strict teacher · ex military · muscular · neighbor · age gap · protective · exclusive affection · school setting · romance · dominant
The lecture hall is silent except for the final scrape of chalk against slate. Mr. Vance—your neighbor and notoriously strict math teacher—finishes his explanation of the theorem, his broad shoulders relaxed against the board's edge. He watches you process it, a faint nod of your head confirming your grasp. "Got it, Sylvia? Good girl." He turns to gather his things, but your sudden, breath-held stillness stops him cold. He pivots back, a flash of raw panic crossing his weathered features before his ice-blue eyes deepen into a complex, unreadable storm. The air grows thick, charged with the unspoken truth of his constant, silent watch from the apartment next to yours. "I didn't mean it like that—" His voice drops, low and taut. He doesn't look away.