You're Perfect, Yes, It's True [Paris]

[Crystal Dinaia]

For Your Consideration
.you're perfect, yes, it's true
Pawns: Crystal Dinaia & Paris Musuko
.but without me you're only you
Status: Closed
.you're only you
Current Count: 2,440 words
.your menstruating heart
Soundtrack: Disturbed - Midlife Crisis
.ain't beating enough for two
Clothing: Click

Go on and wring my neck | Like when a rag gets wet | A little discipline | For my pet genius

Crystal dressed carefully while thinking of him, slipping and sliding around the dorm room in her socks, pajama pants, and strapless bra. She might have sang along with the music playing her headphones but she had noticed that Meredith was still sleeping and assumed that much like her, Mere enjoyed her beauty sleep. Her iPod was tucked into the waistband of her stretchy pants that drug along the floor behind her and made her look like a little kid as she danced around the room, a curling iron in one hand, an improvised silent microphone made out of hairbrush in the other. Her music had a deep, pulsing beat – that hardcore rock she loved so dearly – that only elevated her spirits higher as she gave her long red hair just a little more curl than it usually had. When the thirteenth year student was finished, her straight hair had a little more bounce to it than she had when she had woken up that morning. She knew by midday that the light curls would have fallen out entirely, but that didn’t matter. Today was chemistry class. She only needed to look good for as long as class lasted, so the curls only needed to be temporary. Crystal had parted her hair differently today, rather than it falling down the middle of her face, the part was shifted slightly to the side, giving her a little hair that fell into her eyes. Thinking that maybe it would give her a little more mysteriousness, a little more maturity, she decided that she liked it like that. “It’s aaaa miiiiiidlife criiiiiiisissaaassss” Crystal forgot where she was for a moment and belted out a line from the song in her head badly and loudly, then quickly recovered and glanced to see if she had woken the slumbering girl on the other side of the room. It seemed she hadn’t, but she would have to simply contain herself for the rest of the dressing process.

My head is like a lettuce | Go on, dig your thumbs in | I cannot stop giving | I'm thirty-something

The teenager stepped out of her long pants after unplugging her curling iron. Her undergarments were conservative to say the least. After all, she was only trying to get his attention with what she was wearing on the outside, not what she was showing under her clothes. Crystal blushed suddenly, remembering that her modesty had been recently shredded against her will. She didn’t mind it as much when she thought about it now because she hadn’t had that dream in several nights. Then again, she hadn’t gone to the Dream World during those nights either. Her iPod fell out of the waistband of her pants as she shucked them, the headphones coming unplugged as the music stopped rudely. The girl frowned, ducked to pick it up and plugged the ear buds back in, happy to hear her song still playing. Just in case, she put it on repeat and danced unabashedly for a few moments, half naked. She felt comfortable enough with Meredith that if the other girl had woken, she would have only been a little embarrassed. Curls danced over her shoulders and spilled onto her chest as she reached into her closet, still dancing to the pounding beat of “Midlife Crisis.” Happily, she pulled out the outfit she had purposefully set forth for today. A new dress she had purchased on an outing to London (the metro didn’t bother her quite as much as other vehicles) appeared in her hands in the dim light from the light bulbs over the sink in the room. It was a lovely little number, but a bit skimpy for the morning temperatures. She would simply power through the chill, she remarked to herself and slipped the strapless teal dress on, shimmying a little as she did so. It fit remarkably well, just as it had the in the expensive boutique she had purchased it in. It complimented her long, lean body and showed off more pale skin that she cared to note. Reasoning with herself, she spoke in simple terms to her own morals, informing them that she was an eighteen year old woman and could wear exactly what she wanted him. Especially for Paris.

