I Thought I Would Be Happy....by now

“Ah.. yeah.. Everything is fine. I guess? I mean.. Shit, sorry. I sounded more dramatic than I should be.” Skylar followed her in before taking a seat on the couch. “I just.. the problem of growing up in a small town.” she smiled wryly, “is that.. you can’t really get away from anyone because everyone’s basically family around here?” Maybe coming here wasn’t a good idea. “And because of that.. I have no place to go.. but ..well, apparently my boss’ place. This probably wasn’t a good idea.”   

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Erin listened sympathetically, already gleanig what the issue had been that sent the redhead knocking on her door. She let out a soft laugh before reaching out -albeit a bit hesitantly- to place a comforting hand over the girl’s knee. “It’s all right, Sky. I think by this point, it’s not really fair to the term ‘boss’ to keep addressing me as such, and honestly I think we didn’t just cross the professional line, we flew way past it months ago.” She gave a small shrug. “I think we can be excused for deciding that a friendship was more beneficial during a global pandemic,” she jested.

“Um..” She didn’t really have a plan when she got here - heck she didn’t know why she decided going to the home of the professor who’s in charge of her but this was really her last resort. “Sorry. Were you busy?” Skylar was uncomfortably awkward because they weren’t really on the best terms. “I just.. didn’t have anywhere else to go.” That sounded like she was kicked out but she was in a way? It would be crazy to think that she could handle her ex being with her roommate because that was a constant reminder of what Skylar lost over the years. 

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“Not terribly, no...” Erin trailed off, mirroring the redhead’s awkwardness as their last conversation hadn’t exactly left off in a way where the professor could feel this was an expected happenstance. She wasn’t abrasive by any means, but she was certainly apprehensive. That apprehension melted away almost instantly at Skylar’s words, concern replacing it immediately. “Oh, come in, come in,” she ushered, stepping aside to grant the girl entry. Once the door was properly closed, she turned around to guide Skylar to nearby couch. “Is everything alright? What happened?” Erin asked, as she took a seat on the ottoman to face her.

“Oh… Wow. This town sure does a good job at hiding it if there’s still some who don’t know what’s really in their town.” Key chuckled, “I mean, this place is filled with supes. Who’s not a supernatural? Everyone I’ve met so far is one! Well, I guess some of my students aren’t.. I’m sure they know.. I wonder if they know…” Now he was thinking about it deeply, going through all his memory of them while in class. “Why are you so flustered? Geez, just say she’s cute. It’s not like it’s not true.  It’s a compliment for her either way.” He shrugged, raising his hands as a sign of surrender, “But fiiiiiine, I’ll drop it.” 

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Erin had known Kiyan long enough to know when to pick her battles. “Yes, best slothboy,” she conceded, a smile on her lips nonetheless. “I’ll be sure to paint you a lovely sign to hang on your tree just to commemorate the occasion.” Even as she sassed him, Erin knew there was no one on earth at this moment that she trusted or cared for more than the boy.

“Oh my god, Key! Just stop. Listen to me, it doesn’t matter if any of your students are supes, as long as we’re working for the college, you teach every single lesson as if the class were full of nothing by mundanes, do you understand?” The last thing she needed was Kiyan outing himself to a bunch of barely legal students. She rolled her eyes and let out a huff. “Fine she’s cute. As a matter of fact, after this conversation, I might even venture to say she’s cuter than you. Better hope she’s not a sloth, or your best slothboy sign might end up her best slothgirl one.”

Staying at her place was proving to be impossible, and she couldn’t even head over to Brax, or Sean’s place since she was sure that they’d ask so many questions that she didn’t want to deal with. Her roommate was fine because she was quiet, but who would have thought that in this small little town, and of all the people she could have come across, she’d be roommates with her ex’s new girl. As much as she loved Tomi visiting, she.. did not want to see Tomi and Dallas flirting. 

Hence why she was in front of her door, awkwardly waiting as she rang the doorbell.  

“…Hey.”

@rvsscll​

Erin didn’t find the transition from teaching on campus, to teaching via online too be that hard. She certainly had a much easier go of it than some of her more tenured co-workers -and by far an easier time than Key. So at least on a professional front, she was doing great! Being forced to remain in close-quarters for the majority of her waking moments with just Key....well...at this point she was just glad he’d opted to go stay with his sister for a bit because she really shouldn’t be considering physical harm as much as she was...

She was in the midst of working on one of her own pieces when the doorbell sounded. She obviously wasn’t expecting anyone, and Key had, well, a key... Confused, she put down her pallet and brush, wiping paint off her hands as she reached to open the door. “Hey,” she replied in kind. Not really knowing what else to say at this very moment, she instead just stood aside and opened the door further for the redhead to enter.

“Ooooh, does that mean I’m special?” He laughed, “Best and only slothboy out there. Wait, puts up with? That makes it sound like a chore. Are you saying you’re tired of me?”

