paint your wings

"It really was." Savannah said nodding her head and laughing a little. "And I don't think I've had that much fun in a while." She added knowing that Max had a way of bringing her down or ruining fun happy moments. Just another reason she was overjoyed to be done with him, hopefully for good. "Do you remember that time we got into that bar with our fake ID's like right after we'd turned 19?" She asked looking over at her friend, honestly it was nice knowing she could actually be here and drink and wouldn't get in trouble, though that night had been pretty fun.

---

Zane looked at both girls then finally turned back to his friend once it was over. "Well she seems a lot happier than how you were describing her earlier." He said not sure what could've happened within the last couple hours to totally changer her mood given Nathan had sounded really worried about her but there didn't look like anything to worry about. "The girl with her is in my class that meets today." He said not sure if it was a coincidence or not that they were both there, but it was something else that was for sure.

[ I feel like we're doing a lot of skipping around in this one . But we should skip just a little bit more to when they start getting hit on the and guys stop it and take them home ]

(Okay~! So, just have some guys walk over and start flirting with them? xD)

Savannah wasn't entirely sure how many drinks she'd had. But she did know that she'd had enough to make her slightly light headed, and if there was ever something annoying at a bar it was having a guy walk up to her knowing she'd been drinking just to hit on her. Honestly. "Look I'm sure you guys are nice, but we'd rather be left alone." She told them trying to move away from them so maybe they'd get the picture. Neither her nor Letha was interested. "Come on you're both beautiful girls, clearly looking to have a good time. Just let us show you a good time."

---

Zane had really been enjoying catching up with Nathan, it was great to be doing this really. All the while though he had been trying to keep an eye on Letha and her friend if he could though. Not for a creepy reason or anything but because well she was his student and he just couldn't help but want to make sure she was okay while she was in there. He knew after all that sometimes there could be sketchy people in bars.

Nathan had already finished his beer by now, but he was too indulged in catching up with Zane and making sure that Savannah was alright to really be bothered to leave. Personally, he would feel guilty if he left while his student was still there, drinking, and ended up getting hurt or bothered by creeps. And, well, he wasn't surprised to see some guys approach the two girls, but he didn't get involved right away. It was obvious that neither of the girls were interested, but he wanted to see if the guys would get that through their heads or keep trying to make moves - in which case, he'd definitely step in to stop it.

---

"Actually, we weren't looking to have a good time, in the sense that you're implying," Letha drawled, rolling her eyes because she was never one to bite her tongue when it came to turning guys down. "We're not interested. Now, shoo." The other guy frowned, but didn't let it bother their pursuit of the girls. "Oh, come now. We just want to help you two enjoy your night even more than you already are," he said with a smile that he probably meant to be charming, but Letha only found it a little desperate.

Savannah couldn't hold back the eye roll at how ridiculous these two guys sounded. Clearly they didn't know what the word no meant, and they were starting to annoy her. The last thing she wanted in her life was a guy who couldn't understand the word no, or always seemed to think that they knew what she wanted or needed better than she did. "Look we'd both really like you to leave us alone." She told them before turning to Letha. "Can we get out of here?" She said so ready to do go, but of course they happened to be guys who didn't take rejection very well and they grabbed at Savannah's wrist.

---

Zane, though he didn't really have Savannah in any classes or know her at all really, could tell that she didn't want to be bothered by these guys anymore. Just like he could tell they were annoying Letha. Though that was more because he'd actually had in her class and knew what her annoyed face was. And given that he was her professor, he was here in the bar, and he wasn't about to let either of them get hurt by a couple of low lives who think they can just have whoever they want just because they want them. So he got up and walked over to the girls. "Apparently you don't understand what the word no means. They don't want to leave with you, and they're not going to." He told the guy, "now if you'll please excuse us my friend and I are going to take them home away from the two of you." He added before stepping in front of the guys. "Let's get you girls out of here." He said figuring Nathan could walk Savannah home if she lived somewhere else and he could take care of Letha.

Nathan had stood up the moment that he saw the guy grab Savannah's wrist and made his way over just as quickly as Zane had. Grasping the wrist of the guy who had hold of Savannah's wrist, he squeezed down, wrenching the guy's hand away. "You'd do best to grow up a little. When a pair of girls want to get away and you continue to bother them, it's called harassment. Wouldn't want to end up in jail, would you?" he said simply, glancing over at Savannah. "Are you alright?" he asked her after a moment before holding a hand out to help her up. "C'mon, I'll walk you home." Because he wouldn't put it past a pair of desperate guys to follow a pair of alcohol-induced girls home.

