The Payne Of Love

It was already 1:45pm.

She looked at him again, and smiled a little.

"Forgive me for asking, and forgive me if Im wrong." He said quietly.

She stared at him.

"Do you have a crush on me, Aislinn?"

She was shocked. To her friends it was obvious but to him? Damn.

"Theres.. nothing wrong with a harmless crush on a teacher.. is there?"

She bit her lip.

"I suppose not." He smiled.

\'You smug bastard. You knew all along.\' She cursed him in her mind.

"It doesn\'t.. freak you out, does it?" She asked him.

"No, not really. I mean, its not like you\'re twelve."

"Yeah.." She didnt know what the hell that meant, but she ignored it.

The bell rang for the beginning of registration, she stood slowly, gripping her head.

"Careful" he warned.

She took a sip from the tea, and smiled slightly.

"You know, you have a really beautiful smile."

She almost spat her tea out, she swallowed and muttered "Thanks."

She was quite used to it actually, being told she had a nice smile, especially from teachers.

There was this guy who used to teach them basketball in year ten.

He had told her she had a really nice smile.

He had also held on her hands and stood behind her trying to \'help her guide the ball into the net\'

Yeah, he was a creep. Thats what she thought, anyway.

She pushed the stool back under the desk,

"Um.. I better get to registration.. " She looked down, and tried to hide her dissappointment in leaving, "Thanks, for, you know the tea and the chat and everything.."

"No problem." He put his hand under her chin, and tilted her face, she thought he was going to kiss him, he then turned it to the side, "Doesnt look like its been bleeding anymore, should be fine."

\'Damn you.\' she thought.

He stepped out of her way to let her pass, she walked past him, somewhat daintily while she tried not to faint from the dizzyness she was feeling. She got to the arch when he called her.

"You can come talk to me whenever you want. Im here most days. Except Mondays."

She nodded at him and walked through the fabrics dept. Unsure of what to do with herself.

"Jesus Christ what happened to you?!" Michael asked as she sat at her registration desk.

"Nothing.. " She mumbled. She figured Emmy hadnt gone after him afterall. She didnt know why, nor did she care.



"I think his name is Ray"

"Shut up."

"What?"

"Its not Ray."

"Why not?"

"Fucking hell, Ray Payne. Just. No."

"Well I know someone called Ray Payne."

She just stared at him.

This conversation had been going on for half an hour.

"Miss Bruce, What\'s Mr Payne\'s first name?" Tanya called out to one of their art teachers.

Brucey hesistated for a second as she always did with questions.

"Steve, I think."

Aislinn wanted to throttle Tanya.

"You... Argh." She glared playfully at her and then took the piss out of Michael. "Fucking Ray. Please." To make it seem as though that were the only reason Miss Bruce had been asked in the first place.

"You\'ve gone bright red" Tanya grinned stupidly at her.

"Shut up!" The laughter didnt help get rid of the flush. She ran out of the room to calm down. Being around those two wouldnt help her for the time being.

She went back in. "I\'m going to get some acrylic,"

"Why?"

"To carve into." She lied.

"Kay."

She went through Mr Thomas\' room and into the back workshop, over to the closet in the corner, where the acrylic scraps were stored, there was no one in the classroom or workshop so she figured he wouldnt be here.

She dug around for the hardest to find acrylic: Transparent.

She found some blue, and quite a lot of black.

"What do you need?"

"JESUS!" She jumped, and swacked her head on the metal cupborad door, "Dont do that! Owww..."

"Sorry." he smiled and sort of put his fingers lightly over the bandaged cut, in a healing way, it bloody worked, too.

She looked up at him sheepishly.

"Oh, you um, know. Some acrylic."

He just laughed at her. "Well.. take your pick."

"Im looking for some thick transparent acrylic."

"Ahh, I see." He smiled again.

\'Knock it off you big tease.\' She thought.

He pulled the metal door of the closet ajar so he could step in, she stepped back a little to make room, and he started looking through the box. She watched his hands as they worked, and almost imagined them, working on herself.

He stopped searching and looked down at her, "I cant find any either." He said.

She smiled, "It doesnt matter."

With that, fairly out of the blue, he placed one hand on her cheek.

Her eyes widened with a kind of fear. What the fuck.

He rubbed it lightly with his thumb.

\'Stop it, you bastard. Right now. This is basically a cruel kind of torture\' She thought angrily, but God did it feel good. Was she supposed to react? Would it freak him out if she did?

Before she had time to, his gentle lips were pressed to hers.

She was afraid, turned on and exploding in her chest, all at the same time. It was a kind of euphoric adrenaline rush, she kissed back a little, he held both his hands to her face, and kissed her a little deeper, she kept her hands by her side, not feeling she had the authority to touch him back.

"Jesus Christ Steve!" A familiar voice hissed. "I know you like the girl, but imagine if it was someone other than me walking in."

She jumped back from Steven Payne, his hand dropped, and held hers, as he talked to Mr Elliot.

He almost gulped.

"I.. " He couldn\'t find the words to say.

Wait. \'I know you like the girl\' the words played back in her head. \'He.. likes me?\'