#mir0red

yet another school year has started. he has been through thirteen years of teaching. three of them at this particular high school in san diego. he has to admit , it has been nice being back in the area. after he graduated from top gun , he came back to the area between his second and third deployment. His base may have been in Oceana , but he always had a soft spot for California , especially San Diego.

tonight was the open house , where parents could meet their teenagers teachers , if they really cared. It was not like elementary school, and his main grades he taught were sophomores and seniors. so on average he met about ten parents total across all of the periods. because of that , he knew he was in for an EASY NIGHT. he didn't have a parent until the second period time came. and miraculously he had three. so he introduced himself , went over his syllabus , answered any questions parents may have had. and before he knew it the time was up and on to the next period.

that was when things got INTERESTING he was standing outside the door when out of the corner of his eyes was somebody that he didn't expect to see, coming right for his classroom. Penny Benjamin. he couldn't believe it. the last time he saw her he was in the base hospital saying goodbye to her , forever. at the time , he had deep love for the admirals daughter. there was no way she would remember him. so he was just going to act professional. after all, he was no longer WOODSTOCK. he was MR. ALDERIDGE. high school social studies teacher. Brown hues look to see the teenager next to her. Amelia. so far he liked having her in class. she seemed to be a great student , always eager to learn.

livvy brings her own lunch to school- though lunch is probably a loose term. her little lunchbox is pink with rainbows and little clouds and filled with an odd assortment of things she'd picked up from a gas station on the way to the bus stop in the morning. today she's jammed it with a family-sized pack of beef jerky, three bags of sour gummy worms, a roll of powdered donuts, pink gatorade, and a handful of string cheese.

and when warren says she can sit, her face brightens and she settles into her spot with her lunch box in front of her, her shoulders more relaxed than the tense way they'd been drawn as she stood by the table.

" d'you want some of the worms? " she asks after a minute, holding one of the open packages out for him.

his hands feel older , the skin hardened in small patches across his palm , the skin not quite as soft as he remembers . maybe it was his vivid imagination , a fret lead on by pondering over his long life too often . would there be a point where he stands before a mirror and doesn't recognise himself ? when he finds a new line beside his eyes from grinning too often ? kingo couldn't think on it much longer , and drops his hands to his sides with a slap , prodding the palms absentmindedly as he throws his eyes towards the crowd in hopes of a distraction .

She knows how it sounds; she'd be an idiot if she missed how it's a phrase reserved for flirting, poorly. Hell, she's at a fucking bar with a drink in her hand - there are few other ways one interprets such a phrase. It just isn't what she means, though, her tongue a bit looser than she expects after a few cheap shots on someone else's tab.

she'd be lying if she didn't admit to running through every reason to say no the second the question is thrown out between them. the downside ... ? she couldn't think of any. well, besides the obvious one that by this time tomorrow she'd be in her apartment in dc & he would still be here. ( will & jj made it work before ... she shoves the thought away ). @mir0red only knew the amount of herself she allowed to be seen during working hours, doesn't know the sides of christine kept hidden, or her dating habits which were primarily one thing: christine didn't really date. she picked up strangers that turned into three am phone calls, men & women who only saw her between the hours of eleven pm & four am. always out before sunrise, sometimes she moved like a ghost with the way you may never hear or see from her again. she couldn't do that to jack. a good man who came from good people & damn good cop to boot. her mind offers a counter argument ... just because she went on one date didn't mean it had to go anywhere did it ?  ❛ oh, ❜ she finally says, a nervous chuckle spilling past her lips.  ❛ like ... right now ? ❜ she asks as finishes loading up their files.  ❛ because you know we're heading back to virginia tomorrow. unless you're planning a trip to the district soon ? ❜

sudden movement to her right causes christine to shoot straight up in bed despite how viciously her body protested it. she doesn't remember coming back to her room with anyone last night & she can't tell if it's that or the hangover that's making her stomach turn & only once she's sure she's not going to vomit does she look over to get a look at the stranger's face. she lets out a sigh of relief when the stranger turned out to not be a stranger at all; it was @mir0red but that relief was short lived when the idea that they had slept together ran through her mind. a quick glance beneath the sheet showed that she was dressed & if the pounding in her head was any indication there was no way she would've been able to redress herself after that. reaching out, she gave his shoulder a nudge.  ❛ lance. ❜ she murmurs, shaking him again.  ❛ lance, come on, you should probably go back to your room before any of the others are up & get the wrong idea. ❜ that's when the sun peeking through the curtains bounced off her finger. she recoils her hands like she'd just been burned, bringing it to her face as if to make sure she wasn't seeing things. it was a very simple gold band, most likely not real if she had to guess & that feeling that she was going to throw up was back in full force. scrambling over the sleeping man's body, she found his left arm under the pillow & even though she'd been begging & pleading with any & every god that may or may not be out there, she found a matching one on his hand.  ❛ oh my god. ❜ she breathes before sitting back on her knees.  ❛ oh my god ? ❜ she chewed the inside of her cheek a moment before she gives lance a hard enough shove to send him into the floor gently.  ❛ lance ! wake up ! ❜