Your Pov:
After an hour...
The sky above me is growing dark. In my room, the lights have been on for a while now. I'm sitting on the edge of the bed, my legs crossed beneath me, watching with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness as Tess rummages through my attic closet as if it were a vault of hidden treasures.
"You can't wear this," Tess declares, pulling out a tight black dress with a side slit that almost reaches the hips. Her green eyes sparkle with determination, the freckles on her nose even more noticeable under the light of the bedside lamp.
"That's...too normal. You have to be irresistible tonight."
I blush, my fingers absentmindedly playing with the hem of my pajama top.
"Look, Tess, it's a school party, not a date..."
"Exactly!" Tess points a finger at me, and only now do I notice her red-painted nails contrasting with her pale skin.
"Aizawa-sensei will be there. You can't just show up as the usual pretty student hiding behind her books. You'll give him a heart attack just looking at you."
She smiles mischievously as she pulls a pair of black lace underwear from the closet, so fine it seems to be made of shadows.
"And this is just the appetizer."
I swallow as soon as I see that thing, and my heart beats faster. It's not the first time Tess has planned an outfit for me, but tonight there's something different in the air, a strange electric tension.
"I don't know if I can wear something like that..."
"Trust me."
Tess tosses me my underwear, then bends over to pull a box from under the bed. Inside, wrapped in tissue paper, is a dress I've never seen before: a wine-colored silk sheath dress, so dark it looks black under certain lights, but it explodes into ruby reflections when you move it. The neckline is deep and asymmetrical, designed to follow the curve of the breasts without revealing too much, while the back is completely bare, held up only by thin crisscross straps.
"Wow! Is this your mother's?"
"I don't know... I think so." I reply, enchanted by the beauty of that dress.
I touch it reverently, my fingers trembling slightly.
"Tess...it's too much."
"No, stop it."
She grabs my chin, lifting my head.
"Eri, listen. I know you like yourself, but you don't let yourself shine. Tonight you will, and that's it. Aizawa-sensei won't be able to take his eyes off you, and you'll show him what he's missing."
His name on my lips burns. I close my eyes for a moment, imagining him: I see his black eyes narrow when he concentrates, that magnificent scar beneath his eye creasing when he smiles (rare, but it happens), his strong hands always hidden in his pockets, as if he's afraid to use them for anything other than erasing the power of others.
"What if he doesn't care?" I murmur.
Tess laughs heartily. "Oh, he does. Trust me."
Two hours later, I look at myself in the bathroom mirror as if I don't recognize myself. The dress clings to my body like a second skin, accentuating every curve, every soft line of my hips and breasts. Tess insisted on a dark smokey eye makeup that makes my electric blue eyes pop, almost phosphorescent against my porcelain-pale skin. My lips, full and with that small mole that's settled above my upper lip, are painted a dark, almost purplish red, giving me an effortless femme fatale look. My hair, normally straight and loose on my shoulders, is pulled back in a high, messy hairstyle, with strands falling down my neck.
"You're..." Tess pauses in the bathroom doorway, arms crossed, a smug smile on her lips.
"Perfect. Aizawa-sensei won't even know where to look."
I take a deep breath, feeling the dress tighten slightly around my midriff.
"I feel...exposed."
"That's the point." Tess hands me a small glass of sake from the fridge. "Drink it. You'll loosen up a bit."
The liquid burns my throat. I close my eyes, then open them again, with a different look...more determined.
"Let's go."
***
Once inside, the institute has been transformed for the occasion: the dull, sterile classrooms have been replaced with soft lighting, fairy lights, and tables laden with glasses and appetizers. The music is loud and pulsating through the speakers, a mix of Japanese electro pop and Western tunes that make the floor vibrate. We students, finally free from our uniforms, wear clothes ranging from casual to dressy, and the air is filled with laughter, alcohol, and that excited tension that only late-night parties can create.
I enter with my arm wrapped around Tess's, immediately feeling the attention on us. I'm not used to being the center of attention, or at least not like this. Someone whistles, a sophomore I don't know well, and I blush, clutching my plastic cup as if it were a lifeline.
"See?" Tess whispers in my ear, her voice heavy. "You're already the queen of the evening."
I shake my head, trying to ignore the heat rising in my cheeks.
"Where are the others?"
"There." Tess gestures with her chin to a group near the drinks table. Kaito, a Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned, is pouring Ren a drink, laughing at something he said. Next to him, Reina is chatting animatedly with another second-year, glasses in hand.
And then...him.
Aizawa-sensei is leaning against the opposite wall, slightly apart, as always. He's wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, the kind that shows off his muscular arms and the veins running beneath his pale skin. His hair, cut in that messy wolf cut that gives him a wild look, is tied back. His eyes, black as ink, are...fixed on me.
