The Troubled Student (closed)

[WatchingCloud]

Closed for scarlettnuit.



Once the thunder started rumbling outside, Trevor Willis conceded he’d lost what remained of his sophomore chemistry students. Keeping their attention was already a challenge in the mid-afternoon slot, and any little opportunity for a distraction would be embraced. It was a shame it wasn’t a lab day. Then he’d at least have had a fighting chance.

Their distraction, in turn, caused his distraction. Unknown to all but a few, Trevor could read minds. It was usually only surface thoughts, but in close proximity with so many high schoolers, it was a miracle he could keep his sanity. Contemplating why he’d chosen this career rather than something done mostly alone or where he could put his ability to good use, like professional poker player, was to open the subject of his sanity up to debate. He shoved aside the myriad thoughts about upcoming Halloween parties, late assignments, relationship anxiety, and sexual fantasies about the student sitting across the room.

He deployed his teaching voice to reign in their attention, however briefly. “I’ll expect you all to read chapter six, sections four through seven, for tomorrow. No homework, but remember you’ll have a quiz on Friday.”

There were the usual groans and they were all saved by the bell. Just one more class to get through before the end of the day, then he could go home and listen to exactly no one else’s thoughts.

As the students piled out, Trevor got that “feel” of something about to happen. He wasn’t sure if it was a true sixth sense or if he was just picking up unspoken surface thoughts. Twenty year after accepting he had these abilities, he still didn’t fully grasp all of them. When he turned to the class doorway, Mrs. Hernandez poked her head in and tapped on the frame. Franklin High’s sole guidance counselor gave him a polite smile that belied her troubled surface thoughts. At least it was easier to face that than her sexual fantasies about him. The outwardly conservative, married, fifty-something had an imagination that would make any student here blush.

“Hi Sue. What’s up?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping you might be able to help me out,” she said, entering the room fully.

“Sure, what is it?” He already knew, from her thoughts, it was a problem student. He couldn’t pick up the details, however.

“I’ve got a student, gifted young woman, really, who needs… I don’t know. Direction? I’m just not connecting with her. I thought you might, after what you did with Roger last spring.”

Roger had been in one of his classes last year, a good kid with some serious baggage from home. Trevor had deftly picked some key info from the boy’s head and used it to help him through a tough time. Sue hasn’t taken his involvement personally. She was the kind of person who put outcomes over protocol. As overworked as she was, even at a relatively small school like this, she’d happily accepted his unofficial help. That she was proactively coming to him this time, and with a female student, was interesting.

Trevor shrugged. “No guarantees, but I can try, sure. Anything I should know?”

Sue shook her head. “No, I’d rather you just go in with a clean slate. She’s a recent transfer and a senior. Bound to be a stressful time for her. Let me know what comes of it, within confidentiality, of course. I trust you.”

She did trust him, which humbled Trevor. He didn’t always think he deserved that. There were things about him she didn’t know, not just his mental abilities, that would certainly give her pause.

“Fair enough,” he said as the first students of his last class came into the room.

“Can I send her by after class? Or is tomorrow better?”

“After class is fine.”

“Thanks!” Sue gave him a smile and lingered a moment longer. Fuck, I wish John looked half as sexy when we’d been in our thirties. After the stray thought, the guidance counselor turned and left.

Trevor shook his head in amusement and tried to change mental gears to his final class. In the back of his mind, though, he couldn’t help wondering what would be this student’s problem and whether or not he could help.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Dani stared through the glass and mesh window she sat next to. The sky was gray and gloomy, the promise of cold autumn rain held in their wispy grasp. Autumn had always been her favorite season. She loved the cool crispy air and the flourish of vivid colors in the trees. She also loved the rain, the sounds, the smell of the earth, the lack of expectation from anyone to be cheerful.

She was, for all intents and purposes, on her own. She had never known her father and her mother was always working. Given Dani’s preference for being alone, their conflicting schedules didn’t bother her much, especially since powers had come to her.

It had been two years ago, Dani had been up late again working on some papers for her online tutoring gig. She had felt edgy all day, finding it difficult to focus as she re-read the same paragraph for the third time. She was about to flip over to twitter to zone out for a little while when the room got remarkably cold. She might not have noticed if it weren’t for the fact that her mother always kept the heat cranked up in the winter. She looked over to the window that she often left cracked open to ease what she found to be unbearable heat, and it was closed tight. She got up to leave her desk to find that trails of frost now crawled over her mouse. She brought her fingertips into view and was surprised to see a faint blue glow emitting from the pink swirls. In her panic she knocked a glass of water off her desk only to watch the liquid freeze solid before hitting the ground.

Ever since that day she had been trying to learn how to control her freakish power. She had managed to do so for the most part, but found when her emotions ran high, they were harder to control and so she had started wearing a part of black leather gloves whenever she left the house.

