You burst through the door with excitement, running around the corner to see Sebastian and Chris sitting at his expensive oak kitchen table. Both had serious faces, you only thought of the worst, overthinking again. After briskly saying 'Hi', they both turned to face you with a smile. See nothing to worry about, you mumbled in your head.
"Good afternoon Y/N, how are you?", Chris asked as he stood up, reaching out his hand to shake yours, very business-man of him.
You grasped hold politely, "I'm good, you?".
"Stressed but i'm working through it as per usual", he let go, pointing to the chair next to Sebastian, "Please, take a seat".
You looked at Sebastian with confusion as you sat down, he pulled the same expression right back at you. The sort of expression that insinuated he had no idea what Chris was going to say either. Both with a lack of certainty, unsure and nervous to say the least.
Chris excused himself for a moment, walking into his office to grab his briefcase. When he returned, he was pulling out a file, little coloured post-it notes sticking out of the wad of paper. He began flipping through the pages, taking out important things and laying them on the table in front of him. You tried to read, all you could make out was a list of names, names for colleges in New York. I mean there were only 4, two of them being private including yours. This definitely looked like good news, exactly what Sebastian had thought, Chris had been researching for him.
"So i've been trying to get in contact with some of the colleges in New York, hoping they would have some vacancies available in your department, Sebastian", he licked his finger and flipped the page of one of the wads, "It was hard to be honest, most are at full capacity of staff, but I managed to find one willing to interview you".
"Oh wow thats amaz-", Sebastian began to say before being cut off by Chris.
"Hold on. Now I had to do a lot of research prior to contacting them, looking at their policies and what they look for when hiring. I needed to see if your situation would be important when interviewing you", he looked Sebastian dead in the eye, "You haven't made this easy for yourself, but I respect your decision to no longer teach at her college. However, the college I found is known for being lenient with its staff, not bothering with a background check unless the individual has a criminal record, something you don't have".
"Sebastian... you are going to have to be completely honest with them in this interview, telling them everything about you and Y/N. I spoke to Anthony about this and he said as long as you were honest and made it very clear that it wasn't your intention to be inappropriate with a student, they may also respect your decision to leave Manhattan college as a personal choice".
Anthony was a lawyer, one of the best, hence why he could afford the apartment two floors down from Chris. You and Sebastian admired them both for helping you out, this whole process would have been a lot harder if you had to do this alone. Like Chris said, colleges were very picky and were rarely accepting applications for new members of staff. You remembered Sebastian once telling you how he got his job at your college, it was a long process and he almost didn't get the job.
"I am completely okay with that Chris, anything to have this fresh start", Sebastian leant over the table in a serious manner, "When is this interview and where?".
Chris flipped through the paper once again before handing Sebastian a file, containing everything he needed to know before going, "NYU, I know it's not a private school but I think it would be good for you to experience, the interview is tomorrow hence why I rushed you both here... sorry about that by the way".
"Wow that's faster than I expected, thank you again Chris this is amazing!", he replied with a smile that could melt a room.
"No problem pal, brothers for life remember?".
"Brothers for life".
-
Sebastian drove you back to your dorm, then returning to his apartment to spend the rest of the day practicing for tomorrow. He was stressed and rightly so, but so very determined to get this job. You messaged him a couple times when he was taking a break, but after that your phone was completely silent.
He woke up bright and early the next day, showering and having breakfast before 8am. His interview was at twelve but he had to read through Chris' file a couple more times before then, just to make sure he knew what he was going to say, this was possibly the biggest interview of his life and he was doing it all for you.
You sat waiting patiently in your dorm, waiting for a text or call from him. Nothing. You needed to remain calm, but part of you stressed what he would do if he didn't get the job. How many people had applied? Was he to their standards? What would they have to think about his situation with you? It was all crossing your mind, every little thing that could go wrong. Once again overthinking, you tried to get your mind off of it by watching a movie. Snuggling up in your duvet with your laptop playing Thor Ragnarok, your comfort film. It helped for a while, once it was finished you began binging the Captain America movies as another form of comfort.
Twelve O' Clock came by pretty fast and Sebastian was sitting in the waiting room at NYU. His foot was tapping the ground as a form of anxiety for what was to come, you weren't the only nervous and impatient one. About ten minutes later a woman came around a corner escorting Sebastian to the deans office, someone he was eager to meet, hopefully giving a good first impression.
"Good afternoon Mr Stan, would you like to take a seat?", the man said standing up to shake his hand.
"It's so very exciting to meet you sir, an honour to be having this interview with you as i'd always dreamt of teaching at your establishment", Sebastian was clearly lying, but as Chris said 'it will be good experience'.
