Chapter Text
Bella looked at the man who stood in front of the room. He was young, no older than his mid-twenties. Copper hair was pulled back into a short ponytail and his ivory jaw was dusted with a light stubble of the same colour. Bold green eyes flickered over the students who were walking into the classroom then gossiping about the man standing before them.
The man glanced over Bella once, twice, then smiled before taking a pen from his black shirt pocket and clearing his throat.
"Is that about everyone?" The man's voice was a pleasant type of husky that caught several girls attention.
Emerald eyes searched the door once more before he walked over and closed it. A small smile caused the man's cheeks to puff out as he regarded the class again.
"My name is Mr King, I'll be your new English teacher for the rest of the semester after the incident with Miss Alick. I do expect to be here in the next semester so get used to the sound of my voice," Mr King awkwardly rubbed his chin, "So, I know you guys and gals are all very bored high school kids but I don't know a single one of you. Make my rollcall a little interesting and introduce one fact about yourself please."
Collective groans echoed the room while Mr King rolled his eyes and made a funny groan back at the students.
"No need to groan about it, quickly now! Miss Springs!"
The class slowly went through with witty retorts and snickers echoing as Mr King didn't reprimand the teenage humour the boys sent his way or the flirtatious remarks some of the girl's swooned.
"Bella Swan?" Mr King's eyes searched the room until Bella raised her hand, "A fact, Miss Swan?"
"I'm... My dad's the Chief of Police?" Bella looked unsure about her answered.
"Ah yes," Mr King nodded, his smile not once having faded, "Thank you, next!"
So, the roll call went on for double the time. After the roll, Mr King decided to scare the students with a quiz. More complains rung out as students whined about the sudden test.
"Quit whining," Mr King sighed, "It's just a general knowledge test to see what you know."
"Then why are we doing it?" One of the boys called out with a smirk.
"Because I'm the teacher and I asked you to take a test, Mr Loudmouth," Mr King's ever so slightly narrowed into an amused frown before the expression was gone, "Take one, pass the rest down please!"
The papers were handed back and silently the class set to work as Mr King hovered like a hawk. Bella gawked as she glanced over the test, questions relating to the 18th and 19th century were listed not to mention the questions on obscure yet still known famous authors. The brunette didn't even try to answer the questions about the philosophers.
"Yo, King," another student suddenly called out, "What the-"
"There will be no talking during this test," The flat words and steely glare of Mr King made the class realize they couldn't slack off too much with their new teacher.
"How are we supposed to know any of this?!"
"Silence!" Mr King merely deepened his voice, no yelling as some teachers would but certainly no room for argument.
By the time Bella guessed half of the questions and the class had finally settled, it was time for the bell to ring. Mr King collected the tests, giving off some students nicknames if they tried to give him witty remarks.
Before Bella could get far out of the class a familiar voice sang out to her as she moved down the hall.
"Bella!" said girl turned at Alice's word, "Did you just have English?"
"Um, yeah," Bella slowly answered, "We got the new teacher today. Mr King."
"Oh!" Alice clapped excitedly, "What's he like?"
"He's pretty normal, for a teacher I guess," Bella pursed her lips, "If anything he's really casual. He gave us a really hard test thought."
"What was it on?" Alice's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Trivia between the 17th century and now," Bella mused with a raised brow, "I guess you guys could ace the test."
"It would probably be too suspicious," Alice giggled, "But I think Mr King is really intuitive."
"What makes you say that?"
"A feeling," Alice beamed, "Try to get along with him. I think he knows your dad."
"Will do..." Bella trailed off.
...
By the time Tony King had reached the last class of his first day, he was growing weary of teenagers and their drama already. One person, in particular, had caught his attention amongst the throng of students entering the room. He sat muscular and bulky compared to most of his peers, amber-like eyes lazily flitting around the room porcelain skin. Tony took one look at the teen who looked almost too old to be here, noting that he seemed more than capable of crushing the desk he was sitting at. The two factors that stood out to the teacher was the placid amber eyes and snowy skin with no imperfections. There was only a handful of people that could pull off such beauty.
Deciding to not jump the gun, Tony greeted the class and repeated what he had done with the previous classes. An introduction and a test. This class held less complains but more sighs and eye-rolls which Tony much prefered.
Then, soon enough, the bell rang for the end of the day.
"Papers on my desk please, have a good afternoon everyone!" Tony smiled at the leaving students as they handed the tests back.
The one who had caught his attention, Emmett Cullen, locked eyes with Tony for a little longer than one usually would. A happy grin spread across the boy's face but before he could speak a blonde girl reached into the room and had pulled him out of the door and around the corner.