Her attention was brought back to the present as the teacher called out her name and scolded her to pay attention. She wanted to flip the lady off and tell her what a moron she was, but just barely managed to hold her tongue. None of the teachers particularly liked her, nor did the students. She was the stereotypical black sheep. She kept to herself, lost in her own thoughts, and did as she pleased. Most teachers at first, thought perhaps she was lazy or dumb when she didn’t turn in her assignments, though when tested, she always scored an A on every test she had ever been given. Much to their chagrin, she was extremely intelligent, and given her proclivity for reading and learning in general, often knew more than the teachers did on any given subject. It pissed them off royally.

She supposed they disliked how she looked as much as anything else. She was and average height, with long black hair that fell to her waist, pale, creamy skin, and body that had matured into beautifully curved female figure. What caught the attention of most people, however, were her bright blue eyes. Since her change, they had turned from green to a glacial blue that almost glowed. On top of that, she often wore heavy black liner and eye shadow and typically dressed in a “don’t fuck with me” manner. Today she was in a cut off Pretty Reckless t-shirt that showed off a few inches of her stomach, with tight back jeans, spiked belt, a pair of thick soled black Doc Martens, and of course, her black leather gloves.

She leaned back I her chair and pretended to pay attention to the teacher as she droned on about Authors she had read about years ago. She had recently caught the attention of the school’s guidance counselor, Mrs. Hernandez, and the thought made her cringe. She wasn’t really into the whole touchy feely feelings thing, and after a couple weeks of trying to make a break through, she had been passed off to one of the teachers. She had been told that she had to meet with him after her last class and she dreaded the idea. Bad enough to have someone aggravating you about the whys of your actions, even more annoying that she was going to be mentally prodded by some guy.

Before she could linger on it too long, the last bell rang and she felt blessed relief at not having to listen to the idiot, er, Ms. Henderson any longer. She got up and slung her tatty back pack over her shoulder and then pulled a scrap of paper out of her pocket, checking out what classroom she was supposed to go to. Had she not been threatened with not graduating, she wouldn’t have even gone, but as it was…

She climbed the stairs to the second floor of the school and headed towards the chemistry labs. While she had taken her required chemistry class, she had been more interested in biology when it came to the sciences, and thus, had rarely visited the classrooms after her sophomore year. She wandered to the back corner of the building, pausing a moment to collect herself, calming her nerves for what she assumed was going to be another one of the many annoyances she had to endure. After a cleansing breath, she opened the door and walked in.

As she stepped through the door she paused and stared at the teacher for a moment. She had expected some old curmudgeon, but instead was greeted by the appearance of a man who was rather young looking. She looked back over her shoulder and wondered if she had entered the wrong classroom, but upon double checking the piece of paper, she was in the right place. She walked in slowly and stood in front of his desk.

“Umm…Hi…Mrs. Hernandez told me I had to come and see you today?” she asked, unable to look him in the eye as she nervously shifted her backpack. The fact that he made her nervous made her angry and she hoped that this was the first and last time she would have to see this guy.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor's last class of the day was hectic enough before accounting for the cacophony of stray thoughts he had to brush aside like gnats. He had no time to dwell on Sue's project student and he didn't know enough about her to have done any dwelling anyway. Sue hadn't even remembered to pass along the student's name. He did wonder if that was intentional or not.

The final bell rang and Trevor hastily reminded his class to get their homework done for tomorrow. When the last student cleared out, he breathed a sigh of relief and finally enjoyed a few moments of mental silence. Maybe this once, Sue's instincts about this student were wrong and the girl really didn't need any sort of guidance. Maybe she just didn't like counselors.

Trevor settled in behind his desk and tidied up - filing homework for grading later tonight, checking his email, and otherwise doing the little things he'd have to finish before calling it a day. While he was focused on his work, he "felt" her enter his room. He pretended not to notice, giving him a chance to skim her stray surface thoughts before any conversation got in the way.

To his amusement, her first thought was that he was younger than she'd expected and she wondered if she was in the wrong room. It took a conscious effort not to smile at that one. The rest of the thoughts passing through her were less specific, more feelings than unspoken words - annoyance, nerves, and even a simmering anger. So much for this being a quick and easy case.

When she crossed the classroom toward his desk, Trevor finally looked up. His eyebrows raised in surprise as the student was not what he expected. She was monochrome - skin so pale as to almost be white, while all of her clothing was black. The swath of bare skin beneath a cut-off t-shirt caught his attention even before the full curve of her bust. She might be a teen, adult technically as a member of the senior class, but she carried herself more like a woman despite her obvious nerves.

It was her eyes, though, that really drew him in. She seemed unwilling to meet his with those blue orbs so brilliant they seemed to glow. Were they so brilliant because the rest of her was so devoid of color? He doubted it, but her choice of attire certainly helped.

“Umm…Hi…Mrs. Hernandez told me I had to come and see you today?”

The battle of unhappy emotions swirled under her thoughts. She really didn't want to be here and hoped she'd never have to return. His first order of business, then, was to put her at ease.

"Hello, yes," he said, standing and coming around from behind his desk. He hated talking to students across it. So...authoritarian.

Trevor extended his hand to her, just now noticing her black leather gloves. Interesting choice, even if it did fit with the rest of her ensemble. He couldn't help taking in the rest of her figure, especially the way her tight jeans accentuated her hips and legs.

