The Angel Within

Runa sat in class, doodling on her notebook. There really was nothing to do. This was boring as hell and she was having a hard time not falling asleep even though it was rather interesting to watch the girls drool over Mr. Jareth Uniteare - or “Uni”, as they like to call him - as he went over another equation. Why he had all their attention was beyond her. It really made no sense. What did everyone see in him? She supposed he was rather good-looking with his blonde hair that was too long for the school’s regulation and his overly-large green eyes, but he was too bland for her interest. Way too gentlemanly. It bothered her and made her want to punch something.
“Runa,” Mr. Uniteare said with a creepy smile. Uh-oh. Here it comes. Every single day. “Do the problem on the board.”
Runa sighed. She hadn’t been taking notes. Not that she needed to, but still. Ever since he’d started his internship here at the beginning of the year, he was always picking on her. He never snapped or called on anyone else. He was always bothering her, as if he was looking for some kind of weakness.
She stood, went to the board and stared at the problem for a mere second before writing down the answer.
“That’s good,” he said. “But you need to show your work.”
She sighed. It was the same thing every day. “Show your work”, blah, blah, blah. He already knew by now that she could do everything in her head. It was crap to have to explain it out. Especially when she had the correct answer.
Turning back to the board, she wrote out the steps and even color-coded it, just to piss him off and drag it out. It was a sarcastic move on her part, but that was a sarcastic smile.
Facing him when she was done, she gave him her own version of his smile. “There. Better?”
His smile widened and he saw a twinkling in his eyes. “Much. Thank you. You may return to your seat.”
Stiffly, she turned and waited out the rest of the class in boredom, staring out the window like she always did and wishing she could be one of the birds flying overhead.
The bell rang and, finally, it was time to go home. She collected her bag - which was really just for show - and headed towards the door as the girls swarmed Uniteare, throwing their usual bombardment of questions at him. Most involved secrets about his personal life, not that she cared, but she thought it was an invasion of privacy and just went to show that the girls were all air-heads and bimbos.
“Ah, Runa!”
Surprised, Runa turned, only to find that it was the teacher that had called her.
He pushed his way through the girls, herding them to the door as he went. “Excuse me, girls. I need to discuss something with Runa in private. Could you excuse us?”
The girls muttered and groaned in disappointment, but they didn’t argue as they left, one of them calling out behind her, “I’m getting your phone number next time, Uni!”
He flashed a smile and waved and the girls left, the door closing behind them.
Runa dropped her backpack and hopped up on a desk, crossing her legs at the ankles and swinging them. “What’s up, Uni?”
His smile stayed in place as he came up to her, placing his hands on either side of the desk she was on and getting up into her face. She didn’t back down. And she wouldn’t. He wasn’t anyone she was afraid of. She’d seen far worse than anything he could dish out.
“You, Runa,” he said rather icily. “Are becoming a pain in my ass.”
Runa blinked. Huh? What the hell? Did Uni just swear? He never swore. And he looked pissed, his smile completely gone.
“I think you’re too smart for your own good,” he continued. “You need to be brought down a few notches.”
“What are you--” She didn’t get a chance to finish because he covered her mouth with his, his lips muffling the squeal of surprise as her eyes went wide and she stiffened.
What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What was he doing? He was a teacher! And an annoying teacher at that. What in the world was he thinking!!
He pulled away, but the warm press of his lips was still fresh on her mouth.
He smirked at the way Runa stared at him in shock. Finally, something more than a scowl or defiance. “Well, that shut you up. Are you going to listen to me now?”
Runa blinked, coming out of the weird limbo that had turned her brain to mush, and snapping her mouth shut. She narrowed her eyes on him, her face flushing with indignation and anger. He had done that to shut her up? Who the hell does that?!
She shoved him back, hopping down from the desk and grabbing her bag, not giving him the satisfaction of wiping her mouth, though she really, really wanted to. It was bullshit. Absolutely bullshit.
“Ah, ah, ah,” he admonished as she stomped to the door. “Runa-a-a. You might want to listen to what I have to say.”
“I don’t have to listen to a goddamn thing!”
She’d almost had her hand on the door when he said, “Even if it has to do with your precious Les?”
She froze, her hand just on the knob, and felt the color drain from her face. What did he know? What was he going to do?
Slowly, she turned, her body so stiff it hurt. “What is it?” she ground out.
His smile grew, seeming to be genuine and mischievous all at the same time. He placed his hip on his desk in the front of the class and rubbed his nails against his white button-down. “You, Runa, are a very interesting girl. I doubt if you noticed it yourself, but just by watching you, a person can figure out all they need to know.”
She hissed, “You don’t know anything.”
“Oh?” he asked with false innocence. “I think I do. You see, I make a habit out of keeping an eye on troublesome students. You’re the hardest I’ve come across to figure out, but I’ve found out something interesting along the way.”
Runa tried to stay calm, stopping her fist as it clenched and unclenched in anger - a tick she did when she was too angry or nervous. “So what?”
“So,” he continued, watching her. “I think it would be a shame if Les found out you were in love with him, wouldn’t you?”
Runa’s heart sank. Of all the things he could’ve have found out, he had to find the one thing she didn’t ever want to be known. Les could never know. It would ruin everything. It would hurt him, too. And that would kill her. That would kill her and then she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. She needed Les almost as much as she needed air. She couldn’t live without him in her life, and if he ever found out about her feelings, she wouldn’t be able to keep any part of him at all.
“What. Do. You. Want,” she gritted through clenched teeth. She wanted nothing more than to punch him and knock the information from his head.
He pushed off the desk and came over to her, placing a hand beside her head on the door. He loved how she didn’t back down even when she knew she was screwed. Why she wanted to keep her feelings a secret was beyond him, but she was a plethora of contradictions. “In exchange for keeping your little secret, I want you to date me.”
Her mouth dropped. “What the hell?” She pushed him away. “Date you? You can’t be serious. You’re a teacher!”
“I’m only twenty-two. That’s just a five-year gap.” He shrugged, trying to come off nonchalant, but inside his heart was pounding and he was nervous as hell. “And of course it would have to be kept secret.” When she just stared, he pressed, “Come on, Runa. What’s one more black mark on your record?”
She rolled her eyes, not believing her ears. Was he really serious? “Oh, of course. ‘Cause there’s nothing wrong with this situation at all.”
He smiled, leaning closer to her. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
She glared at him. “There’s plenty wrong with it! You’re blackmailing a student! Into dating you! What kind of teacher are you?”
He frowned, straightening, but keeping his arm on the door. “The kind that likes you.”
Jareth wasn’t used to this sinking feeling in his chest. He also wasn’t used blackmail, but he figured that this was the only way he could get a chance with Runa. She was a student, for one, and, for another, he’d seen the way she looked at her friend Les. There was no way he could come between that without a little incentive. Besides, she never even gave him a second thought. That fact hurt more than he could say, but now was the time to change all that.
The disbelieving expression on her face just confirmed all of that.
“Yeah, right,” she quipped. “And I’m Mary Poppins.” She shoved him again, turning back to the door and throwing it open. “Screw you, Uniteare. I don’t need lies or empty promises. If dating you will keep your mouth shut, then fine. We’re dating. But don’t expect any help from me.”
He watched her leave, her chains and drooping suspenders clinking as she stalked the halls, her combat boots thunking on the tile. She was pissed, he knew, but, damn, he couldn’t say he was sorry. He finally got her right where he wanted. She had said she wasn’t going to make it easy. But, then, he wasn’t going to make it easy, either. It was a game, he supposed, and he liked games. He just hoped that when the game was over, they both came out as winners.