Claire hurried down the hallway towards her classroom, coffee in one hand and a stack of ungraded tests in the other. After Daniel left that morning she’d dedicated the rest of her planning time to getting as much done as possible. She’d cleaned, dusted and calculated grades; anything that would get her out of needing his help. After her final class she could finally say that she’d at least made a dent in her work. With six more months of careful planning and round the clock working, she would probably need a stint in a mental institution, but she’d be Daniel free. Or, at least, she hoped. When she nudged open her office door, she wasn’t at all surprised to see him there, thumbing through a syllabus left by the previous Professor. He looked up when he heard her enter, that familiar smirk of his hovering around the corners of his delectable mouth. Delectable? Really? What am I, a freaking fifteen year old?

    “Mr. Kang,” she said in way of greeting, refusing to look his way as she side skirted him and moved to sit behind her desk. Daniel placed the syllabus back on the shelf and turned to face her. 

    “It’s Daniel, Professor Lanh. You know you can call me by my first name, right?”

    “It’s unprofessional,” she said, still not looking at him. Claire placed her tests neatly on her desk before flipping open her laptop. 

    “But you call every other student by their first names. Don’t you think that’s unfair?” She could hear the humor in his voice and it made her want to chuck her coffee at his head. 

    “Not at all.”

    “Right, of course you don’t,” he chuckled. Daniel grabbed a chair and pulled it up to her desk. He sat down rather loudly, shifting and dropping his bag at his feet, attempting to draw her attention to his body by making as much noise as possible. Obstinately, she still refused to even glance up at him. He found himself smiling as he reached to take her stack of tests and leaf through them. “Are you going to let me help you?”

    “I’ve done all of my work for today so I don’t need your assistance. You can head home anytime.”

    “Really? Because these tests are ungraded.”

    “I planned on doing them when I got home. So, again, your assistance is unnecessary.”

    “Then why not just let me help grade them? It would save you the time.”

    “Because, I don’t need your help.”

    “Cut the crap, Professor Lanh,” he said. That got her attention. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him, her manicured fingers going to her glasses as she shoved them up her nose.

    “Excuse me?”

    “You heard me. I don’t know why you’re trying, once again, to push me away. But, it’s not going to work. I’m going to help you whether you like it or not,” he said. Claire slammed her laptop shut and gave him a pointed look.

    “Why? Why is this so important to you? If you cared at all about your grades you’d just do your damn work, right? Why are you purposefully trying to be a pain in my ?” she asked and he arched a brow at her choice of words. Her resulting blush immediately made him laugh. 

    “Would you believe me if I said I just wanted to spend time with you?” he asked. Her blush deepened. She could feel her face growing hotter and she hated herself for it. 

    “You promised you would stop flirting with me.”

    “And you promised you would let me help you. It works both ways, remember?” he asked with a smirk. Claire’s hand unconsciously went to her temple, rubbing it to abate the uncomfortable headache his mere presence caused.

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