Breathless

  • Thread starter ᴋɪᴛsᴜɴᴀᴇ
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Clara stared at the principal as if he had gone completely mad. He was as mad as the Mad Hatter if he believed that she could tutor Aaron. Hadn't he already failed once? Maybe not, but he deserved to fail at least once. Wasn't there that "no child left behind" or some nonsense he could fall back on? It didn't matter, what did matter was that she was tutoring the resident bad boy, which she didn't know why it had to be her. Her dad had held the position only nineteen years earlier, didn't that give her a pass? Well apparently not, not when the same principal your dad had was deciding that you would be tutoring your dad's replacement. Huffing as she stormed out of Mr. Cooper's office, Clara trudged back to class as slowly as she could. How could she help him? Hell, could she even get him to show up to the tutoring sessions? She didn't know, but she didn't care. Well she did care, after all she wanted to graduate.

When she walked into class, she glared at Aaron. This was one of the only classes she had with him, considering it was an elective and how smart you were didn't have any effect on you getting into the class. Slumping down in the seat next to him, well this day just kept getting better, she turned to glare at him, "I hate you." Her look was one of pure hatred and some of the other people in the class moved their desks away from the pair. Logging into her computer, she began doing whatever stupid task the teacher had assigned that day. Why had they assigned a finance teacher to the mythology class? It made no sense to Clara, but it was an easy A, so she didn't mind so much.

It wasn't that she truly hated Aaron, no, no she didn't. It was just, she knew what path he was going down and she watched it every night at the club. How she balanced school and her job, she didn't know, but she'd like to watch Aaron do it. Clara pictured him as a monkey trying to make a cosmo and a small smile broke through her lips. Quickly diminishing the smile before he could notice, she shot another death glare at him.
 
Before Clara had walked in, Aaron had been remembering what happened and hour earlier with Mr. Cooper, his principle.

Aaron's brown eyes were averted from the harsh face of his teacher, and to the floor. The eighteen year old simply stood there as his teacher scolded and yelled at him. This was nothing new. So, he zoned out like he did so often when he was being forced to hear something he didn't want to hear. Though, he smirked at his classic and smart-ass retort, which got him into this situation in the first place. Oh yes. He remembered it clearly.

"Hello everyone, I'm your new science instructor and I'll be teaching this class," The man said.

"And I'll be disrupting it," Aaron grinned devilishly.

Probably hadn't a good idea to say that. Damn, if it hadn't given him satisfaction, though. Either way, none of it mattered now. This time was going to be different. Instead of tuning out his teacher's rant and going back to his seat afterwards, he was sent to the principal's office. Suspension? So what. A few days off school sounded like a plan to him.

That's not how it went.

"Mr. Matthews, you were called down here due to your constant poor behavior as well as your low grades. I don't understand. Your test grades are phenomenal but your homework and other classwork is below average concerning our standards. I'm afraid if you keep this up, we won't pass you and you won't graduate. It's extra credit, pulling those grades up in a few months, or going through another year of High School. I'm sure that last option isn't cool among your friends, hmm?" The principal discussed with the senior, whom payed attention for once. More worried than he let on, he managed to keep his careless attitude and body language.

"So? What can I do, teach?" Aaron shrugged, "School's not really my forte."

"It's everyone's 'forte', Aaron. Get your ass in shape and get your head in the right mind," The elder man said sternly, surprising Aaron. There was a pause and the room was tense, that was, before the principal went on, "You're getting a tutor. It is mandated and you can't weasel your way out of this one. Extra credit and you'll be able to pull up your grades."

Aaron narrowed his eyes, "That isn't fair!"

"Life isn't fair, Aaron. You of all people should know that."

"Don't even," Aaron snapped.

"She'll meet with you in the library after classes are dismissed," The principal said, waving his hand with dismissal, as he turned around and put his back to the student, returning to important computer work.

Aaron stood quickly, and stomped out, slamming the door behind him with rage. Who was this she?

It seemed his question had been answered once Clara returned from her own trip to the principle's office. Aaron cracked a smile, " Oh, c'mon sweetheart, don't be that way. I'm sure we'll have a grand old time while you waste mine and I get payback by making the next few months a hell for you."

Aaron laughed, and proceeded to scribble in his notebook instead of working on his assignment.
 
