Chapter Text
A man trudges through a dark winter night, the scarf around his neck doing little to ward out the chill. His shoulder aches, carrying the weight of his briefcase, but his destination is near. His graying hair has been matted down by the moisture on the wind, and he frowns at the thought, the lines of his face deepening. He approaches a large brick building, but stops abruptly at a sight that catches his attention. A girl, a brunette in a cream colored dress, stands next to the steps, one high-heel-clad foot propped up on the low stone wall that guards a sloped courtyard as she adjusts the strap of her shoe. This is not a night nor the time of night for a young lady to be out alone. The man steps towards her, pondering his next move. He can’t help but be drawn to her thighs, exposed under the hem of her dress. He forces himself to take a step back, attempting to blink away the image. “Excuse me,” he begins. The other whips around to face him, her curls flying off her shoulder. She’s attractive in an innocent way, all rounded shapes, doe eyes, and innocent lips. A smile graces her face as she takes in the man, straightening from her task. “Are you lost?” the man asks her.
“No,” she replies with a smile, her leg still propped up on the wall. “I’ve been waiting for you, professor.” She slides her foot to the ground and stands on both feet. She steps towards him, her hands folded behind her back.
“Ha!” the man laughs. “Uh… are you in one of my classes?” he asks, eyes flicking over the length of the brunette’s body.
“Don’t you remember me?” she asks with an expectant expression.
“We-ell…” he starts with a laugh. “Eh, they’re big classes. Anyway, my office hours are Tuesday and Thursday mornings.” He ends the conversation there and begins to climb the long flight of stairs up to the building.
“Really? I was hoping I could see you now .” She bites her lip and shifts her weight.
The man takes a step back down the stairs. “Um…” he juts his bottom lip out as he considers. Then, he smiles. “Well, since you asked so nicely- come on.” The girl grins and walks with him up the stairs.
They reach the top of the steps. The man holds open the door of the building. She flashes him a bright smile and he smiles in return.
Within the building, they ascend another flight of stairs to find a hallway. “Just- em- this way,” the man murmurs, letting out a brief smile before passing in front of his companion to approach the door at the right end of the hallway. He slips his key into the lock, twists the knob, and pulls the door open. The woman passes through the doorway and he follows her. His eyes rest on the pale skin of her thighs, just a shade lighter than her dress.
The girl stands in the man’s office as he passes by her to stand beside his desk. She picks up a book from the table entitled Modern Morality: Examining Societal Views & Belief Systems. The book is written by Arthur Cox. She turns the book over to reveal a black and white photo on the back cover of a young man smiling at the camera. She runs two fingers over his face. The professor slips his scarf off in the heat of his stuffy office. “Such a handsome photo,” the young woman gushes with a smile.
He laughs. “That old thing… so, what can I do for you?” he asks, hoping he comes across as modest as he hangs up his coat on a rack in the corner. “How’s the Anscombe paper coming?”
“Uh, professor, I-” the young woman pauses and laughs, eyes downcast. “Uh…”
The man glances at the clock on his desk, impatient, then turns away to crack open a window behind him.
“I have a confession to make,” the brunette says, still with a sweet smile and innocent yet mischievous smile.
“Oh? What’s that?” the professor asks, turning to face her.
“I’m not really one of your students.”
“Really? Then why are you here?”. He places his hands on his hips in an attempt to appear annoyed, although he still wears a light smile.
The young woman doesn’t speak, just smiles. The professor stares back at her for a moment. Then, his gaze travels up and down, lingering on her waist, hips, and thighs. She closes her mouth and her smile vanishes. “Maybe I should just go,” she says, turning to leave.
“Wait,” the professor says, finally relenting. The brunette stops. She turns her head to look at him. “I get it,” the man continues, walking around his desk to stand in front of it. “I understand how you’re feeling, and it’s only natural.” The girl turns around to face him fully. “You are young and wide-eyed-” The girl's lips quirk, then she looks away. “-and I’m somewhat of a celebrity around here.” She looks up and smiles at that. The man crowds closer to her and reaches out, brushing her arm. She steps closer to him, running a finger through her hair. “Don’t get me wrong. You’re a very beautiful girl-” The brunette looks down and back up. “-but it would be wrong of me to take advantage of you,” he says, nodding and looking at her pointedly. He holds a handful of her hair loosely in his left hand, running his fingers over the curls. “I just, uh, I just respect you too much,” he says, even as he smiles and moves his hand from her hair to rest under her chin. They both lean in, their lips meeting, and they inhale through their noses. They pull away after only a brief kiss. After a moment, the woman places a hand at the back of the his neck and kisses him with more force. The sound of their breathing and occasional groans is audible as their tongues slip into each other’s mouths. The woman moves her hand to the man’s shoulder, then down to his hips.
As they kiss, tiny patches of the woman’s skin turn into a marbled mixture of black and white, the colorless areas blooming outwards until her entire face could pass for the surface of a wheel of cheese mottled with a fast-growing black mold. She pulls away and opens her eyes, which are now surrounded by deep wrinkles, her irises and pupils covered with a gray film. The professor opens his eyes, and they widen in shock as his smile drops away. “Oh my god,” he whispers. He backwards. From this distance, the woman’s full face is now visible, her skin cracking and splitting on her forehead and cheeks, creases forming chasms in the expanse of her forehead.
“What?” she asks, innocent as ever. “Don’t you like me anymore?”
He steps backwards again, knocking a pile of papers off his desk. He doesn't notices them in the moment. He shuffles behind the protection of the table.
“Don’t you want me?” the monster asks. She steps closer to him.
The professor backs against the wall, staring at her with wide eyes, unable to run through the fog that fear has created for him. The creature flickers, and then she apparates in front of him, snarling as she pushes him against the window frame. “Good night, professor. Sleep well,” she whispers. Then, she pushes a hand against his neck and shoves him out the window.
Below, a brunet sporting a smug smile and a gray jumpsuit struts away from the building, his hair brushing against his ears and forehead in the breeze. As he prepares to descend the steps, a loud thud sounds from behind him, a dark mass falling to the ground. He jumps, startled, and stops walking. He turns around and assesses the body lying on the sidewalk. He steps closer to get a better look. A middle aged man is there, the wrinkles around his mouth exaggerated by the dim illumination of the lights left on in the building’s hallway and his gray hair blown back from his face by his fall,lips parted and eyes closed, a pool of blood blossoming around his head and trickling down the steps like melted chocolate.