Pencil, Paper and Passion.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly, with Charlotte trying her best to get me alone and Ben or Mr. Avery interceding every time. I tried to feel sorry for her, but the frustration in her expression was highly amusing. By the time lunch came around, I was almost sure that I could see steam coming from her ears. Laughing quietly, I let myself into Ben’s classroom and shut the door.

“What’s so funny?” He asked, looking up from the papers on his desk.

“Charles.” I grinned at him, moving to sit on the edge of his desk. “She’s about to blow.”

He shook his head, lips twitching. “She’s very tenacious. Any other time, we’d let her grill you, but we can’t risk having you in any empty hallways or rooms. It’s too dangerous.”

“Yeah.” I sighed, straightening away from the desk. “Anyway, I’m going to get to work.”

Before I could walk away, Ben grabbed my hand and pulled me down into his lap. “Hold on a second. I’ve been wanting to do this all day.”

“Ben, wait, we can’t. Not here. Ben-!” His lips cut off my protests, effectively silencing me. My mind instantly clicked off and I pressed myself against him, twisting my fingers into his hair. He nipped at my lower lip, making me gasp and give him the entrance he wanted. Our tongues twined together and his hands tunneled up the back of my shirt. The feel of his fingers dancing across my bare skin caused me to shiver and I tightened my fingers in his hair.

He made a sound against my lips and I immediately let go of his hair and pulled away, thinking I’d hurt him. “I’m sorry!”

Ben stared at me incredulously before bursting into laughter. “Christ, Elizabeth. You didn’t hurt me.”

I shifted in his lap, trying to find a more comfortable position. “But you made that sound when I-.” I cut myself off and stilled in his lap. Apparently, neither of us were going to be comfortable until I moved entirely. I scrambled from his lap, blushing, as he watched me with amusement. I stammered, “I j-just thought that when you- well.”

“Elizabeth,” He stood from his desk chair, smiling. “You didn’t hurt me. I think we’re both very aware of how you affected me.”

“Yes, well, I felt- Hm.” I closed my eyes, feeling my face redden even further.

I felt Ben’s hands cup my face and I opened my eyes to see him smiling wickedly at me. “Felt what?”

I pressed my lips together, refusing to answer, as embarrassment coursed through me. It wasn’t that I was ignorant of what happened to a man’s body when he was aroused; it was just that I’d never felt it, firsthand, under my bottom. I’d also never imagined that I’d be arousing my Chemistry teacher, in his class room. As a result, I didn’t know exactly what to do with myself, other than to be extremely self-conscious and/or mortified. So, I kept my silence, hoping to retain at least a small shred of my dignity.

Ben chuckled, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Go clean out the closet, Elizabeth.”

I nodded, turning on my heel and heading straight into the closet without a word. I didn’t trust myself to speak, lest I humiliate myself once again. Upon entering, I realized that Ben had done some of the cleaning up while I’d been at home, recovering. Most of the papers had been picked up and had either been thrown or filed away. There was really only one section, in the corner, of the closet left to clean. After that, it was simply a matter of organizing the shelves, which would take only a few days. Smiling to myself, I moved further into the closet and quickly got to work.

“Where is she?!” I’d only been working for about five minutes before the extremely shrill, belligerent voice broke through the comfortable silence Ben and I had effected. I recognized the voice, of course. Besides, who else would burst into Ben’s classroom demanding to know where I was? Especially after today.

I stood from where I’d been sitting on the closet floor, filing more papers, and moved to the door of the closet. I watched in amusement as Charlotte marched up to Ben’s desk and slapped her hands down, atop the papers he’d been grading. Her voice lowered threateningly, “Where’s Eliza?”

With no sign of fear on his face, Ben grinned and pointed toward the closet. “There.”

Charlotte whirled around, blonde tresses flying, and seeing me, stomped her way across the classroom to grab my arm and lead me to a desk in the front row. She shoved me down into it before stomping back to Ben and grabbing his arm, to deposit him in the desk next to me. Then she stood before us, legs spread with her hands clasped behind her back, and stared us down. After what felt like forever, she finally spoke, “So, I’d really like an explanation.”

I looked at Ben, cautious, but saw that he was still grinning. He apparently thought that Charlotte finding out about us was highly amusing. So, I threw caution to the wind. “Well, Charles, it’s probably exactly what you think it is.”

