Bound To you

Chapter 3

“ELI…”

“ELI.”

“ELI!”

“ELI, f*****g WAKE UP!” She felt her face being slapped by a cold hand and opened her eyes startled by the action.

“Ruby? What the hell! I was having a good dream!”

“I say what the hell! You slept in, Swan! Get that ass out of bed now!”

“After a month not being able to sleep, on the first night I can, you wake me up like that? What the f**k, Ruby!”

The brunette giggled at the sight of her annoyed friend getting out of bed, walking towards the bathroom and slamming the door angrily. ELI took a relaxing bath, not bothering if she was late or not. Ruby banged on the door a few more times and shouted horrendous words at the blonde but instead of taking notice, she just smiled with her eyes closed.

Oh, yes.

She laughed with her eyes closed because she was remembering the dream she had had with Miss Mills. ELI had never imagined that the person who stole her sleep could give her lovely dreams.

xXx

Ruby and ELI were in the car on the way to school, and the two of them remained quiet. However, the blonde could notice that her friend was tapping on the steering wheel constantly with her fingers and ELI hated that noise, but Ruby kept doing it regardless.

“Ruby, can you please stop?” The brunette in red tresses rolled her eyes and then turned to face her friend. “What? You know I don't like that annoying tapping noise.”

“Yes, and that's why I'm doing it.”

ELI knew that when Ruby made those irritating things, something she had done was making the brunette angry.

“What now?” She sighed and tried to be very direct in getting rid of a bigger argument. “What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing... yet.”

“Come on, Rubes! Just because I snapped at you this morning?”

“ELI, don't pretend like you don’t know.”

“I am not pretending anything! I just want you to explain to me what's going on. Is that hard?”

“ELI, I thought you were my friend.” The brunette averted her eyes from the road just for a second, and soon there was a car honking at her, so her eyes quickly directed back to the road.

ELI didn't feel very safe when Ruby was driving the car. Not at all.

“Ruby, I am your friend and I will always be. What you have done for me is incomparable, nobody has given me the chance you have. And that is not the only reason why I’m your friend, and I think you already know that.” 

ELI knew that when she spoke about their past, the brunette always became thrilled and it soothed her nerves. And it would have helped in some situations where they were in danger — like this one now as it could be considered as dangerous driving.

Once again, the brunette was distracted for some reason and her eyes averted away from the road, causing the car to nearly get out of track. ELI held firmly at the door handle and expressed a frightened face. “Ruby,” she muttered nervously. “For the love of God! Keep the car on the track!”

Her friend nodded promptly and didn’t take her eyes off the road anymore.

“Well, back to what we were talking about,” ELI continued. “Ruby, please, tell me what’s going on!” 

The brunette took a deep breath and began to speak, her eyes fixed on the road in front of her, “You’ve been daydreaming so much lately and you never tell me anything. Since the night you slept with Graham, you’ve stopped telling me things. I don't know what's going on with you. You’re never at home anymore, and I know I'm paranoid sometimes, but I need you to tell me things. I need to know how you are, ELI,” her friend pleaded dramatically.

The blonde smiled at that. It was great to hear her best-friend-half-sister saying those things to her. It always warmed her heart. 

“I know, and I'm sorry. It's complicated what I'm going through right now. I wish I could tell you, but I still don't really know what it is.”

“ELI, what are you talking about?” The brunette began tapping her fingers on the steering wheel again and ELI took a deep breath.

“When I'm ready, I'm going to tell you everything. You're my confidant, so please, don’t ever forget that.” She smiled tenderly and Ruby returned it.

“I love you, blondie,” her friend said with her eyes fixed on the road and a huge smile on her face, causing ELI to laugh at her attitude.

“I love you too, Rubes.”

xXx

The day passed by faster than ELI expected. She studied more than expected. She was more anxious than she expected to be. The hours were passing, the night was coming, and with it, the private lesson with Miss Mills. The only thing that ELI was not expecting was how the private lesson with Miss Mills would be. And as much as she thought about it all the time and created situations likely to happen, she still feared of her own actions towards that woman.

ELI and Ruby got home together after school, and what ELI also hadn't expected to happen, happened: 

“Ruby, are you staying at home tonight?”

“Yes, why?” The brunette asked as she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

“Oh, I was just... uh, well…” ELI sighed and let her hands drop to the side of her body.

“You were going out?” Her friend asked with arched eyebrows.

