The ticking of the clock on the wall was the only distraction from the heavy silence of the director’s office.

Arven stood in front of the desk.  Cassia stood not too far away from him.  Neither said a word to the other.  Both held their breaths.

They fucked up.

Or… Arven fucked up. And he dragged her into it.

It’s just that Cassia had been spending so much time in the biology lab lately, working on her capstone project.  Since he hadn’t had much time to hang out with her this week, Arven took it upon himself to bring her meals after his classes were done for the day.  He knew his girlfriend well enough to know if she was left to her own devices, she would forget until too late, then end up eating junk food from the vending machines.  Rinse and repeat until she was done or the weekend hit.

Today, he was feeling extra nice and made her favorite.  She was especially grateful, and thanked him with a rather chaste peck on the lips. Arven, feeling so touch-starved after a few days without fooling around with her, may have tried to turn that little smooch into something more.  His arm hooked her waist after she went to press her lips to his, and he pulled her closer.  She squealed and tried to push him off, but they both knew it was a half-hearted attempt. So, he didn’t relent, pulling her closer and kissing her harder.  Since it was late afternoon, there was no one around and Arven didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty as he backed her against the lab bench.  Cassia surrendered, melting in his arms and eagerly returning the kiss.

This did not last long before the door of the lab swung open at the sound of Director Clavell calling out for the biology professor.  It was a blessing that he arrived when he did and not a moment later, because Arven was definitely about to press his luck and see how far she’d let him go.  His hands were already sneaking up the back of her thighs beneath her skirt.  There was an awkward moment where the three stared at each other, both parties too stunned to speak.  Clavell got his bearings first, and his only words were, “My office.  Now.”

Arven swore that the old man did this on purpose; that he was taking his sweet time getting back to his office so he and Cassia would have to stew in their embarrassment and dread. He personally did not care too much. This wasn’t the first time he had been in the director’s office for disciplinary action over the course of his long stint at Naranja Academy, though the last few conversations were about truancy.  Poor Cassia must have never been in trouble a day in her life.  Her gaze was fixed on the floor, staring down at her feet.  She had been standing just like that for a few minutes now.  Arven wondered what was going on in her head.  He didn’t see Clavell showing up for another few minutes, so he spoke up.

“Cass…”

She lifted her head and turned her focus to him.  He could now see the tears brimming her eyes.  Arven held out his hand for her.  She weakly raised hers to place in his.  He squeezed it, before rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

“I-I can’t get expelled, Arven,” she said, her voice cracking.  “My Papa didn’t pay for me transfer here just to get kicked out.  I don’t have anywhere to stay.  I’d have to go back to Unova, and then we…”

“Shh… You’re not going back to Unova, Cassie,” he promised her.  “You’re like, the valedictorian or something, right?  They’re not going to kick you out.  Not over something silly like this.”

Cassia opened her mouth to protest, but the sound of the door creaking open interrupted her.  She and Arven dropped hands as Clavell entered the office.  The director said nothing as he walked from the door to his desk.  He seemed like he was going to speak, only for him to sigh and shake his head.  Arven swore he could hear his girlfriend’s heartbeat from where he was seated as Clavell paced back and forth in front of them.

“Miss Cassia…  Master Arven…”

The two sat up straighter at the sound of their names.  Clavell pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

“Off the record, I must say… I had no idea the two of you were…”

He waved his hand around from Arven to Cassia, causing the two to blush.  His face turned red as well, and he paused to clear his throat.

“… You two make a good pair. And it goes without saying I am proud of the accomplishments of both of you.  Miss Cassia, you are on the fast-track to becoming a Pokémon professor to rival even your… friend’s own parents.”  He then turned his attention to Arven.  “And I am unsure if it is her doing, but your attendance has been exceptional since she transferred to this academy and in turn, your grades have improved tremendously.  Your peers and the faculty of this academy have nothing but exceptional things to say about both of you.”

The two remained quiet, opting to instead listen to Clavell, waiting for him to rip off the bandage.

“Believe it or not, I was young and in love once,” he said with a wistful sigh.  Arven scrunched his nose at this, cutting his eyes over to Cassia to see her reaction, but she still looked like she was on death row.  “I understand the passion of young romance and am well aware these things tend to happen with young people as they experience the wonders of their first love.  Acting on such affection is merely part of our nature as humans, especially at the tender age when you find yourself at the mercy of your raging hormones.”

