James

I sighed as I spun to face the bored looking sixth-year class. “Look, you lot, as much as your blatant refusal to answer any of the questions put to you makes me feel like a fantastic teacher… We have to focus. Your exams are coming up soon, and I’d rather like it if you all passed.” I looked around the class, searching for someone to ask. “Matt? What’s the answer to this equation?”

Matt Willis looked up from his jotter, which he had been trying to hide in. “I don’t know,” he muttered.

I sighed again, “Stay behind after class, Matt. We’ll find out why you don’t know.” I turned to the other side of the classroom, “Charlotte?”

“X equals 76.”

“Very good. Now, what would happen if we removed the Y from the equation?”

Matt

I felt like an idiot as I stood waiting for everyone to file out of class. People kept giving me sympathetic looks as they passed. I didn’t need their sympathy! I could function perfectly well on my own. So what if I don’t understand algebra? What good is Maths later on in life, anyway? Mr. Bourne shut the door swiftly behind the last student. It was lunch, so I didn’t have to worry about being late to my next class and having another teacher blow up at me. “Matt…” Mr. Bourne began, letting out one long breath.

“Yes?” I asked nervously.

“What are we going to do with you…?” he mused, not especially to me, but partly to himself. “Do you not understand what I’m saying?”

I shook my head, “It just all merges together in my head, sir. I can’t make sense of it.”

He nodded, and dragged a hand through his hair. “It happens every now and then,” he admitted. I hung my head. “But, don’t worry,” he continued. “It’s not your fault, and it can be fixed. You just need to be willing to put in the effort.”

“I am.”

“Good. Now, you need to learn it in your own time, so I’m going to set up tutor sessions, and-”

My blood ran cold, “Tutoring sessions? With who?”

He must’ve sensed the panic in my voice, “Well, I was thinking with myself. But if you’d rather go with one of the other teachers, don’t be afraid to say.”

“No, sir. You’re fine.”

“Okay…” He looked thoughtful for a moment, and drummed the tips of his fingers off the desk surface he was perched on. “We’ll have to put in a lot of work with your exams coming up soon. Why don’t you come by every school day after classes end?”

I nodded, “That would be good. Thank you, sir.”

“No problem, Matt. See you at the end of the day.”

James

I could see the concentration on his face as he stared at the simple equation in front of him. It worried me. It was a replacement, which you learnt to do in your first couple years of high school. How long had he not understood this? He looked up at me, a confused look on his face. I sighed- something I seemed to be doing a lot lately- and took the seat next to him. “What does it say, Matt?”

“12 multiplied by 2X equals 144.”

“Okay, so what you have to do to work out the value of 2X is work out what the equation would be without the 12. This means that you have to divide 144 by 12. Which is…?”

“12.”

“Uh-huh. So 2X must be 12. Then what would X be?”

“6.”

“Yeah. That’s all. It’s not that hard. Okay, try this one.” As I pointed to another equation on the sheet I’d given him, I was suddenly very aware of my leg touching his. I moved it slightly so we weren’t in contact.

Matt

I sensed him tensing up, and suddenly felt him shift his weight in his chair so his leg wasn’t touching mine anymore, which I hadn’t even noticed until that point. I glanced up at his face, and he looked uncomfortable. I looked down at my jotter again and, just to test the ground, moved my leg under the table so that it was touching his again. He moved away again. “Okay,” I said, leaning back from my jotter.

He had to move in to read it. “Okay, good. I think you’re getting the hang of this. Not everyone finds algebra easy, Matt. Everyone says they do, but there’s always someone who doesn’t. There’s nothing wrong with that.” I looked at him again, and held his gaze with determination.

“Then how come I always feel like an idiot when I can’t do it?”

“Natural human reaction, I’m afraid. We find one thing difficult, and we brand ourselves ‘stupid’, when most of the time that’s not true. Do the other side.”

James

A week later, I could tell he was beginning to relax, which was good, it helped him to learn things easier. “This one’s wrong,” I told him, conferring to my answer sheet.

He frowned, “How?”

I looked at the sheet, to his answer, and back again. “I’m not sure…” He burst out laughing. I ignored him, staring at both the answers. Then it dawned, “No, it is right. I’m just looking at the wrong question.”

That killed him. He had to slump over the desk he was laughing so hard. “That… was… price… less…” he gasped.

“It wasn’t that funny…” I muttered.

He sat up, “Oh, yeah? You didn’t see it from my side.” He leant in, and I noticed that his eyes were actually hazel, rather than brown, “It was hilarious.”

“Shut up!” I commanded.

He grinned, “You’ve lost all authority after that, I’m afraid.” I looked at his lips, suddenly wanting to kiss them so badly. And, before I realised what I was doing, I had, and he was pulling me in deeper, biting down gently on my bottom lip to get me to open my mouth. When I did, his tongue slipped inside, and the result was sensuous. Okay, so maybe my sensors had dulled in the nine months since my last relationship, but it was incredible. I suddenly pulled back.

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”

He leant back, “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. You’re a student. That should never have-” My last word was a muffled protest into his mouth. Using a lot of willpower, I managed to wedge a hand against his chest and ease him back. “Matt!”

“Now, I’m sorry,” he remarked.

“I think we need to take a break from the tutoring. A rest will do you good. I’ll tell you in class when we should resume, does that sound okay?”

He shrugged, “Sure.” He slid his things into his bag, and stood up, a definite smirk on his face, “See you in class, sir.”

Matt

“Dude, we have to get you laid,” Danny Jones commented the next weekend, as he dragged me into a pub.

“Oh, yes…” I muttered. “Fit, gay guys live here…”

“Stop complaining,” Charlie Simpson snapped. “You think we’re all going to bend to accommodate you? You’re outnumbered, Matt.”

“Besides, we’ll find you someone, then you can get out of this rut you’ve been in for ages by having some hot boyshex,” Danny enthused.

I stared at him. “‘Boyshex’?” I asked in disbelief.

“Their idea…” Charlie muttered to me. “I tried to talk them out of it. Did you know that it’s one word and that ‘sex’ is spelt with an ‘h’?”

“No, but I’m a little frightened now…” As Danny picked out a table, they all sat and I remained standing. “I’ll get the first round. What do we want?”

