Forbidden To Love You, My Dragon Professor

The Non-Date

After that blush fest, Nina couldn't resurface all weekend, she knew that. She would have to stay in her dorm room and pretend she died until class on Monday. Hannah, unfortunately didn't agree with her.

"Are you joking? So what if you have the hots for a teacher?" she asked and Nina felt her face heat up even more as they changed and showered in the girls' change room. "If it were me, being someone who goes to the gym as well as the prof that I like... well that would be a bonus to like, show off."

"What, to each other, or the rest of the people in there?" Nina nearly yelled. Hannah hushed her. "If you could see us looking at each other, how many others might have seen it?"

"Well, if you really have to ask, there was a few people."

Nina groaned as she put her outside clothes on. "I'm staying my dorm, I don't care."

"Why not go on a date with him?" Hannah asked as they walked out of the change room. Nina pushed Hannah, trying to be gentle but not at the same time, to the side. "What?"

"Did you two make like a, I don't know, a commitment to torture me together?" Nina asked, though that wasn't what she had meant. What she meant to say, was did they make an agreement that Hannah would find him someone else?

"No, nothing like that," Hannah said quickly.

"Then why are you bothering me about him all the time?" Nina asked, knowing it sounded like she was becoming offensive.

"Sorry, I'll stop," Hannah said a little more on the quiet side. "I know I'm encouraging you to do something that's not really encouraged on campus."

"I mean it would look really bad," Nina said, trying to make her voice softer. "I'd have to completely ignore him while in class, and pretend he's just my teacher."

"Seems like you might have thought about this a little?" Hannah asked, looking at Nina with a sideways glance. "It's not that hard to do. He's a fair teacher, and during class, that's what he would be to you first. Teacher before boyfriend. No one even needs to know."

"You could never tell anyone if anything were to start," Nina warned. Hannah put her hand over her heart.

"You have my word," she said, then opened the door out of the building for me to go first.

"I don't know about this, it just seems... against the rules, you know?"

"So then don't call it a date," Hannah shrugged.

"So what do you want me to call it?"

"A non-date? Just two people going and hanging out? It's only a date if you want it to be, after all. You don't really know each other anyway, so it would be like a pre-date, even. Seeing if there's any reason to go ahead with a relationship of any kind beyond teacher and student."

"Yeah, I guess," Nina said quietly as they passed a couple boys walking into the school, dressed for the gym. "They were totally checking us out, Hannah," Nina said suddenly, looking back and then turned the way the two girls were walking. She looked at Hannah. "Why can't we be normal and get guys our age also attending, rather than teaching?"

"We're more mature than them," Hannah assured her. "Especially them. They came into the store yesterday, and were acting like five year olds until I kicked them out. They weren't checking me out, maybe you. Well, maybe they were but they more likely were about to laugh remembering me getting angry at them."

"Maybe that's how they're saying they like you, Hannah," Nina teased. Her turn to torture.

"Oh, come on," Hannah nearly growled. "That's ridiculous. I could never go out with either of those two. They're complete idiots."

"Well they made it to college."

"So did my dog," she rolled her eyes and Nina laughed. "Let's just stay outside for a bit. I'm sure that Professor Tyson doesn't live in his office. He'll have to leave at some point."

"Uh, for what now?"

"Well for you two to make a date that doesn't involve the gym and staring awkwardly at each other, wondering if one should go talk to the other, of course," Hannah laughed and grabbed Nina's arm, pulling her over to the benches. "We can sit here and wait and then that's it. He comes out, I'll call him over, you'll ask him out."

"Wait, what?" Nina hissed.

"Wow, that didn't take long," Hannah said suddenly and waved someone over. Nina turned, wide-eyed to the direction she was looking. Shivers once again ran up and down her back as Professor Landrick moved toward them, caution in his face.

"Ladies," he said as he got closer. Hannah smiled and kicked Nina's foot.

"Ow," she growled as Hannah, but Hannah acted like she did nothing and kept smiling at them both. "Seriously?"

"Hi Professor, Nina has something she wants to ask you," Hannah said, the grin ever widening on her face, akin to the Cheshire Cat. Nina's heart skipped a beat as she turned to look at the professor. "Right Nina?"

"Oh, I, um," Nina said, trying to figure out how to say it without it sounding like she was asking him on a date.

"You know what, there's a few new movies coming out next weekend, would the either of you like to accompany me?" he asked, and in Nina's mind, he whispered, 'Just being polite.'

"Oh, no, I'm going home next weekend, but I'm sure Nina would love to go," Hannah said, smacking Nina on her shoulder a few times. "Right, Nina?"

Nina cleared her throat, and nodded. "Yeah, sure, I'd love to go."

"Wonderful, I'll see you ladies in class then?" he asked, looking from Nina to Hannah.

"Of course," Nina smiled, trying to calm herself.