Sense of security | Like pockets jingling | Midlife crisis | Suck ingenuity | Down through the family tree

Crystal giggled under her breath as she smoothed down the fabric against her stomach. Had she actually called him Paris? She fantasized for a moment as she dug in her closet, looking for a few pairs of shoes to compare with one another. What if.. He got a scrape this week? Crystal would be working as an assistant nurse in the Infirmary all week for a few hours. “Oh, Mr. Musuko,” She would say sweetly, purring his name, “How did you hurt yourself?” Then, with all of her newly gained medical expertise (which wasn’t much at all) she would clean his wound, trying her best to be delicate with his exposed flesh. He would wince, of course, just like the Beast in “Beauty and the Beast,” but he would thank her with his eyes. Wasn’t that how romance was supposed to go? A strong woman would defeat all odds, get the man, and get dipped into a kiss in the ending? Crystal sighed happily and tossed two pairs of shoes onto her bed, spinning in the middle of the floor like a little girl for a few seconds before considering them carefully. She knelt, on eye level with both pairs and examined them. Yes, she could always go with the turquoise paten leather pumps. They would make her taller than her normal five seven, and made her calves look exquisite when she wore them. Then again, she stood the chance of slipping on the three inch heels and humiliating herself. There would be no happy ending if he laughed at her stupidity. She shook her head, denying that reality and swept up the pair of teal ballet flats she had laid next to the heels. Crystal bent one knee while standing up to slip the shoe on, and then repeated it with the other leg.

You're perfect, yes, it's true | But without me you're only you | Your menstruating heart | It ain't bleedin' enough for two

The Academy student gathered her book into her arms and searched down a college ruled memo pad. She preferred to write on them in class because they had a hard back and she could cross her legs while sitting in her desk. Maybe, just maybe, he would look at her legs? That dumb blog had called him a pedophile – perhaps she could make that work to her advantage. She hopped up from where she had settled into her bed for a moment, holding her books against her breasts happily. She set the books back down to finish the primping process and with a few deft strokes she had washed her porcelain skin and caked on quite a bit of black mascara. If she hadn’t done so, her red eyelashes would have been nearly invisible. The girl wanted him to get lost in her eyes, not disregard them entirely. Crystal dabbed on some of her subtle vanilla perfume, some custom blend she had found in a little hole in the wall shop on one of her expeditions and then glossed her lips with a simple tube of chapstick. Her short make up routine was finished now and she moved on to her choice in jewelry. She sighed with discontent as she examined what she had, only a few pieces would even match her outfit. It didn’t matter, she decided, and stuck a pair of teal earrings into her ears. Looking at herself in the full-length mirror she had affixed to the dorm room wall, she approved of what she saw and fluffed her hair just a bit.


What an inheritance | The salt and the Kleenex | Morbid self attention | Bending my pinky back

Finished with dressing, Crystal pulled the iPod out of her bra were she had stashed it and tossed it onto her bed. The Nano would be okay by itself, she determined and dashed back to her closet after looking at the time on her alarm clock. If she didn’t pick up the pace, she wouldn’t be more than an hour early for class anymore, time she desperately wanted. The girl pulled out a wool pea coat and buttoned the rather masculine piece up. Only the bottom of her skirt stuck out of the bottom of the tight fitting coat, her legs looking long and bare as she admired herself in the mirror. Today she had given herself permission to be confident and vain. Tomorrow she could go back to doubting herself. Skipping toward her bed delicately, she hefted up the chemistry book and tablet, made sure she had an ink pen in her pocket and headed out of her dorm room, careful to make sure the door closed without slamming and waking her dreaming roomie.

A little discipline | A donor by habit | A little discipline | Rent an opinion

Ah, yes, she would stun him with her wealth of knowledge today. Crystal had spent hours studying the chapter they were on in Chemistry the night before, her sapphire eyes scanning page after page as she thought about his voice as he taught the subject. Admittedly, it was distracting to be in love with one’s teacher. Her heart raced when he stood near her desk, her breath caught in her throat when he looked up from his desk only to catch her staring at him. Of course, she averted her eyes when he did so and made it look as if she had been staring into space, not directly at the handsome man. She wondered suddenly if he had any idea who exactly she was in his maze of students, if he had ever noticed the well-dressed redhead in the third row? Every other day, she simply wore her jeans to class, but when it was time for this particular science class, she pulled out all of the stops, even on lab days. Oh, how she hated lab days. The little knives and beakers were pure evil, the teenager had decided and preferred to avoid touching them at all costs, unless Paris was looking.


