Love Flavored Latte

Chapter 18 - Nothing to Hide

"How much have you heard?"

"All of it."

Those were their last words before the whole room completely fell into silence. Eve was the only one who was still moving like a normal human being. She glanced at Matt, then at Chloe and Ethan, and the entire process repeated for a few more seconds.

The quietness was supposed to be scary or uncomfortable, but she was somehow giggling at this situation. It was probably because her friends just looked so awkward that it was funny. All three of them were as still as rocks and their eyes staring intensely at each other as though they were in the process of hypnotizing. The only difference here was their expression - Matt had a deadpan look while Chloe and Ethan's had their mouths agape, their jaws dropping.

Even though she was laughing about how Chloe and Ethan looked, she could perfectly understand why they were so shocked. It was already surprising enough to hear that your friend just had a new partner, but Matt's case wasn't that simple. Not only did he get a boyfriend, but he also just admitted that his special someone was their own professor. This news must have sent a bolt from a blue for the two.

After what felt like forever, Matt broke the silence by groaning into his palm.

"Now all of you know. Great."

"M-Matt..." Chloe said with a shaking voice, seemingly trying her hardest to recover from the shock. "So, so you're really..."

"Yes, you heard it right." Matt sighed as he removed his hand from his face. "I'm dating our professor."

Silence came again unexpectedly, but this time, it was different. Instead of staring at the other two blankly like a robot, he was actually starting to feel nervous. Why was he anxious out of the blue, especially after he just nonchalantly came clean to them about who his new partner was?

Sweats began forming on his forehead as he tried to observe his friends' expression. They were surely stunned, but what was possibly on their mind? What were they thinking about him and his new relationship with their professor? In their eyes, was Ray still their admirable Professor Angevine, and was Matt still their friend?

Thousands of questions just kept appearing, and Matt gradually felt more and more scared as each second passed by, his heart beating rapidly under the increasing pressure. How could he just disclose the news like that without any reconsideration? Why didn't he think about all these matters before he confronted Eve? The other three had been extremely quiet, which made him regret his decision even more, but it was too late to back out now.

He was about to say something when Chloe dashed to him at lightning speed, gripping his shoulders so suddenly that she nearly knocked him over.

"Matt!" She squealed excitedly to the point that she was stuttering. "Please say that you're telling the truth. Please!"

"Um, uh..." Matt was having troubles responding to this unexpected reaction. "Y-Yeah, I am."

Chloe was so happy that she was speechless, gasping loudly as her smile grew wider and wider. "My god, f-for real? This, this is so cool!"

Matt raised an eyebrow as he chuckled nervously. "C-Cool? I don't know if I'd put it that way-"

"Of freaking course it's cool, don't you dare say otherwise!" Chloe shook him aggressively. "Have you ever seen a student dating their own professor while they're still in college?"

She paused for a while upon realizing that she didn't really make a good point. Undeniably, there had been countless love stories between a professor and a student who had yet to graduate. It was just that their realtionship wasn't revealed until later.