Samael – POV
I straightened my back slightly before pushing the classroom door open.
Most of the students were already seated, the room filled with the soft scratching of pencils against paper and the faint smell of paint and charcoal. Sunlight filtered through the tall windows on the far wall, illuminating rows of wooden tables designed for two students each.
At the teacher's desk stood a short, elderly woman with grey hair neatly tied in a bun. She wore thin glasses that rested on the end of her nose, and her entire posture radiated the warm, patient energy of someone who had spent decades teaching teenagers how to turn messy lines into something resembling art.
At the moment, she was speaking with a student standing beside her, a girl holding a small sketchbook. It looked like a rough pencil drawing.
The teacher leaned closer, examining it with interest.
"See this part here?" she said gently, tapping the page with a finger. "Your perspective slips a little. The lines should converge here instead."
She demonstrated with her hands, moving them slowly as if shaping invisible lines in the air. Her voice wasn't stern or critical. It carried the soft warmth of a kindly grandmother explaining how to bake cookies.
As I walked closer, the girl nodded several times.
"Thank you, Mrs Harper," she said before heading back to her seat.
That was when the teacher finally noticed me.
The height difference between us was… considerable.
She had to tilt her head back quite dramatically and push her glasses higher on her nose to properly look up at me.
"Well," she said after a moment, adjusting her glasses again. "Aren't you a tall one?"
"I guess I've always had a good appetite since I was a kid."
She chuckled.
"Clearly. Goodness, if you grow any more, we'll have to raise the classroom ceiling."
I laughed lightly at that.
Then she gave me a curious look, eyes twinkling behind her glasses.
"You must be the new student all the girls have been whispering about."
I shrugged mildly.
"That's… probably me."
Her smile widened.
"I suspected as much."
I handed her my timetable. My name was written on the top.
She adjusted her glasses again and read it aloud.
"Samael Ashborn…"
Her eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Well," she said thoughtfully, "that's certainly not a name you hear every day. Your parents were feeling creative, I see."
I gave a small, amused shrug.
"Something like that."
She walked back to her desk, took a paper sheet from a small stack of papers, and handed it to me.
"Mrs Harper," she added, offering a friendly nod. "Your art teacher."
I glanced at the paper briefly before looking back at her.
"So tell me, Samael… how are you with art?"
"Primary school level," I admitted honestly.
Mrs Harper sighed theatrically.
"Well… that might make things a little difficult."
"I'm a quick learner," I replied calmly.
She tapped the paper she had given me.
"To pass this year, you'll need to complete an individual project. The criteria are written there. If you want a good grade, you'll need to put in some effort-"
She paused, clearly thinking.
"Hm… perhaps I could-"
"I can help!"
A sweet, melodic voice chimed in from the back row.
I didn't even try to suppress the small smile forming on my face.
Alice.
Mrs Harper glanced toward the voice.
"Well, that's wonderful," she said approvingly. "I can see Ms Cullen is eager to assist you."
Then she turned her gaze toward Alice with a slightly raised finger.
"But remember, Alice, you're helping him learn. Not doing the work for him."
Alice responded immediately.
"Of course, Mrs Harper!"
Mrs Harper nodded in satisfaction before turning back to me.
"Well then, Samael, you may go take the seat next to Alice Cullen."
"Sure."
As I walked toward the back row, I could feel several curious gazes following me.
The classroom had two rows of long tables, each built for two students but with plenty of workspace. On either side of the table, there was space designed for easels, and most surfaces were already covered in sketchbooks, pencils, and paint jars.
Alice sat alone at one of the tables.
Or rather…
She had claimed the table.
Her supplies were neatly arranged across both sides of the workspace, leaving strategic gaps between them as if forming a quiet but very clear territorial boundary.
No one had dared sit there.
As I approached, she casually began gathering her belongings to her side of the table. Everything remained perfectly organised, but the invisible border shifted just enough to create space for another person.
I placed my backpack beside the table and sat down.
Taking out my stationery, I tried to look as composed as possible.
Outwardly, I probably looked calm.
Inside?
Not even close.
Alice was sitting right next to me.
For several seconds, I deliberately avoided looking at her.
Imprinting was… new to me.
And unfortunately, it wasn't something my mastery ability could help with.