The dean sat at his desk, pulling out Sebastians file and flipping through his information, looking through his CV and scanning through the criminal record sheet. Obviously he was impressed, Sebastian had an impeccable application, no wonder he was an English teacher. They began to chat, talking about his personal life and what hobbies he has, then they discussed his teaching. Reviewing how he dealt with certain things in the classroom and how professional he acted.
He seemed to be perfectly happy with having Sebastian teach at his college, but obviously there was some important information that needed to be talked about. The dreaded conversation was approaching, Sebastian took a big gulp before beginning.
"There is something I would like to bring to your attention though, something that you need to know before considering me".
The dean raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was, "Go on".
"At the beginning of the school year I got involved with one of my students. At the time I acted very unprofessional and I am ashamed of that, but as our relationship developed I realised how serious it was and ended it. Once I realised I was still in love with her, I began to search for other jobs. It's inappropriate, I know, I never wanted anything to happen with a student. I promise. I want this to be a fresh start for the both of us, for her to continue to focus on her studies and for me to not be her professor anymore", he gulped once more, anticipating the mans response.
Silence fell upon the room making Sebastian worry even more. Not the reaction he wanted as of yet, but then again what reaction did he want? An applause or a handshake. Both of those options were too far fetched for even him to understand. He waited impatiently for the long awaited reply, fiddling with his fingers to pass the time.
"Mr Stan, let me tell you, I have had interviews all week and not once have I smiled at an application. Your record is impeccable and you seem to be an amazing Professor, however you and I both know that Teacher/Student relationships are completely inappropriate and will not be tolerated under any circumstances."
Sebastian looked to the ground, of course this would happen at his one chance for a new job. He didn't want a pat on the back but he expected some understanding for his situation at least. He had been inappropriate, he knew that, but he was trying to change. He popped his head back up to face the man as he heard more words.
"But, I have seen my fair share of these relationships in my career and not one has been attempted to be changed like you are trying to. Unfortunately though. I'm going to need some time on this, but I appreciate your honesty and will contact you in a couple of days", his words seemed rather dishonest though, Sebastian knew he wasn't going to hear from him again.
"Thank you for this opportunity", he chimed, shaking the mans hand then promptly leaving.
What did he expect though, he knew going into that interview that there was a 90% chance of being let down. Although he did get his hopes up rather high, so did you, especially you. The minute he got in his car, he pulled his phone from his pocket and rang you, the conversation was short and sweet. Sebastian tried to keep anything from sounding like bad news, he knew how much you wanted this fresh start.
You could sense some tension though, he didn't sound too excited. Had the interview gone badly? Only Sebastian knew that, you were left in an overwhelming sense of wonder.
-
A few days had passed, not a word had been spoken about the interview, nor had Sebastian received a phone call from the dean. He didn't want to get your hopes up again, taking it day by day and trying his best to stay patient. You tried too, whenever it crossed your mind you found some sort of distraction. Anything from watching a movie to doing some painting or studying. Last night you face-timed whilst he marked some papers, you were so incredibly bored and he was too busy to have you over.
"Is that my hoodie?", he questioned as the call started, raising an eyebrow as he let the phone rest on his lap.
"No...", you lied, trying to tease him by cropping the camera so just your head was in frame.
He got up and put his phone on the desk in front of him, walking around his apartment to find the non existent hoodie you 'weren't' wearing. No where to be seen. He giggled to himself, how on earth did you sneak that out of his apartment without him knowing.
"Okay come on young lady, when did you steal that?".
You hid once again, this time holding a pillow up to the camera, "I don't have a hoodie on".
"I've literally just looked around my apartment for that exact hoodie and it's not here, spill it".
"Last weekend, when I stayed at yours, I shoved it in my bag so I could cuddle something of yours throughout the week, it's hard not seeing you"
"I know, it's hard for me too. Someday i'll have you all to myself and we can hang out everyday of the week".
The two of you spoke for a few hours until you got sleepy, it had been a long day already but staying up until 2am talking to Sebastian didn't help your raging headache. This morning you got ready and headed to class, by lunch you were exhausted and wanted to go back to bed, typical teenager.
Sebastian was crammed with classes all day too, handing essays back and staying behind to run detention whilst everyone else got to go home. It was 2pm and he wanted to go back to bed too, wishing you were still in his class to liven him up. He was in the middle of a double with the first years, your old class, they never really cared for the subject. Not to mention Winston liked to fuck about with Sebastian to get him frustrated.
During the middle of an important presentation, his pocket began to buzz. Not now, he thought to himself. It wasn't very convenient, however he dismissed himself to 'grab some papers from his office'. No one really cared, just texting on their phones and chattering with friends.
"Good Afternoon Mr Stan, this is Sue from NYU calling".
Sebastian stopped in his tracks, completely frozen, lost for words.
"Um yes... I am Mr Stan...", he felt stupid for the word vomit that just slipped out of his mouth.
