Baby I Can Feel Your Halo- B/J AU series Part 1/8

[guavejuice]

Banner by Vonnie yvonnereid

Author:guavejuice
Pairing:Brian/Justin
Beta:Kim predec2 I can't thank you enough!
A/N:This is NOT a WIP
Disclaimer:I own nothing but this story
Comments are love.

Part 1

-Baldwin High School, Pittsburgh -

"Casey."

"Here!"

"Carson?"

"Yup."

"Chanders?"

-Silence-

"Chanders?"

The tall, impressive school teacher stops and raises his gaze to scan the class. He’s sitting perched on the edge of his desk as he normally is, his long legs dangling off the edge; he detests sitting behind the industrial-type, horrid-green monstrosity that the school provides for him.

"Has anyone seen Chanders today?" he asks.

"Not in the past few days," a girl in the front row answers.

He shrugs, not surprised; in his job it was rare that every student was in attendance every day, so he had come to expect it. He nods, setting the attendance sheet down and reaching over to pick up his textbook. “Okay, class, if you will get out your math books, and…” The door opens just then, and a petite figure enters hurriedly, mumbling an apology.

"And you are?" The teacher raises an eyebrow as the young person takes a seat in the back row. Even though school had been in session for a few days, his class was just large enough that he had yet to familiarize himself with everyone or their names, although he suspected who it was before the girl answered.

"Jen… I mean Jennifer. Jennifer Chanders, Sir," comes the somewhat distracted answer as the girl sweeps a wave of curly hair off her face and places her backpack down on the floor before she takes her seat.

"Don't get too comfortable, Chanders,” the man informs her curtly. “I'm going to have to send you to the principal's office for being late to class," he tells her, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument. The girl’s eyes widen in dismay, and she opens her mouth as if to protest, but then – apparently reconsidering – she lowers her gaze and moves quietly from the back of the class toward the door. She slams the door harder than necessary as she steps outside, leaving the rest of her classmates – and their teacher – quite baffled.

The teacher takes a breath and lets it out, relatively unruffled; it wouldn’t be the first time a student had displayed testiness after being disciplined, and it wouldn’t be the last. "Okay, people, we haven’t got all day; let's learn some math now, shall we?" the teacher admonishes his class as he notices how distracted they appear.

Halfway through the period, he realizes that the seat in the back row is still vacant. The girl he sent to the principal's office still hadn’t returned to class. He frowns slightly as he sits behind his desk now, watching the students who are presently working independently on their algorithms. Feeling like it’s his responsibility to find out why, he waits until the ending period bell rings before walking out into the hallway and down the corridor, noticing the principal’s office is empty. As he glances through the glass doors that lead out toward the adjoining courtyard, however, he notices a familiar figure sitting alone on one of the benches.

He quietly pushes the door open outside to walk up to her, observing the curly-haired girl perched forlornly on the bench with his face hung down, holding what appears to be a sketch book and a drawing pencil.

"Want to show me what you have there?" he asks softly.

The girl looks up, startled. She hadn’t even heard him approach. Her face flushes. "Mr. Kinney…" Swallowing hard, she closes her sketchpad abruptly and raises her eyes to stare up at him. He's almost taken aback when he notices that the girl has clear, sea blue eyes that contrast dramatically with her thick mop of brown hair. He braces himself, trying to avoid the jolt of electricity that suddenly runs from the back of his head all the way down to his spine. He knows of only one other person in the world that owns such deep clear blue orbs. "Care to tell me why you were late to class today, or why you failed to return after I sent you to the principal’s office?" he inquires curiously, trying to avoid making his question sound like a rebuke. He can see evidence of some shed tears on her reddened face, so he makes an instant decision not to press her too hard. Still, he couldn’t overlook her disregard of his earlier directive.

The girl bites her lower lip nervously before sniffling, but remains mute.

Her teacher nods. "Very well, then, looks like you’ll be assigned detention after school today. Not the greatest way to start a new school year," he says, his voice gruff.

"Please, Mr. Kinney! Don't do that!” she pleads, suddenly finding her voice. "I… I can explain…but not now," she answers, her voice trembling. "It’s not that I didn’t want to be in your class, Mr. Kinney!” she tries to explain. She appears a little embarrassed as she tells him, “I know it sounds…nerdy, but I adore math and science.” She pauses and takes a deep breath before letting it out. “I'll try not to be late to your class again, I promise. It's just that…" she stops mid-sentence, trying to keep her composure.

