#clegg

Clegg x reader, slaughterhouse rulez

warnings: cursing, making out

I was going to be late. And for my first assembly- this was just my luck. I had lost track of time, and then got slightly (okay maybe more than slightly) lost trying to find where the rest of the students were, but by some happy coincidence, I had managed to finally find the place where everyone was gathered. As I approached, I was intensely relieved to hear their loud chatter, which must mean that no one important had started to speak yet. I hurried in, looking around me to try and figure out where my house was for me to stand with. That was my first mistake- not looking where I was going. The second was bothering to apologise when I walked straight into the biggest arsehole I had ever met.

"Oh- I'm so sorry- I-"

"Don't let me catch you talking to upper sixth again." He sounded utterly disgusted that he was having to speak to me.

I looked up, and saw a face that was so perfectly chiselled it annoyed me. What did shitty people do to deserve such amazing bone structure?

"Did you really just refer to yourself in the third person like that?" I managed to match his disgust in my voice, and stared him straight in the eyes, which only seemed to provoke him further.

"You don't speak to me, or even look at me ever again. Understood?"

It was very easy to piss him off.

"Well it's not exactly a privilege looking at you so I'm sure that won't be a problem," I was lying "but I don't think the not talking is going to work for me. After all, you need someone to remind you how much of a dick you are."

I watched the shock grow on his face- clearly he was used to getting his way the first time he asked. But I refused to give him the satisfaction of backing down. For a second, I thought he was about to hit me, but he just managed to restrain himself.

" How dare you? I am upper sixth, and you should start showing me a lot more respect before you get into serious trouble. Understand? "

Before I could reply, a figure in a large block robe entered the room with an entourage of students.

The room fell immediately silent.

Instead of replying, I opted for a silent response, and rolled my eyes pointedly at him.

*

Clegg, as I had later learned his name to be, had not managed to resist making my school life as miserable as possible in the upcoming weeks. I had once thought that perhaps my being a new student would provide me with some reprieve from harsh punishment, but I had been sorely mistaken. Most mornings now, I would be forced to wake up at an ungodly hour to run laps of the grounds with other miscreants, all the while enduring Clegg yelling insults and tormenting us.

And I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep my mouth shut.

"Get moving, you worthless pieces of shit. Come on! Get your fat arses moving, you aren't even trying!"

As a matter of fact, I was trying. Extremely hard. But the muddy terrain made my feet unsteady, and when they slid out from underneath me for what felt like the thousandth time, I finally found myself incapable of standing again.

“Shitting hell,” I cursed, my ankle collapsing as I tried to stand on it, the pain making me go lightheaded.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, stand up you useless idiot,” Clegg spat at me as the others ran ahead and I struggled to stand.

“Just fuck off, would you? I think it’s broken I can’t bloody move.” I glowered up at him. Probably a mistake if I wanted any sort of help.

His face contorted slightly- probably in disgust at the thought of coming near me- before he grabbed my arm to hoist me to my feet.

I was momentarily surprised at his help, having expected to have been left out on the lawns until one of my kinder classmates noticed me missing. But I was glad I had been too surprised to thank him.

Cursing at my stupidity the whole way back, he half lifted, half dragged me to the school. It was less than comfortable, and quite frankly I would have preferred to have been left on the ground.

“Are you always such a massive twat?” My ankle twinged in pain as I stumbled over the front steps, released from his iron grasp.

“Be glad I helped you.” He seemed almost smug, probably finding joy in the obvious pain I was in now I stood without his support, “Come to my dorm immediately after the matron has seen to you. I’ll be arranging a less physical punishment, since you are clearly too pathetic to even handle a jog.” He looked me up and down disdainfully. I rolled my eyes pointedly at him. He scoffed at me, and strode off, leaving me barely upright in the doorway to the building. Absolute wanker.

*

After matron bandaged my ankle- just a bad sprain, as it turned out, I had long missed breakfast. As it was a Saturday, I had no classes and therefore no excuse not to go straight to Clegg’s dorm. It was a meeting I was dreading.

It took me longer than I had expected to limp up a flight of stairs, and I knew as soon as I entered his room I would get an earful for it; at least he had his own dorm so I could at least avoid the embarrassment of being berated in front of an audience.

I knocked twice and he ordered me to come in.

“You took your time. Sit.” He commanded, gesturing to his bed. I perched on the end, not at all surprised to see it perfectly made, and all of his possessions perfectly organised.

“What do you want, Clegg.” I put as much animosity into my voice as was possible.

“First of all, show me some respect. Second- “

I cut him off, “I’ll show you respect when you earn it. You’re pathetic.” I stood up, putting all my weight on my good foot and focusing on not showing the pain I was in even from just resting on my bad ankle.

“I’m pathetic, am I? Well let me tell you something-“ He strode towards me, intimidating me slightly with his height, “You’re nobody. Worth nothing. And you had better start listening to me or I can make things much, much harder for you- it’s not like anyone would even notice.”

I stepped forwards, up in his face. He was trying to scare me and it wouldn’t work. “Are you really threatening me? You’re just a schoolboy. What are you going to do?”

For a second, he froze, staring me in the eyes, waiting for me to back down.

Then he closed the gap between us, kissing me, hard.

For a second, I was in shock. Then I remembered how to respond, kissing him back with as much anger and force as I could muster. He lifted me slightly to shove me against his wall, surprising me by taking care not to let my weight fall on my ankle. His teeth pulled on my lower lip, much harder than necessary but it was clear he knew exactly what he was doing.

I reached up to pull him closer, but one of his hands was quicker, pinning my wrists to the wall above my head.

My head was swimming with confusion that had quickly become overpowered with an aching desire I had never felt this strongly before.

I was helpless against him and he knew it.

“Clegg. You in there?” Meredith Houseman’s voice made me jump, but Clegg remained collected, pulling away only enough to reply “I’ll be with you in a moment.” but still not releasing me from his grasp.

His face was still centimetres from mine. There was nothing I wanted more than to close the gap between us, but with Houseman outside it would have been an exceptionally stupid move.

“Be back here this evening. Don’t be late- and don’t bother wearing underwear.”

For once, I felt no temptation to challenge his authority. I nodded.

Richard Clogg is one of the most widely read British academics writing about modern Greek history. Richard Clogg is an Emeritus Fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford. He was previously Professor of Modern Balkan History in the University of London. He has written widely on the modern history of Greece and also on Greek politics. His Concise History of Greece (Third edition Cambridge 2013) has been translated into thirteen languages, including all the languages of the Balkans. His most recent publication is Greek to Me: a Memoir of Academic Life (I.B. Tauris 2018).