Forbidden To Love You, My Dragon Professor

Hannah

Nina lay in bed staring at her ceiling, wondering how all this could have possibly come about. Was it just coincidence that she and this dragon came in contact with each other? She took a deep breath and sighed, turning on her side to face the window.

This guy was extremely interesting, and terrified her at the same time. Yet, everything she did had something to do with him now. Not purposely, of course, he just seemed to be everywhere she ended up, though that was partially Hannah's fault.

She wondered if Hannah was something special too, and maybe that was why the prof decided to take interest her. Maybe she wasn't just human. Maybe he showed her his dragon form already... but to find out, she'd have to risk making herself look insane.

Not that she didn't already look half way there.

She fell asleep with his dragon form embedded in her thoughts.

Sunday morning arrived, and she nearly jumped out of bed at her phone exploding into song. That never happened. She got to her desk where it usually was and blinked a few times to unfog her eyes and read the notification.

Hannah sent her a message. She said she gave Nina's number to Professor Tyson.

"What? No," Nina groaned, laying back on her bed.

-Hope you don't mind.-

"Yes I mind! What- ugh-!" as if it wasn't bad enough that he basically ended up everywhere she was, well not everywhere she supposed, but over the span of a little more than a week she'd seen him several times. Before that, never. Not even when she did a tour of the college in high school. He was not present at the meet and greet. He didn't seem to be anywhere, now he was everywhere and always looking at her.

It wasn't as if she'd just skipped over him in a crowd. She'd have seen his beast looking person sticking out like a green spiky gum ball in the a bowl of lucky charms. Still, Hannah. Hannah she also never saw coming until she was right there. Why bring Nina into this odd circumstance if she were that involved with the professor? One would think jealousy might creep in at some point, especially after the professor kept talking to Nina rather than her. He included Hannah in his conversations often, though only when she was around.

Nina trudged around her dorm common area, and picked up garbage, her own clothes, and remembered she needed to do laundry. Like today. She huffed and got her overflowing basket, added the clothes she'd picked off the couch and chair, and made her way downstairs with her wallet in hand.

Handy that they had an ATM on the main floor, and a change machine in the laundry room. She didn't like leaving her clothes down there unprotected, so she played on her phone most of the time while she was waiting.

Once everything was loaded and the laundry was on wash, she sat down. Her phone dinged before she could grab it and she paused, looking at it. She almost dreaded the name that might be on it. Or the lack of, if it were the professor. This was not a professional thing to do on his part. He only had Hannah's number because they had been together before school started.

Her uneasy feeling dissipated when she saw it was Hannah. She was saying that everyone had his number, and she was sorry she'd forgotten to mention it but he hadn't gotten hers due to her arriving late in the term. Nina stared at the text message. Everyone had his number? She mentally made a note to check his papers, but she was sure his phone number was not on any of the sheets he'd given her. She would have made note of it.

Nina text Hannah back, saying it was alright, but a little warning next time she does something like that would greatly appreciated. Not even a moment later, it dinged again. Strange number, but she sighed heavily knowing it was him.

It was. He said this number was his work cell, school related things only through this number, and to text back to let him know he got Nina Reyes. She sighed again, and replied to confirm. He replied with a simple thank you.

She wasn't necessarily as uncomfortable about this whole thing anymore. Aside from no other teacher keeping in contact with their students this way, he really didn't seem like the creepy kind of guy. Even if he seemed to be everywhere she was, in her opinion.

After playing games throughout the washing and drying process, Nina brought her now clean, dried, and folded clothes back up to her dorm room where she put them away. She'd need the basket later for the clothes she was currently wearing after her shower.

Sooner than she expected, Hannah came walking through their door. She looked up from the couch where she was contemplating her Psychology notes.

"Do you study all year long for the exam?" Hannah asked with a laugh. "You don't get out much, do you?"

"It's why I work out. I'm not super active any other time of the day," Nina said with a smile, looking up as Hannah passed her with several bags. "Do I smell chicken?"

"My mom bought us dinner," she said with a smile. "From the chicken place down the road. It was really random."

"Well tell her thank you, I definitely appreciate it."

"I'll tell her right now," Hannah replied and pulled her phone out after putting the large paper bag on the tabletop. "So. How'd your weekend go? I'm super sorry I disappeared so fast on you yesterday. I really thought we had more time. I want to learn how you manage to do your workout. You make it look so easy."