“You two are together?”

I nodded, and then looked at Ben. “We’ve had a few ups and downs already, but I think we can officially say we’re together.”

Ben smiled at me. “I don’t even know what our anniversary would be.”

“Uhmm…” I racked my brain, trying to come up with a specific date, but two came to mind. “Well, we’ve had two starts; the day you took me for ice cream and the day after I was attacked.”

“So, it would be September 21st or 25th. Which one do you think would suit?”

It took a moment for me to answer, because I was too busy wondering how he’d remembered the exact dates. “Uh… Well, I cried a lot on the 25th so, as nice as our making up was; I don’t think that day would be good for an anniversary.”

Ben nodded. “You’re right. Besides, the day I took you for ice cream was-.”

“You took her for ice cream?! That’s so cute!” Charlotte burst out and pressed her hands to her cheeks.

I stared at her, realizing that I’d forgotten she was even there. She stared at us, grinning from ear to ear, blue eyes twinkling. She hopped from foot to foot, making a little dance of it. “Oh, this is perfect! Just perfect! After all the crappy crap that’s happened to you this year, there’s finally a silver lining!”

I shook my head at her. “Charles, you have to be somewhat serious about this. Ben and I could get in a lot of-.”

“Serious? I am serious!” She exclaimed, obviously offended. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. “Wait. Are you two serious? Or are you just banging?”

“Jesus Christ, Charles!” I exclaimed, dropping my head into my hands. Seconds later, however, I became aware of a choking sound. I looked up to see Ben doubled over the desk, shoulders shaking. The choking sound was the laughter he was trying to hold back. Eventually, it became too much for him and his laughter rumbled out of him, straight from the center of his chest. It took several minutes for him to contain himself and even then, a few chuckles slipped out.

I waited him out, arms folded across my chest, and glared at him. When the last chuckle died away, I turned back to Charlotte, to aim my glare at her. “No, we are not just banging, Charlotte Ann Foster. In fact, we aren’t banging at all!”

She huffed, letting her lower lip stick out in a pout. “Well, aren’t you two a couple of duds?”

“Charles, not every relationship relies solely on sex.”

“The good ones do.” She smiled wickedly before going on. “Okay, okay. I’m serious. Please, continue what you were saying.”

“First of all, you can’t tell anybody about this. Not even Brandt.” I stared Charlotte in the eye as I said this, knowing her penchant for having a big mouth.

“But, Eliza! He’s our best friend! He has a right to-.”

“Don’t you remember what he said in the hospital?” I remembered clearly what he’d said. About it being gross, that everybody thought Ben was attractive. If he thought that was just gross, what would he think about Ben and me actually being together? I didn’t even want to know.

“Oh. Yeah, I remember. Okay, I can see why not telling him would be best.” She chewed on her bottom lip, looking troubled. “I just don’t feel right keeping something like this from him.”

“Wait,” Ben interjected. “What did he say in the hospital? Why does that matter now?”

“Ah, well. It doesn’t.” I told him, not wanting to unleash the suspicions I could see in Ben’s eyes on Brandt. I turned back to Charlotte, speaking of Brandt again. “He’s a guy. He wouldn’t understand.” I looked away, wondering when it would hit her that I’d been keeping this from her for quite some time.

“True. Unfortunate, but very true. Okay, my lips are sealed.” Charlotte grinned at each of us in turn before heading for the door. “Now, I’ll leave you alone. Have fun, kids!”

When the door shut, I dropped my face to the desk, not caring that it smashed my nose or that I couldn’t breathe. “Oh, god. This is terrible. A complete disas-.”

“Hey!” Charlotte burst back in, indignation plastered all over her face. “You never told me! And I'm not a guy!”

Groaning, I lifted my head. “Charles, it’s a very sensitive matter. Ben and I have had to be extremely cautious.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Fine. If you say so.” Still glaring at me, she slowly shut the door.

“Oh, god.” I repeated, letting my face drop back down to the desk.

Ben chuckled, reaching over to rub my back. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Yes, it was. Not the interrogation, no. But the more people that know about us, the more dangerous this gets. There’s a lot on the line, Ben. More for you, than for me.”