Slamming her textbook down onto her desk, she turned to face him as she whisper yelled, "You will not make me fail! I have a scholarship to Yale on the line and I swear to God, Aaron..." It was funny to think at one time they had actually been friends. They had been friends from kindergarten all the way up to freshman year, well things had been rough from middle school on between the pair. Clara became serious while Aaron basically stayed Aaron. Raising her hand, she asked to be excused, but didn't even wait for the teacher's answer. What could the goody goody of the class be up to anyways? Going to the bathroom? Sinking down to the floor by the lockers outside, she buried her face into her hands. Why did she have to help Aaron? Couldn't he just fail? Or better yet, they could go ahead and pass him so he'd get a reality check in the real world, well if that were possible. It wasn't like her to be upset over these sorts of things, but this was getting to her. Had this been the same way her mom and dad got together? Were they forced to work together, then ended up falling in love? She didn't know and she never would. Clara didn't remember her mother and her father had died nearly three years ago. Taking in a deep breath, she stood up, deciding to actually go to the bathroom.
 
"Yale," Aaron snorted simply, seemingly ignoring Clara all the while she was talking at him. The young man watched as she left, and rolled his eyes as he thought of how dramatic girls were. It's like you touch them the wrong way and they hate you for life. Then again, Aaron reminded himself, there were plenty of ways to touch girls. Being the pervert he was, he snickered at his own joke. Guys will be guys.

To be honest, Aaron wasn't looking forward to this, but out of anyone to tutor him, he was glad it was Clara. Back in Middle School he was developing what he had thought was a crush on her. All he knew was that whenever he got close to her his palms sweated and his mind seemed temporarily unavailable. He'd told a friend that and they had responded with the whole, isn't it that way all the time? Either way, he had dismissed it as hormones. When they were freshman and she ditched him, it kind of crushed him and he swore never to get that close to someone again. Now that he looks back, Clara never knew about his parents or what happened to them, and Aaron was careful to hide how his aunt and uncle treated him from her. Maybe it was a pride thing or maybe it was about his reputation. Maybe he didn't want the pity, he just wanted a genuine friend.

Nowadays, he has mixed feelings towards her. One moment he hates her for what she did, the next he's back to admiring her and wishing she hadn't changed. Or better yet, just put up with him and be the only real friend he'd ever known again. Clara quite possibly made the whole goody-two-shoes thing cute for him, so he would never stop seeing her as a romantic interest, but he doubted she would ever be his. Even if they did somehow work out, he was scared things would be even more awkward and tense between them. He was known to be a player, and in all honesty, he was no longer a virgin. Clara was the one thing that would make him serious for once, but it would go down in flames like any other serious thing in his life normally did.
 
After being gone for close to fifteen minutes, Clara came back into the classroom. Plopping down into her seat, she turned to look at Aaron, saying, "I really don't want to stay after school, so how about you come by my apartment?" She quickly scribbled her address down onto a piece of paper, handing it to him. For a brief moment, she thought her lips were curling up into a smile, but she let it fade and turned back to her work. Had he even known that she had been on her own for three years? Sure she spent some time in the custody of the state, but she was sixteen, so she proved she could take care of herself and they released her. On another thought, she began to wonder if he knew that her dad was dead. Aaron had been over to her home a few times, so did anyone ever tell him? She knew she never had, at least not personally. Clara had made it a goal not to reveal it to the whole school, so only a few close friends knew. Well actually, only one other person knew, she didn't have many friends at school. Now at the club, that was a different story.

The club was her sanctuary away from the real world. It was fun being a bartender and if anyone asked, well she was twenty-one. Of course, many knew her little secret, more specifically the workers and a few of the regular play boys. The club was like an odd family to her, especially since the said play boys helped her pay her bills. Her job payed nicely, but she still needed help. Rent wasn't cheap and she couldn't afford an apartment big enough to have a roommate. Huffing as she tried to figure out a problem for AP Bio, she turned to ask Aaron, but quickly realized who she was asking. Turning back around, she decided to try her hand at Google instead.
 
"Yeah, sure," Aaron mumbled, but did a double-take as her sentence relayed in his mind. Why the hell did she have an apartment? For a slight moment, he envied her. Aaron would kill to get away from who he was currently living with. It would be nice to be on his own. Yet, he didn't ask and simply took the piece of paper in which had her address written on. Having nothing better to do, he decided some harmless flirting was in order.

"Woah, this is moving fast. I get your address before your phone number? Since when does a girl not make me work for it?" Matthews grinned playfully, glancing at her before returning to his drawing. His hands guided the pencil, and Aaron wasn't even sure what he was drawing. It seemed to be a human, so far. Who it was, now that was the question. Aaron was actually incredibly decent with art, but just as the identity came underway, he stopped, guessing at whom it might be.
 