I feel my breath catch.
It's not the classic distracted look, nor the one of a teacher watching over students. That look is intense, almost predatory. And it's the first time he's looked at me like that. As if he wanted to devour me with his eyes right here, in front of everyone.
"Oh, damn!" Tess exclaims, following my gaze. "He's hungry, the little wolf."
I look away, my heart pounding. "He's...he's not looking at me."
"Yeah, right, right. He's staring at the wall behind you."
But I don't have the courage to turn around again. I take a sip of my drink, the sweet, alcoholic one Kaito handed me, and walk toward my group, forcing a small smile.
"Hi, guys!"
Ren raises his glass in greeting, his eyes already slightly sparkling.
"Seraph, finally! You should have come earlier, we've already started drinking without you!"
I laugh, and something inside me begins to melt a little. Ren has that gift: he can make me forget everything with a joke and a sip of alcohol.
"Sorry, sorry, it's Tess's fault. She kept me prisoner in her torture laboratory."
"It was worth it, though," a girl next to me comments, winking. "You're gorgeous."
I blush again, but this time it seems easier to smile. I let myself get drawn into the conversation, the noise, and the laughter. Every now and then, though, I feel that gaze on me...
Meanwhile, the party continues in a whirlwind of music, alcohol, and laughter. I find myself dancing with Kaito, my sweaty hands gripping his shoulders as he spins me around, laughing like crazy. Tess, meanwhile, has found a group of third-years and is entertaining them with one of her exaggerated stories, her hands waving in the air as if she's painting invisible pictures.
I pull away from Kaito, panting. "God, I need water!"
"I'll bring it to you!" Kaito staggers toward the drinks table, but is intercepted by a girl who grabs his arm, laughing.
I shake my head, smiling. It's nice to see everyone so free, so happy. I feel light, too, as if the weight I always carry with me, that mix of insecurity and unconfessed desire, has vanished, at least for that evening.
Then... I feel it.
A body approaches me from behind, too close. The smell of whiskey and expensive aftershave envelops my senses, followed by a warm breath on my neck.
"Hey..."
The voice is low, hoarse, slightly slurred. It's not Aizawa-sensei's.
I turn and find myself face to face with my trainee sensei, Mr. Hawks-sensei. Well, the one with the classic poster smile, who seems affable, but isn't. Now, with his slightly bleary eyes and flushed cheeks, he looks very different.
"Hawks, sensei!" I exclaim, trying to maintain a slightly professional tone despite the knot forming in my stomach. "Are you having fun?"
He doesn't respond. Instead, he raises a hand and brushes a strand of my hair, letting it slip between his fingers.
"You look...you look very beautiful tonight."
I take a step back, but he follows me, though the wall behind me prevents me from moving any further.
"Thanks, but..."
I don't even have time to finish my sentence.
Hawks-sensei leans over, his lips brushing the curve of my neck. Those warm, moist lips. I'm paralyzed for a moment, just one terrible moment, before panic overwhelms me.
"Hawks, no..."
But my protest is drowned out by the noise of the party, the laughter, the music. No one is watching us. No one would have noticed... anything.
Then, a hand closes around his wrist, squeezing with a force that whitens his knuckles.
"I think Eri told you no."
The voice is cold, neutral. I recognize it immediately.
Aizawa-sensei.
Hawks turns toward him, blinking as if focusing on the figure in front of him.
"Eraser... oh sorry, I didn't see you."
He doesn't answer. His eyes, black and shiny as obsidian, are fixed... on me. There's no trace of the usual detachment, the usual coldness. There's only anger. A dull fury that seems to vibrate in the air between us.
Then, without a word, he grabs me by the wrist and drags me away, away from the crowd, away from everyone.
We arrive in a dark corridor, illuminated only by the dim light of an emergency exit.
We walk down the deserted corridor of U.A. High School, our steps hurried. Aizawa-sensei walks ahead of me, his back tense, his broad shoulders moving with an almost military rigidity. I follow him, my fingers tightening around the fabric of my dress, the same dress Tess chose for me, cinched at the waist, clinging to my curves like a second skin. The fabric is still damp in some places, where sweat has mixed with the heat of my body during the party.
We haven't said a word since we left the party hall. Not since Hawks-sensei dared to touch me.
Not since Aizawa-sensei grabbed that wrist with a force that made my knuckles white, his voice a low, guttural growl that froze the air. "I think Eri told you no..."
I swallow, my throat dry. The memory of that moment makes my heart race, I feel a mix of fear and something much more dangerous, something snaking in my stomach... It shouldn't turn me on, the way he defended me. It shouldn't make me want to press myself against him, to feel those same hands that tore me from Hawks's clutches...
But that's how it is.
