This is chapter two of APR in Chris's POV.

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⠀"Wakey wakey, Chris!"

⠀Something heavy proceeded to crush me, winding me as something sharp pressed into my chest. Irritated, I wasted no time in shoving Jeremy off of me and onto the floor. How did I know it was Jeremy? No one else had such a grating voice. To me it was like nail's on a chalkboard.

⠀The blond beamed up at me as I glared at him, pushing myself into a sitting position. "How'd you get into my house?" I said, trying to sound angry, but feeling too tired to. I glanced at the clock. 5:00AM.

⠀He held up my apartment key. "You gave me a key, remember?"

⠀"I didn't give you a key." There was no way I'd ever give him a key. No way.

⠀"Oh, maybe this is the one I stole then."

⠀Instead of responding, I slipped back under my covers. I was not going to wake up at 5:00AM to deal with his forever-hyper ass.

⠀"What are you doing Topher?" Jeremy questioned, poking me in the back. "Come on! Get up! It's your big day!"

⠀"Go home, Jeremy."

⠀"I'm trying to be a good friend."

⠀"Then be a good friend and disappear."

⠀"You'll be late for work."

⠀Work? I jolted up again, frowning. "Shit. Is today September 3rd?"

⠀"You betcha."

⠀A groan left my lips as I forced myself out of bed. Getting up early wasn't going to be something I was going to look forward to. The days before when I had to go in for preparation allowed me a few more hours of sleep. But since school officially started, that meant I had to be there at 7AM.

⠀Jeremy hummed cheerfully, following me to my dresser. "Want me to make you breakfast, hunny?"

⠀"No, I still want you to leave," I told him.

⠀He pouted. "Without me you wouldn't have woken up on time!"

⠀I ignored him, heading to the bathroom to take a quick shower. "Fine. Make breakfast," I called over my shoulder as my stomach rumbled.

⠀"What am I? Your slave?"

⠀After shooting a smirking Jeremy a quick glare I stepped into my bathroom, flipping on the light. My reflection in the mirror above the sink caught my attention. I paused, studying it for a moment. Even in the morning I didn't look half-bad. Being cursed with good looks wasn't really a bad thing.

⠀When I trudged into the kitchen half an hour later, Jeremy wolf-whistled at me. I rolled my eyes at him, taking a seat at the table. "Is that a new suit?" he asked. "I've never seen you wear it before."

⠀"Apparently we have to dress formally," I muttered, reaching for a piece of toast he'd put on the table. "Casual Friday only. I thought public schools didn't care about things like that."

⠀Jeremy shrugged. "Depends on the school. Some public schools have strict dress codes, others' don't."

⠀"Maybe I can get away with button-ups," I pondered, inspecting the toast to make sure he hadn't done anything funky to it. You could never be too safe with Jeremy. Pain in the Ass was his middle name.

⠀"Transfer schools," he suggested.

⠀I scoffed. "I'm lucky I even got this job."

⠀"Good thing Holly still vouches for you, huh?"

⠀Hearing her name made me feel a little nauseous. I knew I should be over it— she had every right to break up with me. I knew my life style back then wasn't suitable for anyone to be in my life like that. I was stupid to think it could be. The fighting, the drama, the danger. It was no wonder she got the hell out after the shit I had to put her through.

⠀Sometimes I wondered why the hell I wanted to get myself out. I could've ruined my future. I could've ruined everything more than I'd already had.

⠀And even through it all she was still on my side.

⠀Damn it, I needed to be over her.

⠀A grin spread across his face as he took a seat across from me. "You got lucky. Imagine all the high school girls that will be swooning over you."

⠀"I'm not a pedophile, Jeremy."

⠀"If you have a senior class, you might have some eighteen year olds. Technically that's not illegal. I dated a girl who was eighteen."

⠀"You also just turned twenty years old, Jeremy."

⠀"You're not much older," he responded. Then the kicked dog look came onto his face. It made me want to deck him. "You could use a little love in your life," were the annoying words that came from his annoying mouth.

⠀I should've known he'd say something like that. My mind wandered briefly to the girl I'd seen a week before. She really was cute. Would I see her again? Or rather, did I want to see her again? Seeing her was a painful. But it was probably what I deserved after what Holly went through. I could still be interested in her though, couldn't I? Maybe like a do-over?

⠀A do-over? I grimaced. What the hell was I thinking? I was messed up.

⠀"And besides, school lunch isn't even that bad," Jeremy droned on, completely unaware that I'd spaced out for a few moments. "I'd stay away from anything that looks like meatloaf though."

⠀I sighed. He was an idiot, but he was best friend. I had to put up with him.

⠀"But yeah, you're right. You're lucky you got the job with a criminal record like yours, huh, you thug you?"

