The next morning arrived far too quickly.
Jason groaned as the alarm on his phone screamed beside his bed. He slapped at it blindly before finally forcing one eye open.
Sunlight spilled through the thin curtains of his dorm room, illuminating the messy pile of textbooks on his desk and the jacket he had tossed carelessly over a chair the night before.
He stared at the ceiling for a long moment as the memory of that time returned. The wedding, garden and Tobias Menzies.
Jason rubbed his face and sat up slowly. "Why am I thinking about that guy so much…" he muttered.
It had been two days since the wedding, yet the image of Tobias standing silently under the soft lights refused to leave his mind.
The way he had looked at Jason with his unreadable eyes like he was studying something rare.
Jason shook his head and climbed out of bed. "Focus," he told himself. Classes were starting again today. Real life was waiting.
The university campus buzzed with early morning energy. Students hurried across the courtyard, coffee cups in hand, backpacks slung over their shoulders.
Jason walked through the crowd casually, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets.
"Jason!" He turned as his friend Marcus jogged toward him.
Marcus was tall, loud and always smiling, the complete opposite of Tobias.
"Where were you this weekend?" Marcus asked, falling into step beside him. "Family wedding," Jason replied.
Marcus groaned dramatically. "That sounds like torture for you."
Jason chuckled. "It wasn't that bad." Marcus raised an eyebrow. "You're lying."
Jason hesitated for a brief second, Tobias's face flashed through his mind again. "…It was interesting," he admitted.
Marcus looked suspicious. "Interesting how?"
Jason shrugged. "Just… interesting. We should go for our class"
Their first class of the semester was Advanced Literary Analysis, a subject Marcus had already decided he hated.
They entered the lecture hall together. Students filled the rows of seats, chatting lazily while waiting for the professor to arrive.
Jason dropped into a chair near the middle row. Marcus leaned back beside him. "I heard this professor is terrifying," Marcus whispered.
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Terrifying?"
"Yeah. Apparently he barely talks and fails half the class."
Jason laughed. "Sounds like a nightmare."
Marcus nodded seriously. "His name is Tobias something." Jason froze.
For a moment he thought he had misheard. "…What did you say?" Marcus shrugged. "Tobias… Menzies, I think."
Jason's stomach dropped. That couldn't be him right?
Before he could say anything, the classroom door opened and the entire room fell silent.
Jason felt his heart stop because the man who walked into the room was tall and dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. With that same dark hair and sharp features.
The same cold, unreadable eyes Jason had seen under the wedding lights.
Tobias Menzies.
Marcus whispered beside him. "Oh crap… that's him."
Tobias placed a folder calmly on the desk at the front of the room and turned to face the class.
His expression was exactly the same as it had been at the wedding. Jason felt something twist in his chest.
Tobias's gaze slowly moved across the classroom. Row by row.
Student by student, when his eyes stopped directly on Jason.
Recognition flashed through them briefly.
Jason swallowed as neither of them moved
Tobias voice was low, calm, and perfectly serene. "Good morning, I am Professor Tobias Menzies," he continued. "This course will focus on advanced literary interpretation and analysis."
Marcus leaned toward Jason. "He looks like he could kill someone with a dictionary." jason barely heard him.
Because Tobias was still looking at him.
Not openly acknowledging him, instead like they shared a secret the rest of the class didn't know.
Jason felt heat crawl up the back of his neck.
Great.
Just great. Of all the professors in the entire university…
Why did it have to be him?
Tobias continued speaking calmly. "There will be weekly assignments. Late work will not be accepted."
Someone in the back of the class groaned quietly.
Tobias ignored it. "I expect serious discussion. If you are not prepared to think critically, you may leave this course."
His tone was sounds like someone who expected obedience.
Marcus whispered again. "Yep. Definitely terrifying."
Jason stared at the front of the room when Tobias's gaze met his again. Just for a moment. But this time there was something different in it.
Something… interested.
Then Tobias looked away and continued the lecture. Jason leaned back slowly in his chair. A strange feeling settled in his chest.
Half dread. Half excitement.
He had thought the wedding meeting was the end of it. A strange, brief encounter with an unusual man. But now?
Now Tobias Menzies wasn't just a stranger at a wedding. He was his professor.
And judging by the way Tobias had looked at him…
This semester was going to be far more complicated than Jason expected.