“Coke,” Tom Fletcher said. “I’ve got to get up early tomorrow. The last thing I need is a hangover.”

“The usual,” Charlie said. Danny nodded along with him.

“Right,” I went over to the bar and ordered. As the barman went off to get them, a voice spoke in my ear.

“Aren’t you too young to order alcohol?” I turned to see Mr. Bourne standing next to me, grinning slightly.

“I won’t tell if you won’t, sir.”

He groaned, “If you’re going to call me anything out of school, call me James. None of the formalities.”

I laughed lightly, “I don’t know. If I was ever called Mr. Willis, I’d probably revel in the moment.” As Tom came up to collect the drinks for the three at the table, not wanting to interrupt our conversation, I watched James closely. “You want company?”

James

“You can’t say that American Idiot’s better!” he protested an hour later. His friends had moved on, leaving him here.

“I’m not. I’m just saying that it’s not as bad as all the hardcore fans are making it out to be,” I pointed it out. “It’s not worse than their older stuff, it’s just slightly different.”

He nodded, “That’s true. But Dookie is the classic album! It pretty much started them off. I mean, I know they had albums before that but…y’know…”

“I do.” I was beginning to look like one of those nodding dogs you see in the back of cars. He grinned, and leaned forward, and before my clouded brain could process what was happening, his lips were on mine. I shoved him back as soon as I realized, “Matt! You- You’re seventeen!”

The grin on his face hadn’t faltered. “And what age are you, James?”

“Guess,” I challenged.

 He leaned back and inspected me. “Early twenties…” he decided. “Twenty-one?”

“Exactly!” I marvelled. “How’d you do that?”

He shrugged, “I’m good with ages.” He moved back towards me, “Four years ain’t that much, is it?”

“Matt…” I murmured as he got closer. “You’re a student… I’ll lose my job…”

“Then we better make it worth it,” he whispered, before pressing his mouth firmly to mine.

Matt

“Nice flat…” I complimented, stepping inside.

James shut the door behind us. “I’ll give you the grand tour later,” he promised, backing me slowly in a wall. He seized my wrists and pinned them to the wall above my head with one hand. “But, right now… There’s something much better that we can do…”

“So we’re in agreement about that fact?” I asked. He grinned- he had a really nice smile- and our lips met once again in what quickly turned into a hungry, longing battle of the tongues. I knew this was kind of…well, illegal, and he seemed a little drunk, but I couldn’t help but roll with it.

“Come on,” I faintly heard him murmur into my mouth, and he pulled me down the corridor, never once breaking away from me.

James

I stretched out as I woke. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt really good this morning… I opened my eyes and smiled to myself, then I rolled over and the smile promptly fell off my face. Matt. He was sleeping peacefully, and there was an almost triumphant little smirk curling on his lips. His hair was messed up, and, with that, I had violent flashbacks to the night before. I jolted. No! I could not have done that. Surely I wasn’t that stupid! “No…” I whispered to myself.

I felt a hand close over my wrist, “You okay?” He was awake, and watching me carefully, searching my face intently for any sign that I was about to say what he really didn’t want to hear. My attempt was half-hearted:

“Matt, last night shouldn’t have happened. This can’t happen.”

He propped himself up on one elbow, and I had to struggle not to stare at the patch of bare chest that was revealed by that movement. “Whether it should have happened or not, it did.”

I groaned, put my hands to my eye sockets and pressed down until I saw sparks, “No… This’ not good…”

“That’s not what you were saying last night…” Matt said innocently. He grinned when I glared at him. “Look, if you hated it so much, I wouldn’t still be in the same bed as you.” He moved slightly so his face was right in front of mine. “You couldn’t just kick me out, James. You liked last night too much…” he whispered. Keeping his gaze on me, he leaned forward. Without thinking, I did likewise, and just as our lips were grazing…he pulled away. “Thought so.”

I thumped him on the arm, temporarily forgetting he was one of my students. He didn’t seem to notice, though. “That was evil.”

He shrugged, “Proved my point, didn’t it?” He rolled over so his back was facing me, and reached down over the side of the bed to get something out of his jeans pocket, which were lying on the floor. He put a piece of whatever-it-was into his mouth, then offered the packet to me, “Gum?”

“No, thanks. How can you eat gum at this time in the morning?”

“Habit. And it’s half-nine. Hardly incredibly early.”

“It is for a Saturday.” I lay back against my pillow. “Okay… I have terms.”

“Excuse me?”

“If we do this, if we’re going to carry on with this…insanity- that I can’t even believe I’m agreeing to- I have some conditions.”

He sat bolt upright and a grin formed on his face, “You’re considering it? You’re seriously considering it? Thank you!” He planted a quick kiss on my lips. “Okay. Shoot.”

“One: You can’t tell anyone.”

He nodded, “Naturally.”

“Two: Nothing can happen within the school premises. We shall resume and continue out tutoring sessions, but nothing- and I’m serious, Matt- will happen.”

“Okay.” He gave me a cheeky smile, “Is there anything we are allowed to do?”

I laughed. “I’m not sure we should properly go out together,” I told him as he spat his gum into a tissue and lobbed in neatly into the bin next to my desk. “But you can come over here whenever- within reason.”

“Cool.” He lay down again, and put an arm round my waist, moving forward so my back was pressed up against him. “I will do.”

Matt

“Do you have to go…?” he asked seductively, running a finger down my chest.

“Yes. I wish I didn’t, but I do.”

A slight pout appeared on his lips, “Where’re you going, anyway?”

“I have to meet some friends.”

“Damn the fact that you’re so popular,” he remarked, He caught my mouth with his, and I relished the sweet taste of him while he still let me. He pulled me into him, and I was a little surprised at how easily he appeared to have gotten himself into this. I pulled back.

“I have to go.” I pressed one last quick kiss to his lips, before pulling open the door and heading along the corridor. I felt oddly refreshed, I mused as I headed down the stairs to the main door.

I heard movement behind me. “Matt!” a voice called loudly. I turned round to see Dougie Poynter, my ex-boyfriend, jogging towards me. “How are you? I’ve not seen you in ages!”

