Chapter Text
Nighttime, the university was dark with only the nearby buildings and street lamps lighting the partly brick sidewalk as you made your way across campus. The sky was void of any blue and patches of stars were placed about, for not a single cloud was out tonight. The trees were black; silhouetted against the night sky and only the sound of their leaves, rustling calmly in this late fall air was heard. Every once in a while, small groups of students, couples chattering amongst themselves, people walking dogs or the occasional jogger would pass by, but you walked about alone. Only having the music from your headphones to keep you company.
You were heading towards the hall where you attended your European History lecture. However, you weren't going to sit in on class at this hour of the day. No, you were making your way to this particular building because it also happened to be the same place where the professor of your lecture course had his office. The end of the semester was here and you were exhausted. Between the three hour studio classes, homework, and trying to balance what little you had of a social life, this history class was taking the back seat. It was quite depressing really, out of any class you were enrolled in, this was by far your favorite.
It mostly covered Europe's beginnings; the early Paleolithic era to Greece, Vikings, the fall of Rome, and then ended with The Medieval Ages. You would have to admit that the course wouldn't be as great as it was without Professor Laufeyson; the man definitely knew his stuff. He had an insatiable love for literature and would always edit the syllabus to squeeze in famous books or works pertaining to the unit or lesson. The added bonus of listening to him read aloud in his charming British-like accent was quite nice as well. Crushing on a teacher was not something you associated with, but you would be a liar if you thought Professor Laufeyson wasn't an attractive guy.
He was a fairly tall, slim built man with strong facial features. His hair was slate black and fell just below his ears when he wore it in his usual slicked back style. God forbid you forget those eyes…his eyes were a gorgeous, dark green that stood out against his milky complexion. You grew embarrassed with how much you were thinking about him, but it was hard not to. You were quite shocked too, seeing as how you roused some courage to ask him to meet with you this evening. With all the days you've missed and the excessive amounts of times you have been late, you were lucky he was allowing you to come in and discuss make up work. You'd even say that it was a somewhat strange as to how he was pretty avid about you making a stop by his office on the matter. You assumed that he would have told you it wasn't his problem, based on how he's dealt with other students who slack.
You made it to the end of campus where the hall was located. It was your typical college building that resembled one of Greek influence, pillars and everything. You suppose it was fitting, based on the kind of classes that were taught here. You entered and stopped for a moment to grab a piece of paper from your purse that you wrote his office number on. ‘217’ was the room, but you had never been passed the lobby of the building since your lecture hall was the main grand room that stemmed right off from the entrance. You looked around to see if there was a teacher or a janitor who had stayed late to direct you, but not a soul was to be seen. You looked at your watch and saw that you were ten minutes early, so you did have a little time to figure out where Professor Laufeyson’s office was. You made your way across the lobby towards the large staircase listening to the sound of your tall riding boots clicking and echoing off the marble floor and high ceilings.
As you walked down the second floor hallway you scanned the plaques that lined the tops and sides of doors looking for the correct number or his name. You were going to try again at finding a professor or teacher’s aid to ask for help, but not a single person was around here either. Every door on the floor was shut and dark. You hoped you had the correct day to meet him. You sighed as you walked farther down the hallway but perked when you saw a single light seeping from the window of a door. You picked up your pace but slowed just as quickly as you got closer to the room; the nervousness had returned. You stopped before the door just out of the view of the window and peered up to read the nameplate.
PROFESSOR L. LAUFEYSON
You let out a breath and your mind raced as you stepped to and fro running through scenarios in your mind and trying to figure out what you were going to say. How lenient was he going to be? Would he let you make up the homework, let alone tests? You hoped that he was in a good mood, because no teacher is easy to negotiate with while in an agitated state. For you, Professor Laufeyson was hard enough to chat with on a normal basis. You lifted your hand and shakily knocked on the door a few times. You waited and after a few moments you heard a voice through the door.
“The door is open.” It was Professor Laufeyson’s, lovely like always.
You turned the knob and stepped in. You peered right then left and saw the professor sitting at a large, beautiful desk, writing or grading or something, but he never looked up to greet you. You cleared your throat and were about to break the silence that was becoming slightly awkward, but Professor Laufeyson stopped you,
“You may sit down, I’ll be with you in a moment.” he kept his eyes on the paper as you were instructed to take a seat.