"It's definitely not," Nina laughed. "I've done this workout for months. Took me a few weeks to learn it myself."

"What I really don't get, is how you manage to be perfectly toned, and yet you also have a high capacity for learning. Is that literally all your life is? Learning and working out?"

"Um, yeah, pretty much," Nina nodded. "It's sad, I know."

"You ever had a boyfriend?"

"Yeah. Being here sort of shows none of them worked out."

"Well you could have a boyfriend back home. No one would guess it though, by how you are," she said, and Nina turned and stared at Hannah. "No, I didn't mean it like- I just meant that you could and no one would know because you're so focused on what you're doing here."

"Oh. It's cool," Nina said, turning back to her papers. "Hey, you know what, when are you done classes tomorrow?"

"Oh, um, usually around three. What's up?"

"Wanna go work out around four?"

"Sure, though, I'd rather jog, if that's cool with you. Like, outside."

"Why, so the professor can see you?" Nina teased and Hannah blushed.

"What are you talking about?"

"He walks the grounds Monday and Wednesday nights."

"Seriously? Oh," Hannah said, lost in thought. "If you want to."

"So what's your deal anyway?" Nina asked after closing her books up. "Are you trying to get back with him or what?"

"No. I still like him but I wasn't totally honest with you," Hannah answered, moving around the couch to sit with Nina. "We sort of mutually broke up. It was me that actually started it, and he agreed with me."

"So, what, you didn't want to be with him anymore because of school or-"

"Well, no," she said slowly. "He is a super nice guy..."

"Okay. So..." Nina pushed and Hannah looked away, a slight blush evident on her face but not the usual one.

"I still like him a lot but I'm not into the same things as him, so it would've just been like... I don't know like a lustful falling apart on my end anyway sort of relationship."

"Oh. Well, that sucks," Nina sat back, slightly turned to face Hannah. "Was it like, he was a teacher and had his stuff figured out and you're still working on figuring it all out for yourself, you plan on going in a different direction with your life?"

"Uh, sort of," Hannah said with a smile. "He at first only wanted to stop seeing me because of us becoming teacher and student, but after, well, I decided it was best if we just stop altogether."

"Interesting, how long were you two seeing each other?" Nina asked, raising an eyebrow and half-smirking. She wanted to know all the details.

"Well not that long, really," she answered. "I met him here over the summer, because I took some extra classes to accelerate my studies, and we went on a couple dates but it never went any further than that. He's a gentleman for sure."

"Oh, and hey, what makes you think I'm quirky?"

Hannah laughed at Nina, shaking her head. "You're awkward, quiet, and subdued, then suddenly you're this outgoing, spunky smart mouthed girl who's both intelligent and physically extraordinary. I didn't know you could actually be both until I saw you in the gym the other day."

"One needs a balanced lifestyle," Nina smiled. "I just happen to be an all or nothing kind of person, too. Everything you do, do it with passion."

"That's an amazing mantra to live by," Hannah whispered. "I haven't really found my passion yet, I guess. I mean, things that I love to do that make up my lifestyle. I'm really a family person, my mom and dad are everything to me, and I'm interested journalism. I want to travel and document important things, and go places that allow me to learn more about what makes each society what it is today."

"Is that why you took Mythology?" Nina asked. Hannah nodded. "The syllabus shows he talks about something from every known area of the world that has ever documented anything."

"He also wrote the text book," she nodded to the book I had under my Psychology text. "I bet you didn't notice that."

"Of course, teach from your own book. He must have studied immensely to be able to do that."

"I think so," she said, leaning back and sighing. Then she jumped up like a light bulb went off in head. "Dinner's getting cold! We have to eat it right away." They both laughed together and moved to the little two person table in the kitchen part of the dorm room. "I love fried chicken, and the gravy from this place is fantastic, have you had it?"

"You're going to kill me again tonight aren't you?" Nina accused her, and Hannah only smiled. "Whatever, we're going running tomorrow afternoon anyway. f**k it, I'll eat whatever." She took some fries, Hannah poured a generous amount of gravy on them, and encouraged Nina several times to dip her chicken in the gravy, too. So she did, and it was fantastic.

The next morning, Nina was up and getting ready for class, the week ahead of her unfolding in her mind. All the way until Friday's Mythology class, and her new mentor, or door into her past, present, and future. She knew eventually, and likely not too far from now, she was going to ask him to try and teach her how to use her powers, if she truly had any that he claimed she did.