“I’m good. And, I know. We should’ve stayed in touch after the split. How’re you?” I inwardly cursed myself; I’d forgotten he lived in this building.

“I’m also good.” He frowned as I continued down the stairs and hurried after me, “Wait! What were you doing here?”

“Visiting a friend,” I said simply.

“Who?” he probed. I tapped the side of my nose in what I hoped was an enigmatic manner.

“Look. I have to meet people. I’ll talk to you later,” I told him as we left the building, before turning and walking off as fast as I could without breaking into a run.

James

There was a knock on the door of my maths classroom. Matt frowned at me. “Come in,” I called. Mr. Hall and a student younger than Matt came in. “Excuse me, Mr. Bourne? But I’m trying to tutor this student. Would you mind if we used the computers at the back of the room?”

I shook my head, “No, not at all.” I stared at the new boy. He was slim, with floppy blond hair and icy blue eyes. His whole face lit up as he saw who was sitting next to me.

“Matt!”

Matt looked up from his work, “Oh, hey, Dougie…” I felt the hand that was under the table squeezing my leg gently, as if to reassure me that it was nothing.

“You two know each other?” I asked pleasantly.

“Very much so,” Dougie said casually, but I could see a glint in his eye as he stared at my boyfriend, a glint that I didn’t like in the slightest.

Mr. Hall cleared his throat, “Dougie, to the back. We need to get started.”

Matt

A week later, the two tutoring sessions in the same room had become a routine and we had to fight extra hard not to let anything slip. Which was getting tricky- partly because I was trying to do anything to press James’ tolerance to the absolute maximum. “Matt, you have to do this,” James told me, pointing to an equation. I nodded, and let my eyes flick quickly over to the other pair in the room, who were working steadily.

“Okay.” I began to work on it, but slipped one hand under the table when he wasn’t looking. He realised a second later, though. I felt his entire body stiffen.

“Matt! Stop it!” he hissed.

“Stop what?” I asked innocently, as if my hand was not currently massaging his groin through his trousers.

He shifted uncomfortably, “Seriously! Cut it out! If they see-”

“They won’t if you stop looking so damn awkward,” I whispered, pretending to write, but adding more pressure under the table.

“Holy crap, Matt! No!” he gasped quietly. Luckily, the other two were too far away to hear. I felt him slowly harden under my touch as he gave in. “That does it. Come on.” He made me stand up, and stood behind me so his erection wasn’t so obvious. “Mr. Hall, I’m just going to show Matt something in the base,” he said, and nudged me to make me walk out the door. Once out, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a staff toilet, locking the door behind us. “Stay here for a moment,” he told me, and went into one of the cubicles. When he emerged, his erection was gone.

“Did you just jerk yourself off in there?” I asked with a laugh.

“May have done.” I was leaning against the wall; he came over to stand in front of me. “I need you, now,” he said seriously.

I stared at him, “What? Here?”

“Yes, here,” he confirmed. He kissed me long and hard, grinding against me gently. I felt myself begin to react already, and was hard by the time he started on my neck. His fingers found my belt, and he began to undo it slowly. I moaned throatily.

“James…” He grinned at me and teased his fingers at the top of my fly. Then I felt something decidedly odd. I looked down. He was doing up my belt again.

“We better get back,” he said. “Come on.” I let my gaze wander over, his erection hadn’t returned.

“Can I go to the toilet first?” I asked.

“No. We have to work!” he said sternly, pushing me out the room ahead of him. I gaped at him as we walked into the corridor, and that’s when I saw the smirk on his face.

“You bastard!” I spat, trying to escape.

He didn’t reply, just steered me into the classroom. I, no doubt, went bright red as Dougie and Mr. Hall stared at me. “Matt!” Mr. Hall exclaimed. “Control yourself!”

James moved round me to look. “Matt!” he cried, feigning shock. “The girl in the ridiculously short skirt wasn’t that attractive!” He tutted. “Teenage hormones…” he muttered to Mr. Hall, who nodded in agreement. I saw Dougie’s face contort, and made a mental note to kill my boyfriend later.

James

“I can’t believe you did that,” Matt snapped later on, striding into my flat.

I shut the door with a shrug, “Might I remind you who started it? And, you can’t deny that it was funny to see the looks on their faces…”

I sat on the arm of the sofa as he paced the living room angrily. “You weren’t having your crotch examined by your ex-boyfriend and your third year maths teacher!”

“It’s a very attractive crotch… And you know you loved it, really…”

“Shut up!” he snapped. I giggled, then slapped a hand over my mouth.

He stared at me in fascination, “Did you just giggle?” I shook my head furiously behind my hand. He moved towards me, and evil glint in his eye. “Yes, you did. You’re like a little girl…” He smirked as he peeled my hand away, “Or just a really fit teenage one…” He attached his mouth to mine, forcing me off the arm and down onto the actual sofa.

Matt

The doorbell woke me up. That, and James’ warmth leaving my body as he climbed out the bed and pulled on a pair of boxers and a dressing gown before going to answer it. “Chris!” I heard him exclaim. “What’re you doing here? How are you?”

The front door was shut again and a male voice answered as I crept over to the bedroom door so I could eavesdrop more easily, “I’m good. You’re looking good yourself.”

James laughed as I felt myself bristle. “Thanks. I’ll be right back. I’m just going to go get changed.”

“Don’t dress on my account.”

I heard James laugh again, and I stepped back as he entered the bedroom. The smile disappeared from his face, and he leant heavily against the door as he closed it. “Why’s he here?” he hissed to me.

“Don’t ask me. I don’t even know who ‘he’ is.”

“My ex-boyfriend- as in the one who humiliated and cheated on me.” James shivered, “I don’t want to see him again.”

“Why didn’t you tell him that?” I queried.

“Because I’m naturally friendly!” he snapped. He pushed away from the door roughly and began to get changed. I followed suit.

“You want me to go?”

“No. Stay. I need back-up.”

“So you’re going to tell him you’re a cradle snatcher and I’m one of your students?” I asked with a smirk.

He glared at me, “Shut up! Its four years! No, I’ll just say you’re a visiting cousin.”

“Who was in your room?”

