Sain Clare Academy (gxg, 18+)

Chapter Five

warning: slightly mature content

A week had come and gone, faster than I could comprehend. School days were peaceful, but it was a bit stressful to go to class as a student in the morning, trying not to let Grace notice my rather friendly interactions with Professor Thurman, and then teach as a professor in the evenings, in which Grace always managed to stare at me the whole time.

Which was hard, because I also needed to get closer to her to report accurately to the duke. He would be upset if I didn't have anything for him every week.

I managed to find time alone to think after class on a Wednesday. I had a couple of hours before I needed to teach and plenty of time left on my glamor spell, so I figured it would be okay to rest for a bit in one of the classrooms after all of the students left.

I laid my head on my arms, closing my eyes. The air around me was still and peaceful, a nice moment of repose in my otherwise frantic schedule.

A door creaked open, and shut again. I didn't want to lift my head, still tired, but ended up doing it anyway.

"Grace...?" I asked blearily, head tipped to the side as I blinked the sleep out of my eyes. From sleep, my mind was hazy, and the world around me was almost dreamlike. Grace approached me slowly, so slowly, and I found myself unable to move as she reached a hand out to tuck a loose lock of hair behind my ears. "Grace?" I repeated. She moved in closer. It didn't strike me to move away-- though she was of royal blood, her silver hair testimony of that, she was still a student. I didn't need to fear my students. And... something about the atmosphere was delicate, breakable. I was almost terrified to move, to disrupt what fragile mood we'd found between ourselves.

She was a student, but she was no child.

"Olivia," she whispered, leaning her head forward so her lips were at my ear. I couldn't see her expression at this angle, so I could only assume she was joking around. Was this how students acted these days? Would I blow my cover if I thought this was strange? Was it strange? For some reason, my face burned. Nope, nope; she's a student. And more than that, she's a royal.

"I, uh," I stuttered, but it turned into a light gasp when her lips bit gently down on my ear, her arms gripping the sides of my desk and locking me in. I covered my mouth in embarrassment. She pulled back, a wicked smile dancing across her face.

What was she doing? This past week we had barely interacted, though I always made sure to say good morning every day in class. Getting so... intimate, all of a sudden was startling to me. Goddes, maybe this was something kids did-- May and Elizabeth were affectionate enough. Seriously, I was struggling to fit in with all of the students. They had noticed, too; Elizabeth liked to tease me about the formalities I had to work to hold back.

"How cute," Grace murmured, taking ahold of the side of my face in one of her hands, "trembling like a little rabbit."

You are a grown-ass woman, Morgan Eclaire-- you shouldn't get flustered over an 18-year-old calling you a pet name.

"Grace? What are you doing?" My voice came out shaky, which only deepened my blush. She leaned forward once more, and somehow, I didn't even think to try to escape. Instead, instinctively, I leaned forward too, concern lacing my expression. "Grace?" Was this really some sort of new... student thing? Ah, Goddess, I didn't know. I was humiliatingly behind the times.

But still, it was better not to overthink it if she was just teasing me or something. I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully-- nipping the other's ear?- yeah, that was totally something I could see Elizabeth and May doing. Maybe it was a friend thing.

Grace smiled, a slightly baffled and curious expression coloring her face.

"You're asking me if I'm okay?" She mused, trailing two of her fingers along my jawline. My heart rate began to pick up, and suddenly I noticed how close she was. The blue-blue of her eyes, like a crystal or a frozen lake, was gorgeous, and a scent I had never noticed before which was definitely hers, like a flowery shampoo, made my head spin. Dizzily, I blinked to try to clear my head, peeking up at her shyly through my eyelashes. Damn her for making me, a grown adult, act like a child.

"Yes?" I agreed questioningly. I had only my experience to rely on, and usually when students came seeking praise or affection it was because something was wrong. Granted, that sort of thing didn't really make a whole lot of sense in this situation, but my teacher-instinct was kicking in. Her eyes fluttered shut briefly as she let out a small laugh; the sight was so enchanting that I found myself gaping at her, scared to move once more, as if the image of her would scare like a butterfly.

"No," she brought her face close to mine, her lips trailing delicately first across my cheek, then to my nose, stopping to hover over my mouth. "Not okay."

I didn't know what to do. I was a teacher, and she was a student, and I was technically a student too, but this was still probably wrong, although I was sure even if the principal found out he would laugh it off anyway ('you're young, Morgan, live a little'), and I still wasn't one hundred percent sure she wasn't just teasing me platonically. She somehow managed to take all of my breath away, and I was unable to reply.

Her eyes, which had glued to my lips, flickered up to collide with my own. I was shaken by the intensity of her focus-- I had every drop of her attention.

"What... I... you..." I had no idea what I was trying to say, or why she was stopping, or why I cared. My shoulders tensed as I gripped my seat with both hands.

"You know, this reaction only makes me want to go further," she sing-songed, still centimeters away from my lips as she scooped more of my hair behind my ear.

Okay. So it wasn't platonic. Great. One question answered.

I seriously needed to calm down.

You are an adult, Morgan. You have plenty of... experience. This is easy-peasy. Just... um, turn her down.

But, no matter how much I willed myself to do so, I couldn't. Her eyes held me down, her seductive gaze a drug. There was something magnetic about being in her presence, something that pulled me to her against my will.

"Why'd you stop, then?" I found myself saying.