Sense of security | Holding blunt instrument | I'm a perfectionist | And perfect is a skinned knee

As the blue-eyed woman padded down the stairs of her dormitories, she used the time wisely to fantasize further about the life she had built in her imaginary world with Mr. Musuko. Crystal was naïve in dreaming about him – she hardly knew him as more than a teacher at Somnium Academy. To her, he was whatever she wanted him to be, anything and everything she could imagine. The girl didn’t know anything about his past, only that he was charming and made her laugh during class. And also attractive. Had she mentioned that he was to die for in the looks department? His eyes were perfect, along with his hair, along with his facial shape. He was simply.. Beautiful. Crystal sighed dramatically as she passed a row of flowering bushes in the gardens, tracing her white tipped nails over the dew drenched petals she found there. A light row of beaded water was left on her fingertips, so she shook them off and wiped her hand against her heavy coat.


You're perfect, yes, it's true | But without me you're only you | Your menstruating heart | It ain't bleeding enough for two

Her teal, black tipped shoes couldn’t carry her fast enough through the outside corridors that existed between her dormitory and the academy buildings were classes were held. Taking a side door through the boys’ dormitory, she tried to get out of the crisp morning air and traveled the length of the building. If she and Paris had been born only a few years closer, would they have been high school sweethearts? Crystal thought selfishly, only pursuing her own thoughts for a while. Of course she cared about his feelings, as well, but she was beginning to think that she knew what was best for him at this point in his life. And that, most definitely, was her. What if the job in the Infirmary turned into something more permanent than it was now? Would she and Paris drink orange juice together in the mornings in the staff room? Would he… sneak into her suite at night? Oh! The thought was too much to bear as she exited the male dormitory and hopped down the steps, continuing her journey to where her own private classroom lurked. It wasn’t her own classroom necessarily, but she was sure no one would come in as early as she did. Who honestly loved chemistry that much?


It's a midlife crisis...

Crystal hummed when she finally clamored up the stairs to the wide double doors that marked the entrance to the Academy. Thanking her lucky stars that no cars in the round driveway had knocked her off her momentum, she hurriedly opened the heavy doors. The halls once again were empty, most students and even some teachers were still snuggled into their warm beds. The building itself was warm and provided the perfect opportunity for Crystal to show off a little flesh as she unbuttoned her pea coat, then tossed it over her shoulder. After trailing down a few hallways, she reached her clandestine destination. Her heart almost rocketed out of her chest as she glanced around the hallways to make sure Paris hadn’t already begun walking toward the room. The girl slunk inside, making as little noise as possible in the silent room. Her claim was laid on the very first desk in the front row in the middle of the room. Carefully, conscious of her every move she delicately lowered herself into the chair and crossed her legs in just the right way, if there was a right way at all. For the next few minutes she practiced looking down at her desk demurely, then looking up as the door opened in the most alluring way she could manage without saying a word. Today, surely, he would see her.

You're perfect, yes, it's true | But without me you're only you | Your menstruating heart | It ain't bleeding enough for two

[Paris Musuko]

The Chemistry teacher had been pretty sick the last few days. The dream he had experienced a few days back had been far too real for him. Each day the Chemistry class had assembled, he had picked her out of the crowd. It was like a constant reminder of his weakness... of his sin. Last night, he had woken up from a dream much like the rest, sweating and disgusted with himself, but nothing could impact him more thoroughly than the blue eyes that matched perfectly to the blue eyes he saw every day in his class. Dream forms were often vague--a representation that didn't make any sense to anyone else; much like his Fedafyr, people could not associate one with another.She was an exception. He recognized her exactly, knew her name, had seen her day after day inside his class. Wracked with guilt, the chemistry teacher had addressed his last few days with a withered stare of impending break.

Arriving at class early was a natural occurrence when Paris was in distress. Setting up far away from his own room, the center of the portal to that place he had very quickly come to despise upon entering the school, seemed to calm him down. Paris grasped a beaker and moved it to its proper place in the lab. He'd been here for about three hours, which wasn't really appropriate, he supposed. Again, he was considering the merits of retirement--or, quitting, at least. He was a little young to actually retire. The pros and cons were dragging through his mind--he'd been liking the idea of leaving for a while now, but it seemed like his conscience wouldn't let him abandon the children here to the will of the monster he inhabited at night. Sometimes, he felt like he should never wake up--merely sleep forever in order to stop the horror... That, of course, was a sacrifice that was vain and without much merit to it, though, since he couldn't stop him even when he slept.