“I’m being a good host and sleeping on the sofa. I tidied it up before he arrived.”

I shook my head in amazement as I did up my belt, “You’re incredible…” I pulled him to me, “One last time before its incest?” I touched my lips to his, and I felt some of the tension that had built up within him lessen as it got deeper.

He smiled at me as I pulled back, “Thanks, cuz.” He pulled on his top- which was actually mine, on closer inspection- and headed for the door. “Wait a while before coming out, okay?” he told me. I nodded.

James

Chris was in the living room when I returned. “You want a drink, or something?” I asked. He shook his head.

“I missed you,” he said simply.

I stared at him. Oh, God. “Yeah, we should’ve still seen each other after the break-up.”

“That’s not what I meant, Jay.” Chris had never been one for beating around the bush; he always got straight to the point. He came over, put his hands on my hips, and bent his neck slightly, his lips coming towards mine.

Someone cleared their throat nosily, and Chris turned to look at the doorway, where Matt was leaning casually against the doorframe. “It’s half ten in the morning, Jay. Play hard to get for a least an hour, will ya?” His voice was light, but I could see the way he was looking at Chris, though I doubted Chris could. “I wouldn’t bother anyway. He’s already dating.” He stuck out a hand and moved forward, “I’m Matt, by the way. James’ cousin.”

Chris shook the extended hand, “Chris.”

“The Chris?” Matt managed to inject just enough disgust into his voice that he sounded so, but not falsely. He turned to me, “What’s he doing here?”

“Matt,” I said warningly. He looked at me for a moment, shrugged, and walked into the kitchen, making sure to throw Chris one last evil look as he did so.

“He’s some character,” Chris commented.

“He’s teenage,” I said by means of explanation. “I am dating, though.” I shrugged off his hands.

He slid a hand round the back of my neck, “Since when has that stopped me?”

“Chris, no!” I shoved him back. “Get out.” He nodded and kissed me on the cheek.

“Give it time…” he whispered in my ear. “You have my number.” He turned and left. I trudged into the kitchen and sat down heavily at the table.

“I hate him.”

“I didn’t like what I saw,” Matt commented, taking a sip from his glass of orange juice.

I looked up at him, “Thanks for backing off.”

“No problem. I just didn’t want…you to…”

“He tried again,” I told him, watching his eyebrows go up. “I shoved him back. Told him to go. He told me to ‘give it time’.”

“You want to ‘give it time’?”

“You know, for ages after he dumped me, I thought I did. But, I don’t. I don’t want to put myself through that again.” I give him a small, shy smile, “I’m happy where I am.”

“Then don’t let him back in.”

I sighed, “That’s easier said than done…”

Matt

“Matt!” Dougie caught up with me as I headed to the tutoring classroom. “Wait, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I frowned, “Yeah. Sure.” He nodded, and pulled me into the classroom behind him. He shut the door behind us and sat me down on one of the desk. I laughed uneasily, “What’s up, Doug?”

“Look,” he began. “It’s been really great to see you again.”

I nodded, “Uh-huh. Same.”

“And I’ve been thinking…” He watched me carefully as he said the last part, “Do you want to give us another try?”

I stared at him in shock for a good fifteen seconds. “Dougie!” I finally managed to stammer out. “I-”

“Matt?” I heard James call. The perfect excuse to escape.

“Excuse me,” I told Dougie, and squeezed past him out into the corridor. “I’m here.”

He frowned, “Why were you in there?”

“I accidentally took an RME textbook home.”

“Okay.” He put his hands in his pockets, and cocked his head to the side, looking unbelievably cute. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” I walked past him into the maths classroom, and waited until he’d shut the door before hissing: “Dougie asked me out.”

“Dougie, as in your ex, Dougie?”

“No… Dougie, as in the bus I rode to school this morning, Dougie… It thought I was so attractive that it had to ask me out… Yes, Dougie, as in my ex, Dougie! He was in that room!”

“Well, what did you say?”

“I ran away before he could force me to answer.”

“You’re gonna say no, right?”

“No, I was actually considering cheating on you…” I rolled my eyes as James glared at me, “Well, you can’t deny it was a stupid question…”

“You have to tell him now,” he commanded. “Screw the sessions for today… Though, we really do have to get some work done… Go; tell him you’re already dating a fit blond.”

“That’s thinking a lot of yourself, ain’t it?”

“Shut up!”

James

“You’re in his house?!” I asked later in disbelief.

“He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Have you kissed him?”

“Only so he wouldn’t hurt me. He’s acting really weird. Like, scary weird.” There was a sigh on the other end of the phone line. “Look, I’ll make some excuse to get away and come over.”

“You better. I don’t like the thought of you being over there….” I frowned to myself, “Although… and I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”

“What?”

“Bear with me, okay?” I told him. “But this could actually work as the perfect cover…”

“Are you suggesting I cheat on you?” he asked incredulously. “No.”

“Okay, fine. It was just a suggestion. Now get over here.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

Matt

“I have to get going,” I told Dougie, leaning over to grab my coat off his desk chair. “I’m sorry.”

“So, what?” he asked. “Are you dating someone? You can’t just walk off after saying something like that without explaining yourself!”

“I’m not dating anyone,” I told him, sitting next to him on the bed again. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea that we get back together. The reason we broke up in the first place was because we were fighting too much. I don’t want to go through that again.”

“But we won’t.”

“But we might,” I pressed. “We can’t risk it, Doug.”

“Yes, we can,” he said quietly, pressing his lips to mine. I felt a bizarre rush, and I pulled him closer. That was the problem with Dougie; he seemed to spark off all the feelings that I’d been convinced had long gone. It was only when he started to move forward so that I sank into the bed that I came to my senses and managed to regain control.

“Dougie, I can’t,” I told him, shoving him back. I grabbed my coat and ran out the door, before leaving via the front door, slamming it shut behind me. James’ door was just down the corridor. I hurried over and rang the doorbell.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as the door opened. I kissed him fiercely, forcing him back into his flat, kicking the door shut as I did so.

James

“So, you going to tell me what was up earlier?” I asked, pouring orange juice into a glass.

Matt stared at the table moodily, “Nothing.”

