VERENA

I have always considered myself a lucky person, I mean after surviving a massive fire when I was seven made me think in that way.

But all that luck seems to disappear when it comes to Asael Alderidge.

I know it's my fault too when I deliberately disobey him but I can't seem to stop, the thrill that comes with it is too exciting.

Most of the time, I enjoy troubling him but sometimes when he picks on me for no reason at all, it annoys me especially that day when I fell asleep in the class.

He had no right to ask me what I was doing at night. And yes, I lied to him. I wasn't partying on a Monday night, I am not that stupid.

When I was seven, I was stuck in that huge fire and even though I was saved in time, it kind of traumatized me. Only a little. I used to have nightmares about it for quite some time and then with some professional help, it all stopped.

Until now. Those nightmares are back. I am not a kid anymore yet they kind of scare me, I know it's stupid but I can't help it.

Once I wake up sweating and scared, I can't go back to sleep. My mind refuses to shut down so I spend the rest of the night pacing in my room or going through my phone.

Hence, I felt sleepy in class and fell asleep. Now I couldn't really tell Mr. Alderidge that I was having nightmares about something that happened fifteen years ago.

He would have officially labelled me as insane. So I lied, and--like I said--he has no right to pry into my private life.

Today, it's the same. I hardly slept and I am only running on caffeine and it's visible.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Zahria asked as she walked beside me.

"It's not a big deal." I shrugged it off.

"Verena", she scolded, "you are unable to sleep and you think it's not a big deal? You should have told me, I would have tried to help you."

I chuckled. "Help me in what way? Sing me to sleep?"

"If that helps then yes. If tonight you have another nightmare and you are unable to go back to sleep, you are waking me up, okay? Or better yet, you are sleeping with me tonight."

"If you are really that interested in me, just say so." I joked.

She slapped my shoulder and shoved me away with a roll of her eyes. "Shut up. I would rather throw you off the roof."

I dramatically placed my palm over my heart. "Ouch. That's mean."

She shook her head in exasperation even though a small smile teased her lips and she continued walking to the class. "Jokes aside, you are doing as I say tonight."

"Okay, Mom", I mumbled hooking my arm through hers. "Would you like to save me from Mr Alderidge too?"

"That you brought upon yourself. You do it deliberately."

"Yes but sometimes he just picks on me randomly," I complained with a pout.

"Well, maybe you could stop being a rebel and listen to him, hmm? But if I am being honest, I do enjoy seeing you both interact. It's fun and the whole class enjoys it. Am I a bad friend for enjoying that?"

"No. I am glad I could be everyone's entertainment." I chuckled softly.

We then walked in silence to our class and outside it, I noticed another professor of mine, Mr Juan passing by so I lingered back and let Zahria go inside and went to greet him.

He was in his fifties and a sweet old man who taught well. Not as good as Mr Alderidge but he was much nicer to me.

"Hey", I greeted him with a smile.

"Verena." He smiled back, his blue eyes were warm and comforting. "How are you?"

"I am good, sir, though I miss your classes. It's a shame I am not your student anymore." I said genuinely.

His smile widened. "You were a good student, Verena and I surely miss you too."

We talked for a minute more before we said our goodbyes and I turned back to my class and noticed Mr. Alderidge standing by the door, his eyes narrowed at Mr. Juan's back and his fingers clenched around the handle of the door.

Confused, I glanced between them both. Does he have some grudge against Mr Juan? 

I slowly made my way to him and his eyes slid to me, still narrowed and they darkened further.

Before I could ask him what I did now, he spoke in a low, cold voice, "It seems you are trying to be everyone's favourite student."

I glared at him. "What the hell do you mean by that?" 

But he didn't answer me and proceeded to push open the door and walk inside, ignoring me altogether. What's wrong with him?

Scowling at his back, I followed him inside and slumped down beside Zahria who noticed my face and asked, "What happened?"

"This asshole happened. He is so fucking confusing."

When she still looked confused, I narrated the whole thing including how I once told him that I would be his favourite student.

Zahria cut a surprised glance at him before looking at me. "He sounds...jealous."

I snorted. "Please."

Before she could say further, Mr. Alderidge cleared his throat loudly, demanding everyone's attention and he still looked irritated.

Halfway through the class, exhaustion caught up to me and soon I was dozing off to sleep.

A few minutes later, Zahria shook my shoulder. "Ver, wake up. He has already glared at you twice."

"I'll wake up if he says anything."

It turned out, all he did was glare at me while I slept for a while. That's it. He didn't come up to me or say anything at all.

The class ended and I realised that he covered a vital topic today through which I slept. I could have asked Zahria to explain it to me but I decided to use it as an excuse to talk to him.

He was already leaving the class so I quickly followed him out. "Sir?"

He continued walking down the corridor so I ran after him. "Hey, wait."

He ignored me.

There is no way he didn't hear me. That man has superpowers for sure and with the way he walked so confidently, he was aware of it.

I forced myself not to ogle at his back, his broad shoulders pulled back and bulging against the white shirt he wore or his ass. I mean it's nice but I should focus on other things.

I finally caught up to him, panting, I grabbed his forearm. "Listen to me."

That caused him to halt and with his lips pressed in a thin line, he turned to me, his eyes falling down to where I still clutched him.

Smiling sheepishly, I pulled away my hand.

He slowly pushed up his spectacles up his nose with his middle and index fingers and fixed me with a pointed look. "What do you want?"

"I need your help actually. The topic you taught today, can you please teach me that again, I didn't understand it nicely--"

"You mean the one you missed because you were busy sleeping?"

I sighed. "Okay, fine I am sorry about that. But can you please help me, sir?"

He continued to stare at me blankly. "Ask your friend."

"Um..." I tried to come up with an excuse. "You teach better. I like the way you teach." I smiled flirtatiously at him.

He remained unfazed. "I don't have time for this."

With that, he turned around to leave but I immediately ran over and blocked his way. "Come on, help me, please. I know you won't deny me, I am your favourite student after all."

His jaw clenched and he leaned down, stepping into my personal space until our noses almost brushed. "You are not my favourite student, Miss Satori." He gritted out.

I tried not to let our close proximity make me nervous and grinned instead. "Not yet. I will be soon."

"With the way you behave, you never will be."

"I am a good student," I argued. Even though I should have stepped back, I didn't, I remained rooted. "I study well and score good grades, you have to agree to that. And that's enough to be someone's favourite student."

A corner of his lips twisted up into a cruel smirk. "Not enough for me."

I glared at him. "Yeah, because you are a sadist."

He took a step closer, the tip of our noses pressing together and he raised a brow in a challenging way. "Is that so, Verena?"

Hearing my name in his deep voice caused some weird sensation in my belly. My tongue darted out to wet my lips making his eyes flicker down to my mouth.

I was suddenly aware of how close we were, goosebumps pebbling on my skin and for a second my heart fluttered.

There was a tick in his jaw as his eyes zeroed on my lips and then he was moving back, giving me space as he avoided looking at me and simply continued walking away as if I didn't exist.

"What the hell?" I groaned and followed him. I walked beside him while he kept his eyes focused ahead. "C'mon, help me, please."

"If you help me then I promise to be a good girl for a whole day." I offered.

He came to an abrupt halt at the end of the corridor and turned to me with an exasperated look. "Word your sentences properly."

"Huh?"

He let out a soft sigh. "You are not going to let me live peacefully, are you?"

I shrugged, stifling a laugh at the exasperation in his tone. "Nope."

He glanced up as if praying for mercy before looking at me. "My office. Seven in the evening. Not a minute late."

I grinned widely. "Yes, sir."