I knew it was Sloane that walked into the school on Monday morning.  I had no idea where Anton had gone and I had no way to contact him.  Part of me wanted to talk with Sloane to try and repair what damage had been done, but I wasn’t brave enough to do that without talking to Anton first.  All of the teachers were worked up in the morning hours because the school board was supposed to be visiting.  It was an unannounced visit, but someone downtown had let a couple of the teachers know it was coming.  Based on what I had overheard, it was Braden’s father that organized the visit.  I hoped Sloane would stand up to Mr. Steele because I really didn’t want everything Anton had done to be erased so easily. 

When word spread that Mr. Steele had left in a huff of anger with Braden on his heels—and that Mr. Thorne was still there—I hoped things had went well.  I drifted aimlessly down the hallway after my second class, barely even acknowledging Amy by the lockers.  As I walked by the janitor’s closet, the door opened and a hand grabbed me.  It pulled me into the darkness before I could react.

“Let me go!  Help!”  I started to scream, but a hand clamped over my mouth.

“Is that any way to greet me?”  Anton’s voice rang out and then the light came on.  He put his finger to his lips to shush me before releasing his grip on my mouth.

“Anton!  Oh my god!”  I jumped at him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I missed you too.”  He squeezed me tight and our lips immediately met.

It was impossible to get tired of Anton’s kiss.  It was a lit match against my skin, just like his hands seared my flesh with a single touch.  I melted against him as he ravaged my mouth with his tongue the way he had so many times before.  It felt like an eternity since I had been in his arms, even though it had been only one full day.  My body quivered with the desire his lips sent through me.  I wanted more than just a kiss, but I heard the bell ring for my next class.  I had to pull away with his intense stare focused on me.  I was torn between obligation and desire—I gave in to desire again.  My pulled him close and wrapped my arms around his neck.  I hopped up and he caught my thighs, which allowed me to wrap my legs around his waist.  My hips started to grind against him.  I wanted him inside me.  I wanted to feel the passion I knew that he had for me, but after he devoured my lips again, he pulled away.

“You have to get to class.”  He released his grip on my thighs and let me fall back to my feet.

“I don’t want to go to class.  Where have you been?”  I shook my head quickly.

“My brother kicked me out, but I needed to see you again.”  He pulled away.  “He’s really pissed off, and I guess I do understand why.”

“Do you regret it?”  I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Not all.  I’ll never regret what we did, but we’re not going to see each other every day like we’ve been doing.  Hopefully my brother doesn’t realize I’m on the payroll here as a janitor until I get my first check.  After that, I’ve got to try and find somewhere to live.”  He sighed and shook his head.  “It’ll take time...”

“I’ll wait, I swear I will.”  A smile spread across my face.  “Just tell me there’s hope and I’ll hold onto that.”

“I’ll find a way for us to be together—it just isn’t today.  You need to stay focused on school and you need to work on graduating.”  He stepped forward and squeezed my ass.  “Otherwise I’ll have to put you over my knee again and give you some motivation.”

“I might need some motivation right now.”  I pulled my skirt up until his hand was resting on my panties.

“Get to class.”  His hand came down sharply on my panties and then he pushed me towards the door.

***

I DIDN’T LIKE KNOWING that things were fucked up between Anton and his brother.  I sensed from the conversations I had with Anton that they were always tense, but I couldn’t help feeling like the latest chapter was my fault.  If I never went to his house, the secret would have stayed buried out of his sight where it needed to be.  I went through the motions of the day, doing my best to pay attention, but it was fairly clear that I wasn’t going to be able to focus with things in disarray.  I didn’t see Anton the rest of the day, nor did I see him the following day.  By Wednesday, my heart was aching, but I was doing my best to focus on school. 