Kiyan never thought about it that way especially when he learned he was coming to a town filled with supernatural beings. He almost thought that it was normal to be.. not human. “But like.. I can’t be the weirdest thing the’ves seen. Can I?” He frowned, “Not that I want to test it out, I haven’t just randomly shifted in front of people I don’t know yet so.. I think I’m safe..? So that means she won’t kill me?” He snorted, “Rinrin, that doesn’t sound like that’s going to stop you from actually calling her cute out loud when you already think so.”  

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“Oh I’m more than certain there are a lot of people in town that would say you are very special indeed,” she grinned. “I never said you were the only slothboy out there, just the only one I’ve ever met myself. And I’ve never made it a secret that putting up with you is a chore, but all things worth keeping are worth the effort,” she reassured.

Erin could only soften her gaze, he was still such a naive supernatural sometimes it made her heart ache for a time when she might not be there to shelter him. “A lot of the town is still made up of mundanes that have never actually been faced with the truth of our existence. And even then there are some that tend to not act very favorably when faced with things that are different than what they’re used to. Just be very careful who you sloth-out in front of, okay,” she warned. “Okay, first off, slothboy, don’t call me ‘Rin-Rin’. It sounds borderline like some dated racist term or something, and second off: Why are we even still talking about this?”

“Best slothboy out there.” He grinned, shamelessly boasting about nothing. “I didn’t say your students didn’t need you.. Maybe it’s because she’s also a student and they can relate. I don’t know. She doesn’t like me so in my books, you’re definitely the better one.”

“But I’m just a sloth… It’s not like I would do anything harmful.. Sloths aren’t that harmful - much like most animals when they’re not provoked. I’m not a violent guy either so what’s there to be scared of?” He hummed, getting really giddy at the pause, “Same thing, Erin. That’s totally the same thing.”

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“You’re the only I’ve actually met, so I think it would be a little unfair to bestow that title without comparison,” she said matter-of-factly. “You make a very fair point, Key. Anyone who willingly puts up with you is clearly a better person,” she teased.

“Yeah, see...you’re not just a sloth, Key. You’re a sloth that can turn into a boy and vice versa. That’s not normal. They’d be too freaked out to even stick around and find out if you were violent or not,” Erin pointed out. “She’s also still my student, Key. It’s dangerous and murky territory to start wading into calling students cute.”

His grin only grew as Erin expressed her opinion about Skylar. Nodding to every point she was making, Kiyan was uncharacteristically quiet throughout it all. “Seeeeeee, she is helpful. Are you jelly that everyone wants her help instead? That’s totally why, isn’t it?” 

Kiyan went silent again, thinking what might happen if he actually had to somehow fight the girl, “Do you think she’d freak out if a sloth suddenly appears in front of her? I mean, I don’t get why people get so scared. I’m harmless.” He chuckled, “Heh. You think she’s cute?”

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Erin furrowed her brow as she thought about it for a moment. “You know what? That’s probably it. My ‘need-to-be-needed’ gene must be acting up again, and if my students don’t need me then what else do I have? A slothboy?” she asked, before sending a teasing grin his way.

She reached out a hand and placed it on his. “Key, you may be harmless, but people are usually scared over the fact that a guy just turned into a sloth before their very eyes, and considering you’d be way smaller than her once a sloth, something tells me Skylar wouldn’t be freaking out.” His response made her pause and think about what she’d said, before replying, “No...I said that the fact she’s tiny is cute.”

“Uh… You seem to.. not like Skylar all that much.. She only says hi to me sometimes but I don’t dislike her as much as you do.” He chuckled, “But I think she could handle whatever job you give her, no? Is she really not that dependable? That sucks.. She’s supposed to be your assistant so I thought maybe she was really good to have been assigned to you.” Kiyan kept rambling, “She’s really short. How does one be so short? I think she could beat me up to be honest and she just might if she heard me calling her short, but like.. she tiny.”

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“I don’t dislike her,” Erin protested, “I’m just not partial to her attitude sometimes. And like, okay, I’ll admit that perhaps questioning her ability to do her job was bit...harsh. I mean, especially considering so many of the students like her -though there have been a few that have taken too much of a liking, but that’s been sorted - Anyway, I guess I’m just prone to being salty myself.”

She ran a hand through her hair as she sighed. Leave it to Kiyan to always make her realize when she’s overreacting with his naivety. Erin couldn’t help but chuckle at Kiyan’s notes on the girl’s stature. “I have zero doubts that she could take you on, Key. Especially if you panic and shift. I’m going to assume there’s genetics involved, but I don’t think it’s that odd...it’s kind of a little cute, to be honest.”

“Why can’t you trust your TA? Aren’t they supposed to help? I mean, I don’t really have one yet, but I figured that teacher assistances are there to help the teachers out while getting credit for it. Is that not what they do? Wait, is your TA just not helpful at all. Are we allowed to swap TAs if we ask for it? Who was your TA again?” He hummed as he took a pause to think, “Oh! Right. Skylar, was it? She’s.. so.. tiny.” 

