"Thank you for the ride."
Arthur didn't move, didn't get out of the car. He watched the students flow into the school, feeling unusually aware of the quiet space around him. He liked being early, liked signing the attendance book before others, but he didn't have that urge today.
"Give me your hand."
Arthur froze, fingers tightening around the strap of his bag as Natalia grinned and asked for his hand.
"W-why?"
"I want to hold it."
Natalia chuckled and gently reached out, slipping her hand into his.
Their fingers threaded together, a perfect fit, and her thumb brushed lightly across his knuckles.
It shouldn't have felt like this. Holding hands was supposed to be simple. But Arthur's stomach flipped, a warmth spreading through him, and his eyes kept darting back to her face. Every time he looked, that familiar spark was there, the same one from their kiss—but now, slower, softer, more deliberate. Somehow… more romantic...
He didn't need experience to know how much he liked this, liked her. Liked the small, intimate rhythm of her thumb on his hand, the quiet closeness that made the rest of the world disappear.
For three long minutes, they sat like that. Silent. Watching each other, then their hands, then each other again. It could have been awkward, should have been with the long silence in that small space, but it wasn't.
Arthur was weirdly comfortable.
"I'll come to pick you up too. So… see you soon."
Arthur rubbed his ear as Natalia leaned closer teasingly before withdrawing her hand.
He then quickly nodded before opening the door and rushing off. His hand still felt warm, and he gently rubbed his palm with the other, recalling the moment with a small smile slowly creeping onto his lips.
Now he could understand why people in love were so giddy. Literally, everything makes you feel excited.
'I can't wait to go home.'
Arthur dazily went through his usual routine of signing the attendance book, checking his schedule, grabbing the necessary files from the office, and finally headed to the teachers' room to take his seat.
"Teacher Arthur? I thought you wouldn't come today. Was I early?"
Arthur smiled politely at the curiosity of the teacher next to him, who was notorious for being nosy and digging into every little thing.
"Yeah… I was a little late today."
"Oh no! Did something happen?"
"No. Just woke up late."
"Ah. I see."
Arthur secretly let out a sigh, thinking the other teacher was done questioning him... but nope. Today was the day Arthur was about to find out exactly how shamelessly nosy this man could be.
"You know… you said you always come with your dad. But today, you didn't come with him, right?"
Arthur tried to act nonchalant, but his heart raced. How the hell did he know? It was nothing to worry about, yet Arthur absolutely hated others prying into his business. Did he really have to answer this?
"I came here like always," he replied, opening a random file to look busy.
But the man turned his chair fully toward him, blocking any escape.
"Don't lie. I saw her. You got a girlfriend? She drove you here instead of your dad. So… are we getting a wedding invite soon?"
Arthur stared at him in disbelief and annoyance. Almost speechless.
Damn… why was he so shameless, asking personal questions when they had barely talked?
He had countless answers he wanted to shout, but he didn't want to create a hostile work environment. So, he decided to act polite and end the conversation.
Thankfully, before he could respond, the bell for the first period rang. It gave Arthur a chance to escape, as the man had higher classes strictly observed by the principal, and the teacher had to leave immediately.
Once the teacher rushed off, Arthur sighed, but he felt like his day was already kind of ruined.
And he guessed… by today, everyone would maybe find out about this.
Unless that teacher took seriously the second warning he had received about spreading personal information after another teacher complained to the principal before.
Maybe… this wouldn't be such an issue.
He shouldn't overthink.
Arthur gathered his things and walked to his class, and from then on, the day went smoothly...or so he thought.
But then, during interval, he ran into that teacher again.
The man's behavior was obvious enough that others could tell he really wanted to talk to Arthur. They guessed he had probably discovered something personal about him, because he loved digging into other people's business. Annoying, yes, but near fifty, experienced, and an elder among the staff, no one wanted to confront him face-to-face.
They just endured it… or filed anonymous complaints that usually only earned him warnings.
"So… I would like to know younger people's love stories. How did you two meet?"
Arthur felt extremely uncomfortable, but he was trapped because the man was literally blocking his way.
Arthur was now hungry, and as annoyed as he was, he couldn't eat in peace. He was even more annoyed because he could hear the guy's breathing. Arthur was basically nearing madness, and just then, like fate had some sympathy for him, a student broke into the teachers' room, panting and looking not so good.
He had clearly been in a fight.
"Teacher! Teacher! The 10A and 10B classes are at it again. One is bleeding!"
Usually, the elder, experienced teachers handled situations like this, so this was obviously for the old teacher. He frowned, looking offended, but Arthur didn't know if it was because he was disturbed or because it was the same two classes that had fought and caused a lot of trouble just two weeks ago.
"Damn these idiots! Do they think they are at a fight club or a school?!"
The teacher followed the student and rushed out, while Arthur let out an audible sigh, already planning some lies in his head to end those questions.
'Maybe I should just file a complaint?'
Arthur pondered as he ignored the shouting outside and peacefully dug into his lunch. After all, these fights became so messy when the alphas started fighting dirty, releasing pheromones. Arthur would rather stay inside since, after the last fight, even he had to go home early because he felt sick from the alpha pheromones.
"Teacher Arthur?"
Arthur was just about to take his third bite of his delicious lunch when he was disturbed again. He almost rolled his eyes, but then the voice felt familiar, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw who it was.
"Jax."
That sweet boy...
"I'm sorry to bother you during the meal. But um… Aunt Carol wanted me to deliver this to you."
Arthur watched the lunch bag in the boy's extended hand and looked at him with a smile before accepting it.
"What's in here?"
"Aunt got quite a big amount of asparagus, and I believe whatever's in there is made of asparagus, since she's been sharing a lot of meals with everyone because of it."
The boy chuckled as he said it, and Arthur smiled politely in return. But maybe he would bring this home for Aunt, because he didn't really want to eat anything primarily vegetable-based.
It just didn't feel right.
Meat was the way to go.
"Tell her I said thanks."
Arthur said it, but the boy didn't leave.
Arthur was quite confused, but he thought maybe the boy had something to say.
It had been maybe just a minute, and the silence felt awkward to Arthur, so he turned back to his lunch box and then looked at the boy hesitantly.
"Have you eaten?"
"Not yet, Teacher."
"Ah… then go and have your lunch before the interval ends. Don't wander around. Understand?"
Arthur watched the boy nod and sighed again when he left.
Finally, he could have his meal in pe-
"I have never seen such aggressive students… they need to be suspended if they are going to fight at school every day like this and annoy everyone…"
The other teacher was back.
Great…