The Teacher's Pet | Slowburn MJ FanFic

• | Chapter Fifty-Nine | •

| Thursday, Late March. . .

Surprisingly, the weeks that followed since that troubling day were quite peaceful except for the occasional nightmares that kept Riley awake throughout the nights and the constant paranoia of having to look over her shoulder. It scared her to not know what angle Javen may attack from.

He was still on the run, but he hadn't been around since that day he broke in. And to Riley's relief, Javen only lied about killing the officer placed on guard duty outside of her home in order to get her to comply.

"How'd you do on the tests?" Michael asked her after she had walked through the library and reached the back where he sat at one of the few, vacant round tables.

She glanced up at the camera and noticed it still hadn't been fixed yet. To their luck, they still had some sense of privacy. She sat next to him and pulled out a teal plastic folder where she kept her graded assignments. "Look and see."

She had three different tests that week that she had to prepare for. The long studious hours and constant homework were tedious, but she wanted her life back on track to where it once was.

Michael took the folder from her hand and flipped it open to reveal numerous papers that were graded within the last weeks. "These right here?" He pointed to the first three bulk of stapled papers and she nodded.

He pulled them out and silently flipped through them; his smile slowly widened as he skimmed through each test that consisted of either an A or B. "This is great, Ry." He whispered, even though he wanted to yell to the sky how proud he was.

Her grin matched his. "It's nice not seeing a look of disappointment on my teachers' faces or seeing all these D's and F's on every assignment I did. I just feel so accomplished."

"You should. You're doing so well and I'm extremely proud of you." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "We're all proud of you."

She blushed, then wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him into a warm hug. "Thank you for being here for me."

"I'm always here." The corners of his lips stayed upward to prolong that beautiful smile, then he leaned in to kiss her. She didn't object and welcomed his soft lips before he pulled away.

She placed her hands back into her lap and sighed, scuffing the heel of her black Vans against the worn carpet. "But I wonder how these past two months are going to affect my scholarships. I did so poorly."

"Write to the financial aid office about what you went through. I mean, you have several witnesses if they need proof." He suggested as he put her tests back into the folder and slid it over to her. "Don't go doubting yourself again."

"It's kinda hard not to after all that happened." She sighed again and took the folder into her hands to put away. She glanced up just as a pair of junior girls emerged from an aisle and threw her a jealous scowl before going down another aisle. She smirked and met Michael's eyes.

"What?" He cluelessly asked. Riley quietly chortled at how oblivious he was.

"I think your students are getting jealous that you're spending more time with me than them."

He rolled his eyes with an annoyed suck of his teeth and stood up. "They're something else. Did I tell you about this girl who purposely dropped a pen by my desk and basically flaunted her ass in my face when she picked it up?"

Riley tucked her bottom lip to keep from laughing aloud and was quiet momentarily until her laughter finally subsided. "You didn't."

She could just imagine the horror on his face and she almost let her loud laughter erupt from her core.