This is the first oneshot @mythicalea and myself wrote, based on this anon request. Enjoy!!
“The kid needs our help!” you said, rolling your eyes and kept searching for that damn sauce while talking to your boss on the phone.
“I will come in earlier tomorrow” you said, taking a container in your hand and checking its label “we’re gonna need to talk about that with the parents. Okay. Goodnight” you finally hung up and turned to place the container in your basket while trying to put the phone back in your pocket. You were deep into your thoughts, still thinking about the job conversation, when you absent-mindedly checked your watch and turned on your heel to go get toothpaste and shampoo before the store closed.
Suddenly, awakening you from your thoughts, a figure bumped into you and your basket fell on the floor, stuff scattering around.
“Woah, woah” you heard a voice while kneeling down to gather your stuff “you okay ther’ lady?”
You looked up to see the figure kneeling beside you, helping you with your basket.
“Sorry ‘bout that” he smiled, looking directly into your eyes.
It was one of them, was your first thought. His long hair was falling softly on his shoulders, his eyes were gorgeous and kind, his smile the most beautiful you had ever seen. He gave you the sauce container and your fingers touched his for a moment, making you shiver;
“Y..yeah, I’m okay, thank you,” you said in one breath, placing the container back in the basket and standing up.
“What’s your..hey darlin’!” you heard him say while you had already turned on your heel and walked quickly towards the other side of the store.
You hid by the ice cream freezers for some moments, pretending you were searching for something while you could hear your heart racing. Yeah, he must have been one of them. “Mountain people” your father used to call them. You had never seen any of the Farrells in person before; just heard stories about them, all scary and dreadful. You weren’t sure you believed them, and yet here you were, hiding from that man who actually seemed really sweet and had been very kind to you, not to mention the way you’d run away from him. You hid your face into your palms, feeling stupid.
“You okay there sweetheart?” you heard behind you and jumped a little, startled.
“I’m sorry” the voice continued and you gathered the courage to turn around. He was standing there, not very close to you, his hands lifted in front of his chest. “Didn’t mean to scare ya,” he smiled again, and you felt your soul melting.
“Yes, I…I’m sorry, I…” you mumbled.
He tilted his head a little, examining your face. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes..yes, I’m okay..” you smiled lightly, and he approached you just a little.
“I’m Hasil” he said, placing his palm on his chest “Hasil Farrell”.
“I’m y/n” you said, unable to take your eyes away from his once more.
“That’s a beautiful name,” he said shyly.
You smiled a bit wider and he approached a step more. “Got a beautiful smile there as well”.
You could hear your heart thumping against your chest again, and you both stood there for some moments looking at each other before you heard the voice through the speakers, “Dear customers, the store will close in ten minutes. Please…” the voice kept talking while you grabbed your basket again, staying put this time.
“I gotta..” you said, pointing behind your back. “Thank you Hasil. Have a good night” you finally managed to talk clearly and smiled at him again before he did the same while walking backwards “see ya ‘round y/n”. Your heart fluttered.
The store was almost empty, with two or three people waiting in line for the checkout counter. You could hear slightly loud voices while you approached, and saw the cashier shouting at someone while the two other customers were about to play along.
“You have to pay us sir,” the cashier kept saying, louder and louder. “This ain’t acceptable here!” you saw him throw something to the floor and then you noticed it was Hasil the one standing there. He kneeled over to the floor while the cashier kept screaming.
“And get outta here! You’re not welcome here boy!” he kept repeating while Hasil was trying to say something, without being heard.
You furrowed your eyebrows, feeling the blood boil in your veins, and took a deep breath.
“Hey, hey, I’m sorry” you said loudly, walking forward towards the cashier.
“Whatcha want lady??” the cashier turned to you, his face all red.
“What’s with all the commotion sir?” you tried to be polite, even though you already knew what was happening.
“He got no money, so he won’t buy anything!” the cashier responded, pointing at the packet of cigarettes Hasil was holding. “What, you with him??” he went on, now looking at your basket. “If you think you’re gonna get away stealing all those things and give me a damn wooden toy, you don’t know what you got yourself into!” he screamed at you this time, pointing his finger at you.
“Hey!” Hasil intervened, moving forward, almost putting himself in front of you.