He lifted his hand from my back and used it to lift my face to his. “Elizabeth, none of that matters. Not when it comes to you and me.”

“Ben, be realistic.”

“I am. You’re more important than anything else.”

His words squeezed my heart, making it miss a beat. I caught my breath as emotion welled inside me. I couldn’t let it out though. Someone had to be the reasonable one. “More important than your job? Than going to jail?”

“Of course you’re more important than my job. It’s just a job, Elizabeth.”

I shook my head before he could continue. “No, it’s not. Not for you. You love teaching, Ben. And if we were caught, you’d never be able to teach again.”

He sighed, looking away. “You’re right, I love my job. But I also love you.”

Again, I caught my breath. It was the first time he’d ever directly said that he loved me. He’d hinted at it before, but he’d never actually said the words. I lifted my hand to his cheek and I could barely manage a whisper. “Ben…”

Covering my hand with his, he smiled. “I love you more than I love teaching. I could give it up and be happy doing something else if I had you. As for me going to jail, I can assure you that that’s not going to happen. You’re eighteen. Our relationship is perfectly legal.”

I nodded, returning his smile. He’d managed to wipe out every worry I had about us being caught, with just a handful of words. I was unexpectedly filled with optimism. Nothing could go wrong. “Besides, it’s all a big ‘what if’, right? We’re not going to be caught. No way.”

“No way.” He agreed, leaning forward to press his lips to mine. It was one soft peck, before he leaned back. “Now, I suggest you get to cleaning that closet. This is your last week to do it.”

“I would already have been done if my life were normal.” I pointed out, pushing myself up from the desk. I glanced at Ben as he got up and walked to his desk. He sat down, picked up a sheaf of papers and sent me a wink.

“If your life were normal, you and I wouldn’t be together.” He lifted a brow at me, and then pointed in the direction of the closet. “Now, stop stalling. Go clean.”

“Yeah, yeah; I’m going.” I huffed, feigning a pout, and dragged my feet all the way to the closet. I looked inside, noting that I’d barely made any progress in the five minutes I’d worked, before Charlotte showed up. I sighed to myself, “Oh, well.”

I moved to the corner and began going through the papers scattered and piled about. It was mostly printouts of the Periodic Table and lab safety contracts. I made quick work of sorting them and soon had them filed in their appropriate places. That done, I took a look at what had been under the piles of paper. It looked like a pile of latex gloves, pulled unused from their boxes. What a waste, I thought, grabbing a handful to throw away. Can’t use them now. I felt something tickle the back of my hand, and, assuming it was a finger from one of the gloves, looked down to brush it away.

Instead of a glove, however, I stared down at a huge, furry spider. It sat on the back of my hand, unmoving now, seeming to stare back at me. I opened my mouth to scream, just as it jumped. I yelped instead, squeezing my eyes shut and flailing about as the furry missile launched itself at my face. I felt it smack against my hand, deflecting it, and I opened my eyes in time to see it hit the far wall before falling to the floor with an audible plop. It sat, dazed I suppose, before regaining its senses and scuttling beneath a shelf.

I pressed my hands to my mouth, to muffle the whimpers still emerging, and jumped in place, trying to calm myself down. Just a spider. It was just a little spider. No reason to freak out, Eliza.

“Elizabeth?” A hand fell on my shoulder and I screeched, whirling around to stare wide eyed at Ben. “Jesus, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

His worried tone had a hysterical giggle bubbling up from my throat. I managed to block most of it and get out, “Spider.”

“Seriously? All of that for a spider? I thought someone had hurt you!” Now his tone was pure outrage.

“A really big one?” I squeaked out, choking back another giggle. Lord, he was mad. I could understand though, after everything that had been happening; he’d been worried that something had happened to me, only to realize that I’d overreacted over a little spider.

Ben stared at me, unblinking. “Where is the spider now?”

I pointed at the shelf it had crawled under. “Under there. At least, that’s where it went after I flung it at the wall.”

“‘Flung it at the…’” Shaking his head, he crouched down next to the shelf. “Hand me the broom and then stand back.”

“Stand back? Why do I need to…? Oh. Oh, god. Okay,” I grabbed the broom and handed it to him. “Wait until I’m completely out of the closet.”