"I have been told to inform you that the dean has made his final opinion".
Sebastian was lost for words again, worried yet excited for the response.
Silence.
Even more silence.
"We would like to offer you a teaching position here at our university", the voice was a relief.
He couldn't believe it, a million thoughts mercilessly flooded his mind faster than running water, all the endless possibilities. You had no idea, sitting a few halls down reading though your English textbook, half asleep. Sebastian couldn't wait to tell you, couldn't wait to see your reaction. This was the best news you both had heard in a long time.
"Thank you Sue, I look forward to hearing from you soon", the call ended quicker than it should've, Sebastian was too excited his cheeks aching from smiling so much.
He walked into the crowded hallway, unsure of what to do first, the most important thing was to tell you. He pressed his fingers over the numbers on his phone screen, not caring that you were still in class, you needed to know immediately.
"Sebastian i'm in class", you whispered, trying to avoid the teachers attention.
"I got it".
"What?", you pulled a face in confusion.
"I got the fucking teaching position".
Your face lit up, cheeks blushing pink. Now you were the one lost for words, stuttering what sounded like 'seriously?' back to him on the phone. You stood up out of your seat, pushing past the people sitting in your row and running out of the classroom, not looking back.
"Where are you Sebastian?", you panted into the phone, running through the hallways.
"Right by my office".
The call ended.
You kept running, out of breath but full of adrenaline. Today was the day, the day you didn't have to hide anymore. All of a sudden you could see Sebastian down the end of the corridor, picking up the speed once you realised it was him. You were surrounded by other students who were on break, or just hanging around campus. You didn't care though, this was important.
"What are you doing?", Sebastian questioned before you leaped into his arms, pressing the most magical kiss on his lips.
In that moment the world stopped, it was just you and Sebastian. You and your fucking boyfriend. Fuck your parents, fuck Winston, fuck the college. You had won, the two of you had won. He picked you up and spun you around, feeling eyes being drawn to his actions. However, Sebastian didn't care, he didn't care that he had another hour and a half of his class left, from now on he had quit. He no longer worked at Manhattan College for the Esteemed, he was a free man.
And how he had waited too damn long to kiss you like this publicly.
You held his body close, gripping onto his tie as your tongues intertwined. Never had you ever kissed this aggressively but now was the perfect moment. Too much excitement for the both of you to handle.
The best part about the kiss was when you were interrupted by a student, a student you both loathed. Winston fucking Forbes.
"Are you both fucking stupid? You were warned by her parents.. erm.. this is against school policy... erm", he was too stunned to speak really, this was far out of what he had imagined you two would do.
Students got closer, trying to listen in on the situation. To them all they saw was Professor Stan taking advantage of a student and their classmate sticking up for her. But to the two of you it was so much more. You were finally free to kiss your boyfriend whenever you wanted, and rub it in Winston's sorry ass face.
"I quit, I got a new job and your opinion means fucking nothing to me", Sebastian proclaimed, his words filled with anger yet relief.
Winston was in pure shock, you really had won, there was nothing he could do. There was nothing your parents could do either. From now on you were done with them, you could survive on your own, nothing relieved you more.
"She is my girlfriend, and there is nothing else you can do about that, now get back to class".
-
A month had passed and life had changed massively.
Sebastian had started his new teaching position at NYU, you had debuted your relationship to the world and you moved in together. It was a big step but with you not talking to your parents anymore, you needed a stable place to live.
After they found out about you and Sebastian they cancelled all of your money income and refused to pay for your accommodation at college. Obviously they had already payed for you to go there but the only thing they could do was make you pay for your dorm, something you couldn't financially afford.
You loved nothing more than living with him though, his pay check may be six figures but you wanted to help out where you could, not wanting to rely on him for money. You got yourself a job at 'Emmas Brew' your favourite coffee shop and even became closer friends with Riley, the job didn't pay much but it helped buy groceries and pay for cabs and stuff.
Every other Friday night, you would go into the city for a drink. Sebastian was extremely busy the majority of the time but you made time for each other when you could. Living together made it easier as you would go to bed and wake up next to each other, then off out to college and then work. You were frustrated when life got busy but ecstatic when you got to spend tine with him.
All in all, life was perfect.
You really did get the happy ending you both deserved.
_
Authors note: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH THE END! This has been a long ass journey but I finally finished my second book! Thank you to everyone who had been with me on this journey and everyone who had read this book and supported me. I'm so happy that I wrote this! I will be taking a short break as I have been writing this for 7 months! But I will always be active on my tiktok @ aricentrall <3
Please feel free to give me some ideas or preferences for my next book. I wont be writing it for a while but just incase you want to see me write something different or have any ideas I can add to my own ideas, please feel free to type them in the comment section <3
I love you all, thank you for reading <3333