"I'm Mr. Willis," he said. "Mrs. Hernandez mentioned she wanted me to meet a student, but she neglected to tell me your name. Knowing that old bird, I'm wondering if that wasn't intentional. She also wouldn't tell me why she wanted us to meet, so I'm guessing she sent you here to 'fix' me."

He did his best to project a casual demeanor. It wasn't easy, though, given her thoughts and the burden Sue had placed on him to figure out what this girl's issue was. Nor, if he was being honest, his immediate attraction to her.

 

[scarlettnuit]

She instinctively took a step back when he came around the desk to greet her. She then moved her hands to her backpack strap nervously and looked around before looking at him again. It was men like him that made students get crushes on their teachers. He was young, handsome, and she presumed intelligent given his chosen profession. Why he’d waste it on the a-typical high school student was beyond her, as too was the reason he had agreed to be her “Fix it Felix”.

“Danielle…most people call me Dani,” she began as an introduction, “I’m not really sure why I’m here either, other than the fact I don’t particularly care for doing pointless grunt work for classes,” she told him and then moved to one of the desks and sat down, placing her backpack on the ground next to her.

She leaned forward, propping her elbow up on the desk and holding her jaw in her hand, “Is this some kind of detention or something?” she asked, not entirely sure what to make of the situation as her nerves swirled in her stomach.

Her attention drifted off as she thought about how much she wanted to just go home and smoke a joint. While she wasn’t a pot head in the typical sense, the drug did ease her nerves and help with the anxiety she struggled with. She was brought back to the present as Trevor spoke and she struggled to pay attention to what he was saying.

“I’m sorry, what?”

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor, sensing her unease with him, kept a casual distance as he listened to her introduction and nervous questioning as to why she was here and whether it was some sort of detention. He studied her body language and words and much as her stray thoughts, as he often found the disconnect between the two as telling as anything. In Dani's case, most of what she said didn't deviate from what she was thinking...but her thoughts roamed much wider.

He wasn't surprised to catch that fleeting moment of her finding him attractive. He was used to that from a shocking number of his female students, as well as a handful of the male ones. The brave few even fumbled with flirting, trying to conceal it behind a façade of "engaged student." Dani seemed more distressed by it, or simply making note, than getting an instant schoolgirl crush. That was good, since with the attraction being mutual this could go places that would...be problematic.

"No, it's not detention, Dani" he assured her. I wouldn't hold you against your will, unless I knew it was what you wanted... "But maybe it is about 'pointless grunt work.' I'm guessing you're talking about homework? You'd hardly be the first brilliant student who found homework, and even high school, beneath their level. Has that been causing problems with some of your teachers?"

Even as Trevor spoke, he saw her attention drift. In her mind, he caught just enough to know where she'd rather be and what she'd rather be doing. Drugs. That was disappointing, from what Mrs. Hernandez assured him was a brilliant student. But he knew these kids well enough to know that wasn't likely the root of the problem, but rather a side effect.

Or an escape. Her nerves in front of him were just an off-shoot of a generalized anxiety. Not uncommon around here, but what was driving it? That's what he had been recruited to find out.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Trevor smiled, not taking offense at her drifting off. At least she was polite about it. He settled into a desk not far from hers.

"I'm guessing homework isn't why you're here. Since Mrs. Hernandez didn't say why she wanted me to talk to you and you don't seem to know, either, let's speculate. Why would you send Dani to chat with a teacher you don't have class with? Something a counselor would over-analyze and another student or parent wouldn't understand, perhaps?"

 

[scarlettnuit]

Dani raised her right eyebrow slightly as he poised the question on why she would send herself here.

“I wouldn’t send me here,” she told him and then leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, “I would mind my own damned business but that’s me,” she said with annoyance.

She could feel her anxiety rising, talking about herself and her shitty home life wasn’t anything she cared to share with anyone. She sighed heavily and kicked her feet out, crossing her legs.

“Look, I come to class every day. I take the necessary tests. I can’t help it if I’m smarter than most of the teachers in this shit box, which I assume, is the problem. I’m just here to get wade through the bullshit and get the fuck out of here,” she told him, the aggravation of having to open up at all made her fingertips start to chill.

She closed her eyes and did her best to reign in the power that was ebbing in her hands, after a few moments she managed to pull it back; another reason she wanted to go home and numb out, sometimes it was the only way she could keep herself from causing a freak blizzard.

“Anyway,” She said after she cleared her throat, “Don’t take it personally, I don’t mean to be a bitch but I’m getting really tired of people sticking their nose in,” she said and then stood up and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

“Are we done here?”

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor listened through Dani's rant. It wasn't anything he hadn't heard a hundred times before, though in her case she was in the minority with actually being too smart rather than on the opposite end of the spectrum. What really got his attention, though, was the undercurrent of mental turmoil in her hidden thoughts. She was very anxious and her thoughts kept going back to her hands, her fingers. Cold. Blizzard? What?

That made no sense...unless...