---

Letha was more than a little surprised to see Professor Carson there and she blinked several times, staring up at him as her mind tried to process what he was saying. Considering the alcohol in her system, it wasn't entirely surprising that her mind was blurring a bit. "Ah, Teach, didn't think that I'd run into you so soon after class," she hummed out, though, after processing his words fully, she couldn't help but to stare for a long moment. Did they really look helpless to the professors? Well, maybe. Still, she lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Try not to piss somebody else off - you seem pretty desperate," she told the guys who had tried to flirt with them, ignoring how annoyed they looked that their pursuit had gotten interrupted.

Savannah to say the least was a little surprised to see professor Scott there, she was glad he was there though. Because honestly she didn't know how well she would've really held up against a couple of guys, at least not with the alcohol in her system. Which it wasn't like way over the legal limit or anything, but it was still enough where she wouldn't have been the best at defending herself. "That'd be nice." She told him not wanting to walk home alone, pretty sure it was time to just call the night a night. And she'd just meet up with Letha in the morning and they could set up another girls night where they didn't go out and drink.

---

"Yes I know, it's so shocking to see me out and about like I have a life outside of class." Zane said laughing a little as he said it. He honestly hoped that his students didn't actually think all he ever did was sit at home and grade papers, or that he didn't ever do anything fun because he totally did enjoy a night out every once in a while. "Anyways let's get you home." He told her wanting to make sure she made it there safely, and well knowing guys like this he was sure if someone didn't walk her home and make sure she got in safely then they probably would've followed them both home and something bad could've happened. Which was something he didn't want.

Nathan smiled slightly and nodded as they wandered out of the pub, looking down at Savannah. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked her with a quirked brow, hoping that she hadn't drank too much that she wouldn't be able to walk. Sure, he'd carry her to her home, if he had to, but he didn't know where she lived and he was pretty sure that, if somebody saw him carrying her and knew who they were, questions would definitely be raised. "If you can walk properly and, you know, remember the way, you can lead the way to your home. Or you can just tell me where you live and I'll make sure you get there safely."

---

Letha laughed, then, because that wasn't why she was surprised. "Well, I'm certain your life revolves around my tardiness and lovely personality," she hummed out, though she was just joking. In honesty, she expected Professor Carson to be the type to enjoy a lot of things, from sitting home and relaxing to hanging out with friends. She was pretty good at reading people, in that manner. "Aw, knowing that a teacher wants me to survive the night is definitely a surprise." She glanced over her shoulder, waving - though, messily, due to the alcohol - to Savannah. "I'll see you later, Savannah! Try not to miss me too much."

"I feeling fine. So I think I'll be okay to walk." Savannah told Professor Scott figuring she could just lead the way and he could follow her until he knew she was okay. Or at least that's what she thought would happen. Once she'd made it outside of the pub however she knew there was a lot more to this night than she'd like. "You looked surprised to see me Savannah. And I see you have a new friend. Honestly did you really think that you could just walk out like that run and tell some bullshit story and everything would be fine? Because that's not how this works, now come along we're going home." Max said in a calm voice, which she knew was't a good thing. "I'm not going with you, that's why I got the restraining order, and moved out." She said feeling her voice shake a little and her heart was beating so fast she was afraid it was going to beat right out of her chest.

---

"Yes that's exactly what my life revolves around." Zane joked with her pretty sure there wasn't any harm in small talk, or a few back and forth jokes here and there while he walked her home. Yea if people saw him walking her home they might wonder what was going on. It was kind of late though and he'd honestly just tell the truth if it was ever brought up. He'd went to the bar with a friend, which happened to be the same bar a lot of students and other facility members hung out at on occasions. He saw a student in need of help getting home safely, and so he made sure she did. Nothing wrong with that. "Well it really shouldn't surprise you that much." He told her hoping she'd be okay to walk, otherwise he'd have to carry her. "I don't know about the other professors, because I'm not them. But I care about all my students, and you're one of my students."