“Whatcha gonna do mountain boy?? Howl for your friends to come and save ya??” the cashier challenged him. Hasil took another step forward.
“No, no, stop,” you said, grabbing Hasil’s arm “Hasil, please, it’s okay.” Hasil turned to look at you and you squeezed his arm a bit. “I will pay for the cigarettes sir,” you turned to the cashier who was still looking back and forth between you and Hasil.
“Oh, so you do got money huh…did you steal that too??” he mumbled and Hasil gritted his teeth. You grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes. “Please, just let it go” you said, finally paying for the cigarettes. You gave him the pack, nodding. Hasil took it, pointing a finger at the man behind the counter.
“You’re lucky ‘cause of her pal” he said, and walked away.
Five minutes later you were walking outside the store, bags in your arms, searching for your car keys in your pocket.
“Hey,” you heard a soft voice behind you.
“Hello again,” you smiled, “did you forget something?”
“Just wanted to thank you,” he said, approaching you. He took the bags from your arms and stood there looking at you for some seconds before speaking again. “So where’s your car sweetheart?”
“Oh, right..it’s this way” you pointed to your left “you don’t have to do this you know..”
“Yeah, I do,” he smiled and started walking next to you.
“Thank you,” you said, looking at the ground while walking.
“I’m the one to thank you darlin’” he said, “I didn’t wanna bring you in that position and-”
“It’s fine, totally fine” you interrupted him, “it was the least I could do. Here’s me.” you pointed at the car in front of you and unlocked it while he helped you put the bags in the trunk.
“Whatcha mean?”
“I mean..the way I behaved earlier...I..I was biased about you and I was completely wrong.”
You looked up at him sweetly, completely mesmerized by his eyes, while he couldn’t take them off your face either.
“No worries darlin’” he smiled widely.
“Okay, so…”
“Yeah. See ya around, I guess.”
You didn’t really want to leave, but you made yourself get into the car as he walked away, just to hear his voice again, approaching you.
“Say, y/n” he said loudly so that you could hear him over the car engine “you think we can..like, hang out sometime, or…”
“I guess we can,” you said playfully. He bit his lower lip and put his hands on his waist, looking down at the ground and back up at you.
“I’ll make sure we do hun.”
“Okay guys, come on, let’s repeat!” you smiled at the kids that were looking at you wide eyed, trying to repeat the abc’s after you. You walked amongst their desks while they were all chanting together, and ended up applauding when they finished.
“Excellent job darlings!!” okay, let’s take out our notebooks now, and…” you were suddenly interrupted by a slight knock on the window behind you. You turned around to see Hasil standing there, looking at you and smiling. You smiled back, feeling your cheeks blush.
“Oh who is that miss..?” a little girl asked, giggling.
“Is he your boyfriend?” another boy asked, and the whole classroom giggled joyfully.
“He is a friend loves,” you tried hard not to giggle yourself while you were sure your face had taken a deep red colour by now. You motioned to Hasil to come inside the building and went on with the lesson.
Ten minutes later, the bell rang, and the children gathered their stuff and started walking towards the door while saying their goodbyes and hugging you.
“Have a nice weekend miss!”
“Have fun!”
“Oh miss, where is your friend???”
Right when you opened the door for them to start walking out, you saw Hasil, as you hoped. You smiled widely and he approached reluctantly. You nodded for him to come in.
“You sure..? Should I just wait outside?”
“No no, come on in!” you waved. He approached more looking at the kids, who were all looking up at him enthusiastically.
“Loves, this is my friend Hasil” you said, “Hasil, this is my class of little stars,” you motioned.
One little girl approached Hasil and took his hand, leading him to one of the desks. Hasil’s face turned bright red and you could tell he was startled.
“Come on Mr. Hasil” another kid said, “we’ll show you our stickers!”
“Kids, don’t you think..” you started, but he stopped you.
“No, I wanna see those..stickers, you called them?”
“Yeah, look!!”
The kids gathered around him and each introduced themselves to him, taking out their blocks of stickers and drawings to show him. He looked overwhelmed but extremely excited at the same time. You heart melted.