Paris grasped another beaker and put it up on the shelf, noticing his fingers shaking. He stared at his hands for a few moments until he could will them to stop, mentally scolding himself. So involved was he in fixing this problem, he didn't even hear the door he had unlocked open and close. His hands finally came to a jittery halt, and he flexed his fingers a few times, nodding his head at his own competence. It's important, he thought, that I maintain control so I don't spook the class. Little did Paris know that he had already made the "spooky" list a long time ago in the random gossip blogs around the school. The chemistry teacher settled the lab equipment in its proper place and took a brief surveillance of the room, recognizing easily that nothing was left out of place. He sighed a soft breath of air as the morning air conditioning sprung into place to battle the Summer's warm weather. He pushed the short strands of hair away from his face and let his shoulders slump down again as he stared forward into the dimly glowing room, watching the sun's rays as they filtered through the high windows, illuminating the particles of dust scattered in the air. Today would be a day held out of the lab, but for some reason, re-organizing and cleaning it seemed like a necessity for grounding the man in reality. It took him far away from his fears of dark places with flaming redheads with beautiful blue eyes.

She had looked like Merrin--Paris had always known she had. From the moment Miss Dinaia walked through the door, Paris had expected that her name would be Merrin Hendricks and that he would be haunted forever by her ghost--and well he should be. She had stepped into his classroom at the beginning of the summer for the pre-class summer session, and he had stared intently at her like she had walked out of some book-- a journal of the dead, perhaps. And she was just as exuberant, just as beautiful as Merrin had been. Her smile was dazzling, her aura overcoming. Her words.. full of naivette, which was the only loss in personality that seemed to break the significant resemblance between them. Paris had thanked the gods for that sparing momento--Crystal was innocent, though, if she could be now... he doubted that, heavily.

It had been like... raping his wife.

Paris groaned out a noise of distinct anguish before he walked to the sink in the back of the lab and began running water. He doused his face in it and then headed across the room for the open door between this room and his class. Unaware there was an intruder, Paris entered the room with his shirt still unbuttoned, his slacks hanging low without a belt and the loose tie simply hanging around his neck. His jacket had been left behind the desk, flopped over the chair that was pushed up beneath it. The light cast a dim glow across his short hair and over the side of his face and he moved, exhausted, to the board to write up the day's lesson without so much as taking note of the girl inside his class. Paris' blue eyes focused on the lesson he wrote up, Chapter guidelines and where in the book to find the questions they needed to answer and then marked below it the activity of the day: Round Robin, where each person would sit in a circle and ask one question pertaining to the chapter they should have read yesterday to the person beside them, and they would have an opportunity to answer before the question was posed to the nearest raised hand. It was a study tactic that meant the Chapter test was coming up tomorrow.

I just have to focus on work. Then I won't.. falter.

[Crystal Dinaia]

Distracted from her original goal of the perfect eye lock, Crystal had begun to doodle in her notebook, strange little bits of words from songs, hearts and a few initials. She could lie, of course, if anyone found it. Who, after all, would suspect that she was in love with a teacher, let alone Paris Musuko? Smiling at the absurdity of it all, her pencil made soft scratching noises in the dim room as she craned her neck to see exactly what she was writing. How had she fallen for the man? A strange sensation, it was, that first true love - even if it consisted mostly from worship afar in Crystal’s case. Of course, she had liked boys her own age before, especially the boy she had met her first year in England. That experience, however, had been short lived and ended with needless tragedy. Dr. Murphy said it was better for her to move on to a more healthy relationship. But was this healthy? The girl pressed her pencil to her lips, pausing in her doodles. How was she to know exactly what he had meant by healthy? Curls dropped onto the page she was writing on as she leaned close, the dim light mostly concealing her frame. That, was the moment that she heard the door open.

Inexplicable fear struck her in the moment that he walked in the door, freezing her in her tracks and preventing her from speaking. Crystal couldn’t have squeaked in surprise, even if she had wanted to. So much for the “bedroom eyes” that magazine had told her to give the older man she was interested in. Now, she was a frozen lump in a dress. Realizing she was holding her breath, she exhaled silently and quietly flipped the page in her notebook, the stir of the paper hardly making a noise in the room. He.. Was beautiful. Crystal’s lips parted slightly as she went to speak, went to say anything at all to let him know that she was there, but she was unable to do anything but stare. The bare skin revealed by the open buttons of the shirt nearly sent the girl into hyperventilation, as well as the way his pants hung just right on his hips. It was like being in the garden and seeing the forbidden fruit right before her, her blue eyes widening in interest and amazement. Was it really him that stirred these feelings inside her? Or was it some strange, hormonal, teenage.. thing? It took her a few minutes to realize that she was staring at him blatantly as he walked around the room, obviously absorbed in more lofty things than Crystal could even comprehend.

