Teacher's Pet (20 page)

Can I borrow a tampon
?

Lynn stared at the curling letters. She would recognize that handwriting
anywhere
. It was the same handwriting as the note in her flowers. But that wasn’t what sat her back on her heels. It was another realization that nearly knocked her out of her chair.

Oh, god. How could she not see this before? Clearly, Aria knew about them and used that as leverage to get in Matthew’s pants! She was flirting with him from the first day of school. She was basically naked in her audition for the musical. The way she threw herself at him, and he avoided her on stage. Oh god, she’d blackmailed him for weeks.

He’d tried to tell her, in his own way, but she’d been too thick to put the pieces together until now.

Lynn kept her actress mask on and leaned over to whisper, “I’ll go with you.” She grabbed her purse and walked out of the classroom, with Aria right behind her.

“Uh, ladies?” Matthew said before Lynn got out of the classroom. “Can I help you?”

“No.” Lynn replied, not looking at him. She didn’t trust herself to. Aria may be blackmailing him, and she would very shortly be handled, but he was also still fucking going through with it and fucking her enemy. This revelation didn’t get him off the hook.

They said nothing as they walked down the hall, past Dana’s classroom, where she nearly fell out of her chair watching the two of them walk together. Lynn spent the time determining how exactly she wanted to destroy Aria. Smash her head in a sink? Flush her down the toilet? Throw her out the window?

Hot damn, she wished she really was violent. Besides that one time in Manhattan where her boyfriend-thing called her the wrong goddamn name. Instead, she knew she was going to get answers, pretend she knew nothing, and then tell Matthew to fucking forget her, because Lynn was not going to be tangled up in Aria’s web of bullshit.

Maybe she’d be able to channel that anger again and really throw her out the window. That wouldn’t be so terrible.

Her heart hurt knowing these were the last few moments she and Matthew would be together, even if right now things were shaky. Lynn felt awful and sick all at once. They were both being played by this bratty, cunty bitch. Knowing it was her for certain was worse than she expected it to be.

She slipped the bracelet into her pocket and put her mask back on as they pushed through the swing doors. At this point, it was clear Aria didn’t need a tampon. And if she was going to try and blackmail Lynn, too, she had every intention of punching her in the brand new goddamn nose.

“So.” Lynn’s voice shook slightly for the turmoil warring within her. She closed her eyes. “Is there something we need to discuss?”

Punching her in the nose, while it would feel amazing, wouldn’t help her situation. How could she turn this around on Aria without taking Matthew down? She could deny, but since she actually was sleeping with Matthew, it exposed his guilt and hers by proxy. Then again, now that Aria was sleeping with him, it put them in the same boat, right? There had to be a way to turn this on her.

“Oh my god.” Aria sighed dramatically, hand on her forehead. Hand attached to the bracelet Matthew obviously gave her. Lynn rubbed her now bare wrist. “Yes. And it’s so awful. I know we are professional rivals, though that gap is clearly widening, what with my professional auditions over the break—”

“Aria.” Lynn snapped. Despite what was going on, she couldn’t handle her mouth.

Aria huffed. “It’s time for us to unite as one in the name of good. Mr. Flint has been keeping a very big secret.”

Lynn felt dizzy and angry. Big secret, right. THAT HE’S SLEEPING WITH YOU. She shook under the screaming her in head, and was about to lash out, when—

“Did you know we share an agent?”

Lynn snapped her jaw shut and shook her head.

“Well, we totally do. Just before
Romeo and Juliet
, Sam told me that our own Mr. Flint has been going to auditions in the City every weekend. Can you believe that?! It’s been going on for months, he said.”

“I…” Lynn didn’t know what to say.

“Right! So, on opening night, I sent Mr. Flint a note telling him that I knew everything, assuming he would get the hint and quit auditioning. He didn’t. Over Christmas, I actually ran into him at a closed audition. How can he commit to us, his prized and most important pupils, when his heart and thoughts are on his own career?”

“I…”

“It’s despicable!” Aria flushed red. “I can’t believe him. He lied to us, you know that, right? He said he was here to teach and grow us, but he’s been hunting for something new ever since the first day of school. We don’t mean anything to him! We’re just a paycheck. But we need to come together to not let that happen.”

“Despicable.” Lynn found herself nodded. “Absolutely, yes.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page. I need you to help me approach him after school about this nonsense. I am not going to have my career jeopardized just because he’s unhappy with his acting career. Unacceptable!”