“Not that I’m complaining about the sex that came out of it, because that was good… But you looked as if your entire world had just come crashing around your shoulders,” I stated, sitting down and putting one glass in front of him.

He emitted a long sigh, “Dougie didn’t take rejection very well…”

“You still have feelings for him.”

“Just like you have for Chris,” he agreed. He cupped his face in his hands, “We’re a sorry pair, aren’t we?”

“So, what happened?”

“He kissed me. And I honestly think we would’ve gone the whole way if I hadn’t stopped it. I was this close to cheating on you, James.” He held up his hand and emphasised with his thumb and finger exactly how close he had been.

I took hold of the hand that was still suspended in mid-air. “But you didn’t. That’s all that mattered. You shoved him back. Half of you didn’t want to, but you did.”

His fingers curled round my hand. “I know.” He sighed again, “I just feel so crap about it all.”

I shook my head, “Don’t. We all have weaknesses. The difference is…that some people let it hold them back, and others fight to overcome it.”

“You sound like a cheesy Social Education video on how to live your life.”

“I do, don’t I?” I smiled at him, “I make sense, though.” Matt didn’t answer, but I could tell he was thinking.

“I hate teachers…” he finally muttered.

I patted his hand reassuringly, “Don’t worry. We’re not too fond of you, either.”

Matt

“Matt!” Mum called up the stairs. “Dougie’s here to see you!” I groaned and closed my English jotter. That guy didn’t know when to give up! A few seconds later, Dougie peered round my door.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I echoed warily, setting my English jotter aside. “What’s up?”

He closed the door firmly and came to sit on the bed next to me. “You lied to me,” he said, getting straight to the point.

“What?”

He smiled lightly, “You said you were single…” My heart sank. “…but that’s not what it looked like when you and Mr. Bourne were sucking face.”

“Dougie, please,” I begged. “Don’t.”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”

“Because you’re a nice person?”

“I said ‘good’, Matt.”

“Because if you tell, there’ll be no hope for us,” I invented.

He leaned towards me, and dropped his voice to a whisper: “And you expect me to believe that there would be if I kept quiet?”

“It won’t last. And when he decides I’m too young and inexperienced, you can be the shoulder to cry on…”

He shook his head, “I don’t want to wait that long… And I know you don’t, either.” He moved towards me, but I held him back.

“No, Dougie.”

He glared at me, “Fine. But your boyfriend can say goodbye to his job…”

“No!” I cried. “I’ll break up with him! Just, don’t tell anyone, okay?”

He nodded, a smirk on his face, “Okay.”

James

“We need to talk,” Matt said, storming inside the flat before I could even open my mouth.

I shut the door, “Okay… What about?”

He looked more nervous than I ever recalled seeing him. He took a deep breath, “James…”

“Matt…?” I put a hand on his arm, but he jerked back, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think we should carry on dating,” he blurted out.

I stared at him, “What?! Are you breaking up with me?! After this whole thing was your idea?!” My eyes narrowed, “It's Dougie, isn’t it? What did he say to you?” He didn’t answer me, so I assumed my guess was right. “What did he say, Matt?” I asked again.

“He didn’t say anything.”

“Then, what’re you doing?!” I cried.

“It’s getting risky. We have to call it off before someone sees and you lose your job, or get arrested for paedophilia.”

“I don’t care!” I shouted. “Please. Whatever he’s told you, tell me.” I took a step forward, “Because you’re not getting out of here until you tell me what the hell’s going on.”

“I just don’t want to wreck your life.”

“I do.” I finally managed to catch hold of his arm. He finally looked me in the eye.

“Jay, please- Don’t,” he begged, his voice cracking with emotion. I just watched him for a moment.

“What’s going on? Does Dougie know about us?”

He shook his head- though I wasn’t sure whether it meant that Dougie didn’t know, or just that he wanted me to stop asking questions. “I have to do this, but I can’t stop the tutoring sessions.”

“Why do you have to do this?” I asked, taking hold of his other arm and forcing him to look at me again.

“Because I have to…” he whispered. As a last resort, I pressed my lips to his. He responded immediately, but I could feel him battling with himself. It was probably the longest kiss we’d ever shared that didn’t end up in the bedroom. I didn’t want to pull back, to let him go, knowing that if I did, he’d never let me get that close again.

He finally pulled back, a heartbroken look on his face, “Jay… Don’t…”

“I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t doing this.”

“I have to.”

“Then go.” I took a step backwards from him, and folded my arms across my chest.

“But-”

I cut across him pointedly, “I’ll see you on Monday.” He nodded and left. And as the door closed I fell against the wall, my face obscured by my hands.

Matt

Dougie pulled me back to his at Monday lunchtime. “We have something to discuss,” he said bluntly.

“What?”

“Your loyalty.”

This took me by surprise. “Excuse me?! I broke up with my boyfriend for you! What right do you have to lecture me about loyalty?”

His face was dark, “Let me put it this way: I find out you’ve done anything other than maths with said ex-boyfriend. I’ll tell the school everything, get him fired, and then, I’ll tell the police he raped you when you tried to leave him for me. And that you were so traumatised by the experience, you keep claiming it never happened.” He put a hand over my forehead and feigned concern, “I think you have amnesia.”

I glared at him, but kept my voice even, “So, what? You don’t trust me?”

“No.” Dougie ran his hands through my hair gently. “It’s him I don’t trust. He’ll want you back. He’ll try to get you back. But you know the cost if you let him.”

I smiled, and took hold of his hand, trying not to look as scared as I was of the twisted bastard. “I know… Don’t worry, babes. He’s gone.”

He smiled back at me, before bending down to where I was sitting to kiss me, “I should think so…”

James

I walked into the maths classroom to find Matt already there, and Dougie was with him. Matt wasn’t facing me, but Dougie was, and he took great pleasure in pulling Matt in for a long kiss. That confirmed it. He was dangling Matt in front of me, and we both knew it. He found out about Matt and I, then blackmailed him. He must’ve. I cleared my throat, “Dougie? You and Mr. Hall are in C6 today. He told me to tell you.”

Dougie pulled back. “Oh, Mr. Bourne,” he said innocently. “I didn’t see you there.”