I darted out, fidgeted for a few seconds, and then stuck my head in the doorway. Ben stared at me in amusement, still crouched next to the bookshelf. “Can I go ahead?”

“Yes.”

He shook his head again, chuckling, before taking the broom in his hand and shoving it under the bookshelf. With an arcing motion, he swept the spider from underneath. It scuttled around in circles, obviously confused. Ben stood from his crouch and studied it. With a sigh, he lifted his foot.

“Wait, stop!” I screeched, lifting my hands to my face. “I don’t want to see it. Or hear it.”

“Elizabeth, really? Do you want me to kill the spider or not?” Ben sounded exasperated and I could easily picture him glaring at me.

“Yes, I want you to kill it. But I don’t want to see or hear it.” I shuddered, backing away from the door. When my butt hit a desk, I dropped my hands and turned around. I made a beeline for Ben’s desk chair and sank down into it before shouting to him, “Go ahead!”

Seconds later, he emerged from the closet. “I’m done. I got rid of the body too.”

“Thank you.” I told him, and watched him come around the desk to sit on the edge in front of me. “Spiders are gross.”

“You do realize what month it is, right?”

“Today’s October 1st, right?”

“Yes, which means because of Halloween, there’s going to be spiders everywhere.”

“Fake spiders,” I said pointedly. “Aren’t a problem for me.”

“You’re so weird.” He straightened and reached for my hands, pulling me from his chair. “Since I’m fairly sure you aren’t going back into that closet anytime soon, why don’t we call it a day?”

“I can definitely get behind that.” I let go of his hands and watched him gather a bunch of papers from his desk. He shoved them in a brown, leather case he pulled from beneath the desk, and then hung the strap over his shoulder. Grabbing up my own things, I followed him from the classroom, waiting patiently while he locked the door.

Ben looked over his shoulder at me. “I’m guessing that your bodyguard is sitting in the parking lot?”

I nodded, thinking that ‘my bodyguard’ was probably asleep, after having to sit in his car, at my school all day. “That’s where he said he’d be. Should I ride home with Mr. Kalebrow? Or are you going straight home?”

“And miss one of Maya’s dinners? No way.” He laughed, starting down the hallway and gesturing me to fall into step next to him. “That woman is a genius in the kitchen.”

“She really is.” I started to ask if he wanted to stay and watch a movie after dinner, but heard voices in the hallway that lead to the parking lot. Ben and I took an automatic step away from each other as we turned into the hallway. The English teacher stood, chatting with one of the janitors. Ben walked ahead of me, muttering, “Go ahead and leave with Noah. I’ll be right behind you.”

I nodded, and then watched him stride up to the couple to say hello. I walked past them, out of the school. As I came down the steps, I noticed with amusement that Mr. Kalebrow was out of his car, walking in circles. Every so often, he’d stop to bend over and touch his toes. I walked up to him, just as he straightened up and began twisting his upper half back and forth. When he noticed me, he lifted his hand in greeting. “Thank god. I don’t know how much longer I could’ve sat here. Where’s your teacher?”

“He’s still inside. There was another teacher, and well, he couldn’t just walk on by, not with me.” I shrugged, smiling a little. “So, you get to drive me home.”

He nodded, studying me. “It must be hard for the two of you. Having to sneak around.”

I thought about it for second, realizing that I had no more trepidations. The little speech Ben had given me earlier had wiped them all out. I was still feeling the optimism it had filled me with. So, I shook my head and moved to get into the passenger seat of the car. “It’s not such a big deal, really. It’s worth it. Besides, it’s only until I graduate and that’s not very far off. We can handle it.”

Mr. Kalebrow got into the car, silent. He didn’t speak until we were both strapped in and on the road. “You know, I’m really rooting for you two.”

I laughed. “Oh, really?”

“Well, yeah. You seem tailor made for each other. And I can tell that you make each other happy.” He smiled and shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. “So, yeah. I’m rooting for you two.”

I smiled to myself. Mr. Kalebrow may have looked cold and harsh, but he was really just a big softie. “Thanks, Mr. Kalebrow.”

“Make it Noah, kid.”

My smile widened. “Thanks, Noah.”

Just like that, my optimism grew. How could anything bad happen when I was surrounded by people who loved and protected me?