Trevor knew he wasn't the only human with powers. In fact, he'd met half a dozen others and had it on good authority there were more. He knew there were those in the government or any of a hundred private organizations that who would have paid him a fortune to take advantage of what he could do, reading minds and extracting secrets. He also knew he didn't want that life, so he'd kept it quiet from all but a few people.

Was Dani one of the club? He had his telepathy and a trace level of telekinesis - barely able to move a pound of stuff on a good day. He'd met a more powerful telekinetic who could life a person, though, and a more specialized telekinetic who could only warm things up by agitating the molecules. That guy called himself a pyrokinetic, even though fire wasn't easy to achieve. Why couldn't someone do the opposite? Cryokinesis? It would certainly explain a great many things about her.

Or was he simply jumping to conclusions, a result of his perpetual loneliness in his uniqueness? Was it more striking in Dani because he found her attractive?

She stood and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Are we done here?"

"It's the curse of good teachers to stick their noses in students' business," he said, giving her a sympathetic smile. "So, I'll just ask one more question. Why do you wear the gloves?"

He wasn't about to call her out, but he figured her inner thoughts wouldn't be able to hide from him if his instincts were right on this one. Inwardly, his nerves were on edge, equally afraid and hopeful that she might indeed be gifted. What would he do with her? Would he risk revealing his own ability?

 

[scarlettnuit]

Her heart started to race as he asked about her gloves. Almost the instant the question came out frost formed on their leather and she quickly shoved them into her pockets.

“Easier to clean up a murder scene if you don’t leave any finger prints,” She replied, avoiding eye contact as she tried to concentrate and rein in her powers. Usually it limited itself to her hands but there had been one incident where her entire body had turned blue. She had no desire to revisit that experience anytime soon.

She looked up at the clock and knew if she didn’t go home soon, she would be stuck interacting with her mother and step father, neither of which she could stand. Her mother kept her around as a welfare ticket and her step father, well, he had more notorious reasons to be around her, reasons that caused her to add locks to her door.

Her stomach made an embarrassing noise, telling her outright that she was starving. She blushed a little and then shifted her weight from one leg to the other. She wanted to be as mean and nasty to this teacher as she was to the others, but it was difficult to be cruel to someone who seemed to be genuinely nice.

“Anyway, unless there is something I literally have to do, I’d rather not waste my time talking about my feelings to someone who probably has about as many emotions as the molecules he teaches about. Unless of course, you have a little school girl fetish. Is that it? Want to spank me into submission?” She seethed at him, doing her best to make him never want to see her again.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Dani's reaction to his question was abrupt and visceral. He almost felt bad about probing, sensing her fear at having an uncontrolled response. But his suspicions were confirmed - he'd stumbled upon another gifted!

He chuckled at her joke about why she wore the gloves, and quipped back that he hoped she didn't have to clean up murder scenes often. His mind picked up the myriad thoughts about home, none happy ones. Her mom, her step father. Ugh. Poor girl. Someone as gifted as her, in more ways than one, deserved better. At least she was a senior and would soon have the opportunity to find the freedom she craved.

Dani's embarrassment at her hunger and moment of regret for how she was treating him were endearing. Everything she'd said was clearly a defensive mechanism from one with more than her fair share of problems. He could respect that.

“Anyway, unless there is something I literally have to do, I’d rather not waste my time talking about my feelings to someone who probably has about as many emotions as the molecules he teaches about. Unless of course, you have a little school girl fetish. Is that it? Want to spank me into submission?” She tried to sound nasty, rude, but of course he saw right through it. The suggestive sexual kink was a new twist, though, and he almost squirmed at how close to the mark she'd struck.

Trevor cocked an eyebrow at her. "Wait, so if I did have a schoolgirl fetish, you'd stay?"

He figured that would catch her off guard. After giving her a moment to be shocked, he smiled and said, "Relax, I prefer a brilliant woman with a dark, hidden side."

Trevor let that hang in the air between them. He almost said something about spanking, but decided not to press his luck with her yet. Best see how she reacted to his riposte first.

 

[scarlettnuit]

Just as she was about to feel a small victory about hitting a nerve, Trevor’s counter question stopped her cold, despite the fact that it made her blush from head to toe. She had absolutely no idea how to deal with something that even remotely resembled flirting. On top of that, he added a compliment to the mix and she was completely speechless.

Doing her best not to do an impression of a fish gaping for air, she clamped her jaw shut as her eyes tried to look everywhere but at him. After a few moments she swallowed and gripped the strap of her backpack hard with both her hands. It was then that she realized that his comments had to be a joke, something to torture her with and make her feel stupid.

“Ha ha, very funny,” she finally said and suddenly felt like crying, which made her hate the situation even more. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the tears from falling and headed towards the door.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor felt Dani's wild emotional swings at his counter-comment and immediately regretted having potentially pushed her away as a result. For all her bluster, he got the sense she wasn't used to getting attention from a guy. Combine that with having to hide her gift and everything else...

"Wait, Dani," he said, standing but not moving to block her. "Please. Sorry. That wasn't the most mature way to respond. Maybe Mrs. Hernandez shouldn't have trusted me to talk with you. I would like to be that person you can trust, though...if you need someone to talk to."

