It Started With a Whisper

"Aria! Why the hell are you still in bed? We have Psychology in twenty minutes!" Had I not heard what Amelia just said, I would have cussed her out for entering my apartment uninvited, but the thought of being late to class on my first day sent me flying out of my bed and into the bathroom where I began cleaning my teeth and scrubbing my face.

"Did your alarm not go off or something?" She was standing in the doorway, examining her nails. I pushed her and ran towards my closet, throwing my clothes every which way before pulling on jeans and a tank top. I slid my shoes on and grabbed my backpack and keys. Breakfast would have to wait until after class.

"I forgot to set it. Brandon came over last night," I said as we power walked down to my car.

"Yeah, I can tell. Please do something with your hair." I cursed the fact that I took my emergency brush out of the glove compartment and settled for throwing it into a messy bun on the top of my head.

"Ugh! Curse you for being naturally beautiful." I sped down the highway, trying to get to USC's campus as fast as I possibly could. My class started in ten minutes, and I was determined not to be late. I parked in a haste before locking the car and running to class. People were already seated and the professor was writing on the board when I walked inside, slightly winded with Amelia right behind me. We found two empty seats in the back, and my leg bounced nervously, adrenalin still pulsing through my body. When I finally calmed down, I started pulling things out of my backpack, getting myself ready for the next hour and a half that I was going to spend in this room.

"Aria," Amelia whispered, tapping her fingers furiously against my shoulder. I glanced at her quickly, wondering what her problem was.

"What," I whispered back. She seemed to be in a daze as she motioned toward the front. I didn't know whether or not I wanted to look. There could have been a number of things that were at the front of the room, and her expression wasn't giving me any kind of indication as to what exactly it was. I sighed and settled for lifting my head all the way. What I saw made my mouth drop open and my heart stop. I had heard a few times about college professors being gorgeous, but nothing prepared me for the god that was standing in front of his desk with a wide smile on his face.

"Fuck me," Amelia mumbled to herself. At least one of us was bold enough to say it. That had been exactly what I was thinking, but the words would have never left my mouth. I wasn't much of a profanity user. That was where Amelia always came in. She was the more hyperactive of the two of us. The professor's mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear anything. The only thing I could focus on was how beautiful he was. His wavy bronze hair, brown eyes, wide smile, broad shoulders...I was drinking in his whole appearance, and my heart was beating faster than normal. Amelia nudged me hard, and I glared over at her. How dare she break my concentration.

"What?" I snapped, wanting her to give me a stupid reason for bruising my bicep. She motioned to the front of the room again. I turned, finding the extremely good looking professor staring directly at me, his wide smile making my cheeks flush.

"Are you Aria Jameson?" Oh shit. He was calling roll, and I hadn't even noticed that he had called my name. I cleared my throat and pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes.

"Yes, sorry."

"It's alright. Just pay attention next time." He continued with the rest of the people in the class, which was relatively small compared to other classes.

"He's beautiful," Amelia mumbled. I just nodded, my voice no longer working.

"Alright, so as I stated before, I am Mr. Franco, and before you ask, yes, James Franco is my brother. No, he will not be making appearances in this class." I expected a chorus of awws to come from the girls in the room, but I noticed that they were all to busy drooling over our professor, much like I was.

"I attended USC, and I loved it so much that I decided to teach here. I have a Master's in both English and Psychology. I'm originally from Palo Alto, California." He proceeded to tell us a small amount about himself and his family before going over the syllabus. Our first paper was due in two weeks, and I almost wanted to cry. I never had a problem getting work done. I just hated doing it.

"Read chapters 1 and 2. I'll see you guys on Wednesday." I couldn't believe the hour and half had moved so quickly, but when I looked at the clock, I realized we had only been there for about 45 minutes. I didn't question the time limit. I hated sitting down for long periods of time anyway. Everyone started filing out of the classroom, though some of the girls tended to linger a bit, staring at Mr. Franco like he was a piece of meat. I packed my things up and followed Amelia down to the front so that we could leave and get something to eat. My stomach was growling, and rather loudly I might add. All I wanted was some pancakes or a muffin and some coffee.

"Aria?" I turned a little too quickly, nearly losing my footing, but I stabled myself before I did something extremely foolish.

"Yes, Mr. Franco?" I asked, hoping I wasn't in trouble, but why would I be? It was only the first day of class, and I hadn't done anything wrong.

"I noticed that you and Amelia were nearly late this morning." How the hell had he noticed that? He wasn't even facing us when we walked in. I felt my cheeks go hot. I didn't know college professors were so anal about students being late. They got paid either way.

"I'm sorry. That was my fault. I forgot to set my alarm last night."

"It's not a problem. Just try not to make a habit of it. I have some great things planned for this class, and I would hate it if you two missed anything." He smiled lightly at me, and my heart stuttered.

"Won't happen again, I promise." I don't know why I said that. It made me sound like a little kid, and my cheeks flushed once again. I could hear Amelia snickering behind me, and I had half a mind to kick her.

"Good. See you on Wednesday, Aria."

"See you on Wednesday."