“I am going out,” ELI replied and Ruby looked at her incredulously.

“You’re going to leave me alone?! Again?!” The brunette asked angrily.

“Ruby, don't start again, please.”

The girl sighed loudly and stayed quiet. A few seconds later, she blurted out her angry words at ELI, “Just for your concern, ELI Swan, when Granny comes home, you won’t be sneaking out like this ever again!” 

ELI covered her face with both hands and refused to believe in what she was hearing. “Ruby, we know very well that I'm not the only one who has been sneaking out. I saw you doing it two nights ago.” Her friends’ eyes widened. “I should make youtell me what you’re hiding from me, but unfortunately right now, I no longer have time because I’m going out!” 

ELI left, leaving her friend there, on the sofa, slightly open-mouthed. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to see Miss Mills.

Okay, yes, she cared. But she couldn't turn back now. Not now when she had somewhere important to go. 

ELI took the car and soon had driven to school. The gate was half open, so she entered easily. Most of the lights were off and the main hall was lit. That place was really eerie at night, though. 

She took a deep breath and continued walking. When she reached the library’s door, through the circle of the glass on it, ELI could see Miss Mills reading something while seated by a table, looking very concentrated on what she was doing. ELI was about to get in and she felt her heart race loudly inside her chest. My God, how she hated that feeling. She looked like a fan desperate to see their idol.

Carefully, she opened the door and Miss Mills’ gaze soon followed her movements.

“Good evening, Miss Mills,” she greeted politely.

“Good evening, Miss Swan.” The teacher smirked. “Make yourself at home, dear.” ELI grinned and approached the table where Rika was. 

ELI noticed there was an empty glass of wine on Rika’s table and thought it was odd. As much as she was a little bit embarrassed, she could not hold her tongue to ask certain things to Miss Mills.

“What was in that glass, Miss Mills?” 

Rika looked at her with a cheeky smile and then bit her lower lip. “Wine, Miss Swan.” ELI's eyes widened slightly. Her teacher was drinking alcohol in front of her, at school! “ELI, don't look at me like that. I'm not an alcoholic and not reckless either.” 

The blonde nodded, smiling reluctantly. “I know you're not. But why are you drinking wine, now?” 

“I like drinking wine. Makes me more focused. And besides, I'm in love with wines.”

ELI shrugged and changed the subject, “So, what am I going to learn today?” ELI supported her hands on the table and looked at her teacher intensely, almost letting the joy trespass at the feeling of being there with her.

“I have several future ideas for you, Miss Swan. But today, you will show me what you know.”

“Show more?” ELI looked at her with false indignation. 

Rika made a serious face and arched an eyebrow in a domineering way. ELI immediately stretched her hands and palms wide apart in front of her chest, trying to convey she was defending herself. 

“Okay, okay. You don't have to look at me like that, Miss Mills.” 

Rika let out a chuckle and pointed to the chair placed in front of the wooden table. “You can sit right there. I'm going to be watching you while you work. I don’t want you cheating.” She slid a printed sheet across the table with five questions on it. It made ELI instantly roll her eyes at it. “Are you already bored of the private lessons, Miss Swan?” The teacher asked with sarcasm.

“Not yet.” Rika looked at her with fake disbelief and ELI laughed. 

“Calm down, Miss Mills. It's just a joke. I really love to answer questions about history.” The teacher laughed at ELI’s sarcasm and then returned her attention to her books. 

After a few minutes of silence, ELI became confused with a question. But when she looked at the woman in front of her, she froze when she viewed the brunette opening the first two buttons of her silk, grey blouse. 

Rika noticed the look and soon realized where ELI was looking at. The blonde averted her eyes away from her teacher’s cleavage immediately, feeling her face getting warm already. “Sorry, ELI. It’s a little war in here and I think it’s absurd that a library doesn't have air conditioning.”

ELI cleared her throat before speaking, “Yeah, uh, it is absurd.”

“Do you mind?” She pointed to her own cleavage and looked deeply into the blonde’s eyes, waiting for an answer.

“Don’t worry about me, Miss Mills. I'm very focused on these questions you gave me.” ELI rolled her eyes playfully and Rika chuckled again. Then, she returned to read her book.

ELI couldn't stop staring at her teacher, though. She had a question in mind about the quiz, but all that sight of Miss Mills’ in all her glory in front of her was leading her to be unfocused. The way her black, shiny hair was draped over her shoulders made ELI sigh wistfully as she imagined touching those silky locks. And that beautiful, alluring cleavage that showed ever a slight bit of skin made ELI feel things for this woman that she had never imagined she would feel for any woman in her life. It was very weird, but she couldn't stop feeling and liking it.