“Unacceptable.”

“We will meet in his room after school today.” Aria pointed at her. “Be strong and look past his good looks, Viggiani. He won’t win this one.”

“Absolutely.” Lynn struggled to process everything. So, Aria didn’t know about them? And he didn’t sleep with her? “Hey, that’s a really pretty bracelet—”

“Oh, thank you!” Aria waved her arm around. “Sam gave it to me for Christmas. He’s just the sweetest agent ever.”

“Wow, yeah.”

“Today, after school. Don’t miss it.” Aria pointed at her again.

For once, Lynn didn’t really care. As soon as Aria closed the door, Lynn laughed and cried until she couldn’t breathe. Aria had no idea. Matthew wasn’t cheating on her. No one knew. They were free.

S
he had absolutely
zero intention of meeting Aria after school, and every intention of cornering Matthew to discuss the giant bomb that went off in the bathroom. Unfortunately, when Aria Levens was on a mission, she didn’t derail.

“Unless we can distract her.” Dana whispered conspiratorially over their lunches. “There’s always playing to her ego, right? But that would have to be huge, because she apparently thinks Matthew’s only job in life is to revolve around her.”

“Because she’s fucking insane.”

“But she’s also not fucking your man.”

Lynn grinned. Matthew was all hers, no matter how hard Aria tried. Never would she have guessed a joint restroom break with her mortal enemy would result in such amazing and stress-killing news. “I always knew he was loyal to me.”

Dana cocked an eyebrow clear into her bangs, but pulled out a notebook and flipped to a clean sheet of paper. “We know we can’t lure her with stupid shit. She’s on a mission, and someone fanning all over her just won’t cut it.”

“Also, ew.”

“But if we caused damage …”

They both brightened at the same time, huge, beaming smiles full of excitement and pure malice. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say those words, D. Tell me you have something magical and terrible saved up for her. I know she’s not sleeping with Matthew, but she’s still fucking Aria.”

“Fucking Aria who bragged all day about an audition for a role she didn’t even land. That girl has some serious ovaries.”

“Or an ego the size of New York.”

“Truth. Okay.” Dana started making a few notes. “Now, let me know if this is too extreme, but I’m thinking we get her car towed.”

“You are my favorite human being. How do we do that?”

“Oliver knows a guy.”

“Oliver is the BEST.”

“Oh, girl, you don’t even
know
.” Dana tapped her nose. “You’ve been so far up Kirk’s ass, you’ve missed half the good stuff. Which I’m still mad at you for, just bee-tee-dubs.”

Lynn hid her face in her hands. “I know! I’m sorry! I’m the worst friend in existence. But after today, I promise, I’m all yours. When I’m not with Kirk.”

Dana harrumphed, but happily continued her notes for Operation Kill Mercedes. Lynn wasn’t completely clear on the details, but knew it would involve something with Aria’s stupid car and a tow-away zone.

“The beautiful thing is,” Dana talked around a carrot stick dangling from her mouth. “She usually parks somewhere she’s not supposed to already because she thinks she owns the whole school. If she’s where I think she is, this is really just going to take a few phone calls. But, if she decided to be a decent human being today or someone took her spot or whatever, we’ve still got it covered. You’ll have Kirk all to yourself.”

“Hopefully, this means out-of-this-world sex, too.” Lynn winked at her. It had been weeks since they actually had
sex
, and she was going crazy. Now that his name was cleared, her sex drive was working overtime. Sex in the classroom would be really, really hot. Also really, really dangerous, but a girl could dream.

There was still that whole business of him calling her the wrong name. There was also the tiny fact he’d left out all talk of auditioning in their talks. But seeing as she’d been basically ignoring him for weeks, Lynn didn’t think she could stay too mad at him.

The poor guy sounded positively overloaded, and the bags under his eyes in class backed it all up. Matthew was working hard for her, and she could forgive him this once.

Waiting for the end of the day was torturous. Aria continued bragging about her auditions in the two other classes they shared, and to whomever would listen in the middle of the hallways. Lynn couldn’t get away from it.

Please
, she begged the sky.
Please let them wreck her car
.

She wasn’t ready to embrace Aria as a theatrical equal just because she wasn’t blackmailing her sex life or fucking her boyfriend; they were never going to be best friends. So, let Aria eat a bit of humble pie while Lynn (hopefully) patched things up with her boyfriend-thing and stole away for another afternoon romp in an obscure or maybe not-so-obscure park.