He wished he knew how to get through to Dani. Trust took time and he wasn't sure he had much with her.

"Maybe we could start over. Look, I need to organize the lab equipment and I could really use a hand. How about I order a pizza and by the time it arrives we could have most of the work done. If you want to talk, fine. If not, I'll talk for the both of us. No prying. Promise."

That sort of offer was probably a bit over the line for a one-on-one with a student, but then again he'd already crossed that line with his response. He didn't think she was the type to report him on it, though. And, if she contemplated it, he'd know and had the leverage to change her mind.

 

[scarlettnuit]

She stopped as he asked her to stay, in truth, she didn’t want to leave. The promise of food was one that was too tempting to pass up, she knew there wasn’t anything waiting for her at home except some old stale pop tarts. She supposed if she stayed and had something to keep her busy, it would be better than going home and listening to her mom and step-mom fight.

She turned around and looked him over and for a moment, wished he hadn’t been joking about liking women like her. She slowly walked toward his desk and dropped her backpack to the ground.

“I’d ask for beer but I’m sure that’s too much to hope for,” she said as she looked around, “what is it you need me to do?”

She listened as he gave her a list of things to do and then started working. If she were being truthful, she didn’t mind too much. She felt a sense of satisfaction as she took a disorganized mess and made it clean and tidy again.

“So, do you always get sent wayward teens to nurture?” she asked him as she bent over and started removing beakers from a bottom cabinet. Once they were removed she took a spray bottle of cleaner and a towel and started cleaning the inside of the cabinet.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor almost quipped back that they'd have to go to his place if she wanted a beer, but decided better and held his tongue. Besides, he was too busy being startled by her stay thought of wishing he hadn't been joking. Was she attracted to him, or was it one of those passing, abstract thoughts?

"Too early for a beer, don't'cha think?" he said with a laugh. He hadn't planned on asking her to help clean, but there was plenty to do and he gave her a few easy tasks, then ordered the pizza to be delivered to the school office. There should be staff there for another hour or so.

That done, he joined in and helped with the tidying. Unable to resist, he stole looks in her direction when he didn't think she was watching. Her bare midriff kept drawing him in, his imagination placing his hands there and then sliding up under her shirt. When she bent over, he savored her tight ass in those jeans. It was impossible not to notice the hot girls among the student population, but seldom did he do more than appreciate them in a distant fashion. Dani was different, triggering all manner of inappropriate fantasies.

“So, do you always get sent wayward teens to nurture?” she asked him.

Trevor chuckled. "Nah. Just the brilliant ones, apparently." He didn't add the 'with a dark, hidden side.'

"So far, just you."

He knew his flirting, even if oblique, was treading on thin ice. And yet, he couldn't seem to resist.

"So, what sort of plans do you have after you're free of this 'shit box?'"

 

[scarlettnuit]

She shot him a look over her shoulder as he called her brilliant, evaluating the look on his face as he said it. She had been called a lot of things by a lot of teachers, but none of them were complementary. After a moment she returned her attention to putting the beakers back in the cabinet. When he asked what her plans were later she couldn’t help but be sarcastic.

“Oh I dunno, shoplifting, incredibly hard drugs, you know, the usual mischief and mayhem,” she smiled back at him and then hopped up to sit on one of the counters while he finished what he was doing.

She crossed her arms over her chest and wished he wasn’t a teacher. He was too good looking to be one first of all. She knew the idiot cheerleader types were probably already a problem. They’d nail anything if they thought it would make them look cooler. Of course all she saw when she looked at them was an STI dumping ground.

Secondly, he actually seemed to be cool, and given his chosen subject of study, he might even be intelligent. She was glad she hadn’t had him for chemistry, she might have been distracted as well. The thought of this made her chastise herself inwardly. She hopped off the counter and walked towards the front of the room just as someone delivered the pizza from the office to the classroom, shutting the door behind them as they left.

“Looks like dinner has arrived,” she said as she sat on a desk near the front, not wanting to break into the pizza before he opened the box. Manners mattered to her and were returned to those she thought deserved them.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor was disappointed with Dani's response to his question about her future plans. Did she really not have something better in mind? He didn't think she was that troubled, but he also couldn't get a read on what she really wanted or planned to do...

...because her thoughts immediately shifted to him. There was a distinct sexual interest in him, an attraction that went beyond the mere physical. She was bothered by her reaction, though. Not an uncommon response, in his experience. People needed to accept their own feelings rather than hide from them.

Easier said than done. He regularly felt guilty about his ability to read people's thoughts, despite it being out of his control. What would she think if she could read his thoughts, see the things he'd already imagined doing with her?

He realized he was seriously contemplating how he could seduce this young woman. Foolish as it would be, there was an undeniable attraction. The forbidden aspects of such a relationship only made it more enticing. Would it be that difficult to nudge her over the line, knowing she was already a little bit interested? Probably not, not when he could read her thoughts. But what if she knew that about him? Would it change the equation for or against him?