The girl reacted immediately when she realized that he could turn around and find her staring at him like a fool. Standing up from her seat, she leaned one hip against it and pushed the curls away from her face. Turning to face him, she spoke quietly, her voice enveloped in shadows and blending in with the room itself. “Did you sleep well, Mr. Musuko?”

The phrase sounded velvety, surprising Crystal a little that she had actually pulled it off. Wait - What kind of idiotic question was that?! If she was going to put on the sultry voice, she could have at least said something fancy or well played out like ‘Fancy meeting you here,’ or something involving them having chemistry together.

[Paris Musuko]

The squeaky sound of the dry-erase markers against the white board had been all he had been focusing on. Lost in the letters as they scrolled from his mobile hand, he was halfway lost in a world of his own making: a world that was nothing but black and thoughtless, endless, breathtaking silence.

She broke that reverie.

Paris lost his grip on the marker, his entire body jumping when she spoke, creating a large blue scrawl of color on the whiteboard as he took a breath of air to calm his nerves. He had been startled by a sudden presence, startled by a sudden wrench from his own world.. he brought his hand up to check the time--6 am. Far too early for students to be out and about. For a moment, he didn't turn around, thinking perhaps he was making up the noise that had startled him, and he was honestly hoping for that outcome when he finally did look over his shoulder with those large blue eyes, short dark hair falling into his face. Instead, he was greeted with another surprise---Crystal. Of all the people who had to show up early to class whilst he was half dressed, it had to be Crystal. He must be making her terribly uncomfortable after the.. other ... night.

Of course, she had been strong enough to will herself away from that, but he was sure that it had been horrible before... and, well, he turned back to the whiteboard slowly, disregarding her words for a brief moment as he once again was lost in that slow-going sleep deprived thought process. Moments just long enough to make it seem like he was a bit off today passed before he registered the question enough to answer, ".. Yes, Miss Dinaia--I slept fine. You're up.. early." The words were a little squeakish, like a caught mouse in a live trap with kids staring down at it deciding its fate. He was still facing the wall, though he seemed to forget why by the time he righted himself to look at her, moving his hands awkwardly back to lean against the white board, not quite ever finding a comfortable way to lean and then suddenly realizing his clothes were all undone and blushed red, whirling back around again.

"Sorry! It's very early, you see, and you startled me.. and.. I'm completely inappropriate." He laid his forehead against the whiteboard and started buttoning the shirt and tucking it in haphazardly, succeeding finally before he turned around to have fastened his belt and be wearing his shirt slightly off-buttoned.. and half tucked in. So, each side wasn't lined up right, the tie was off kilter, and one half of his shirt was sticking out. He ran his fingers through his hair roughly, a little distressed at the strands ending so soon before he was used to.

"So.. did you have something you needed to discuss with me? I mean, a chapter problem or something, that would entice you to show up... so early??"

[Crystal Dinaia]

Crystal bit her lip as he spoke, feeling just as frenzied as he looked, “Oh! I didn’t notice!” The girl hoped he would accept her statement as fact even though she had been ogling him quite heartily. Looking away, her cheeks red as she did so, she waited for him to finish the dressing process he had begun before she had come into the room. Her eyes wanted to shift back to where he was delicately tucking in his shirt, moving rapidly as if they had just done something inappropriate in the back of the classroom. For a moment, Crystal honestly hoped that no one walked into the room for more than a few reasons.