But first, they had a lot to talk about. She knew she owed him the biggest apology in history. After thinking he was screwing around behind her back, she was less than kind to him. That apology was going to be rough. Her parents were the kind of people who made sweeping assumptions and held them against their loved ones, not her. She could argue it was the way she was raised, but Lynn wanted to be better than them.

She had treated Matthew no differently than her mom treated her father, or vice versa.

He also owed her an apology, too, though. Lying by omission was still lying. A relationship was supposed be about the mutual sharing of goals and plans and dreams. He knew all of hers and kept his quiet. That hurt, a lot. Their foundation needed to be built on complete honesty, especially if they were going to have to continue on with such a severe degree of secrecy.

Only one semester left until they were free from the ridiculous titles that bound them to the shadows. It was time to have a candid conversation about what they wanted and needed from one another. This time, though, she wasn’t worried. They didn’t need a fancy hotel or a grove of trees to discuss this. They just needed each other.

Aidan was waiting at her locker when the final bell sounded. Lynn pretended not to notice and dumped her books, hoping maybe he was waiting for one of her lockermates to show. Of course, he wasn’t. But she could pretend. She made it three steps before he called to her.

“Hey.” He jogged the tiny distance between them and grasped his backpack straps tightly.

“Hey, sorry.” Time for the actor mask. “I thought you were waiting for someone else.”

“Ah. No, no. Waiting for you. I wanted to apologize about that night at Cocos a few weeks ago.” Lynn pursed her lips in thought. He looked sheepish. “You know, when I asked you out, kinda, and then ran off after you said no …”

“Oh!” God, that was a nightmare. The whole damn evening. “You don’t have to apologize for that at all, Aidan. I know these sorts of situations are uncomfortable, you know, for everyone.”

AKA: Take the Hint, Aidan.

“Yes.” He scratched the back of his head. “Still, I could tell you were uncomfortable, and probably are right now, and I was sort of an ass about it. I’ve had a crush on you for years and it’s taken me this long to finally get the guts to say something. But that’s not my point.”

His ears were pink and Lynn felt bad for him. He really was a nice guy, just not her type. Also, she was currently involved in a secret relationship-shaped thing with someone incredible. Hopefully.

“I was an ass for not accepting your no right away. And I’m sorry. Thing is, you’re still crazy talented and a lot of fun to work with after school. I was just kind of hoping we could put that whole mess behind us and move on as friends.”

“That’s really nice of you.” She smiled because she meant it.

“And, just so you aren’t worried, I actually got a girlfriend over the break. So, I promise, this isn’t some secret ploy to win over your affections. I just really want to be friends.”

“That’s so exciting! Who’s the lucky girl?”

He grinned wider than she’d ever seen him grin. “Madeline West, from band. She’s one of the drum majors. We have AP Chem together.”

“Madeline is the sweetest person in the world.” Lynn high-fived him. It was still sort of awkward, but she was beginning to think that was just Aidan. “I’m so happy for you two.”

“Thanks. I don’t want to hold you up any more. But … thanks, Lynn.”

“No, thank
you
, Aidan. I’ll see you at rehearsal tonight?”

“Here’s hoping Aria has gotten tired of the story about her auditions by them.”

They waved and parted ways and Lynn felt remarkably lighter than she had in months. It was great to know the people around her weren’t sabotaging assholes, and that she still had friends. Things weren’t as terrible as they seemed.

Matthew wasn’t in his classroom when she got there. She peeked in his office and found his messenger bag, so she decided to wait for him. It bought her more time to rehearse her apology, which, so far, was going atrociously.

She wanted to apologize for being an asshole, truly. Needed to. She just wasn’t used to having to do it. Or to being an asshole. Their roller coaster of a relationship had spun her so backwards and upside down, she found herself doing things and acting in ways she never wanted.

For example, throwing a bible at the head of the man whose dick she had just sucked. Not exactly her finest moment, no matter how intensely he deserved it at that particular moment. Should she lead off with that?

“
Sorry I hurled the Lord’s word at your face after I gave you an excellent blow job and you called me another girl’s name. You totally deserved it, but I now understand you were really stressed.
”

Not exactly the best way to start that. Lynn rubbed her face. This was going to be painful. How was this so easy for everyone else, but impossible for her? Was she really that broken? She wanted to bash her head against the wall.

