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The first Outfit wasn’t anything to write home about. (‘Outfit’ capitalized, because Sam knew that Gabriel had regular outfits that he wore on normal days and then there were ‘Outfits’ that Gabriel wore only Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you haven’t guessed already, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were the days Gabriel took Sam’s Introduction to Law classes.)
The first day of class, Gabriel wore jeans and a T-shirt under a cargo jacket. Nothing out of the ordinary for a college student, really.
The second day of class…well.
Again, it wasn’t anything too scarring. It was just something that would make someone pause and take a second glance. And, a lot of people did. But Gabriel just went about his day, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary even though he was wearing a blinding pair of turquoise harem pants with a pink floral blouse and a red overcoat, all topped off with a horribly clashing lime green beanie. It made Sam’s eyes hurt looking at him, but he managed to pull through the class without getting too distracted. It was a close thing, though.
Gabriel seemed to notice how he grabbed Sam’s attention all through the lecture, and when class was over, he left the room with a shit-eating grin and a bounce in his step.
The next day, Sam was walking across campus when he spotted Gabriel sitting in the courtyard with his friends, he noticed that the student was wearing a simple button-up shirt with loose-fitting jeans. Sam couldn’t wrap his mind on the change, but figured yesterday had to have been some kind of frat house initiation or a dare or something.
But then the next day, Gabriel showed up with a yellow-spotted gray sweatervest over a long-sleeved purple shirt, black fingerless gloves and a neon pink, yellow and turquoise beanie, topped off with a green puffball.
Gabriel was overly attentive that day, making questions and actually discussing at length with Sam over the lack of morality and ethics in law, the rest of the class scribbling furiously in their notebooks, trying to get everything they said down. It was odd, because Sam had asked his colleagues and they’d all told him that Gabriel Novak was just an art student who needed this course for credits. Gabriel didn’t have any interest in laws as far as Sam knew.
The entire lesson became just a back and forth between Sam and Gabriel; Gabriel claiming that lawyers were soulless and Sam agreeing that in general they were, but the law had the interest of the people in mind. Gabriel scoffed at that and shot back about how the law only had the interest of the people that made it in mind, and Sam smiled, agreeing with him on that. It dragged on for the 40 minutes and by the time Sam noticed his time was running out, he realized he’d only touched one of the topics he had been intending that day.
When Sam next saw Gabriel on campus, he was in a normal, student get-up and Sam concluded that the crazy Outfits were reserved for just the days when Gabriel had class with Sam.
That was odd.
Gabriel’s actions became a constant source of confusion for Sam.
Sam couldn’t ignore that Gabriel was doing this to get his attention. He realized it the day Gabriel came to class (in a blue skirt with pink flowers and pink-and-orange striped tights, topped off with a green scarf, mind you) and he had nothing to contribute to the subject- for once. Gabriel made up for his lack of input by being disruptive and annoying, making out of place comments and going so far as to ask Sam questions about his personal life, making the other students chuckle and laugh, to the point where Sam had to threaten to kick him out of the class if he didn’t let him continue the lecture.
Gabriel kept quiet after that, but he leaned back in the seat, legs splayed, giving Sam a good view of what lay underneath the skirt, even if it was covered by the eyesore tights. Sam had nothing against guys wearing skirts, more power to them, but they should at least have the decency to close their legs like girls did when they wore skirts. Because, really, the sight was kind of distracting.
So Sam did the only thing he knew to do. He asked Gabriel to please stay a moment after class so he could get to the bottom of whatever the fuck this was.
What Sam wasn’t expecting was for the biggest, most mischievous grin to light up Gabriel’s face, but he ignored it and just went on with the class.
Although he felt like maybe he was missing something when the entire class started exchanging knowing looks.
Once class was dismissed, everyone left, murmuring to each other and glancing expectantly at both Sam and Gabriel.
“You wanted to talk to me, Professor Winchester?” Gabriel drawled, sidling up to Sam’s desk at the front of the classroom.
“Sam,” he insisted, grinning amicably. Just because Gabriel was insufferable didn’t mean he was a bad person.
“Saaam,” Gabriel repeated, adding way too many syllables and way too much emphasis.
“Right…well…see,” Sam started eloquently, “it’s just that I’ve been meaning to talk to you about your behavior.”
“Am I doing something wrong, Professor?” He’s grinning widely as he says it and Sam frowns.
“Well…not usually,” Sam answers slowly, warily, confused. “Usually you have something valuable to add to the class discussion. It’s when you don’t that’s the problem. If you don’t have anything useful to say, you say something anyways even if it’s completely irrelevant to the discussion.”
Gabriel pouts. “Oh? Well, I’m sorry, Professor. It’s just that I need a lot of…y’know…attention.”
Sam grins, glances pointedly down at Gabriel’s outfit. “I can see that.”
Gabriel’s gigawatt smile is back. “You like my clothes, Sam?”
“They’re definitely…uh…memorable.” Sam cleared his throat. “So…if you could just keep the topic of the class related to the class, I’d greatly appreciate it.”
