risk it all.

Taryn sighed gently as she pulled into the student parking lot, surveying the building in front of her. She'd spent the bulk of her teenage years roaming those halls, laughing with her friends and just making memories. Even though she wasn't the biggest fan of school sometimes, she was going to miss it. The faux redhead grabbed her purse and backpack from the passenger seat, getting out of the car before locking it and dropping the keys in her purse. Taryn grabbed her schedule, looking to see where she had to go first. "Music Theory with Mr. Haner..." She read to herself.

--

Matt never thought his life would have ended up like this. He thought he and the guys were going to make it big with the band, and he and Val were going to last forever. Now, here he was. The band really only jammed together once or twice a month in Johnny's garage, and his marriage was hanging on by a very delicate thread. He loved teaching, don't get him wrong-- it's just that Matt had much grander plans for his life than teaching History to a bunch of high school seniors.

@ phenomenal.

Brian had spent the weekend arguing with Michelle. Things weren't getting better between the two of them and sometimes he wondered why they were still together. He barely hung out with his friends anymore, aside from Matt since they taught at the same school, but even then, they didn't see much of each other. Brian sighed as he waited in his classroom for the new batch of students to arrive. He had picked up a teaching job since that's what he had a masters in from college, it was a backup plan in case the band didn't take off and it didn't, so here he was.

--

Delaney sighed as she pulled into the student parking lot. It was the first day of senior year; the last year she'd be walking through these halls, the last year of being a teenager. Pretty soon she'd be going off to college and she'd be an actual "adult". As much as she hated school, she was going to miss it and miss being a teenager. She got out of her car, grabbing her backpack from the backseat and closing the door. She pulled her schedule out, seeing her first class was History with Mr. Sanders. She didn't recognize the name so she figured he must be one of the new teachers they hired over the summer.

Taryn eventually located her first period classroom, which was on the complete opposite end of the school from her locker. She could already tell that she was gonna have a difficult time making it to this class every morning. The redhead sat down at a random desk, tucking her purse under her feet after grabbing her phone from it. She snuck a glance at her teacher, eyes widening. Holy hell, he's absolutely beautiful! Taryn thought to herself, firing a quick text to her sister before dropping her phone in her purse.

--

Matt pulled out his class list for first period, scanning the names so he would at least have some idea on how to pronounce them, save the kids some embarrassment. He always remembered cringing inwardly in high school when teachers would mess up his buddies' names. Matt didn't wanna be that teacher. He sighed as the kids began to trickle in, talking amongst themselves about how their summers had been and what parties they'd been to. Matt smiled nostalgically, he remembered when that had been him.

Once everyone was in class, Brian shut the door before walking to the front. "Good morning class and welcome back to school." He said. He could see all the girls in class were looking at him and probably thinking the same thing. He just smiled. "I'm Mr. Haner and I'll be your teacher this year," he said and picked up his clipboard with the student list on it, "I'm going to do roll so when I call your name just say here or present." He said and began calling off the names.

--

Delaney went to her locker and grabbed her things for History. She had to hurry across school now since her History class was on the other side. She barely made it as the bell rang and the last of the students poured in. She sat down at a random desk in the front and looked up at the teacher. She was honestly surprised at how hot he was. "Wow.." she breathed out, taking it all in.

Taryn looked up when she heard her last name, Dawson. "Here," she whispered, raising her hand a little and putting it back down once Mr. Haner moved onto the next name on the list. The senior had to admit that her new music theory teacher didn't look like any normal educator that she had seen. She didn't hate it, though. There was something about him that Taryn couldn't exactly put her finger on. She felt like she'd seen him before, but she had no idea where.

--

Matt waited for the rest of the class to trickle in, getting up about two minutes after the bell rang just in case there were any stragglers. It was the first day, he wanted to give them a little bit of a break. "Hey, guys. Thanks for showing up-- I'm gonna talk a little quiet, cause I know some of you are hungover. I've been there, believe me." He chuckled, grabbing his attendance list off the desk.

@ phenomenal.

Once the roll call was done, Brian handed out the paper that would explain what they would be going over this semester. "Don't worry, we won't be doing anything today except hanging out." He told them. The first day was pretty much chill day. He wasn't going to make them do homework or anything, that could be saved for the following weeks to come.

--

"Yeah pretty much everyone is except for Miss. Goodie Two Shoes." One of the jocks behind Delaney said. She rolled her eyes and looked back at him. "Are you even going to remember anything you learn this semester, Travis? You should have graduated a year ago but you keep getting held back." She snapped, making his friends chuckle. She turned back around, crossing her arms over her chest.

Thank god, Taryn thought to herself. One of her pet peeves was when teachers jumped right into classwork on the first day of school, while everyone else was getting acclimated. The drama teacher who had retired the previous year was notorious for that. Well, that, and the coke he sold out of his desk. But that was a different story. Taryn scanned the paper, smiling slightly. She had a feeling she was gonna love this class.

--

Matt had to hold back a laugh, remembering he wasn't a part of the crowd anymore. Delaney had sass, which was something he appreciated. "Alright, guys. C'mon, let's at least try to be nice to each other today." He gave Delaney a quick nod before looking over at Travis. Matt had a feeling that was gonna be his problem child this year--not that he would have a problem dealing with him. Matt was at least six inches taller and had a fifty pounds on him if it came down to it.

@ phenomenal.

"That's about it. If you guys want to spend the rest of class chatting, I have no problem with it." Brian said, going to sit back down at his desk. Of course they would take advantage of that, talking about all the parties they went too and who was sleeping with who now. Brian chuckled softly to himself, remembering how he and his friends were the same way years ago.