“So I see. So, if you’ll kindly go to C6, you might actually have a boyfriend over the summer, rather than one in special classes because he failed and I recommended him.” Dougie scowled and pushed past me out the door. I leaned back to watch him go with a smirk then shut the door. That had felt good…

“I didn’t know you were there.”

I sighed, “I know. You can hardly see out the back of your head.” I stared straight at him now, “He knows about us.” I held up a hand to stop his protests, “Don’t lie. He saw me.”

Matt groaned, “We can’t do anything, James. He’s threatening to do so much!”

“You’re probably right…” I agreed reluctantly, letting my gaze linger on him for longer than I probably should. He looked good. Why did everything suddenly look so much more tempting when you weren’t allowed? “Let’s get to work.”

Matt

A week later, Dougie was seriously terrifying me. He was so possessive. He always wanted to know where I was and who I was with. He was driving me insane! The house phone rang, but I ignored it and went back to typing out my History essay on my laptop, allowing someone else to pick it up. A minute later there was a knock on my door. “Sweetie,” Mum said, peering round. “Dougie’s on the phone for you.”

“Tell him I’m in the shower,” I whispered, aware the cordless was in her hand.

She nodded, and turned her attention back to the phone, “Oh, sorry, Dougie. I thought he was in his room, but he must be in the shower. Can I take a message? ….. Yes, I’ll tell him you called. Okay. Bye.” He hung up and I braced myself for the question I knew was coming, “Why are you avoiding Dougie?”

“‘Cause I can’t get any peace from him otherwise,” I said simply. She frowned, and came to sit on the edge of my bed. I set my laptop aside, “He’s acting really clingy. And he’s changed. You know how when we dated last time, he was really shy, but friendly nonetheless?”

She nodded, “It was very sweet.”

“Both of those personality traits appear to be gone.”

“Oh.”

James

A knock on my classroom door made me look up from the jotter I was marking. “Oh. Hey, Mr. Ha- Danny,” I amended. “I didn’t know anyone else was still here.”

He came into the room properly, and looked at the still rather large pile of jotters on my desk. “Are you planning on staying all night?”

I laughed lightly, “No. I’m almost done. I’m just putting off going home because my car’s going through its MOT right now and I have to walk.” I stood up and began to tidy up my desk.

“I’ll give you a lift,” he offered.

I turned and smile at him, “No. I’ll be fine. I wasn’t fishing.”

He caught my arm and pulled me back so I looking him in the eyes, “I know. Let me give you a lift.”

“You’re not going to let me say no, are you?” I asked with a grin. He shook his head slowly, staring into my eyes. Then he moved his head towards mine. My brain buzzed. I should stop this! I wasn’t over Matt yet. Then again, if he was with Dougie, why couldn’t I move on too? Danny’s lips met mine. I hadn’t even known he was gay- then again; it’s hardly something that comes up over tea in the staff room.

I pressed myself against him, and deepened the kiss by parting my lips to allow his tongue access to my mouth. It slid inside fluidly and his hand came to rest on the small of my back. He was a really good kisser, I noticed. After a good long while, he pulled back. “Let me give you a lift,” he said again, smiling at me.

“Wow. You’re desperate to give me a lift, aren’t you?”

He laughed, “I just think it’s stupid for you to have to walk home when I’m offering.” He brushed his lips over mine again, “Just say yes and get it over and done with.” I grinned and looked him in the eye:

“Okay.”

Matt

It hurt. It physically hurt to be so close to him every day, but not to be able to do anything about it. He always acted so neutral, like this was no where near as complicated as it clearly was. I put down my pen one day. “I have to talk to you.”

He frowned slightly, “Again? I thought you got it all out back when we ended.” The edges of his lips quirked as I narrowed my eyes at him, “Okay, Okay. What?”

“I need your advice.”

The frown deepened, “Okay…?”

“I want to break up with Dougie, but he can’t think that we’re getting back together. ‘Cause we’re not.”

“Wow. You lasted five whole weeks,” he commented. I glared at him. “I wouldn’t last a day with that controlling…bitchy…de-”

“Hey!”

He shrugged, “He’s not my student.”

There was a knock on the door, and we both looked up as Dougie swept into the room and came over. He bent down in front of me, “You have my textbook. Apparently, I need it.” That statement was accompanied by a roll of the eyes.

I opened my bag and took it out. “There.” I heard James snort with barely-contained laughter at the monotonous tone of my voice.

“Thank you,” Dougie said sweetly, leaning across and kissing me. I jolted and nearly bit his tongue off when another hand ran up my leg at the same time. It couldn’t be Dougie; both his hands were on the table. That meant it had to be…James! What was bad was, I was being turned on far more by James than I was with Dougie right now. When Dougie pulled back, I glanced sideways, but James was reading through a separate textbook, pretending to search for equations.

He glanced up, “You better get going, Dougie. Mr. Hall will be wondering where you are.”

“Of course,” Dougie replied icily. He walked past James and headed for the door. James followed him over, and shut and locked the door. Then he covered the small window carefully.

“What are you doing?”

He turned to me, and I saw a grim determination in his eyes that I’d never seen before. “I’m exploding,” was all he said.

James

“I can’t believe you just did that to me,” Matt snapped furiously later on, pulling his trousers up.

I paused from doing up my shirt, “You make it sound like I raped you!” I smirked at him, “You were gagging for it… Dougie’s been depriving you…”

“Oh, no, he hasn’t…” he muttered. I grinned and tucked my tie into place. He reached for his belt, but I got there first.

“Here. Let me.” I walked over to him and began to slowly thread his belt through the loops on his black trousers. He began to kiss my neck softly. I moaned before I could stop myself, but that just spurred him on. “Calm down, Matt! You give me a love bite, we’re doomed.”

He pulled back and grinned, “Go on, James… Live recklessly for a change…” He pulled me closer once I’d finished with his belt, and kissed me on the mouth again. It felt so refreshing to be close to him. I’d missed it.

There was a knock on the door. “Mr. Bourne?”

I swore violently. “Put your shirt on!” I threw it to him, and waited until he looked vaguely presentable before opening the door. “Yes, Mr. Hall?”

“Why was the door locked?” he asked pleasantly.