⠀That conversation was ended with a swift punch to his solar plexus. After finishing my breakfast I grabbed the briefcase from the living room the held all the papers I'd need for class. There were a lot of papers. Fortunately, I had an interest in biology so it wouldn't be too bad. Teaching high schoolers on the other hand was something I didn't look forward to as much.

⠀"I'm leaving," I told Jeremy as I slipped on my shoes. All new and shiny and I probably paid too much for them.

⠀"Okay, I'll lock up when I leave."

⠀I gave him a flat look. Why did he think it was okay to just stay in my apartment when I wasn't around? Too tired to argue, I just let him be. Hopefully the place wouldn't be burned down by the time I came home. But since it was Jeremy I didn't have much faith.

⠀The school was pretty average. Nothing fancy like the high school I'd gone to back in the day. Of course my high school actually cost money to go to, but there wasn't anything wrong with public schools. Except the teaching salary was crap compared to private institutions. Money wasn't really a problem though. The true problem was made clear the moment I entered the doors.

⠀I was getting the looks.

⠀The first pair of girls who saw me stared at me blatantly, then looked at each other, and then started giggling. And while it was a great boost to my ego, I did not want to deal with high school girls. The last thing I needed was to get in trouble with the police for getting hit on by high schoolers. I wasn't that much older than them, but still old enough to know to keep my distance. So I hurried as fast as I could toward the science hallway, already knowing the layout of the school from the multiple times I'd stopped by during the summer.

⠀In my haste to dodge a couple of students oogling me, I turned a corner too sharp and smacked into something hard. There was a bang! and a girly voice cried out in pain. I sucked in a surprised breath, getting ready to apologize.

⠀But then it was her staring at me.

⠀My heart nearly stopped. Why? Why did she have to be here? Was it some kind of divine punishment? She looked just like Holly. I'd almost forgotten just how closely this girl resembled her. And she was at a locker, for God's sake. She was a student. Someone up above was pissed at me.

⠀Realizing I was staring at her just as hard as she was staring at me, I quickly threw on a smirk. Confidence was the best cover up. "Don't go falling for my good looks already," I said, flicking her forehead gently.

⠀Her cheeks tinted with pink. My smile became a little more real. Girls that blushed easily were cute. "I-I'm not," she stuttered. "I just wasn't expecting to see you here."

⠀Well that made two of us. I wondered if she realized I was a teacher. Probably not. She looked pretty surprised, but didn't make any comment about it. She probably thought I was a student. I could probably pass as one. "Neither was I."

⠀My response made her frown. I realized then that I didn't like to see her frown. "Hey," I said before I could stop myself.

⠀Her big blue eyes turned back to me. "Yeah?"

            ⠀Don't say it, Chris. End the conversation now! "Can you tell me how to get to room 1040?" That was a harmless question. Wasn't it?

⠀She smiled and I decided it was completely worth it. It reminded me of when Holly smiled. I missed her smile.

            ⠀Don't think about her, I reminded myself. This girl wasn't Holly. I couldn't pretend she was, either. I'd feel like a psycho.

⠀The girl nodded and pointed down the hall. "You go down this hallway, and take a right into the hallway that's painted blue. It'll be the last door at the end of the hallway before the stairs."

⠀I frowned. She wasn't going to insist on showing me the way?

⠀That's a good thing, I told myself. Inner turmoil was a pain in the ass.

⠀"I must've passed it," I muttered. "Oh well. Thanks."

⠀"Sure thing," she mumbled before turning her back to me.

⠀I stared after her for a moment longer, still feeling somewhat let down. She didn't want to talk to me any longer? But it was a good thing she didn't, because my reasons for talking to her weren't right. I only wanted to talk to her because she reminded me of Holly. I needed to be over Holly. There was nothing left. And I could be over her, but this girl just looked too damn much like her. Maybe even a little cuter...

⠀I shook my head, turning on my heel and hurrying away. She was a high school girl. I was only slightly attracted to her because of Holly. That was it. There was nothing more to it. Hopefully I didn't have to see that girl again.

⠀By the third period I knew it was going to be a long year. As aware as I was that a handsome teacher wasn't a common thing, I'd have thought the student population would at least try to discreetly check me out. I attempted to be oblivious to it, but it was like no one knew how to whisper. I'd take them as compliments, but the fact that it was a bunch of high schoolers weirded me out. Not to mention the school already had their doubts about me. I'd have to make sure not to let any weird rumors spread around.

⠀Fourth period brought in a bunch of seniors. Fortunately the seniors knew how to contain their excitement a little better. There was some whispering, but mostly just awed stares. It made me wonder if there wasn't even another decently attractive teacher in the school. They just seemed in shock. It was actually kind of funny. Maybe it would get them to pay attention in class. Straight As would be pretty impressive. Maybe impressive enough to get me sent to a better paying school.