Gabriel, still smiling, nodded enthusiastically. “Sure thing, Prof. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
The next class- Gabriel in an all-striped ensemble consisting of a turquoise mini skirt with pink and green pinstripes, blue striped knee socks and a green and white top that Sam thought should be outlawed because it may trigger epileptic seizures- Gabriel still had nothing to add to the subject. Sam figured that he’d at least keep quiet and pay attention, like he had asked him to yesterday, but Gabriel was probably even more disruptive than ever.
Gabriel made racy comment after inappropriate innuendo after crude joke so often that one girl had to leave the class because of a severe attack of giggles and the rest were clutching their stomachs and wiping their eyes, not one of them paying a single mote of attention to Sam.
Now Sam would never be one to turn down a good sens of humor and a pleasant atmosphere in the classroom, but there had to be a limit. So Sam asked Gabriel to stay behind after class again, but not nearly in the same friendly manner he had asked yesterday.
Again, there were the same knowing looks and muttered exchanges and Sam was absolutely positive he was missing something.
“You wanted to see me, Sam?”
Sam wasn’t as nice as he was yesterday. “I thought we understood each other yesterday, Mr. Novak.”
Gabriel looked actually shy for a moment, averting his eyes and shuffling slightly. “It’s just that I need some help, Professor. Sometimes I have a hard time behaving.”
Sam frowned. “Just don’t speak unless you have a question related to the class or something helpful to add, that’s all. It’s really not such an issue.”
Gabriel’s whole demeanor shifted and he suddenly wasn’t the abashed, contrite student he had been a moment earlier. Now he looked exasperated and irritated, huffing out a great sigh. “You’re really crappy at this, aren’t you?” he said dryly.
Sam’s mind skidded to a halt, not at all comprehending the turn this had taken. “Wh…what?”
Gabriel rolled his eyed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “This is the part where you tell me I’ve been a bad student, that I need to be corrected, and then you bend me over the desk and fuck me within an inch of my sanity, get it?”
Sam choked on his spit, heat rising to his face. Of course. He should have realized this sooner.
He cleared his throat, adjusting his tie that was now way too tight for comfort. “Look, Mr. Novak-“
“Gabriel.”
Sam narrowed his eyes. “Mr. Novak,” he insisted. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. I’ve been approached by students before- granted, never as blatantly as you- but it’s happened. I get it. I’ve been told I’m rather good looking-“
“More like drool-inducing, pants tightening, take me now smoking hot,” Gabriel amended matter-of-factly, with a light shrug.
Shifting uncomfortably, Sam opted to ignore that and continued, “And there’s not much of an age difference between us-“
“I’m older than you,” Gabriel cut in, grinning. “In case you didn’t know.”
Sam was taken aback momentarily, because no, he didn’t know that. “That doesn’t really matter. I’m your teacher and you’re my student and I can’t do that. You understand, right?”
Gabriel grimaced. “There’s no convincing you, is there?”
Sam smiled slightly. “Nope, sorry.”
Gabriel heaved another great sigh. “Wonderful. Smoking hot, IQ of fucking Einstein, and with good morals. The whole package, and totally untouchable. Just my luck.” He hitched his bag on his shoulder. “I can admit defeat. See you around, Sam.”
Looking more dejected than a kicked puppy, Gabriel left Sam’s classroom and, again, Sam felt like he was missing something.
The rest of the semester went by without incident. Gabriel stopped wearing his Outfits and stopped causing a ruckus in class, but he wasn’t a sore loser apparently. He didn’t treat Sam with any bitterness or resentment. In fact, he made it a point to make Sam laugh as much as possible during class without disrupting the lesson and Sam greatly appreciated it. He enjoyed their debates and Gabriel’s surprising insight on the technicalities of law.
Sometimes they bumped into each other outside of class and Sam would ask Gabriel about his latest art project and Gabriel would literally light up and chatter on and on excitedly about it. Sam found he missed the days when Gabriel didn’t take his class and found himself drawn to the courtyard Gabriel frequented with his friends in hopes of running into him.
On the last day of class, their last lesson together, Sam was friendly and sweet with his students, simply chatting with them about their personal lives and plans for the future. He loved them very much, cared about them deeply and was really depressed to have to see them go. At some point, a paper ball fight broke out and Sam took cover behind his desk, popping up to launch some of his own.
When class was over, many offered to stay behind to help him clean up, but Sam just laughed and told them to get the hell out and enjoy their vacations, that he’d clean it up.
Picking up one of the discarded paper balls, Sam threw it, hitting a retreating Gabriel smack in the back of the head. “Mr. Novak,” he grinned when Gabriel turned to look at him. “I wanted to discuss your final exam grade with you.”
The whole class filed out, leaving Gabriel behind, and he just looked confusedly as Sam went about cleaning up.
“I already saw my grade online, Professor,” Gabriel commented, frowning.
“Sam,” he corrected. “And I know, you got an A. Nice job. But I think you should take a second look. It’s there on my desk.”
Gabriel went over to the desk, Sam grinning to himself as he went about picking up paper balls and tossing them into the trash can next to his desk, landing a few and missing others.
His smile widened as he saw Gabriel pick up his test, eyes lighting up as he read the words ‘Would you like to go out for coffee some time?’ under the big red letter A.