It’s obvious to Brian that something is definitely bothering this girl. He studies her quietly for a few moments before coming to a decision. "Well, I'm pleased to know there's at least one class in this school you won't be late to from now on," he replies, sensing the underlying tension. He offers her a half-smile, the matter settled, at least for now.

“Thank you, Mr. Kinney!” she tells him then with a radiant, relieved smile, almost blinding now in its intensity. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t.” Brian continues to study her for a few more moments before, with a nod, he turns and heads back into the building, determined to try and gain his student’s trust and find out more about this girl and what is troubling her.

_ _ _ _ _

-Later that evening, staff meeting at Baldwin High School…

"Before we begin, I'd like to thank you all for attending despite the late hour. It's the beginning of the school year, so you all know how important it is stay up to speed with our students, especially those new pupils who have transferred in from other schools. You all know that here at Baldwin High we believe it's important to view every kid from a unique perspective. It is vital that we follow their progress and see how they’re handling the curriculum, but in addition we can’t overlook their mental well-being, either. So before we start, would anyone like to share one significant event that happened during the day in class, or anything that stood out for you?" Melanie Marcus, the school principal – a short-haired, no-nonsense woman in her mid-40's – asks. "Brian? I know you always have good intuition when it comes to these things. Have you noticed anything unusual yet in any of your classes?" she asks him; he is presently sitting in his typical spot across from her, his long legs making it hard for him to be comfortable at the conference table.

Brian looks up from his notes as if he was taken by surprise, which isn't like him, considering he's been a teacher at Baldwin – one of Pittsburgh’s finest private high schools – for almost eighteen years now. He clears his throat. “Nothing of significance – not yet,” he begins tentatively, trying to decide whether or not to keep his student’s odd behavior to himself for the time being. He really didn’t know what was going on with her. It had been a long week, as the first few weeks of school always tend to be, not to mention today has been a very grueling day for him.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath, wishing this meeting would be over soon so he could return back home and slide into bed beside his partner, who's probably finished his tasks for the day by now and is waiting for him to return. He could picture him in bed, naked, damp, and warm from a shower. He groans inwardly at the imagery, trying to control his physical reaction to the mere thought of it. Shuffling a little in his chair, he tries hard to push those vivid thoughts aside for now, debating how to further answer his principal’s question as she continues to peer over at him. "Well, there was this girl… Chanders. Jennifer Chanders,” he decides to reveal. "She was late to my class this morning, and when I sent her to your office she failed to return. I know I should have sent her to detention, but when I saw her later, sitting outside during break, I just couldn't do it. There's something about her I've yet to figure out. She did tell me she's somewhat of a dork, and that she loves math and science…so she has my attention already,” he added with a smile. It was always difficult to get his female students interested in math, so he always found those who liked the subject somewhat fascinating anyway.

"Hopefully she's not one of those wide-eyed teenage girls who fall for their handsome, charismatic high school teacher,” Mr. Martin, the history teacher, teases.

Brian rolls his eyes in slight irritation. Martin always has been a little bit of an idiot with his stupid comments. "I wouldn't go there,” Brian quietly warns as the history teacher shrugs. It’s no secret to his colleagues that he's an out-and-proud gay man in a long term, committed relationship. Brian had enjoyed his peers’ support and acceptance for a long time, so much so that he isn’t just the head of the Science Department, but also the founder of the Gay and Straight Student Alliance for the school. It’s a well-known fact that Brian Kinney is a stern, unapologetic teacher who also has a dry, sharp sense of humor. But staff and students alike know that even though Mr. Kinney rarely shows emotions, he really cares about his students and wants them to be the best they can be.

Melanie nods. "Anything else?” she asks as everyone shakes their heads. “Okay. Well, on that note… I know it's getting really late and I’m sure you all have plans for the weekend, so I think that’s it for the night. She turns her head to look at Brian. “In the meantime, I suggest we keep an eye on young Miss Chanders. We'll see how things continue in the weeks to come.” Brian nods back as they all rise to adjourn.
_ _ _ _ _ _


One Week Later - Friday Morning, Baldwin High School…

"S… sorry I'm late to class again this morning, Mr. Kinney. It's been quite a hectic morning," Jennifer mumbles as she rushes into Brian's science class. He tries to hide his disappointment as he watches her once more take her customary spot at the back of the class.

He flashes an irritated glare at the class as murmurs fill the air, but their snide remarks are cut short at once as he urges them to go back to their assignments.