Without missing a beat as the last student left his class, Tony grabbed the Cullen's papers and glanced over it with a curious smirk. All of the answers were correct, one even pointing out a mistake in the question that Tony willing slipped in. With a satisfied grin, Tony had gathered more than enough information. The next sunny day would only confirm his theories more.
In the meantime, the teacher had to mark three classes worth of tests and one class of course expectations for photography to plan for the next semester which was only six weeks away. By the time that Tony decided to just take all the work home for the day, he realized he was almost too late for his last task of the day - transferring his medical records. Having just moved down two days ago, moving for the job more than moving out of his desire to return to his childhood home, the was a lot to do in the small house that Tony now called his own even if it was just a rental.
Heading to the teacher's park, Tony unlocked his red Mercedes before stuffing his laptop bag and paperwork into the passenger seat. Jumping into the front, Tony buckled his seatbelt before pulling out of the park and finding his way down the familiar roads to the hospital.
Pulling to the car park, locking the car and swiftly making his way to the reception, Tony waited for a person to finish their business before walking up to the receptionist.
"Hello, how many I help you?" The woman behind the desk spoke.
"Hey, I'm looking to transfer some medical records back. I just moved back the other day," Tony offered a bright smile, "names, Tony King."
"You've come crawling back then, Mr King?" The woman raised her brows, "Last time we saw you here you were on death's door... must have gotten over the trauma?"
"Well," Tony awkwardly cleared his throat, "Trauma doesn't really go away but I'm capable of being back in Forks."
Tony offered a tight smile and the woman nodded absently.
"Right, I've sent the request through. You're all good to go," she smiled before waving him off.
With a silent sigh, Tony glanced down the familiar halls with a perplexed face before turning to head his way. Not without catching sight of another set of amber eyes that made him stop dead in his tracks.
The man with amber eyes and slicked back blonde hair stopped too. The pair just stared at each other for a long moment. A smirk pulled at Tony's face he read the man's nametag before offering a wave as he went on his way.
Doctor Cullen... what an interesting occupation for someone who looked after such peculiar kids.
He might have to make a phone call about amber eyes as opposed to those that he'd seen before. Though marking came first. As Tony pulled up at his new house, ignoring the slight shabbiness of the place, the small cottage had brickwork covered in crawling vines and moss, the windows were horribly thin and there was always a draft around your ankles. The cement roofing tiles were growing their own garden up there and the small arch outside the main door was a wide variety of bugs' home. If in it's prime, the cottage would have been a wonderful place to live. Maybe that's why the rent was overpriced and the landowner had neglected to do much other than give Tony a few extra blankets.
It wasn't a great home, Tony mused as he pulled up to the building, but it was Forks and it wasn't his childhood home. The red-head jiggled his keys in the old door before lifting and pushing the front door open with a small sigh. Green eyes snapped towards the woodlands surrounding the cottage before he let out a deep sigh and picked up his laptop bag from the ground and hauled it inside. The house smelled of old paper, faint floral perfume from the previous tenant, and the underlying musk of dampness. As soon as Tony entered the door, he was met with a pile of boxes that lined the kitchenette and dining room.
He hadn't moved many of his kitchenware into their new homes and his cutlery sets were well beyond squashed at the bottom of one of the packed boxes. The wallpaper that looked twice Tony's age was starting to tear and faintly Tony mused it looked like a grandmother's house only he was the grandmother and had too many books littering the place. He was sure even grandmothers' didn't collect as many books as he did.
The ginger grumbled as he flicked the jug on, he didn't really want to mark the test and finish the end of the week's plans but he supposed it was that or unpack. Tony ventured up the creaking stairs, that he was sure would fall apart if he so much as brushed the banister, towards his bedroom and bathroom - alongside a guest room that making the first floor of the house. Tony happily traded out his tie and stiff blazer for a much warmer navy sweater that he couldn't help but feel more comfortable in. Tony hummed a tune to himself as he heard the jug finish and kicked off his dress shoes before grinning as he slipped into ugg boots with cute pompoms that jumped about as he walked.
Tony might not have been the definition of masculine but the ginger would be damned if he couldn't be comfortable in his own home drinking hot chocolate and marking papers while listening to Red Hot Chilli Peppers while marking teenagers English papers. With a small glance at the boxes that needed unpacked around the house, Tony grinned to himself with a sheepish chuckle before setting about marking papers until it was time for dinner.
When it came time to eat something other than crisps and hot chocolate, Tony found himself in the town's diner where he came face to face with the Swan father and daughter duo. Charlie looked ecstatic to see him while Bella looked more than confused. Needless to say, the Chief of Police was overjoyed that a friendly face was his daughter's new English teacher and swelled with pride when Tony mentioned that Bella had done the best in her class - which she had.
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