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“Just because they’re meant to assist, doesn’t always mean you can count on them to do so. I mean, we’re both supposed to molding the youth in some way and yet neither one of us can be trusted not to burn the house down when attempting to make macarons,” she pointed out. “Somethings are just best not left to chance, is all.” Erin had been about to answer his question when he seemed to answer it on his own. “Practically pocket-sized, but if you did manage to place her in your pocket, it’d be a less ‘pocket full of sunshine’ and a lot more ‘pocket full of salt’. ... or maybe I’m being too harsh on her, I don’t know. They jury’s still out.”

“That’s so weird. I mean, everyone’s welcomed to tell me their thoughts and opinions and I’m not going to stop them from that so it doesn’t really make sense to me that just because I talk a lot about what I think would stop them from doing so. It definitely shouldn’t be a competition, they can talk as much as they want to. Did someone tell you that they were having competitions with me when it comes to talking with me? Because I definitely have never heard anyone say that to me before.”

“Exercise.. just sounds like a lot of work. Athletes are so amazing with what they do but I really don’t think it’s for me? You know? I’m like the opposite of what an athlete is.”

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Erin could only offer him a sympathetic smile, knowing that a lot of his sentiments were rooted in his naivety towards people in general. A quick glance at her phone, however, and a slight sense of urgency took hold as she noticed the time. “Well, all I can say is that people are dumb. But we can definitely resume this conversation over lunch, as we need to get a move on if we want to make it to campus on time. Lord knows I can’t trust my TA handle things if I’m a bit late,” she remarked. The last bit was tinged with a bit of bitterness that she couldn’t quite place where it stemmed from.

Reflex or not, Skylar hadn’t meant to give such attitude to Erin - espeically when technically, she was her boss. “Sorry.” She mumbled as she folded her arms in front of her. It was still odd to her that anyone else would care whether or not she was affected by the cold shoulder she was receiving from her old friends. After all, it was her own fault and doing that they were mad at her. “It’s my problem anyways, so I’m handling it.” She commented lamely. 

“Oh yes, I can see exactly how you’re handling it.” Erin’s tone made it obvious that she felt it was being handled anything but well. However, she still had two more classes, and didn’t feel like exhausting herself attempting to hold a conversation that Skylar had made it more than clear she did not wish to have. She stood up, and gathered her things. “Class starts in ten minutes. Don’t be late.”

“They actually ask for me when I’m not there? For real?” That was surprising. Skylar bantered with a lot of them so it was weird that they didn’t opt for a nicer TA or …just any other TA. The conversation took quite a turn when Erin called her out for the usual front she put up. “I don’t think this matters to you?” Confusion clear in her words. 

Erin could only quirk an eyebrow. The response she received wasn’t necessarily unwarranted, but the deliver was certainly unnecessary, and far out of place for the Professor’s Lounge at a college. Closing her sketchpad and sitting upright -effectively placing some distance between herself and the girl- Erin, simply replied, “If it didn’t matter to me, Skylar, I simply wouldn’t have asked. However, if what you’d like to tell me is that this is none of my business, you could very well stated such and spared me the attitude.”

“Why would they want to best me in a conversation? It’s not a competition though.. At least I didn’t think it was. Is it a competition? How come no one told me? Wait, I didn’t sign up to compete though, why would people want to best me??” The shapeshifter was genuinely confused to the intent behind that sort of thing. 

“Exercises… don’t sound fun though..” He grimaced, much preferring the caffeine over moving to get his adrenaline going. “Is there like.. a way … to.. not move that much and stay awake?”

“It’s not meant to be a competition, but some people think everything is a competition. It also doesn’t help that you tend to speak in a giant consecutive stream of thought that makes people think you don’t actually want an answer,” Erin said, the last bit with a smirk on her face.

“Exercise is great! We’re going to find something that works for you, but actually still makes you move because that’s the whole point.”

“I’m patient.. enough.” She really wasn’t suited to have any sort of teacher role, so she was also somewhat confused that she wasn’t denied on the spot. “Are they complaining about me?” She frowned, only to furrow her brows even further at the latter question, “Does what work for me?”

Erin couldn’t help the laugh that came up at the almost offend look on the girl’s face. “It was meant to be a compliment, given that the return kids tend to ask after you on the days you’re not around. Though they do say that a ‘hit dog will holler’...” she trailed off with an impish look on her face. Erin fixed Skylar with raised eyebrow and clarified, “The whole ‘devil may care’ front. Does pretending that things don’t affect you actually help them to not do so?”

“Well, I don’t know if my past life or lives had anything to do with who I am today. Who knows? Maybe I was an angel in my past life.” She snorted, but stopped herself from repeating to the woman that she wasn’t upset because she was sure that Erin did not believe her. “There’s a reason for everything.” She shrugged. 

“If you were, it’s clearly reflected in the patience you’ve shown with the younger students we’ve gotten for some of our community outreach programs. Which, by the way, are on a volunteer basis, so can’t really claim you were forced to do it,” she pointed out with small smirk. It was Erin’s turn to laugh at the non-answer that she received in response to her question. “Does this,” she began as she gestured in Skylar’s general direction, “actually work for you?”