ʟᴀʙ ʀᴀᴛs ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇs •ᴄʟᴏsᴇᴅ•

Falling For My Tutor-@SET_in-Stone

The sensation of freedom suddenly washed over me as the beautiful sound of the final bell rang throughout the school hallways.

There were several sighs of relief as the class room burst into noise.

'Remember that you all have an algebra test first period tomorrow morning!' Mrs Hammond, my maths teacher, shouted over the racket.

I grabbed my books, shoved them vigorously into my bag, and ran over to my best friend - Bree Davenport.

'Hey,' she said as soon as she caught sight of me, a smile on her face. 'Ready to go to the mall?'

I groaned slightly. Honestly, I hate shopping with a pure and fiery passion.

'C'mon, it'll be fun!'

I sighed. 'Fine'.

She grinned, and pulled me towards the door.

'Mercy?' Mrs Hammond called.

I pried Bree's grip off of my arm and, in turn, pulled her towards the teachers desk.

'Is everything OK Mrs?' I asked, dreading the answer.

She gave me an unidentifiable look and folded her arms.

'Mercy, I've assigned you a tutor,' she told me sternly. 'Your previous grades in algebra are quite frankly appalling, and I need you to do well in this test, otherwise you'll have to redo this year'.

I bit my lip and sighed. I already knew that algebra wasn't my best subject, but a tutor? My grades weren't that bad, were they?

'When is it?' I asked after a moment of silence.

'In about five minutes,' the old lady replied, looking down at her watch.

'But, Mrs! Mercy's already got plans, we're hanging out tonight,' Bree protested. 'We've been planning this for months and -'.

'I'm sorry, Miss Davenport,' Mrs Hammond interrupted. 'But education always comes first'.

Bree rolled her eyes and looked over at me for support. I just shrugged. I kinda needed the extra help.

'Sorry,' I mumbled. She bit her lip and trudged out of the room, into the empty hallways.

'Of course it's you!' I heard her scoff at someone, but I didn't know who. Thankfully, that was soon answered for me, as my tutor awkwardly stepped into the room. Now I knew why Bree was so pissed off - I'd basically ditched her to discuss math problems with her brother.

Mrs Hammond smiled. 'Thank you for doing this, Mr Davenport. I knew I could count on you'.

Chase smiled slightly, and gestured for me to take a seat.

I did so, slightly uncomfortable with the situation at hand. I watched the teacher calmly leave the room, and Chase sit down next to me.

'So, um, Mercy,' Chase managed to choke out. I could tell he was one of those guys who get embarrassed around girls. But, I kinda liked it. He was a nerdy, awkwardly cute guy. Nice to know. 'Um, sorry,' he said with a laugh, 'but I have honestly no idea where we should start'. Definitely awkward.

'The tutor usually starts with writing down a few simple questions and seeing which ones the students can answer, then elaborate on the ones the tutee doesn't know'.

He nodded, scribbling a few equations down on a piece of scrap paper. Once he was done, he slid the paper over to me, and ran a hand through his hair. Hot as fuck.

I managed to get through the first three questions without stumbling, but I was honestly stumped on the forth one. I froze, my hands shaking.

'Hey,' he whispered. 'There's nothing to be worried about. Just do what you can'.

'I've done all I've can' I spat back, angrier than I intended.

He nodded, and smiled again. God, that grin was distracting. He leaned over my shoulder and looked at the question I was stuck on, muttering quietly to himself.

'OK,' he started, placing his hand on top of mine. Our contact didn't last very long, because, after realising what he'd done, he quickly pulled back. He muttered an apology. 'Um, OK, so basically, you have to make the equation equal on both sides. So, the initial equation is X+23=2X+45. First, you subtract forty-five from both sides, leaving the equation as X-22=2X. Then, you subtract X from both sides, so the equation therefore becomes -22=X. And, there's your answer: X equals negative twenty-two. Did that make sense?'

I nodded, slightly unsure.

'It's OK if you don't get it,' he said honestly. 'Algebras the hardest for basically everyone'.

'Not for you,' I snorted.

He stayed silent. I looked up at him, seeing the sadness in his gorgeous hazel eyes.

'I - I didn't mean it as an insult or anything, I just -'.

'No, it's OK,' he said quietly. 'So, should we try another one?'

***

The next day, I ran up to Chase, grinning widely.

'A+!' I told him excitedly.

He smiled that amazing grin of his and nodded. 'See? Easy'.

'It's only because I had an amazing tutor who managed to put up with me for five hours straight'.

He laughed, rubbing he back of his neck.

I can't really explain what happened next, because I honestly don't know what came over me. One minute I was thanking him, and the next I was really thanking him. As in, thanks-with-a-snog thanks. My lips pressed against his, a tingling sensation crawled down my back. Chase quickly pulled back, his expression showed nothing but shock. My heart dropped as I suddenly realised that he didn't seem to reciprocate the feelings I had towards him.

'I-' I started, my face going bright red.

'I'm sorry,' he cut in. 'I mean, I really like you and all, and you're a great person, but I just don't think that I want to be in a relationship with anyone at the moment'.

'No. No, you're right. Sorry, it was a stupid thought,' I lied. Honestly, I was disappointed. 'I hope it hasn't put you off tutoring me again. But, if it has, then I totally understand. It was uncalled for. I just really appreciate you giving up your time last night to come and help a dumb-ass like me'.

'Hey, it's no problem,' he said, that smile returning to his face. 'I'm not sure about having a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, but I'd love to be friends'.

'Can tutor and student even be friends?'

'They can now'.