Closing her textbook, she looked over at him deciding that two could play at this game. With a sly smile on her lips, she leaned forward, making sure that a small amount of cleavage was exposed as her other hand rested on his thigh, "Well Aaron, if you would stop flirting for a moment, then you would see that my number is on the paper." Cocking an eyebrow, she added, "Maybe I'll make you start working for it when you come over. What's the fun now while we're in school?" With a wink, she stood, gathering her things as the bell rang. Sauntering over to the door, she called over her shoulder, "Don't be late!" Readjusting her bag on her shoulder, she headed towards the parking lot. It was nice knowing that she got to leave early for the co-op program, but her job didn't technically start until a lot later. Generally if anyone asked, she would just say she did inventory for the afternoon. Taking in a deep breath, she realized she would have to patiently wait for him to get out of school. Oh how this was going to an agonizing afternoon. Clara quickly pulled out of the parking lot and headed to her apartment. Luckily for her it was only about a five minute drive away from the school and once she got there, well she decided to take a nap. Homework and Aaron could wait until later.
 
Aaron watched Clara leave out with wide eyes. "Damn," he murmured under his breath, one of his friends walking past with a smirk. "Take a picture, it'll last longer," Aaron heard. The dark-haired teen snorted, but couldn't help the smile that found it's way to his lips. Now that reply had been unexpected. To be honest, he'd braced himself for a slap or something worse.

It was some hours before school was let out. Gym and then his electives, which took a few hours. Gym had been awful, as even the guys that didn't participate in the sport were treated like football players. Last period of the day, actually, and by the time it was over his forehead was misted with sweat and the back of his hair was wet. He also smelled sweaty, of course, and he didn't feel his cleanest. Exhausted, he now didn't even feel up to the tutoring, but reminded himself it had to be done.

Taking out the address to Clara's house, he began to walk that wouldn't be too terribly long, since it was only five minutes if you went there by vehicle. Aaron didn't have a car. It was chilly outside, so he threw on his Letterman jacket and kept on walking, staring down at the sidewalk as his cross-body book back was tossed around his torso.
 
Sitting out on the steps of the entrance to her apartment, she waited to see Aaron coming down the street. She wasn't too sure if he was capable of finding the apartment on his own, so she decided to sit outside. Wrapping her blanket tighter around herself, she couldn't have been more relieved to see Aaron coming down the street. It was far too cold for her liking and that was saying something. After all she had willingly gone to Alaska for her tenth birthday. Calling out, she said, "Aaron! You're fifteen minutes late, you do know I have a job, right?" Standing up, she split the distance between then and wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Is the sweat really necessary? I was forced to tutor you, not give you lessons in basic hygiene as well."

If Clara were going to be honest, she didn't mind the sweat. She minded the smell, of course, but it looked nice on a man if she had to say so herself. It made them more manly and that was something she didn't see too often. If she were at the club, well it was all pretty men or gay men. If she were at school, well it was nerdy men or boys. There was really no options for her, but the man child in front of her, well to her, he looked nice with a sweaty forehead.
 
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Aaron rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever you say. Can I use your shower before I sit down and not pay attention to your teachings?"

The teen smiled; it was perhaps a genuine smile, one not often seen from someone such as himself. "I'm tired." Those two words were probably why he didn't say much else, but either way, he gazed steadily at her, waiting to be invited inside and hoping she'd say yes to that shower. He could already feel the water beating down on his back and releasing the tenseness that was there.
 
"No! Now I only have 45 minutes to attempt at teaching you something, not to mention I'm still not ready, haven't done any of my homework, and it's a 20 minute drive to the club. You will deal with the sweat." Turning on her heel quickly, she darted off towards the apartment building. After climbing two flights of stairs, she went to her door, unlocking it before going inside. Of course she expected him to follow, but at this point, she didn't know if he would. Removing the cat from the small nook table she had in her kitchen, she sat down, muttering, "Might as well get this over with."
 
"Well aren't you just a bitc-" A dog barked in the distance, not allowing Aaron to finish his muttered reply. Still, he followed her, mumbling incoherent things beneath his heavy breath as he walked up the stairs.

"See, it'll take me twenty minutes to take a shower. You can join me if you like," Aaron cracked a smile, "I see you don't care though. You have work. At a club, right? You mean, a strip club? Hey, don't go having unprotected sexy-times with random guys, okay? That's saved for me."
The humor in Aaron's tone signaled that he hadn't been serious, but instead, had hoped to see some heat in her cheeks.

Aaron then proceeded to sit down, leaning back in his chair and grinning playfully at Clara.

This was not going to be easy.
 