⠀My eyes scanned around the room when the bell went off, signaling the start of class. No one really stuck out. No girl that looked like Holly. There was one blond who was brooding a bit. I figured he was intimidated by my looks. Maybe he liked the brown-haired girl sitting next to him who kept eyeing me. There was nothing like jealousy.

⠀I took attendance, making a note that the brooding boy was named Lance. Somehow it seemed fitting. I almost lost my breath when I realized the only student absent was a girl named Holly Evers. That was just my luck. There was a girl at this school that looked exactly like Holly and there was a girl in my class with the same name.

⠀Definitely some kind of divine punishment.

⠀Just as I was about to pass out the syllabus, the door opened. I turned my head, my eyes widening when it was the Holly lookalike who stood there, head down in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm late. My locker—"

⠀The moment she looked up, her voice caught in her throat. I understood the feeling, because I found I couldn't speak either. If she was in this class and there was only one student missing... I looked down at the paper again, fearing the worst. Yep, it said Holly Evers. I looked at the girl— Holly — and felt a little sick.

⠀And also a little excited.

⠀"You must be Miss Evers," I forced out, not liking the way my voice sounded. I couldn't bring myself to say her name. "Glad you could join us."

⠀And the worst part was that I was a little glad. It was awful.

⠀"Ah, sorry," she apologized, her face darkening.

⠀I forced a chuckle. I had to keep it together. "It's quite alright." Even though it wasn't. Was it? "The first day can be hectic. But let's not make it a habit, alright?"

⠀"Y-yeah," she said, still blushing furiously. And goddamn it, it was cute.

⠀"Why don't you take a seat?" I said, suddenly feeling drained.

⠀For a second I watched her, then made myself look away. I had a class to start. Since it was the first day, I figured I'd go easy like all the other teachers. Just go over the syllabus. And of course the kids wanted to know me. They asked me what I'd expected them to. How old I was, when I graduated college. Some guy asked me if I was single. The question threw me completely off guard because the answer was yes and after almost a year it still didn't feel right. I made a joke to cover my awkward pause.

⠀"What's your favorite color?" some girl asked randomly.

⠀I didn't really think they needed to know that, but I answered anyway. "Black and blue."

⠀"Like a bruise," Holly murmured.

⠀The words resounded in my head. That's what my Holly had said to me the first time she asked what my favorite colors were. I stared at the young girl as the class laughed. How was this even possible? I cleared my throat. "Someone said the same thing back to me awhile back," I said, scratching the back of my head. I had to play it off. "You surprised me."

⠀"Sorry?" she said, looking a little confused. Of course she didn't know things my ex-girlfriends said. It wasn't her fault, so why was she apologizing? It annoyed me a little for some reason.

⠀The class went back to asking random questions and I forced myself to keep my gaze away from her. It didn't work out very well. I knew it wasn't fair, but she just looked so much like my Holly I couldn't help it. There were subtle differences though. This Holly's hair was a little bit lighter, her eyes a little bit bluer. She spoke more softly, too. I wanted to know more about her, but at the same time I didn't. It'd be best to keep my distance from her. But I didn't want to.

⠀This was going to cause a headache. Is this what someone would call fate? Or Hell?

⠀More importantly— it didn't matter if I wanted to get to know her. She was a high schooler. She was my student. She definitely wasn't legal. Just how messed up was I?

⠀I let everyone talk near the end of class and I watched as Holly turned to the boy Lance and started talking to him. Was it her boyfriend? Or were they just friends? They way he leaned toward her made me think that he at least had some interest in her. But the question was, did she return it?

⠀It doesn't matter, I scolded myself.

⠀It didn't matter.

⠀But I still wanted to know.

⠀When the bell rang, Holly rushed to put her stuff in her bag while her friend Lance left without her. As she pushed herself up, she moved forward too fast and ended up tripping herself on the desk, resulting in a painful sounding smack!

⠀I almost laughed. Almost. I was a teacher now. I couldn't laugh at others' pain. No matter how much I wanted to. "Are you okay?" I asked when I figured I had my voice under control. It probably sounded a little too amused though.

⠀But again, she was blushing. It was adorable. She nodded very stiffly, trying to avoid my gaze. I couldn't help it— a low chuckle escaped my lips. As much as I didn't want to admit it, she'd caught my interest. I wanted to know more about her. And maybe forget a little about my Holly.

⠀"Don't be late tomorrow, Holly," I said as she left.

⠀However, tomorrow sounded too far away.

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This was also featured in my Wattpad Block Party post, but I also wanted to put it in with APR! I have a character Q&A in that post as well, so make sure you go check it out (I'll put the link in the external link)!

Hopefully this rekindles your love with APR <3