By the time he had turned back to her, the blush in her cheeks had faded slightly and she hoped that it only made her look lively as compared to embarrassed. Her hands were bracing themselves against the desk when he asked her why she was there. Crystal couldn’t simply say, “Oh, I woke up hours early just to get here to confess than I love you dearly,” or “I was just in the area so I decided to stop by.” Almost freezing up when he asked, she glanced down at the desk to see her chemistry book open to the chapter they would soon be tested on. With one hand she flipped a few pages with a low, “Umm.. I..” and finally found something she wanted to ask him about. Gathering up her book, she walked toward the front of the classroom. The girl tried her best to move like a woman, her hips and legs moving fluidly, long beneath the short dress she wore. Of course, she felt awkward on the inside, but looked quite appropriate on the outside.

“I didn’t quite understand the equation on this page. I can balance most of them, but there’s something about this one.. Mr. Musuko, your tie is strange?” Crystal frowned suddenly, then acting much like her mother would have, she untied the ill-tied neckpiece. She tilted her head as she retied it, curls spilling over one shoulder. It didn’t occur to her that the action was strange, or awkward, and for the brief moment that it happened during, the girl felt natural and at peace. He was a few inches taller than her, just enough to be comfortable in that position and in the corner of her mind, Crystal realized that he smelled good - fresh, masculine.

Delicate fingers worked deftly at completing the Windsor knot her father always wore. Her mother had taught her how to tie her father’s tie when she was thirteen years old. “Just in case,” her mom had said while tying a tie around the girl’s neck, “Just in case something happens to me. Your dad depends on me for absolutely everything, including this. So.. Just in case.”

Crystal paused with her hands on her teacher’s tie as the memory slid back in a bit painfully. The girl moved back a step shakily, dropping her hands to her sides. “I’m sorry, it was off-kilter.” After offering the small apology Crystal crossed her arms a bit awkwardly, the blush creeping back into her cheeks. Clearing her throat, she picked up her book that she had dropped onto his desk before retying his tie. “Oh! Yes, about that equation…”

[/blockquote]

[Paris Musuko]

The man, unaware of his mismatched buttons, leaned forward as she began to ask her question. Why she was here wasn't really pertinent; after all, she was already here. Chemistry questions, though, made the teacher feel safe. He could answer them without emotions attached, be entirely professional with the young woman. He listened to her question, nodding his head and nervously bringing his hands about to the front, reaching out delicately for the book in her hand before the course changed and he was once again in the realm of chaos that he wanted so badly to avoid.

Paris tensed up as Crystal moved toward him, trying valiantly to will his way back through the wall and into the next class over. Crystal was lovely--every bit a young beauty that Paris might have fallen head over heels for in his youth, but not now. Now, he was positively terrified of the beautiful sky eyes and the fiery red hair that hung around her beautifully crafted porcelain face. He bit his lower lip and chewed nervously, rolling the flesh around between his straight white teeth. He was painfully aware of the way her hair bounced under the waves of the air conditioner, the way her blue skirt flipped up just a bit at the corners over those milk-white thighs. Everything about her was just a little too real--a little too enticing. And, the worst part was... he'd already seen what was underneath.

He had to run, but he had nowhere to go. Her hands came up, and he could swear she must have been able to hear his heartbeat for how loud it was thumping away in his ears. Those big blue eyes kept flying back and forth, and the only thing that could have made the situation worse was if she had noticed the buttons were one off and tried to fix them, too. When she finally sat back on her heels, putting a breath of air between them, it wasn't enough for Mr. Musuko, who might have had a seizure right there and fallen, flopping, to the floor if not for his uncanny good health. His hand came up to cover his mouth a moment, as if he could stop the heavy breaths that seemed to be forced by his hyperventilation at her presence.

"The Equation's answer is 42ab+13b." He blurted out the answer suddenly, giving him an excuse to turn away from her, to hug the wall, and to thank some god that he didn't brush against her while doing so because evil was in his mind. Evil he couldn't quite drive out--some feral desire to relive a memory that he didn't even want to recall. A memory of satin sheets and smiles and whispered I love you's. His hand grabbed the marker and he sidestepped, sliding awkwardly and uncomfortably against the metal slide that held the writing utensils and rulers. His hand rose up and started scratching out the equation, his voice very pronounced--a little to articulate, perhaps--as he walked through the steps of the equation while writing it on the board. When the equation was finally finished, he declared, again, "42ab+13b. See?" And set the marker down with a bit of triumph.

Disheveled and looking satisfied, if anyone had walked in the room at that moment, it would have been the end of the teacher. Both emotionally and in the career sense.