Illegal Innocence (Student/Teacher Relationship)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I opened the door to the classroom and stepped inside, dreading the two hours I would have to spend with the one person I was trying so desperately to avoid. School had officially ended for the day, but I had to stay after because of the detention I earned for 'disobeying a teacher'. I thought it was bull. I didn't think I did anything wrong. It was because of Mr. Taylor, I believed, and his obsession to be with me. What was with this guy, anyway?

"I'm here," I mumbled, glancing at him. He looked up from his desk and leaned back in his chair, giving me an amused look. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head and smiling. "I'm just surprised you showed up."

"I was supposed to, wasn't I?" I said impatiently, wondering if he was joking all along about the detention thing.

"Of course you were," he answered, standing up. "Well, take a seat. And in the first row. I don't want you texting or anything."

I rolled my eyes once I turned away from him, then chose a seat in the first seat in the third row. I put my bag next to me and rested my cheek on my fist, staring at the window. I hadn't noticed before, but half of the lights in the room were off, and the other half were dimmed.

"What's with the lights?" I asked.

He moved to the stool at the front of the room and sat down. "The electrical circuits are being cut off due to rewiring in the building," he explained. I stared at him, watching him watch me with his curious eyes. "But as I recall, there is no talking in detention."

I shut my mouth, but the way he looked at me made me uncomfortable. Finally sighing, I stared up at the clock on the wall, waiting minute by minute to get out of the classroom, and away from Mr. Taylor. One hour passed, then another half hour. Almost done.

"Let's get to know each other, why don't we," Mr. Taylor said, breaking the silence.

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"I'm just trying to make conversation. Can't a teacher make a conversation with his student?"

"I thought it was supposed to be silent in detention," I shot back.

He chuckled. "Yes, but I think you've had enough suffering. Wouldn't want you to be too bored, right?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I guess." Tapping my finger on the desk, I added, "So what do you want to talk about? Guess it's better than silence."

"Well," he said. "How was your date?"

I froze. "Excuse me?"

I saw him shrug, breaking his eye contact with me for a few moments. "How was your date?" he repeated. "Why? Too personal?"

I let out a frustrated sigh and dropped my arm onto the desk. "Yes, too personal."

He gave me a face, considering what I said, then leaned forward. "Well then I'm sorry. I was just wondering."

"Why?" I blurted. "Why do you want to know anything about me? I'm your student, and you really shouldn't care about any of this. Why am I even in detention? I didn't do anything wrong!"

He stared at me with a weird look, and stood up. He walked towards me, and stopped inches from the desk I sat at. I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes.

"Because I care about you."

My heart stopped. He cared about me? What was with him? I've known him for a week, and he already cares about me? The only conversation we've had is at the bar, for God's sake! "Why?"

This seemed to catch him off-guard. "Why?"

"Yeah, if you're so sure you care about me, then why?" I challenged him.

"Because you're beautiful and I think you're an amazing and special girl," he finally answered. His voice had so much certainty in it, it made me uncomfortable.

"You've known me for a week," I pressed on.

"I guess you could say 'love at first sight," he said, giving me a sly smirk. "But I don't think it's quite love yet."

I stared at him, speechless. Excuse me, did he say, 'love at first sight'? This guy was officially insane. He flew straight past crazy and was now insane. Not sure of what I should do next, I looked down at my desk and fumbled at my side for my backpack. Once the strap was in my hand, I stood up and threw it over my shoulder. Refusing to make eye contact, I stared at the tiled floor. "I have to go," I said. I shoved passed him, which ended up being a bad idea. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him. I looked up, ready to scream, and that also proved to be a terrible idea.

"Hey, let me-" I was cut off when he pressed his lips against mine. I stopped struggling and he pressed me up against him. His lips were strong and soft, like Hunter's, almost, but they were more... powerful. His kiss held meaning, like he had been longing for this day for a while. But what scared me above all, not that his kiss was like Hunter's, or that it held meaning... but that it had a spark. A spark that tingled through my whole body. It wasn't like the spark I shared with Hunter. The spark I shared with Hunter was sweet and tender, but the spark I shared with Mr. Taylor was... electrifying. I strangely longed for more of the kiss, so I pressed myself against him in attempt to deepen the kiss.

But to my complete and utter dismay, he pulled back. I was panting- hard- and he seemed out of breath as well. When I looked at him, I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. He smirked at me, showing satisfaction in his eyes.

"Easy now, Avery," he said in a teasing voice. "Don't want to go too far, now do we?"

"Oh God," I said, straightening up. I put my hands over my mouth and looked at him. I think he barely heard me whisper, "What just happened?"

He gave a soft chuckle, then moved towards me again. This time, though, I backed up and became just out of grabbing reach. His smile faltered, but returned just as quickly. "What's wrong, Avery? I thought you were beginning to like it," he said in a seductive voice.

"I..." I whispered, lowering my hands to hug my stomach. I couldn't say that I didn't like it, because then I'd be lying. But I knew it was wrong, and I also knew I would be guilty for days to come because of it. I was with Hunter. I wasn't supposed to feel like this. Especially since he was a teacher. It was illegal, and dangerous. Couldn't he see that?

"Avery?" he asked again. "I know you liked it."

"This is wrong," I said at last, looking at the ground. I clenched my fists and held onto my stomach, trying to stop the feeling of guiltiness that swept through me. "We can't do this."

Mr. Taylor sighed and took a step towards me, but I took two steps back, not wanting anything else to happen. He finally just stopped at stared at me. "I know we can't."

"Then why are you doing it?" I asked, staring back at him.

"Because I like you, Avery. And I know this is risky, but I really care about you. I feel drawn to you, unlike anyone I've ever met. I didn't mean to do that." He closed the space between us before I could dodge him. But instead of kissing me, he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. "I'm sorry."

I pushed back, but it was no use. "Please, let me go," I whispered. "I won't tell anyone about this, just please, let me leave."

His voice sounded... so sad. It strangely made me sad as well. I suddenly didn't want to leave him. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and just be with him. I wanted to know him. Not just why he cared about me, but everything about his life. Why, though?

I snapped out of it and finally pushed at his chest. "We can't do this. I'm sorry." Before turning away, I saw the look he gave me, and I felt like my heart would break into a million pieces. He seemed so upset and lonely... But there was nothing I could do about it. I was his student, and he was my teacher. That was as far as our relationship should be. I finally made it to the door and placed my hand on the cold, silver handle. "I'm sorry, Mr. Taylor." I finally turned the knob and ran out of the classroom.