This conversation was beginning to get even more embarrassing than being caught.  Arven prayed he’d get to the point sooner rather than later.  He and Cassia were a little too old for the Delibirds and the Ribombees talk.

“However,” Clavell continued, holding a finger up.  “The school campus is no place for romantic rendezvous.  Absolutely never in a laboratory environment; that is just basic lab safety. As upperclassmen, especially as upperclassmen as high-profile as the two of you, you are expected to act as role models for your peers.  I am grateful it was only me who caught the two of you…”  He cleared his throat once more, glancing away from both of them.  “… In flagrante delicto, to put it nicely.  If anyone else had seen the two of you… erm, “necking,” I suppose…”  He did air quotes to emphasize his antiquated slang.  “I would be forced to be less lenient.  Now, you are two of the brightest pupils at this academy.  Very few have their names in the hall of fame, yet both of you have been presented with this honor.  I am sure you both understand that inappropriate public displays of affection are most definitely against school policy, and can be punishable by suspension…  Even expulsion if it had gone any further.”

Tears were most definitely rolling down Cassia’s cheeks now and he saw her shoulders slump.  Arven wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but he wouldn’t dare risk that after being caught feeling her up in the biology lab, especially not when they were currently getting lectured for just that.  He couldn’t let her future be ruined.  She was his future.  He couldn’t let her go back to Unova and leave him all alone.  Arven stepped forward.

“If anyone has to be punished, punish me,” he said, causing Cassia to look over to him with wide eyes and Clavell to stiffen at the sudden interruption.  “Cassie has too much to lose.  It was my fault anyway; I was totally the one who started it.  I… I came by to bring her food since she was working so hard and I was the one who teased her and escalated things. Please…  Don’t take away everything from her.  She deserves to graduate.”

Arven tried to sound strong for Cassia.  He didn’t care if he graduated or not, just as long as he got to see her walk across the stage.  He didn’t have any parents or guardians to be disappointed in him if he were to drop out. He didn’t need a fancy degree to do what he loved like she did.  She had grand plans of becoming a professor after graduating, while his main goal in life was simply to care for others— especially her as his future wife.

Clavell couldn’t help but chuckle as he nodded at Arven.

“Master Arven, you are quite the gentleman and Miss Cassia is definitely fortunate to have the attention of a young man as chivalrous as you, but please, allow me to finish,” he said, causing Arven to slink back.  “As I was saying, seeing how both of you appear to be remorseful, nor do you seem to lack proper judgment when it comes to matters such as these, I will overlook this incident.  Neither of you will be punished for this infraction.  However, there won’t be another incident like this.  Is that understood?”

Arven breathed a sigh of relief, while Cassia rejoiced.

“Yes!” she exclaimed through her tears.  “Yes, understood!  It won’t happen again!  Thank you so much, Mr. Clavell.”

“Very good,” Clavell replied.  He eased his posture slightly, offering the two a smile.  “While you’re here, I’d like to congratulate you both on what seems to be a successful independent study assignment.”

Cassia tilted her head as Arven raised his brow.  It was an odd time to bring up the treasure hunt.  As far as he knew, neither of them had mentioned the stuff with Mabosstiff to anyone but each other.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Clavell chuckled behind his hand as he pushed his glasses up by the bridge.  With a smile, he held his hands out, gesturing at them.

“You both found your treasure over the course of the assignment, did you not?”

Arven couldn’t help but laugh as Cassia blushed and covered her face.  He threw his arm around her shoulder.

“Yep!  I’d say we did!” he exclaimed.  “The best treasure in the whole world!”

“It’s true,” she bashfully added.

The director smiled wider and he nodded in agreement.

“Good.  Well then, congratulations again.  And best of luck to both of you.  You are dismissed.”

With those words, the conversation ended and the two left the office.  Once they reached the hallway, Cassia slumped against the wall, taking a moment to gather her nerves.  After several seconds, she straightened herself and wiped the tears from her cheek with the sleeve of her uniform jacket.

“You, uh…  Want me to walk you back to the lab?” Arven asked.

Cassia shook her head. “No, it’s gotten late. But you can walk me back to my dorm, if you want...”  She leaned in closer, touching his hand as she lowered her voice.  “So that we can finish what we started.”

A wide grin spread across Arven's face.  That close call must not have scared her too bad, he though as he offered his arm to her, which she accepted after adjusting the strap of her bookbag.  Together, they made their way back toward the dormitories.