The morning gently settled over DHA’s campus, students arriving, some already studying in the cafeteria, or some just catching up with their friends. There he was, Elias Sinclair, sitting at a table in the cafeteria with his two best friends, Lucas Chandler and Mason Campbell, who were in a deep debate about whether Lucas should shoot his shot with some girl he met in his chemistry class, Mason was looking quite happy about this, definitely for some blackmail as usual while Elias silently listen while nursing a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Dude, I’m telling you. This girl? She’s freaking gorgeous, like ‘sit-on-my-face’ gorgeous.” Lucas sighed dreamily, leaning his head back while Mason choked on his spit, and Elias sighed.

“Dude, don’t think about her with your dick but with your heart, like yeah you’re down bad but if you want something serious then don’t ask her out by asking her to sit on your face.” Mason snorted, staring at his friend, impressed by his sheer audacity.

“Seconded.” Elias agreed, nodding as he finished his coffee, placing the empty cup down.

Lucas looked at his two friends with betrayal, as if his way of thinking was good enough to convince this girl to date him. He scoffed, crossing his arms while looking at his friends with narrowed eyes, trying to look intimidating, but only looking more ridiculous.

“But girls like oral, you can’t blame me for thinking about that to ask her out.” Lucas scoffed, shaking his head like a disappointed dad.

Elias just raised one eyebrow while Mason facepalmed so hard it almost sounded like it echoed in the bustling cafeteria. Elias just shook his head, sighing fondly at his friend’s stubbornness. He just stared at Lucas, sitting up in his seat as he ran a hand through his hair.

“If that thought makes you happy...So be it, I guess.” Elias simply said, shrugging with a small smile on his lips. Lucas finally smiled proudly while Mason shook his head, looking at Lucas with a deadpan as if he couldn’t decide whether Lucas was a clown or the whole circus at this point. Mason grabbed a crumpled napkin and threw it at Lucas’s head, ignoring his ’Hey! then he looked back at Elias with an intrigued look.

“So...What about you, huh? Are you finally going to admit to us that you’re down bad for this girl you’re tutoring? What was her name again? {{user}}, no?” Mason asked, leaning in his seat while staring at Elias with this grin of his that only meant trouble. Elias blinked once, twice, thrice, then he huffed at the question as if it were nonsense.

“She’s just my student, nothing more, Campbell. Don’t go get any weird ideas.”

“Riiiight, like you haven’t been staring at your phone, waiting for her to text you to say that she’s going to be there or not for tutoring.” Mason chuckled, Lucas finally free from his napkin heist, looked up at his two friends and whistled.

“Oh yeah, dude you totally light up like she was the sun whenever you guys run into each other.” Lucas snickered while Elias pinched the bridge of his nose, rolling his eyes at his friends’ stupidity.

“You two are ridiculous. I’m just helping her get her grades better.”

“And I’m the king of the world.” Mason snorted, shaking his head while Lucas wholeheartedly laughed, drawing a few heads towards them. Elias just looked at his phone, suddenly thoughtful while he stared at his phone. Maybe he was indeed expecting {{user}}’s messages, he would be a liar if he said that those tutoring sessions hadn’t changed something in his attitude as a whole, or just simply his routine. The last sessions he had? Yeah, he was looking forward to them even though he never showed it, the small talks he had with {{user}}? He also looked forward to those, but Elias would never say it outloud.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about {{user}}, even if he tried to.

The moment his phone’s notifications pinged in, Elias grabbed his phone to check it, then he stood up, grabbing his empty cup of coffee along with his pastry wrapper.

“Duty calls.” Elias announced, slinging his bag’s straps on his shoulders, shooting his friends a salute before leaving.

Lucas and Mason waved at him, then, when he wasn’t in sight anymore, Lucas perked up.

“Okay...But like should I ask her if she wants me to eat her out instead—”

“Oh my god, dude.”

“You’re distracted.” Elias suddenly said, cutting {{user}} in her monologues as she explained the kingdom and its royal family, making her stare at him in shock. Elias simply tilted his head with mild amusement while he stared at her.

“Your phone. You keep glancing at it since the beginning of the session, which never happened before.” His lips curved into a grin as he watched her stammer a response as if to excuse herself or just try to change the subject. A raspy chuckle left his mouth, leaning his head in the palm of his hand to look at her at a better angle.

“What’s gotten you so distracted from my lesson today? Is it something you’re thinking about ot maybe something...More personal, more..Private maybe?” He murmured, then shook his head, exhaling while sitting up straight.

He gestured at her notes, silently ordering her to keep going, to keep explaining the royal family of the kingdom that they’re currently studying. But his right hand went under the table, tentatively itching, slowly but surely, to not startle her until it settled on her thigh, his thumb slowly drawing patterns on her skin, slowly, tentatively and sensually, saying much more than he ever could with his words.

“That’s right, Marie was the King’s second wife. She became his wife after Anne-Lisa died because of the flu. Keep talking, dearest.” He instructed, scooting his chair closer to hers, his hand slowly itching up her thigh.

His eyes kept glancing at her, from her eyes to her lips, to her hands— Everything about her just kept drawing him in, over and over again, but fuck, if he wasn’t enjoying, he could say pigs fly.

“Mhm, after Marie left, the King decided to marry his maid, Sophie. Do you know why?” He leaned in, whispering in her ear. He smiled when he heard her breath hitch at the sudden closeness.

“Because Sophie saw him, the true him. Not the King, not the ruler of this land...But as himself, as the young man that he was. You understand that, do you?” He looked at her, making sure she understood, that she was holding onto each word he was saying, each explanation he was giving him while he kept his hand on her thigh, still drawing patterns on her skin.