Nathan frowned slightly when he heard what the guy was saying, staring at him for a moment. It was clear that, despite this guy's calm voice, he wasn't safe. And he'd be damned if he let Savannah go anywhere with him, especially when she mentioned something about a restraining order. Moving to stand in front of Savannah to block her from the guy, he eyed him carefully, quirking a brow. "If there's a restraining order against you, you should obey it," he said simply, "I'm going to guess that you're definitely not the type of person that should be around Savannah and I'm not going to let you bother her. So, either you leave, now, or this gets messy."

---

Letha sighed dramatically, placing a hand over her heart in a mock-swoon. "What a shame you have to go so long without my amazing presence," she hummed out, though she was merely joking, still. It was easier to joke than it was to be serious around a professor - especially because she didn't like to get into serious conversations with most people, aside from maybe Savannah, because they always led to personal conversations that she would rather avoid. Still, maybe her words were a little slurred when she glanced over at him, grinning, and said, "Of course you're not like them. They're all a bunch of asshats."

Savannah ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, this was honestly the reason she hadn't wanted to involve anyone else. She knew that they'd step up to defend her and then be in the middle of the whole mess, and there were already enough people in this mess as it was. But well there wasn't really anything she could do about it now. She heard Max laugh a little before he spit towards them both. "You can't hide behind your friends forever." He told her before walking away clearly knowing that things would get messy and well that wasn't what he wanted right now. If anything Max wanted to scare her more than harm her right now, and well he'd done just that. "I don't think I can go and be alone tonight." She said shaking her head knowing right now her options were limited to being alone home all night, or going to Letha's which would be no help either because well she was drunk. And Savannah wasn't upset about that, but it did suck knowing she didn't really have anywhere else to go.

---

Zane laughed a little as he started to walk Letha home, silently hoping she'd be able to actually lead him to her home. "Yea I could see where you might get an idea like that." He said in reference to the other professors being asshats. And he wouldn't say they were all that way, because well even aside from Nathan he could think of at least one or two other Professors that he thought were not only good at their jobs but also good at making sure everyone felt comfortable and things. However he could also think of quite a few professors who honestly didn't let anything slide. And he did mean that, they didn't let much if anything slide which to him made sense in some cases but at the same time didn't. They also weren't that understanding when it came to certain things or certain students, and they were so quick to judge their students that honestly he felt a little bad for them and the students they took a disliking to right away without even giving them a chance.

Nathan frowned as he watched the boy leave before turning his attention to Savannah once the guy was out of sight. He wasn't sure what to do, really. Hearing her say that she didn't think she could be alone gave him an idea, of course, especially since he didn't quite trust the guy not to try to hurt Savannah when she was alone, but he wasn't sure if it was too good of an idea or if Savannah would even accept it. After a moment, he nodded and moved closer to her, more so to keep an eye on her and protect her, if necessary. "How about we head to my home, then?" he suggested after a moment. "I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable, knowing that you're alone, either, especially with that guy around. It'd be safer at my place." And, it would. He had a security system and everything; he could keep her safe, if only for the night. "Is that okay with you?"

---

Letha hummed in response, but didn't bother going further into the subject. It wasn't just professors who were asshats, after all, and, well, she knew herself; she knew that, in her slightly (or, possibly more than slightly) intoxicated state, if she started talking more in-depth about it, she'd probably ramble. And that wasn't something that she wanted. She could see her apartment, up ahead, and she groaned at the realization that she'd have to walk up three flights of stairs just to get to her floor. "Hey, Teach, you wouldn't let me, like, fall from the stairs and die, right?" she asked, quirking a brow as she glanced over at him. And, honestly, it wasn't even that she thought she needed the supervision to make it up the stairs, but part of her really just didn't want to be alone yet - another thing that the alcohol did to her. She should have gotten drunk at home instead.

[ sorry I didn't reply more last night! I had to work a later shift and didn't feel that great plus was super tired when I got in. ]

Savannah bit her lip at looked at him before nodding her head. "You're sure I wouldn't be intruding or anything." She said not wanting him to go well out of his way for her or anything. And it wasn't like she knew much about him other than he was her teacher, so for all she really knew he could have some super jealous live in girlfriend or something. Though with how sweet he seemed to be, or so she'd gathered from the time he'd been her teacher, he didn't seem like the guy who would give a girl a reason to be jealous. Honestly she didn't even know why that mattered, or why she was thinking about it. He was being nice enough to let her stay with him for the night, and well she was going to take him up on the offer because there was no way she was staying in her own home alone for the night.

