Monday morning rolled around sooner than she’d expected. Instead of getting caught up on work, she’d spent the majority of her weekend sleeping, eating, and talking to Daniel. Although, she really didn’t mind the latter. Claire stood on the front steps of the St. Agnus building, stretching as she took in some much needed sun. It seemed as if Spring would come early that year. Despite the weather report promising a cold front, the atmosphere remained relatively warm, giving them a much needed reprieve from the dreadful Philadelphia winter. Eager to get her day started, she made her way to her office, ditching her jacket in favor of one of the cups of coffee she’d brought to share with Daniel. He stayed much longer than fifteen minutes the day before, not that she cared. The boy had been walking dead for the last three or so days, so she was happy to let him sleep. When he finally woke up about four hours later, he’d apologized profusely, despite her telling him that it was perfectly fine. After another thirty minutes she’d finally convinced him to go home and get some rest and, even then, he didn’t want to leave. Claire found herself smiling as she remembered his faux pout and the show he put on for her neighbors, threatening to chain himself to her porch if she didn’t let him stay. She wondered, as she sat behind her desk, was her unusual happiness that morning…because of him? 

    “What am I doing?” she asked herself aloud, an idle hand playing with lid of her cup. This was moving too fast. Her emotions were a rollercoaster, shifting violently from wanting to push him away and exploring the way he made her feel. The gentle warmth that spread through her whenever he was near. It had only been a few days, and despite these new feelings, nothing had really changed. Daniel was still her student. She was still a Professor at St. Lucia’s. But, why did that thought make her a lot sadder than it had before? From the very beginning she knew that they could never be anything more than just casual acquaintances, really. But the more time she spent with him, the more she began to wonder. The more she allowed her mind to play and believe, to fantasize about another life where they would be free to explore what developed so naturally between them. But, as she tried to remind herself, this was reality. And in reality, Daniel could be nothing more than a passing curiosity. And that’s what stung the most.

 Claire placed her cup on the desk and got to her feet. She needed to be doing something, anything that would get him off of her mind so she could concentrate. Resigning to get a jump start on her work, she grabbed her keys and headed back outside. In her rush to get to her office before their coffee cooled she’d forgotten her briefcase in the backseat of her beat-up hatchback. She’d grab it and start working on her lesson plan for the week, a task she’d abandoned when she’d met Daniel for dinner. 

    As she cleared the front doors and came to stand on the stairs, she stopped in her tracks. On the sidewalk that connected St. Agnus to the rest of the campus, was Daniel. And Lauren Webb. Her beautiful face was flushed red, her hands gripping the front of his jacket tightly. Daniel remained unresponsive, but the tension and pain in his brow spoke volumes. She wanted to open and speak, to greet her students with a bright “good morning” and carry on past them without giving it a second thought. But the longer she stood there in silence, the more she felt as if she would be interrupting a private moment. 

    “I don’t have time for this, Lauren. Not today,” he said, his voice like rolling thunder as venom slipped from his tongue. Claire found it distinctive, even as their conversation fell to a whisper. But, why did he sound so angry? Lauren was shaking her head before he could finish.    

      “You can’t keep running away from this. I mean, how can you just ignore me?”

    “Because you’re a nutcase,” he scoffed. “You’ve been following me around, borderline stalking me, for the last two months. Honestly, it’s starting to get a bit out of hand.”

    “So what if I am? All I want is for you to talk to me, Daniel. What did I do wrong?” she asked, her eyes b with tears. “I told you I can change. I can be whatever you need me to be.”

    “Stop it. You’re making a fool of yourself,” he growled, pulling sharply away, only to be pulled back. “You don’t have to be anyone other than you, Lauren. I wish you and every other girl on this stupid campus would realize that. I don’t want to change any of you. I just want to be left alone.” His tone softened and her look changed to one of utter desperation. 

    “Then lets stop this. Lets just start over. From the beginning.” Her hands tightened in his jacket, holding him in place when he tried to walk off. What on earth was going on? Had they broken up? Were they getting back together? Before Claire could force herself to turn away and return to her classroom, Lauren reached for him, pulling his head down to meet her own. The instant their lips connected she felt her world collapse. Her keys fell from her hand, clattering loudly against the linoleum floor and the couple broke away, Daniel’s eyes instantly finding hers. He looked just as shocked as she felt. 

    “I’m…sorry,” she managed to blurt out before turning on her heels and bolting back inside. 

    Daniel cursed under his breath as he watched her run. Lauren gave him a confused look.

    “What was that about?” she asked as she scrubbed the tears from her face. He’d never been angrier in his life. After all the times he’d told the stupid undergrad that he wanted nothing to do with her, she chose now to go and kiss him? He was on his way inside when she’d grabbed him, interrupting the mantra he had planned for his Professor. He was going to demand that she abandon her morning classes and have breakfast with him, just so he could spend a little extra time in her presence before he had to start his day. Had he not stopped when she’d begged him to, this never would have happened. Ever the gentleman, Daniel sighed, grabbing her shoulders and giving her a hard look. His eyes turned, swirling with an electric blue light, holding her gaze riveted to his own. 

    “I didn’t want to do this,” he said, slipping into her mind and rewiring her thoughts with practiced ease. “You hate me. Every time you see my face it makes you want to vomit,” he ordered as he released her. She blinked up at him as he relinquished control. His words were as soft as a whisper, but cut through her brain synapses like a surgeons scalpel. The instant she recognized him, rage filled her eyes and she sneered. 

“What the hell do you want?” she spat. Daniel didn’t reply as he turned and took the stairs two at a time, pausing only to retrieve Claire’s keys.