Talon plonked on the vacant seat next to Dane on Monday morning. Dane raised his eyebrows at her but said nothing.
"Nice of you to join us this week Talon!" Mrs Martin said caustically, snapping her beloved ruler on a poor students desk in front of her.
Dane breathed out of his nose trying not to laugh. "Bloody old vulture." Talon heard him mutter.
She turned to watch Mrs Martin as she revved up into her lecture, though she didn't hear what it was about as she was too immersed between wondering about the old man at the library and when to see him next and what class Channing had. She could feel him close.
She didn't have to wait long.
About fifteen minutes after the period started, she felt him coming. Three, two, one the door boomed open clattering against the wall. Channing slightly ducked to get his frame through; his eyes alighted on her milliseconds later. There was a collective intake of breath from the rest of the class. Dane merely hmpfed and blew out 'you're kidding' with his breathe this time.
Channing said nothing to the appalled Mrs Martin, he hardly graced her with a glance as he stalked over the table next to Talon. Talon noticed quickly that he looked good, wearing jeans and a gray Tee under a light jacket his hair tied back loosely.
"Move." He told the awed boy sitting there. The boy was hastily packing up his things, dropping pencils everywhere in alarm when Mrs Martin, half Channing's size and purple in the face with outrage, banged her ruler on the desk. Talon hid a grin as Channing just stared down at her disdainfully for about a full second then raised his eyebrows to the boy that had stopped readying his things to vacate his seat.
Mrs Martin was so obviously flabbergasted at the situation of a person not being afraid of her that she couldn't speak. Dane's comment about the goldfish leapt to Talon's mind. The boy finally rushed from his chair, overturning it in his haste and ran to a vacant seat at the front.
Every student was swiveled in their seat watching the drama with total fascination.
Channing sat in the vacant seat and turned to Talon giving her a sexy smile.
"Does this teacher teach or just go around hailing blows with her ruler?" he asked her.
That sent a few students into giggles but it awoke Mrs Martin's rage.
"Get out of my class!" she said in a deadly quiet tone.
"Nope." Channing lounged back in the chair and put his arms behind his head, Talon couldn't avert her eyes from his biceps.
"Get out!"
He finally turned his gaze from Talon to Mrs Martin, the act itself seemed distasteful to him.
"Obviously you've no chance of moving me so get on with it." He said coldly, Talon looked around to make sure anything hadn't caught fire from the hot annoyance radiating from him.
After a moment of apoplectic fitting Mrs Martin changed tact. "I've had no paperwork given to me about you joining my class. Mr?"
"Black. I want to be in this class, it's got what I like in it." He winked at Talon.
"You can't!"
Talon noticed that Mrs Martin had tiny beads of sweat forming over her pancake foundation. Her teeth kept clicking together.
"Mrs M?" Dane asked perkily," Is there going to be an exam on this?"
Mrs Martin looked flustered and stared at him with incomprehension.
"What?" she shook her head.
"Oh good, just checking." Dane smiled starting to doodle in his book.
She turned around to Channing," Well Mr Black, if indeed you are going to intrude regularly on my class. You will be punctual, have your books open on the table and eyes. On. Me!" Talon giggled, as Mrs Martin attempted to regain her imperial status be slapping her ruler on Channing's desk. When Channing trapped her ruler between his thumb and forefinger, she tried to pull it loose to no avail, Channing yawned then awarded her the full force of his congenial stare as he let go of the ruler, she blushed and click clacked back to the front of the desk with a don't-say a word about-this-ever- again-posture.
Talon couldn't help herself but sneak a peek at Channing. His huge body made the desk seem like it had been designed to accommodate kindergarten children. His smiled serenely at her, ignoring Mrs Martin angry snorts. Talon saw that she was not the only female sneaking glances at him. Every other girl in the room stole heated peeks and flicked their hair in a flirtatious way. Some smiled coyly at him and some took the more brazen approach of waving to him and miming lunch.
Talon leant back abruptly in her chair and bit her lips. She was aggravated at this outcome. Channing's attention may be averted to someone more...attractive. It made her feel at odds. Part of her was glad, this way they'd be friends, like she had wanted. But the other half never had really believed in being friends and that half was ready to pull out the claws...literally.