--

Delaney smiled up at Mr. Sanders as he nodded in her direction. She was glad he wasn't going to make them do actual classwork today. She knew it wouldn't last though but at least she could enjoy the free day today.

A lightbulb went off in Taryn's head. She remembered where she knew her teacher from! Waiting until the class was occupied, Taryn got up from her spot and shuffled over to Mr. Haner's desk. "Excuse me," The redhead spoke, pushing her hair out of her face. "Pardon me if I'm wrong, but didn't you play guitar in a band that performed at Bogart's last week?"

--

Matt returned her smile, his eyes lingering for a second longer than they should have. Sanders, she is seventeen years old and you're married. Chill out. He headed back to his desk, grabbing his phone to see if any of the guys had messaged him. Brian was the only other guy in their group who didn't depend on music to pay the bills.

@ phenomenal.

Brian looked up as Taryn approached his desk. He smiled. "Yeah, I am...well I was." He said. He saw how confused she looked. "We're having a hard time getting the band off the ground so I had to start teaching." He chuckled.

--

Once the class was preoccupied, Delaney got up and went up to her teacher's desk. She had seen him somewhere and it was bothering her. "Excuse me, Mr. Sanders?" She said quietly, waiting for him to look up. When he did she smiled, "you look really familiar but I can't really put my finger on it. You don't play in a band do you?"

Taryn nodded her head-- she knew how difficult it was to get a music career off the ground. Her father often talked about his failed band in the eighties. "Well, you guys were pretty good! At least I thought so. That was probably the best concert I went to this summer." She flashed him a smile, tucking her hair behind her ear.

--

Matt raised a brow, smiling slightly when Delaney mentioned the band. "Actually, I do. My buddies and I have been in a band together since high school. We do shows here and there, the last one was actually about a week before school started." He ran a hand through his hair, the sleeve of his shirt raising slightly and exposing the tattoos that graced his arms.

Brian smiled when she said she liked his band. "Thank you. We still try to play every now and then so next time we have a show, I'll let you know." He told her with a smile.

--

Delaney smiled. "Oh yeah I remember that! I was there. You guys are great." She told him. She looked at his tattoos. "Nice ink." She smiled.

{sorry for the late and short reply hun. I just had my daughter three days ago and just got home from the hospital so I'm trying to get back into the swing of things}

(you're okay sweetheart! Little nugget comes first! As long as you and baby are okay, that's all that matters!)

Taryn grinned, pushing her hair out of her face. "I'd love to go! I mean, shows are really the only time I get out of the house outside of school and work, so I'll definitely be there." She bit her lip, debating on what she wanted to say next. "I dabble with my photography every now and again... I can take pictures of the next gig if you want."

--

Matt nodded his head, smiling when Delaney praised the band. "Thanks! I mean, I'm pretty proud of us, but it's nice to hear that other people don't think that we suck." He let out a slight laugh, raising a brow when she mentioned his tattoos. "Oh, yeah. Thanks again. I gotta wear long sleeved shirts so parents don't freak out-- I'm friggin covered."

{we're fine, just trying to catch up on sleep haha}

Brian smiled. "I'll talk to Matt about it but I'm sure he'll agree to it. So is that what you do? Photography I mean." He asked her. She was definitely really pretty and even though he shouldn't be thinking things like that about one of his students, he couldn't help it.

--

Delaney smiled. "I bet they look amazing...the ones I just seen do." She said. "So what's it like being in a band?" She asked. She had always been interested in starting a band with friends but never got around to it.

(catch up on that sleep, girl!)

Taryn nodded her head. "It's a hobby of mine. But honestly, I wanna turn it into a career." She spoke, eyes lingering on her teacher. She knew it was inappropriate, but she still couldn't help but remember how fucking hot he looked onstage playing his guitar.

--

Matt ran a hand through his hair, laughing slightly. "Thanks," he spoke, mulling over the answer to her next question. "It's great. I get to play music I love with guys that I consider my family. I mean, I wish we were more successful. But still no matter what, I love playing music."

@ saraya-jade.

{I wish lol but I still haven't}

"Well I bet you could totally get a career with it. You could start off by taking photos of my band and one day down the road you'll be a super famous photographer." Brian told her with a smile. He frowned when the bell rang, signally that class was over.

--

Delaney smiled at Matt's answer. "That's pretty cool though." She said. "I've always wanted to be in a band." She admitted. She frowned when the bell rang that signaled class was over.

(hopefully soon! congrats on the nugget again! <3)

Taryn blushed, her face nearly as red as her hair. She was about to respond when the bell went off, and she pouted. "I think I managed to grab a few pictures with my camera at the last show... I can bring it to school tomorrow and show you?" She offered.

--

Matt almost frowned when the bell rang, signaling it was time to transfer between classes. "I'm sure you would do well in a band... see you tomorrow?" He spoke, pulling out the class list for the next period.

@ saraya-jade.

{thank you hun<3 I wish my three and a half year old nugget would go to sleep though cause this mama is tired :c }

Brian smiled. "Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow, Taryn." He said as he pulled out his class list for the next period.

--

Delaney smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said and went to grab her things before walking out of the room and heading to her locker.

(I understand the struggle! Lol my best friend has a two year old and a four year old)

Taryn took one last look at her teacher before leaving the classroom, scanning the halls for Delaney. When she found her friend, she made a beeline for her. "Dude. Oh, my god. Remember the concert we went to last week?"

--

Matt watched Delaney's retreating form, only looking back down at the class list once she was gone. She was absolutely gorgeous, he knew his mind shouldn't be going there, he'd potentially get fired from his job that he JUST started.