Across the Hall (G.N.D. Sequel)

5

Evan's POV:

After being parked by the curb for about ten minutes, Lexi finally shows her face.

She hustles over to the car and pulls the door open, sighing. "Sorry, I was doing something."

I cut my eyes at her and get the tiniest glimpse of a purple mark just below her jaw.

"Was that something your girlfriend? Because you have a nice little hickey." I say, grinning to myself as I begin the drive to the school.

She faces me quickly, "what?!" She gasps, immediately checking the mirror. "Oh my god, fuck!" She yells.

I grin, "for future reference... being a teacher also means pretending your sex life does not exist. So keep the hickies in covered areas." I smart off, enjoying her panic a little too much.

Lexi spends the rest of the ride to school swearing and shifting her hair around, trying hard to find a way to cover the penny-sized mark.

I park in my usual spot and finally offer her some assistance once I feel she has suffered enough. "Would you like for me to help you?"

She looks at me and nods quickly, "yes, Evan. Duh. Please help me."

I nod and fish some make-up out of my purse and grab Lexi's chin, tilting her head upward.

"Look up. Don't move." I demand, using concealer to cover the mark.

"Why do you know how to do this so well?" She asks me.

I laugh a bit, "you can take a guess." I pat the spot carefully with powder and close the container, "there. You're good to go... just don't rub it off!"

"Thank you, Ev. You saved my ass." She takes a breath of relief.

"The teeth marks were a little much but..." I tease. Lexi cuts her eyes at me and I wink at her. "Come on. Don't wanna be late."

I gather my things and Lexi does too, and we make our way into the school side-by-side.

"What are you drinking?" I ask her, noticing the cup.

"Coffee." She informs me.

I furrow my brows, "seriously? Never took you for the morning coffee type."

"I'm really not... Mia is. It's kind of a habit now." Lexi explains.

I nod, "thank you for letting me intrude on your dinner last night. I know that wasn't the most comfortable thing for either of us... but I'm glad I was able to sit down with you and talk to Mia a little more. She's a sweet girl, really." I say to Lexi's soft-smiling face.

"I'm kinda glad too... maybe now she'll stop being so concerned with me making new friends. And yeah, she is sweet. I care about her a lot." Lexi admits to me, nodding.

I give a gentle smile, happy to know that. "I'll see you this afternoon. I leave at three thirty."

Her brows raise, "uh, okay?"

"I assume you'll need a ride?" I snicker, realizing she probably hadn't thought that far ahead.

A switch flips in her head, "oh, right. Yeah, um- I'll see you... at your car I guess."

I wink and giggle, "make it a good day, Lex."

* * *

4:00pm

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I got caught up with another teacher who wouldn't shut up." Lexi gushes as she gets into my car, half an hour later than she was supposed to.