Trevor was transferring a box to the storage room when the pizza arrived. Dani was nice enough to collect it and wait for him. He detoured by his desk and retrieved a couple cans of fruit-infused sparkling water as well as a couple paper towels from by the sink.

"Sorry it's not beer and plates," he said, offering her one of each before taking a seat beside her.

He let her open the box and take the first slice, then dug in himself. He let himself savor the flavor, not realizing how hungry he'd been. Mostly, though, he was glad to see Dani relaxing a bit around him.

"Thanks for the help," he said. "Really, I do appreciate it. It's not easy cleaning up after a hundred plus mostly indifferent teens.

"Shame I never had you in my class. I'm guessing you wouldn't have been like that. A brilliant student needs to be challenged, worked over hard. Sadly, that indifference often extends to the teachers - too much effort to give special attention to those who could use it."

 

[scarlettnuit]

Once Dani had a slice and a drink she sat down across from him and slipped the can under the desk. As he spoke, she took her glove off and touched the can briefly to cool it down and then replaced her glove. She then brought it back up, popped the tab, and took a drink.

“You really need to stop calling me brilliant, I might get an ego,” she told him as she took a bite of her pizza and found it utterly delicious. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until that very moment.

“Besides,” She began after she swallowed and wiped her mouth, “I wouldn’t have given you a moments peace, just ask the others.”

The thought of any of her teachers paying more attention to her made her cringe. She hated dealing with them as it was, especially given the assumptions they made about her. She was a drug addicted slut as far as most of them were concerned, who, of course, somehow stole all the answers to all their tests. The idea was pretty comical to her, the thought of a needle being ANYWHERE near her skin made her panic, as did any drug that even had the slightest potential to kill her. No, she had a puff now and then but she sure as hell wasn’t going to get mixed up in something that could be potentially life threatening.

She polished off one slice and then grabbed another. She pushed her chair back and kicked her combat boots up on top of the desk as she ate, relaxing a bit more.

“Do you ever get annoyed with your students? To use an old adage, if assholes could fly this place would be an airport.”

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor was amused when he noticed Dani use her power to cool her drink. Oh, she was subtle about it, and he couldn't actually see it, but he easily picked up on her thoughts. Interestingly, she wasn't overly worried about it. In a way, it was good - that she didn't seem to be overly afraid of her own powers. The fear of losing control, he understood.

He somewhat tuned out her stray thoughts about other teachers, not wanting to overanalyze her inner monologue. Much of it was variations on the usual clutter he got from other students. It was easy to read too much into what someone was thinking in the moment, too. People often got hung up on little details, only to later dismiss them as inconsequential.

Trevor couldn't help smile between bites of pizza as she kicked her feet up on the desk. It gave him an entirely new view of her legs to draw his attention.

“Do you ever get annoyed with your students? To use an old adage, if assholes could fly this place would be an airport.”

Trevor laughed.

"Do you want the answer that keeps me gainfully employed or the truth?" He took a drink and then went on. "It'd be hard not to get annoyed with a student now and then. Some go out of their way to bring it on. But I could say the same for some fellow teachers, too, so I've learned to just roll with it more often than not. Not everyone wants to be here and that'll only lead to friction."

He helped himself to another slice.

"Still, for every handful that annoy me, I'll have one the really wants to learn. For every hundred that go through the motions or get lost in the noise, I'll have one that I can really connect with and change her life."

Trevor chewed his foot thoughtfully.

"Have any teachers giving you particular trouble? And don't worry, it doesn't leave this room."

 

[scarlettnuit]

She was surprised at how relaxed she started to feel around him. As he responded to her question about the students he taught, she hid her smile behind the rim of her drink, not wiling to laugh outright. She thought about his question and thought the answer was pretty obvious.

“All of them, but then again, that’s why I got shifted here,” she said as she finished her second slice. She then stood up and stretched, raising her hands over her head before dropping them back down and looking at the clock.

“I suppose I’d better get out of here, you probably have stuff to do,” she picked up her backpack and slung it on.

She wasn’t particularly looking forward to going home. She shifted her weight again and then bit the inside of her cheek. Before she could think about it for too long, she casually sauntered over him, stood between his legs and used the tip of her tongue to clean a spot of pizza sauce off the corner of his mouth. She then stepped back and smiled a little.

“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she told him, and walked out of the classroom before the hot blush on her cheeks could fully form. She had never done anything like that in her life and she wasn’t entirely sure why she did it, but it had been fun, of course, now her palms were like ice.

She went home and managed to bypass the argument going on in the kitchen. She shut her bedroom door and set all the locks on it. She tossed her bag and flopped down on her twin bed. She reached between her mattress and box spring and pulled out a small metal box that had a couple of rolled joints in it. She took one out and lit it, blowing the smoke up in the air.

The teacher had been surprisingly cool and she was looking forward to seeing him again…unless she got suspended. Eh fuck it, she didn’t care if they did. It was one of the few times she lived up to her bad girl image…other than being fulling willing and able to deliver a right hook when the need arose. She put out her joint and let her head loll back as drifted off to sleep.