Usually, I relied heavily on my well-trained poker face to control my expressions. That worked well for hiding emotions.
But it didn't suppress them.
And what I was feeling right now was… strong.
Alice remained silent while I organised my things. But after a moment, I finally gathered myself and turned toward her.
She was already looking at me.
Before I could say a single word, she spoke.
"Hello. I'm Alice."
My carefully prepared introduction instantly collapsed like a poorly built house of cards.
Her voice was soft and bright, and up close her face was even more beautiful than before.
For a brief, humiliating moment, my brain simply stopped functioning.
I had no idea what expression I was making.
But whatever it was—
It made her laugh.
Which was absolutely not helping.
Not at all!
Her laughter sounded warm and musical, and my internal situation deteriorated rapidly.
Inside my head, alarms were going off.
Fuck. I'm drowning.
Fortunately, my brain rebooted a moment later.
Imprinting is terrifyingly strong, was my first coherent thought.
I could not appear this helpless in front of a girl.
I had experienced teenage love in my previous life. This wasn't entirely new territory.
Taking a small breath, I shook my head lightly.
"Sorry," I said. "My brain overloaded for a moment. What did you say?"
Alice hadn't broken eye contact even once.
In fact, she looked like she had forgotten to blink.
A mischievous smile played on her lips.
"Did my look have something to do with it?" she asked sweetly.
Ah.
So she had decided to tease me.
She clearly expected me to collapse even further under pressure.
Unfortunately for her, this game could be played by two people.
"For sure it did," I replied with a small smile.
Her eyebrow lifted slightly as she raised her chin with playful confidence.
"Is something wrong with it?"
"Do you want the truth?"
For the first time, her confidence wavered just a little.
"Yes," she said.
I leaned a little closer so only she could hear me.
"I think you already know the answer," I said quietly. "You just want to hear me say it."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, curiosity and amusement mixing together.
"Oh?" she said. "And what exactly am I supposed to know?"
"That you might become a problem."
Her eyebrow lifted.
"A problem?"
I nodded slightly.
"If the girl sitting next to me keeps being this charming," I said with a small smile, "I suspect paying attention in this class might become rather difficult."
Any trace of uncertainty vanished instantly.
Her smile brightened.
"So you find me attractive."
I leaned back in my chair.
"That would be hard to deny."
Her eyes sparkled.
"And what would you do if I said I think the same about you?" she asked in a teasing tone.
I looked down for a moment, raising one eyebrow with an amused smile before meeting her gaze again.
"Well," I said thoughtfully, "first I'd probably take a moment to enjoy the fact that a beautiful girl just admitted she likes me."
I continued calmly,
"After that, I'd ask to exchange numbers. I'd call you, and we'd probably end up talking for a few hours every evening for a couple of weeks…"
I paused for a moment.
"…and eventually I'd ask you out. A picnic, the cinema, maybe shopping, anywhere you'd enjoy. Then we'd see where things go from there."
Alice stared at me.
Completely motionless.
She looked… stunned.
The moment I mentioned asking her out, it was like her brain had briefly frozen.
Oh.
Maybe I went too far.
Did I break her?
I watched her carefully while she remained silent.
Then suddenly-
"I agree."
"…What?"
"But several weeks is too long," she said seriously. "No more than one week."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, though there was a bit of amusement hiding behind them.
I blinked.
"…okay."
"Wonderful!" she said happily, clapping her hands once in delight.
Then she held out her hand.
"Now, give me your phone."
I handed it to her automatically, still slightly stunned by how quickly things had escalated.
She typed something into it for a moment, then returned it to me.
I glanced down at the screen.
Alice <3
A quiet laugh escaped me.
She tilted her head curiously.
"What?"
"Nothing," I said, still smiling.
Meanwhile, she entered my number into her own phone, though I didn't see what name she saved it under.
Then she turned back to me with the most adorable smile I had ever seen.
"Alright," she said cheerfully.
She reached for a sheet of paper and a pencil.
"Let's start teaching you how to draw."
[Note]
[If someone wants to complain that everything is happening too fast, just remember how Alice is. Their relationship would only take longer to develop if Samael chose to resist - but why should he?]
[I might post the second chapter today, but I don't promise!]