Chapter Five

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OMNISCIENT
THRONES CLASS

          Layla's head was faced towards Sev as they whispered to each other. Sev was catching Layla up on everything. Her best friend was drifting away and it wasn't just because of Throne, she seemed stressed. As Sev talked to her, her eyes went everywhere as her thoughts ran wild with ideas of her best friend. Hopefully her friend wouldn't go back into her old ways which never really disappeared

"Shay, right," Sev started, lowering her voice since Throne was right there. Layla nodded and kept staring as hard as she could in the dark of the class. Only the short video on classics written by women was there to illuminate the side of Sev's face as she spoke.

"I've been sitting with them for the past few days since they aren't allowed to have a half day schedule and we never liked Shay and usually tune her out but I was listening to her once and guess what," She said quietly. Sev was genuinely nervous to tell Layla and Layla thought it was basic gossip which she was never interested in. Layla kept staring, waiting for Sev to tell her since she didn't really care about what was going on with Shay

"So, Ronny was teasing her on liking this old dude right! And she goes, 'what? Mr. Stewart is hot!' And I went silent. She taking your man honey," She said which took Layla by surprise. She didn't think any anyone would like Mr. Stewart. He was hot as hell but slightly unapproachable so most girls steered clear and by now forgot about it.

"First of all, he's not old," Layla said defensively, making Sev smirk. Sev couldn't help but see how cute those two were together, even if they were student and teacher. Sev looked to the side of her since she was facing Layla to Mr. Stewart at his desk. He was looking straight forward and Layla had now turned her head to look at him, immediately looking down. Neither were sure if he were looking at them or forward or even if he was listening.

"Besides," Layla whispered. "He's not my man. He could have a girlfriend or be married, plus he's my teacher," she finished. Sev tried to keep calm but she was getting too excited. It wasn't a ship or cute relationship to Sev, she felt something could be different with them.

"Okay but you didn't mention not liking him," she whispers yelled, knowing it would make Layla mad. Which it did. "Does it matter, Sevatine," louder than the voice they used the whole conversation. People heard but it wasn't loud enough to draw everyone's attention.

Layla looked up and at Mr. Stewart who was looking at her. His eyes were purer than a fawn, slightly wide but not on purpose, and they hung with innocence in her mind. It seemed like his eyes could speak paragraphs, maybe even essays, in Layla's mind. She turned back to Sev.

"Does it really," she sighed, the idea of Throne hearing their conversation never crossed her mind. Other things did though.

——

The lights were on now and Layla's head was on Sev's shoulder. She didn't have much time to sleep after their conversation since hours were only 50 minutes long, so she closed her eyes and daydreamed.

Layla still missed the block scheduling of three 90-minute classes of her middle school after 4 years. It seemed forever ago that she was in California, but things change.

"Layla," her name was called over the classroom, she knew it was Throne. The room was relatively quiet even though the bell hadn't rung so she just hummed, eyes still closed. "Can I see you really quickly," he asked her starting to walk to his desk. At that moment the bell did ring, but Layla didn't ask to leave and he didn't tell her she could go. The class filtered out, and slowly filling in with his next class.

They stood next to his computer and he typed away, back bent over his pushed in chair so he could type. She didn't know whether or not to look, but since he couldn't see her, she went slightly behind him and looked over his shoulder. He looked back after noticing her presence get even nearer but kept scrolling.

"Uh, I like to pay attention to my students," Layla automatically thought of the conversation. "I heard something about Shay being your friend and I know I have a Shay so could you point her out to me in these classes," Layla moved to where he was, slightly bent down as he stood directly behind her.

"I just wanted to know because you seem like you keep around intelligent friends," he said. Layla stopped, eyes gradually moving away from the computer as she froze. She had no reason for why she did, soon looking back at the screen to continue looking at all the faces, some familiar and some not.

She was looking through the third hour class before seeing the face she now hated so much more. Her teeth clenched and unclenched a few times before standing back up. Throne looked over her shoulder, his breath on her bare shoulder that was exposed by the sweater she was wearing. "She's right there," her bony finger pointing to the smiling and slightly tan girl in the picture.

"Oh okay, I can't say anything about her. I never paid attention with a bunch of things on my mind," he said, moving from behind her to write a pass. The bell hadn't rung yet and she'd be able to make it to her next hour which was right around the corner. She didn't mind much since it gave her a few extra seconds away from her class and time around him She looked at his fingers gripped around the small pen. His hands were big and even looked muscular. Everything about this man, her English teacher, was probably muscular.

"A lot is on my mind too," she said quietly, hoping he'd hear her breathy words. Throne turned around, his eyes directly looking at her and with so much curiosity. "Really? What could be going on in there? A lot probably," he said, the slip dangling from his thumb and pointer finger. She let out a breath and took the slip, leaning on the edge of his desk. Her long legs were extended in front of her as they nearly touched his.

"I don't know Mr. Stewart. There was already a lot but now there's so much going on from one thing," she explains in one breath. All he does is stare at her, soon smiling after a while. "Is there something I didn't hear in your conversation," he smirks, it was something she'd never seen or never paid attention to.

"You know where to find me, Lux," he smiles. She tugs on her backpack straps, needing something to hold on to. Layla nodded at Throne as her eyes trailed all over him. "Alright," she said, leaving the class slowly as if a force was holding her back. She wanted to talk to him for hours.

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