Fischbach • M.F

•chapter 12•

Neveah's eyebrows furrowed with anger, she scoffed and roughly ripped her arm out of his grip. She excused herself from Mr. Fischbach to have a chat with Liam in the hallway, just outside his classroom. Mr. Fischbach grew highly suspicious, and a tad jealous for some odd reason. He watched as the two left his classroom, Neveah left the door cracked and she stood with her back against it. The teacher wondered why, considering they were leaving to have a private conversation. Even though he knew eavesdropping was wrong, Mr. Fischbach listened very closely as he pretended to rummage through a filing cabinet that happen to be near the door. Liam stood in front of her as he scanned the halls for anybody, there was no one in sight.

"Look Neveah... I uh," he nearly trailed off, "I don't even know where to begin honestly." He avoided eye contact and shoved his hands into his pockets. She could see the guilt on his face, but she disregarded it completely. "Then why even start?" She asked, he could hear the agitated tone in her voice, he gave her a slightly hurt but confused look. Moments of silence passed, "What?" Liam questioned, knowing himself so well, he could feel the pumping rage flow throughout his blood stream as he heard the tone she used with him. "I said, then why even start? If you don't know what you're gonna say to me then why try and talk to me?" She asked, crossing her arms and squinting at him.

"Because," he paused, "I want to at least give off the impression that I wanna try and fix things." He explained. Her skin boiled, "Fix things? Really? We break up, you disappear then you wanna come back and 'fix things?'" She gave him a question look while scoffing. "Of course I do, and I can explain why I left"- "I don't want you to explain anything, I honestly don't even wanna be having this conversation with you." She practically spat, Neveah could literally see the veins on his neck and forehead popping out. She knew talking to him in such a manner would piss him off, and to her it was a thrill to watch him get physically enraged. Especially on school grounds, and in screaming earshot of a teacher, knowing all too well she was safe from his wrath.

Liam unclenched his teeth and let out a long breath, he couldn't let his temper get the best of him on campus."I-I know what I did to you was wrong," he paused, "I can't control my temper, and you know that." He finally made eye contact with her. He looked sorry for his actions, but she knew better. "Yeah I know that, but that doesn't mean you have to take it out on the people who are trying to help you control it!" She yelled, not realizing classes around her were now in session. By the end of that sentence, tears were already rolling down her cheeks. "I-I was there for you, I tried my best to help, I stayed by your side when no one else would, I supported you when no one else did," she paused for a long moment, she stared directly at him. "I-I.. loved you.. when no one else claimed to, a-and how you repaid me for it was absolutely atrocious." She exclaimed, she wanted to wrap her slim petite fingers around his neck and choke some sense into him.

He stepped closer to Neveah, inevitably causing her to inch backwards. He very gently uncrossed her arms and took her hands in his. "Yes I know, and I agree with you 100% but I need you to see that I'm here in front of you, willing to change, willing to get on my knees and beg you to give me a second chance. The things I said and did are unforgivable, and I don't ever expect you to forgive me for them. but Neveah, ...I can't ignore the fact I still love you." For the first time ever, Neveah saw a side to Liam she had never seen before. She looked into his crystal blue eyes, and for a second she thought she could see tears forming. She looked deep into her own heart, she looked and searched, but their was not an ounce of love for this foolish desperate boy in front of her.

"I am so sorry Liam but, I don't love you. And I don't think I ever can love you again, not after all that's happen between us." She confesses, watching the life drain from his face. She could feel her own heart break a tad, only because she absolutely dreaded hurting other people. No matter what they did. She tried to slip out his grasp but he tightened it just a little, grabbing her attention.

"..Didn't you say to me, the only way you'd ever stopping loving me is if you fell in love with someone else?" He asked, slight anger and disbelief spread across his face. She remembered the day she had in fact said that to him, seeming that they were kids when it was said she really didn't think it made sense now. But she wanted to get back to Mr. Fischbach, who still -without her knowledge- happened to be eavesdropping, so she cut the little chit-chat short.

She took a breath in, and out. "Then what does that tell you Liam?" His grip on her hands fell, and she grabbed the handle of her English teachers door and walked in, closing it behind her. She leaned her back up against the door and sighed with her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes she realized Mr. Fischbach was leaning with his shoulder up against the wall near the same filing cabinet, looking directly at her. "Was that hard for you to do?" He questioned, she looked at him crazy, now having it be her turn to be appalled at the fact someone had eavesdropped on her and Liam's conversation. Especially having that someone be the reason why she didn't love Liam anymore.

Mr. Fischbach put his hands up in defense, knowing why she was looking at him like that. "Consider us even, because I don't think Ms. Grayson would like to hear someone had eavesdropped on her little attempt at hitting on me." He said, Neveah remembered back to when she had decided to listen in on his conversation with her Math teacher. She pictured how'd Ms. Grayson would approach her about it, and to Neveah that was not a conversation she was willing to have with that red-headed beauty. "Okay fine, we're even." She said, realizing that she literally let him know that she was in love with someone- that someone being him- when she was arguing with Liam.

"H-How much of that did you hear?" She finally asked, preparing herself for the inevitable. He crossed his arms, still leaned up against the wall. "I heard enough." His eyes fell to the floor, of course being a teacher he was smart enough to put two and two together. He was finally aware of how Neveah was really feeling about him. He was nonetheless baffled that Neveah developed feelings for him. And she could see it in his face, even though his eyes were directed at the ground.

"I don't know what to say Neveah."

She felt her heart crumble, and the tears roll. Just from that she knew that the feeling was not mutual. She began to choke up, and her breathing became horrendously uneven.

"I-I didn't mean too, you know? I knew what we had was only s-supposed to go so far b-but, I let my mind think we could be more then just teacher and student. I mean, I had the right to, didn't I?" She rhetorically asked, "The first time you took me to your house, when I picked out your favorite book? Or how you kissed me when you were helping me with my lines? I don't know what it was but all of that felt.. real." She said, and with every word, she got more and more emotional. She looked at his face, and her assumptions were correct, nothing but pure disbelief.

She wiped her tears, "I-I didn't mean to fall in love with you Mark." She said softly, using his first name, knowing all those things he did were out of pure kindness and not out of love, even though it seemed as if they were.

"I thought we had an understanding." Mr. Fischbach said, now looking at Neveah. He instantly felt his heart being repeatedly stabbed as he could see how desperate and heartbroken she looked. He watched as a tear fell all the way from her eye, pass her freckled cheekbone, down and off her jaw to the floor. "Neveah, I-I'm so sorry," she walked forward and stopped right in front of him, she wrapped her arm around the back of his neck and pulled him down to her level and kissed him, she kissed him like her life depended on it. And she never wanted the kiss to end, only because she knew it was the last time she'd ever kiss him again. But when it did end, she looked him in the eyes and spoke, "Don't apologize, I'm the one who caused my own pain." She said, slightly pulling away.

"And Mark, just so you know," she paused, "It was never your fault to begin with." She released him and left his classroom with a heavy heart.