“Oh, I was showing Matt something on the projector and didn’t want to be interrupted,” I lied fluently. “Why? Has something happened?”

“No. It’s just that Dougie said you might be…” He looked uncomfortable. “…doing something else.”

“No!” I opened the door so he could see Matt, who had gone back to his work.

“Good. I’d hate to think you’d forgotten about us…” He pulled me in and kissed me sensuously. Right in front of Matt.

Matt

“Good. I’d hate to think you’d forgotten about us…” With that statement, Mr. Hall bent down and pulled James into a kiss. A proper kiss. James! As in the guy who’d just locked me in a classroom with him and seduced me. James! As in the guy who was now sucking face with my third year maths teacher.

James pulled back, a smile on his face, “No way… I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Definitely.” Mr. Hall left, and James shut the door behind him, though this time he left it unlocked. He leaned against it for a moment, then turned to me, an odd, awkward look on his face.

“Did I forget to mention that?”

“Little bit.”

“Okay.”

I stared at him, “You’re dating Mr. Hall?! Since when?!”

“What?! At least I have better taste than you…” He gave a snort of disgust. “Dougie.” He came over to me, and sat on the desk. “We’ve been dating for a month. Looks like we both cheated…”

I groaned, and put my face in my hands, shaking my head slowly. “Why can things never be simple between us?”

He peeled my hands away from my face, “Because, Mathew, if things were simple between us, it would be nowhere near as much fun…” He brushed his lips across mine, but went no further. “Get back to work.” There was another knock on the door. “Come in.”

Dougie strode in, looking slightly put out that he hadn’t walked in on anything. “You finished?”

“I’m keeping Matt back for extra work because his boyfriend keeps interrupting our sessions,” James said with a perfectly straight face. He got up, went over to the door and locked it again. “Also, you may want to know that, I plan to take him back to mine and shag him senseless.”

Dougie’s eyes narrowed, “If you touch him, I’ll go to the school board.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Do you really want to risk that?” Dougie’s voice was soft, but it sounded really threatening.

“Do you really want to risk losing all chances at Matt?”

“I wouldn’t even have him if you had your way!”

James moved forward so they were face to face, “I hate to break it to you, Poynter, but you don’t have him now.”

James

“James!” Matt exclaimed. Dougie’s face contorted.

“You’re lying.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, “Oh, really? I wouldn’t lean against that desk, by the way. We’ve yet to clean it.”

Dougie whirled on Matt. “You cheating-!” He cut himself off, and a smirk came to his lips. “No matter. I’m sure people will be shocked to hear of this.”

“You hypocrite…” I hissed. He turned to look at me. “Let me put it this way, you tell anyone about me and Matt, people may ‘accidentally’ find out that you’ve been sleeping with a few of your teachers to improve your grades…”

“You- What?”

“Teachers talk, Dougie.” I mimicked the smirk he’d been wearing earlier, “Which is why I have absolutely no hesitation in doing this:” I moved over to Matt, leant down, and kissed him. He seemed to forget Dougie was standing there as I pulled him in and kissed him properly.

“Get off him!” I heard Dougie screech.

I pulled back from Matt, and turned to look at him, “You should’ve considered giving it a little more time before you dangled him in my face.”

“You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” Dougie picked up a nearby textbook and hurled it at us in a fit of rage. “You can’t have him! He’s mine!” He threw another one, which hit me in the side. I jumped to my feet, but he just threw more, screaming incoherently.

Danny ran in, “James! What’s going on?!” He saw Dougie hurling books at us and us trying to fend them off, and quickly seized the young blond from behind, pinning his arms to his sides.

“Let me go! He can’t have him! He’s mine!”

I glanced at Matt, who was staring at Dougie as if he didn’t even know him. I turned to look. Dougie’s eyes were unfocused and wide, he was still screaming what was basically the same thing over and over. Danny grunted as he got an elbow in his gut, “James, call Dougie’s parents.”

Matt

James flopped down next to me, “He’s going to be expelled. His parents agree, and they’re going to move him schools. Apparently, they were considering moving house at the end of the term, anyway, so that adds up nicely.” He looked sideways at me, “You okay?”

“I didn’t recognise him. What he was like in there, that wasn’t him.”

“I’m sorry.” As I turned to look at him, he sighed, “Seriously. Do you think I wanted to turn him into that?”

“No, I know you didn’t, but that doesn’t make it any easier.” I put my face in my hands, “To think that I trusted him. We dated for about two years, James. He could’ve become that at any point. I might not have been safe in a relationship with him. I can’t believe it.” He put an arm round my shoulders and pulled me into him. We were out on the side steps to the school, so anyone who was walking past wouldn’t know who it was and no-one inside could see us.

“You’re fine. You’re here. He’s not going to hurt you, now…” he murmured into my hair. “I won’t let him.”

James

“I have to get going,” Danny said later.

“I’m sorry this wrecked our night,” I told him. The parent conference and Rector conference had taken until quarter to eight. We’d had a table booked for seven.

“Don’t be. We had to be here. He’s clearly a really troubled boy. I’m glad we managed to get to him before he ended up hurting someone,” he said with a smile. Damn. Why did he have to be so nice all the time? Especially when I was cheating on him with a seventeen-year-old student. He frowned, “Is Matt still here?”

“He headed home. He was still a little depressed. Not that I blame him, it’s not every day your boyfriend turns on you while he has a stack of heavy textbooks next to him. You go. I’ll tidy up the classroom then head off.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.” He kissed me softly, before walking off. I stared after him, then turned and walked into the maths classroom. The door was shut behind me and I found myself being abruptly being pulled into a hot, passionate kiss.

“Oh. There you are…”

“Thanks for being so supportive.” Matt held me against the door, a glint in his beautiful eyes, “Let me give you something to be thankful for…”

Matt

“I don’t want to do this,” I said, bursting into James’ classroom three weeks later, the day of the sixth year maths exam.

James looked up from the jotter he was, evidently, marking. “Do what? Eat cheese for the rest of your life? Have hair? Be male? They’re all changeable, but you’ll have to be more specific first.”

“I don’t want to do the exam. I can’t.”

