"Good morning, Harley!"

I looked over my shoulder to see a woman with short brown hair smiling at me. What was her name again? Jenna? Jenny? Emily? Oh! "Good morning, Emma."

"I heard about your first day," she told me, pity in her voice. "It must be tough to have a class full of senior boys when you're so young."

I grinned at her. "Actually, I think it'll be okay from here on out."

"Really?"

"I think I've gained their respect. They've behaved well for the past few days."

"That's good," Emma responded, smiling brightly. "I was afraid you wouldn't be able to take it and quit. I'm glad to see you made it through the first week."

"I need this job, so I would never quit," I told her with a small laugh. "I've been through a lot, I think I can handle a few boys."

"I certainly hope so."

"Well, I'm going heading right here," I said, pointing down the empty hallway. "Talk to you soon?"

"I'm in the English hallway if you ever want to stop by," she responded, nodding in the direction of said hallway.

"Sounds good."

"Have a good day!"

"Same to you!"

Emma started walking in the other direction, and I quickly started down the hallway to my classroom. A yawn escaped my lips, and I rubbed my eyes wearily. The best thing about being home-schooled was the fact I didn't have to wake up early every day. Now I had to, and it sucked.

The good thing was, that after my little deal with the seniors the other day, I hadn't had a major problem with them for the rest of the week. However, there were still plenty of verbal fights between the two "gangs". And Oliver hadn't shown up for class again. He even stopped showing up sixth period when he was supposed to help prep. The thought brought a scowl to my face.

I looked up just in time to see my classroom door opening. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I stopped, watching from a good distance. Seconds later, Tucker appeared, rushing out of the room. He turned and stared directly at me, a scowl instantly on his face. Cocking my head, I looked at him questioningly.

"What were you doing in-"

"None of your business!" he snapped, turning his back on me and storming down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Irritation etched my face as I watched him walk away. What was his problem? This was the fourth day in a row I caught him leaving my classroom before I was even in it! Every time he'd leave before I could actually see what he was doing. He had no right to have that attitude with me! I walked down the rest of the hallway and peered my head into my classroom cautiously.

On Tuesday he had made the floor wet, and yesterday one of the cabinet doors in the supply room was open, and I had banged my head on it. Was he pulling pranks on me or something? I looked above the door to make sure there was no bucket before opening it fully. With caution, I walked across the classroom, feeling for any slippery areas. None showed up. I checked to see if there was glue on my chair. Nope.

I frowned slightly, but shrugged it off. I would just have to catch Tucker in action to figure out what he was doing in my room so early every day. Sitting at my desk, I pulled out the old teacher's planner book and opened it, going over today's schedule. Another desert was on the menu for today.

"I can't say if I like casual Friday or not..."

I looked up from my desk to see Arden walking into the room, his face pulled into an unsure expression. I glanced at the clock to realize homeroom had already ended. Arden was still staring at me when I returned my attention to him. For a minute I was confused... until I realized that he was checking me out. While doing my best not to blush, I gave him the harshest glare I could summon.

"Stop checking me out," I commanded.

"On one hand, you look great in those jeans," Arden commented thoughtfully. "But on the other hand, you look much younger than usual. Which wouldn't be a problem if you didn't have other classes."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can't say that kind of stuff?" I snapped, the blush now appearing on my face. "You're going to get us both into trouble! I'm your teacher, you can't hit on me."

"Technically I'm not hitting on you," Arden commented with a wink. "And it's not my fault I like older women."

I smiled wryly. He only liked older women when he knew they were older than him. "I don't care, I'm still a teacher so please refrain from those kind of comments."

"But we are the only two in here, Harley," Arden said, coming closer to my desk. "No one will know..."

"I will though," I responded, eyeing him cautiously. "Take your playboy-ness somewhere else."

Arden chuckled. "You're so unexciting."

"Well I am a teacher," I responded with a grin.

Arden caught my eye and frowned slightly. "Seriously though, I'd be careful about what you wear. You look more like a student today than a teacher."

Frowning slightly, I looked down at my outfit; a pair of faded blue jeans and a plain black zip up hoody with a white tank top underneath. It was a simple outfit. Teachers were this stuff all the time, didn't they? And it was casual Friday. I looked back at Arden and shrugged.

"Everyone looks younger in normal clothing compared to formal clothing."

"Very true," Arden commented. "You look cute too."

"I said stop with the comments," I responded, turning away so he couldn't see the red on my face. "You'll get me in trouble."

"Que sera sera," Arden responded, waving his hand.

I rolled his eyes. "No, because I need this job more than you could ever know."

"Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"How come?"

I sighed, turning to face Arden. "Just because. Have you seen Oliver lately?"

Immediately a scowl appeared on his face. "No. Why?"

"Well he's been skipping class all week, and he's been ditching me during sixth period when he's supposed to help me prep," I responded, frowning slightly.

"Isn't it better this way?"

"What?"

"Without Oliver, the class is so much better," Arden told me. "Someone like him shouldn't be in it."

"What do you mean by 'someone like him'?"

"He's a cold, callous, son of a-"

"Watch your mouth," I snapped before he could finish.