---

"Of course I wouldn't." Zane said motioning for her to continue to lead the way, and he'd follow. He wouldn't let her fall, and if he did happen to see her falling he'd totally catch her. "Unless you want me to carry you up the stairs. I mean you can uh hop on my back I guess if you need to." He told her figuring he could offer to help her out a bit more if she didn't feel comfortable walking up the stairs. And in a way it almost seemed like a smarter idea than letting her walk up and possibly fall back and actually knock him down with her or something. Not that he thought she would or anything. But you never know.

(No worries! Sorry this took a while; I sent a message, explaining earlier, haha. Are you feeling better?)

"Of course you wouldn't be intruding. I wouldn't offer it otherwise," Nathan assured her with a slow nod, offering a small smile. He wasn't sure if the offer would creep her out or if she would just think it was weird. Maybe it was crossing boundaries that he probably shouldn't, but he tried not to think about that. He was just trying to keep a student safe; there was nothing wrong with that. "Come on. We'll get there and you can try to relax a bit." Because he wanted her to forget about what just happened, at least for now. He'd have to try to find out why the guy was bothering her, later, but, for now, he wanted to make sure she was somewhere that she would be safe - she deserved that. Turning his attention ahead, he started leading the way to his home.

---

Letha paused in her footsteps and she wasn't sure if it was because of her shock or amusement with his words. Who was she to pass that up? "Well, as long as you don't mind," she hummed out, turning to him with a grin, though she chewed on her lip afterwards, a little hesitant about what she wanted to ask. Still, she had enough alcohol in her system to force that hesitance away pretty quickly. "Hey, Teach, you wouldn't mind sticking around for a while, would you?" She didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't entirely fond of living alone; she wasn't used to it, yet. She had been living with her brother, but he moved out to get a home with his fiancée - and she hadn't wanted to get in the way of that.

[ sorry for taking so long to reply! I am feeling a lot better than I was the other day thank heavens. Also I was going to reply last night but I was tired when I got off and I couldn't think of a good reply. ]

Savannah smiled softly at him and let him guide her to his home. And honestly the thought of this being wrong, or weird never crossed her mind. Though the way she saw it they weren't doing anything wrong. It wasn't wrong after all for someone to want to do whatever they could to help keep someone else safe, or make sure they were comfortable. Which she wouldn't have been had she went home alone. "So this might be a weird question, but you wouldn't happen to have anything I could change into would you?" She asked him biting her lip. She hadn't exactly brought extra clothes with her, and well she didn't exactly want to go back to her place just to pick up clothes plus it'd be totally out of the way and it wasn't like her clothes were that comfortable. Which left her with the options of either sleeping nearly nude or in uncomfortable clothes neither of which she really wanted to do.

---

"Okay well hop on." Zane said tuning around so she could get on his back. And he totally didn't mind carrying her up the stairs. It wasn't like she weighed too much for him or anything, and this way almost seemed safer than being behind her. "I don't see why I couldn't stay for a bit." He told her figuring he could just stick around until he got her to bed and maybe tucked in or something. Yea he wasn't her parent or anything, but he did care about her and he'd just be making sure she got to bed safely and all. Not like he was breaking any rules or anything. Plus he totally knew what it could be like living alone for the first time while you were in college. He hadn't done it long given both he and Nathan had hated living alone at the time so they'd eventually lived together for a while. Now of course they both lived alone and he was a lot more comfortable with the thought of it.

(No worries! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better! Also, sorry if this is short; I'm on my phone.)

Smiling, Nathan lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "I'm sure we can find something," he assured her. It wouldn't be too hard, he was sure. It didn't take much longer to come to the neighborhood he lived in and, spotting his house, he led the way towards it. "If you need to, you can take a shower, too." He knew he'd probably need one, considering he smelled somewhat like the beer he drank. Thankfully, though, he didn't have any classes to teach the next day, so he could just relax. Moving to the door, he unlocked it and headed in first, to type in the code to his security system.

