all credits to @/hotchsstuff on tumblr!!
summary: you struggle to trust people but rafe won't give up on you.
pairing: rafe cameron x fem!reader
warning: mentions of cheating (not from rafe), dysfunctional relationships
you've always had a hard time dealing with relationships. your one and only ex boyfriend left you for someone prettier and more mature and your friends seemed to find your clumsiness and anxiety annoying.
growing up you learnt to not get attached to people because they would have always left you, in a way or another.
your parents showed you at an early age that love didn't exist and marriage wasn't meant to last and you eventually lost contact with them.
so when you met rafe cameron you had no intention to let him in your life.
he was only the parent of one of your students and it didn't matter that he was also single. it didn't matter at all, you tried to convince yourself.
in fact, you were sure that every woman, married or not, had their eyes on the well known rafe cameron. you didn't stand a chance, but that didn't stop you from stuttering and blushing like a teenager girl whenever he stopped by.
"you know," your coworker julien looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before whispering to you "bradley's dad is here, again. and he's looking at you, again."
you raised your head to look over her shoulder just to see rafe leaning on the doorway, exchanging a few words with another parent that seemed to hang from his lips. whatever he was saying, it must have been hilarious from her high pitched laugh.
"and he is very much not looking at me but flirting with cassie's mom." that left a bitter taste on your tongue but you would never admit it.
kulien was about to say something else but a knock on the door stopped her.
"May i talk to you?" rafe looked at you, scratching his head nervously.
she rushed out to give you more privacy, raising a thumbs up in your direction which you pretended to not see.
"is everything fine with bradley?" you asked him, already getting up from your seat.
rafe's eyes softened and his heart swelled at the thought that there was someone else beside him that cared so much for his son.
he reassured you that bradley was perfectly fine but you could see that he was still stressed about something.
"as you know, it's bradley's birthday this saturday" he started, looking at you with hopeful eyes. for four days in a row rafe came to your classroom every afternoon, after dropping bradley at home, to ask you for advices on how the party should be organized "and he begged me to convince you to come to his party."
you were so grateful that bradley wanted to spend his special day with you and you really wanted to accept. really. but you couldn't.
you promised yourself you would keep your relationship professional. what teacher went to a student's house just to catch a glimpse of their unrequited crush.
"mister Cameron" you haven't called him that since he started bringing you breakfast every morning, why now? he hated how it sounded coming from your lips "i really can't."
"you can't or you don't want to?" to your surprise rafe didn't seem discouraged by you rejection.
"this is the fourth time i ask you out and if you think that a simple no can make me lose interest you couldn't be more wrong." rafe closed the distance between you "i don't know why you have a hard time opening up but sweet girl, don't push me away and give me a chance please?"
before you could answer him, he caressed your bottom lip with his calloused thumb "this saturday, if at the end of the day you find my presence displeasing i'll stop bothering you and will never show up to your class at every slight occurrence. but if i can make your heart skip a beat, you owe me a date."
little did he know that the problem was that he casted a spell on you since your first meeting and there was no way you would win against him.