You didn't see a chair nearby so you hesitated at first. You peered behind and saw a small black couch that sat incredibly low to the floor, against the back of the wall facing his desk; you turned and slid over to take a seat.
While the professor was busy with his current task, you let your eyes wander around his office. It wasn't too big but you had to admit that it was furnished exquisitely. All of his furniture matched the desk, which was a dark wood of some kind. There were small tables, bookshelves and a curio cabinet of sorts. It was no surprise to you that the shelves were crammed with books and all kinds of reading material in the forms of papers, periodicals, leaflets, and even a magazine here and there. There was a lone window in the room that had a quaint view of the grounds and was dressed in a heavy black curtain with similarly hued metal hooks securing them to the walls. A few of those stylized, green sconces were fixated to the walls of the room’s perimeter. Even though they didn't light the room much, it gave the atmosphere a warm glow. Much unlike those harsh white lights other offices had. You'll admit, Professor Laufeyson had nice taste when it came to decorating.
“You realize if you spent as much time analyzing my assignments like you are my tables and books, you most likely wouldn't be here right now.” You looked at the professor who was gazing at you thorough dark rimmed glasses.
“Then again, how could you when you barely attend my lectures.” He gave a quick sarcastic smile then returned back to his writing.
Ignoring the small amount of shame you felt, you couldn’t help but ogle at him for a few moments. He looked just as sharp as he does in class. Dark waistcoat, crisp shirt, and jacket—that was hanging loosely from his chair—the whole nine yards. You wiggled slightly picturing him during lecture…no one wore a suit like him. You immediately scolded yourself for thinking of him in such strong admiration. He was a teacher and you his student. The thought was highly inappropriate. You decided to admire his office again to keep your mind in a cleaner place. Just as you started to examine the expensive looking books and trinkets in his curio, you heard the professor laugh lightly and speak to you,
“I must say given how much you seem to like my belongings, I’ll know whom to track down if anything becomes ‘misplaced’.”
You reddened and laughed nervously,
“I’m sorry, I wasn't expecting a college office to look this nice.” Even though you meant it, you got the idea that maybe flattery would help you in your situation. You started to comment on his nice furnishings and extensive book collection but you were cutoff very quickly.
“I admire your compliments but I’m sorry to say that they are not going to fix the predicament you've gotten yourself into.” Professor Laufeyson peered over at you though the top of his glasses and raised an eyebrow. You fidgeted around nervously on his couch as you tried to briskly explain yourself.
“I’m really sorry Professor, I never mean to miss so much, it’s just…the semesters been incredibly stressful and this class has...taken back seat.” You continued your rambling explaining how you were disappointing yourself and a handful of other utterances that dangerously traveled into brown-nosing territory. Professor Laufeyson silenced you with a gesture of his hand and began to speak,
“I understand your concern, but you know the policies on tardiness and missing class. I do not count stress as a reason to excuse absences.”
You began to worry that any chance of you gaining back missed points was dwindling to none. You pleaded as a last ditch effort,
“Please Professor Laufeyson, I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll come to class early and work, I’ll come to these office hours, or I’ll go to your library sessions. Just could you maybe once…let your rules slide?”
You were being brave with that last one. You looked at the professor who was now staring at you in amusement and a little disbelief. He laughed and removed his glasses.
“Asking a teacher to bend the rules. That’s quite a bold move, don’t you think?” he teased
Your face felt like it was set on fire. When you played the words over in your head you realized your proposed bargain was pretty much the laziest thing you could do. You skipped asking for ‘half points’ and went straight to the ‘get out of jail free card’. Wonderful, not only did you embarrass yourself, but failed your, make-up-work mission on top of it. You needed to regroup; get a drink of water, something, anything. Just so you didn't have to look at him in shame.
“Um…could you excuse me for a second.” you quietly asked.
“No, I cannot excuse you just yet.” he said while moving his stack of papers from the desk to a nearby table.
Your stomach fluttered uncomfortably. You widened your gaze at his devious smile that caused you to shiver and your skin to prickle.
“I’m sorry?” you sheepishly inquired.
“I can’t let you sneak away from me just yet. We haven't even begun to administer your punishment. Maybe then we can talk about if you deserve your missed points.” his words were drawn out and their tone; dangerous.
“Punishment?”
Oh.