As the ball rings a few minutes later, he gestures toward the girl just as she’s about to leave. "Ms. Chanders, a word?" he asks quietly. She approaches his desk hesitantly, anxiety clearly showing on her face. Before Brian can say anything else, she begins to speak, her words coming out in a torrent.

"I know I shouldn't have been late today, but… it has been a crazy, fu…flippin' week. I promise I'll try to do better, but please don't send me to detention just now…" she pleads, her curls covering her face.

"Why shouldn’t I?" he challenges her. “What’s going on?" he asks, an eyebrow arched curiously as his piercing eyes stare intently at her, making the girl fidget just a bit. Her response is somewhat surprising.

"Because it's second period, and I'm in art class with Mr. Taylor. I simply can't miss that," she practically begs. “Please…”

Knowing full well that the Mr. Taylor his student is referring to is none other than his long-time, lawfully wedded husband, Justin Taylor – who happens to be an art teacher in the same school – her reason definitely piques his interest, but he doesn’t say a word, or indicate just how closely he knows him.

Jennifer shifts her heavy backpack higher on her shoulder, assuming by her teacher’s silence that he is agreeing to her wish. In either case, she decides to leave quickly before he has a chance to change his mind. "I really have to go now, Sir. Thanks for your concern, but I'd rather not talk about it just now." She prepares to leave and takes a few steps away, but stops temporarily as Brian addresses her one last time.

"You’d better NOT keep Mr. Taylor waiting,” he tells her quietly, her back to him. “Go on to class then,” he tells her as she turns around to face him. “But if you ever want to talk about it, feel free to come to my office," he tells her. She nods gratefully and quickly heads toward the door and disappears into the corridor, the brown curls framing her forehead casting a shadow on her small face and partially obscuring her relieved, crystal blue eyes.

Brian watches her as long as he can, his eyes still focused on the open doorway even as she walks out of focus, his brow furrowed with curiosity and concern. It may take a while, but he was determined to find out just what was troubling this girl.

TBC...

Comments

[rulisteningbj.livejournal.com]

Love this. Can't wait to see why Jennifer is late. Justin & Brian married teachers, I like this idea. Question this sentence: "S… sorry I'm late to class again this morning, Mr. Kinney. It's been quite a hectic morning," Daphne mumbles. Did you mean Daphne or Jennifer? I am confused. Thanks!

Dee Dee

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

So great to have you here!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. Your thoughtful supportive feedback means so much to me. I'm SO thrilled to know you enjoyed the first chapter.
Jennifer and the rest will reveal more as the story unfold :)
More to come...
Take care

[techgirl-on-ij.livejournal.com]

Very interesting first chapter!

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Hi and thank you SO much for taking the time to read and leave such an encouraging supportive feedback dear techi. It means so much to me.
More to come...
Hugs

[7wildwaysup.livejournal.com]

Oh so as soon as she run into class late, I couldn't help thinking she was pregnant... Then I had this idea that maybe it was a school for unwed mothers... I know I'm still on my first cup of coffee...

My other thought was that she was the love child of Daphne and Justin, but then Justin and Brian would already know about her wouldn't they?

Can't wait for more...

Hugs Darling ~ Kathleen

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and leave such a thoughtful supportive feedback darling and thank you for reading it with your first cup of coffee ;) I know there are lots of questions that are yet to be answered so more to come soon...
Hugs back

[piksa.livejournal.com]

Interesting premise. I may be totally wrong here but could it be that in this universe, Daphne got pregnant for Justin but never told him about it and somehow managed to hide it from everyone and Jennifer here is the result of that.

Waiting with interest for more!

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Thank you SO much for taking the time to read and comment my friend. I'm so thrilled to know you found the premise interesting :) Your supportive feedback means a lot to me.
Hopefully your questions will be answered as the story unfolds.
More to come...
Hugs

[yumyumpm.livejournal.com]

What an interesting AU. Don't know how I missed it. The question is who is Jenn Chandler? Dark curly hair and blue eyes leads me to think Daphne and Justin, but one can't be sure. Brian a teacher and married to Justin the art teacher, Melanie a principle, who knows who will show up doing something different. Another question is why is Jenn late, does she have to take care of someone?

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. Don't worry about missing this story, as long as you're here to read it now.
Your thoughtful supportive feedback means a lot to me. So thrilled to know you're having so many questions already :)
More top come...

[hikinggirl70.livejournal.com]

Loved this first chapter. Can't wait to read the next one.

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the first chapter of this story. This was a very special story to write. I'm thrilled to know you enjoyed it. It means a lot to me :)