***
The next day she started to feel anxiety about going back to see Mr. Willis. What she had done was fairly stupid and she had no idea why she had done it. Not to mention that she was kind of mortified. She wouldn’t have gone at all except it had been made very clear to her that there were going to be serious consequences if she didn’t, including her mom being contacted. That would eventually lead to police and social workers that she didn’t feel like dealing with at the moment.
And so she finally made her way to his classroom and was more demure than she would have been otherwise. She walked to the desk across from his and set her backpack down on it.

“So, what are we cleaning or organizing today?”

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor thought he had a pretty good idea what kind of girl, woman, Dani was. Then she licked the corner of his mouth, uninvited and without explanation. No, he hadn't flinched away. He didn't even say a word after the fact. He was a bit too stunned to come up with anything witty or authoritarian.

She took her leave, with him still in stunned silence, barely even registering the wiggle of her fine ass. As his sensible mind returned, he realized that maybe this really was part of her usual schtick with the other teachers, the ones with whom she was always getting in trouble. No, she surely wasn't doing *that* with them, but other overt acts of disrespect or flaunting their authority.

Dani's act had a far greater effect on him that she'd realized, though. She had created a bridge. It was a term he'd come up with many years ago when he'd first experienced it after sex with his then-girlfriend. Ordinarily, his telepathy picked up surface thoughts and emotions of people nearby, typically in the same room. Now, like with that previous bridge, he could still pick up her thoughts and emotions even as she was long gone from the room and then the school. More, he absorbed far more than just the surface thoughts. He couldn't read or dig through her memories, yet he "understood" her subconscious mind on a level she probably couldn't grasp. All that from a mere "almost kiss."

Not good. If his previous experience with this effect was anything to go by, he wouldn't be able to get her out of his head for weeks or months. Her thoughts and emotions would consume him throughout the day and night. If she wasn't calm and content, neither would he.

He cleaned up the room, going through the motions while his mind bounced between his own thoughts and hers. She was attracted to him, that much was obvious. She'd gotten a thrill from licking him and, deep down, he knew she would be receptive to more if he gave her anything in return. How she consciously accepted it, whether she tried to rationalize her way out of it, was less clear. It didn't help at all that he wanted her.

By the time Trevor got home, he'd experienced Dani's response to getting home, to her hiding both physically from her mother and step-father and then from her anxiety through smoking. He thought it'd be a blessing when she finally nodded off, her mind clearing, but then her dreams began...

#

Trevor felt like he was going through the motions most of the next day. He didn't even fight off the stray surface thoughts of his usual students, welcoming the cacophonous white noise's ability to blunt Dani's steady stream of anxiety. She was bothered by what she'd done yesterday and having to face him again. She was more afraid of not facing him. And, underneath it all, she was eager and excited. Was he having the same exact feelings, or were they hers? Probably both.

After the last bell, he didn't have to wonder if she was coming. He could feel her, could almost see where she was in the hallway simply by her stray thoughts. He followed her right to his own classroom door. She looked every bit as alluring to him as she had yesterday, though her attitude was clearly dialed back a few notches.

“So, what are we cleaning or organizing today?” she said.

Dani, in his immediate presence, was an overwhelming force across this mental bridge. He struggled to maintain his appearance of control, fighting off what he knew could happen to him in this condition.

You could spit-polish my cock. Trevor bit his tongue, then forced a smile.

"That depends," he said, his voice steadier to his ear than it felt in his mind. "Is there anything that needs cleaning off my face?"

It was a good thing he was already sitting, as Dani's emotional response to his quip probably would have knocked him on his ass. He smiled, using it as an excuse to take a deep breath before continuing.

"I can see now why the other teachers think you're a handful," he said, slowly rising from behind his desk. I know better. I think you're two handfuls. "It's cool. You can't scare me off that easily."

Before she could bolt, he gestured toward the back room - the storage closet where the chemicals and glasswares and such were locked up. He opened the door and gestured to the bottom shelves where there were several boxes of mix-matched equipment in need of finding their proper homes. It would be tight quarters for the two of them.

"We can got those boxes sorted out," he said. "And you can tell me why you came back this afternoon...besides the obvious threat from Mrs. Hernandez or the administration."

 

[scarlettnuit]

The blood rushed to her face when he spoke and she thought she might die. She closed her eyes for a moment and wished she was as bad ass as she liked to think she was. In most areas of her compartmentalized life, she was, but human interaction, now there was an area at which she was a bumbling moron.

“Oh, good, I forgot to bring you a bib,” She quipped back when she turned around, adding a little smile to the end of her statement.

What was more impressive was that he didn’t seem to be bothered at all. That made her want to figure him out. She crossed her arms over her chest, wearing basically the same outfit as before, but with a different t-shirt. She followed him into the storage closet and looked around. She always liked the smell of school supplies; pencils, books, glue, but there were some chemicals stored here than made her nose wrinkle for a moment.

When he pointed to the boxes she bent down and picked one up, putting it on the small table that resided in the closet. It looked like a bunch of stuff had just got chucked in their and needed to either be tossed or put away. She was about to take it out of the closet when he asked why she came back.

