I caught up to her in a secluded corner of the school, a sort of student lounge. She was sitting there in one of the many cushy chairs with her head back, staring blankly at the ceiling, muttering something I couldn't quite hear.
"Aislin?" I asked quietly, anticipating a heavy object (like her backpack) to my head, or at least a scream.
I got neither.
Without looking down to me she said simply, "Mr. Haseman," as if that were the proper response.
"Look, Aislin, what you saw back there..." I trailed off, not sure how to finish.
"Yeah...I'm sorry," she replied.
Wait, what? SHE was sorry? Sorry for what? She didn't do anything wrong, I was the wrong one, the twisted, dirty man that masturbated while thinking of her.
"Yeah," she said, still not looking at me. "Sorry for running away like that. I wasn't sure what to do..."
"I'm sorry if I startled or scared you, Aislin..." I started, and she finally turned her head to look at me. Her soft green eyes silenced me. They were calm and serene as ever, but there was a small light, a fire in her eyes.
"That's not it at all, Professor." She told me quickly. I could only stare at her confusedly. "I wanted..." she blushed deeply, turning that beautiful rose shade again. "I-I wanted..."
"What did you want?" I asked, daring to hope she meant the impossible.
"I...I wanted to help you...you know, come." She averted her eyes again, studying her bare feet. Her skin was flushed and her breathing was a bit heavy. "But...but I don't know how to...to touch it. You know, to please you...and I was so worried you would turn away...then I heard you say my name and I...I just didn't know what to do. So I ran."