Teaching Mr. Graham

Chapter Sixty-Four

    Temporarily stricken of his teaching privileges, Aubrey was a wreck. He was currently residing in a swanky condo in Chicago. Being who he was, he could easily take advantage of his unexpected time off and live it up. As it was, though, he could barely function. Between the guilt he felt for being involved with Tatiana and the longing for her that he felt, it was a wonder he was able to get out of bed every morning. On some mornings, he didn't.

    OB did what he could to provide comic relief. Ever since Aubrey had known him, he'd been good for that: off-the-wall and excessively perverted jokes that took the edge off of most stressful situations. In this case though, even OB's jokes weren't much help.

    This was bad. This was beyond bad, actually, and if he hadn't come to that realization himself, then Oliver was more than happy to remind him just how potentially catastrophic this particular fuckup was. "We spent so much time building your brand," he explained towards the beginning of what wound up being an extremely lengthy phone call. "Are you really willing to risk everything that you've accomplished, and for what? What is this, exactly?"

    "I love her." Three simple words. How was it that three simple words could be used to sum up an incredibly complex situation?

    "Jesus, Aub."

    OB called over from his spot on the couch, "I tried to tell him."

    "I know," Aubrey muttered into the phone after sending a brief glare OB's way.

    "Now? You choose now? When you're a professor at Northwestern University?"

    "First and foremost, I didn't choose anything," Aubrey said defensively, pacing the length of his living room. "It just... happened. It's not something I can control. If I could control it, don't you think that I would?"

    There was a long pause, and then a drawn out sigh. "Yeah, I get it. Believe me, I get it, I just..." Another sigh. "This is just a tough situation. And I know you, man. I know who you are, the strength of your character. I would just hate to see it get called into question over something like this."

    "It's not like I'm teaching high school," Aubrey pointed out.

    "Aubrey."

    Aubrey ducked his head down and rubbed the back of his neck. He knew. Oliver didn't even have to say the words. The guilt Aubrey felt was in no way lessened by the fact that the student he was involved with was a college student and not a high school student. It was still unethical, still frowned upon. Every grade he'd given her could now be called into question as favoritism. Not only was the university administration looking at him with a side eye, but with an ordeal like this, Tatiana's hard work, dedication, and writing talents were also undermined and called into question. And that was the true injustice of it all, that her efforts were now discredited – all because he couldn't control himself whenever he was around her...all because he hadn't taken her suggestion and held off until she was no longer a student. And why wouldn't I just wait until then? It's not like we would have had to wait that long. How could I be so stupid and impatient? And how am I going to get us out of this?

    "It will all work out," Oliver told him. Uncharacteristic kindness in the face of possible disaster. That was how bad this was. Oliver was being nice, when it was apparent that Aubrey had severely fucked up.

    Aubrey walked over to the living room window and peered out, slowly shaking his head. "She was removed from my class, and I was pretty much suspended from teaching," he summarized. "I can't imagine a mess this big working itself out."

    "Let me speak to OB."

    Aubrey extended one arm, holding out the phone.

    It took several moments for OB to look back and realize the phone was being held out for him. He grabbed the phone. "Yeah? What's up, general?"

    Aubrey folded his arms across his chest, staring out of the window while half-listening to OB's end of the conversation.

    "IHeartRadio? Ah...I don't know, man."

    Aubrey turned his head, his brows furrowing.

    "Because you don't understand just how dire the situation is," OB said, responding to something Oliver must have said.

    Aubrey rolled his eyes and braced a hand against the window. Then he turned and looked down at OB.

    "If he comes there, people wouldn't let him just stand by the sidelines. They'd want him to perform. He's not in any shape to perform, Ollie. The man can barely stand on two feet. He's a wreck. Do you hear me? A total and complete-"

    Aubrey snatched the phone out of OB's hands. "What, you want me to go to IHeartRadio to support the boys?"

    "Roy, DVSN, and PartyNextDoor are performing on their own stages," Oliver explained. "I understand that you're...going through shit right now, so I don't quite expect you to perform. As a matter-of-fact, you don't even have to. You're Drake. You could just walk out on stage and everyone will get hype. If you did perform, it would do a lot to help the guys get even more exposure, though. It would help their performances to get talked about in the media, help the word of mouth."

    Going to Las Vegas, Nevada, meant not being here. It also meant being away from Tatiana, but let's face it: he was practically in the same city she was, and still had no way of seeing her, not without getting both of them into major trouble. Maybe it might do some good for him to get out of town, away from the situation. A part of him felt oddly like he was abandoning her, leaving her on her own to deal with something that wasn't her fault. It was a feeling that he couldn't quite shake, but again...there wasn't much he could do for her, not here. Not until he knew that people were no longer spying on their every move. Not until he had some kind of plan for his next move. "I'm in," he told Oliver.