𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔 || 𝟏𝟖+
❝The secrecy adds to the trill, doesn't it?❞
The one where young student Grace finds herself in an illicit affair with attractive history teacher James-and ends up falling for him despite knowing she shouldn't.
「mcu...
𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊, fall had completely transformed New York into a rainy, cloudy mess. The concomitant gloom had an impact on most of the city's inhabitants, leaving pretty much all the students and teachers at NYU in a rut. Everyone just went about their whereabouts, hiding underneath scarves and umbrellas most of the time. Grace and Linh were no exception to that new standard, both relatively pale and tired as they sat in the cafeteria, waiting for the upcoming history class.
Grace had a particularly queasy feeling that took over her body as though she hadn't seen the Professor since last week. There also had been no reaction to her drunken selfie whatsoever. She played with the strings of her hoodie as she watched Linh eat a donut from the dessert stand. With a stomach like that, she couldn't have possibly gotten herself to eat.
"Delicious," Linh mumbled with her mouth full, letting her gaze drift across the busy room.
"I got a question," Grace eventually got out, still fiddling with her hoodie. "Have you ever... sent a picture to someone you wish you could... unsend?"
Her best friend turned to her, brows raised. One hand covering her mouth to spare the blonde in front of her the sight of a half-chewed donut, she shook her head before speaking.
"Like what? A..." She lowered her voice, eyes wide. "Naked pic?"
Grace chewed on the inside of her cheek, shrugging.
"Nah, just... in general."
"Either way, the answer would be yes," Linh replied, turning back to take another bite of her snack. Surprise took over Grace's face, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to not further investigate that topic. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to know about those pictures.
"Anyway, what did you do?" She crossed her legs, leaning back against the chair in an attempt to appear as casual as possible.
"Did the... person you sent this to respond in any way?" Linh asked back, still chewing. A spark of curiosity had been sparked within her, and her eyes lit up along with it. Sniffling, Grace tried to come up with a plan on how to not accidentally spill too many details about―
"Ooh, Mr. Barnes."
The blonde froze in her spot, not daring to look away from the crumb her eyes had found on the table. With shaking fingers, she drew circles on her thighs to distract her mind. Slowly, she lifted her head to catch a glimpse of him―as casual as possible to not spark any suspicion within her best friend, who had spotted their teacher all the way across the room.
His shirt seemed to be tighter around the shoulders than usual. And damn, he looked good. He was a head-turner, and Grace was sure he was very much aware of that. For a split second, his eyes met hers as he waited in line for lunch, letting a weird tingle spread through her body. She instantly turned away, feeling a warmth creeping over her skin that she didn't want to feel right then. Maybe she was even blushing like crazy, which would be immediately visible as she hadn't put on any makeup in the morning.
"He didn't," she eventually replied to her best friend's initial question, hoping to get her gaze away from the Professor for good. Linh's eyes jolted to her instantly, wide in surprise, the corners of her mouth lifting.
"He?" She playfully punched Grace's upper arm. "Yay Gracie! The guy from the party? What's his name... Brad? Chad?"
"I think it was Colin, but no, not him," Grace cryptically replied, stifling a laugh. She had to be careful not to spill any details that could reveal what she and Mr. Barnes had. Or used to have.
"Good for you," Linh nodded, impressed. "But he didn't reply to a spicy pic? Jeez, he's either a prude or straight up an asshole."
"Whatever," the blonde muttered, going back to fiddling with her hoodie upon realizing that James had now gotten his tray of food, making his way through the rows of tables and chairs to find an empty space. She could have sworn to have heard his footsteps drown out all the other noise in the busy cafeteria.
"Hey, Mr. Barnes," Linh casually greeted him, awkwardly waving in his direction as he was about to pass their table. Grace played along, looking up at him, but on her face was a stiff expression instead of the usual kindness and affection she had for him. Their eyes met again, and he arched a brow. Feeling his judging gaze pierce through her made her gulp down a knot of desire.
"Hey, guys. See you in class."
His gaze lingered on her for a moment too long. She could see him lick his lips before ripping his eyes off her, making his way to an empty seat a few tables away. Pressing her lips together, she turned back to her best friend, who fortunately was as oblivious as ever.
"He's literally a dream. And he knows," Linh sighed dreamily, propping her head up on her hands, elbows on the table. The silence that this statement was met with hadn't been the reaction the Viet had hoped for. She continued, attempting to get some response out of Grace.
"Isn't he a hot piece of―"
"Yeah, whatever, Linh," the blonde firmly interrupted her, pressing her lips together immediately. She hadn't meant to snap like that. "I'll go to the restroom real quick, be right back."
And with that, Grace jumped out of her seat abruptly, grabbed her coat and bag, and rushed toward the women's bathrooms just next to the cafeteria. Just anywhere she could be alone, not feel exposed to both her curious bestie and her secret affair...
"Fuck," she muttered to herself as she locked the stall door behind her. The way he had looked at her with confusion in his eyes, a slight hint of disappointment on his face... The picture had done something to him that she couldn't interpret.
When she had been drunk at the party, sending this picture with frat guy Colin seemed like a great idea to show James that she was good without him. Make him feel the jealousy she felt when she saw him on that date―even though now she wasn't so sure he would be jealous at all. Because all they were was a secret affair that no one should ever know about. No feelings involved whatsoever―at least that had been the plan.
Maybe all he was was utterly disappointed in her to send a picture like this at all. Or maybe he was confused about why she would send this to him, unsure about her intentions altogether?
Her mind was spinning as she sat on the closed toilet seat, letting her bag fall to the ground. A stray tear fell out of her eye, directly onto her black jeans. Why was it so important to her what he thought?
She realized something just as someone else entered the restroom, forcing her to remain quiet. If Professor Barnes wasn't reacting to a picture like that...