“Mr. Hasil” another girl started, “will you read us a story?” She went to the small bookcase and took ‘Beauty and the Beast’ out, bringing it to him. Hasil took it in his hands and his face sank for a second.
“Okay darlings, it’s getting late” you said, sensing Hasil’s uneasiness, approaching them and helping the kids put their stuff back in their bags . “He will read to you another time, okay?”
“Oookayyy” the kids chanted.
“I’ll come back to see you, ‘kay?” Hasil promised, “here” he searched into his bag for a second and took out a beautiful wooden bunny “I will bring each of you your favorite animal next time ‘kay? This is for the class” he said, and gave you the bunny. You smiled, and put it on top of the bookcase.
“Thank you Mr. Hasil!”
“It is so beautiful!”
“What’s its name??”
“Come onnn, your folks are waiting!! I will tell him all about your favorite animals alright?” you laughed, and the kids gathered their coats and, before leaving, each of them hugged Hasil.
“See you on Monday miss!”
“We’ll be waiting for you Mr. Hasil! Byeee”
“Bye!” Hasil smiled and waved as they all walked outside, till you were left alone in the classroom. You closed the door and turned to him.
“Sorry, they can get very overwhelming,” you smiled, approaching him.
“Whatcha talkin’ about darlin’” he smiled, “they’re so sweet look at ‘em.”
You sat opposite him on the desk, looking at him.
“You sure we should be here? I mean..”
“Of course, this is my classroom” you said.
“I was just worried the kids might.. be scared, ya know.”
“The kids can feel the kindness from afar” you smiled and looked into his eyes. He looked into yours and smiled shyly. before breaking eye contact, looking down at the book.
“What…what’s this book ‘bout?” he asked, looking through it.
“It’s a fairytale, it’s called Beauty and the Beast.”
“Oh?” he looked back up at you, as you briefly explained the story.
“Well, sounds familiar,” he said when you finished, “might as well-”
“Oh stop it” you said, touching his hand with yours.
“You..you don’t think i’m a weird monster or sumthin’?”
“What..? Of course not, Hasil!” you tilted your head searching for his gaze. “I was the stupid one for getting startled the other day at the store and..”
“It’s okay, it’s okay hun’” he stopped you, squeezing your hand. “Ya know” he looked back down at the book “I always wanted to learn how to read but..but I never had the chance ya know?”
“Well.. that can be easily fixed.”
He looked at you questioningly.
“I can show you.”
“You..you can..?” his face lit up like a kid looking at the Christmas tree.
“Of course,” you smiled, “and since it’s Friday, we can start today. If you..if you can make it, of course.”
“‘course I can darlin’” he smiled, taking your hand into his again. “Thank ya.”
.......................................................................
He came to your place in the early evening, knocking on the door softly and smiling widely as you opened the door.
“Hello Hasil,” you welcomed him, unable to stop smiling either.
“Hey darlin’” he extended his hand for you to shake, but you ignored it, leaning in for a hug. When you broke it, his cheeks were slightly flushed.
“You good?” he asked shyly.
“I’m good,” you motioned for him to get inside, “come on in.”
He walked around, looking at your house.
“Nice crib you got here,” he said, checking the paintings on the living room walls.
“Thanks,” you replied, “sit wherever you want. Want something to drink?”
“Nah, I’m good hun,” he said and sat on the sofa. “I..I got something for you,” he said as you approached him and sat next to him.
“Oh Hasil, you really shouldn’t have brought anything..”
“Don’ worry luv, it’s not as if I spent any paper or anything,” he joked as he gave you the package.
“Thank you so much Hasil,” you said excitedly, while tearing the white paper, revealing a beautiful wooden owl.
“Oh my God,” you said, slightly caressing it with your fingers, “you made this? It’s gorgeous.”
“Oh it’s nothin’ ” he said, “since the owl is the symbol of wisdom and all…ya know..I figured it would be a good gift..with you bein’ my teacher ‘n all...”
You looked up at him, sure that he could hear the loud beating of your heart. You smiled sweetly and then noticed another small pouch that was inside the bigger package.
“This is some herbal tea from our mountain” he said, “it’s delicious and very calming, helps with sleep n’ stuff.”