That's exactly how it is.
Aizawa-sensei stops dead in front of the biotechnology lab, the one we only use for the most complex exercises, where the smells of formaldehyde and denatured alcohol make me dizzy. He doesn't turn, he doesn't look at me. But I know he's right here, in front of me. He's holding back anger, under that black shirt, or maybe desire. Or both.
"Come in," he says, his voice harsh, sounding more like a command than an invitation.
I obey.
The door closes behind us, the lab is dark, lit only by the emergency lights on the ceiling, which cast our elongated shadows on the stainless steel tables. I feel the cold metal beneath my fingers as I lean on them. The sensei turns on a halogen lamp above our heads, and the harsh, uncomfortable light makes me blink, revealing every detail of the room: the still-half-full test tubes on a tray, the monitor of a switched-off microscope, the stains of bluish liquid on a sheet of blotting paper.
And him...God, him...
The light cuts his face in half, half in shadow, half illuminated, highlighting the scar that runs across his right cheekbone. His black eyes, black as pitch or a moonless night, are fixed on me, and for the first time, I see no coldness. I see something alive, hungry...that makes my thighs tighten involuntarily.
"What the hell were you doing with him?" His voice is harsh, cutting, without any hint of calm.
"Sensei... it's not what it seems!" I stammer, trying to keep my voice steady, even though my stomach is churning.
"I don't want to hear excuses!" he blurts out. His hand tightens lightly on my wrists, not to hurt me, but to keep me still. "You can't act like nothing happened!"
"But... I..." I try to explain, but he won't let me finish. Every word I try to say seems to shatter against his anger.
"I don't care what you think!" he shouts, his voice vibrating with a mix of frustration and possessiveness.
"You really let the first idiot who comes along touch you like that? Tsk... damn it!" He pauses, his teeth gritted, his gaze burning, and I feel the tension building between us like an impending storm. "Did that seem like a good idea?"
"That's not how it happened! Hawks is drunk and..."
"And you didn't do anything to push him away." His voice is low, cutting.
"I was! I was-"
"Of course," he snorts slightly, with one of his cold, sarcastic smiles. "Because you always know how to handle everything, right?"
I feel fragile, but I try to hold myself together. "Sensei! I haven't done anything wrong! Why are you talking to me like that?" I say, my voice shaking but clear.
There's no answer. Only silence, heavy and oppressive. His body is tense, every muscle ready to fire. There's no tenderness, no explanation, just pure, inexplicable rage.
"But... why are you reacting like this?" I ask, desperately trying to understand. "I don't understand... what's making you so angry?"
"It's not my job to stop you from doing stupid things," he says slowly, enunciating each word as if he wants it to stick in my memory. "But it seems like someone has to."
"Sensei, that's not fair..."
"I'm not trying to be fair." His tone is neutral, terribly cold. "I'm trying to keep you from getting into trouble. But maybe that's asking too much."
I feel something tighten in my stomach. It's as if he's looking down on me, as if I'm not good enough.
"But...what did I do to deserve all this?" I ask, lowering my gaze.
He continues to look me straight in the eye, not responding. His eyes continue to scrutinize me, intense, silent, while my heart races. I feel the heat coming from him, the pressure of his body so close I can almost feel his heartbeat.
"Eri..." he whispers suddenly, low and sharp, like a growl. "There's no reason you should understand."
"Sensei..." I try again, more insistently, "Why are you reacting like this? If you care so little, why are you so furious?"
"Stop acting like a child."
"I...I don't deserve this..."
His breathing becomes shallow, his eyes never leaving mine. I feel the tension growing, palpable, almost suffocating. It's a play of silences, glances, and unspoken words. His every movement conveys both anger and protection, without him admitting anything about his feelings.
I stand there, trembling but determined not to back down. I don't want to run away, I want to understand, I want to hear something concrete from his words, even though I know he'll never say it. My head is spinning, my heart is pounding, but there's a strength within me that won't let me give in, not even in the face of his fury.
I breathe heavily, trying not to collapse. "Sensei... I... I don't want any secrets between us. Why are you reacting like this?"
"Why... the hell are you doing this to me?" he asks, panting.
His voice is a growl, an animalistic sound that makes my stomach clench. He takes a step toward me, then another, his shoes squeaking on the floor.
"Don't you understand...don't you understand that...you're driving me crazy?"
I lift my chin, my eyes wide, even though I'm trembling inside.
"But that's absolutely not the case," I reply. "You...you pushed me away. If I were truly important to you, you wouldn't have done it! You wouldn't have said those things to me!"
He makes a bitter sound, laughing.
"You think I don't care about you?"
"Yes!"
Another step. Now he's so close I can feel the heat emanating from his body, that delicious scent that drives me crazy. Then he continues...