---

Letha felt far more relieved than she thought she would when she heard him agree to stay for a bit. Nodding, she moved to climb onto his back after pulling her keys out to be prepared to open the door, being careful about it because she didn't want either of them to fall. Resting her chin on his shoulder, she looked up the stairs. "Thanks, Teach," she hummed out, after a moment, admittedly genuine with her gratitude - which was usually rare.

[ I'm glad to be feeling better! And it's fine lol. ]

"Thanks for doing this for me." Savannah told him following him into the neighborhood, then right up to the front door of his home. "A shower would be great actually." She added tucking her hair behind her ear. She really was so thankful that he was letting her stay with him. Honestly she didn't know what she would've done if he hadn't been there tonight. Which made her think that maybe it would just be better to drink at home from now on. Sure it was nice to go out every now and again with Letha and have a good time. But honestly if every time she went out she was going run into Max she'd rather just not go out.

---

"It's not a problem really." Zane told her as he carried her up the stairs to her apartment. He figured she'd telling when which floor it was once they got there. "I wanted to make sure you got home safe, and were totally comfortable before I left you for the night." He told her also knowing that if this were his sister or something he'd want someone do to the same thing for her. Make sure to walk her home and make sure she was safe and comfortable before they left. Not let her get taken advantage of by creeps who didn't have boundaries or anything of the sort.

(I bet!)

Nathan keyed in the code before looking over to Savannah and locking the door. "Alright. Let's go find you some clothes to change into, then," he told her with a small smile before gesturing for her to follow him as he led the way to hid bedroom. "I don't have a guest bedroom, but you can take my bed or the couch, whichever you're more comfortable with." He wanted her to be comfortable, after all, and if that meant that he crashed on his couch for the night, he didn't mind. Considering everything that had happened, he wanted to make sure that she at least felt safe, which meant that he'd put her before himself, while she was there (and, after she left, since he saw her on a semi-regular basis.)

---

Letha wasn't really used to many people caring whether she was safe or comfortable. Sure, there was her family, but it was pretty much an obligation for them. Then, there was Savannah, but that was pretty much it. It was really all she needed, in her opinion; hearing that Professor Carson wanted to make sure she was safe and comfortable, though, brought a small smile to her features. Shaking the thought away, she pointed to her apartment door. "That's mine," she hummed out, barely being able to reach the key hole. Pushing the key in, she unlocked it and opened it, figured his hands were kind of full since he was carrying her. "Is it against school policy to cuddle with your students?"

Savannah smiled and followed him through the house and into his bedroom where she assumed he was going to grab her a shirt to change into. Which was all that she really needed. "I'm fine sleeping wherever." She told him really not wanting him to go way out of his way to make her comfortable or anything. She'd totally sleep on the couch, or even the floor if she had to. It really didn't matter to her, all that mattered was she wasn't alone at least for tonight didn't have to worry about Max finding her. "So which way's the bathroom?" She asked once they'd found her something to change into for when she got out of the shower.

---

Zane nodded his head and walked to her door and did what he could to make it as easy as possible for her to open the door and let them both in. He was a little taken back by her question, and wasn't even entirely sure how he was supposed to answer it. "I wouldn't say it's necessarily against school policy since there are a few professors who've had relationships with people who were attending the school as students. But that doesn't mean that it's looked at highly either. So it's frowned upon I'm sure." He finally told her pretty sure that you were involved with a student and it wasn't your own student it wasn't nearly as bad as if the student were your own or something like that. But in all honestly he didn't know how serious it was or wasn't and he supposed it could be classified as 'what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.'

Nathan handed her the shirt that he found, hoping it would suit her well enough. "Right through there," he told her, gesturing to the door on the other side of the room. "There should be towels and anything else you need in there, too. If not, I can just go grab you some from the laundry room." He was pretty sure it wouldn't be necessary, though; he usually always kept at least one of everything necessary in there. "Take as long as you need." Because he was sure she wanted to relax a bit, after the night she had.

---

Letha laughed, then. It was almost ridiculous, really. (And, honestly, she probably wouldn't have even asked the question if she wasn't pretty drunk.) She would have pointed out how stupid it was to frown upon something like that when she was pretty sure it wasn't illegal - professors and students and their school were all adults, after all. "So, does that mean I won't have a cuddle buddy tonight?" she joked lightly before hopping down from his back.