He sighed, and set down his pen, “Matt, it’s only natural that you would get nervous. But we’ve covered everything that could possibly come up in there. You’ll be fine. I promise.”

“How can you promise something like that?! You can’t promise something like that!!”

“I believe I just did,” he said patiently. I knew I was getting hysterical. I took a few deep breaths. He came over and rubbed me on the back while I did so. “Just try not to pass out from nerves, then you might fail.” I managed a weak laugh at that. He rubbed my back again, “See? You’ll be fine.”

James

“So, how d’you think you did?” I asked that night, sitting next to him on the sofa.

“I think that I proved exactly how bad I am at that subject,” he said darkly. “Note to self: Never pursue any career that includes mathematics in any way, shape or form.”

“Shame. I was looking for an assistant teacher…” I grinned as he glared at me, “I’m joking.” I shrugged, “But, without you there, I may have to make substitutes for my stares next year. There’s a quite nice boy in fourth year…”

“Just make sure it never goes past staring, and we’ll be fine,” he muttered.

Matt

“I’m so nervous,” I whined, sitting in James’ flat. “I failed. I know I did.”

James picked up the brown envelope and weighed it in his hand experimentally, “You want me to open it for you?”

“Would you?” I asked weakly. He rolled his eyes and opened it up. He stared at my results for a long moment, then held it out to me.

“I’m sorry…”

I grabbed it off him, “What? Did I-?” I broke off as I saw my results. All A’s, B’s and C’s. I looked up to see him grinning manically. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe you did that!”

He let out an evil sounding cackle, “You did it!” He kissed me, then picked up the sheet again. “You did well.”

“Mr. Hall will be proud.”

He groaned loudly, causing me to laugh this time around. “Don’t even talk to me about him. I though he was so sweet and caring until I tried to break up with him.” He smiled suddenly, “Hey, you know what this means?”

“No…” I said slowly.

He swung himself onto my lap so he was straddling me, and ran his hands through my hair. “You’ve left school. I’m not your teacher anymore…”

“Oh, yeah…” I pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Isn’t that interesting…?”

James

“So what’s going to happen?” he asked me. “Are we going to…?”

“I think-”

“I love you, James.”

I froze, stared at him, “Eh?”

“I love you.”

“Oh, my God.” I pulled him into a hug and whispered in his ear. “The feeling’s mutual.”

“Say it properly.”

“You’re such a girl sometimes!” I complained.

“Say it, or I’ll be forced to assume the worst.”

I let my jaw drop in the fakest manner I could manage, “Dougie’s back?”

“Say it!”

“I…” I dropped my voice and mumbled for a moment. “…you.”

“James!”

“I love you, okay?” I blurted out. His whole face lit up, and he pulled me into an even tighter embrace than before. “Which is why I think we should take it slower from now on.”

He pulled back, a confused expression on his face, “What d’you mean?” I winced at the hurt expression in his eyes, and laid a hand on his cheek.

“It’s just all been one big rush for us. I think we should slow down. Take our time. We have enough of it… We need to enjoy every moment to the full.”

He nodded, the light coming back into his eyes, “Okay.”

“And, in a couple years, we’ll see if we’re still going strong, and take it from there.”

Two years later

Matt

“Matt!” Holly pounced on me as soon as she saw me, and pressed a noisy kiss to my cheek. “You made it!”

“Yeah…” I said with a laugh. “I said I would, didn’t I?” She smiled and took my hand, leading me along the street. People never asked if we were a couple, they just assumed we were. “Where are we going?”

“To have lunch. I’m starving.” She pulled me into Costa Coffee and over to a table. “I’ll get the drinks,” she chirped, bouncing up again practically before her bum had even come into contact with the chair. I watched her walk off. The last year had been amazing. We’d moved in together successfully, and were going out to eat tonight. I was in love, and damn happy about it. I watched Holly as she ordered the drinks. She was gorgeous. I smirked as I caught a guy leering at her out the corner of my eye.

“No chance, mate…” I muttered.

Holly came back over with the drinks a few minutes later, “There you go.”

I smiled at her, “Thanks, Hol.” I took a sip of the latte, savouring the taste on my tongue. I’d forgotten how much I loved these. I hadn’t had one in ages…

“So,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder in a manner that had all the men in Costa’s staring at her. “How’s the boyfriend?”

James

I browsed the jewellery rack in the shop that was certainly as expensive as it looked. A tall, skeletal, well-dressed shop assistant came over. He had dark hair that was styled into a comb-over, and piercing grey eyes and shot out at you from behind thin framed glasses. He sniffed at me disapprovingly before asking in a crisp voice: “May I help you?”

“Yes. I’m looking for an engagement ring. Preferably just a gold band or something.”

Another sniff, like he knew I was doing something wrong but wasn’t going to bother telling me what. “Your girlfriend likes the simple approach?”

I nodded, with a smirk I knew would annoy the man, “Definitely…”

“This way, sir.” He led me over to a display filled with simple gold rings. “As you can see, we have a fine selection of rings that ought to meet your approval.”

I nodded, staring into the case. “Can I see that one, please?” I asked, indicating to the one I meant, using my middle finger to point ever so slyly.

He sniffed once again, “Of course.” He took it out carefully and held it out to me. He began to recite the blurb- where it came from, the date, who made it, etc. I stared at the ring, entranced by it. It was perfect. Simple enough, not too girly, but with a kind of plaited golden design. It was gorgeous.

“I’ll take it.”

He seemed shocked by how simple that choice had been for me. But, hey, when you knew, you knew. I was disappointed to see he wiped that look off his face quickly and easily enough, though. “Right away, sir.”

“Thanks.” As I stood by the till, I allowed myself to go into a daydream. Finally, I was doing it. I was asking the love of my life to marry me. I was totally confident. My parents thought I was doing the right thing, and I felt giddy with excitement just thinking about it. Everything was just…amazing right now.

“There you go,” the shop assistant said once I’d paid, holding a bag out to me.

I opened the bag and took out the black ring box inside. I examined the treasure within. “Perfect…” I whispered.

“I hope your partner likes it.”

I snapped the box closed, “Don’t worry.” I threw the black cube up the in air and caught it, watching his face carefully for any sign of reaction. “He will.”