"Last I checked I didn't work at Coyote Ugly or Twin Peaks, so no, not a strip club or a bar that's degrading to women." Smirking as an idea struck her mind, she placed both her hands on his thighs and probably a lot closer to his little friend than acceptable, but she swallowed the vomit in the back of her throat and continued. Leaning into him, she cocked her head to the side to be able to whisper in his ear. Laughing, more to herself than him, she softly whispered, "Though, one of my friends, she did work at a strip club a few years back and she taught me a few things, not that you'd ever get to know." Ruffling his hair like he was a little kid, she leaned back into her own seat, pulling out a notebook, "So where would you like to begin?" Looking up at him, it appeared she wasn't fazed in the least. Clara only hoped that she would have him squirming in her seat by the time he left, for once there would be something entertaining to watch.
 
"S'not working, Clara," Aaron told her seriously, "The whole sexy-act thing. Do you know how many girls I've been with? If you really want me shivering in my seat you'll have to do better than that. Though I didn't take you for that kind of girl."

Aaron cleared his throat, amusement in his eyes at catching her on her plans. The first time had simply surprised him; as he'd said, he didn't exactly take Clara for that species of her race. "I'd like to start nowhere. Look, how about we say we did this and then don't. I don't like math. You say we did it, you graduate, I say we did it, and I'll get an A for effort and still pass."

To be honest, there wasn't anything in that textbook Clara could teach him that he didn't already know. He was failing on purpose. His so-called friends didn't appreciate having someone smart around, so he hid that he was to keep his reputation. Though, he wasn't lying about the loathing of math. That was quite real. Aaron would just start answering more right and his grade would steadily get better. There. Problem solved.
 
Clara rolled her eyes at him before letting out a small huff of annoyance. Why had she so willingly given him her address? Now he could show up at anytime he felt and it wasn't as if it were a mystery where her spare key was outside. Pointing a finger at him, she tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. Watching him accusingly, she said, "Fine, I won't make you do anything as long as you at least try to show improvement. Promise? I'll also let you use the shower." Holding out her hand so he could give her a pinkie promise, she gave him a tight lipped smile. If he made her fail, she swore she would skin him alive and then bring him back to do it all over again.
 
Aaron gazed at her hand, and stood, as if he wasn't going to do the whole pinkie promise. Well, he wasn't, "I'll do you one better."

The handsome young man walked over to her side of the table, taking her hand in his and shaking it as if she were delicate as a flower. Men didn't do pinkie promises. They shook. For a moment he held her hand, before a small bite of the lip happened and he leaned lower, kissing her on the cheek. When he withdrew, he couldn't help but say what he had been wanting to say, "You know, Clara, you might have forgotten our history together but I haven't."

Aaron's eyes suddenly flickered with undeniable sadness but it had went away as fast as it had come. Assuming the bathroom was somewhere in the hall, he went down there and the first door he opened was Clara's bedroom door. A small laugh escaped him, "What a girly room." With that, he opened the next door in which was finally what he was looking for. Closing the door behind him, he stood there for a moment, thinking about the girl he'd left behind.

With that, he took off his clothes and from where Clara sat, running water could be heard and he was taking a much-needed shower.
 
The moment she heard the water start running, she let out the breath she had been holding. Should she tell him what happened to her dad? She didn't know if she should, but that was one moment in her life where she needed him the most. It had been her fault that he wasn't there, but hadn't he seen what she was going through on her face or was she that good at hiding something? Often she was told everything was on her face, so why did no one seem to see that after her dad died? Standing up, she went into her room, deciding to begin getting ready. It didn't bother her that he was just in the bathroom, as long as he didn't go into her room in just his birthday suit.

Going to her closet, she began shifting through dresses. Normally they had a specific dress code, but since it was Autumn's birthday, well those rules weren't in place. Picking out a short gold dress, she laid it on her bed, happy with the decision. It was a beautiful dress to say the least, even if it was more on the slutty side. Rubbing her fingers over the sequins, she allowed herself to get lost in memories and for the first time in years, well she allowed herself to cry. Biting her bottom lip as she heard the water cut off, she shouted, "Towels are under the sink." Going back to her vanity to clean up, she dabbed her eyes lightly with tissues.
 
It was a few minutes before the door opened, Aaron stepping out and and smiling like an idiot, "So, I used your shampoo! I smell all flowery now!" The male walked down the hallway, hands in the pockets of his zipped jacket. He peered in her room, face suddenly no longer in amusement as he saw her in that dress. She was definitely a catch. Though, his eyes were averted to her face, which looked puffed up.

"Clara?" Aaron's voice had been concerned, actually.
 
Startled by his presence, she jumped, knocking over several things on her vanity. Looking back at him, she sniffled, but shook her head, "No, no. It's just allergies." It was easy to tell she was trying to keep it together. Even if it had been three years, well she still had her moments. She knew she would always have her moments. Looking back into the mirror, she pinned her hair over her right shoulder, teasing the top a bit. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she asked, "Are you just going to stand there? I don't mind if you sit on the bed if you insist on watching me."
 
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