“Miss Mills?” 

Rika lifted her head and smiled tenderly at her student. “You know what, ELI? You don't have to call me 'Miss Mills’ all the time. It’s kind of annoying.”

“Oh, sorry, Miss Mil- Oops…” ELI smiled a little embarrassed and continued, “Rika?” she asked with a tone that said was searching for permission and loved the sound of that name on her lips.

“Yes, ELI?”

“It’s about the Gulf War. I don’t understand the question.”

“I knew you were going to stop there.” The teacher snorted and ELI raised her eyebrows. “Come here, ELI,” she said, pointing to the seat next to her.

ELI stood up and walked towards her teacher, feeling her heart race during every step. She sat right next to Rika causing their shoulders to touch slightly.

“It wants the main point, the goal of the-” Rika paused, her right hand reaching to touch her own spine. “Ugh, why now?” The teacher grumbled as she somewhat massaged herself on her back.

“What is it?” ELI asked worriedly. And by instinct, she put her hand on the brunette’s back, right above her hand.

“My back hurts a little bit. I guess I've been walking and doing too many exercises lately.”

“Whoa... I think I’ll have to call you Miss Mills again.” Rika stared at her with an incredulous look, causing ELI to laugh out loud.

“ELI Swan! How old do you think I am?” The blonde lowered her shoulders immediately, not wanting to answer. “Answer, Miss Swan!” Rika demanded seriously.

“Uh... I don’t... I-I think…” She rolled her eyes for stammering and got even more frightened by the look the teacher was giving her. “s**t, I don’t know. Maybe you are twenty-six? I seriously don’t know!” she grumbled, her tone letting it show how unsure she was about answering this. 

Rika smirked and bit her lower lip. God damn it, she should stop doing that. It was making ELI’s body feel so… weird. “I’m twenty-seven, Miss Swan.” ELI breathed out a sigh in relief and Rika chuckled throatily.

“Is it really that bad?” The blonde asked, pointing to her teacher’s inclined back.

“Well, not so much. It’ll pass. Don't worry, ELI,” Rika consoled and commanded. “Go back to your questions.”

“Rika, don't try to be so tough. Your health matters more than these boring history questions. I can give you a massage, if you want.” The brunette looked at her warily but still seemed to be considering the idea. ELI sat there, twiddling her fingers and thumbs as nerves arose at her answer. She wanted and needed Miss Mills to say yes.

“What about those ‘boring history questions’?” Rika teased, smirking playfully.

“I’ll do it later, Miss-” ELI stopped when she remembered her mistake. “Rika.”

The brunette smiled and then turned her back to ELI, straightening her position right after. As they were seated on a hard wooden bench, ELI turned to the same position as Rika and sat facing her back. Her hands were sweating, so she wiped it on her jeans and soon her hands touched that clothed shoulder. She wished the silky, smooth top was not in the way, preventing her from truly helping her very tense teacher by massaging her soft warm skin. She noticed the lack of Rika’s reaction and that her muscles felt relaxed, that information combined quickly, with the realization that her problem must be lower. As her hands rubbed and glided down the back, she came across a knot in her lower lumbar. ELI used her thumbs to circle on either side of the knot, working together symmetrically at the same pace. After a short while, she moved onto using one single hand to restrict the muscle and release with her thumb and forefinger apart, causing the muscles to relax a little further. That’s when ELI lost her breath. Rika let out a moan that paralyzed ELI, causing her hands to stop moving immediately.

“What’s wrong, ELI?” The brunette looked behind her to try to find the blonde's eyes, but ELI quickly put her hands on Rika’s back again to keep doing the massage. 

“You have many knots. You're too stressed, Rika.”

“Being a teacher is a great challenge. And it's not as easy as everyone thinks. We should be valued.”

“I totally agree.” 

The brunette’s moans started coming out more often and louder. ELI was no longer able to breathe calmly. She felt a warmth between her legs and she wanted to rub it to stop it, but doing that right now would be seen as weird. Suddenly, it happened again; her body was betraying her as it instinctively leaned in, her breasts now brushing against the brunette’s back. Feeling that apple scent even closer, ELI had to move away quickly, or otherwise, she would do something totally impulsive and that would ruin everything.

