Breaking the Rules (Alona)

Alona raised her eyes again and looked at him. There was something in his eyes that she didn't understand, it made her confused. "What?" she asked.

Andy bit his lip, shaking his head. He wanted to tell her, wanted to see how she'd react, but he feared that she'd react badly. "It's...It's nothing." He gave a sigh.

Alona was surprised and confused at his words and gestures as well. "Come on," she said, giving him a small smile. "You can tell me."

Andy gave a deep sigh, looking into her eyes as confusion and uncertainty danced through his own. "Ok," he said finally after a small silence. "I know this is wrong, on so many levels. But... I like you, Alona..." he said softly.

Alona's eyes widened a bit as she heard that. She looked at him, swallowing hard. This was not right; it was against the rules, and she had always respected the rules. Well, most of the time. "What?" was all she was able to say.

Andy swallowed the lump in his throat, biting his lip. He so wasn't used to this; he was always so calm and confident and now... "I like you," he repeated, just as soft but firm, as if his mind was made up to tell her the truth. "And you can tell me to go to hell, or whatever, but that's the truth of the matter, and I thought you should know," he added, now looking away.

Yeah, by her shocked reaction, he was pretty sure he'd royally screwed things up with his favourite student. It'd now be all awkward and weird in class, which he'd regret. But he couldn't keep lying any longer.

Alona's eyes were wide and her lips were parted and trembling. She didn't know what to say about this. She liked him a lot, but she couldn't say it. He was her teacher, she was his student. This was not right.
She shook her head and got up from the ground. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, looking down. She didn't know what to say, what to do. She glanced at him for a second, before turning around and walking away. This was too much for her.

Andy watched her go, regret in his eyes. Why couldn't he have just kept his big mouth shut. "Alona!" he called out at her retreating back, standing up himself. "Look, just forget it. I spoke out of turn, when I shouldn't have. Seriously, forget I said anything," he asked of her, eyes pleading. Then with a sigh, he turned and began to head off.

Alona stopped when she heard Mr.O'Hara's words. She crossed her arms over her chest, but didn't turn around just yet. It wouldn't have been any problem if she didn't like him back. He was her teacher, they couldn't do it. She heard him sighing and starting heading off. She turned around slowly and looked at him, her eyes wide and her lips parted and trembling.
"Just... give me a moment," she spoke. She needed to think about this and sort things out. She then turned around and walked away.

Her words made him turn, made him just stand there silently, not really knowing what to do or say. "Say the word and I'll back off. Say it and I'll pretend it never happened," he told her, his voice soft, resignation creeping into it. And then she was off, heading away from him. He watched her retreating figure for a moment, then with a sigh headed to his car. Yeah, he'd screwed it up. But at least she knew now. And the ball was now in her court.

Alona listened to his words. This was so, so wrong. He was her teacher, sometimes also her football coach, because he had taught her many things she wouldn't have even thought of. But what was happening at the moment was awkward and wrong. She shook her head and just turned around and walked away. She needed to think, she needed some time for herself. She went to grab his backpack and go home, taking a deep breath. There were some things she just couldn't do...

Lying on the couch, Andy wondered just how long he'd been lying there, mindlessly channel-surfing without ever watching anything. Checking his watch, he groaned. A whole afternoon, wasted. And all because he'd spent the evening worrying about what was going to happen with Alona. Ruefully, he switched channels, not even seeing the programme on the screen.

Alona had gone at home and eaten a whole bowl of ice-cream. She didn't know a better way of figuring out the best alternative. Though she finally decided to let her heart act for her. It was something she had never done before. She jumped in a blue pair of skinny jeans and a form-fitting black shirt and headed towards O'Hara's house. She knew how wrong all this was, but she had to work this out, along with him.

With a sigh, Andy finally pulled himself off the couch. Heading into the kitchen he checked the fridge, then shut the door with a slam. Nothing appealing in there. This only meant one thing: pizza time. Pizza, and maybe vodka for later.

Soon enough, Alona found herself in front of her teacher's door. What exactly was she doing? What was she hoping from this visit? She had no idea. She took a deep breath and passed a hand through her blonde hair, before finally taking the courage to knock.

Well, that was brilliant pizza service: instantaneous and psychic, Andy thought, heading to open the door. Whoever he'd been thinking that it was, he wasn't expecting this.
"Alona... Um, come in," he gestured inside, confusion flitting through his eyes.

Alona swallowed and looked up at O'Hara when he opened the door. He had never been at his house before, and she wouldn't have been here now, if it hadn't been about what had happened earlier. She took a deep breath and nodded slightly.
"Thanks," she said, as she stepped inside. She didn't even know what she wanted out of this sudden visit...

Closing the door behind her, he gestured around. "Make yourself at home. You want anything? Water, juice?" he was flailing and he knew it. But he didn't know what to say that wouldn't make things more awkward than they already were.

Alona took a deep breath and folded her arms over her chest, slightly raising her shoulders. "No, thank you," she said, not moving though. There were some things that needed to be said, and needed to be said like that, when they were all by themselves at one of them's house.

"Although your company's always nice, you didn't come here to talk about uni, did you? This afternoon's still bothering you, isn't it?" he asked, perching himself on the edge of the couch armrest.

Alona remained at the entrance, and followed him with her eyes as he went to perch on the armrest of the couch. She looked down when he asked that and swallowed hard. This was not easy... It was unexpected that abnormal.
"I, umm..." she started, then swallowed again, still looking down. "I've thought about it and there is one problem," she said and raised her eyes to look at him. "I like you too," she admitted. "And this is so, so wrong..."

Andy blinked, stunned. Did he really just hear right? She liked him back. He opened his mouth to speak, but the first word came out as a croak. Clearing his throat and taking a deep breath, he replied, "Yeah, it is. Because I'm your teacher and you're my student, and that shouldn't happen..." He gave a soft sign, giving a rueful smile as he watched her. "So...where to from here?" He didn't want to push things. Though it was rather wonderful news, just because she liked him didn't necessarily mean that she'd want to be with him.

Alona stood still, no muscle in her body moving. She wanted him to speak, she wanted him to make the first move. Because he was, after all, the teacher, and she was just a student. She listened to his words and nodded slowly, swallowing a little. In all honesty, she wanted it to happen, but she couldn't take the courage to be the first one to make a move. At his question, she blinked and shrugged softly, lowering her eyes. "I don't know..." she said quietly. She wanted more, but she couldn't get herself to start it.

Letting out the breath that he hadn't even been aware that he was holding, Andy slowly came up to her. For a moment he just looked at her, deciding whether he dared cross this boundary. "Feel free to slap me for this," he told her softly, gently brushing a lock of hair from her eyes. Next moment his lips were on hers, kissing her gently.

Alona stared down at her sneakers when he started coming up to her. She had no idea what he was going to do; maybe he was even going to kick her out for coming to her teacher's house. As he stopped in front of her, she slowly raised her eyes and looked into his gorgeous ones. His words were so sweet and soft, though she didn't know what they meant.
When he pressed his lips over her, her body tensed a little, but then she relaxed. This was so wrong, but she liked it so much. Her fingers brushed the side of his neck as she kissed back, just as gently.