"Yep, see you Friday Professor Tyson," Hannah said and turned away. Nina watched as the professor smiled at her, then she smiled back. He turned to head off campus and she turned back to Hannah. "That went well, don't you think?"

"Are you joking?" Nina growled. "That was extremely embarrassing!"

"It worked though, no matter how you felt about it."

"You- I just- you are amazing, in the meanest way I could possibly put that," Nina hissed, sitting back on the bench.

"Yeah, but you can't be that mad about it if you haven't stomped off already."

"Hannah, the point is that is definitely a date."

"No, he asked both of us to go with him. I declined, but that doesn't make it a date. If anybody asks, just say you're catching up on Mythology, since you're the late comer," Hannah said with a shrug as she got up. "No use sitting here anymore," she added and pulled Nina up. "We can go back to the room now."

Nina took a deep breath. This was definitely going to be something.

Monday night came, and her weekly talk with her mom along with it. "Hi Mom," Nina said with a smile. It wasn't her usual smile though, and when her mom talked, she sounded concerned.

"Are you alright, honey?"

"Yeah, I just somehow got myself involved with a guy and-"

"Are you being safe?" her mom cut her off.

"Mom!" Nina tried not to yell at her mom, but that was super abrupt. "He only just asked me to go to the movies this weekend."

"Oh. So it's not like you're doing anything with him yet," her mom said and Nina nodded. "I was just making sure, sorry I jumped the gun there a little bit. So you're going to the movies?"

"He said there's some new movies in this weekend, he asked me to go," Nina answered. "I said yes, but that's all I'm going to do."

"Are you actually interested in him?"

"Well, yeah, he's definitely interesting, and not in a weird kind of way. Like a decent sort of guy, which you don't really see that much anymore."

"No kidding, I know the feeling," her mom replied, huffing and rolling her eyes. "Look, I'm good with you getting a boyfriend, just don't start flunking any of your classes, understood?"

"Yes, Mom," Nina said with a smile. "I understand. We just had this conversation a couple weeks ago. I know the deal, and I'm sticking to it. If he wants to hang out too much I'll tell him I can't. I'm here for school, not guys."

"That's right, and if he's a decent guy like you say, he'll respect that."

"I'm sure he will," Nina said with a sigh. She wasn't going to tell her mom it was the teacher of her new class. She didn't quite know what the reaction would be, but she felt it best not to get her worried. Nina only said yes anyway because of what he was, and what she learned about herself, and... well, how his scaly-skin seemed to defy logic.

Friday's class came, and Nina walked in with Hannah as usual, but she had a renewed sense of being. First thing she came to terms with the other day had been that regardless of her parental differences, she was who she was.

After class, and a million notes, she hung around and Hannah left her there. She had to work again for a couple hours, and then she was going home.

"So, since Hannah isn't going to be around all weekend, did you want to go tomorrow?" Nina asked, thinking about how quiet her room was going to be. Even if she liked it before, she didn't like it as much now that she had a room mate.

"If you don't have that much work to do, we could go tonight and do something else tomorrow," he said as he put some papers in a file carrier. "It's up to you, though."

Nina was literally doing nothing tonight, and same with tomorrow. She only have enough homework likely for Sunday, and if there anything she didn't finish, she could do it during the week if she really had to.

"Oh, sure," Nina said, a little surprised at him wanting to make it a half the weekend thing. "Yeah we could... well I only have enough money to do one night," she said thoughtfully.

"I didn't say anything about you paying to accompany me. I asked you to go, I'm paying for you."

Nina had opened her mouth but stopped abruptly when he blatantly said he was paying. He didn't sound like he was going to budge on the idea, either.

"Okay," Nina said slowly. "Um, so, yeah, we can go tonight and tomorrow..."

"Good, I have to run home and change, so I'll see you at the entrance to the school grounds in about 30 minutes."

"Yep, that works for me," Nina said and turned to walk away. Something tugged on her mind to look back at him. She turned her face back and he was staring at her with a slight curve at the corner of his mouth. She felt her stomach begin to flip-flop and she turned away again, walking out this time.

Once she got back to her dorm room, she had no idea what to wear. She figured what she was wearing would be just fine, but at the same time, he was going to change, maybe she should too? Just, you know, into what? It wasn't like she could run home to get something more date worthy. She shook her head. She could pretend all she wanted that this wasn't a date, but it was.

After she was ready, she made her way downstairs. Wallet and phone in her pockets, she left the building and got the entrance about the same time he did. He got out of his car, walking around it to her, opening the passenger door and closing it as she got in. He then walked around the front of the car and got back into the driver's seat.

"Did you want to go for dinner first?" he asked. "I doubt you had time to eat."

"Oh, yeah, no, I didn't eat anything yet."

"Any place you'd like to go?"

"Not especially, I'm not really familiar with the city."

"Surprise it is, then."