“Thank you so much Hasil,” you repeated, “it’s the most wonderful gift I've ever gotten. You squeezed his hand with yours and he didn’t hesitate to take it and bring it to his lips, kissing it softly. Now you were the one blushing, but you didn’t care to hide it.
You stayed like that for some moments before you woke up from your trance and stood up to place the owl on the piano.
“I’m gonna make some of this right now” you said, taking the packet of herbal tea, “you sure you don’t want anything to drink?”
“I’m good,” he smiled and watched you as you admired the owl.
“I’ll be right back,” you said and walked towards the kitchen. Minutes later, as you were coming back with a bowl of cookies and some water, you saw him standing in front of the piano, looking at the pictures that were sitting on it. He had taken a picture of you in his hands and was softly caressing it with his finger. He didn’t realize you were approaching and jumped a little when you placed the bowl on the coffee table.
“Uh, I…sorry I was…” he said, carefully putting the framed picture back on the piano “just lookin’ at your photos and..sorry.”
“No problem at all,” you gave him a small smile “come on, let’s start.”
...............................................................
You spent the next week in total bliss, in between hard work at the school and lessons with Hasil, who learned fast and amazed you more and more every day, both with his learning skills and the way he made you fall harder and harder for him every day.
He was really insecure in the beginning, and even though you kept explaining to him that he did very well, he still wasn’t pleased with himself. It was another Friday afternoon when you were in your small living room, sitting on the floor, and he was reading a small poem from your favorite book. He didn’t struggle almost at all, and yet he stopped, throwing the book on the table, sighing.
“Hasil, for the millionth time, you are doing very well! It’s been ten days since we started and you can already write words and read short paragraphs!!”
“Yeah, well, I’m not pleased” he murmured, and you sighed.
“Fine,” you said, standing up, “I’ll go make us some hot chocolate, just take a break okay?”
“ ‘kay” he rubbed his face with his hands and you left for the kitchen.
Some minutes later, you came back, finding him writing something in the practice notebook, which he closed fast when he saw you approaching.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Hasil.”
“It’s nothin’ hun, let’s continue okay?” he said, taking the mug from your hands and getting back to the book he’d been reading before. You tried to take the notebook in your hands but he pushed it away.
“What are you doing Hasil?”
“It’s reading time, ain’t it? Gonna read this again,” he said, turning the pages.
“What were you writing? Come on, I’m your teacher, you can show me!” you said, and with a quick movement you managed to grab the notebook before he could take it back.
“It’s nothin’, really, just gimme the notebook okay?” he squealed.
You didn’t open the notebook, but didn’t give it back either.
“Can I please see what you wrote? Please?”
“Fine,” he sighed, waving his hand. He took a deep breath, watching you open the notebook.
And then your heart stopped for several seconds.
There, in a clean page of the notebook, were written five sentences, each saying the same thing.
You sat there, looking at the notebook, unable to look back up at him because of the tears that were threatening to run down your cheeks. Hasil broke the silence, and his voice was trembling a bit.
“I…I’ve been practisin’ on this phrase since you taught me the whole alphabet,” he said softly, “it was…it was the first phrase I wanted to learn how to write.”
You looked up at him, still unable to speak.
“Here,” he said, taking the notebook from your hands and turning the pages to the back “I started practisin’ on your name first,” and he showed you two full pages with your name all over them, “I wanted it to be perfect before I showed you and..yeah.”
He stopped talking and touched your chin with his fingers, bringing your face up to look at him. A tear ran down your cheek and he was startled.
“If I scared ya I’m just..let’s just forget ‘bout it and..”
“No,” you stopped him, opening the notebook again, “let’s not forget about it.”
You grabbed your pen and wrote a small sentence below his own.
You passed him the notebook and melted for the millionth time, watching him mouth the words while reading them.
“And this,” you said, pointing to his I love you, y/n “is perfect. You did absolutely perfect, Hasil.”
He smiled, his eyes watery.
“I had a good teacher, hun’” he whispered, and, dropping the notebook on the sofa, he approached you slowly. His hand caressed your cheek and you could feel his breath on your face as he leaned towards you, your noses touching, “another short break?” he asked.
“Yes please” you smiled, “we do..need…a break…” you managed to whisper before his lips finally touched yours, taking your breath away.
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