He looked at me in surprise. "You're sticking up for him?" Arden snorted. "What? Did you fall for his English accent?"

"No, I just don't appreciate you swearing."

Arden blinked at me in surprise. "Oh, that... I swear all the time-"

"Well don't around me," I advised him. "I have a younger brother and I don't want to pick up habits that might be picked up by him."

"Don't your parents swear?"

My eyes widened slightly and I stared at him in surprise. He returned my look with a questioning one. That's right. He didn't know my parents were dead. Swallowing, I shook my head slowly.

"Um, no, my parents don't swear..."

"Really? That's rare nowadays," he commented with a shrug. "Oh well. I can't guarantee I won't slip up a few times."

"That's fine," I said quietly, returning my attention back to the planner on my desk.

Why couldn't I tell Arden my parents were dead? For some reason I didn't want anyone to know... But why? I drummed my fingers against my desk, frowning. Someone was going to find out sooner or later.

"What do you need me to do today?"

I glanced back up at Arden who was standing patiently by my desk. "Umm... I guess we could start melting the chocolate..."

Sixth period came quickly, and I waited as the bell rang for Oliver to enter the room. Fifteen minutes into the period, I figured the English man wasn't going to show up. A sigh of frustration left my lips as I headed to the supply closet to prep by myself. Where was he? Was he purposely ditching my class? Well, that was obvious...

I debated whether to tell my uncle or not. He was skipping class, which was against the rules... but I should have told my uncle when he started skipping. Was it something I did? Something I said? I was slightly offended. What could I have done? I wracked my memories, but couldn't find anything. Sure, he'd gotten in trouble for the food fight, but that was inevitable. But there was no other reason for him to be angry!

My depression lasted until seventh period. Zak was the first one in the room. He came straight up to my desk with a large grin. I returned it slowly, wondering what was up with him.

"Morning Ms. Allen!"

"It's afternoon..."

"Right, right," Zak responded, waving his hand. "I have some great news for you!"

"Do you?" I responded, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Luke, Joey, bring him in!"

I turned my attention to the door. Three men came in. To my surprise, Oliver was being held between the boy with the coon tails and one of the twins. I knew by know that the coon tail boy was Luke, and that twin was Joey. It was hard to tell Joey and Joel apart, but Joey followed Oliver, and Joel followed Arden, so I could figure it out.

"Let me go," Oliver commanded, trying to pull himself free. "You guys, whose side are you on?"

"We made a promise to Zak," chirped Luke. "Besides, if you skip too much class you can be expelled."

"This class isn't worth my time," Oliver complained, catching eye contact with me.

I looked at him in surprise, and he immediately looked away. A scowl made it's way onto my face. "Nice of you to finally show, Mr. Fox." Fox was a very suiting last name for him.

"Whatever."

"As a reward, I say I get to leave early," Zak interjected, giving me a wide grin.

I laughed. "Not happening, sir. Take your seats."

Joey and Luke took Oliver to his seat before letting go of him. Scowling, Oliver sat down, glaring out the window. I narrowed my eyes at him slightly. What was his problem? Did he have a problem with me? Did I do something terrible?

"Oh, look who decided to show up! The great Oli!"

My attention snapped to the door where Arden and Tucker were standing. Tucker glared at me for a moment and I grimaced. If they weren't in different school gangs, I had a feeling he and Oliver would be great buddies.

"Don't even start on me," Oliver said, narrowing his eyes at Arden.

"You decided to stop being a pansy and come to class for once?" Arden continued, walking into the classroom farther. "How wonderful."

"Arden," I warned.

"You should really learn to shut that hole on your face," Oliver responded, standing up from his desk.

"Mouth, Oliver," Zak interjected. Oliver shot him a look and Zak just shrugged. "I'm just saying..."

"Oh, scary," Arden said mockingly. "Oli is getting mad..."

"Guys!"

"Do you want to die?" Oliver asked, moving towards Arden threateningly.

"How come you haven't been showing up for class, Oli?"

"I have better things to do."

"Like what? Play in your sandbox?"

I raised an eyebrow. What kind of insult was that? Arden grinned smugly at Oliver as Oliver approached him. Oliver stopped a few feet away, glaring at him. Now it was my turn to cut in. I walked up to them, putting myself between their bodies.

"There won't be any fighting in my classroom," I warned them both, looking over my shoulder meaningfully at Arden. "Oliver, go sit back down."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"I'm your teacher, I can tell you what to do if I want to!" I said, narrowing my eyes. "Go sit now."

Oliver scowled at me for a few minutes before turning around. I turned to Arden who was frowning at me.

"You sit down too."

"You ruin my fun," Arden responded, trudging to his seat.

Letting out a sigh, I turned my attention back to the whole class. All the boys were watching me with amused looks. A blush made its' way onto my face and I quickly turned back around.

"Okay, today we'll be making..."

I trudged into Will's apartment after school, letting out a yawn. Will appeared in the living room seconds later, a pleading look on his face. I didn't like that look.

"Could you do me a favor?"

"Depends," I muttered.

"Just run to the grocery store so we can have dinner tonight?" he requested, sending me a boyish grin.

