Behind Closed Doors (Merthur AU)

Chapter 3

By the next morning, Merlin followed his same morning routine. The night before, he had actually tried to do Arthur's homework, but he couldn't retain any of the information. Most of it was completely lost on him. That worried Merlin a bit, as Arthur had said he was going to ask questions; and Merlin had a feeling Arthur would just pick on him.

Merlin shook those thoughts from his head and he pulled on dark jeans and a black t-shirt. He pulled on his sneakers and flicked his light switch. He smiled a bit as the power kicked on. "Mom must have found some money to pay the bill," Merlin spoke, softly. He smiled and walked out of his bedroom, calling goodbye to his mother as he stepped out of the house.

Arthur was now into the same routine; he was beyond happy that they were halfway through the week. He decided to keep his clothing professional and went with black slacks and a dark blue button up. Once he was satisfied with his own look, he headed to his car and drove to the school. He sighed as he pulled into the parking lot and looked up at the school in front of him; he sincerely hoped the day would go better than the last couple had.

Arthur walked into the building and to his classroom to get it prepped for the day. He kept the door closed, hoping that would deter certain students from entering the room. He then relaxed in to his chair and drank some coffee.

Merlin stepped onto school property and he went straight to his locker. He grabbed the stuff he needed for Arthur's class and headed up to his room. When he reached Arthur's door, he noticed it was closed, but he walked right in anyway. Arthur was on his phone doing some reading when he heard the door open. He quickly looked up and saw Merlin. His eyebrow raised, slightly, before he spoke, "you're looking better. Assuming you had a decent amount of sleep then, yeah?"

Merlin met Arthur's gaze and he walked over to his desk, grinning. "Yeah, I feel better than ever." Merlin laughed and set his stuff down. "Thanks, for noticing my good looks." Merlin smiled more and leaned against his own desk, since he still had a bit of time before class officially started. Arthur rolled his eyes to Merlin in response, but didn't comment back to him.

Merlin's gaze seemed to pierce through Arthur for a moment. "That was a dirty move last night, lying to Mr. Wilson like that." Merlin's expression stayed rather amused.

Arthur looked to Merlin and he shrugged. "I couldn't give you the satisfaction of being locked in here alone with me." Arthur spoke truthfully, not ashamed of admitting to Merlin that he lied to get out of detention.

Merlin nodded a bit in agreement. "Yeah, it would've been a different kind of fun, then." He chuckled. "But it was fun, nonetheless." He paused a moment to look at Arthur and watch his reaction. "But, next time, I hope you stay for a little."

Arthur tried not to make a comment, but each time Merlin said something, Arthur wanted to respond. He knew he shouldn't, so he didn't. He listened to Merlin, before standing up straight. "Fun? You had fun with Mr. Wilson?" Arthur sincerely hoped Merlin was lying.

Merlin smirked a bit as he watched Arthur. "Didn't you know? Chemistry is one of my favorite subjects." He laughed. "Not to mention, Mr. Wilson is the only teach I have respect for. So, yes, it was rather fun." Merlin crossed his arms over his chest as he realized Arthur's plan backfired. "He may be a little crazy? But he's definitely entertaining to be around."

Arthur grew annoyed as Merlin explained how he enjoyed his time with Mr. Wilson. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Hmm, nice to know you have respect for at least one adult on this building. I guess you do have one decent human bone in your body."

"Of course. I am human, after all." Merlin chuckled, softly. "Like I said, next time you'll have to be the one who stays. It could be a very different experience, then." He smirked, before he looked over at the door, hearing other students start filing in for class to start.