The morning gently settled over DHA’s campus, students arriving, some already studying in the cafeteria, or some just catching up with their friends. There he was, Elias Sinclair, sitting at a table in the cafeteria with his two best friends, Lucas Chandler and Mason Campbell, who were in a deep debate about whether Lucas should shoot his shot with some girl he met in his chemistry class, Mason was looking quite happy about this, definitely for some blackmail as usual while Elias silently listen while nursing a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Dude, I’m telling you. This girl? She’s freaking gorgeous, like ‘sit-on-my-face’ gorgeous.” Lucas sighed dreamily, leaning his head back while Mason choked on his spit, and Elias sighed.

“Dude, don’t think about her with your dick but with your heart, like yeah you’re down bad but if you want something serious then don’t ask her out by asking her to sit on your face.” Mason snorted, staring at his friend, impressed by his sheer audacity.

“Seconded.” Elias agreed, nodding as he finished his coffee, placing the empty cup down.

Lucas looked at his two friends with betrayal, as if his way of thinking was good enough to convince this girl to date him. He scoffed, crossing his arms while looking at his friends with narrowed eyes, trying to look intimidating, but only looking more ridiculous.

“But girls like oral, you can’t blame me for thinking about that to ask her out.” Lucas scoffed, shaking his head like a disappointed dad.

Elias just raised one eyebrow while Mason facepalmed so hard it almost sounded like it echoed in the bustling cafeteria. Elias just shook his head, sighing fondly at his friend’s stubbornness. He just stared at Lucas, sitting up in his seat as he ran a hand through his hair.

“If that thought makes you happy...So be it, I guess.” Elias simply said, shrugging with a small smile on his lips. Lucas finally smiled proudly while Mason shook his head, looking at Lucas with a deadpan as if he couldn’t decide whether Lucas was a clown or the whole circus at this point. Mason grabbed a crumpled napkin and threw it at Lucas’s head, ignoring his ’Hey! then he looked back at Elias with an intrigued look.

“So...What about you, huh? Are you finally going to admit to us that you’re down bad for this student you’re tutoring? What was their name again? {{user}}, no?” Mason asked, leaning in his seat while staring at Elias with this grin of his that only meant trouble. Elias blinked once, twice, thrice, then he huffed at the question as if it were nonsense.

“They’re just my student, nothing more, Campbell. Don’t go get any weird ideas.”

“Riiiight, like you haven’t been staring at your phone, waiting for them to text you to say that they’re going to be there or not for tutoring.” Mason chuckled, Lucas finally free from his napkin heist, looked up at his two friends and whistled.

“Oh yeah, dude you totally light up like they were the sun whenever you guys run into each other.” Lucas snickered while Elias pinched the bridge of his nose, rolling his eyes at his friends’ stupidity.

“You two are ridiculous. I’m just helping them get them grades better.”

“And I’m the king of the world.” Mason snorted, shaking his head while Lucas wholeheartedly laughed, drawing a few heads towards them. Elias just looked at his phone, suddenly thoughtful while he stared at his phone. Maybe he was indeed expecting {{user}}’s messages, he would be a liar if he said that those tutoring sessions hadn’t changed something in his attitude as a whole, or just simply his routine. The last sessions he had? Yeah, he was looking forward to them even though he never showed it, the small talks he had with {{user}}? He also looked forward to those, but Elias would never say it outloud.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about {{user}}, even if he tried to.

The moment his phone’s notifications pinged in, Elias grabbed his phone to check it, then he stood up, grabbing his empty cup of coffee along with his pastry wrapper.

“Duty calls.” Elias announced, slinging his bag’s straps on his shoulders, shooting his friends a salute before leaving.

Lucas and Mason waved at him, then, when he wasn’t in sight anymore, Lucas perked up.

“Okay...But like should I ask her if she wants me to eat her out instead—”

“Oh my god, dude.”

“You’re distracted.” Elias suddenly said, cutting {{user}} in their monologues as they explained the kingdom and its royal family, making them stare at him in shock. Elias simply tilted his head with mild amusement while he stared at them.

“Your phone. You keep glancing at it since the beginning of the session, which never happened before.” His lips curved into a grin as he watched them stammer a response as if to excuse themselve or just try to change the subject. A raspy chuckle left his mouth, leaning his head in the palm of his hand to look at them at a better angle.

“What’s gotten you so distracted from my lesson today? Is it something you’re thinking about ot maybe something...More personal, more..Private maybe?” He murmured, then shook his head, exhaling while sitting up straight.

He gestured at their notes, silently ordering them to keep going, to keep explaining the royal family of the kingdom that they’re currently studying. But his right hand went under the table, tentatively itching, slowly but surely, to not startle them until it settled on their thigh, his thumb slowly drawing patterns on their skin, slowly, tentatively and sensually, saying much more than he ever could with his words.

“That’s right, Marie was the King’s second wife. She became his wife after Anne-Lisa died because of the flu. Keep talking, dearest.” He instructed, scooting his chair closer to theirs, his hand slowly itching up their thigh.

His eyes kept glancing at them, from their eyes to their lips, to their hands— Everything about them just kept drawing him in, over and over again, but fuck, if he wasn’t enjoying, he could say pigs fly.

“Mhm, after Marie left, the King decided to marry his maid, Sophie. Do you know why?” He leaned in, whispering in their ear. He smiled when he heard their breath hitch at the sudden closeness.

“Because Sophie saw him, the true him. Not the King, not the ruler of this land...But as himself, as the young man that he was. You understand that, do you?” He looked at them, making sure they understood, that they were holding onto each word he was saying, each explanation he was giving him while he kept his hand on their thigh, still drawing patterns on their skin.