Teacher's Pet || A Joseph Quinn AU

The Good News

 By the next morning her phone had blown up with text messages. She hadn't even thought about checking it until she woke up and she heard Joseph was in the shower. That was when she realized she messed up because people were worried about her. She quickly texted Gina to tell her that she was fine and that she ran into an old friend who had gotten a room at the hotel then lost track of time. She could tell that her friend wasn't buying it at all, even through text, but she still promised to calm everyone down and let them know that she was fine and nothing bad had happened to her. Still, it was a signal that she probably needed to get her ass out of there and fast so she could find a way to explain herself. The only good news was that she was legally an adult so it wasn't really a crime for her to just walk off but the school would definitely be in trouble if something happened to her and she certainly didn't want to risk expulsion even though they were all now officially on spring break and she didn't technically have to be at school.

"Uh...Joe?" She called as she knocked on the door to the bathroom, it still felt weird calling him that but yet it was somehow nice. It made the whole situation feel more real than just an elaborate sex game. "I have to leave, people are looking for me and I don't know how long Gina can run interference on this without me actually showing up so people can see I'm not hurt." As she explained this she was pulling her clothes on, unfortunately all she had was the gown to wear but it was better than nothing. She'd showered the night before after they'd had their talk. As she was putting her shoes on the door to the bathroom opened and Joseph hurried out in just a towel, still kind of wet, looking so hot that she really wished she didn't have to leave at that very moment.

"Wait, just one second." He said going through the bedroom into the lounge area of the suite. She sighed and put her other shoe on then took a seat on the bed. Her foot tapped nervously as she waited for him to get back but she was glad she did because what she immediately saw was the gold collar in his hands. "I have this, I mean, if you still want it." Her eyes went wide and she nodded eagerly.

"Of course I do." She said. Since it had been on her neck when she'd been attacked, the cut and scar was above where it would rest on her skin so the area wouldn't be irritated. She moved from the bed to get on her knees for him when he stopped her, gently grabbing her arm to hold her in a standing position.

"No..." He said and shook his head, "As equals." She smiled at him when she heard that, her eyes burning slightly with tears of joy as she reached to lift her hair up so he could get it around her neck more easily and lock it into place. Once she heard the click of the clock she leaned in to kiss him and he kissed her back but it only lasted a few moments before she knew she had to pull away.

"I'll call you or text or something, maybe we can get together over the break."

"Maybe?" He laughed, "I hope we most definitely will."

"Yes." She grinned, "What was I thinking?" With one last look at him she hurried out of the room and into the hallway. Her heart fluttering in her chest as she made her way to the elevators. Once she was inside of one and heading down to the main floor, she wrapped the scarf back around her neck to hide not only the scar but the collar. Maybe no one else would notice it but she was sure the moment Gina saw it she was going to know how she got it back, when, and who had given it to her in the first place. It was probably about time she told at least one person about this whole thing and it was going to have to be the only person that she believed she could call a friend. She just also hoped that it wouldn't be a huge mistake.

*****

Once all of the confusion was cleared up and people did not think she was missing or dead they were allowed to go back to their dorm room on campus. Gina immediately commandeered the bathroom for herself to get cleaned up because apparently she had a flight to catch. Gina was going with Ethan and a bunch of other kids to Boca for spring break because they were all rich. Nothing that bothered her too much since she'd have never been able to afford it anyway and she also knew that it would just give her more privacy and freedom to see Joseph when she wanted. She took off her heels and then sat down on her bed to remove the scarf. Her fingers trailed over the choker, glad that it was back in place. To her it was almost better than having an engagement ring on her finger, knowing what it meant.