The school was slowly falling out of sorts with Anton gone.  The punishments weren’t nearly as severe and students were already talking about things feeling like the old days.  The classes started to get more chaotic, with distractions that made my attempt at learning difficult.  At the end of the day, I decided to go see Sloane for the first time since I left his house.  I had been forced to pass him in the hall a few times, but I always kept my head down and didn’t look his way.  Luckily, he showed me the same courtesy.

“Mr. Thorne...”  I lightly knocked on his door.

“Yes?”  He lifted his head and his face immediately soured.  “Oh, it’s you.”

“Can we talk?”  I walked into the office and sat down before he could respond.

“I don’t need you coming in here to plead Anton’s case for him.  I heard everything he had to say when he left.”  He leaned back in his chair.

“I care about your brother.  I know that may be hard for you to hear and I know you don’t have a very high opinion of me, but he really did change me.  Why don’t you pull up my grades from the last couple of weeks and take a look.”  I motioned to the computer.

“I’ve seen your grades—I know you’re only passing one class.”  He waved me off.

“Just look, please?”  I motioned to the computer again.

“Fine.”  He leaned over and tapped the keys.  A few seconds later his eyebrows raised in surprise.  “So, you’re cheating finally?  You stopped caring about failing grades and now you’re just cheating—great.”

“I’m not cheating.  I’m working my ass off for those grades.  It’s going to take a lot more work to get where I want to be, but I plan on graduating this year.”  I held my voice firm, even if I was annoyed by the accusation.

“You’re serious about that.”  He turned away from the computer and looked at me.

“I am.  Mr. Thorne, I’m really sorry about the things I did to you.  I know I was a total bitch and don’t even deserve to be at this school after the way I treated you, but I am genuinely sorry.”  I twisted my face into a look of remorse and it was authentic as my words.

“You’ve never struck me as the type to grovel.”  His tone eased up and he tilted his head.  “Maybe someone like you can change after all.”

“Could I accompany this grovel with a request?”  I was apprehensive to ask, but I felt like I did need to do it.

“If you just told me all of that so you could beg me to reconsider what I did to Anton...”  His tone got more intense and a hint of anger rose up against his lips.

“No.”  I shook my head back and forth.  “I would like for you to tutor me.”

“Tutor you?”  He laughed and his eyebrows raised.  “What the hell?”

“I do need help.  I’m working my ass off to get the grades I’m getting, but I’m so far behind.  I would ask one of the teachers, but I don’t think they’re quite ready to forgive me yet.  I want you to see that I’m serious about this firsthand.  I promise that I’ll work hard and I’ll do anything you say.  I just want to have a real shot at graduating.”  I laid the proposal on the table with my plea, hoping he would agree.

“You know what—fine.”  He nodded and shrugged.  “I was a teacher long before I was a principal and if you’re serious about trying to turn this around—you may be the only student here that gives a shit.  I’m warning you though—if this is another one of your fucking pranks...”

“It isn’t.  I promise.”  I smiled and shook my head.  “I really do need help and it wasn’t like I could ever ask Anton for it.”

“That’s true.”  He chuckled and nodded.  “Okay, I guess I’ll see you here tomorrow afternoon.”

***

THERE WAS MORE TO MY request than tutoring.  It was a foot in the door, but I also wanted to try and help Sloane.  He hadn’t been there to see what Anton did to turn the school around and it was clear that all of Anton’s work was going to be wasted if something didn’t change.  If there was a way that I could get the tutoring I needed and try to drop hints about what he should be doing, then it could be a win for the both of us.  I hoped it would somehow help to repair the damage between Anton and Sloane as well.  If I could show him that I genuinely cared about his brother, he might just understand there was more than just chemistry between us.  I knew it wouldn’t be the first topic of conversation, but it would have to come up at some point. 

I left school with a smile on my face—for the first time without having Anton’s lips on mine before I went home.  I dodged dinner when I got home and went right up to my room with my books spread around me in a matter of minutes.  I was already behind on several midterm papers and regardless of how well I did on the tests, those were going to ultimately decide my fate.