“Humble pie,” she told herself. “Eat the shit grandma always tells you to. Just say you’re sorry for being a bitch. Don’t be Aria.”

Well, that was effective enough. The mere thought made her shudder. Aria didn’t care. She did. And it was time to prove it.

Lynn paced around his classroom, growing more anxious as the time passed. Much longer, and she might lose her nerve. Like magic, he appeared in his door.

“I wanted to—“

He picked her up and spun her in circles. Lynn laughed and clung to him, but fought his grip to land back on her own two feet.

“What are you doing?” She hissed and swatted at him. “We can’t do this here!”

“I can do whatever I want.” He kissed her nose. “I can pick you up and hug you and love you forever. I can and I will. Forever. Remember the promise we made? Forever.”

Butterflies and bubbles and a mess of other winged things tickled her stomach and her veins. “What are you talking about?”

He swung her around again.

“Matthew!” She squealed. “We need to talk! Seriously. Like, have a serious talk. It’s important.”

“Ah.” He sat her down on his desk and rubbed his hands together. “Yes. You are absolutely right. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Yes. And I’ve been thinking—“

“Great. Me first. Guess what I just did. No, you won’t guess. I’ll just tell you what I did. Ready?” He looked and sounded like a child. Lynn shrugged once, because it was all she could do. He had to be high on something. “I put in my two weeks’ notice! I guess your boyfriend did make an impression on ol’ Director Lewis, because Viv, you remember Viv, the stage manager from that terrible and incredible audition we did together, well Viv called me just before Christmas break with an offer to a closed audition for a new play by Greg Ficcus!”

Lynn squealed like a child and clapped her hands. She didn’t care. This was fucking amazing news. “Are you serious??”

“Yes! I didn’t want to get your hopes up or my hopes up or anyone’s hopes up, so I lied to you about it when we met in Manhattan and I was so torn up by lying I fucked the whole evening up and I just really hope you can forgive me, because Lynn. My sweet Lynn. The Lynn by my side. My Juliet, my Vivian Ward, my love most intense … I’m going to Broadway! They called me this afternoon during my lunch break and I got the part. I got the part!”

Lynn threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. He spun her around in circles again, and they laughed and cheered and high-fived. “That’s incredible. Matthew, I’m so proud of you! You did it! You made the big stage!”

“That’s not even the best part! Okay, that is basically the best part, but only just inching out this—we can finally, finally be together. Two more weeks and I’m not a teacher anymore. I’d quit tomorrow if I didn’t want to leave you guys in the cold. I told Mr. Richter that I would be more than happy to continue directing
Spring Awakening
after hours, but that my time was done, because I have to prepare for my own rehearsals. And that means, my sweet, amazing, perfect girl, nothing can stop us from being together ever again. Never.”

“No more hiding?”

“No more hiding.”

“What about for the next two weeks?”

“Well, let’s not make a huge scene. I am a professional. But I’m also head over heels for you and never want to have to sneak around to be with you again. Can you believe it?”

“Oh, Matthew, this is so freaking amazing!”

He pulled her into his office and sat her on his desk to kiss her, hard. The weeks they’d been apart melted as soon as their lips touched, and they were right back to the days when all that mattered was the two of them. And it was perfect.

“Wait!” Lynn pushed his head up off her shoulder. “It’s my turn!”

“I think your turn can wait,” he bit her lip. “Because we have some celebrating to do.”

The space between her legs went damp, but she took a deep breath. “This is important. I have to apologize.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I have
everything
to apologize for. I accused you of cheating and threw a bible at your head and ignored your messages. I considered getting a voodoo doll in your likeness, I was so angry. I had no idea that you shared an agent with Aria. It was her who wrote the notes … because she wanted you to stop auditioning.”

“Not because of us?”

“Not because of us. She has no idea. She just wanted you to sacrifice your Broadway aspirations to remain our director. And that doesn’t matter! I should have trusted you. I want us to trust each other from now on, Matthew. That’s what real relationships are made of. I don’t want us to just fuck in the quiet, I want us to really mean something to each other.”

“I absolutely agree.” He framed her face with his hands and kissed her. “You are so wise and bright and amazing. I forgive you, and you shouldn’t worry. Do you forgive me?”

She nodded. “This has been a hell of a mess.”

“But.” Matthew sang and grinned. “It’s all ending.”