"Pig?" Elliot appeared in the living room, looking at me with big eyes. "I want to go to the grocery store with Pig too!"

"It's already four, I wanted to take a nap," I complained, glancing at the clock.

"I want to go!" Elliot complained, pulling on my shirt. "Please, Pig!"

"Yeah, please Pig?"

I glowered at Will. He laughed sheepishly, scratching his head. Elliot looked at me imploring and I sighed. "Okay, fine. But it'll be quick. Get your shoes on, Eli."

"Okay!" Pig cried excitedly.

"Thank you," Will said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You watch Elliot all the time, so it's the least I can do," I responded, waving my hand. "It's really no problem."

"You know, you're still welcome to live with me if you want. It can save money..."

I smiled at him. "Nope, it's fine. I can handle myself and this job pays well now. Besides, when you find a girlfriend, I wouldn't want to be living here and give her the wrong idea."

Will grinned. "Of course."

"I'm ready Pig!"

I glanced at Elliot and another sigh escaped my lips. "Elliot... You know, wearing matching shoes isn't a crime."

Elliot grinned at me. "I like my shoes."

"Whatever, let's just go."

The worst thing about going to the grocery store with Elliot was that he wanted everything. And when I say everything, I really mean everything.

"Pig, can we get this?"

I glanced to see him holding up a can of canned potatoes. I looked at him like he was crazy. "Elliot, we have regular potatoes."

"Can we get this?" he asked, now holding up a can of cat food.

"We don't have a cat..."

"Can we get this?"

"If we don't have a cat, why would we need cat litter?"

"In case Will has an accident," Elliot responded, making me laugh.

"No, it's okay. If you stop asking for everything, I'll let you get a candy. Let me just get dinner, and then when we are leaving we'll stop by the candy isle," I said to him, making my way to the meat section.

"Okay!" Elliot responded, grabbing my hand. "Let's go."

Do to Elliot's commands I ended up picking up hamburgers for dinner. I wasn't complaining; they were easy to make. Elliot basically dragged me towards the candy isle.

"Come on, Pig!"

"Hold on," I said with a laugh. "The candy isn't going..."

I trailed off as a shock went through my body. Standing not even three feet away form me was Oliver. Crap! I wasn't wearing my glasses and my hair was down and I was in casual clothing! Taking the lead, I ended up dragging Elliot towards the candy isle faster than before.

"Choose quickly," I told him, looking over my shoulder cautiously.

Why was Oliver here? Well that was a stupid question. Obviously he was getting groceries. I couldn't let him see Elliot and myself. Why hadn't I worn my glasses? I probably really looked my age now.

"I want gummy bears," Elliot told me.

I quickly scanned the aisle and located the gummy bears, grabbing a small package and giving them to him. He shook his head.

"Sour."

"Okay," I responded, putting the gummy bears back and grabbing the sour package. "You're good now?"

"Yep!"

"Then let's go," I responded, grabbing his hand and heading towards the check out line in a rush.

It was going to be okay. Oliver wasn't going to see me. Even if he did see me, he probably wouldn't acknowledge me, I thought wryly. I didn't have anything to worry about. But to be on the safe side-

Suddenly something ran into my side, making me drop my basket, and fall over. Elliot called out my name in surprise as I hit the floor with a smack. I winced, pushing myself into a sitting position quickly.

"Ow..."

"Shoot, sorry!"

As soon as the voice met my ears I froze. It was Oliver. Not raising my head, I pushed myself, waving my hand. I cleared my throat and tried to disguise my voice. "Don't worry about it."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I responded quickly.

"Pig?"

"I'm good, Eli."

"Sorry again," Oliver apologized, and I was tempted to look at him.

Why was he being so nice? I was expecting him to say something along the lines of, "Watch where you're going!". Taking Elliot's hand again, I led him away from Oliver, keeping my hair in my face. That was easy.

"Hey! You dropped your driver's license..."

My driver's license? A shock went through me, making my heat beat pick up. That had my age and name on it! Crap! I turned around, keeping my head down, and went back to Oliver, holding out my hand expectantly. When I didn't feel my license being put into it, I glanced up quickly.

Oliver was looking at me in surprise. He grabbed my face and forced me to look up at him. A smirk appeared on his face as he looked from me to my driver's license. I flushed, trying to pull away.

"Harley Allen... Or should I say, Ms. Allen?" Oliver commented, putting my driver's license in front of my face. "Care to explain why you're driver's license says you're only seventeen?"

_____________________________________

First off: WOO! This story made it to the second round of the watty awards! So thank you ALL! You're awesome :D The categories you can vote for are; Most Popular over all, most popular romance, and best cast! So go vote for me, if you want ;D Thank you again!

And also, while A Proscriptive Relationship is more action, drama, violence, and plot, this story is going to be more... I don't know. Normal? I have to keep it PG so not a lot will happen. I guess this is going to be one of those stories that don't have a huge plot, and have a lot of random chapters of just thing that happen. If that makes sense lol.

Yeah, that's it. Facebook page in external link. Thank you again! (:

[Today's Song: Bulletproof Love by Pierce The Veil]