“Well, I can’t say that the promise of pizza didn’t influence my decision, we all have our addictions to feed,” she teased and then took the box back into the classroom and started putting things away.

“I suppose the better question is why you’re still willing to put up with me. It’s not like some goody two shoes isn’t waiting to polish your knob, er, classroom.”

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor was surprised at how quickly she got over the reaction to his comment, and then transitioned into flirty. This sounded more playful than defensive, though. With any other student, he'd have had to warn her off. With Dani...

He chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure there are indeed a few goody two shoes who'd like to polish my...classroom. But I prefer more sophisticated ass. Er, sass."

Trevor pulled down an overloaded box of chemicals from the top shelf and set it on the small table beside Dani's work. Their arms practically brushed in the limited space.

"And who said anything about pizza a second time? Or were you hoping for a better offer?"

 

[scarlettnuit]

She had meant to be sarcastic as she teased him about his fan base, but he kicked it right back at her, and to her surprise, she laughed. When he brought up the pizza she had to look at him again. Was this guy messing with her? She was used to messing around with everyone else’s heads, but was he spinning her game on her?

She raised an eyebrow and looked him over again, as if her glare would allow her to see something that she hadn’t before. For all intents and purposes, he was a normal looking guy, wearing dorky teacher threads, but otherwise, kinda normal. Did he treat other students this way? It seemed odd. She could feel her hands starting to get colder with her nerves and she instinctively threaded her fingers together, making sure that her gloves were on good and tight.

“Better back off cowboy, we don’t wanna end up as a tragic lifetime movie,” She told him and threw some trash in her now empty box and set it by the door to take out when she left. When she returned to the table she stood across from him and poked into the box he had. There was a collection of odd smells and containers and she wrinkled her nose again.

“What is all this stuff anyway? We never got to do anything fun in chemistry, much less use actual chemicals. Are you secretly making meth or something?”

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor chuckled at her Lifetime movie joke. A nicely played way to deflect the direction their banter was going. He was glad she didn't get all bothered by it. He read her right in that regard, but she was clearly still treading uncertain ground.

"Hoping for something more Breaking Bad than Lifetime tragedy?" He pulled out a couple bottles and looked at the label. "Sodium thiosulfate. We use this one in a lab on exo and endothermic reactions. Mix this in water and the temp drops."

He held the bottle out to her, well aware of her earlier fidgeting with her gloves and fear of going uncontrolled cold on him. In truth, he very much wanted to see what she could do, but he didn't want to scare her off by revealing what he knew just yet.

"Familiar with the principle?"

 

[scarlettnuit]

“Nah, never actually seen the show to be honest, I just know it involves meth,” she shrugged, “and that, apparently making meth can blow things up?” she added.

She raised her eyebrows a bit as he mentioned the chemical that lowered temperatures. She wondered if she had an abundance of it in her body or something. Perhaps that was the reason her hands did what they did. She took the bottle from him and looked it over before setting it back down again.

“Interesting. I wish I had had you for a teacher. Before you there was a guy that was practically a mummy he was so old. He wasn’t particularly fond of supervising anyone so we watched a ton of videos. We never actually did anything, so I am only familiar with the chemical reaction in theory.”

She went through a few more of the chemicals, putting the expired vials over to the side. She was about to move an empty box to her trash pile when there was a loud thump on the glass of the door. She turned her head just in time to see Cindy write the word “slut” in big red lipstick letters on the window. Dani smiled back, giving her the finger before the girl ran off. She clearly didn’t know that Mr. Willis was in the room.

“I’ll get that,” She sighed as she grabbed the cleaner and the paper towels. She opened the door and got to cleaning.

“Another reason not to have me in your classroom,” she said with aggravation as she wiped the glass clean, "ironic considering she brags about balling half the varsity football team."

 

[WatchingCloud]

Trevor appreciated her comment about wishing she'd had him as a teacher. And, rather than going right to him being easy on the eyes or fantasy material, she meant it for education reasons. The teacher in him gave her full marks for that.

He had his back turned when the commotion began at the door. His mind was so locked up with Dani's right now, he hadn't picked up on the stray thoughts approaching. Now focused, he sensed the vandal's surface emotions - a curious mix of excitement, fear, insecurity, and self-loathing. The girl vanished before he could get a good look at who it was.

Dani hurried to clean it up, despite her irritation with the incident.

“Another reason not to have me in your classroom,” she said with aggravation as she wiped the glass clean, "ironic considering she brags about balling half the varsity football team."

Trevor chuckled. The girl - the name Cindy passed through Dani's mind along with some emotional baggage, but without ringing any bells to him - had issues whether it was true or she simply wanted it to be true.

"I'm not going to let the act of an emotionally fragile girl affect my judgement about whose company I keep," he said. "I'd take you any day of the week over someone like that."

Trevor realized those words could be taken any of a number of ways. He almost clarified, but let it stand.

"You have some history with her? Steal her boyfriend? Or is she so desperate, she's trying to manufacture a rivalry?"