“Any better?” she asked when she leaned back.

“A lot better! Thank you, ELI! I owe you one.”

“Oh, don’t worry! You don't owe me anything.”

The brunette smiled tenderly and turned to her previous position. “Shall we go back to the questions?”

The blonde rolled her eyes playfully and said wryly, “I would love to!”

xXx

The next day, ELI was very excited to go to school. She didn’t have a class with Rika, but the night before had compensated for the rest of the week.

“What happened that you're so smiley today, Em?” Ruby asked, nuisance still laced in her voice.

“I would tell you if I could.”

“ELI, stop with the f*****g suspense! I'm sick of it!”

“I’ll tell if you tell me your secrets first.”

“I have no secrets.” She pouted and looked away from the gaze of her blonde friend.

“Oh, neither do I, then!” ELI shrugged childishly and crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

When Ruby was about to open her mouth to grumble, Killian interjected, “Good morning, ladies!” He looked happier than usual. And when he was dumbly happy like this, something with a chick had worked out right for him, of course. He had always been like this.

“Why are you so smiley, Killian?” Ruby asked, using the same tone she used with ELI.

“No big deal... I just found Miss Mills in the hallway and had a chat with her.” He smiled coquettishly.

Oh, that f*****g womanizer’s smile really irritated ELI. Sometimes she even felt like strangling Killian due to his stupid attitudes. f**k. And why was he talking to Rika in the hallway? Who let him do that? Ugh! She really wanted to punch him in the face right now.

ELI noticed that Ruby was looking weirdly at her and she realized her hands had crunched into fists and her face was probably red with anger.

“I was asking her some questions about history, of course.” He smirked like a proud i***t. “And you know, I used my wonderful charm on her. She smiled at me and was extremely friendly. Soon we will have a more intimate conversation if you know what I mean.” He winked at Ruby and ELI and they both rolled their eyes at their male friend.

Now ELI felt like screaming! She wanted to snap at Killian to get rid of all the anger she had inside her. She was disgusted with him. She was sick of Killian’s stupid words. How could he be so petty?

“ELI, are you okay?” Ruby questioned her with a look that said, ‘I know what you're up to, you fool.’

“I feel great, really!” She looked intently at Killian, showing him her best fake smile. “Killian, I think you shouldn't talk about Miss Mills’ like that,” she said with a passive voice, trying to keep herself calm. Her shameless friend returned her look with disdain.

ELI had never felt too bothered about the flings that Killian had in the past with some other teachers. But now things were different, she couldn't hold back any longer. She also never imagined this would happen to her… A crush on a teacher? Let alone a female teacher. Holy s**t, what’s happening with her?

“Why do you care about Miss Mills, Swan? Are you feeling pity for her, now she’s falling in love with me?” 

Oh, yeah. Her fist would look amazing hitting Killian’s face. Oh, she wanted to fight him so badly, but she also knew that she couldn't give in to her weird feelings for her teacher. She wasn't ready to talk about this with anyone. Especially someone like Killian Jones.

“I can’t believe you think she’s in love with you, knowing you’ve only talked to her once.” ELI laughed cynically. “You’re so naive, Killian.”

He shot her a cold glare and looked around realizing that some people were looking at them. ELI just felt like laughing at his stupid face.

“No teacher has ever resisted to my charms before.” He placed both of his hands on the table and leaned in closer to the blonde threateningly. “Miss Mills won't be the one that will resist me now,” he finished the idiotic sentence as if he just sprouted a famous quote and walked away with his chest lifted up high. What a moron!

ELI felt overwhelmingly disgusted to have a friend so petty and futile. How had she never noticed this before?

xXx

“Ruby, stop bothering me! I'm not going to say anything.”

“ELI, you know you can't hide anything from me! I don't know why you still insist on hiding the truth.”

“You are so annoying sometimes, Ruby. Leave me alone with my own thoughts!” ELI protested loudly, tired of being chased around by her best friend.

The brunette snorted in annoyance. “Go on, tell me the truth. I know what’s happening,” she firmly persisted.

“If you know the f*****g truth, then you don’t need me to tell you anything!”

Ruby took a deep breath and asked, “Are you having some kind of fling with Miss Mills?”

The blonde widened her eyes, startled by her best friend’s assumption. “What the hell! Where the f**k did you get that from?” ELI blurted out, feeling her heart racing inside her chest. She had nothing going on with Miss Mills except for the (one) private lesson she had had yesterday with her. ELI clearly had no idea how Ruby had assumed this if ELI herself didn’t know exactly what was happening, nor how she felt about having a small crush on a teacher.

“Save it, blondie. I know you're hiding your biggest secret from me.” The brunette said and then paused for a few seconds. She continued with a much softer voice, “ELI, I thought you were into men.”

“What? But I am!” the blonde protested, covering her red face to hide from her friend.

“Well, so explain why were you so angry at Killian when he talked about Miss Mills that way.” ELI did not respond. The blonde kept her hands plastered on her face, trying to hide her blush. “What's going on, Emms? Tell me, please? I can help you.”

“Help me by doing what? Telling me it’s wrong that I have a crush on a woman?” ELI snapped, and Ruby flinched instantly, her jaw tightening in anger.

“You think I’m going to hate on you having a crush on a woman? Really, ELI? You think I’m that bad?”

ELI swallowed thickly and asked, “You’re not bothered by this?”

“What? Blondie, of course I’m not! Why would you ever think that way of me? I don’t mind people being homosexual or whatever else there is.”

“Oh,” ELI muttered quietly. “We never talked about this, so I just assumed you would think of it in a weird way.”

“It’s not weird, blondie. It’s completely normal, to be honest. Granny may think otherwise, but she’s not the main point right now, anyway.” Ruby pulled ELI bu the wrist so they could sit on the couch. “I understand now you not wanting to tell me about this. I’m sorry if I pushed you too much.”

The blonde shrugged absentmindedly as she stared at the floor. “I don’t even know what this is, Ruby. I mean it. I didn’t want to tell you because I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“Well, you might discover that soon if you talk about it. It helps.” ELI looked up to face her friend. “Do you want to tell me how you feel about her?” Ruby insisted quietly. “Is it just a crush?”

ELI shrugged again, not knowing what to say. She pondered for a few seconds and answered quietly, “I guess it is. Miss Mills is the reason for my insomnia being back. Since the first day I've met her, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.”

“Oh, wow. That’s tough.”

“Yeah, and I barely know her.”

“That won’t stop you from having a crush on her, though,” Ruby said matter-of-factly.

“There are a few things I didn’t tell you, actually,” ELI started hesitantly. “Two days ago, I went back to school to get my geography book, and Miss Mills was there. We started talking and then I offered her some company since she was alone at school.”

“Why was she there all by herself?”

“She told me she was marking sheets before I arrived.”

“Alright. And?”

“So we talked a lot about our class and the subject, and then she invited me to take private lessons with her.”

“She did?”

“Yeah. I went to the school library to meet her yesterday at night.”

“Oh, wow. You two are fast.” The brunette chuckled amusedly.

“Nothing happened there, though,” ELI quickly reassured. “Just… her back was on pain, so I offered to give her a massage-”

“You gave our history teacher a massage?” The brunette asked, her voice high-pitched and eyes wide.

“Uh, yeah. It- it was nice, you know? Touching her like that.”

“Oh, my God, ELI.”

ELI had been feeling torn apart the last few days. She didn’t know what exactly she was feeling for Miss Mills; she just knew that she liked spending time with her and she wanted more of it.

“How does it feel to, you know, like like a woman?” That question made the blonde focus on the curious brunette in front of her. “Tell me, ELI. It doesn't matter who you like, I will always love you just the way you are.” She smiled tenderly and ELI lowered her shoulders, surrendering herself.

“I still don’t know what I’m feeling for her. I just… feel weird sometimes because I really liked spending time with Rika. She’s a great person and… so, so gorgeous!” Ruby laughed, and ELI joined her briefly. “I’m not sure of anything yet. I just feel these weird things for her. It’s very new to me.” 

“I understand. So… you started thinking constantly about her since our first day at school?” Her friend clearly didn't want to stop with the questions.

“Well, I guess. I just started feeling new sensations and all. That weekend I kissed Graham, I thought I would have overcome my obsession for her. I thought that I would kiss a man and then I would forget Miss Mills. But the next day I saw her and everything collapsed again.” ELI sighed and Ruby squeezed her hand delicately.

“ELI, I know this may seem strange to you, but maybe this was meant to happen. You never liked liked any boy, right?” The blonde nodded reluctantly. “Then maybe Miss Mills came into your life to show you your true destination,” she finished with a smile and left ELI’s mind more confused than before.

Shit.